Spiritual Fitness Plan for Lent Week 4

SPIRITUAL FITNESS PLAN FOR LENT.
(An exercise program to enhance your spiritual life)

Week Four– Beginning March 28, 2011

‘We are not yet where we shall be, but we are growing towards it; the process is not yet finished, but it is going on; this is not the end, but it is the road’.

So spoke Martin Luther King Jr., the iconic leader of the civil rights movement in the United States and one of the youngest people to receive the Nobel Peace prize.

He could have been talking about our annual journey from Ash Wednesday to Easter.

The Christian life, from birth to eternity, is always forward looking, always in motion and always heading towards a richer and more personal relationship with God.

Along the Christian Road, there are things to GIVE UP (erroneous attitudes, beliefs and practices), things to TAKE UP (compassion, a forgiving nature and a hopeful outlook) and things to do to HELP (encouragement, listening ear and practical assistance to those less fortunate).

Lent is a good time to remember and adopt the words from Martin Luther King Jr., and how they are reflected in John’s Gospel.

Here are this week’s daily readings from John’s Gospel.
Monday March 28–John 7:53-8:11
Tuesday March 29 – John 8:12-30
Wednesday March 30– John 8:31-59
Thursday March 31 – John 9:1-41
Friday April 1 – John 10:1-21
Saturday April 2– John 10:22-42

There are six suggested spiritual exercises for a HOLY LENT.
Here are this week’s exercises.

1. FASTING – maybe you have done this already during Lent. If not, start today. Some years ago during Lent, one day a week, some friends and I ate breakfast and then only drank water or juices until the evening meal ... may not sound like much, but we found it meaningful.

2. PRAYER – Each day, spend at least 5 minutes in prayer. Pray with your paper, newscast, internet browsing, walking, riding …wherever you encounter people and their needs.

3. PENITENCE – confess your sins confident in God’s forgiveness and make amends for any wrong-doing.

4. SELF EXAMINATION – look at yourself, your relationship with God and your relationships with other people. Make improvements as required.

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SPIRITUAL FITNESS PLAN FOR LENT - WEEK 3

SPIRITUAL FITNESS PLAN FOR LENT.
(An exercise program to enhance your spiritual life)

Week Three– Beginning March 21, 2011

St. Augustine (358-430 AD) was Bishop of Hippo and one of the most influential figures of his day. He had a profound impact on the beliefs and thinking of people even to today.
Augustine concluded that we are born with a ‘God shaped space’, reserved for God alone. Unfortunately, most people fill the space with non God like stuff, e.g., possessions, activities, busyness, negative things, etc. It is like trying to put a square peg into a round hole. Nothing will fit there properly, except God. Augustine struggled with this and concluded that he was restless until he found his rest in God.
At that moment he invited God to COME and DWELL in his ‘God shaped space.
He said he did not know what he was doing, nor what it meant, nor what it would lead to … he just did it.
It appears Augustine decided to GIVE UP or clean out the ‘junk’ from his ‘God shaped space’; then he was able to TAKE UP other interests and things to fill and grow his understanding of and relationship with God. And through the transformation of his total being, he was able to HELP others come to the same actualization of self, not only in his own time, but for generations of strangers yet to come.
Maybe Augustine is asking us to invite God to COME and DWELL in us, and John’s Gospel may be the vehicle we need to achieve this goal.

Here are this week’s daily readings from John’s Gospel.
Monday March 21–John 5:19-47
Tuesday March 22 – John 6:1-15
Wednesday March 23– John 6:16-21
Thursday March 24 – John 6:22-59
Friday March 25– John 6:60-71
Saturday March 26– John 7:1-52

There are six suggested spiritual exercises for a HOLY LENT.
Here are this week’s exercises.

1. PRAYER – Each day, spend at least 5 minutes in prayer. Pray with your paper, newscast, internet browsing, walking, riding .. wherever you encounter people and their needs.

2. PENITENCE – confess your sins confident in God’s forgiveness and make amends for any wrong-doing.

3. SELF EXAMINATION – look at yourself, your relationship with God and your relationships with other people. Make improvements as required.

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SPIRITUAL FITNESS PLAN FOR LENT - WEEK 2

SPIRITUAL FITNESS PLAN FOR LENT - WEEK 2
(An exercise program to enhance your spiritual life)

Week Two– Beginning March 14, 2011
1. a devastating earthquake and numerous aftershocks;
2. a tsunami causing untold deaths and destruction with 10 metre high waves;
3. a possible meltdown of nuclear reactors spewing deadly radiation into the atmosphere.

All happening within hours, not weeks! How much can one nation endure?
Japan may provide us with a definite answer.

The photos and reports confront our total beings with images of Biblical proportions.

How can our goals of Lent – GIVE UP, TAKE UP, HELP - spur us to respond as once more the global village is being shaken at its very foundations?
1. We can PRAY for the victims, the rescuers and for global response;
2. We can HELP by donating financially through our church or charity;
3. And as we read the Gospel of John this week, we can ask ourselves what application the readings have for us and our world situation this week.

Here are this week’s daily readings from John’s Gospel.
Each day, spend at least 5 minutes in prayer and with the Gospel.
Monday March 14 –John 2:13-25
Tuesday March 15 – John 3:1-21
Wednesday March 16 – John 3:22-36
Thursday March 17 – John 4:1-42
Friday March 18 – John 4:43-54
Saturday March 19 – John 5:1-18

There are six suggested spiritual exercises for a HOLY LENT.
Here is this week’s exercise.

1. PENITENCE – confess your sins confident in God’s forgiveness and make amends for any wrong-doing.
2. SELF EXAMINATION – look at yourself, your relationship with God and your relationships with other people. Make improvements as required.

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SPIRITUAL FITNESS PLAN FOR LENT.

SPIRITUAL FITNESS PLAN FOR LENT.
(An exercise program to enhance your spiritual life)

Week One – Ash Wednesday, March 9, 2011

In his latest book, CONVERSATION WITH MYSELF, Nelson Mandela states, ‘never forget that a saint is a sinner who keeps on trying’.

Lent is the Church’s reminder to ‘keep on trying’. Maybe some day we will reach the space where we are striving to be, but for now, we are sojourners traversing the pages of our own existence.

During Lent this year I am concentrating on GIVE UP … TAKE UP … HELP.

GIVE UP – food, drink, certain behaviour, particular attitude, etc.

TAKE UP – do something positive, read a book, etc.

HELP – decide how much you would like to contribute daily during Lent (say $1.00), multiply by 40 and donate the amount to a church, charity, individual, special need, etc.

READING – the Gospel of John is our recommended Bible reading for this Lent.
Daily Schedule –
Ash Wednesday – John 1:1-18
Thursday – John 1:19-34
Friday – John 1:35-51
Saturday – John 2:1-12


There are six suggested spiritual exercises for a HOLY LENT.
Here is this week’s exercise.

1. SELF EXAMINATION – spend 5 minutes taking a close look at yourself, your relationship with God and your relationships with other people. Make improvements as required.

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