Let Lent Begin
Come to me, I will give you rest
Today is Valentine’s Day. It is also Ash Wednesday. Today marks an invitation to know the power of God’s love in new dimensions and find rest for our souls. Today initiates an important time in the spiritual realm.
Jesus said, “Come to me and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28
On the liturgical calendar, the Lenten season is one of prayer, reflection and repentance, and it opens the pathway for us to find true rest in Jesus. These spiritual practices are not the goal of this season, the goal is to seek God with all of our hearts. Lent is less about giving something up and more about giving God your heart. He is our source of true rest.
Lent is less about giving something up and more about giving God your heart.
Lent is an opportunity to recognize the ways we have strayed from God. Noble causes and good things can become more important to us than he is, and the distractions around us are endless.
... In the midst of it all, Jesus waits for us.
He offers us this season as a gift to find our way home again. He began his ministry by spending 40 days praying and fasting in a desert - leaning into God's power, knowing he would need it for all that was to come. And so do we.
Some questions for you to consider this Ash Wednesday are:
In what areas of my life have I strayed from God?
What spiritual practices will allow me to find my way back to him?
Some people place ashes on their forehead on this day. This is a sign of repentance as we become aware of our sin. Repentance simply means to turn from sin and towards God.
Repentance simply means to turn from sin and towards God.
Spiritual practices allow us to know God’s power and experience deep inner change as we let go of unhelpful patterns and habits and embrace the strength and life of Jesus.
This Lenten Season...
How will you give to those in need?
How and when will you pray?
Who may you need to forgive? Who can you apologize to?
What will you fast from? And how can you replace it with prayer?
Father, help us turn from our sin and open our hearts to you. Prepare us to experience your resurrection life in mightier ways than we have yet known. Open the gates of Heaven so when Easter comes, we can celebrate the resurrection with remarkable joy rooted in our new life, and true life, in you. Amen.