What is Ash Wednesday?
And should Christians observe it?
You've probably seen liturgical type of churches celebrating Ash Wednesday by placing the symbol of the Cross on their foreheads. They do it to commemorate the beginning of Lent, the 40-day period leading up to Easter (excluding the Sundays). Feel free to put the symbol of the Cross on your forehead if you'd like but what really matters is the spiritual preparation of the heart.
Here are several ways to consider doing that.
- Confession of sin to the Lord (and to a trusted believer).
- Repentance.
- Prayer.
- Fasting.
Lent is particularly about focusing on that fourth one. I invite you to join me in a 40-day fast until Easter Sunday. You can fast from media, a comfort item, or perhaps a meal/day. Some of you more experienced fasters might do a day or two per week. You pray and you decide.
Fasting supercharges our prayer life. In Matthew 6:16, Jesus didn't say "If you fast," the Lord said "WHEN you fast." The implication is that it's supposed to be a part of our spiritual lives.
I confess that I am new to this discipline and I invite you to grow in it with me. I pray that by doing it together, we become the disciples (and the CHURCH) HE wants us to be.
Pastor Kyle