What does Lent have to do with me?

As a child I never heard people talk about Lent – except maybe when Mom instructed me to clean the fuzz out of the clothes dryer (“Lint” and “Lent” are two very different things, but they sure do sound the same down here in the south, especially to a 3^rd grader).

As I grew older, I saw Lent as a 2^nd try on your New Year’s Resolution.  Did you fail at giving up sugar in January?  You can always try it again in March!

When I finally discovered that Lent is in fact a 40-day season Christians set aside to prepare for Easter, I assumed it was for someone else.  All I had ever done to prepare for Easter was pick out a frilly dress and ask my mom to make green bean casserole for lunch.

I do not think I even knew an evangelical Christian who observed the season of Lent. 

And yet, as I've explored more, I've grown to appreciate the season of Lent, not for the external actions with which we often associate it, but instead for how it helps me refocus on what truly matters – the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Instead of seeing Lent as an opportunity to lose a few pounds, impress my friends with my self-discipline, or re-start a failed New Year’s resolution, I've learned that Lent can be a wonderful time to intentionally spend 40 days reflecting upon the glory of the Gospel. 

Starting today I’ll be fasting from something I enjoy, but what I fast from is definitely not the point of Lent: Jesus is!

I’ll also be reading through the Passion Week recorded in the Gospel of John, meditating on one chapter per day.  I’ll start today in John 12, read through John 21, and then begin again until we celebrate the Resurrection together on April 20^th. 

Not only this, but I’ll be praying for opportunities to talk about what I’m learning with those around me. What a wonderful opportunity to start a spiritual conversation and share with someone about what Christ has done for us!

Here are my questions for you:  Would you be willing to try Lent this year?  What could you do to intentionally focus on magnifying Christ and His sacrifice over the next 40 days?  How can you use this season of reflection to talk with others about the One who has made all the difference for you?

Emily Anthony loves collecting polish pottery, hiking in the mountains, helping teenagers with their algebra homework, and talking with women about what God is doing in and through their lives.  After spending six years serving as a missionary teacher to third culture kids in Budapest, Hungary, Emily returned to the United States to pursue Masters of Divinity in Women's Studies here at Southeastern. She recently began serving as a ministry assistant for Embrace Women's Missions and Ministry at the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina.

"But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, 

because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him." Acts 2:24

Wahoo!! Doesn’t this verse just fire you up?! 

Celebrating the reality of our Risen Lord, THE Christ, is truly the pinnacle of our faith as Believers.

While that is the focus of Easter Sunday, for our family, it is our fervent prayer that we would

ever so humbly and gratefully celebrate this with every breath of every day!

Believing God’s promise that the SAME power that raised Jesus from the dead is at work in

those who believe (Eph 1:19) is mind-blowing, and certainly something that we should never get over or stop celebrating!

In the days leading up to Resurrection Sunday, the Passion Week,

 there are several efforts we make that powerfully call our hearts to an even more focused reflection and worship 

on the sacrificial death, burial, and Resurrection of Jesus.

Both my husband and I were born and raised in the South,

so sporting new matching Easter dresses for the girls, 

sear-sucker and bow-ties for the men, and sharing in a big family dinner are very real parts of our Easter celebratory traditions.  

As the Lord continues to grow us as individuals and as parents,  

we've also seen a shift away from overly emphasizing the Easter Bunny, Easter Egg Hunts, traditional Easter baskets, or candy galore. 

We certainly don't demonize any of these things, but as the Spirit leads us, 

we are intentionally trying to focus on the true meaning of Easter--

for our own hearts, but especially for the shepherding and informing of the mold-able hearts of our children.  

Let's be honest, this can be a bit of a challenge in our world today. 

