A young man went to an old preacher and asked, "How can I get victory over pride and criticism?"

The preacher said to him, "Go to the grave of Brother Jones who recently passed away and as you stand by the grave say all the nice things you can about him. Flatter him greatly."

He did as the old preacher advised, When he returned the old preacher asked, "What did he say?"

The answer, "Nothing. He is dead."

The old preacher then told the young fellow to go out to the grave and criticize Brother Jones. "Say many mean things to him."

When he came back the old preacher asked, "What did he say?"

The young preacher said, "Nothing, He's dead!"
Reckoning ourselves dead with Christ, we will be unmoved by flattery or criticism. 

– Unknown

Lent

The word "Lent" is derived from the old Anglo-Saxon word "Lenten," for spring. In the Christian year, Lent is the forty-day period of prayer and spiritual self-examination that prepares for the festival of Resurrection. Lent is identified with the passion or suffering of Christ. Forty days is traditionally reflective of the forty days that Jesus fasted in the wilderness. During this time He was tempted by Satan.

I've always had trouble counting the days of lent. It never figured out to forty days as I counted. Lent does not include the Sundays. These "Lord's Days" are weekly celebrations of the Resurrection and therefore not part of Lent. Lent is made up of forty days of weekdays and Saturdays.

Lent is not concerned only with remembering the suffering of Christ. It was designed to prepare the Christian to celebrate the death and resurrection of Christ. The object is a participation and reliving of the events of our historical atonement, the life, suffering, rejection, death, and triumph over death of Jesus Christ. Lent is a time for Christians to deepen their conviction..

Sources: The Dictionary of Bible and Religion, William Gentz | The Bible Almanac, White

Easter Quotations

Tomb, thou shalt not hold Him longer;
Death is strong, but Life is stronger;
Stronger that the dark, the light;
Stronger than the wrong, the right;
Faith and Hope triumphant say
Christ will rise on Easter  Day.

Phillips Brooks

The story of Easter is the story of God’s wonderful window of divine surprise.

Carl Knudsen