The idea of 'giving something up for Lent' is widely known and discussed today - yet how many know that the ancient discipline of the Lenten fast had several purposes? It was designed as a reminder of our daily dependence on God for all our needs, to draw us closer to God in prayer, to reconnect with the idea of community, and to help us follow Christ's journey through the wilderness and on to Jerusalem. How many of us simply abstain from some treat or other for a few weeks and fail to engage with this deeper meaning of Lent? This book shows how Lent can be a time for exploring a different kind of 'giving up', one that can transform our lives. If we are to draw closer to God, we have to be willing to give up some of our entrenched ideas about him, in order to see him more clearly. In a series of daily studies, Maggi Dawn shows how, throughout Scripture, people were radically changed by encountering the true God. If we follow their examples, we can allow the Holy Spirit to shed his light on our ideas of God that are too harsh, too small, too fragile, or too stern.
Then God will graciously reveal himself to us and bring us to an Easter joy that is richer and more profound than ever before. Contents include: Introduction - Section 1: giving up (Ash Wednesday to Saturday), Section 2: Jesus in the wilderness and beyond (First week of Lent), Section 3: other wildernesses (Second week of Lent), Section 4: Changing perceptions (Third week of Lent), Section 5: Changing communities (Fourth week of Lent), Section 6: Changing your mind (Fifth week of Lent), and Sections 7: 'The end of all our exploring' (Holy Week); and Easter Sunday.