Words about the WORD - Brad McBee - First Christian Church

So remove every trace of your “leaven” of compromise with sin so that you might become new and pure again. For indeed, you are clean because Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us. -1 Corinthians 5:7 (TPT)

Yesterday, March 4, was Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Lenten Season. The Season of Lent is forty days, not counting Sundays, which begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday, the day before Resurrection Sunday (Easter). Lent comes from the Anglo-Saxon word lencten, meaning “lengthen,” and refers to the lengthening days of spring. The forty days represents the time Jesus spent in the wilderness, enduring the temptation of Satan and preparing to begin His ministry.

Lent is traditionally a time of repentance, fasting and preparation for the coming of Easter. It is a time of self-examination and reflection. In the early church, Lent began as a period of fasting and preparation for baptism by new converts and then became a time of penance by all Christians. Today, Christians focus on a relationship with God, growing as disciples and extending ourselves, often choosing to give up something or to volunteer and give of ourselves for others.

Sundays in Lent are not counted in the forty days because each Sunday represents a “mini-Resurrection Sunday.” This is why you will see the designation “Sunday in Lent” rather than “Sunday of Lent” in the naming of these Sundays. So, each Sunday, as every day for the believer should be, is a day to celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord.

The Apostle Paul tells us in his first letter to the Corinthians that we are to, remove every trace of your “leaven” of compromise with sin so that you might become new and pure again. The Lenten Season is a time that calls us to ponder and reflect on how we can remove anything in our lives that is keeping us from having a deeper relationship with our Lord. This is only accomplished through the power of the Holy Spirit that lives in us because of Jesus’ atoning work done for our salvation. As the Apostle Paul writes elsewhere, So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death (Romans 8:1-2 NLT).

As we journey this Lenten road this year, may we find ourselves being drawn closer and closer to our Savior and Lord.

Peace, Blessings, and Love,

Pastor Brad McBee

First Christian Church