Beloved–
Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent and occurs 46 days (40 days not counting Sundays) before Easter. It falls on a different date each year because it is dependent on the date of Easter. It can occur as early as February 4 or as late as March 10.
The purpose of Lent (recalling Jesus’ 40-day fast in the wilderness) is to be a season of fasting, self-denial, prayer, scripture reading, penitence, conversion, and simplicity. Lent, which comes from the Teutonic (Germanic) word for springtime, can be viewed as a spiritual spring cleaning: a time for taking spiritual inventory and then cleaning out those things which hinder our corporate and personal relationships with Jesus Christ and our service to him.
Prayer: Lent is a good time to develop or strengthen a discipline of daily prayer. A good goal for Lent would be to praise God in prayer morning and evening daily. Praise and thanksgiving first and requests second. Scripture Reading: When facing temptation in the desert, Jesus relied on Scripture to counter the wiles of the devil. It is a formidable weapon for us as well.
Pray that we can be diligent in our “spring cleaning process.” I’m praying for you morning, noon and night for the next 46 days.
Luv Ya!
MaggieBelle 
Leave a comment