Good morning,
Praise the Lord for this Ash Wednesday. We will come together for our mid-week gathering this evening with a meal at 6 PM. Bible Study begins at 6:30 PM. The Choir will meet for practice at 7:30 PM.
One of the readings for Ash Wednesday is taken from Joel 2. In Joel 2, the Lord issues a trumpet call to repent (2:1). Joel 2:13 provides a vivid description: “rend your hearts...return to the Lord” There we have it, the 2 elements of repentance—-sorrow and a change of direction. We repent when our hearts are broken by our sin, when we realize how our wrongdoing, our offenses, is what led Christ to the cross. When we see the enormity of our iniquity, we turn-—we begin to walk in a new direction, with new goals. We surrender to the Lordship of Christ. We were living for self; now we’re living for God, and for His glory. In sorrow, we turn from sin and self to Christ. If we reject salvation, we turn our backs on eternal life…but God is waiting to forgive. Like the father of the Prodigal Son He waits for us to return with open arms and a heart filled with compassion.
Whenever we fail, whenever we sin, we are called upon to repent as the Holy Spirit convicts us of our transgressions. True repentance is admitting that what God says is true, and because it is true, we change our minds about our sins and about the Savior. Unbelievers call evil good and good evil. Holiness, however, is seeing life through the eyes and mind of Christ. We are directed in Joel 1 to “wake up” (5), “mourn” (8) and “despair” (11) until we journey back to God. God calls us to "return to me with all your heart, rend me your heart."
Whenever we fail, whenever we sin, we are called upon to repent as the Holy Spirit convicts us of our transgressions. True repentance is admitting that what God says is true, and because it is true, we change our minds about our sins and about the Savior. Unbelievers call evil good and good evil. Holiness, however, is seeing life through the eyes and mind of Christ. We are directed in Joel 1 to “wake up” (5), “mourn” (8) and “despair” (11) until we journey back to God. God calls us to "return to me with all your heart, rend me your heart."
In reflecting upon our culture, one person said, “We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased”
In a time when superficiality, band-aids, and quick fixes are the way to go, our Lord invites, us to return to him with “all our heart”. He is the only one who has the power and authority to forgive and to restore. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
My wife is a huge fan of the Narnia series, by C. S. Lewis. In Narnia, there is a great lion named Aslan whom Lewis portrays in the role of Jesus in Narnia. In "The Silver Chair", a girl by the name of Jill Pole burst into an opening in the forest. She was very thirsty, and she saw a running stream close by . Even though she was "dying of thirst", she did not rush into the stream and put her face in its refreshing current. Instead, she stood in fear, rooted to the spot, because there was a large lion sitting on the ground just this side of the stream. The lion spoke:
“Are you not thirsty?” said the Lion.
“I’m Dying of thirst” said Jill.
“Then drink” said the lion.
“May I—Could I—would you mind going away while I do?” said Jill.
The Lion answered this only by a look and a very low growl. And as Jill gazed at its motionless bulk, she realized that she might as well have asked the whole mountain to move aside for her convenience. The delicious rippling noise of the stream was driving her nearly frantic.
“Will you promise not to—do anything to me, if I do come?” said Jill.
“I make no promise,” said the Lion.
Jill was so thirsty now, that she had come a step closer without noticing it.
“Do you eat girls?” she said.
“I have swallowed up girls and boys, women and men, kings and emperors, cities and realms,” said the Lion. It didn’t say this as if it were boasting, not as if it were sorry, nor as if it were hungry. It just said it.
“I dare not come and drink,” said Jill.
“Then you will die of thirst,” said the Lion.
“Oh dear!” said Jill, coming another step nearer. “I suppose I must go and look for another stream then.”
“There is no other stream,” said the Lion.
In a time when superficiality, band-aids, and quick fixes are the way to go, our Lord invites, us to return to him with “all our heart”. He is the only one who has the power and authority to forgive and to restore. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
My wife is a huge fan of the Narnia series, by C. S. Lewis. In Narnia, there is a great lion named Aslan whom Lewis portrays in the role of Jesus in Narnia. In "The Silver Chair", a girl by the name of Jill Pole burst into an opening in the forest. She was very thirsty, and she saw a running stream close by . Even though she was "dying of thirst", she did not rush into the stream and put her face in its refreshing current. Instead, she stood in fear, rooted to the spot, because there was a large lion sitting on the ground just this side of the stream. The lion spoke:
“Are you not thirsty?” said the Lion.
“I’m Dying of thirst” said Jill.
“Then drink” said the lion.
“May I—Could I—would you mind going away while I do?” said Jill.
The Lion answered this only by a look and a very low growl. And as Jill gazed at its motionless bulk, she realized that she might as well have asked the whole mountain to move aside for her convenience. The delicious rippling noise of the stream was driving her nearly frantic.
“Will you promise not to—do anything to me, if I do come?” said Jill.
“I make no promise,” said the Lion.
Jill was so thirsty now, that she had come a step closer without noticing it.
“Do you eat girls?” she said.
“I have swallowed up girls and boys, women and men, kings and emperors, cities and realms,” said the Lion. It didn’t say this as if it were boasting, not as if it were sorry, nor as if it were hungry. It just said it.
“I dare not come and drink,” said Jill.
“Then you will die of thirst,” said the Lion.
“Oh dear!” said Jill, coming another step nearer. “I suppose I must go and look for another stream then.”
“There is no other stream,” said the Lion.
Jesus is the only one who is the author of forgiveness and salvation. He is the Way of Salvation. It is written in Joel, that if we turn to God, He is waiting there to accept us. Joel began with a prophecy about the destruction of the land and concluded with a prophecy about its restoration. He began by urging repentance and ended with the promise of forgiveness that repentance brings. A wonderful promise is held out to us in vs. 28-32, the promise of the Holy Spirit, along with the assurance that all who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved.
In Christ,
Brown
Saturday Evening Worship Service:
Location: First United Methodist Church
53 McKinley Avenue
Endicott, NY
Sponsored by: Union Center United Methodist Church
Time: 6:00 PM gathering for Coffee Fellowship
6:30 PM Worship Service
Date: Saturday, February 25, 2012
Speaker: Rev. William Turner,
Special Music by Laureen Naik, Emma Brunson. Information : call 607-748-6329
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