Ash Wednesday

“Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. For I recognize my rebellion…Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just…Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow…Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me…Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you…” Psalm 51 NLT

There is no greater role model for a penitent heart than King David himself. And penitent is where we must find ourselves on this Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. Britannica.com defines Ash Wednesday as, “a solemn reminder of human mortality and the need for reconciliation with God and marks the beginning of the penitential Lenten season. It is commonly observed with the distribution of ashes and with fasting.” (https://www.britannica.com/topic/Lent) This is a beautiful definition as it covers two of the important factors to consider for your own decision to observe Lent and Ash Wednesday: penitent hearts and fasting.

Penitent Hearts and Reconciliation with God

A common misconception in churches and congregations today is the “I’m saved, I’m good” theory. This is dangerous territory to sit in because it leaves you vulnerable to slip back into the old ways of your lifestyle before Christ. Paul warns us in Philippians that we should always be working on our salvation. Not that we can ever lose it, but that it should grow stronger in its obedience to Jesus as we grow closer to Him:

“My dear friends, you always obeyed when I was with you. Now that I am away, you should obey even more. So work with fear and trembling to discover what really means to be saved. God is working in you to make you willing and able to obey him.” Philippians 2:12-13 CEV

Paul is telling us that our salvation should grow as we grow, as we become more and more penitent and continue to receive forgiveness for sins even after coming to salvation in Christ, the reconciliation we experience with Christ grows our relationship with Him.

Ash Wednesday is a day we honor and observe this magnificent transaction each year. We turn our attention to repentance and receiving Christ’s forgiveness; fully immerse ourselves in that reconciliation Jesus offers through our salvation we received and continue to grow in each time we turn our hearts back to Him; and we are able to walk free of guilt, shame, and condemnation because “If the Son gives you freedom, you are free!” John 8:36 CEV

Fasting 

When I prayed to the Lord about the difficult task He’d given me to write this message, it was not lost on me that I am also preaching a message that would be difficult for me to hear, as well. Fasting is my weakest of the spiritual disciplines. But fasting, when done properly, grows a Christian in ways that are unmatched by any other spiritual discipline. I know this because I have succeeded before.

Relying on Jesus for your bread, your meal, your sustenance, there is no other feeling in the world than to turn to Jesus to sustain you and bring you through a time of hunger. And yes, I am speaking of hunger from food. I challenge you to fast like Jesus fasted. Not like Daniel in the Bible (even though he was a great example), not like your friend at work who is doing that new sugar fast to get ready for spring break, and not like your church’s youth group leader who is challenging themself to fast from social media. Fasting like Jesus, from a meal, an actual meal, every day, for 40 days, WILL change your life!

(*Check with your physician before doing this because I am not a physician and I take no responsibility for your health or welfare if you do this without first consulting your physician and risk injury or illness.)

In order to fast from a meal (or more) every day for 40 days, you will need some pointers:

• Stay Hydrated
• Use That Meal Time for Prayer and Scripture
• Use Other Meal Times Wisely for Sustaining You In Between
• BE SMART, if it isn’t working don’t beat yourself up, just do what you can do and let the rest go
• Give this Time to God and Be more about the Relationship than you are about the Rules
• SUNDAYS are NOT fasting days, they are the Lord’s Resurrection day – So, EAT!
• You are NOT fasting for weight loss, don’t lose sight of your True Goal

Do your research and learn as much as you can before taking on your particular fasting for this Lenten season. The point of your fast should be repentance and reconciliation with God. Anything else, outside growing closer to God, is not the right reason to be fasting. And fasting does not come without prayer, worship, and meditation on Scripture.

And for that – I got you covered!

In my Walking through Lent: 40 Chapters in 40 Days book, I have 40 days (plus bonus days) of Scriptures, devotions, and prayers for you to read, study, and meditate on as  you walk through Lent. You can order the book if you don’t have one here: Walking through Lent: 40 Chapters in 40 Days. Week 1’s Scripture Readings and Key Verses will be posted at the bottom of today’s blog post for those of you who don’t yet have the book.

Today, I want to encourage you to find a church in your area, sit in on an Ash Wednesday service and get into the spirit of repentance. And yeah, get the ash cross on your forehead and be reminded that “you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

A fun challenge I put in my book as a way to incite kindness during Lent and taking care of the needs of others (“almsgiving”) is the Charitable Challenge. Each day there’s a challenge to go out into your normal day and make someone else’s day brighter in whatever creative way you can find. Some days there are specific examples given to you in the book, and some days you are on your own. On Ash Wednesday, you are on your own to kick off the Lent season with your own idea of kindness. But each time you do the challenge, you are encouraged to share a photo on social media with our hashtag: #Lent40Chaptersin40Days so we can all follow along in kindness. I can’t wait to see everyone’s ideas!

Week 1 Scriptures & Key Verses

Day 1 Galatians 1 Key Verse 6

Day 2 Galatians 2 Key Verse 16

Day 3 Galatians 3 Key Verse 26

Day 4 Galatians 4 Key Verse 7 & 28

Day 5 Galatians 5 Key Verse 9

Day 6 Galatians 6 Key Verse 10

Sundays are not included in Lenten fasting; therefore, a full week of Lent is 6 days

My hope for this Lenten season is that you find yourself drawing closer to God, sitting with Jesus longer than you did before, worshiping just a little longer than you used to, and maybe even knowing or understanding a bit more Scripture than you did before you started this journey. By the time Resurrection Sunday rolls around, I hope to know that your hearts are prepared to receive and worship the King of Heaven who didn’t just come to this world as a babe in a manger; but He grew to be a man who lived a righteous and holy life, He died a death in our place to cover the cost of the sins we couldn’t pay, and He took on that purpose willingly laying down His life so we could have this abundant life with Him. We are so undeserving, but He calls us worthy. And this season is the best season for us to get to draw near and abide in Him and find out exactly what He wants us to know about why He did all of that just for us. I hope you find out this season why Jesus did that for you. Lent is a game changing season – so let’s go change the game!

With love and blessings,