The Jeff Cavins Show (Your Catholic Bible Study Podcast) - Take Your Lent to the Next Level

Episode Date: February 18, 2022

Do you want to experience true transformation this Lent? Jeff shares an exciting way for you to get the most of your Lent this year, experience real change, and become the disciple God is calling you to be. Snippet from the Show "The shape of your day is reflected by the love for your life. What would it like for Christ to shape your day?" Email us with comments or questions at [e-mail]. Text “jeffcavins” to 33-777 to subscribe and get Jeff’s shownotes delivered straight to your email! Or visit ascensionpress.com/thejeffcavinsshow for full shownotes!

Welcome to the Jeff Kaven's show, where we talk about the Bible, discipleship, and evangelization, putting it all together in living as activated disciples. This is Show 258, Lent Me Your Ear, becoming an activated disciple. And thank you for joining me again this week. I'm Jeff Kavans, and every single week, you know what we talk about. you've been with me, you know the drill. We talk about discipleship and we talk about scripture. We talk about how to hear the voice of God and how to live as what I call an activated disciple. And I'm always excited to talk about these things. Literally, from the moment I get up to the moment I go to bed at night, it is the Lord in my life. No matter what I'm doing, I could be mowing the lawn or shoveling the driveway. Or I can be with the kids or exercising, spending time with my wife, with the neighbors,

doing my job. But you know what? It all comes back to Jesus. That's really the purpose of life is to walk with the Lord. You are created by God and you're created for God. And in the end, what do we have in the end? Eternal life. It's absolutely wonderful. Hey, I've got a really, really good opportunity for you. One of the things that I appreciate so much about the Catholic Church is the liturgical calendar. And the liturgical calendar kind of squeezes you into things in your life that you need, like during the Christmas season, right, or Advent, you know, preparing you. Well, we're about to go into Lent, and our amazing staff has put together something wonderful. And they were talking to me about this idea that they thought would be really good.

And I, to be honest, I've been wanting to do this for a while during Lent. I wanted to do something special with you during Lent for quite some time. Now, several years ago, I wrote a book called The Activated Disciple. And the Activated Disciple is an unusual book. It's a different look at discipleship that is going back into the history. of Jesus and his disciples, and really looking at how did you become a disciple? What does it mean to be a disciple? Well, I'm going to use that book for something that we're going to do during Lent, and just let me explain this a little bit. And then I want to give you the formal invitation to join me for this. It's the first time we've ever done this. Now, at the heart of who

you are, you are a person who is looking for meaning in your life. You are, and I know that. You're like me. We're not that different from one another. We want our life to count and we want our life to mean something. And over the last couple of years, everything has been scrambled. It was sunny side up two years ago. It's scrambled eggs now. And we want our life to mean something. And I have learned over the last couple of years that really the purpose, you know, is Jesus, which I've always known. But I did something over the last couple of years that stepped up my game a bit. I started to look at the shape of my day. I started to look at how my day looked, you know.

And to be honest with you, I was probably, maybe you and I are a lot alike in this area, too. You start feeling like, wow, I'm going north, south, east, west all the same time. You know, it's like, ooh, I need to pull back. I need to, I need to rest. I need to go into some kind of pilgrimage with God in a period of listening to the Lord. And so during this whole COVID event, my wife and I have changed the shape of our day. And I learned something that I taught myself actually in the book, The Activated Disciple. And that was that the shape of my day is reflected by the love of my life.

And that's really true, isn't it? The shape of your day is reflected by the love of your life. Whatever you're in love with, I can guarantee you pretty much that it's in the shape of your day. You know, if you're huge into soccer, it'll affect your day, the shape of it. If you're huge into music, it will change your day. And if you're really big into bicycle riding or whatever might be, trust me, the shape of your day will reflect it. And so my wife and I were talking about, you know, at the end of all of this in life, we're going to be spending eternity with Jesus. and we want to make sure that our life is is really pointing to that.

