Turning towards promise

We have just completed a bible study that focused on the prophets Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Jeremiah. What we were using was a 6 week study done by Indermark. What was interesting was that the study could have been used as a Lenten study and ending at the Passion week. The author suggested thinking about the promises that we had been studying for the past six weeks and how that would have helped sustain Jesus during those days in Jerusalem. What was a coincidence was that we are going to study what the gospels say about those seven days. We will be studying each day and looking at the gospel account as well as some of the Hebrew Scriptures that helped inform what happened.

I hope that as we do this study that we can have a better understanding of the passion of Christ more in depth than skipping over the week going from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday. I believe what we can encounter in this week can help us become more aware of the choices that Jesus made on our behalf and also the choices that we make as a disciple.

Lent is a time for us to reflect on our lives, our choices, and our willingness to do things differently. Often one can think about sacrifice compared to the sacrifice that Jesus made. Too often one can make the decision to give something up for 40 days knowing that after Easter one no longer needs to sacrifice. I would rather focus more on what I am willing to do rather than what I am willing to not do. I would rather focus on my need to be disciplined as far as pursuing spiritual formation. That is why I want to continue to work on my accountability. I feel blessed that there are people in my life who are willing to love me enough to hold me accountable. It is that agape love that can sustain us especially for me.

I hope that you have those who love you enough to hold you accountable in your life choices. Sometimes it can be hard to hear honesty from someone, but I know that I would rather people confront on my failings than to keep secrets or to talk to others about them. I look forward to the journey that I am on and want to continue to grow as a disciple.