The Practical Disciple

I have two noteworthy Lenten disciplines that I have encountered in the last week.  First, a young man in our church has chosen to do a speed read of the New Testament during Lent.  He is busting his way through the entire New Testament in 40 days, a rather admirable pursuit.  One person asked him what he was getting out of this.  He said, he was realizing that some people are just wrong.  People quote are defend things as being from the New Testament that are often times quite erroneous.  As I heard him says this, it reminded me of what I once told a group of lay people in a preaching class I was leading.  Always do your own work first.  Read the scriptures for yourself and make as many observations and conclusions as you can on  your own before jumping to other “authorities.”  People are prone to jumping first to Bible study curriculums or commentaries before putting in some good hard thought around what they read.  There is a lot of false or skewed information out there about the Bible.  Be careful in the sources you lean on.  I virtually never read a single commentary.  I like to compare and contrast views.  Even the “experts” make mistakes.

The second unique Lenten discipline that I encountered this week came out of someone’s devotional reading.  A man I know read about the paralytic whose friends brought him to Jesus to be healed  (Mark 2:3-4).  Four friends carried him on his mat to Jesus and he healed the man because of their faith.  My friend took one of his favorite shirts and cut it up into forty pieces each about two inches square.  My friend is giving these pieces to people he cares about and he tells them the story.  When he gave one to me he told me the story and then said, “I just want you to know I am help carrying your mat.”  What a wonderful concrete way to tell someone that you are there for them if they need you.

Blessings to you on your Lenten journey.  I hope in some small way every time I write a post that I am grabbing a corner of your mat and helping you out.