Continuing on our journey of faith, this episode focuses on the importance of maintaining the spiritual growth we’ve cultivated during Lent. As we approach the end of this season, I urge listeners to remember the lessons learned and the habits formed, rather than reverting to old ways. Our discussion highlights the need for ongoing commitment to practices that draw us closer to God, such as prayer, Bible study, and acts of gratitude. We also reflect on the grace and patience of God, reminding ourselves that our journey may be messy, but His love remains steadfast. I hope to inspire you to carry forward the insights gained during this time and embrace the next steps in your spiritual walk.
Takeaways:
As Lent concludes, we should ensure that our spiritual growth does not end with the season.
Returning to God requires sincerity and commitment, not just external actions or rituals.
We are encouraged to continue the practices that have helped us grow during Lent.
C.S. Lewis reminds us that we can always rise after our failures and continue our journey.
The journey towards holiness is ongoing, and God awaits our next steps with love.
We should swap negative habits for positive ones, focusing on gratitude and patience.
Hi, welcome to the Hobo Soul podcast of road advice from the Bible and from me, Yvon Prehn, someone who's a little further down the road of life. I'll talk to you every weekday for about five to 10 minutes, with periodic longer talks on serious Saturdays.
Let's get started with our topic today, which is episode number 36
Continue your journey
Lent is almost over and we need to take care that our focused actions on learning to live a more godly life aren't tossed away as quickly as our return to eating goodies. I hope today's episode helps in that re-entry.
Our quote for today is from Joel 2, 12, 13 "Even now, declares the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning. Rend not your garments.
Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity"
O ur challenge for today is
"As Lent draws to a close. Most likely there have been victories, but also a sense of how far you have to go on your pilgrimage to please God.Remember, he's always there when waiting for you to take the next step in holiness."
Now, with Lent almost over, there may be some things that we're quite happy to quit saying no to. Chocolate comes to mind for me.
My sister and I always attempt to give up sugar for Lent, and I must confess I am salivating already thinking about malt and milk Easter egg candy that's my very favorites, chocolate bunnies and assorted other Easter treats that I will eat too much of on Easter Sunday and give myself a tummy ache. That's just kind of what I do.
But though we celebrate going back to some foods that we've perhaps avoided, we shouldn't avoid the next steps that Jesus wants us to take with Him.
Now, hopefully Lent has trained us in some habits of growing as an apprentice of Jesus, in denying ourselves, perhaps in becoming more thoughtful in reading our Bibles, more praying more evaluating how we can actively become more like Jesus. Don't set any of that aside. Determined to continue in any practice that has helped you grow during this time of Lent.
Now to help you do that, though, tomorrow we'll finish the Lenten booklet that I put together for you. I want to continue with some of the material from it for the next several Hobo Soul podcasts.
I messed up on scheduling and numbering, and one section of Very Important challenges was left out.
For those of you going through the journal, you may remember there was a section called the Fasting Life and It was two days of challenges where we were encouraged to exchange sinful habits for godly ones. Some of them included swapping discontent for gratitude and swapping anger for patience.
They're all good exchanges, and next week we'll start on a series of looking at each one of these exchanges along with Bible verses that'll help us make them.
Looking forward to it as a way to more deeply alter my life in these positive ways, and I hope you'll join me as we wind up Lent I want to share a quote that we skipped in my schedule Mess up this is one of my favorite quotes from C.S. Lewis and I want to end today's episode with this because it reminds us of no matter how hard we try in this, life will continue to mess up.
But because we mess up doesn't mean we need to give up. Here's what C.S. Lewis says about this-----
"No amount of falls will really undo us if we keep on picking ourselves up each time.
We shall of course, be very muddy and tattered children by the time we reach home, but the bathrooms are all ready, the towels put out, and the clean clothes are in the airing cupboard. God has infinite patience with us and infinite love, no matter how muddy and tattered we may be."
Whether it is to return to him now or when he calls us home, Arms of Incredible Love will welcome us.
That's all for this podcast, for transcripts, links to related material, and much more to help you learn to know, trust, apply and teach the Bible, go to www.bible805.com for now, let me end with this benediction and prayer.
May you walk each day surrounded by the gracious love of the Father, guided by the gentle wisdom of the Holy Spirit, and conscious of the astoundingly real presence of Jesus, who will walk with you until you're no more a hollow soul, no more a transient wandering heart, but at home in the kingdom prepar for you with your God forever. Amen.
