Service Timings
Musings

WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF LENT?
Lent is a 40-day period of fast for the entire church as we intentionally make space in our lives to seek God. It is modelled after the 40-day fast of Jesus in the wilderness before He began His ministry.
A season of fasting and introspection is crucial for us in the modern world. We are constantly so preoccupied with our daily responsibilities and inundated with multiple sources of entertainment that we inevitably neglect the cultivation of our souls. We fail to realize how far we have strayed from God. The season of Lent is thus a crucial reorientation of our lives to God – a spiritual reset if you will.
How can we participate in Lent?
Choose an activity that you enjoy or are used to doing to cease from. It could be to stop checking your social media, engaging in certain forms of entertainment or even from certain foods and drinks. Your mind (and body) will realize the deprivation immediately. Use that time to pray, seek God or encourage others.
Fasting can also take the form of changing our thought patterns. We can fast from negative, critical or worrisome thoughts, and fill them with God’s promises in His word. This speaks about making time to read the bible more in depth, reflect on the words as well as other useful Christian books.
We may fail to keep to our commitments during this Lent. But let this failure be an impetus to return to God and depend even more on the Holy Spirit’s strength to be faithful throughout the rest of Lent. One of the most key aspects of Lent is to realise how weak we are and how dependent we are on God.
I pray that this period of Lental fast will be beneficial for our souls. Just as Jesus was prepared for ministry after His fast, God is preparing for his service ahead through this time of deprivation. May we be fully prepared and fit for the Master’s works after this time!
God bless,
Rev. Ian Chew
For more information about Lent, check out