Lent begins with repentance. And today, I want to share with you how this gift of repentance, given by the Lord, is far more than a simple act. It’s a gracious work that reaches deeper than behavior alone.

In this series of devotions, we’re going to reopen repentance to discover that this gift brings incredible, transforming, and eternal healing.

Now, Ash Wednesday calls us to repentance, and that call to repentance brings remembrance. The ashes placed on our foreheads are not decoration. They’re not tradition for tradition’s sake. They’re a reminder. A reminder that we need because we are very good at forgetting.

We live in a world that constantly questions God’s commandments. We debate them. We soften them. We explain them away. We tell ourselves that our sin is a problem, but not a deadly one. And we continue in thought, word, and deed to minimize what Scripture names clearly. We convince ourselves that our sin may be inconvenient, unhealthy, or unfortunate, but certainly not damnable. Not deserving death. And that’s where these ashes come in.

The ashes remind us what God says to us in our sin. Genesis 3:19: “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” 

Repentance flows from God’s Word. Naming the reality we would rather avoid — that the wages of sin is death, not metaphorical death, not leading towards an eventual improvement. Death. Final. Eternal.

This call to repentance does not argue with us. It doesn’t negotiate. It simply reminds us what we have tried to forget. 

But there’s good news when we remember our sins and repent. See that the ashes are placed on our foreheads in a certain shape. It’s in the shape of a cross. And that matters because the cross reminds us where death loses.

The cross is where judgment is met with mercy, where condemnation gives way to forgiveness, and where grace interrupts what sin has earned.

The cross reminds us not just of death. It reminds us of Jesus.

Jesus who stepped into our place.
Jesus who received the sentence we deserve.
Jesus who carried our death-causing thoughts, words, and deeds into His own body.
Jesus, who became the satisfying sacrifice for sin.

Yeah, the ashes remind us of what is true about us. And the cross reminds us of what is true about Him.

This is repentance as remembrance. Not trying harder. Not fixing ourselves. Not proving anything. Simply standing still long enough to remember — I am dust. Christ has died. Christ is risen. And because of Him, this dust, these ashes will rise again. Live forever. See our Savior face to face.

If you’d like to remember with honesty and hope, then allow me to lead you in this prayer.

Prayer
Lord, I confess that I forget who I am and minimize the seriousness of my sin, even as it leads to my death. Remember me in my dust. And mark me again with the truth of Your cross, where my judgment was carried by Jesus. Lead me to live in repentance that remembers Your mercy, Your forgiveness, and the life You have given me in Christ. Amen.

Friend, Jesus Christ entered your dust and carried your death. For His sake, your sins are forgiven and the sentence of death no longer has the final word over you. In Him, you are marked not for condemnation, but for life, now and forever.

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ITTT