My friends recognize Lent. What does Lent mean? Do I have to give up something?
Christians around the world use the 40 days leading up to Easter as a time to reflect on their need for a savior. We begin Lent with Ash Wednesday as a reminder that we need forgiveness and that we were created from dust and will return to dust.
It is a long-time tradition to give up something during lent. These sacrifices are meant to remind us that Jesus paid the ultimate sacrifice so that those who believe in Him may live an eternal life! When we give up something - we should use that time to draw closer to God.
Here at Redeeming Life and in the Lutheran Church we live knowing that God’s Grace is enough. We will never earn our way to heaven - Jesus did that! We will never be good enough to get into heaven. We will never live sin free. Our access to heaven is only because of the love of our savior and his sacrifice for us – once and for all. We will go to heaven only because we believe this to be true and live our lives for God!
So, whether or not we’ve given up candy, soda or time on social media during Lent, we are still loved by our great God! But this doesn’t mean it is not a good practice. Like any other training or change that needs to occur, it comes with some sacrifice. We teach our residents that reading the Bible, going to church, engaging in fellowship with one another, provides the opportunity for spiritual growth.
A guiding principle to the success of our residents is the willingness to give up past toxic relationships. Healing and progression require a focus on the future, and this means removing and repairing relationships and situations that inhibit growth. Women with a teachable spirit and the desire to learn, grow and become self sufficient are most likely to be successful in our program. They should also have a desire to strengthen their spiritual walk with God and engage in regular devotions and worship.
Our society doesn’t encourage giving up! Be we encourage giving up – giving up the negatives, giving up generational cycles, giving up destructive habits and GIVING IT ALL TO GOD! Easter is coming – soon it will be time to celebrate! We get to celebrate our new life in Christ and we love to share that here at Redeeming Life.
Your support of Redeeming Life Outreach Ministries helps us support women and their babies as they learning about the life altering truth of our savior! If you would like to support this ministry, please visit www.rlom.org to find out the ways you can help.