Today, we focus on the significance of Lent as a time for spiritual growth and renewal. Lent is a 40-day journey that begins on Ash Wednesday and invites us to draw closer to our Lord Jesus, regardless of our church tradition. I will guide you through daily reflections that include thought-provoking quotes and challenges drawn from my book, "In Dying We Are Reborn." This episode emphasizes the importance of patience, both with ourselves and in our spiritual journeys, as we work towards meaningful change. Together, we will explore what it means to be patient and how that can impact our relationship with God and others during this Lenten season.

Takeaways:

1. Lent is a 40-day journey that begins on Ash Wednesday and continues through Holy Saturday, inviting all to deepen their faith.
2. Patience is essential during Lent, not just with God but also with ourselves as we pursue spiritual growth.
3. Each podcast episode will provide a quote and a challenge to inspire personal reflection and journaling.
4. The importance of community in practicing patience is emphasized, as we are called to support each other in our faith journeys.
5. Being patient does not mean ignoring our shortcomings; it encourages active engagement in our spiritual growth.
6. During Lent, we are reminded to take our challenges seriously and seek help when needed, fostering a commitment to personal transformation.

Links referenced in this episode:

1. www.bible805.com

Companies mentioned in this episode:

1. Bible805
2. Amazon
3. Alcoholics Anonymous

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 the introduction to our journey through Lent. Lent is for all of us, no matter what our church tradition. As above all else, it's a time to draw closer to our Lord Jesus.

Lent lasts for 40 days, beginning today on Ash Wednesday and going through Holy Saturday, the day before Easter. We do not observe Lent on Sundays as some of us well, I started to say some of those addicted to chocolate and sugar are rather glad to hear.

It is kind of fun sometimes to have a little goodie on those days. But moving right along, Sundays aside, I'll be sharing with you these special Lenten podcasts each day of the week, Monday through Saturday.

The core content consists of a thought provoking quote, then a challenge based on it that comes from my book In Dying We Are Reborn, A Book of Devotions. Now it also has in it space for journaling. You can download a totally free copy of that on the www.bible805.com website.

It's also available on Amazon if you want it in little booklet form, but go ahead and get it on the website. It's it's easy to download and it's free. The podcast following the book will be structured this way.

First I'll share a quote for the day from various Christian writers, leaders and sometimes from the Bible. Then I have a challenge or a journal prompt based on it.

The book is designed for you to journal, but what I'm going to do instead of just leaving you with those two parts, I'm going to continue with Bible verses and my commentary through thoughts and application suggestions on it. The podcast will all be under 10 minutes each.

It's not a lengthy sermon, but I trust long enough to give you content for heart and life change in your walk with Jesus through this Lenten season. So that's enough of an introduction. Let's get on to our topic for today, which is LENTEN Devotion number one.

And our quote from today comes from St. Francis de Sales who said,

"Have patience with all things, but first of all with yourself."

And the challenge based on this says:

"Lent will last for 40 days and if we apply ourselves to spiritual examination, renewal, we will make changes.

But they might only be the start of changes and we must be at peace knowing that."

Let me talk about this a little bit. Patience is a virtue to focus on today.

And I know for me, one of the hardest things of all to apply consistently in my Christian life is patience. If there's one thing I know for sure is that our God always seems to take longer to respond than I want him to.

It is a given that we'll often be impatient with God, but St. Francis de Sales reminds us that we also can be very impatient with ourselves, and we need to work on that.

It's easy to begin Lent with great goals of spiritual progress, and then we remember the many goals that we've set in the past that we haven't achieved. We think, well, this time it's going to be different, and I'm going to get this all taken care of in just a few days.

We don't even need to go through Lent. We beat up on ourselves, though, when we realize that probably hasn't happened before and we may just get further and further behind.

But this Lent, let's change all that. Let's really look at what patience is, how we can define it, and, you might say, the limits to it.

The Greek word for patience is defined as enduring misfortune and trials. It wouldn't be patience if it was an easy action we endure when we're patient.

It's when we or the people we love or the situation we're in doesn't change as quickly as we want that we require patience. What's easy to forget is that patience isn't optional for the Christian.

It is both commanded and used as a characteristic of what we're supposed to be like. It's commanded in Ephesians when the apostle Paul tells us, to

"Lead a life worthy of your calling, for you've been called by God.

Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other's faults because of your love.

Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace." That's from Ephesians 4:1:3.

Being patient is part of what it means to walk worthy of being called by Christ.

It's put here in the context of the community of believers. Being patient means to make allowance for each other's faults because of your love. Now think about it. You're also part of that family of believers.

And just as you are called to be patient with others, do be patient with yourself. And then consider also what we call the love chapter, First Corinthians 13.

When the characteristics of love are listed in the NIV translation, the very first one in verse four is love is Patient. Now it's interesting how the King James Bible translates that.

And instead of just having these separate things, love is patient, love is kind, you know, just all sort of separate list, which is great. But the way the King James Bible puts it is it makes it a phrase and it says "Charity suffereth long and is kind."

Charity or love means suffering long.

It's patience and it's kind. So do be kind to yourself, do be kind to others. That's what patience is all about.

And yet, and yet I can't stop there.

We cannot allow our self kindness or care for others, our patience with faults, to be sloppy. We can't use it as an excuse to settle for. Well, that's just how I am not going to change. That's just, you've got to accept me as I am.

If we had an issue, a sin, a habit we know isn't pleasing to God, that we've had a hard time giving up, getting out of our life, we can't have an excess of patience with that. Part of patience is realizing that deep sin, serious issues take more than lent and resolve.

And we need to realize that some things take a very long time to get rid of. But patience also means not giving up on our resolve, on working towards a life more pleasing to God.

12 STEP programs, started by Alcoholics Anonymous and now applied to many forms of addiction and issues are a great model. No one goes through the program quickly. It's 12 steps. It requires patience, but it also requires you to work the program.

You don't just sit around and ask people to be patient with you. You have a sponsor, you have things you're supposed to do.

If you don' know how to work the program, in whatever way you're trying to change your life, improve your life, become more pleasing to God, get help from your church, from a professional counselor, from a celebrate recovery group or related Christian group, and at the minimum, talk to and pray with a trusted Christian friend. Whatever you want to work on. What work on it. Don't give it up during this Lenten challenge, but do it.

Do the work with patience and kindness for yourself and others.

In closing for this Lenten devotional, which is a special Hobo Soul series that I'm doing for Lent, I'd encourage you to pause, take time to share with Jesus your response, thoughts and prayers to what you just heard. You can do this quietly in your heart or you can write it out.

I have a free journal with the quotes, challenges and space for you to write in that you can download at www.bible805.com.

Let me close in prayer for you that as Jesus went into the wilderness to solidify his calling, that you, during this time, retreat to a place spiritually where God can significantly deepen your relationship with him, where he can speak to you regardless of the temptations and distractions in your life, and that you'll come out of it with a clear sense of his calling for you and a commitment to follow it. Nothing more, nothing less, nothing else.

Amen.