Mardi Gras: Shrove Tuesday

A Time for Confession

“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.” Jeremiah 31:33

Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.  Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. Hebrews 10:22-23 ESV

“What are you giving up for Lent?” someone once asked in my group of childhood friends.

“I’m giving up homework” and “I’m giving up broccoli” drew laughter.

“Nothing.” My answer drew silence. The people in my church didn’t give up things for Lent, and I had never thought about doing so.

Many Christians abstain from eating meat on Ash Wednesday and every Friday during Lent. New Orleans anticipates the meatless days ahead by celebrating with a Mardi Gras carnival. The word carnival comes from a phrase meaning “removal of meat.” The carnival begins on Mardi Gras, that is, Fat Tuesday, which is celebrated the day before Ash Wednesday.

Aside from those who participate in the wild partying of Mardi Gras, many people approach Lent with a business-as-usual attitude, using any extra holiday time as personal time.

Fat Tuesday is also called “Shrove” Tuesday, which comes from a word meaning “to repent.” Can we truly appreciate Easter if we fail to see our sinfulness? Can we truly appreciate all that Jesus did for us as our Savior if we don’t repent? Originally, Lent was a time to give up something highly valued because of the greater value of Jesus’s sacrifice of his life to save us from our sins.

God told Jeremiah he would put his law in his people’s minds, and he would write it on their hearts. The writer of Hebrews tells us to draw near to God with true hearts of faith, sprinkled clean with unwavering hope, because God is faithful to his promises.

God promises that if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:8-9). Clean hearts, full of hope.

Rather than giving up something for Lent, let’s take time this Lenten season to confess our sins and repent. Let us recognize the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus, confess him as our Lord and Savior, and receive forgiveness. Then at the end of Lent, we can celebrate the joy of Jesus’s resurrection and victory over sin and death.

DIG DEEPER:

Read Hebrews 10:1-10. The writer of Hebrews said the Old Testament sacrifices were a shadow of the real things to come. What real, once-for-all-time sacrifice made us holy?

Read Hebrews 10:11-17. Where has God placed the law of the New Covenant?

Read Hebrews 10:18-23. How can you have a clean, guilt-free heart, confident and hopeful as you come before God?

Nancy J. Baker

This devotion is part of our Book for Lent and Easter: Restore the Hope.