Skip to main content
A CALL TO RETURN


“‘Even now,’ declares the LORD, ‘return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.’ Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.” Joel 2:12-13 NIV

One of the many good things of following the church calendar is, it helps us to check and stay in tune with God, to stay in God’s story!

Ash Wednesday is  day of repentance, marking the 6 weeks of preparation for Easter, the Resurrection. The Scripture text today serves as God’s call for all His people: “return to me with all your heart ... rend your heart and not your garment...” 

It’s not just a fashion to put ashes on foreheads before going to school or work although it’s a good practice to remind us of our mortality, “from ashes we come to ashes we shall return”. The ashes, as symbol, also help to strengthen our desire to repent/return to God. 

It’s not merely fasting and restrain ourselves from many worldly luxury... “rend your heart not your garment” (your appearance or outward expressions.) 
Ash Wednesday is a heart business, it’s a matter between “me and God” no one else, not even the church. Because when we set our heart aright with God, others (marriage, family, work, social life, and so on) will fall into place.

So, what is there in the heart of our heart? What have I stored in my heart and where do I anchor my heart? Like the loving Father in the story of the prodigal son, God is waiting for us to return to Him, to anchor our hearts in His heart! Joel reminded us “God is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. Instead of calamity, Today, God is sending out His grace and love to lull us back to Him. Let’s not harden our hearts! Let’s return to God with all our hearts! ~plt060319



#pltwrites #ashwednesday #BookofJoel #returntoGod #repentance #ashestoashes #ChurchCalendar

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Kehendakku vs KehendakMu "Ya Bapa-Ku, jikalau Engkau mau, ambillah cawan ini dari pada-Ku; tetapi bukanlah kehendak-Ku, melainkan kehendak-Mulah yang terjadi." (Lukas 22:42) Mira adalah ukuran kebahagian yang diinginkan oleh banyak orang. Cantik, tamatan luar negeri, orang tua yang masih sehat dan cukup kaya. Usia masih tigapuluh lima , menikah dengan suami yang baik dengan karir yang mantap , dilengkapi dengan dua orang putri yang sehat dan pintar. P ersis di puncak ke hidupan ini, tiba-tiba suaminya, Hendra , divonis kanker tulang belakang. Tidak sampai setahun, ajal menjemput Hendra . Mira sang janda yang masih cukup muda ini harus menata kembali hidupnya tanpa suami. Belum setahun berselang, ayah Mira harus dilarikan ke rumah sakit karena serangan jantung dan ia pun tidak pernah kembali lagi ke rumah. Kembali Mira harus mengenakan kain kabungnya. Hanya beberapa bulan berselang, g ulungan awan k umulus kembali menyelimuti keluarga ini. Mira yang lincah dan cekatan, tiba-...
Post a Comment
Read more
BIBLE, THE WAY TO HEAVEN (2 Timothy 3:10-17—Preacher: Ps Paw Liang) I want to know one thing: the way to heaven. God himself has condescended to teach me the way. He has written it down in a book. Oh, give me that book! At any price give me that book of God. Let me be homo unius libri – a man of one book . (John Wesley’s Prayer) What does the Bible mean to you? False teachings was one of the issues faced by the early church. Paul reminds us, the Bible is the way to heaven, the way of God, the way of life. We need to be rooted in the Bible firmly. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” The Bible should be the foundation of our life and ministry. in discerning the teachings in our time and in setting direction for our church. The Methodist Quadrilateral do not have equal weigh. Rather, Tradition, Reason, and Experience should...
Post a Comment
Read more
Cuma itu yang bisa saya lakukan, hanya kehadiran saja Saya jadi teringat: Musa meminta kepada Tuhan, " if your presence (kehadiran) does not go with us, do not send us from here " ( jika Engkau sendiri tidak membimbing kami, janganlah menyuruh kami pergi dari tempat ini" (Kel 33:15) Kesibukan hidup menjadikan " kehadiran" menjadi sesuatu yg sulit kita berikan kepada orang lain, keluarga ( suami, istri, anak-anak, cucu2, atau orang tua) dan bahkan kepada Allah. Ironis, sama seperti Musa kita merindukan kehadiran Allah (hadiratNya) - kehadiran Roh Nya. Namun, apakah kita juga hadir di hadapanNya?  Ketika kita beribadah, baik sendiri maupun bersama-sama di gereja, apakah kita hadir di hadiratNya? secara jiwa, raga, hati, dan akal  budi? (Mar 12:30). Di hadapan orang-orang yang kita kasih? Ketika secara fisik kita hadir pun, perlu kita cek apakah Jiwa dan hati kita juga hadir di sana? Fenomena sekarang, ketika fisik sudah ...
1 comment
Read more