What is Lent?

​Lent is a 40 day period of reflection and preparation prior to Easter Sunday.  The intent is for Christians to replicate Jesus Christ's sacrifice and withdraw into the desert for 40 days in preparation for his historic 3 years of ministry. Many people “give something up” during Lent as a sacrifice, or testing of their self-discipline.

I can remember as a kid giving up chocolate, or some other nominal thing. Others gave up the TV or bad habits they wanted to break. I am ashamed to admit that when I did give up something it was relatively easy and did not cause too much discomfort. Although giving up chocolate did make my Easter bunny’s ears taste a little sweeter on Easter Sunday.

But what if rather than give up a bad habit or a food as a sacrifice, what if we did something as a sacrifice? Paul wrote to the church of Corinth, “And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.” 1 Cor 15:14. What if we simply had the courage to profess our faith in the Resurrection? Please allow me to share a few ideas.

Recently my wife and I have restarted something we used to do whenever we went out to eat. Simply ask our server if they needed prayer. We used to do this frequently and stopped, although I am not sure why. The reaction has never been, “No I don’t need prayer life is good”. The last few times were met with big smiles and eager requests. But I felt we should be doing more.​

While I know prayer is powerful, I wanted to leave a stone in their shoe. I came up with an idea I wanted to share. We had some old Avery business card sheets. The type you print through your home printer. The kind you tear along the perforation. This will give you a “business card”.These are still found at Staples or other office stationery stores.  I just put on a few facts about Jesus. What I did is pictured here

Going forward when I ask a person if they would like prayer I will be handing out these cards. I will add a prayer that they will be encouraged to look into the facts of the Christian faith, which by the way are numerous.

Another option, you simply may want to learn to make evangelism a more natural part of your conversation. I can strongly suggest a course that is starting next week. https://www.e360m.org/course/   I know from personal experience that talking about our faith can seem forced. This course will make witnessing a more natural part of our daily life. It will help you immensely.  If we truly believe what we believe we should really want to share our faith with more people.  
So this year for Lent, rather than give up chocolate for Lent or perhaps even nothing. Why not make the sacrifice of witnessing about Easter and what it means to you personally.
What better time than now. If not now when?