“return to me with all your heart,
with fasting and weeping and mourning.”
Rend your heart
and not your garments.
Return to the LORD your God,
for he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in love,
and he relents from sending calamity.
and not your garments.
Return to the LORD your God,
for he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in love,
and he relents from sending calamity.
~Joel 2:12-13 (NIV1984)
Today is Ash Wednesday. It marks the beginning of Lent, a 40 day period of time set aside for introspection and reflection as we journey with the Lord to the cross. It is a time to remember why the Lord had to die for us... to remember our sins and to repent. Ashes are a symbol of our mortality as well as a symbol of repentance. As the prophet Joel encourages, rend or tear open your hearts... pray and deeply mourn and grieve over the things that you have done that have grieved the heart of God... and repent. For our God is indeed "gracious and compassionate... abounding in love..." God will have mercy and forgive.
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