After seeking the Lord repeatedly on what this should like for our family, year after year,

 here are a few examples of how we celebrate Easter in the Lyon household:  

Together with our girls, we read over various Scriptures related to the 

Resurrection around the dinner table each night; 

we make play-doh replicas of the tomb, filled and sealed at first, then EMPTY on Easter morning;

we make "Resurrection Rolls" to demonstrate the empty tomb; 

we set a celebratory Easter table to awaken to on Easter morning; 

 we even have fun "Spring Baskets" on the first day of Spring, 

in lieu "Easter Baskets" on Easter morning.   

We also cherish the annual Maundy Thursday service at our church,

which is a somber, deeply moving time of reflection, preparation, and worship 

centered around The Table, the Lord's Last Supper.

Now, it’s important that we recognize our love of Starburst Jellybeans and Cadburry Eggs,

 and that occasionally, we participate in an Egg Hunt, or dye Easter Eggs.

 However, we try and differentiate between these Societal Easter associations

and what the Christian’s true hope is in Easter, the glorious resounding from Matthew 28:6:

"He is not here, for He has RISEN, just as He said...!”

  Stephanie Lyon is the wife of Larry Lyon, the Director of Admissions here at SEBTS and a Pastor at Oaks Church Raleigh, and the adoring mom to Anna Kate (9), Abigail (6), and Maggie Ruth (due in less than 3 weeks!). Stephanie loves taking pictures, blogging, cooking, gardening, hot baths, warm drinks, The Georgia Bulldogs, and spending time with her family and friends.

Over the Pond… Where Mission Work Took Place in My Heart!

My heart was broken by the words Matthew spoke at the 9marks Conference: “It is more likely for a Scottish person to know a Muslim than a Christian.” How could this be? If Scottish people don’t know any Christians, how will they ever hear the good news of the gospel or even want to hear it when it is presented?  These are the exact thoughts of the 20Schemes founders. 20Schemes is a one-year-old Christian Church Planting Organization that is trying to plant 10 churches in 20 years in the schemes of Scotland. Schemes are a European name for government housing, though these communities are like mini cities within a city, with 10,000 plus people living in each scheme. Because of the governmental system, most people do not work and therefore spend all day doing…well… really whatever they want. Children go to school but only have to attend until they are 16. Then, because they are able to live on the system, most never aspire to attend college or university.

With demographics as the ones listed above, it is no wonder most people living in the schemes are single moms with drug and addiction problems with abuse running rampant, whether child abuse or relational abuse. 20 Schemes has recognized that if they can plant churches in the middle of these schemes, where they provide a coffee shop or other form of public service in the church, they can reach the people relationally.

This idea presented by Matthew at the conference caught my attention, and I was hooked: I wanted to see what God was up to in the schemes of Scotland, so I signed up to join the Scotland mission team that traveled over Spring break of 2014.

When I arrived in Scotland, I was pleasantly surprised by the “warm” weather and the lack of rain. I was also surprised by the agenda of the trip. Though we had arrived thinking we were doing mission work, the trip ended up being much more of a vision trip to hear about the purpose and mission of 20Schemes. When I first realized this, I must admit I was discouraged, as I had hoped to get to know native Scottish people and share the gospel with them. God used this trip, though, in a completely different way than I expected. God changed my view of a mission trip and redirected my thinking to remaining missional minded. He pressed me to learn how to be a better missionary in the context I am presently living by observing other believers in their everyday lives.

The team worked with a church in the Nidre Scheme, in Edinburgh, Scotland. We got to meet the church leaders and also many of the native interns that are doing ministry through the church. As I talked with the members of the church, I realized that their entire method of integrating people into the church is through discipleship. In all actuality, they really don’t invite people to church until they have shared the gospel with them and formed a deep-rooted relationship with them. This is such a different way to go about evangelizing, as compared to our “American way”. Discipleship is the key thing in the church. When a person becomes a Christian, they are immediately paired with an “older” person in the church to be discipled weekly. They are to be taught the gospel truths and held accountable in every area of their lives. Because of this, people immediately feel a sense of community and are instantly held accountable for their decision to become a Christian. This was absolutely beautiful to me.

