Lent Day 1: Ash Wednesday

Pause

Before you open your Bible, sit quietly before God in prayer. Confess your need for Jesus and ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes to what God wants to teach you through today’s reading.

Read & Journal

Read Psalm 51:1-17. Ask yourself:

• This is the psalm David penned after Nathan confronted David about his adultery with Bathsheba. What does it teach you about repentance?

• What do these verses teach you about God’s character?

• Reread verse 17. What does this verse teach you about your deep need for Jesus?

Read 2 Corinthians 5:20b-21. Ponder these questions:

• Consider 2 Corinthians 5:21. Jesus made a way for us to have a right relationship with God. Reflect on this fact in your journal. What does it mean today that Jesus, who never sinned, became the offering for your sin?

Ponder

A note from Mandy:

Here in Nashville, this Ash Wednesday has dawned. The clouds and gloom of the past few days seem to have passed, at least for the moment. In a way, it's a symbol of what I hope we all experience this Lenten season as we mark the days until Easter: a dawning of hope that breaks across the very real issues of our lives and points us again and again to the greater hope we have in Christ.

For me, the past few days have been especially difficult dealing with a relationship issue with someone I dearly love. But in it all, I also see myself and the way I so often treat the Father: hurt, angry, confused running from the One who loves me most. Lent is a season to let down that protective shield we've built around ourselves to protect our hearts from hurt, pain, rejection, fear, loneliness, and brokenness and let him in. We are all broken people who need a Savior, and the good news of the season is that he has already made a way for us. Let us who are hurt and tired and rebellious and broken find rest this season in Christ who laid down his life for us so that we may be free.

Ash Wednesday is a solemn day in the liturgical calendar of the church. It is a day for reflection, and prayer. As we begin the season of Lent, counting down the days until the joy of Easter, spend time in prayer today, in confession and repentance. Ash Wednesday is a day of fasting in many traditions, so consider an appetite you could set aside as acknowledgment of your deep need for and dependance on Jesus for a right relationship with God.