"SEEK YE FIRST....."

Dee

Mar 23, 20217 min read

LENT is a season of quiet, a season of being with God. The season leading up to "Resurrection Sunday" more commonly known to us as "Easter Sunday". Though it is not prescribed in the Bible, the church have done it for hundreds of years and modeled to Jesus' 40 days in the wilderness.

On one of my first few blogs, I wrote about the "40 DAYS" of Jesus in the wilderness to be later tempted by the devil. I remember reading from Dallas Willard observing that 'maybe Jesus was actually in his strongest after 40 days of fasting in the wilderness when he faced the devil's tempting', and it truly shows his strength against the devil. Come to think of it, He might have been physically hungry but He was filled with the Father's presence and full of His Word during that time with the Father. Praying and meditating on God's Word were Jesus' sustenance all throughout those 40 days in the wilderness.

Lent is that 40-day journey towards "Resurrection Sunday". Patterned to this, Lent should be the time we spend being with God, the Father. Seeking Him first in all that we do. I love how the "She Reads Truth" women (Amanda & Raechel) discussed all about the importance of Lent with Annie F Downs on her "That Sounds Fun Podcast" (She Reads Truth + Lent 2021 episode). They basically described this 40-day christian journey as a somber season and our preparation for walking the Holy Week where we remember what our Savior, Jesus Christ went through and did for us- through His suffering, death and resurrection.

An article by Crossway entitled "Why Mourning Can Be Good For Us", David Paul Tripp described Lent as "a season of the year to reevaluate, recalibrate, and have the values of our hearts clarified once again". Same thought that you would hear from the "She Reads Truth" tandem talks about Lent as a "paradigm shift" (a change in approach). That through Lenten season we can be more intentional in spending time searching ourselves and getting our hearts ready for the Holy Week. As Jesus did on His 40 days in wilderness to be able to spend more time drawing more strength from the Father, to Him whom where our hope, our strength and our meaning truly comes from. This is the time where we open up to our Heavenly Father and therefore become more aware of our "nothingness", our lack and our great need for a Savior. This is also that time we should spend strengthening our faith and relationship with Jesus our Lord and Savior. A time to come clean, mourn, confess and repent for our sins. It is that time we can draw closer to God, that time we can dedicate to purposely know Jesus Christ more through some faith practices or spiritual discipline.

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. - James 4:8 (ESV)

Like a lot of Filipinos who are practicing Catholics, during the Lent and Holy Week most of them follow a religious practice of not eating any kind of meat (pork, beef and chicken) every Friday. Fasting is one of the most common practices during Lent, but fasting is not limited to just food.

"Lent is about fasting, and not just from food; we willingly and joyfully let go of things in this world that have too much of a hold on us." ["Why Mourning Can Be Good For Us" by Paul David Tripp]. There are a lot of things in this world that have "too much hold on us" like Netflix (or other streaming paltforms), shopping, social media, online gaming, extreme dieting and exercising, etc. Too many things that really only you, yourself can identify from your own life. Nobody, lest me, can tell you what is currently ruling over your life that you have forgotten to stop and breathe and take time to thank the LORD for all your blessings. Lent is that season, that short 40-day in a year wherein we can fast or "give up" for a specified time or "break a bad habit" that is robbing us from spending time to be with the Lord and reflect on ourselves.

Have you heard about the "discipline of addition"? I have only heard about it from my new favorite girls, the "She Reads Truth" tandem, this year. But how does the "discipline of addition" works and how is this related to Lent? When we fast from something, example 'social media fast', we will be freeing a lot of time on our hands and that's when temptation usually comes in during those 'idle moments'. The secret to fasting (whether from food, things or someone) is to actually replace that thing/time with something else (well, not another addiction!) more worthwhile and that is to be with the LORD which is exactly the purpose of Lent. It is a time for self reflection into our sinfulness, our lack, our need for a Savior.

Amber and Raechel (my new favorite girls from "She Reads Truth") simply put the "discipline of addition" in a statement like this: "In the absence of (NAME whatever you are giving up), I am putting (something else) in its place." I am sure you can name a lot of things to give up for Lent, I have cited a few examples above. For example: social media - in particular Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. I have heard a lot of people that turns off or literally remove those apps from their phone for the 40 days of Lent. The girls put it simply this way: "when you feel the lack, pick up a discipline of addition". This is like retraining our hearts through a few new habits hopefully for the long haul. Down below John Piper even mentioned about "breaking bad habits" in relation to this discipline. Might be a good thought for us to get rid of somewhat like an addiction to all these things.

