Dear Friends,

Greetings to you in the precious name of our Redeemer and Lord, Jesus Christ.

We are entering again into the Season of Lent, to take a journey with our Lord. The English word Lent is a shortened form of the Old English word len(c)ten, meaning 'Spring', a new beginning. We see new leaves coming up, and it is a time to experience newness of life. For us, it is a time to remember and meditate on our Lord's suffering and death that He went through for our redemption, and finally in His resurrection, find new life in Him. As we go through this journey, let us pray that it will be a meaningful and a spiritual experience for us, and not just a time of fasting and self-denial.

In Jesus, we have new beginning through His death and resurrection. We are redeemed from the bondage of sin, and we are called for our spiritual renewal. Therefore, it is the time leading up to the commemoration of our Lord's death for our sins, and the commemoration of his resurrection for our salvation. It is thus especially appropriate to mourn and repent for our sins for which He died. The Redeemer Christ paid for our sins on the Cross of Calvary. We thank and praise His name for our redemption.

Entering the Season of Lent and participating in the journey of our Lord Jesus, should take us to a meaningful spiritual experience, because, redemption from the bondage of sin is only through Christ Jesus, and the price He paid for it was with His own blood. We should not think that by our observation of fasting, actions of charity, and the self-denial we involve in, would make Jesus happy and satisfied. We know clearly that these are not going to satisfy our Lord. Mere fasting and giving up on our most favorite things are not sufficient. We are called to live by the words and life-model of our Redeemer. His entire life was to establish love, truth, justice and righteousness. In order to be strengthened in our journey with Jesus, we need to be reminded of His suffering and His death, not only during the time of Lent, but every day. The Worship Services during the Lenten Season should help us to dwell on the Word of God and to live by His Word, so that our journey with Him becomes spiritually profitable and meaningful.

May God help us take our journey with our Redeemer with repentance and faith.