Hello Friends:
As I write this little note to you, I am sitting at
my dining room table surrounded by Bethany and the
boys. We are all on our laptops because we got quite
a bit of ice overnight and the boys have an
e-learning day. Bethany is working from home too and
so am I! It looks like an Internet Cafe in here!
Titus is also running around and getting into a lot
of trouble. Let's hope that February is a little
better, a little warmer, and a little less snow and
ice. 🙂
Lent will be starting very soon with Ash Wednesday
being on February 14th. Let us take full advantage
of this Lenten Season, preparing us for the joy of
Easter Sunday!
This is so important because if we neglect to humble
ourselves, not taking ownership of our own sin and
brokenness, what then are we celebrating on the day
of Resurrection? Why then are we celebrating?
Have we recognized our need for a Savior (and do we
revisit this reality on a regular basis?)? Have we
sat in the upper room with the disciples, allowing
Jesus to wash our filthy feet on Maundy Thursday?
Have we traveled to Golgotha on Good Friday and laid
our sins at the foot of the cross with tears,
knowing that the blood of Jesus is our only hope?
We take this journey during Lent so that our sorrow
and grief may be turned into gratitude and joy! We
recognize our need for Christ's atonement and
resurrection so that when the cross and the empty
tomb enter into our experience we have much to
celebrate, for "once we were lost, and now we are
found!"
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The forty days of Lent remind us of
the 40 days of fasting that Jesus experienced in the
desert as he prepared himself for his ministry/his
journey to the cross, and as he successfully
resisted temptation from Satan.
We too can follow His example in
these forty days by engaging in intentional prayer
and study, by finding ways of denying ourselves in
favor of seeking His Kingdom first, and in finding
ways to serve the least of these. Let us go on this
journey together, for we can learn a lot from the
different church traditions represented here in
Logan County and beyond. We need each other!
I close this letter with a prayer from Cally Logan:
"Father, in Micah 6:8, You say, 'O people, the Lord
has told you what is good, and this is what he
requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with your God.' Today we choose
to walk humbly with You. We choose to live by your
Holy Spirit and to follow Your lead. Help us to hear
You clearly, for we do not want to walk by pride or
self-sufficiency, we want to walk with You, in
Christ we Pray, Amen."
Ryan Edgecombe
Broadwell Christian Church
Central Presbyterian Church - Petersburg, IL |
