Dear Advent Life Ministries Church and School Family,
As we enter this sacred season of Lent together, Advent Church, Proclaim Church, our board members, staff, and school family, we pause to remember why we are here. LOVE is why we are here. As we move toward the cross, may these daily reflections prepare our hearts with humility, repentance, surrender, and renewed devotion.
________________________________________
Tuesday, February 17, 2026
The Gift of Repentance
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
Matthew 4:17
Repentance is often misunderstood. It is not humiliation; it is reorientation. To repent means to turn, to change direction. When Jesus announced the kingdom, His first invitation was not achievement, but repentance. Lent teaches us that transformation begins with turning.
For a church family, repentance is corporate as well as personal. It means asking where pride has replaced humility, where comfort has replaced courage, where routine has replaced reverence. For leaders and board members, it may mean examining whether decision-making reflects prayerful dependence. For staff and ministry teams, it may mean confessing subtle exhaustion that has dulled spiritual attentiveness. For every believer, it means allowing God to correct our course gently but clearly.
Repentance is hopeful because it assumes God is near. We turn because He is already reaching toward us.
Challenge:
Ask the Lord to reveal one area where your direction needs adjusting. Name it specifically in prayer and ask for the grace to turn.
SOARing Together,
Shahna Clark
Principal
Advent Elementary Middle School
“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will SOAR on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:31