The Lenten Season

Tomorrow will mark the end of the first week of Lent.  Lent began on Ash Wednesday, February 13, and will end Saturday, March 30, Easter Eve.  Traditionally, Lent has been a time of preparation for Christians—a time to pray, to repent, and to refocus—as the Easter season draws near.  It is meant to reflect the time that Jesus spent in the desert, fasting and in prayer, where He endured three separate temptations and after which, He began His public ministry.

How have you begun to prepare yourself for Easter, if you have done so at all?  Easter is the celebration of the resurrection, of Christ’s defeat of death and, likewise, His offer of life to all who choose to follow Him.  However, the days leading up to Easter would have been less than celebratory for those who lived during the time of Christ.  They were marked with fear, betrayal, and what seemed to be the demise of the man they believed to be their savior.  Jesus’s crucifixion and burial, to those early followers, was a devastating event—a time of mourning, grief, and utter hopelessness.  For the three days Christ was in the tomb, their sense of despair must have been so great; their sense of loss immeasurable.

Traditionally during Lent, some Christians give something up as an act of honoring what Christ gave up during His life on earth. After the Lent season is over, after the resurrection on Easter morning, all is restored and made right again, and the time of fasting turns into celebration.  Other Christians choose to add something to their life that allows them to draw closer to Christ and better understand His life, so that on Easter morning, their joy in celebrating the life and resurrection of Jesus is more complete.  Camp Bear Creek invites you to join us as we participate in this Lenten season.  Join us as we remember the life and ministry of Christ and prepare ourselves to celebrate with believers around the world on Easter Sunday.  Consider some of these ways you might participate in Lent:

• Change a habit.  Refocus that time in prayer and reflection or join a Lenten Bible study.

• Set aside 15 minutes or a half an hour each day and spend time reading through the life of Christ in one of the Gospels.

• Commit to serving a specific ministry or actively praying for a certain person throughout the Lenten season.

Choose one of these ways or one of your own, and go on the journey of Lent with us as we prepare for this Easter season.

Want some more ideas and ways you can prepare for Easter during Lent?  Check out this link and take the 40 acts challenge: http://www.40acts.org.uk/