Wednesday, March 09, 2011

Ash Wednesday

In worship services around the world many will hear the words, “Remember: you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
Let’s take a peak at Webster and a few of the definitions of dust.

1. The ground; the earth’s surface.

2. The substance to which something, as the dead human, is ultimately reduced by disintegration or decay; earthly remains

3. British

a. ashes, refuse

b. Junk

4. a low or humble condition

5. anything worthless

Why would anyone want to be referred to as dust? Why do we need to be reminded, we are worthless?
Is there anything we can do to make ourselves right? Is there anyway we can make ourselves clean again? Unfortunately, the answer is NO there is nothing we can do. There is nothing we have to do. Only the blood of Jesus can cleanse us and make us whole. Only Jesus can lift us up out of the ashes and refuse of sin, we cannot do this on our own.
On our Church body’s website it states: “This ancient act is a gesture of repentance and a powerful reminder about the meaning of the day. Ashes can symbolize dust-to dustness and remind worshippers of the need for cleansing, scrubbing and purifying. If they are applied during an act of kneeling, the very posture of defeat and submission expresses humility before God.”

In order to understand what God has done for us, we need to remember we are poor miserable sinners, who deserve death and eternal damnation. No one would ever want to suffer eternally separated from God, if they truly understood what that meant. And yet, Jesus knew in order to keep us from what we deserve and have earned a thousand times each day. He had to take our place. Jesus suffered in agony on the cross for you and for me. We know the word crucifixion comes from the word excruciating, because of how much pain it inflicts upon the person sentenced to die. Physically the pain would be too much for anyone to bear but the greater anguish for Jesus was that He became separated from God. Jesus experienced the torment of hell when God the Father turned away from His Son. We do not know and understand how it happened. The great theologians cannot fully explain this mystery to us.

So as we kneel at the altar, and we are reminded we are worthless refuse who deserve to suffer Hell. We can joyfully remember we have been scrubbed, cleansed, and purified by the precious blood of Jesus.

In closing, I was going to share selected verses from Romans chapter 8. But I decided to share all of it. It takes awhile to read it but it is worth every moment.

May God fill you with His peace as we begin our Lenten Journey.
Romans 8

Life in the Spirit



Heirs with Christ


Future Glory



God’s Everlasting Love



1 comment:

Shannon Jacobyansky said...

Wonderful my good friend! So true! It's nice to read your writings again! Love ya!