This year, Ash Wednesday was on 2 March, marking the beginning of Lent on the Christian calendar. Its origin is from an eighth century practice of marking Christians’ foreheads with ashes. Sometimes the ashes were obtained by burning the palm branches from the previous Palm Sunday. This practice is also rooted in the Old Testament practice of using ash as a sign of penitence and mourning.

I woke up with a song in my head, not a hymn or chorus I was familiar with but a new song. I got up and started to write the verses, the chorus, and a bridge of that song. I was encouraged by what was written; it may never be shared by anyone, but it warmed my heart and refreshed my soul.

The most wonderful treasure of our salvation is the redemption and restoration offered by God through His Son, Jesus Christ. God loves us so much that He showed us grace and mercy that we did not earn and do not deserve. This is a precious concept that brings great hope to all of us who believe in Jesus. Along with that redemption is the promise in His Word that offers a restoration of what Satan tries to rob from us. God gives us a fresh start and the promise of a fulfilling life in Him. Our faith gives us this hope.

It is important for each Christ-follower to be engaged in a lifelong journey of being a Christlike disciple. But how are we being discipled? Am I welcoming God’s Word, the Holy Spirit, and other trusted Christ-followers to guide my journey with Jesus? Christians need to be highly committed to being discipled by God’s Word, the Holy Spirit, and other Christ-followers. Hal Perkins’ book Walk with Me challenges me to ask more searching questions. “Do I spend time with Jesus daily through interacting with God’s Word? How sensitive am I to His ever-present Holy Spirit in my everyday situations?

In southern Mozambique, where I live and minister, the greeting process is different from greetings in many other areas. When we meet people along the way or when we go to their homes, it is our custom to take time to share information about the entire family. While the younger people in the cities normally ask surface-level questions, those who live or grew up in rural areas will engage in a more in-depth greeting. A rural greeting includes conversation about every family member (spouse, children, siblings, and parents) as well as their health and well-being.

While a student at Nazarene Theological Seminary in the early ’80s, I had taken classes taught by Dr. Morris Weigelt and Dr. Dee Freeborn. I loved and respected them both, so when NTS offered its first ever spiritual formation class, team-taught by the two of them, I excitedly enrolled in it.

Spiritual formation was a new concept to me then, but I looked forward to being taught by those two men and getting in on the ground floor of this new idea.