Wednesday, February 14, 2024 - Thursday, March 28, 2024

Lent is a period of fasting, repentance, and spiritual discipline in the Christian tradition. It begins on Ash Wednesday and lasts 40 days, leading to Easter Sunday. During this time, many Christians give up something important to them as a form of sacrifice and self-discipline. The purpose of Lent is to prepare believers for the celebration of Easter, which marks the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

That’s not a feeling of shame but an awareness that sin separates us from God and of what it costs Him to reunite with us. “Shame has its place, but feeling shame over sin is not the same thing as repentance from sin” because “our tempter can take our obedience to God and turn it into a source of pride.”

Repentant sinners “seek cleansing from sin, but also freedom from shame.” True repentance leads” to a “180-degree change of […] direction,” which requires “true brokenness.” Still, repentance starts with “a regretful acknowledgment of sin with a commitment to change.”

That is why conflating Lent with New Year’s resolutions is dangerous. This time of fasting should not add religious encouragement to a challenging goal: to lose weight, stop watching pornography, or give money to charity. “Lent is […] an opportunity to contemplate what our Lord did for us on the Cross.”

Resolutions focus on meeting self-set, self-motivated goals rather than goals established by God and may even rebel against His purposes. Resolutions reflect a desire for autonomy from God instead of recognizing that the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthian 3:16, 6:19) and the potter’s work, to be regarded as precious (Isaiah 64:8).

Resolutions focus on the “self,” not Christ. Lent is an excellent time to give up one’s resolutions and listen to God’s leading. Where God leads might be more complex than any fast, and here, Christians realize that they cannot do anything in their strength either: only the grace of God is sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:9).

The Lenten Season is an annual time of reconciliation with God. While we should always bring our sins, fears, weaknesses, and thanksgivings to God daily in prayer, lent allows us to focus on our deepest fears and flaws that separate us from our lord and savior, Jesus Christ. The tradition is giving something up as a sacrifice to show our love for God. Lent is about giving up ourselves. Keeping that in mind, let’s look at a few things regarding fasting (a sacrifice tending towards new habits) based on Holy Scripture that we should consider in our desire to develop a renewed relationship with God.

• Fast from saying hurtful words by saying kind words.
• Fast from sadness and be filled with gratitude
• Fast from anger and be filled with patience
• Fast from pessimism and be filled with hope.
• Fast from worries and have trust in God.
• Fast from complaints and contemplate simplicity.
• Fast from pressures and be prayerful.
• Fast from bitterness, and fill your heart with Joy.
• Fast from selfishness and be compassionate with others.
• Fast from grudges and be reconciled.
• Fast from self-importance and embrace humility.
• Fast from giving advice and be silent so you can listen.
• Fast from time spent online and spend time in prayer.
• Fast from too much to do and spend time in worship.
• Fast from news and spend time in holy scripture.
• Fast from ignoring those in need by witnessing your faith to them.
• Fast from focusing on the ways of the world and focusing on the ways of God.