From Pastor Zeke Page 1 From the Desk of Pastor Zeke Preparation Change your hearts and lives! Here comes the Kingdom of Heaven! He was the one of whom Isaiah the prophet spoke when he said: the voice of one shouting in the wilderness, prepare the way for the Lord; make his paths straight. -Matthew 3:2-3 As we move into this Lenten season, we are invited into a time of preparation and anticipation. Lent is comprised of the forty days between Ash Wednesday and Easter not counting Sunday’s. Lent invites the faithful into a spiritual journey to experience God in more meaningful ways. Lent, within the liturgical calendar, remembers the forty days Jesus spent fasting in the wilderness before beginning his ministry. As sacrificial acts, many people will “give up” something in the Lenten season as a discipline of sacrifice. For many, this is a meaningful way to observe Lent. Another common practice of Lent, is to “take up” a new healthy habit or practice with the goal of deepening your relationship with God. Both of these practices can be very helpful in enriching the Lenten journey and holds the potential to yield bountiful results. However, observing Lent will only be meaningful to the one who observes it. It is an opportunity for each of us. I hope you will choose to take this journey as an individual trying to follow Jesus. Also, I hope, collectively, that we as the church can unite around this effort knowing that God will bless us in the process. So may we all, in this Lenten season, prepare our hearts, our souls, and our lives to experience God in deeper ways. -Keep the Faith Strong, Zeke Wesley UMC Newsletter March 2022
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