Lent lasts for 40 days, in commemoration of the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert, before beginning his public ministry, during which, He endured temptation by satan. (Matthew 4, Mark 1 and Luke 4)
During this time of temptation, Jesus responds,
“‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:4)
Lent is the time that begins on Ash Wednesday (Feb 14, 2024) and extends forward to Holy Saturday. It is the 40 days that precedes Easter Sunday and is a time for reflection and drawing closer to God.
A time to commit or re-commit our life to Him, to thank Him for sending Jesus and a time for us to give up our worldly/fleshly self-focus as we draw spiritually closer to God. In other words, not living on bread alone (the worldly and fleshly) but by believing and doing God’s word (spiritual).
People give up all sorts of things for Lent. In a recent web poll, by BibleGateway.com, the following list was gathered when people were asked what they gave up,
Chocolate (8,916)
Twitter (8,171)
Swearing (6,733)
Alcohol (5,820)
Soda (5,087)
Social networking (4,087)
Sweets (3,860)
Fast food (3,830)
Homework (2,687)
Lent (2,649)
Junk food (2,558)
Meat (2,557)
Coffee (2,532)
Sex (2,236)
Chips (2,021)
Bread (1,869)
Facebook (1,802)
Pizza (1,510)
Starbucks (1,471)
Candy (1,311)
Instagram (1,114)
Religion (1,104)
An interesting list for sure and in some cases very curious. My thoughts are that it really doesn’t matter much what you give up, but rather how you spend your time drawing closer to God.
You could easily eliminate giving up something and decide to add something. Maybe commit to reading your Bible more, working in a soup kitchen, looking for someone who needs a helping hand or picking out a verse from the Bible and trying to live it.
God doesn’t want your sacrifices as much as He wants your heart.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. Psalm 51:17
As noted above, Lent starts on Feb 14 and runs right up to Easter Sunday on March 31st.
Check out the Devotion tab on our web site at www.averageguyminstries.com to partake in a 7 day devotion beginning on Palm Sunday, March 24, 2024.
Fill your heart with Jesus this Easter.