And so we looked at this whole issue during COVID as an opportunity to really change some things in our life. And I want to extend that to you. What we're going to be doing in short is starting next week, starting next week, I'm going to give a basic introduction to what it means to be an activated disciple. what it means to be a disciple on a daily basis, to have a shape of your day that reflects that you are in love, and that you have the ability to walk with Jesus just the way the early disciples did. I'm not kidding about that. This faith that you have and I have, this is not just about learning theology and agreeing with it and talking to people about it

and go into conferences to listen to more. No, all that we are learning is for the walking of it, the living it out. That's what all of this is for. It really is. And boy, if you're hungry like I'm hungry, you need to go on a pilgrimage. And we're going to do that. So it's February 25th next week. We're going to be starting.

And if you're listening to this out of order, that's 2022. But we're going to be starting with an introduction. And then we're going to every week on this show. we're going to introduce you to one more aspect of what it means to become an activated disciple. And it's going to go all the way till April 29th. So that's what we're going to be doing over the next number of weeks during Lent to prepare our hearts and to hopefully become more like Jesus. So what we're going to be doing is we're going to study that book. And now I'm going to be here whether you get the materials or not.

I'm going to be here for you, and I'm going to be doing some teaching. But if you're interested in going through this Lenton journey with me and your friends, your family, your whole mailing list, then there are three things that I'm going to be giving you if you will sign up for this. Again, I'll be here for you regardless. But if you want all that you can get out of this experience of becoming an activated disciple over lent. It's a challenge. Trust me, it's worth it. Then you can register and all the information is in the show notes and you will receive a book that is the activated disciple. Now listen to this,

you're going to get also a challenge journal. And that challenge journal is that once we go through the basics of what it means to be a disciple, then you are going to go on an adventure. chair. And I've got a journal prepared for you that you can use during this challenge and you can use after the challenge. And it's a, it's a challenge that puts into practice all that we are learning about being a disciple. And then, get this, I have prepared some amazing videos. I'm talking about the Ascension crew went overboard this time. They put together some videos that I'm teaching twice every week for you. Every week I'm going to be making available to you two videos on the topics that we're going to be going through. So, for example, every single week I'm going to be

teaching you some aspect of discipleship life. And then I'm going to introduce a topic to focus on for that week, like we're going to go through love and forgiveness and humility and patience and selflessness and kindness, attentiveness, and contrition. We're going to go through all of those, and at the same time, we're going to be going through what it means to be a disciple. So if you will sign up, I'm going to give you a promo code. You can get 15% up. I don't think this is very expensive, actually.

I think it's like $29 for everything. You're going to get everything. If you want to go through this with me, or your small group wants to go through this with me, Again, I'll be here regardless. You're going to get all of this. But if you want to go through the book and the videos and really work on becoming that disciple of the Lord, then you can get the material. And I'll put all of this in the show notes.

Now, including the promo code, and the promo code is simply A-D-Lent, activated disciple Lent. So it's the letter A, the letter D, L-E-N-D, and then you'll get 15% on. off of all of that. So that is going to be, that is going to be amazing. Now I'm going to take a break. When I come back, I want to share with you some of the topics that I'm going to be going over during Lent and that you can join me and you can learn about these topics and hopefully step up your game, level up and really, really become that disciple that deep down inside you want to be. You're listening to the Jeff Kaven show. 2,000 years ago, Jesus Christ chose corrupt, broken, imperfect, sinful men to be the foundation of his church.

And because these broken and perfect men chose to remain in relationship with Jesus, they became saints. And they were used by Jesus to transform hearts and minds 2,000 years later. I invite you to check out my book, Broken and Blessed. where you'll find practical tools to overcome habitual sin, to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and to walk with an imperfect church toward a perfect God, who is calling all of us to perfection over time. To order the paperback book or audiobook, broken and blessed,

visit ascensionpress.com or Amazon. Thanks for coming back. Oh, I'm so excited. I'm so excited. Over Lent, starting next week, the 25th of February, that's going to be the introduction. And you've got a week or two to get all your materials sent to you. They'll do it. They'll get them to you.

