Preceding every ASH WEDNESDAY, I search for a 40 day plan* or book to lead me to the Cross & through to the greatest celebration in life for me - the Resurrection! But without the Cross & the Tomb, without Jesus' sacrificial love, there would be no Resurrection to celebrate. Without our Lord Jesus Christ, we would not know the triumph from the tomb, the victory of His life over death - over the death of sin. And the death of sin comes from our repentance and the salvation of Jesus Christ that redeems us from our sin & death. But still, we are called to die to self, die to sin and make changes. God asks us to admit to our wrongs (sin), acknowledge when we do wrong or even think wrong or when we speak wrong, when we speak death over life. We are called to speak life over death - His Life, the life of Jesus.
Death is represented by ashes.
We are reminded by this on
ASH WEDNESDAY
in traditional denominations of faith
there is the ritual of making a
sign of the cross
on each sinner's forehead
with ashes
while this declaration is said,
| "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return. " |
which comes from
Genesis 3:19
or
“Repent, and believe in the Gospel.”
to remind us of our human mortality
and our need to change
believing in the power of the Gospel.
It is an outward reminder not only of our
REPENTANCE
but also that
our lives are meant to be of service to
God
who created us out of nothing
mere dust
| "...We are reminded that we will return to dust after our death because our lives here on earth are temporary, but we repent because we are made to live forever with the Lord in heaven, and repentance ensures that we are living in a manner that is in accord with God’s commandments.” |
"...Up from the ashes, Hope will arise...Death is defeatedThe King is Alive!"
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I am the least to write or speak about the steps to REPENT - because I (like you & all other human beings) are sinners and have done wrong, so I am quite familiar with the lifelong process of repentance, the building stones to RESTORATION through RECONCILIATION, but actually this post is a sum of many "R" words that remind me how to proceed through 40 days of Lent {however, I did find a book and a plan for me personally} The lesson I've learned for contrition & feeling regret with the need to turn from my wrong (sin) and make amends begins with these steps to REPENT (similar to the steps to praying for our salvation found in our belief in the saving grace of Jesus Christ) we need to:
- acknowledge the sin, admit our wrong
- confess the wrong
- ask for forgiveness
- turn away from doing that wrong
- restore the wrong done
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So we're right back to one of my "R" words
RESTORE
and then
for
REVIVAL
it needs to start with each individual
for me, REVIVAL means to bring back to life
{I'm pretty sure that would be in the definition of it}
similar to
ASHES to RESURRECTION
to begin again
For REVIVAL, we need to be led by the Holy Spirit, to
Repent & Forgive.
Recalibrate your Perspective.
Recall God's Sovereignty.
Recenter your Hope.
Reinforce with Praise.
Resolve to Shine & Stand.
My prayer is that truly each one of us take these next 40 days
to get us to a place of
REVIVAL
through
REPENTing
{I don't think my previous way of defining words that begin with the prefix "re-" works with this word because that would make my short cut mean that "RE-PENT" would be to "pent again". I don't think there's a meaning for pent but indulge with me, for a minute, that 'pent' means having kept much inside (pent up) and the final need to let it out again & again until we've emptied ourselves from all of our wrong thinking, wrong speaking, wrong doing & finally make that change completely & not RETURN to it}
As I reflect on "ashes", it sadly reminds me of returning from Mexico after the total loss of our house to a fire and the rebuilt structure but the many things that were inside were so damaged by soot and much was left in piles of ashes. Any loss, including death, the remains decompose and living beings become changed into the very essence of ashes or dust. Fire destroys & leaves our earthly belongings as ashes. I think that the process of being REFINED also burns out things that don't belong in us, changing our earthly bodies & thus preparing us for our heavenly ones. Day by day, especially during Lent, we should allow our lives to be REFINED by the Word & discipline of denying ourselves so that we can continually reaccess the way we live & give to others life-giving words & actions; ridding ourselves of all impurities so we can resolve to Shine & Stand as Lights in a very dark world even among people that claim to be Christian or in the Church that are living so hypocritical & judgmental lives of others & following after others rather than focused on following Jesus! REPENTANCE is long overdue & needs to happen before REVIVAL can come to the Church, our own lives & hearts have to change first. "The human heart is full of eternal hopes."~Chris Tiegreen, The Promise of Lent, Day 1 of 40
May the Lent of 2021 bring us to our knees & examine our own hearts & lives before we judge or speak out against others.
May our ASHES lead us through REDEMPTION to a glorious RESURRECTION! May Jesus Christ REDEEM & RESTORE each of us! REPENT and get READY for Jesus Christ (God) to show up.
Join me on a journey *"From Ashes To Resurrection"... exploring the ways Jesus delivers us through His life, death & Resurrection. "When Jesus Christ saves us, He makes us new." (rephrased, to personalize plurally)He flooded the dark corners of our lives with His purifying light and breathed the fresh life of His Spirit into us."
I believe that He can do the same for the darkness in our world still today, starting with each one of us, and I pray He does this for our nation too, but it starts in us. God is continuing (if we humble ourselves & let Him) His miraculous work in each of us, every single day as we individually prepare our heart, mind & lives as we REPENT & READY ourselves now, and for eternity & Jesus' imminent RETURN.
