Journey through Lent 2015 Ash Wednesday

With Easter happening relatively early this year on April 5th, Ash Wednesday kind of snuck up on me…but that is what today is.

While raised in a staunchly Methodist home, my mom led us to observe Lent with traditions I have later learned are not typical of that background.

Among other things, we didn’t eat meat on Good Friday and we always gave up something we loved, like chocolate or soda for Lent. (I offered to give up liver and onions one year. My humor was truly unappreciated and frowned upon…)

She also modeled to me to a more reverent approach to devotions and prayer during the season – setting an example of using the weeks leading up to Easter as a season of reflection and heart-cleaning that has stuck with me throughout my life.

Last year’s Journey through Lent is in its own category below, with a head’s up that along the road there was always room for random….so be forewarned. It will most likely happen again this year!

But my hope is to share this season that is so precious to me with anyone who might stop by.

For today, I am reflecting on a quote from Derek Prince’s devotion book, entitled Declaring God’s Word (Whitaker House Publishing) pg. 62

“If we never take steps to exercise authority in a scriptural way over the problems and sins that confront and beset us, we will make no progress at all.”

That is the point of fasting, extra study, extended times of prayer and meditation during the 6 weeks of Lent. To make progress in working out our sanctification. To grow up a little more into the image of Christ.

When I went to write that quote in my journal this morning, I accidentally combined the words exercise and authority into one word: authorize…which kind of made sense when I thought about it.

If I don’t take the steps to allow Scripture to authorize my actions…I will not make progress in overcoming the problems and sins that set me back and keep me weighed down in selfishness and pride.

So this year, as we Journey through Lent together, my focus will be on taking the steps to study Scripture so that I can begin to understand how to authorize, or give God’s Word authority, over me….over my problems….over my sins…over anything that keeps me from living fully in His plans and purposes for my life.

I hope you will join me, of course.  I also hope and pray that YOU will spend some time today with God…ask Him what plans He has to draw you closer to Him as  we ….Journey Onward to the Cross…and then to the Easter celebration of the Resurrection  <3