I was chomping at the bit to write as soon as our guest pastor, of the neighboring AME church, started her powerful preaching on Ash Wednesday. I LOVED the Lord’s Strength bolting out of her. I loved that she spoke of her time in New Orleans, and all the while I was wearing a Mardi Gras mask under my other mask.   (and please no worries, I was appropriately social distanced at the service… I was actually seated behind the ZOOM iPAD and I loved seeing smiles from the home folks.)

A BLESSING to be in the house of the Lord everyday – and especially Ash Wednesday.

Here’s my devotion:

BE DUST, 17FEB

What a blessing to receive ashes tonight from a pastor who felt like she was so DUST, so worn out by covid and related challenges, that only the Holy Spirit could have taken her from ashes to showing her BRILLIANT LIGHT of Spirit and splashes and flashes of faith. A POWERFUL sermon indeed, urging us to find strength, pray in humbleness and praise in sacrifice. To represent to the world what the ashes really stand for. She felt like she was dust, as in how much more can she and we take? “You have a sense of humor, God?” She battles being a covid survivor “Longhauler”, battled for keeping her church open, tackled the zoom gatherings, and even the vaccination side effects knocked her down…  But I could see that she had not just risen from the ashes as much as it WAS and IS the Holy Spirit that keeps RISING her to KEEP GOING!!!! 

We should all be such DUST, that only the Holy Spirit is left to move in us. We should be the hard pressed clay, filled with the immeasurably magnificent Lord to make His strength known. 

Her tremendous message (her first in a church building in 8 months) spoke of giving and seeing the Lord providing back everything and MORE. She urged us to humble ourselves. Pray. Sacrifice. Go further. Be healed…  Our awareness in these times of turning our sacrifice into a sacrifice of praise can pivot on this scripture: “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” 2nd Chronicles 7:14

Let us all BE DUST and put to rest our human self.  Let us all turn our assets into HIS ASHES and let us rely on HIS POWER. We are BLESSED to be called by HIS NAME. 

We need to choose to kick up a STORM OF FAITH IN HIM. We are HIS DUST.

BE DUST. 

AMEN

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2nd Chronicles 7:12-14

12 And the Lord appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for a house of sacrifice.

13 If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people;

14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

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2nd Corinthians 4:7-11

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body.