March 6th, 2019 is Ash Wednesday which marks the beginning of the Lenten season-the 40 days before Easter Sunday—the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
To represent repentance from our sins and sorrows, some churches put ashes on the foreheads of their parishioners on Ash Wednesday.
This practice is represented in Biblical times. For example, Job 42:3-6, Job repented in dust and with ashes.
While the act of repentance is important in every Christian’s life, perhaps we could exchange those ashes for the Lord’s beauty-Jesus’ salvation of our souls.
Isaiah 63:1 tells us to, “…give them bouquets of roses instead of ashes.” In other words, we can shake off our grief and sorrow and receive God’s great gifts He has for us.
Ashes are the left-overs of something that has burned up. Let our sorrows, shame, sins, disappointments, fear, and selfishness be the ashes we willfully whisk away, and let the bouquet of roses, the beauty of the Lord in our lives, replace them.
~Love, Pastor Bob Barnett
