MPC LENTEN DEVOTIONS

Resolutions…we all make them.  We make them at the first of the year. We often resolve to lose weight…to stop smoking or to leave alcohol behind or in some way to give up something that we know is not good for us in the long run.   Sometimes we resolve to exercise more or to improve our health by eating healthier foods.  We look at ourselves and know that we can do better and that we should do a better job at taking care of ourselves.

But more often than not, our resolutions lose their energy not long after we make them.  Promises made to ourselves on the first of January are abandoned by the first of March.  We are confronted by the fact that many times our Will Power, Won’t …and we recognize that being on a seafood diet means when we see food…we eat it! The broken promises we make to ourselves have the unintended consequence of weakening our resolve the next time we make them. The greater hurt is that which we inflict on our own spirit.

But isn’t it great that we can always depend on the promises of God.  When God tells us what He will do, we know that He will keep His word.  As we enter into this Lenten season, we make promises not just to ourselves that we abstain from food, drink and riotous living, but that we promise to pray regularly and listen to His voice in our hearts. When we are obedient and keep our promise to God, we are assured that we will benefit from the promises He makes to us.