Lent 2019
The Lenten period is here with us again, and I am happy, proud and excited to participate in this year’s Lenten period. The Lenten period has become something I look forward to every year because of my Lent Testimony from three years ago (read it here: https://kaessuman.com/2016/04/02/my-lent-testimony/). However, as believers, we should treat every passing day as the Lenten period and not wait for the period to draw close to God. We should seek to draw closer to God everyday and in everything we do.
For those reading and thinking, “what is Lent,” allow me to try and explain what it is. Lent is a 40-day period in the Christian calendar, just before Easter, where Christians are expected to fast and pray and be charitable before Easter. It begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday. During the Lenten period Christians wait on God; they seek God and draw closer to God.
There are many Biblical references for lent but the most pertinent of them all is that which Jesus fasted for 40 days and 40 nights before beginning His ministry on earth. In Matthew 4, we are told that Jesus was led into the wilderness where He fasted for 40 days and 40 nights; after which He was tempted by the tempter (Satan) and when He overcame Satan’s temptation, angels came and ministered to Him and He begun His ministry thereafter. So during the 40 days Lenten period, we fast and wait on God to give us the strength and grace to overcome temptation. We must also be charitable and give to those who are less privileged or who are in need.
This year’s Ash Wednesday falls on Independence Day. May I encourage you to consider it as independence from sin and all its consequences as we enter the 2019 Lenten period. God bless us all!
#AshWednesday
#Lent2019
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