**MEDITATION FOR TODAY** Ash Wednesday Return to me with your whole heart. (Joel 2:12) Welcome to Lent! For the next forty days, we will be journeying through the “desert” of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving as we travel toward the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection at Easter. Now, we all know that a desert is uninhabitable, full of danger, and lacking in such necessities as food and water. Why would anyone want to go there? Only, it seems, out of obedience to God. Mark tells us that it was the Spirit who “drove” Jesus into the desert (Mark 1:12). The Spirit pressed him to enter this place of testing and temptation. Where did Jesus find the strength to survive the desert’s harsh conditions and resist temptation? In the word of God. He survived because he depended on God and all that he had promised. As it happened to Jesus, so it now happens to us. Beginning today, the Holy Spirit wants to move us into the desert. He wants to separate us from the comforts of everyday life so that we can focus on overcoming the sin and moral weakness that separate us from God. But we don’t go there alone. The Spirit will help us in our weakness (Romans 8:26). He will guide us and encourage us when we are tempted (1 Corinthians 10:13). Of course, we have to play our part. We have to be willing to “compete well for the faith” (1 Timothy 6:12). So plan to fast this Lent. Make time for prayer every day, and immerse yourself in God’s word. Be generous to those who are in need. Return to the Lord in these ways, and he will bless you. Let’s make this Lent a time of openness to God’s favour. Let’s ask him to fill us with his grace, love, wisdom, and strength so that we can pass every test that lies ahead. If we are open, we will not be disappointed! “Lord, open my eyes to your presence here in the desert. Help me to overcome the sin that separates me from you so that I can rejoice with you on Easter Sunday.”
Posted on: Wed, 05 Mar 2014 11:07:13 +0000
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