_THE CRUCIFIXION AND RESURRECTION_
_LENTEN OF THE SAVIOUR_
Just as we set aside time to spiritually prepare for Christmas Day, it makes sense to set aside time to prepare for the two most important days of the Christian year. Lent is a time that offers us an opportunity to come to terms with the human condition we may spend the rest of the year running from and it brings our need for a Savior to the forefront. Like Advent, Lent is a time to open the doors of our hearts a little wider and understand our Lord a little deeper
HISTORY OF LENT
Lent, in the Christian tradition, is a period of about six weeks before Easter. It is a time in which Christians are supposed to be quiet and thoughtful, preparing themselves for Easter. They should pray a lot, give money to charities and give up some of the things they might otherwise do for pleasure. The period of Lent ends at Easter, which is a time of great celebration as the Christians think of how Jesus had died on the cross but then rose again from the dead.
Lent is traditionally supposed to be forty days long. That is because the Bible says that Jesus spent forty days in the wilderness, preparing for his death and resurrection.
Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. In the Catholic Church, it ends at the Ninth Hour of Maundy Thursday (44 days). In The Anglican Catholic Church, it ends on Holy Saturday (46 days).
Meaning Of Lent
Lent is an invitation to put down everything we have picked up in order to take hold of the only One who can truly satisfy our heart’s deepest longings. It is a call to turn back, and experience a season of refreshing for our souls (Acts 3:19). Come with open hands, and freely receive (Isaiah 55).
Lent is a season where we once again remember that our hope and strength are found in nothing but the cross of Christ. By engaging in daily Scripture reading, prayer, confession, and repentance in these weeks leading up to the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, we retrain our hearts to embrace the salvation we cannot earn. We came empty-handed when we first gave our lives to Him, and we have nothing of our own as we return to Him now—only what He has freely and graciously given us.
Bible Verses for Lent
Philippians 3:10-11 – “I want to know Christ, yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participate in his sufferings, becoming like him in death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.
Joel 2:12-14 – “Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning. Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate.
Matthew 6:16-18 – “when you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites…but when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
