Are you observing Lent this year? Growing up Baptist, Lent was never something I understood or observed. In case you are also unaware of the practice, Lent is a 40-day period of fasting beginning on Ash Wednesday and continuing through Easter Sunday. It is a reminder of Jesus’ 40 days spent fasting in the wilderness in preparation for public ministry and is intended to prepare hearts and minds for Passion Week and the celebration of the Resurrection.
Rather than subtracting something from your life, or perhaps in addition to fasting, you may find it encouraging to add something new into your spiritual preparations for Easter. There are three things I’ve been doing lately that have added greatly to my understanding of Jesus, and my joy in our relationship. I’m sharing them with you today to encourage you to find ways to create space in your life for Holy Spirit to bring renewal to your spirit and understanding of how God is at work in your daily circumstances.
1. Reading the Gospels on repeat
As a fan of Annie F. Downs and her bubbly 7-ness, I received this suggestion from her podcast, That Sounds Fun. In 2020, Annie read the Gospels through every month and often commented on how much she was learning from the life of Jesus as she examined it over and over again throughout the year.
While I haven’t followed the strict monthly schedule, I have been reading the Gospels through repeatedly with the goal of trying to get to know Jesus better and to allow His words be the primary words I am taking in to my heart. Social media can be a wonderful tool, but it can also fill your mind with opinions and attitudes that are less than healthy and even dangerous. In addition to cutting back on the voices of strangers, adding the voice of Jesus into that space is a welcome source of peace and clarity.
2. Reading Beautiful Outlaw by John Eldredge
If you follow my Instagram account at all, you know I love to read and recommend good books. I find myself recommending John Eldredge books often and Beautiful Outlaw is no exception. Mr. Eldredge does a wonderful job of highlighting the delightful aspects of Jesus’ personality that are easy to miss in a casual reading of Scripture. This book also sheds light on some of the more confusing interactions Jesus had in the Gospels.
It’s hard to love someone that you don’t know or understand, including Jesus. But the more you get to know Him, the easier it is to love Him and interact with Him as you go throughout your day. Getting to know Jesus as a person is the first step in becoming His friend, and I can’t imagine a greater BFF to have than Jesus, can you?
Beautiful Outlaw is a wonderful companion to reading the Gospels. It will help you see Jesus as His disciples did 2,000 years ago and as He continues to interact with His disciples today.
3. Journaling the thin spaces
If you’re a fan of the tv show Fringe, you may think of a thin place as a geographical place where the invisible barrier between universes is thin enough to pass from one to another. In Celtic spirituality, the term is used to refer to moments where heaven and earth seem to collide.
Moments where God felt present and His kingdom felt “on earth as it is I heaven” used to be few and far between in my life. But as I’ve grown closer to God, I’ve realized these moments are all around us at all times if we have the eyes to see them. As Elizabeth Barrett Browning once said,
“Earth’s crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God,
But only he who sees takes off his shoes;
The rest sit around and pluck blackberries.”
One of the best tools I’ve found to help me have “eyes to see” is journaling. Intentionally pausing for a few moments to record a special encounter with God, or delight in one of His good gifts helps me be more mindful of them as I go throughout my day. Writing things down also helps to sort through the brain clutter to discover what you actually believe. You could use a spiral notebook, the back of a receipt, or the margins of your Bible. It doesn’t have to be fancy or formal. Any way that you can train your mind to be aware of God at work in your life is the right way.
Since Easter is just a few weeks away, I’d like to invite you to join me in spending concentrated time focusing on Jesus by reading through the Gospels and journaling aspects of His personality that might be missed in a casual reading. With this goal in mind, I’ve created a free downloadable resource to share with you called Becoming Friends with Jesus.
Becoming Friends with Jesus is a full-color guide that includes 30 reading and journal prompts to help you get to know Jesus better. You can print it like a brochure and tuck it into your Bible or follow along on your computer, tablet, or phone. Just follow the link and enter your email and this free resource will land in your inbox momentarily.
(Psst…Downloading this guide will add you to my email list to receive blog posts approximately once a month. If at any time you’d like to unsubscribe from these emails, it’s super easy to do so.)
I hope you will join me in getting to know Jesus better over the next 30 days! Let’s make this year’s Resurrection Sunday a celebration unlike any you’ve experienced before.