The Number 40

The rain fell for 40 days and 40 nights during the great flood.

Moses was on Mt. Sinai for 40 days and 40 nights.

The Israelites wandered in the wilderness for 40 years.

Elijah traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God.

Jonah proclaimed throughout Ninevah that the city would be destroyed in 40 days.

Jesus fasted in the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights, before being tempted by Satan.

The ancient Church established Lent as a period of 40 days (not counting Sundays) leading up to Easter.  It is a time for self-denial, fasting, repentance and contemplation.  One of the things I contemplate is the way that God chooses certain numbers and uses them again and again.  It is good to recognize the number 40 as one of these.

TV~   (Today's Verse)
And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel.  [Acts 7:23]

God Provides Meds?

While shopping today, I happened to run into a Christian friend who is a medical doctor.  In our varied and assundry topics of conversation, we touched on the prescribing of prescription drugs for those suffering from depression.  She mentioned that, quite often, patients will say what a relief it was once they started taking anti-depressant medication.  They went from daily trying to "hold it together," to having stable emotions each day. 


I asked her, "How does that fit in with having the joy of the Lord?"  She did not have any pat answers, but said that God uses modern medicine to help people in many ways. 


TV~  (Today's Verse)
He healeth those that are broken in heart, and giveth them medicine to heal their sickness.  [Psalm 147:3]

A Minute of Care

The Lord often shows His care for us through the care of Christian friends.  Today, a friend who already was running late, took a minute to ask, "How are you doing?"  God was loving me through my friend. 

Yet, there are times when we need a friend and the question is not asked or there is nobody who takes time for us.  Even so, come Lord Jesus.

TV~  (Today's Verse)
There is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.  [Proverbs 18:24]

Coercion vs. Choice

Satan will use coercion to sway us.  Our own sinful desires will coerce us, namely  the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the boastful pride of life.


God is love.  He wants us to accept his offer of Love, but he will not coerce.  He gives us a choice and will lovingly draw us. 


TV~  (Today's Verse)
Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?  [Romans 2:4]

Ashes

Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent in the Western Christian calendar.  It takes place 46 days before Easter.  Jesus spent 40 days fasting in the desert, where he endured tempation by Satan.   

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of this 40-day liturgical period of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.  Of the 46 days until Easter, six are Sundays.  Sundays are not included in the fasting period and are instead "feast" days during Lent.

Ash Wednesday derives its name from the practice of placing ashes (formally called The Imposition of Ashes) on the foreheads of adherents as a reminder of human mortality and as a sign of mourning and repentance to God.  The ashes used are typically gathered from the burning of the palms from the previous year's Palm Sunday


Ash Wednesday is observed by many Christian denominations, including Catholics, Lutherans, Methodists, Anglicans, and Presbyterians, among many others.   (Adapted from Wikipedia)

TV~  (Today's Verse) 
 So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes.  [Daniel 9:3]

Aliens

Our faith in Christ makes us aliens.  This world is not our dream home; it is a temporary place on the way to the mansion awaiting us.  The mansion that won't need to be dusted or repaired.  An incorruptible inheritance in every way!

TV~  (Today's Verse)
By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise;…[Hebrews 11:9]

Our First Concern

Our first goal in life is to press towards the kingdom of God.

"If worldly concerns are our first focus, we will eventually resent God." ~Rt. Rev. David L. Moyer

TV~  (Today's Verse)
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. [Matthew 6:33]