“Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.” Daniel 9:3

On this Ash Wednesday…

Today is the first day of Lent…which some observe through wearing of ashes. As Christians, we use today as a means to bring remembrance of the lashes…

taken by our Savior, who was whipped and mocked in our stead–
Then Jesus bore a cross to be crucified for our sins, but rose again from the dead.

Ashes can remind of our own deaths, for God formed Adam from the dust. When Jesus prayed in Gethsemane, His Father’s will became His, “I must.”

Jesus, the “last Adam,” and Son of Man, bore the penalty for all of our sins…Now anyone who receives Him finds that, through Christ, new life begins.

P. A. Oltrogge

“And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” Genesis 2:7

“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.” 1 Corinthians 15:22

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17

“And so it is written, ‘The first man Adam became a living being.’ The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.” 1 Corinthians 15:45

“He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.” Psalm 103:10-14

“Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous. Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 5:18-21

Scriptures: NKJV