“Return
to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast
love.”
Joel
2:13
Do you recognize
these words from the prophet Joel? We
hear them every year at our Ash Wednesday service as we begin our Lenten
journey. We also sing them every Sunday
throughout Lent, prior to hearing the reading of the Gospel. Return
to the Lord your God. The emphasis
of Lent is to turn, or re-turn, to God.
Day in and day out, the world has our attention. Lent calls us to turn our attention to
God. The demands of our lives are
constantly turning our focus outward. Lent
invites us to turn our focus inward, that we might focus on Jesus and our
relationship with him.
Throughout the
forty days of Lent, we invite you to pause for reflection. Use the gifts of the church to help you
re-turn to God. There are opportunities for prayer, worship, and bible
study. This Lent,
return to the Lord your God, and discover the One who is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.
Peace,
Pastor Summer
