Face Set, Heart Open

When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. - Luke 9:51
 
We often refer to the season of Lent as a journey, or a pilgrimage.  It is a time of preparation to open ourselves and ready ourselves for the events of Holy Week.  This period of time is a gift.  It’s an opportunity offered to examine our lives, examine our hearts, our beliefs, and our faith.  During Lent we pause to ponder:
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1. What do I believe, about  God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, myself and my place in the world?
2. What does being a follower of Jesus really mean to me?
3. How is my faith evident in and through my life?
4. Am I allowing my faith to be fluid by keeping my heart open; to be shaped, nurtured, and even changed by the Spirit of God?

These are big questions, and we certainly can’t answer them in one sitting.  Yet it is important to take the time to really think about each one, pray about each, perhaps journal or talk to another Christian about each. What beliefs to you have now that have changed over the years? 

At the Transfiguration, the disciples saw that the appearance of the face of Jesus became other; it was ‘was set toward Jerusalem.’ What this meant for the disciples was that this journey with Jesus, should they be willing to live by his teachings, was going to lead them to the cross.  This revelation rocked their world, and though their instinct was to return to what they knew, or what was safe, they decided to continue to follow Jesus. They examined their faith.  God was bigger than they had imagined and was calling them to something bigger than they had dreamed.

If you allow yourself to take a look at what you believe, where might that journey lead?  

Leave a comment about your own journey with Jesus... 

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