How About a Trip to the Desert?

Lent is the time of year when I, with purpose and on purpose, make changes. It's a personal time of interior inspection into my heart and soul…..and an exterior inspection of my body. On the exterior side, I’ve been eating like there is no tomorrow. I’ve used the excuse that I’m too busy to focus on discipling my body. “Besides, Lent is coming up and I’ll pull it together then." St. Paul, I need to take your words into my heart and soul AND body! He said, “I keep on disciplining my body, making it serve me so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not somehow be disqualified.” (1 Cor 9:27). So, I’ve started back on my purposeful strengthening and working this young body out so it will serve me and others well. I'm also honing in on better eating habits (The Daniel Fast -- all fruits and vegetables during Lent). I sure don’t want to be disqualified,

But this season is really about taking a deep dive into the journey of our Lord and Savior. It's about "coming clean". "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." (Psalm 51:10). It's about repentance, restraint and preparation for Jesus’ death on the cross and self-giving love that resolutely puts aside our own wants, needs, and desires in favor of obedience to God. Please don't misunderstand me when I say "preparation for Jesus' death on the cross". We're not putting Him back up on the cross. He died once, so we don't ever have to die a spiritual death. We get to do life with Him forever. We are embracing the cross for which He gave His life for you and me.

It doesn't really sound so enticing, does it? There is no party-hardy in the equation. I want my coffee and my chocolate. I want a prayer life that I instantly understand divine mysteries. I want to ease my way through Lent and life without struggles, hunger pains, worry and going to the desert. I want my needs met and my pockets filled to the brim with God’s goodness. I want world peace. And, can’t we all just get along?

But, a BIG but, what I’ve come to know – is Lent is the reminder that all this sort of thinking is, well, ashes and dust. It’s the reminder that none of THAT stuff is going to matter in the light of eternity. Lent is for focusing the mind, heart, and spirit on God and taking a trip to the desert.

That's the first thing to notice about Lent -- the desert. Jesus spent forty days in the desert fasting and wrestling with the devil. But He came out of that wrestle empowered by the Holy Spirit and His miracle ministry began. That's how I hope to come out of this Lenten season -- empowered to love greater, being a stronger, devoted follower of Christ, and shining brighter with His bright light. If we are experiencing struggles, it doesn't mean we are spiritual failures. It means we are participants in the life of Jesus and, in Him and with Him, we, too will be empowered and have great hope of sharing His reward.

“Lord, open my eyes to see you more clearly, love you more dearly, and follow you more nearly.”
St. Richard of Chichester

Are we Known by our Appealing or Appalling Fruit?

How easy it is to judge the likes of folks whose poor attitude, angry spirit and crankiness seems to bring a dark cloud with them when they step into the room. We randomly judge someone when they’ve made a bad decision that you warned them not to make or maybe we judge an outfit someone wore, a new hairstyle, the lack of someone’s personal pride, the way they handle their business affairs, and the good or bad language they speak. Whew! Oftentimes, it’s a workout to keep from being judgmental especially when we see the “fruit” of the actions of some of those folks.

But Jesus set the record straight about judging. He said in Matthew 7:1 “Judge not so you won’t be judged.” Yikes! I sure don’t want to be judged. On the other hand, maybe we should be Fruit Inspectors -- especially when we see fruit that causes us to check out our own fruit as to whether what others see in us is sweet and tasty fruit. Matthew 7:20 – “Therefore, by their fruits, you will know them.”

Having love for some unlovable folks, finding peace in the midst of chaos, experiencing joy when folks may be getting on our last nerve -- can be quite a feat any time, but most certainly, since the election of 2016, we’ve been given all kinds of opportunities to decide. Is it love or hate, peace or anger, bitterness or happiness, crankiness or joyfulness? Remembering the scripture… "What the heart is full of....the mouth speaks" (Luke 6:45) Doesn’t that give us pause for giving ourselves a good old fruit inspection?

When we opened the door of our hearts to God....He walked through the door with a treasure chest full of everything we would need to overcome and be successful in every area of our life. And, it is He Who inspects our fruit and says to us: I'm not asking you to be their Fruit Inspector. I'm asking you to inspect your own fruit." That's when I know God is telling me to amp up that fruit in my own life -- to be sure that what my heart is full of, bears the Fruit of the Spirit qualities: Galatians 5:22,23 "But the Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self-control."

Let's be sure to pass the test on the fruits we are bearing. After all, as believers, we know Holy Spirit is in us so we already have the good soil, fertilizer, nutrients and everything else we need to be choice, bright, luscious, sweet, refreshing, top quality FRUIT bearers to a world that could sure use some.