Ash Wednesday

Yesterday I buried a woman who, for the past 15 years or so, had been praying for me and my ministry. She was a prayer warrior. I say this, not to solicit sympathy, but to sound an alarm. Could one of the reasons the Church is in such a feeble state in America be that we are not replacing those elderly prayer warriors with younger ones? My observation from the past five charges I have served is that we have lost more warriors than we have raised up. Perhaps it is my fault as well. Today is Ash Wednesday. For many, a time to give up something they enjoy so they might focus more intently on the Lord. The fault in this practice is that many will wait either patiently or painfully for the end of Lent so they might again enjoy that which they have denied themselves of. Is that the point? I would suggest to you that instead of “giving up” something for Lent, why don’t we “take up” something new for Lent. Why not add prayer time to our day…why not add time to seek God’s face…why not add time, intentional time, to explore God’s will for you? It seems if the Church today is weak and powerless it is only because we have not yet discovered the power of the Holy Spirit. Why not add time asking the Spirit to come upon us…that we might truly be the Church God intended for us to be? I pray you have a productive Lenten season, whatever your practice.