A Daily Online Lenten Study Guide: Day 02

CAROLYN’S COMPOSITIONS

A DAILY ONLINE LENTEN STUDY GUIDE: DAY 02

Monte Holland

This is the second in a series of daily Lenten devotionals called “Scriptural Lessons Leading to a Godly and Moral Life.” To start the study, click on: A Daily Online Lenten Study Guide: Introduction or

http://carolyncholland.wordpress.com/2010/02/16/a-daily-online-lenten-study-guide-introduction/

To view yesterday’s A DAILY ON-LINE LENTEN STUDY GUIDE click on:  A Daily Online Lenton Study Guide: 01

To view photos of St. Joseph Church in Munich, Germany, click on http://ligonierliving.blogspot.com/2010/02/daily-online-lenten-study-guide-day-2.html

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Where do we find help along the way to the Godly, moral life?

a.     Psalm 121:1-2 gives general guidance:

¹I look to the hills! Where will I find help?

    ²It will come from the LORD, who created the heavens and the earth.

      b.    There are specific sources of help. The first we will examine is:

1. The Old Testament Law as stated in Joshua 1:

Be strong and very courageous, being careful to act in accordance with all the law that my servant Moses commanded you;—you shall meditate on it day and night—Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:7-9) 

     In these verses, and others not printed here, the Lord God instructed Joshua about leading the Israelites across the Jordan River. Moses had already received the Law from God on Mt. Sinai in the form of the Ten Commandments. Moses had been the Israelite’s leader for forty years. All that time Moses was preparing to take them across the river to the Promised Land. Moses was not fully obedient to God and God denied him that privilege. Moses was a strong leader who was not fully up to the challenge. But we should not be deterred from meditating on the Law.

     “Meditating on the Law day and night” may sound like a real drag, and it is often difficult to “be strong and courageous”– a directive that shows up twice in the Scripture passage. Yet is there any better way to go if we choose the Godly, moral life?

     Aren’t these times that call for strength and courage? Political officials are more often politicians than statesmen. Soldiers are dying. Friends are unemployed. Hundreds of thousands died in Haiti.

     God makes a difference when we trust God for that strength and courage to confront the worst the world has to offer.

     Two thoughts: First, we need God. Second, we will only be at our best when we draw close to God and God’s ways.

     Can it be that following God takes all the “fun” out of life? We must find the way to fullness of life that is both obedient to God’s Law and dominated by love and joy.

     Keep in mind that six days a week during the Lenten season we focus on fasts and penance, but each Sunday remains a time of praise for God and the Resurrection. As we go through Lent, we seek to find a healthy balance of fasting, penance, joy and love to live all year long.

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Questions to meditate on:

a.       What does God expect of Joshua and the people in his day, and of us as readers in this day?

b.      Is it possible to have “fun” and still be faithful to the Law? Give examples.

c.      Are there cases where our “fun” violates the spirit of the Law? (e.g. when we call our brother a name.) Think of cases where “fun” demeans another person or disrespects God’s creation, and yet may not directly violate the Law that Moses was given on Mt. Sinai. This seems to imply that God expects more of us than just obeying the Ten Commandments.

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Continue on to A DAILY ON-LINE LENTEN STUDY GUIDE: 03 by clicking on: A Daily Online Lenten Study Guide: 03

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ADDITIONAL READING:

Hidden Transgressions: The Importance of Integrity

The Red Tuque