“Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

- Jesus

“When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent!’ he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.” 

- Martin Luther

Lent is a season of death and resurrection. As those loved and saved by God, we are on this journey of repentance (death) and faith (resurrection). We put those things to death that belong to our fallen earthly nature so the Spirit of God may raise us up in faith from one degree of glory to another (2 Corinthians 3:18). This “changing of the mind” is what Christians call repentance.

Practically speaking this means you have the option to choose some kind of fast. The idea with fasting is reliance upon God. For example, take the time you would spend prepping and eating food and pray instead. Here are some options: 

• 24 hour fast: Miss lunch and breakfast on Mondays
• Miss a meal 2-3 times before Easter
• Fast from social media/TV/video games, etc
• Go without chocolate or french fries until lent is over
• Read through a book of the Bible
• Establish a daily/weekly prayer time

These practices don’t earn points with God, but they have been proven to have a positive effect on the journey of your soul. Don’t expect fireworks and intense emotional experiences, but expect the Holy Spirit to begin to whisper in that “still small voice” (1 Kings 19:11-18). Ash Wednesday is this Wednesday, March 2nd. The Ash Wednesday devotion video will go out on socials and email. Let your heart listen until Easter. Below is a prayer of repentance from the Book of Common Prayer. I would encourage you to start Lent with this cleansing prayer today.

Grace and peace, 

Pastor Harvey

Most holy and merciful Father:

We confess to you and to one another,

and to the whole communion of saints in heaven and on earth,

that we have sinned by our own fault in thought, word, and deed;

by what we have done, and by what we have left undone.

We have not loved you with our whole heart, and mind, and strength.

We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.

We have not forgiven others, as we have been forgiven.

Have mercy on us, Lord.

We have been deaf to your call to serve, as Christ served us.

We have not been true to the mind of Christ.

We have grieved your Holy Spirit.

Have mercy on us, Lord.

We confess to you, Lord,

all our past unfaithfulness:

the pride, hypocrisy, and impatience of our lives.

We confess to you, Lord,

our self-indulgent appetites and ways,

and our exploitation of other people.

We confess to you, Lord,

our anger at our own frustration,

and our envy of those more fortunate than ourselves.

We confess to you, Lord,

our intemperate love of worldly goods and comforts,

and our dishonesty in daily life and work.

We confess to you, Lord, 

our negligence in prayer and worship,

and our failure to commend the faith that is in us.

We confess to you, Lord.

Accept our repentance, Lord,

for the wrongs we have done:

for our blindness to human need and suffering,

and our indifference to injustice and cruelty.

Accept our repentance, Lord,

for all false judgments, for uncharitable thoughts

toward our neighbors, and for our prejudice

and contempt toward those who differ from us.

Accept our repentance, Lord,

for our waste and pollution of your creation,

and our lack of concern for those who come after us.

Accept our repentance, Lord, 

restore us, good Lord,

and let your anger depart from us;

Favorably hear us, for your mercy is great.

Accomplish in us the work of your salvation,

That we may show forth your glory in the world.

By the cross and passion of your Son our Lord,

Bring us with all your saints to the joy of his resurrection.