“I met a stranger fair to see, as I walked down life’s rugged way, he spoke so sweet, so tenderly, he won me to himself that day. It was the man of Galilee who whispered words of joy to me. “Thy many sins be all forgiven thee, they sins be all forgiven.” And when that stranger spoke to me, my heart threw off its guilty load, I felt at once that I was free and I laid my burdens down. I’ve loved that stranger since that hour, he speaks to me in tender tones, he is my joy I feel his power, I’m glad that I’m his own. O, the love that sought me, O, the blood that bought me, O, the grace that saved me, the wondrous grace of God.”

To put it plainly, Lent is about redemption and sacrifice and Easter is about new birth. While Lent for many of us is a time of personal sacrifice, self denial and repentance, Jesus wants us to think about all the lives He touched on His way to Calvary. He knew what lay ahead, but His heart was full of love and He just went about doing good. So too, He wants us to touch many lives during this Lenten Season, to put others ahead of ourselves, to love one another, to do random acts of kindness; feed the hungry, clothe naked, comfort those who mourn, and forgive those who have wronged us. We may fast, and we may meditate, and we may pray at the fourteen stations of the cross; but, if we fail to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, we would never be changed; and that is what Easter is all about – resurrection, renewed faith, new birth, and new beginnings. There are still a few more days before Easter, there is still time for you and I to touch lives as we journey on to Calvary with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and be changed. Praise the Lord!

I don’t know about you, but this song writer said it so true; “I have long withstood His grace, long provoked Him to His face. Would not hearken to His calls, and grieved Him by a thousand falls. Why on me this waste of love? Ask the Savior from above. I see the pain in Jesus’ face, now before the throne of grace. There for me the Savior stands, shows His wounds and spreads His hands, then He whispers, “Come my child, there’s mercy here for you.” What a wonderful Savior!

Have you ever been in a situation that you could not understand, a situation where all seems lost, and you wonder, where is God in all this? We are not always readily able to understand the reasons why we go through certain situations, until after we come through, and we say, if it had not been for the Lord on my side, where would I be. God will allow us to go through situations, terrible situations, so that when he delivers us, we will have nothing but praise for him. Lord, you promised to be with us through all the changing scenes of life, and I will not doubt you. You have shown me your love in difficult situations and because of this, I am trusting you with my whole heart. Lord, I know now, that there is no problem, situation or circumstance that is greater that you; all I need is the faith to believe, that with you, all things are possible. Thank you, Lord!

To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law – indeed it cannot, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But, you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him he who raised Jesus dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you. Romans 8:6-10

We must be convicted, committed and faithful in order to follow God. The walk is not an easy walk, but if we set these three principles before us, it gets easier. Our conviction is what leads us to God, or commitment is what helps us to stay on the right path, and our faithfulness will allow God to work through us, with us, and in us. If we are walking with God, we will complete the pilgrim journey. “Lord, help me to walk before you faithfully with integrity of heart and uprightness.” 1 Kings 9:4

I just feeling like sharing one of my Lenten stories with you – let light shine out of darkness. I was on the train yesterday on my way to work, and as the train was approaching Mass Ave, I heard a faint cry for help, then it got louder. The train was packed and I tried to see where the sound was coming from, but could not. The I heard, “ I am hungry help me”, and I saw a woman making her way through the crowd asking everyone to help her, but no one did. She came and stood directly in front of me and said, “Help me, I am hungry.” This plea tugged at my heart, but I looked away, knowing how scheming people could be. The lady next to me got off the train at the next stop, and the woman sat down next to me, and she said, “See, these people, they are not helping me.” I then turned to her and said, these people don’t owe you anything, why are you hungry? She said, I am homeless and I just came from the shelter and I missed breakfast. I then asked her where she was going, and she said Haymarket, but she have to get back before 4pm in order to get a bed and a meal, but in the meantime she is hungry. I had three dollars and some change in my coin purse and I gave it to all to her. She then introduced herself, she said, I am Phyllis and I said I am Jewel. I asked her if she did not have any kids, and she said, “I have a son who wants nothing to do with me because I was just spared from a ten year jail sentence.” This was my moment to let light shine out of darkness, and we had a conversation on the train where I reasoned with her. I told her, we are strong black women and that she is better than this, and that she need to pick herself up, help herself first and then, make her son proud. She asked me if I thought this was possible and I said yes; people have come from places where you have been and start over. She asked me how, and I said, the first step is cleaning up yourself, combing your hair and stop saying poor me. She said, “I think I could do that.” Before I got off the train she said to me; “Are you a minister?” I said no, but I would like to give you a copy of my newsletter and I hope that you will read it. She said, I was good with reading, but not maths, so I will read it. As I was getting off the train, she said to me “Your hair looks nice”, and I said, yours could too, and she smiled. I could only hope that I made a difference in Phyllis’ life, that I was able to let some light shine out of her darkness.