The discipline comes in when we choose to replace those social media time with something to draw us closer to Jesus, to know him better and draw more strength from the Father. These disciplines of addition could be as intricate as our Faith Practices and Spiritual Disciplines or as simple as ideas of replacing our idle moments with moments spent with the Lord like - prayer, silence, solitude - all for the purpose of getting closer and being face to face with Jesus as we enter into that somber week of remembering Jesus' suffering for our salvation. This passage from Paul David Tripps's article "Why Mourning Can Be Good For Us" has this to say, for us to ponder about why we do Lent, what we do during Lent, or how we fast during this season...

"As you stop, consider, mourn, confess, pray, and give your heart to thanksgiving, may you step away from the tyranny of a busy life, with its seemingly endless demands, and consider the most important thing that’s happened to you, your most important struggle, and the most wonderful gift that you have ever been given. And as you do this, may you open your heart and your hands and let go of things that you not only hold, but that have taken ahold of you." - Paul David Tripp

I hope that this isn't too late to share with you all what I found from this great article by John Piper titled "Lenten Preparations for Good Friday and Easter" and it is such a good one to pass. So as I were talking about the "discipline of addition" earlier, here are some concrete things we can consider "to add" to our Lent, or as mentioned above "as you feel the 'lack', pick up a discipline of addition" and why not "break a bad habit" this Lent of Holy Week and instead do something else in replacement of those. These ideas by John Piper are just spot on. Try it this Lent or even just for the Holy Week, or for the long haul why not? Here are those THINGS if you don't want to open the link to the article itself.

1) Memorize Isaiah 52:11-53:12. Three verses a week will plant a tree of truth in your mind with soul fruit for years.

2) If you are reading through the New Testament, mark every reference to the suffering, death and resurrection of Christ. Then during holy week (April 12-19) go back and meditate on these.

3) Resolve to write one letter each week of Lent to an unbelieving relative or acquaintance expressing the love of Christ. Tell them you will pray for them during this season. Suggest they read Isaiah 53 and think about its fulfillment in Christ.

4) Set aside a small block of time each week before Easter to step back and examine yourself and your life. Ask God if there are any major changes you should make. It could be exciting.

5) Try a weekly or daily fast for one or more meals, and devote the time to reading about the suffering of Christ. He fasted forty days to fit his soul for the “Calvary Road.”

6) Plan to make three special visits to people who are lonely or especially needy. Read them some good Scripture on the death and resurrection of Christ and tell them you just wanted to encourage their faith and hope in Christ. Rollin Erickson could give the names of shut-ins.

7) Pick a good book and read for inspiration and insight. What did God do in the death and resurrection of Christ? I have listed some suggestions in the order of their difficulty—but not their worth!

C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Macmillan, 1950.
Roy Hession, The Calvary Road, Christian Literature Crusade, 1950.
Frank Morison, Who Moved the Stone?, Barnes and Noble, 1930.
John R.W. Stott, The Cross, Inter-Varsity, 1987.
James Denney, The Death of Christ, Inter-Varsity, 1951.
H.E. Guillabaud, Why the Cross?, Inter-Varsity, 1946.
Leon Morris, The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross, Eerdmans, 1955.
John Murray, Redemption Accomplished and Applied, Eerdmans, 1955.
John Owen, The Death of Death in the Death of Christ (especially Packer’s introduction), Banner of Truth.

These are just ideas that John Piper listed down as his "discipline of lent". They are not "prescription to holiness" but rather what we can do over Lent or Holy Week to draw nearer and closer to God; in order to break a bad habit and instead "add" a better discipline or faith practice in our lives all for the purpose of drawing nearer to God during the Lent/Holy Week. This is like retraining our hearts through a few new habits hopefully for the long haul and with the ultimate intention of Gods glory.

We are encouraged by the Word to seek God and draw near to Him every time, everyday hopefully not just for the season.

Have you given Lent much thought? If you 'do Lent', what for? What is the purpose of Lent for you? Do you do any discipline during the Lenten season? Do you fast during Lent? What do you replace what you deprive yourself of?

Here is my own Reading List this Lent...all so, so good!