Repent and Turn

We had a wonderful Ash Wednesday service and Pastor Barry gave us a lot to think about as we prepare our hearts for Easter.  Ash Wednesday gets its name from the placing of repentance ashes on the foreheads (or hands) of participants. The ashes stand for the “ashes” of our lives.   After reading, Acts 3: 19, "Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord...", Pastor Barry said, "repent and stop.  Do a 180 degree turn!” I have heard many people refer to “needing” that service because they needed hope, forgiveness and freedom!

Lent is a time to think about how Jesus Christ suffered for us.  Denying ourselves of something we love helps us be more attune to God’s voice.  It is a way of disciplining and strengthening ourselves, participating, in a small way, in the sufferings of Jesus.  It offers us an opportunity to reflect and respond to how we may spend the rest of the year, realizing the need for a Savior and putting Him as our top priority!  The more we know we need God, the more we love Him!    

Joel 2: 12-14, “‘Even now’, declares the Lord, ‘return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.  Rend your heart and not your garments.  Return to the Lord your God, for his is gracious and compassionate.’”  

This Lenten season, return to the Lord!