Wednesday of the First Week of Lent
“3The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying, 2 “Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.” 3 So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three days’ walk across. 4 Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s walk. And he cried out, “Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” 5 And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth.
6 When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. 7 Then he had a proclamation made in Nineveh: “By the decree of the king and his nobles: No human or animal, no herd or flock, shall taste anything. They shall not feed, nor shall they drink water. 8 Humans and animals shall be covered with sackcloth, and they shall cry mightily to God. All shall turn from their evil ways and from the violence that is in their hands. 9 Who knows? God may relent and change his mind; he may turn from his fierce anger, so that we do not perish.”
10 When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them, and he did not do it” Jonah 3:1-10.
This is a beloved Lent text because it reflects the heart of Lent. We are all in need of hearing God telling us, warning us, that we will die if we don’t turn from our evil ways. So take time today in prayer, and consider the things in your life from which you need to turn away. And then turn away!
Pray for the desire to follow Christ faithfully. Pray for God’s help. Stay in the Word and come back to Christ! Remember verse 8: “All shall turn from their evil ways and from the violence that is in their hands.”
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, have mercy on me a sinner.
From the Bible:
“If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth” 1 John 1:16.
“Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him” John 14:23.
“So you, by the help of your God, return, hold fast to love and justice, and wait continually for your God” Hosea 12:6.
“Press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” Philippians 3:14.
Comentários