Thursday, February 19 Lord, Who Throughout These Forty Days

Scripture: “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished.” Matthew 4:1–2

Hymn Focus:
“Lord, who throughout these forty days
For us didst fast and pray…”

Lent begins by turning our eyes to Jesus in the wilderness. The hymn “Lord, Who Throughout These Forty Days” reminds us that before Jesus preached, healed, or went to the cross, He entered a season of fasting, prayer, and temptation. Lent mirrors that journey, inviting us to walk with Him through the wilderness of self-examination and trust.

The hymn acknowledges that Jesus knows our human weakness. He faced hunger, temptation, and isolation—not as a distant observer, but as One who fully entered our condition. Lent assures us that our struggles are not signs of failure, but places where Christ meets us with understanding and strength.

As the hymn prays,
“Teach us with Thee to mourn our sins,
And close by Thee to stay,”
we hear the heart of Lent. Repentance is not meant to drive us into shame or despair. It draws us closer to Christ. To “stay close” to Jesus is the goal—not perfection, but presence.

The hymn also calls us to spiritual discipline:
“And through these days of penitence,
And through Thy Passiontide…”
Lenten practices such as fasting, prayer, and generosity are not ends in themselves. They shape our hearts to depend more fully on God, loosening our grip on what distracts us from faithful living.

Finally, the hymn lifts our gaze beyond the wilderness:
“Till Easter of unending joy
We reach at last.”
Lent is purposeful. It moves toward resurrection. The disciplines of these forty days prepare us to receive Easter not as routine, but as true renewal.

As you walk through this Lenten season, let this hymn become a prayer of companionship. Ask Christ to walk with you through the wilderness, to strengthen you in temptation, and to lead you faithfully toward the joy that lies ahead.

Prayer

Lord Jesus,
You walked the path of fasting

and prayer for our sake.

During these forty days,

 draw us closer to You.

Strengthen us in temptation,

teach us honest repentance,

and shape our hearts through

discipline and grace.

Lead us through the wilderness of Lent

into the joy of Easter morning.
Amen.

Ash Wednesday February 18

“Return to the Lord”

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Lenten journey—a season of honesty, humility, and hope. We come today marked with ashes, an ancient sign that speaks a hard but holy truth: “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” These words do not shame us; they ground us. They remind us of our limits, our mortality, and our deep need for God.

The ashes we receive are not a sign of defeat, but of invitation. They call us to pause, to turn, to repent. The prophet Joel urges us, “Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.” Lent begins not with condemnation, but with God’s open arms.

Ash Wednesday also invites us to release our illusions of self-sufficiency. We confess that we are not in control, that we cannot save ourselves, and that we need grace as much today as we ever have. The ashes on our foreheads are a public acknowledgment of an inward truth: apart from God, we are fragile and incomplete.

Yet even here, hope is present. The ashes come from the palms of last year’s celebration—branches once waved in joy, now reduced to dust. They remind us that human praise fades, but God’s mercy endures. From these ashes, God begins a work of renewal. What seems like an ending is, in Christ, a beginning.

As Lent unfolds, we are invited to walk the path of repentance with honesty and trust—to pray more deeply, to fast more intentionally, to give more generously. These practices are not meant to earn God’s favor, but to open our hearts to receive it more fully.

Today, as the ashes are placed upon you, hear both the truth of your humanity and the promise of God’s grace. You are dust—and you are deeply loved. Return to the Lord, and begin again.

Prayer

Merciful God,
As we receive the ashes, we confess our frailty and our sin.
Create in us clean hearts, and renew a right spirit within us.
Teach us to walk this Lenten journey with humility and hope,
trusting not in ourselves, but in Your unfailing mercy.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

The remainder of Lent we will focus on the hymns of our faith.