Lent

Ecclesiastes 5:5 (KJV)
Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.

The Apostle Paul tells the church it is better not to make a vow unto God than to make a vow and then not keep it. For if a person makes a vow they do not keep they have been boastful and vain in their attempt to keep a promise.

Today marks the beginning of Lent. Lent is a forty-day period before Easter. It begins on Ash Wednesday. Sundays are skipper when we count the forty days, because Sundays commemorate the Resurrection. Lent begins on 9 March 2011 and ends on 23 April 2011, which is the day before Easter. In the Roman Catholic Church, Lent officially ends at sundown on 21 April (Holy Thursday), with the beginning of the mass of the Lord’s Supper. Lent is a season of soul-searching and repentance. It is a season for reflection and taking stock. Lent originated in the very earliest days of the Church as a preparatory time for Easter, when the faithful rededicated themselves and when converts were instructed in the faith and prepared for baptism. By observing the forty days of Lent, the individual Christian imitates Jesus’ withdrawal into the wilderness for forty days. All churches that have a continuous history extending before AD 1500 observe Lent. The ancient church that wrote, collected, canonized, and propagated the New Testament also observed Lent, believing it to be a commandment from the apostles.

For those who observe Lent their commitment is taken serious. They are making a vow to God to withhold a portion of their life they enjoy. Encourage those following lent reminding them a vow unto God is a serious promise.