My heart is to disciple women. Having the Women’s Ministry pastor in Scotland ask me what I was doing weekly to disciple girls was humbling. When she asked if I discipled anyone, I answered “yes.” When she pushed me as to what that looked like, she quickly clarified that she didn’t want a “tea and biscuits” answer. As Christians, we can get tea and biscuits (or Starbucks) with anyone anytime. Discipleship should be a spiritually older woman coming alongside a spiritually younger woman teaching her the Bible and asking her the hard questions. Yes, this can be done over tea, but the content of the conversation shouldn’t be trivial things; it must be godly things. If this isn’t happening, it isn’t truly biblical discipleship.

As the week progressed, we visited many sights included Sterling Castle in Glasgow, Edinburgh Castle in Edinburgh, as well as various places throughout Edinburgh. We even ventured out and tried Haggis (yes, sheep intestines- That will be the one and only time I do that). We stayed at a seminary in Edinburgh where we met students studying from various parts of Europe. Where we have 4,000 enrolled in our seminary, they have about 20 enrolled. This is the stark contrast between Europe and America- one more example of the lostness of Scotland. The team of 12 grew close quickly, and there was never a dull moment with Dr. Eccher leading our team. It was amazing seeing each person on the team come alongside their team members to love and encourage each other, even though most of us had only met one time before.

There are so many things I could tell you about the trip, but I would like to leave you with these thoughts. Though the trip was not a mission trip in the sense I was expecting, we were able to encourage our brothers and sisters in a way they rarely ever receive. We visited two pastors in Glasgow, Pete and Pete (we jokingly called them “Pete and re-Pete”).  While there we were able to go into the high school and meet students as well as meet with teachers in a primary school and talk to them about the gospel. I absolutely loved this more “mission geared” day, but I realized that the people who received the most missional love and support were Pete and Pete. Our brothers and sisters in Scotland are lonely and tired and worn down. They find their strength in the Lord, but there is power in the body of Christ- the joy they expressed because we visited them was humbling; it proved the urgency we need to have, as the body, in not only reaching the lost but supporting out fellow brothers and sisters.

As I come back from my trip to Scotland, I am not only encouraged to rethink my goals as I disciple younger women, but I am challenged to push hard to loving my brothers and sisters where I am at as well as from afar. As I think of the many missionaries overseas (or stateside), I am struck with how little I do to love them from America. A simple card through snail mail or email would not take much time at all, and it would mean the world to my Christian family that doesn't have much family and support close by.

I challenge you, as women of Southeastern: Don’t wait another day to love your spiritual family. Don’t take for granted the incredible gift we have here at Southeastern where we are “surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses.” And don’t stop teaching the truth, searching and spurring on new believers to think about the tough questions. Challenge those you are discipling and be intentional in the way you teach, reproof, correct, and train (2 Timothy 3:16) those whom God has placed in your life. Finally, look at every experience as a missional experience. Whether you are personally serving or observing others as they serve, let God teach you more about His character and how He wants you to actively participate in the mission He has called his children to live out.

Catie Thomas is a student at Southeastern working towards her Masters of Divinity in International Church Planting. She is also currently the Administrative Assistant in the Women's Life office. She has a heart for women and is humbled that God allows her to share His truth with them, whether that means mourning with them as they mourn or rejoicing with them as they rejoice. She looks forward to the future as she continues on this journey with the Lord but joyfully rests in the place where God has her here at Southeastern.

Today we have the blessing of hearing from the Lyon's for {Part Two} of our mini-series for this month, Trusting Jesus.  Go ahead and dive into today's post, we are sure that you will be refreshed and challenged! To see {Part One} of the series click here.

Let's Hear From Stephanie: 

The concept of trusting Christ should never be something that sounds “old hat,” or that we hear and think, “Oh, I’ve heard this a million times.” But if you’re like me, sometimes when you hear that, it sounds as familiar as the good trusty Sunday School answer-of-all-questions, “Jesus.”

