Pastor’s Ponderings—March 2026

To the church of God as found at Marion Salem Church, called to be saints together with those in every place who call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ: You are miracles of God’s grace and mercy!

For centuries Christians have yearned to walk closer with the Lord. The question of how has often led to dangerous thinking that we are saved by our works—that it is the things we do that enable us to be Christians. The results are disappointing. Either we will feel like failures because works religion only makes us realize how fallen we are, or it will lead to a prideful heart that falls further and further from the Lord. This thinking boils down to: We do so we can become.

So how can we walk closer to the Lord? Well, the first step is to realize that we are already close to the Lord. That’s what salvation has done for us. We can be Christians because the Lord has made us into Christians. Jesus empowers us for actions we take; whether works of piety those acts of devotion to the Lord, or works of mercy that are acts done in the name of the Lord for others. We do neither of these with the mindset that doing them makes Christians. It is because of who we are (our being), we do certain things, we act. This flips the previous way of thinking around, our actions do not make us, they flow from what Christ has remade us to be.

Thus the season of Lent and all the spiritual disciplines we might undertake or explore are not so that we become, we do them because they flow from who we are. The spiritual practices of the early Methodists were known as the means of grace, in other words, the acts by which God imparts His grace to us. The instituted means of grace are better known; Communion, prayer, Scripture reading, fasting, giving, and joining together with other believers in worship and accountability (called “Christian conferencing” back then). These are instituted because they are clearly instructed in Scripture and they have reference to God’s promised work in our lives. There are also prudential means of grace; that is those things in which God decides of His own goodness to bless us at that time and in those circumstances. God is not required to communicate His grace to us at every opportunity of a prudential means of grace, like a walk in nature.

Focusing on the instituted means of grace, I would like to challenge you during Lent to make a special effort at giving yourself to these acts. Do not do them so that you can become more like Christ. Do them because you are a follower of Christ. Let them flow out of who you are, not to make or change who you are. We have just received Communion on Ash Wednesday. We will once again on March 1st and 15th during Sunday worship, as well as on Maundy Thursday and Easter Sunday. I would encourage your daily prayers be not solely about food, health, and temporal concerns—the Lord’s heart aches for the lost. May we pour out petitions for those who have lost their way that through our prayers and through us the Lord might reach them. Be in Scripture. If you have never done the 30 Days with Jesus reading plan, now would be a good time. If you’ve done that one, I would highly recommend you go deeper in a theological study traveling 60 Days with Paul and the rest of the New Testament. Of course, many think of fasting in connection with Lent; yet it is truer still that we replace a bad habit with a good one. So if you fast, replace that with giving, study, or service and make your fast complete. Giving should come from a place of sacrifice, not spare change. Finally, joining with others to encourage and be encouraged makes growth fuller. Be this Lent, don’t do it.

Blessings

Jason

Lenten Series: The Cure

Based off a book by the same name, we will explore the paths of Pleasing God and Trusting God, learning that one is built on self-effort and the other on humility. This series is for those seeking a deeper relationship with Christ no matter where they are starting on the journey.

3/1: “Two Solutions” 2 Corinthians 5 — 3/8: “Two Healings” 1 John 4:7-21

3/15: “Two Friends” John 3:16-21 — 3/22: “Two Destinies” John 12:12-16