Whether you were able to join us for the Fat Tuesday potluck last night or not I want to welcome you to join in the dialogue. Over the next 40 days I and many of your leaders will be sharing their “God thoughts” and we would love to hear yours. I will kick things off with a journal entry from yesterday’s reading:
“But, We Just Got Here!”
Sometimes the cloud stayed only overnight and lifted the next morning. But day or night, when the cloud lifted, the people broke camp and moved on. Whether the cloud stayed above the Tabernacle for two days, a month, or a year, the people of Israel stayed in camp and did not move on. But as soon as it lifted, they broke camp and moved on. So they camped or traveled at the Lord’s command, and they did whatever the Lord told them through Moses. (Numbers 9:21-23 NLT)
Just imagine waking up in the morning and finding out that you need to pack everything up and move. Now, imagine if you had just finished unpacking the day before. Would you be excited about the move? In our calendar driven, appointment taking, planning-in-advance culture, the idea of not knowing what’s coming next is unthinkable. To be able to move at a moments notice whenever God says would require a great simplification of our lifestyles. We would need to hold on to only that which is vital for living because it’s all going to be carried on our backs and horses and we don’t want to be left behind. We aren’t told how much time they were given to pack, but the language “as soon as it lifted” speaks of rapid movement. But what about my flat screen and Blu Ray player? What about our dish sets for every season of the year? What about all of our extra clothes and our leather couch? God seems to like to keep His people light on their feet and unencumbered by the the trappings of this world. Look at how Jesus instructed His disciples when he sent out the twelve: “Don’t think you have to put on a fund-raising campaign before you start. You don’t need a lot of equipment. You are the equipment, and all you need to keep that going is three meals a day. Travel light. “When you enter a town or village, don’t insist on staying in a luxury inn. Get a modest place with some modest people, and be content there until you leave. (Matthew 10:9-11 MSG). What I love about both of these pictures is that when God is leading He is calling us to obey together. It wasn’t just half of the twelve tribes that had to pack up and move, but all of them. It wasn’t just half of the twelve disciples that had to head out to the villages by faith, in His power, it was all of them. It’s never going to be convenient to follow God, but it will always be worth it and it will be together!
Lord, I pray that this season of Lent would be a time for me cut off all of that which so easily entangles. I want to be free to run with You. To stop on a dime and move at a moments notice. I often wish there was a cloud by day or fire by night so that it would be very obvious where I was supposed go and when, but You are in me. The same way You moved the people of God in Scripture is the same way You are moving the people of God now! May I be personally obedient to Your lead no matter how inconvenient it may seem at the time. I pray that you would cause us as a church to move together. That no matter where we are all at in our walks with You we would surrender our schedule over these next 40 Days and follow You!
Ash Wednesday
Ashes were used to signify a place of repentance of humility and repentance. There are few things more humbling then fasting. The first thing we realize when we give up something for a greater focus on God is how strong our flesh is and how much control we have given it. I would love to hear what God has called you to fast for the next 40 Days starting on this Ash Wednesday: a day of humility and repentance. As we move forward together as a family of faith keep in mind that every Sunday leading up to Resurrection Sunday will be a “mini-Easter”. So instead of fasting (dying to ourselves) on Sunday’s we will celebrate (living to Christ)!
The Burgess Bunch fast:
Jon & Cyndi- fasting our evening shows and social media (outside of this of course!)
Elijah & Aden- Sugar
Benjamin- playing games and watching movies on Ipad & Iphone
Justice & Jaxon- Sugar (by default 
