Jesus, I begin my day in you, walking in the light of the one who lights the darkness

Today is Ash Wednesday. The first Day of Lent. Lent is my favorite season of the church. It is a time of 40 days before Easter where we, the church, set aside for self-reflection, prayer, fasting as Jesus did for 40 days in the wilderness after he was baptized before he began his ministry, and as the Israelite spent 40 years in the desert before entering the promise land.

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,” (Isaiah 61:1-2)

You may be thinking, why am I beginning my meditation on Ash Wednesday with a passage on anointing and good news?

Because that anointing in the passage above in Isaiah is also on all who have been baptized in Christ and received the Holy Spirit.  In Christ, your identity, who you are is a source of good news to the poor, love to those depressed and heartbroken, freedom to the addicted, and the voice of the Gospel of grace and hope in your community.

In Christ you are all these things, however you in yourself are dust, and to dust you shall return. In ourselves, in our mortal bodies we are but dust that dies, However, in Christ filled with the breath of the Holy Spirit we are beings of life.  “then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.”  (Genesis 2:7)

Do we need to embrace the reality too Ash Wednesday hat each of us in our flesh will die? Yes we do, as yes we will. “.A voice says, “Cry!”And I said, “What shall I cry?” All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the LORD blows on it; surely the people are grass. (Isaiah 40:6-7)

However, Jesus never spoke of his crucifixion and death without also including his resurrection.  Jesus told us, “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” (Matt 16:25)  The focus is not on the ashes of loss but the anointing of life!  “to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning,” (Isaiah 61:3).

Jesus, at the beginning of the Lord's Supper states, "And he said to them, "I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer." (Luk 22:15)  Jesus in complete love earnestly desired to be with and reach out into the lives of those around him.  And he earnestly desires to be with you.  A good question for each of us to honestly discern this Lent is, "What do I earnestly desire?" Because what you desire will control the one thing that controls everything else in your life, your heart.

Ash Wednesday and Lent is a season of repentance and dying to things, good things, that we have made idols of in our lives so that out of their ashes we may have life and life abundantly.  Jesus tells us “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10) Yes, we were physically born into a body that will perish, but that is not our focus or who we are.  Who we are and our identity is in Christ and our spiritual birth, our being born again in the Spirit. “For you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God.  (Psalm 103: 23)

My family, I pray today you will remember you are dust and ashes, but embrace your anointing. That beginning today and the next 40 days of Lent you will repent and die to idols that perish, so your identity will be one of life and love.   In Jesus name.  Please pray the same for me.  God bless you my friends!!! 

I really would love to hear your reflections, and I believe they would encourage others. So please share your reflections and prayers with us in the comment box below.

Ash Wednesday Service

I will be leading an Ash Wednesday service in my back yard this evening this evening at 6:30pm. You are all welcomed to attend. Even if Ash Wednesday is not a part of your denomination’s traditions, I encourage you to find a church that is having a serve tonight and attend.

 Resolve to Help in 2023

 I want to ask you to resolve this year in partnering with my wife, myself, and One Direction Community by supporting our ministries!   We begin a new season of our ministry of pouring completely into planting and growing simple house churches in our neighborhoods, and having “boots on the ground” serving in our community.. Please pray over this. If you click on the link below you can easily set up a weekly, bi-monthly, or monthly auto donations in the amount you desire. . We would be so grateful for your help.  You can also give a one-time donation on the same link.  Thank you!

CLICK HERE TO GIVE

You can mail your donation to One Direction Community P.O. Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758

Discipleship Training.

One of my passions is helping churches or small groups understand and embrace their call to be disciples of Jesus in their community. I offer and lead discipleship trainings in person and on-line. If you are interested I would love to talk to you bout it. Email me at garyl@onedirection.community.

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 Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower

One Direction Community

Email: garyl@onedirection.community

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