03/05/2025
OCIC Family, let's talk about Ash Wednesday.
This year, Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 really hit home for me. It feels like God's calling us to wake up. To really feel the weight of our need for Him. "Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming." That's a call to action, not just a suggestion.
Sometimes, we get caught up in the noise. The hustle, the grind, the drama. We build walls, we put on masks. But Ash Wednesday, it tears all that down. It's a moment to look in the mirror and be real. Real about our flaws, our mistakes, the ways we fall short.
Joel says, "Return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning." That's not just about giving up something for Lent. It's about giving up ourselves. It's about letting God break down those walls we built, those defenses we put up. It's about admitting we don't have it all together.
We, as a multiethnic body of Christ, gotta get real with ourselves. We gotta recognize that we all have a part to play in turning back to God. We gotta stop just going through the motions and start being the church. A church that repents, a church that mourns, a church that seeks God with everything we have.
This isn't about religion, y'all. This is about relationship. This is about recognizing that we need a Savior. And that Savior, Jesus Christ, is calling us home. He's saying, "Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love."
Let's use this Ash Wednesday to truly humble ourselves. Let's fast, let's pray, let's seek God's face. Let's let Him cleanse us, renew us, and empower us to be the people He created us to be. Let's show the world what true repentance and true revival looks like.
Let's pray. Let's turn back to Him. Let's be the change.
