ashes and dust

Adam was made from the dirt, in fact his name means dirt.  We are all made from dirt and when we die, we all eventually turn back into it again as our bodies decompose.  That is why, at a funeral, you might hear the pastor say "we are but dust, and to dust we shall return."  

But dirt and dust isn't just what we are made of, throughout the Bible they were seen as a sign of repentance and grief.  When Job lost his home, his health and his children, he sat in the dirt and covered himself with ashes as a sign of his grief.  He was grieving loss of life; but we can also be in grief over our sin.

The season of Lent is an ancient Christian tradition, a time leading up to Easter where we consider the weight of our sinfulness and repent (turn) from it in mourning.  Traditionally this has been done by taking the sign of ashes on the forehead in the shape of a cross.  This shows, that like Job, you are in grief and mourning, but for your sin.  You realize you are a sinner and wish to turn away from your sin and toward the life of God.

Like the prophet Isaiah you might cry "I am a man of unclean lips and live among a people of unclean lips" but like Isaiah we hope in a God who can make us clean again and use us for His glory and in His Kingdom!  

Join us tonight at 7:00pm for an interactive time of prayer, scripture and repentance where you can experience Ash Wednesday in a new way.  I pray it will be a powerful reminder that we are sinners, but we serve a great and loving God!
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In Christ,
Pastor Scott