Lent

It is the season of Lent. When I joined Kleipot in 2006 the concept of Lent seemed foreign to me.

When I first mentioned my community celebrating Lent to my family they were almost shocked by the "strange" things I embraced until I reminded them of Lydenstyd in the church I grew up in. (I added some links on Lent, please look at it if you are not familiar with Lent)

Sure, we did not observe Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent) or Palm Sunday, but there was a time of preparation before Easter. This year I could not attend our Ash Wednesday service (on 21 February), but I observed the day.

Traditionally the ashes for Ash Wednesday are prepared by burning the palms of the previous Palm Sunday. This year, two of our friends kept the palms at their house and when they moved house, the palms moved with. The palms were delivered to Tom & Lollie’s house in time for Ash Wednesday.

Crosses are marked with the ashes on the foreheads of believers and only removed after sunset. In the Bible, a sign on the forehead indicates ownership. A cross implies that Jesus is my Owner, I am His slave. Ashes are a Biblical sign of penance and mourning. The ashes also remind us of our mortality.

Ash Wednesday is also the first day of the Lent fast. Throughout the ages Christians abstained from something during Lent. Lent is forty days long (excluding Sundays because on Sundays we celebrate the resurrection of Christ). For forty days Christians around the world will abstain from various things. The purpose is to focus our attention on Jesus.

Some of my friends gave up coffee, chocolates, tea and TV. I chose to give up apples this year. Instead of having a cup of tea or coffee, watching a favorite program or having an apple, we are reminded of Jesus and His sacrifice. It is a bit of self-renunciation. A bit of focusing on the Kingdom of God… May Lent be a time of preparation for you too.

Pride and prejudice

I like doing things on my own. I like working on my own. I like my independence and I love being able to help.

Over the past couple of weeks I had to accept help. It is really tough. Jesus said it is better to give than to receive, but I think I twisted this to suit my pride and prejudice. It is good to help, but you should not be in a position where you want or need anything?

Accepting help means admitting that I cannot do things on my own. Praying for help means that I need to acccept it when God provides (through His Body). Two recent examples that might seem simple, but are HUGE to me...

• I scratched my (new) car and it is at the panel beaters now. Friends offered me their cars to drive. I have to get to work every day and therefore agreed to do it. Ironically their cars are much more expensive than mine. If they did not do this, I would have had to rent a car to get to work. God provided through His body.
• My missionary friends needed a place to sleep in Pretoria and another couple offered their house. If they did not do it, I would have set the missionary friends up in a guest house. God provided through His body.

I am humbled. It is blessed to receive. It is blessed when you can move away from your own pride and prejudice.

Seven invitations

I am part of the Kleipot (pronounced clay-pot) community in Johannesburg.

We embarked on a great journey which we would like to call the Seven Invitations. You can read more about this on our website (http://kleipotgemeente.typepad.com/kleipot_gemeente/2007/02/the_invitations.html). We decided to teach on this for the next seven months.

We kicked the curriculum off on Sunday, talking about the first invitation - making God Number One in our lives.

The first topic we discussed was the Kingdom of God.

What does it mean when I pray:

Our Father,

Who art in heaven,

Hallowed be Thy Name.

Thy Kingdom come.

Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.

Give us this day our daily portion of bread.

And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Amen.

Firstly, it is not an apocalyptic prayer. We are asking for God's kingdom to come on earth. We are asking for His will to be done. Now... here...

This would imply that I am a servant. Doulos, slave... it questions my allegiance. It challenges my habits. I might say that God is King, but does my life say that God is my King? It implies that I will live my life in such a way that God's laws apply here and now. That God's Kingdom will come in my life and the lives around me...

This Kingdom is amazing, because I am also the King's child. This is the Kingdom of love and grace.

To pray for God's Kingdom to come, probably means to ask God help me love Him with all my heart, all my soul and all my intellect and those around me as myself. These are God's laws.

Being a Christian in South Africa

Is being a Christian in South Africa any different from being a Christian elsewhere? I think it might be. I think Christians in South Africa face unique challenges and questions. Violent crime for one…

Over the past week crime was highlighted in every newspaper and every news bulletin, it seemed to be all people talk about. It seemed to be getting closer to home all the time. People seem to top each other's crime stories all the time.

My line manager said people should get out of the country as fast as they can. My brother (who lives in London) told me that, according to the BBC South Africa is officially the world's third most dangerous country to live in and our murder stats rival the deaths in Iraq on a daily basis.

What do I do as Christian? Do I have a role to play or should I just pack up and go? I don’t think so. What does God expect from me? Should I just turn a blind eye and ignore the violence? Should I sign some petitions? Join in the marches? I don’t think so.

The Bible instructs us to pray for the government. Paul writes to Timothy (1 Tim 22:1 & 2) “First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.”

If I pray for the government, I cannot criticize them. I need to find a way to make a positive contribution in South Africa. God planted me here. I am staying.

I will not repeat negative stories. I will not condemn the government. I will pray for the peace of South Africa.

In the old South Africa there used to be a bumper sticker that read “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14)

My challenge to you? Dare to trust God with me? Dare to pray for our government?

I choose to believe God. I hope you will too.