Lenten Reflections - Ash Wednesday

Day 1 – ASH WEDNESDAY
FEBRUARY 22 – Ephesians 2:1-10
By: Lisa Krist

Recently, CLAY played an incredibly inspiring YouTube video of “The Change” by Steven Curtis Chapman with unforgettable images. My daughter asked me to watch it with her, and together we agreed that it made our hearts soar. The song questions one’s faith and then challenges us to do more and to be more. It starts out, “I’ve got this way of thinking that comes so naturally, where I believe the whole world is revolving around me.” As a parent, it is definitely a struggle to remember who the world should really revolve around, and why. Then the lyrics ask, “What about the change, what about the difference, what about the grace, what about forgiveness, what about a life that’s showing I’m undergoing the change.” Well, what about it? If we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, then isn’t change an important focus of this Lenten season?

“I’m gonna have the change, I’m gonna have the difference, I’m gonna have the grace, I’m gonna have forgiveness, I want to live a life that’s showing I’m undergoing the change.” Won’t you join me?

Prayer
Everyone has days where they are in survival mode . . . getting to the next meeting . . .car pooling to the next event . . . paying the next bill . . . life is exhausting. But even the smallest action, like being asked by your child to stop what you’re doing to watch a music video, can inspire change. I am so grateful for Christian songwriters like Steven Curtis Chapman who have the uncanny ability to read between the lines of scripture and turn it into a message that
raises my spirit to want to do more. There’s never a wrong time to undergo the change, and to discover how you can make a difference in the world. Amen.

Family Moment
What is/was your favorite gift? Why are gifts so special? In today’s passage we realize that the gifts of God are FREE! What a huge relief that we don’t have to be good enough, smart enough, pretty enough, athletic enough or any of that – we’re already chosen for God’s team! Since the gifts of God are given without any conditions or strings attached, our response should be a thank-you. Discuss what verse 10 says about our “thank-you.”

Have every one say a prayer or write a thank-you to God for sending us Jesus, for free gifts, and for His love!