Sunday, March 13, 2022
Submitted By, Deacon Ketia Brown
As we enter into the season of Lent, as servants of Christ let us be mindful of our theme for this year “A Time to Say No”. What are we saying “no” to brothers and sisters? We want to say “no” to the negative thoughts that we allow to permeate our spirit. We say “no” to the habits that we think we cannot give up. We say “no” to the words that we allow to come out of our mouths. If we are saying “no” to all of these things, what are we saying “yes” to? As Philippians 4:13 states “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (NKJV). The key word my brothers and sisters in this scripture is “ALL THINGS”. The strength that we need to be able to say “no” to these things, does not come from us; it comes from our father in Heaven. The Almighty God who strengthened Jesus Christ as he carried the weight of sin to Calvary after he was severely beaten. It was God who strengthened Jesus in the wilderness as he was tempted by the devil; God is still the same today. As we go through the next 40 days of Lent, let us remember to lean unto that same strength to be able to say no to all the distractions that keep us from a relationship with God. Let us say “yes” to trusting that no matter what we decide to give up or take up during this time, he is going to be there to strengthen us through it.
Oh Lord our God, we thank you for your loving grace and mercy. We thank you for your word that remind us that you are constantly with us no matter what we are going through. As we go through this season of lent, we pray that you will give us the strength to push through all the things that we think we cannot do and keep our focus on the things we can do with you. We ask that you bring us closer to you as we start to get weak in our flesh. We ask that you soften our hearts and minds during this time as we are guided by you during this time. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen
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