Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Lent season: A period of 40 days (not counting Sundays) before the Easter holiday. It is a time in which we focus on repentance and the free gift of Salvation offered to us through the blood of Jesus Christ, our Saviour. This is a time observed primarily by denominations such as the Anglicans/Episcopalians, Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians and Roman Catholics.
It is an observation in which a congregational leader marks the foreheads of participants with ashes in the shape of a cross. The member traditionally keeps the marking on his or her forehead until it wears off naturally. The purpose of this ritual? To remember the biblical ritual described in Scripture in which people who are in mourning place ashes on their heads to publicly show their state of mourning and penitence (Daniel 9:3, Matthew 11:21).
We mourn because our sinful flesh continues to lead us astray.
We mourn because Satan currently retains his influence on this world.
We mourn because we make our God sad when we fall into temptation.
And we repent, throwing ourselves onto the mercy of Christ’s Blood to save us from the wicked shackles of sin.
Amen, come Lord Jesus.
Tags: Ash Wednesday, ashes, Forgiveness, mourning, penitence, repentance
CommonTruth Blog 
March 26, 2012 at 1:53 pm |
On your website you show proof Jesus died on a beam/stake but now you are talking about using a cross like it’s ok. Why do you cast aside the truths you know like useless dog food?
March 26, 2012 at 4:34 pm |
You seem to be jumping the gun here, perhaps you’re feeling a bit on the defensive side, I don’t know. The fact is, the only part of the post which mentions the cross is this:
“It is an observation in which a congregational leader marks the foreheads of participants with ashes in the shape of a cross.”
We are not going to lie and say the congregational leaders make a mark in the shape of a stake. All we did was describe the usual ritual that happens in churches. If you read through the post again you see that we neither condone nor condemn the ritual. It is up to each individual to observe the occasion as they understand it to be. We don’t dictate one’s spirituality, we only present what the Bible really says; it is up to the readers to act upon their individual understanding guided by prayer. And I think you are assuming too much: Yes, we believe a person should take the time to reflect and meditate on the occasion, but that doesn’t mean we advocate that a person must take a mark of any kind on their forehead. And, if a person is okay with a cross mark, that is between them and God. Remember, as the article here states:
No, it does not really matter whether Jesus Christ died on a singular pole or a two beamed cross in the end. The more important matter is the fact the Jesus Christ actually died for our sins, paving the way to our Salvation and reconciliation with God.
Please be a little less eager to be offended. Peace in Christ.