Yet, trusting Jesus is literally at the foundation of every single second of the Believers life:

every decision, response, prayer and desire. When I am tempted to worry, is that worry displaying that I am trusting my King in the matter, or myself? When I find myself battling fear in a certain area, am I sincerely trusting Christ over this issue?

If I am, it’s really a game-changer.

Larry eluded to this is his post last week, but one area that God has called us to great trust in Jesus is in the area of growing our family. For many reasons, we desire to a have big family. In God’s kindness, our oldest daughter, Anna Kate, is now eight, and our youngest, Abby, is five. We cherish the calling to be their parents deeply. Yet, in between these precious daughters, I was actually pregnant with a child before Anna Kate, in which we lost to miscarriage. Woah, talk about my trust in Jesus. That was a dark place for me when it came to trusting Christ well, yet He worked mightily in my heart though the power of the Gospel.  When Anna Kate was 18 months old, I got pregnant again, only to experience the searing loss of another miscarriage. My heart and my trust in Christ were spinning. I was battling fear; fear that we would never be able to have another child on our own, fear that even the child I held in my arms (Anna Kate) would be taken away from me, fear that God didn’t really have my best interest at heart.

That was a season of great heat in my life, like Jeremiah 17:7-8 talks about. 

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him…it does not fear when heat comes…”

The Lord was asking me,

Am I really your portion? (Psalm 73:26)

Do you really trust me?

That my thoughts and ways are higher than yours? (Isa 55)

That I am good, and my steadfast love really does endure forever? (Psa 118:1)

I have begged Him through many tears, both then and now, to please increase my faith in Him, to help me to resolutely trust in Him, and to help my unbelief (Mark 9:24). For I believe Hebrews 11:6 is true, and that without faith it is IMPOSSIBLE to please God, and by His grace alone, I want to please Him more than anything. 

So help in trusting Him more is what I need. 

Daily. 

Moment by moment.

Little did I know that after that second miscarriage, God would grace us with Abby, but He was also preparing us for two additional miscarriages. It’s been almost nine years since God began growing our family, and while we still greatly desire more children, He has not chosen to give them to us, both naturally or through adoption. So, like every other area of our life, we are daily called to trust Him in this, and trust Him as our Portion.

In Him alone, we stand here today saying He is worthy of our trust, and we WILL trust you, King Jesus. 

Let's Hear From Larry:

Often I attempt to communicate my trust of Christ and His work in my life by dialogue directed inwardly to myself, or to others, a sort of talking it out type of thing. I also have the tendency to “prove” my trust by going about my tasks everyday in ways I believe will honor the Lord. What I often fail to do is slow down, pray, listen, and think. It is evident that we lack trust when, in the business of life, we fail to commune with Christ. Paying lip service or deed service to trusting Christ reveals the opposite of what we hope to show; reliance on our own is a lack of trust in Christ.

So, the question must be asked, “how does one show that we trust Christ?” We reveal our deep and abiding trust in Christ when we spend time with him. As Martin Luther is cited as saying, “I am too busy not to pray!” This captures what a trusting heart in Jesus looks like. Do we pray? Do we read our Bibles? Do we enjoy the fellowship with other believers? Do we evangelize? See, it is in these normal Christian behaviors that we show how much reliance we place in Jesus. Being busy, even in good, godly endeavors does not escape us from the necessary attachment to the Lord that we must have.

The last verses of Matthew 9 help make this clear for us as we read about Christ’s plan to bring in His harvest. After the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5-7) and various healing and teachings (Matt 8-9), Jesus continues to go throughout all the cities and villages teaching and healing. His compassion is evident and He is making himself known as the true Shepherd. He provides clear instruction to His followers, “Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.’” Our first response to this passage is usually to see that laborers are needed and say, “I will be a laborer.” And, yes there is labor to be done and yes, we should be the laborers. But notice what Jesus sets before His followers as of first responsibility: prayer. Don’t work yet, don’t labor yet, rather pray. The foundation for the ministry and work of God’s people is to be built on the foundation of prayer. My pastor recently highlighted that this is how Jesus will enact His work; it first be through the “work” of prayer. The answer to the prayer is laborers.

