Three Pillars of Lent
I've been seeing a lot of emails and social media posts about Lent. Join this group. Download this app. Get a daily reflection. Do this Bible study. Read this book. Attend this online retreat. We are not at a loss for good Lenten resources. Maybe we have too much!
It's easy to plan a robust Lenten season and find after a few days that you can't manage it all. We sometimes get discouraged and give up, frustrated that we had yet another unfruitful Lent. It doesn't have to be that way.
If we prayerfully consider the three pillars of Lent and how God wants us to grow through them, we can create a realistic plan for growth. The three pillars are prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Here are some creative ways to practice these three disciplines. Perhaps they will help you discern the spiritual practices God de
I Need MORE Help
I had thought when I read about the healing miracles in the Gospels that they happened so quickly and easily. Jesus says a word or touches the person and BOOM, they are healed. Then everything is great. No more brokenness.
But I realized that I had made assumptions, some of them wrong. After Jesus healed the paralyzed man at the pool, he said, "Go, and sin no more." He healed the physical problem, but it was likely that more healing was needed. It is the same today. We may be healed in one way, but there are other areas that need attention. So I can see a doctor and pray and find a healing community, but there is more. I need more. More resources for the complete healing of my body, mind, and soul.
So here are three more resources that might be helpful on your healing journey.
I Need Help!
[Healing Part 5] Resources for Healing.
My father was an alcoholic who found sobriety at age 40. He had tried many times before to stop drinking, but it hadn't worked. The resources were there, but he didn't want to use them, or maybe he didn't want to use the ones he needed the most. Something changed when he was forty. He had a mystical experience of the Virgin Mary and never drank again. It was the result of a desperate prayer for help. It was then that he was open to the healing resources he needed.
When you are ready to experience the healing touch of Jesus, it's wise to tap into many resources. You can try the self-help approach: read a book and follow the steps provided. But that should not be the only part of your healing plan. We need more than a book.
Healing Part 3 - Obstacles
Fernando Mendoza's final touchdown in the national championship for college football was amazing. He's the quarterback for Indiana, and when the ball was snapped, he saw an opening and weaved through defenders, spun off a linebacker and almost fell, but regained his balance and dove into the end zone. If he hadn't already won the Heisman, this would have been his Heisman moment. All those obstacles, and he came through, getting the final touchdown.
Our lives are full of obstacles. They may not be as obvious and aggressive as Fernando's, but they are present. With healing, we face tremendous obstacles because our enemy, the devil, does not want us to be healed. Identifying the obstacles is the first step. Once we know who and what is in the way, we can overcome them.
Healing Part 2 - Connections
[Part Two of a series on healing.}
Sometimes our need for healing is obvious. We were abused; we struggle with addiction, or we have cancer. In this post, we'll consider three areas of healing and how they are connected. Once we know the many ways a single wound is manifesting in our lives, we can seek complete healing.