The next week is going to be kind of an introduction, and you're not dependent upon, you know, all of the materials at that point necessarily. But then we're going to go into a Lenton pilgrimage together on how to be a disciple. So what are some of the things that we're going to talk about? Well, I'm going to be talking to you about, first of all, the biblical foundations for what discipleship is. We're going to go back into the Old Testament, and we're going to look at the foundation of discipleship way back with Israel and Egypt. And I'm going to show you some things that probably will make you think a little bit different about discipleship. Not only

are we going to set that foundation of discipleship, but we are going to also, go back and I'm going to show you, I'm going to show you how a disciple became a disciple in the first century. I'm not talking about just my thoughts or here's a great book here or there. I'm talking about historically. How did you become a disciple if you wanted to follow a rabbi in 2000 years ago? How did you actually do that? Was it up to you? Was it up to the rabbi? What was the role of a rabbi 2,000 years ago. And so we're going to look at that. Basically, who's choosing who here?

And we're going to look at the process of how you actually became a disciple, and how does that fit into your relationship today? And then we're going to, we're going to also be looking at things like the disciplines of a disciple. If you're a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, what does that mean in terms of the daily disciplines? what are things that are involved in the life of a disciple like prayer and scripture and the sacraments I'm going to talk to you in this ongoing seminar that we're having it's not

really a seminar is it it's a pilgrimage it's a Lentan pilgrimage I'm going to be talking to you about hearing the voice of the Lord that's right I believe with all my heart that God is speaking to us the church teaches it and I believe with all my heart that we can hear them. And the church teaches that. And so we're going to talk about hearing the voice of the Lord as a disciple. And we're going to talk about the shape of our day as a disciple. From the moment you wake up to the moment you go to bed at night, your life should take on the shape of a disciple. So we're going to talk about that. Another thing that I'm really excited about is we're going to talk about the fact that as disciples of the Lord, as activated

disciples in the modern world, we're not doing this alone at all. In fact, Jesus has placed us in a family. You know it as the communion of saints. We have brothers and sisters who are in heaven available to help us and pray for us. We have brothers and sisters in purgatory and we have brothers and sisters here on earth. Some people call it the church militant here on earth. Some people call purgatory, you know, the church suffering and the church triumphant in heaven. He places you in the midst of this family. And so we're going to talk about developing your posse. What do I mean by that? I mean that you don't have to do this alone. You can do what I'm doing right now. And that is I've chosen five saints to walk with me in life.

life. Now, I know a lot of other ones. Don't get me wrong, I'm friends with a lot of people in high places, but I have five saints that every single day, they help me walk out this walk as a disciple. And they are according to my vocation as a husband and as a father and a teacher. And I'm going to show you how to develop that posse in your life. That's right. If I took you right now into my house and I showed you around my house you would see in my office. In fact, I am looking behind me right now and I see the books. I have bookshelves and I have the writings of some of my saints on those shelves. Those are the shelves that are dedicated to my posse. I also have a medal for each one next to my bed that reminds me of them and I talk to them throughout the day.

Call me crazy, but I talk to saints. I do. And I ask them to pray for for me. You're probably catching this. I get excited about this. Oh, I'm excited about apologetics. I'm excited about theology. I'm excited about all this. Yeah, but being a disciple, hello, this is where it's at. And so we're going to talk about developing your posse, and then, oh, you're going to love it. I'm going to show you how you can win souls. How do you witness to people? How do you strike up a conversation. What do you lead with? What topics do you stay with? What do you avoid? Right? I'm going to show you what is the most important thing in talking to people about Jesus and how to do it. Get this. Drum roll. How to do it without looking like an idiot. You know what I mean by that?

It's like, just be normal and just talk to people and be real and don't look so hyper-religious, you know, and I know you're not. I mean, you and I've been together. for a while. But you know what I mean. You don't have to be over the top. You can just be yourself and you can share the good news with people that God puts into your life. And then at the end, you know what we're going to do? We're going to talk about really building a life, putting it all together, putting it all together, and going forward from there. So I guess basically what I'm offering you is some concentrated time with me over Lent, starting next week and in, you know, in earnest the week after that, and to really look at this issue of being a disciple.