So, do you begin working and then pray as you go? Or do you work and pray later? It seems that Jesus loves those prayers, but shows us that the more strategic and fruitful order of events will be to first pray, then let Him work in and through us to bring His harvest for His glory. May we be encouraged that Jesus first finds our faith in in our time with Him, and then sends us out to spend time in His harvest field.  Trust in faith first, and then work.

Larry and Stephanie have been married 11 years and have 2 beautiful girls: Anna Kate - 8 and Abby - 5. Larry worked in both education and business for eight years prior to entering his doctoral studies and working full-time for SEBTS as Director of Admissions. Stephanie is a former employee of the North American Mission Board and Hebron Baptist Church and has a passion for teaching and discipling younger women. Stephanie currently devotes herself to serving her family, her community, and the Body of Christ.

Today we hear from the Whitfield's on Part Two of our What's the Big Deal About Easter? series for this month. To see {Part One} of the series click here.  Read below to hear more about Considering Christ’s Atonement for Our Sins.

“For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.” (1 Peter 2:21-24)

When is the last time you considered that Jesus suffered for you?

Let's Hear From Keith:

I think we are inclined to think about Jesus dying for sins and for the world, which are 100% right, but we can miss the personal significance sometimes if all we do is relate his death to sins and redeeming all people, everywhere. Peter does not allow us to do that in 1 Peter 2:21. He says Christ suffers for you.

The term used for "suffered" in a general term that basically means "to experience something." Nearly always, however, in the New Testament, it is used in the unfavorable and specific sense of suffering death. When we consider that the perfect son of God, the King of kings suffered for us, it provokes a question (at least for me): What did his suffering consist of? What did he experience for me?

Well, his suffering is described for us the Gospel narratives, and Peter summarizes it for us in 1 Peter 2. What we discover is Jesus experienced physical and spiritual suffering. He suffered at the hands of barbarous captors, and experienced the physical brutality of crucifixion. But He suffered spiritually, too. Verse 24 says, "he bore our sins in his body on the tree." That came with being cursed (Dt. 21:23; Gal. 3:13).

In the face of the physical pain, public insult, and spiritual affliction, Peter says that even while suffering, “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” (v. 22; quoting Isaiah 53:9) This is quite astounding. Jesus had not committed a crime worthy of a cruel death, and for that matter, He committed no sin at all.

As we addressed last week, if we don't acknowledge Jesus' sinlessness, we miss one of the central truths of the Christian faith—that Jesus became a man, that He was subject to temptation, but that He never sinned. He always did what the Father wanted Him to (John 5:19). Jesus' own obedience could not be expressed in a more faith-inspiring way than the way Peter says. He says, in the midst suffering, Jesus “continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.”

The key reason for understanding that Jesus was sinless is that a sinful man cannot offer himself as a sacrifice before a holy God on behalf of another sinful person. But, Jesus, who was tempted and tried, and yet sinless, could intervene. He can bring us to God (1 Pet. 3:18; Tim. 2:5).

Consider what it must have been like for Jesus to take our sins upon himself. Remember, what these sins do and have done to us. Sin wages full assault against our souls (2:11). We are held under bondage to it. Sin corrupts our minds, tossing us to and fro (Eph. 3:17-19, 14). Sin obscures our understanding of reality (Rom. 1:21). Sin leads to futile and purposeless life (1 Pet. 1:18). Our sins have damaged relationships, and lead us to chasing time-wasting passion (Tit. 3:8). In sin, we live under the reign and rule of death and God’s condemnation (Rom. 5:12-21, Heb. 2:14). We sin because we ignore God and fail to worship Him. Our sins have twisted our lives. He suffered for all of those things, and suffered them.

