Tomorrow's the Day....Are You Participating?

Some of you who have known me for a few years know that I'm always looking forward to the next celebration on the calendar.  I really love them all, especially the sacred ones.  As followers of Jesus, we have so much to celebrate.  I'm always struck by this when reading through the Old Testament and noting how often God's people dropped everything and celebrated God and His goodness to them - often for days at a time. (Abraham halted his journey and built many an altar, later they often feasted for 7 days, and more!)  I'd like some of that party action! 

Easter is the major holiday on the calendar.  It's early this year and would have caught me by surprise had I not been looking forward to it.  You may be thinking - it's not til the end of March - more than six weeks away, isn't it a little early?  True, but what about the days leading up to the big day?   In my opinion, this doesn't get as much attention as I think it deserves.  Of course, we may buy new Easter dresses (and bonnets if we're cool) or shop for baskets and bunnies, but could we be missing something much more meaningful?  We do so much to prepare for Christmas worship (read Advent devotionals, listen to sacred songs, meditate on the birth of Christ in Luke 2, etc.) but we don't hear too much about preparing the heart for Easter.

You rarely hear this time of year referred to as the Easter season.  It can sneak up on us if we're not careful.  We can just be going along and then one day it's Palm Sunday.  A few days later we might attend a Good Friday service and suddenly it's Easter Sunday.  We get dressed up, sing "Up from the grave He arose" at church, hear a sermon about the empty tomb and then go home and eat ham with our families. Then it's over.  That's it.

A few years ago, I realized that's just not enough for me.  We are talking about the gift of the life, death, burial and resurrection from death to life of Jesus Christ on my behalf and that of the whole world?  Salvation from sins, eternal life and a purpose for living here on Earth purchased and offered to all who believe?  Kind of a big deal. The cornerstone of our faith.  For without Jesus' resurrection, our faith is worthless. (1 Cor. 15:14)

So I  began asking God about it.  How can we as a family intentionally prepare our hearts to give God His due for such an amazing gift?  More than just a day's worth. What would He like our Easter worship to look like?  It started out by marking the forty days prior to Easter Sunday with fasting of some sort.  Not as a work, mind you, but as an act of worship - a time set aside to ponder and appreciate the sacrifice Jesus made.  It seems to me that Christmas is a time of abundance - we buy many gifts, we party and we eat (too much) "holiday food" because we are in the party mood - we are celebrating the most important baby of all time and that's a good thing.

But what about Easter/Resurrection Sunday?  Since we are recognizing suffering and death, it feels right to deny self.  In America, you don't hear much about denying self, but it is a very Biblical approach to life and worship and it can be life changing.You see, the thing about fasting is that you choose something you think you can't live without.  It's got to hurt or you won't get the full effect and longing fasting is meant to produce.  My experience is that a food item(s) is the most Biblical and the most challenging because we want that thing so much and we think about it all the time.  So what happens is that everytime we want that thing, we turn our desire into a prayer.  I pray, "Lord, I want you more than that coffee, chocolate, bread, fried food, etc.  Fill me with you!"  You find out really quickly  how much you are preoccupied with food.  A good exercise in making sure our God is not our stomach. (Phil. 3:19)

This year when our family met to discuss what our individual offering will be, we kind of broke it down into 3 categories to choose from:

1. Fast from something you will really really miss (it's got to hurt)
2. Add a discipline (ex. memorize Scripture or pray 3x a day).
3. Focus on a character trait that you know you need to work on - and back it up with a verse and prayer for God's help.

I love so much about pre-Easter fasting. I could talk about it for hours!! I love exercising my spiritual discipline muscles that can be quite lax the rest of the year.  I love being preoccupied with Jesus!  Seriously, He takes over every time my mind goes to food - and that is more than I care to admit.  I also love spending time reading the Gospels and imagining the three years Jesus walked this Earth.

Each year this practice evolves into something more stretching and thus more meaningful.  By the time Easter Sunday arrives, we are bursting with excitement!  The celebration becomes so much more intense.  What's really fun is that shortly after Easter and we've celebrated - He gives me a glimpse into what He may have in mind for the next year.  Last year, the day after Easter, I knew that it wouldn't be a fast in 2013.  (see end of post)

The other day I read what one of my favorite authors, Margaret Feinberg posted on facebook and I screamed "How does she know exactly what I'm thinking!!!?"  Check it out:

"As many of you know, I’ve fallen in love with the 40 days before Easter. For me, it’s more than a set of dates on the church calendar—it’s a season to passionately pursue God and live wide-eyed to the wonder of who He is.

I don’t stumble into this without much thought and prayer. With Easter’s arrival, I begin prayerfully considering how to approach this season the following year. I pray, “God, what are you calling me to?”, “God, how can I set aside this time to seek you?”, “God, where are you calling me to transformation—to become more like you?”" (italics mine)

YES YES YES!  Does that get your blood pumping like it does mine?  I'd like to ask you to join me in a passionate pursuit of God before Easter this year.  A 40 Day Adventure.  I promise if you make this effort, your Easter will be so much more lengthy and meaningful.  You will grow closer to God.  He will captivate your attention perhaps as at no other time of year.  And most importantly, HE will be glorified in it.

After many seasons of fasting, my preparation is taking a turn this year.  God has been nagging me about this for some time and I'm ashamed to admit my continued resistance.  But now I'm motivated.  Unless He indicates something else, I'm going to focus on memorizing the Beatitudes. I can't wait for His Word to soak deep into my mind and heart.  To change me.  So tomorrow marks the forty days before Easter.  Why not ask God those questions above and be ready to embark when the day comes?  If He's in it, He will show you what He has in mind for you. 

Need a little more incentive?  I can't remember where I read or heard this, but love it....

"I heard it called spiritual housekeeping:  Praying (drawing close to God), fasting (denying self for a spiritual purpose) and giving (to the poor what we no longer need). What an intentional way to begin preparing to celebrate Easter, to lengthen and give honor for a season the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which is the foundation of our faith."  

Participating in these disciplines in private makes the public celebration on Easter Sunday so much more powerful and motivating for our "rest of the year living", remembering what was given and suffered and secured for us.  What do you say?  Join me?  Let's keep each other accountable and enjoy the journey together.  Send me a message if you're "in" and what you will  be doing?

P.S. invite the whole family to join you.  Kids and all.  It's so much more wonderful to do together!