Do you feel like God wants to bring you to a new level? Do you have that hunger in your heart to go to a new level? I hope you do, because I certainly do, I do with all my heart. And I would absolutely love, love to go through this with you and share what I know. And to get your response as well, maybe we can develop a little community here. So let me wrap this up with this. If you want to join me, you can do that. But if you want the materials to go through this with me,

and that is my book, The Activated Disciple, the Challenge Journal, and the online videos twice a week, I've got some really good videos that will help you to develop the topics of love, forgiveness, humility, patience, selflessness, kind of. attentiveness and contrition. Those are the topics we're going to work on in the context of learning how to be an activated disciples. So if you want those materials, get them now.

If you want to go through this with some of your friends, let them know about this and share it with them. Again, the promo code is AD Lent. That's all one word, A.D. Lent. And you'll get 15% off on all of the materials. so what do you think what do you think do you want to do it i'm moving i'm moving my schedule to do it i'm going to put together some stuff that that i think will be really really encouraging and then once we're done and we come to the resurrection of jesus we can start anew and we we start this

new life together and uh and i've never done this before i teach these seminars around the country at churches. And I do, I teach them at the Catechetical Institute in Minnesota, St. Paul, Minneapolis at the Archdiocese. And, and I'll share with you some of the things we're learning there, too, as we go, as we go through this together. But in short, lent me your ear. I know, it's corny, but you're going to remember it. Lent me your ear, becoming an activated disciple. When we're done, here's my prediction right now. My prediction is that when we are done, you're going to find that you are going to talk to people that you never thought you would talk to, about things that you never thought you would talk about

in places you never thought you would be. I really believe it. I teach this course at the seminary, at St. Paul Seminary, and we've had over 3,500 people go through. this locally. And I can tell you, this will be different with you on the show here. Obviously, it's going to be a little bit different. But we end every time we do this, every time we do this school of discipleship, we have people testify as to how it's changed their life. And I'd like to do that with you. I'd like to, when we were done, I'd like to hear from you as to how this changed your life and how your life is going to be different going forward. And I just tell you

this right now, I have planned a special guest at the end. You won't want to miss the special guest. All right, my friends, enough of that. I'm just so looking forward to it. Here's the code again, AD Lent. Go ahead. I'll put it all in the show notes. And if you don't get the show notes, all you got to do is text my name, Jeff Kaven's, one word, Jeff Kavins, and then text it to the number 3377, 3377, text my name, you'll get the show notes, all of the information is there. And I'm assuming it's at ascensionpress.com as well. All right, well, I'm excited.

Hey, one more thing. If you know of somebody who right now in their life is looking for a change, would you please share this with them? Let's do this together. Share it with them. This can be a way to evangelize. It can be great. All right, let me pray with you.

I love you, my friend. I really do, and I do look forward to being with you every single week. I'm here with you every week. I'm also every single morning. I'm with Jonathan Rumi on Hallow app. Every morning I give a five-minute devotion every single morning. Jonathan reads the gospel. I give the devotion.

And if you want to sign up for that as well, all you got to do is sign up. And at the very end, forward slash Jeff Kaven's one word. You'll get three months absolutely free just to try it out. So I love coming to you this way. I really do. Let's pray. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Jesus, we're so excited for following you and to be your disciple that you've called us.

We are chosen. And you have called us to become like you and to go out and to do your work. Lord, may we take some time this Lent and really go deep into what it means to follow you as a disciple. Lord, we want that change in our life. And remind us, Lord, of those who need this, that we would have courage and share. And, Lord, we anticipate a great time of becoming like you. To you be all the glory. And we do ask for the intercession of our dear mother, Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee. amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God,

pray for us sinners. Now and at the hour of our death, amen. Amen. Okay, please know that I'm praying for you and I would ask you to pray for me. We have a lot to live for and a lot to do with Jesus and everything's going to be different. God bless you. Thank you.