However, Lent is not only about giving something up. In both cases, the purpose of fasting is to encourage the believer to use either the time or money from that sacrifice to draw closer to God or contribute to God’s work. Some choose to fast from a specific vice or from a luxury. Aspire-What did you learn about life that you could aspire to, ask for, and act on?Īll over the world, Christians practice some form of fasting for Lent. Admit-What did you learn about yourself for which you could repent?ģ. Adore-What did you learn about God for which you could praise or thank him?Ģ. Three Questions to ask when reading a Biblical text from Tim Keller:ġ. I pray these resources encourage you in your daily time with God in His Word. Here are some daily reading plans I’ve found helpful along with three questions I use when reading Scripture. Colossians 2:6-7Īs we strive to flourish as followers of Jesus Christ at ELMO, I want to encourage each one of us to stay planted in God’s Word daily. So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. This Advent season as we prepare for Christmas, please utilize the reading plan below to keep you in God’s Word daily. A good place to start is Stott’s Sermon on the Mount study to coincide with our sermon series this winter. If you prefer a deeper dive into a smaller portion of Scripture, then I recommend picking up any of Reading the Bible with John Stott guides. If you prefer a Bible reading plan covering a broader scope, Ligonier Ministries has some great plans to consider. Even so, in Christ, we live in the eternal hope of the resurrection.This Advent season, please utilize the reading plan below to keep you in God’s Word daily.Īs we say goodbye to 2020, it’s a good time to consider beginning or refreshing your Bible reading plan. Whether in a formal Ash Wednesday service or privately in our homes, we can use tomorrow, the first day of the Lenten season, to remember that from the dust we were made and to the dust we shall return. On Ash Wednesday we admit our limits and acknowledge the brevity of this life. Wearing the ashes is a way to repent of our rebellion against God and “confess our sins one to another” (James 5:16). People see the mark of the cross at their work, in class, and at the grocery store. The ashen cross the congregant wears is an outward sign of both repentance and hope. But with Christ, they are a reminder that, though our bodies will one day return to dust, we have already been given the hope of the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:22).Īsh Wednesday is an opportunity to publicly profess our faith. Without Christ, the words “remember that you have to die” are hard ones. We remember that we have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory, and yes, we all must die (Romans 3:23).Īsh Wednesday is a day of hope. We remember that from the dust we were made and to the dust we shall return (Genesis 3:19). Ash Wednesday is a day where we take a page from the book of Job and repent in dust and ashes (Job 42:6). During Lent, we focus on our need for the death and resurrection of Jesus we focus on our need to be forgiven. So what is Ash Wednesday, and why do many Christians observe it?Īsh Wednesday is a day of repentance. We are free, but not required, to do the same. In fact, some instead say, “Remember that you have to die.”įor more than a thousand years, Christians around the world have begun the Lenten season this way: with the sober acknowledgement that with humanity came sin, and with sin came death. These are the words a priest utters as he smears a cross of ashes onto his congregant’s forehead during an Ash Wednesday service. “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
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