This week, I encourage you to take an honest look at your spiritual journey. Where is God calling you to let go? Where is God inviting you to draw closer? Let us walk this Lenten road together, not as individuals on separate paths, but as a community seeking God’s renewal and restoration. Know that I am praying for each of you, that this season may be one of deep transformation.

May God bless you as you take this first step in your Lenten journey.

📖 Scripture Readings:

• Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 – A call to repentance: "Return to me with all your heart."
• Psalm 51:1-17 – A prayer of confession and renewal: "Create in me a clean heart, O God."
• 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10 – A plea to be reconciled to God.
• Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 – Jesus' teaching on fasting, prayer, and storing up treasures in heaven.

🔎 Focus:

Lent is a season of self-examination, repentance, and renewal. It is a time to turn our hearts back to God with sincerity, humility, and devotion. The prophet Joel calls us to return to God with fasting, weeping, and mourning—not as an outward ritual, but as a deep and sincere movement of the heart. Psalm 51 reminds us that God desires not mere sacrifices but a broken and contrite heart. In this first week of Lent, we are invited to take a step toward realigning our lives with God's purposes.

🛤 Reflection Questions:

• What does it mean for you to "return to God with all your heart"?
• How do spiritual practices such as fasting, prayer, and almsgiving help you draw closer to God?
• Reflect on Psalm 51:10—"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." In what ways do you need God’s cleansing and renewal in this season?

🛠 Practice for the Week:

Choose a Lenten practice to begin this week as a step toward returning to God:

• Prayer: Set aside intentional time each day to pray for a renewed heart and deeper connection with God.
• Fasting: Consider fasting from a habit or indulgence that may be distracting you from spiritual growth.
• Service & Almsgiving: Find ways to give generously—whether through acts of kindness, financial giving, or volunteering.

🙏 A Prayer for the Journey

Merciful God,

As we begin this Lenten journey, draw us closer to You.

Search our hearts, reveal what needs to be made new,

And lead us in the way of repentance and renewal.

Create in us clean hearts, O God,

And restore within us a spirit of steadfast love.

May our fasting, praying, and giving

Be not for show, but an offering of devotion to You.

Walk with us, guide us, and transform us,

That we may return to You with all our hearts.

In the name of Jesus, who leads us in love, we pray.

Amen.