JP JONES

This morning I had a friend ask me, “What are you going to give up for Lent?”

An aside (or two):

• For those who aren’t familiar with Lent you need to know it is a practice by some churches and Christians to take a time (40 days) to make a sacrifice in order to remember the sacrifice Jesus was preparing to make as he prepared to give himself on the cross.  The season of Lent starts today and it is called “Ash Wednesday.”  You may have actually seen people walking around in your office or workplace with a smear of ashes on their forehead.  If so, that’s the reason.  They are recognizing and participating in Ash Wednesday.
• As a church we don’t formally participate in the Lenten season.  We certainly have some folks who take advantage of the opportunity it provides and choose to participate in one form or another and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Now, back to the question, “What are you giving up for Lent this year?”

The truth is it hadn’t even crossed my mind.  I hadn’t thought about it.

So, over the course of the afternoon I’ve thought . . . and I’ve considered . . . and I really didn’t know.  I could give up sugar.  I could give up TV.  Once I tried to give up sleep, but that didn’t prove to be wildly successful.

Anyway, none of those really seemed to be “it.”

That’s when I decided I’m not going to give anything up.  I’m not going to stop doing anything.

Instead, I’m going to serve more.

Here’s my thought:  Jesus went to the cross to serve me.  He did it to make a difference in my life.  It didn’t benefit him.  He didn’t need to die and resurrect for himself.  He did it as a service for me.

So, I’m going to follow in His steps.  For this season of Lent I’m going to take an opportunity to serve.  Daily I’m going to find away to serve someone.

Today my service was taking Kadyn lunch at school.  It saved him from having to eat in the cafeteria and endure Salisbury Steak.

Tomorrow it will be something else.  I don’t know yet.

What I like most about this exercise is that it leads me to live with a more constant awareness of seeking who I should serve.  My guess is God already knows and He will bring them to me each day . . . it might be you.  So, I’m going to keep an eye out and see where I need to serve.

What about you?  What are you doing for Lent?

P.S.  Easter is only 46 days away.  Have you decided who you are going to invite to be your guest for our services?

Okay, I just want to take a moment and tell you if you’re not investing in this new series we are doing you’re missing a great opportunity.  Really, this isn’t a shameless plug as much as it’s just recognizing that during this series we have a huge chance to mulitiply not only our knowledge of Jesus (his life and his ministry), but even more we can walk away with a deeper connection to God than we’ve ever had before.

Think about it like this:

On Sundays we are going to focus on 10 crucial moments in the life of Jesus.  We’re going to teach on them in chronological order.  So, by the time it’s done you’ll have a working timeline of his life.

During the week you can read “All About Jesus” and so by the time you’ve completed your reading you will have walked through Jesus’ entire life and ministry with the complete perspectives of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

Alongside of that (Monday — Friday) , if you go to our website (www.fcc-online.org) you can read an insight that will not only give you additional information but it will also seek to apply the reading in such a way that your heart and soul are changed.

Finally, if you want more (and who wouldn’t at this point) you can be a part of the class that meets on Sunday mornings (Room 110 at 9:15).  This class will walk you through even more specifics than what we are able to give you in the messages or the insights.

I hope you will take advantage of this and through it all you’ll see Jesus like you’ve never seen Him before.