Thursday After Ash Wednesday

16 hours ago
4 min read

Many of us came out of Ash Wednesday, with this on our minds. It is that we all need to be marked with ashes in our hearts. Subsequently, it was promised that it would be addressed in this offering.

To begin, we need to understand that what is being said is this. Through the ashes of the heart, you and I are given the clear path to know a victorious Lenten walk with Jesus. In other words, to know this personally privileged, fearfully frightening, demandingly disciplined, and confidently courageous walk with Jesus, we must wear the ashes of the heart.

In Hebrews 12: 29, we read, For our God is a Consuming Fire. He is the fire which burns away the dross of base desires of our sinful hearts. When Paul spoke to the believers at Rome about God’s utter intolerance with unrighteousness, he specifically spoke of those who knew God, but did not glorify Him as God. These worshippers were most unthankful and became futile in their thoughts, as their foolish hearts were darkened. Therefore God gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonour their bodies among themselves. Romans 1: 24. Base desires are the lusts of the heart.

Praise and thanks be to God the Holy Spirit, who is ready and willing to burn to ashes, every lust of each sinful heart.

Here is another sadly grievous, but indisputably true fact, about the wickedness of our sinful hearts, coming from God Himself. Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Genesis 6: 5. Base desires are the wicked and continuous evil of the heart.

Praise and thanks be to God the Holy Spirit, who is ready and willing to burn to ashes, every evil of each sinful heart.

How is this to be done? This is to be done in God’s inimitable way, according to His Almighty power and authority. The picture before us, gives us view into how our Lord’s power is able to remove every demanding base desire, every giant of an evil enemy and every wickedness that imprisons.

We are looking at the children of Israel who are to make a journey, where they must cross the Jordan, to battle with enemies who are stronger, bigger, better armed and more skilled than they are. However, God has promised to go before them and completely destroy these formidable enemies of theirs, so that they will know victory in their God. They then will be able to do as God requires them to do, and it is to possess the land. Listen to Deuteronomy 9: 1 – 3.

Hear O Israel: You are to cross over the Jordan today, and go in to dispossess nations greater and mightier than yourself, cities great and fortified up to heaven, a people great and tall, the descendants of Anakim whom you know, and of whom you heard it said, Who can stand before the descendants of Anak?

Therefore understand today that the LORD your God is He who goes over before you as a consuming fire. He will destroy them and bring them down before you; so you shall drive them out and destroy them quickly, as the LORD has told you.

By faith, we take and believe the same promise given by God to His people in days long past, to be our promise today, in our present time, as applied to us, on this Lenten journey. We must face the evils of our hearts - the wickedness, the lusts, the disobedience, the pride, the self-righteousness, the self-wills - and many more Anak-type enemies, who are stronger than we are by far. Before these enemies that rule and reign in the heart, you and I are utterly helpless. There is no way that we, on our own, can get rid of these formidable foes, to know uncompromising obedience in this most solemn Lenten walk with Jesus.

Regardless of how astute we are in our ways, how faithful we have been and still are in keeping the law, how dedicated we are to worship and prayer, and how much good and charitable works we do, we are still completely void of the ability and capability to overcome any one of those evil, demanding and controlling spirits. The one and only hope and surety we have is the Consuming Fire of the Holy Spirit, to burn and bring to ashes, to unredeemable pieces, all the base idols and desires of our hearts.

Only God the Holy Spirit, will burn out and remove every single evil of the heart, which will do its best and try its hardest, to keep controlling us, making us pure losers on this Spiritual Lenten walk. Only God is able, by His Spirit, to destroy them all and bring them down before us.