When he was in the wilderness for 40 days Jesus was tempted by the devil in many ways but he never took the bait, never acted out of character. Jesus is the only one of us who can claim that! We are bombarded by so many temptations every day of our lives and occasionally we all lose the battle and give in. But it is how we react after that has happened that makes the difference!
As followers of Jesus who have faith in a merciful God we know we will fall along our journey. But when that happens how we pick ourselves up and move forward is where we show our faith. Whether we are tempted by things we know are not good for us or whether we are suffering from the loss of a loved one, we are still called to have faith - to move ahead in the knowledge that by living this life abundantly we continue to do God's work and bring about God's kingdom, and to move ahead without fear because there is something for us beyond this life.
How do we take the time to cleanse ourselves, or as I like to think of it, hit the reset button? For many areas of our lives that is not possible, or at least instantly possible. But for our faith and for how we look at ourselves, our relationship with God and with one another, we can stop, take inventory of who we are and where we are going, and how we can be the people we want to be. Psalm 51 is a favorite of mine - it is not cheery but it is a cry to start again, to be washed clean by God - and I think it is fitting for Ash Wednesday and I have included it below.
One of the ways people have participated in this time of introspection and cleansing is by giving something up for Lent - something they enjoy very much or something they cannot live without. That is certainly one way to be reminded daily of the season.
However, at Hope several of our groups are taking the opposite approach - for Lent we are ADDING something to our lives! Whether it is a different kind of praying daily, adding veggies to our meals, including service projects in our schedule, or adding a study, we will enhance our lives in ways we hope will bring us back into right relationship with God, with our neighbors and with ourselves.
However you mark this time of Lent, I hope you will stop and take a look at your faith and your life and make the changes you think God is calling you to make. Lent is a time of reflection and introspection and renewal and rebirth. Let us follow Jesus into the wilderness and come out as people of God!
51 1-3 Generous in love—God, give grace!
Huge in mercy—wipe out my bad record.
Scrub away my guilt, soak out my sins in your laundry.
I know how bad I’ve been; my sins are staring me down.
Huge in mercy—wipe out my bad record.
Scrub away my guilt, soak out my sins in your laundry.
I know how bad I’ve been; my sins are staring me down.
4-6 You’re the One I’ve violated, and you’ve seen
it all, seen the full extent of my evil.
You have all the facts before you;
it all, seen the full extent of my evil.
You have all the facts before you;
whatever you decide about me is fair.
I’ve been out of step with you for a long time,
in the wrong since before I was born.
What you’re after is truth from the inside out.
Enter me, then; conceive a new, true life.
I’ve been out of step with you for a long time,
in the wrong since before I was born.
What you’re after is truth from the inside out.
Enter me, then; conceive a new, true life.
7-15 Soak me in your laundry and I’ll come out clean,
scrub me and I’ll have a snow-white life.
Tune me in to foot-tapping songs,
set these once-broken bones to dancing.
Don’t look too close for blemishes, give me a clean bill of health.
God, make a fresh start in me,
shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.
Don’t throw me out with the trash, or fail to breathe holiness in me.
Bring me back from gray exile, put a fresh wind in my sails!
Give me a job teaching rebels your ways
so the lost can find their way home.
Commute my death sentence, God, my salvation God,
and I’ll sing anthems to your life-giving ways.
Unbutton my lips, dear God; I’ll let loose with your praise.
scrub me and I’ll have a snow-white life.
Tune me in to foot-tapping songs,
set these once-broken bones to dancing.
Don’t look too close for blemishes, give me a clean bill of health.
God, make a fresh start in me,
shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.
Don’t throw me out with the trash, or fail to breathe holiness in me.
Bring me back from gray exile, put a fresh wind in my sails!
Give me a job teaching rebels your ways
so the lost can find their way home.
Commute my death sentence, God, my salvation God,
and I’ll sing anthems to your life-giving ways.
Unbutton my lips, dear God; I’ll let loose with your praise.
16-17 Going through the motions doesn’t please you,
a flawless performance is nothing to you.
I learned God-worship when my pride was shattered.
Heart-shattered lives ready for love
don’t for a moment escape God’s notice.
a flawless performance is nothing to you.
I learned God-worship when my pride was shattered.
Heart-shattered lives ready for love
don’t for a moment escape God’s notice.
18-19 Make Zion the place you delight in,
repair Jerusalem’s broken-down walls.
Then you’ll get real worship from us, acts of worship small and large,
Including all the bulls they can heave onto your altar!
repair Jerusalem’s broken-down walls.
Then you’ll get real worship from us, acts of worship small and large,
Including all the bulls they can heave onto your altar!
