Is Your Heart Close to God? Ash Wednesday 2019
Yet even now, says the Lord,
return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
13 rend your hearts and not your clothing.
Return to the Lord, your God,
for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love,
and relents from punishing.
Blow the trumpet in Zion;
sanctify a fast;
call a solemn assembly;
16 gather the people.
Sanctify the congregation;
assemble the aged;
gather the children,
even infants at the breast.
Let the bridegroom leave his room,
and the bride her canopy.
Matthew 6 “Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2 “So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.[a]
Concerning Prayer
5 “And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 6 But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.[b]
7 “When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
16 “And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.[f]
Concerning Treasures
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust[g] consume and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust[h] consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Lenten Season, covering the 40 days, not including Sundays. It ends on Maundy Thursday, April 18, 2019. Ash Wednesday is a solemn occasion, remembering how sinful we are and that the price we pay for our sin is death. However, our sin is not the end. God has granted us hope and an opportunity to repent and turn away from our sins.
The prophet Joel speaks hope. That even now, we can return to the Lord, with fasting, weeping, and mourning. God wants our hearts, not our clothing. What does this mean? To rend means to tear away. God doesn’t want us to tear away the outer things because the outer stuff is temporal. God wants us to tear away the things that are keeping us away from God. God is looking at the inner person, at the inner spirit, at the heart. God wants our inside stuff. The inside spirit (heart) is eternal.
Is your heart close to God? For the surface-level Christian, Lent is a season to give up something only to take it back or pick it back up again after the 40 days are over. What’s the point of that? I saw someone post on their Facebook page, that they would not be back on Facebook until after Lent. I thought to myself, what’s the reason for that if you plan to continue what you were doing before Lent came, did anything change? Clearly not. The purpose for this season is to change and get your heart closer to God. In Matthew chapter 6, Jesus explains that some people fast, pray, and give only to be seen by others. They pray long prayers so that people can see them as important. At the root of all of this is arrogance and pride. God desires our heart, not the outside appearance!
Is your heart close to God? This Lenten Season, the real and authentic Christians should examine what is keeping us away from God. If we are suffering from anxiety and we turn to food, drugs, tv, social media, sex, and other vices instead of turning to God in prayer, then we should sacrifice our vice so that we can cast our anxiety on him. If we doubt God to do things in our lives, then these 40 days, we should look to expand our faith and trust in God. Ultimately, what you should give up or add to your life these next 40 days should something that should draw your heart closer to God and become a permanent part of your lifestyle. Fasting is not for outward appearance, it is for the heart. Where our treasure is, there our heart will be also.
Is your Heart close to God?