Ask God to reveal your hidden sins, and write them on slips of paper, confessing each as you write. Acknowledge the gravity of your sins, then burn the papers in a jar and declare Christ’s forgiveness over your life (1Jn 1.9–10). Crush the ashes and mark ash crosses on your wrists to remember that Jesus bore your sins on the cross. Pour a little oil on a paper towel and wipe the crosses, reading Isa 61.1–3. Save the leftover ashes for next year’s Ash Wednesday.
Give up eating at restaurants for the duration of Lent, opting instead for simple meals like soup and bread. Read Isa 58.6–7 and discuss the true fast that God wants from us. Place the money you save in an offering jar to buy superstore gift cards for families in need.
Read through psalms of lament (Psa 12, 13, 44, 86) and use them to express to God what grieves your heart right now in your own life and in the world around you. Journal through the hurts you’ve experienced this past year, and allow our Great Physician to open the wounds and inspect them that He may heal them.
Talk to a professional counsellor or fellow Christian to address deep hurts. Find someone you trust to walk you through the deep and murky waters of sins committed against you, so that you may learn to forgive and heal and love again. Allow yourself to cry over and mourn the hurt and pain. Sin grieves God, and it can grieve us too.
No comments:
Post a Comment