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Dear Members and Friends of Heart of the Shepherd, As you read this March letter, we are right in the middle of our Lenten Journey to the Cross of Christ. This forty-day penitential season of Lent, which began on Ash Wednesday, February 17, will serve no useful purpose whatsoever, unless it is seasoned with genuine repentance and spiritual renewal.
You’ve heard me mention before that if Lent becomes simply a time for giving up sweets or smoking, or if it's merely an occasion to once again hear the Passion Story of Jesus, then we might as well go home and cancel the entire season, for it would be a waste of time. Lent was never designed to be a waste of time as the following insightful comments from a website about the meaning and purpose of Lent remind us.
| | If during Lent Christians choose to give up something or rededicate themselves to helping those in need as a way to proclaim the salvation Christ has won for all by His suffering and death, then such activities are sacrifices that glorify God. However, it is essential to remember that nothing we do through self-denial or good works can ever earn the Lord's forgiveness or repay Him for what He accomplished for us. Lent is not about our giving up something to please God. Lent is about what Jesus Christ gave up to pay the penalty for the sins of the world -- His holy and innocent life.
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Lent is a time when the Holy Spirit, through Word and Sacraments, breaks into our hearts and forces us to face who we are and what we've done, and then leads us to the Cross of Christ to show us, that He has undone all that we've done! With that in mind, may this be our Lenten Prayer. | | Dear Lord Jesus Christ, it is with humble and contrite hearts that we journey through this holy season of Lent to meditate upon the bitter suffering and death that you, our suffering servant, endured for us all. O Savior, it is with mixed feelings that we consider your agony-filled death, for while we sorrow over our sins that caused it, we also rejoice over the salvation it brought us. We pray that You would not let our foolish hearts and unworthy lives rob us of Your sweet love that made You lay down Your life on the cross for us. Pardon our sins and strengthen the faith Your Spirit has begun in us, fill us with the Spirit-given power of servant hood, and use us in your kingdom to make known to others Your saving way of peace and hope, mercy and love.
Help us bear our crosses without complaining, as You so unselfishly bore Your cross for us. In all circumstances and situations of life, help us to come to You, our Suffering Servant, and deposit our burdens of guilt, loneliness, depression, fear, and anger beneath the shadow of Your cross, where help, comfort and forgiveness have been assured for us. Hear us for Jesus' sake, Amen. |
Expect Extraordinary Blessings in 2010
As We – IN FAITH – ON GOD DEPEND! 
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