Now we come to purpose Jesus’ sacrificial death:

Jesus, the sinless One, bore our sins in His body. Theological term alert. . . the big term for this is "Penal Substitutionary Atonement." That big idea refers the fact that Jesus stood in our place (Substitution) and took the penalty (Penal) for our sins (Atonement).

Jesus did this for our good. Peter explains it in clear terms:

"He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed." (2:24)

This point is easy to miss. Jesus died, yes, to provide forgiveness for sins and grant eternal life. BUT, He wants to do more, and His death accomplishes even more. He died to remove our sins from us and to make us righteous.

For Peter, bearing the cross isn't just for Jesus. It is for us, too. Remember, verse 21, “for to this you have been called [namely, to follow Jesus].” This is what Peter heard his Master teach time and time again:

"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it." (Luke 9:23-24)

Jesus took up His cross and died in order to give life. For us, taking up our cross consists of dying to our old selfish, sinful way of life and then following Jesus wherever He leads us, in Peter's words -- "that we might die to sins and live to righteousness" (2:24).

Let's Hear From Amy:

The first time I ever heard the term “substitutionary atonement,” I knew I was in over my head. This was something that the smart, theologian types talked about and they were way out of my league. I would smile and nod, act like I was getting it, and keep moving with the conversation.

It’s easy for terms to intimidate us, but the idea was never meant to do that. The idea was meant to free us. He took everything I deserved onto Himself, and I stand completely clean. That doesn’t intimidate me intellectually. That overwhelms me emotionally.

For me, this is a concept that at one time was only considered during times of worship. Now, to be sure, considering it at these times is the good and appropriate. When I am in corporate worship, hearing the preaching of the Word or singing praises to Him, that is absolutely the thing that I would want to focus on. When I am in private reflection or prayer, the atonement is my reason to approach Him and the focus of my gratitude. The great sacrifice that He made for me is the reason for my worship.

But how does this atonement matter in my daily life, when I am “going and doing”? My tendency can sometimes be to worship him with my thoughts toward what He has done for me, but then to let my actions come from what I think I can do for Him. And every time I have gone down that road, it has led to discouragement. I run out of steam on my to-do list. I buckle under the pressures of daily struggle. I am no match for suffering when it comes my way. And then I don’t know where to turn.

But that’s the point of the atonement, and why I needed it. There is nothing I can do for Him. And Paul said something in his letter to the Romans which brings me back, every time, and points me to the cross: “Therefore, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Everything that happens to me can’t be for my bad. It has to be for my good. And He isn’t looking at me wondering, “What great thing will you do for Me?” He is telling me, “This is what I have done for you. Now you are free.” He isn’t waiting for me to become perfect by myself. I can die to sin and live to righteousness because He stood in my place.

This doesn’t mean that life doesn’t bring challenges. It does, however, mean that I can live through them knowing that the weight of sin will not kill me. He stood in my place and took care of my greatest need, so I am free to no longer worry about myself, and to pick up my cross and follow Him without fear or anxiety.

Yes, when I hear the term “substitutionary atonement,” I still feel like I am in over my head. Because I am. And that’s where I want to stay—hidden in Him, completely covered by what He has done for me.

Keith & Amy Whitfield live in Wake Forest, NC, where Keith teaches Systematic Theology at SEBTS.  Keith previously served as pastor of Waverly Baptist Church in Waverly, Virginia, in the years 2005 to 2010, and from 2010 until 2012, they lived in Nashville, TN, where Keith taught at a liberal arts college and helped to train church leaders. Amy loves teaching and writing, and has a passion for women to be transformed by the gospel in their daily lives.  Amy currently serves as Assistant to Charlotte Akin,  and also assists in other areas with research and writing.  Amy and Keith have two children: Mary (age 9) and Drew (age 7).