Lent - A Meditation

Today, Ash Wednesday, marks the beginning of Lent, a season of spiritual discipline anticipating the celebration of the death and resurrection of Christ.  It is traditionally and historically focused on repentance from sin.  A time to reflect upon our heart's condition before a Holy God.

Of course as Martin Luther taught, the Christian life is, in its totality, a life of repentance.  So while a repentant spirit is the mark of the Christian life day in and day out, it has been historically appropriate in the church to set aside the season leading up to Easter as a particular season for focus on our need to repent of sin and to refocus on the mercy extended to us by God on the cross of Calvary.  Through the darkness of our sin comes the precious light that is Christ Jesus!  What a cause for meditation!

Lent too often is a season of self righteousness.  Trying harder.  Digging deeper.  Doing our duty. Giving more.  Eating less.  Human nature demonstrates, does it not,  that as we examine our own unworthiness, we defend ourselves by recounting our good deeds, our moral efforts....in essence, we trust in ourselves and fool ourselves into thinking we must earn favor with our God and trust not in the finished work of Christ.  As if our efforts can amend the wrongs we have done.  I am so guilty of this. I recognize that I add to the true gospel all the time.  Obedience is not the way to be accepted by God.  Our works-righteousness during Lent or any time of the year does not honor the law and does not produce salvation.  {I am currently studying Galations which is all about this very thing}

Let us be mindful of our sin.  And let us be sure that we stand in the truth of being justified by Christ alone, building our confidence solely on the work of Christ.  We receive it by faith, we do not produce it.  We give nothing for it.  We do nothing to have it.  Friends, God the Father freely gives it to us through Jesus Christ.  What GRACE!  Perfect righteousness that is not our own imputed or credited to us.  Through him there is no more law or wrath or punishment.  We stand in Christ's righteousness.  Now our works are beautiful acts of gratitude and not works of attaining mercy or right standing with God.  The Law of God becomes a delight to us and no longer a burden.  It totally transforms us but it does not save us.  I am utterly thankful for this truth.

The Puritans understood their depravity well.  They handled sin well.  They understood the mercy of God well. They rested in the finished work of Christ. Their beautiful prayers are one of my favorite devotions.  I love reading and savoring these written prayers during Lent.  Second to the Bible, The Valley of Vision is my favorite book.

The prayers contained in this book are rich with biblical thoroughness.  I hope to share some with you during Lent as I use them myself to draw near to the God of mercy and His righteousness.  May these prayers be a study of my wretched condition before a Holy God and the perfect redeeming righteousness GIVEN to me and received by FATIH ALONE!

SINS

Merciful, Lord,

Pardon all my sins of this day, week, year,

             all the sins of my life

             sins of early, middle, and advanced years,

                    of omission and commission

                    of morose, peevish and angry tempers

                    of lip, life and walk,

                    of hard-heartedness, unbelief, presumption, pride,

                    of unfaithfulness to the souls of men,

                    of want of bold decision in the cause of Christ,

                    of deficiency in outspoken zeal for his glory,

                    of bringing dishonor upon thy great name,

                    of deception, injustice, untruthfulness in my dealings with others,

                    of impurity in thought, word, and deed,

                    of covetousness, which is idolatry,

                    of substance unduly hoarded, improvidently squandered,

                              not consecrated to the glory of thee, the great Giver,

            sins in private and in the family,

                   in study and recreation, in the busy haunts of men,

                   in the study of thy Word and in the neglect of it,

                   in prayer irreverently offered and coldly witheld,

                   in time misspent,

                   in yielding to Satan's wiles,

                   in opening my heart to his temptations,

                   in being unwatchful when I know him nigh,

                   in quelching the Holy Spirit;

            sins against light and knowledge,

                   against conscience and the restraints of thy Spirit,

                   against the law of eternal love.

Pardon all my sins, known and unknown,

                               felt and unfelt,

                               confessed and not confessed,

                               remembered or forgotten.

Good Lord, hear;

and hearing. . .forgive.