I Feel Disgusted!

Hello Emmanuel,

I feel disgusted with myself.  As many of you know, Kim and I went on a cruise.  It has become a ritual of ours.  It is time away from the busyness of life, away from cell phone signals and the internet.  It is a time to reconnect with each other…….   And with food.

My disgust stems from all the food I ate.  I joke about it with many, but the truth is that the sin of gluttony is alive and well on cruise ships.  I’ve always eaten well in the past, but this time was different.  This time I truly got a taste of what over-indulgence (…hehe… get it?  ‘taste’?) to the extent that I felt…well … disgusted.

Lent starts in 2 days.  I’ve already began the process of living a healthier lifestyle (partly because I couldn’t afford to buy all that food!).  But I’ll admit there is a bit of repentance in the midst of it.  I abused myself and it wasn’t right.  I need to make it right.

Lent is 40 days, not counting Sunday.  It officially starts Wednesday.  We will mark the season this Sunday with the imposition of ashes.  It will be a new season.  It will be a new sermon series.  It can be a new beginning.

The 40 days symbolizes the 40 days that Jesus spent in the wilderness, being tempted by Satan.  The Sundays are ‘mini-Easters’ that give us a break to remember that the resurrection is coming.  In the midst of it all, we will change gears from the season of ah-ha’s (Epiphany) to the season of uh-oh’s--from what we can do to what we should stay away from.  It is a time to look at our dysfunctions in the face and consider how we should grab the wrong things in our life and make them right.

I invite you to a season of repentance with me.  My goal is to lose 20 pounds by Easter.  Maybe eating isn’t your ‘uh-oh’.  Maybe it is something else you need to get right.  Whatever it is, let Emmanuel walk with you just as God will walk with you.  Why?  Because God will again lead us through the 40 days and the 41^st day will be glorious.

God is Good,

Pastor Joe