Welcome to the Forty Days of Lent

Summary

The Wake-Up Call – “Welcome to the Forty Days of Lent”

Host: J.D. Walt (with guest appearances by David Walt)
Podcast: The Wake-Up Call – Seedbed
Date: February 18, 2026
Episode Theme: A heartfelt invitation to begin the journey of Lent, entering into a season marked by transformational questions, spiritual awakening, and deepening devotion to Jesus.

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Episode Overview

This Ash Wednesday episode marks the beginning of Lent, setting the tone for the next forty days of reflection, awakening, and growth. Host J.D. Walt warmly welcomes listeners—referred to as “Sower Nation”—back into the daily ritual, expresses gratitude to recent guest host Andrew Forrest, and introduces the guiding theme: embracing Lent as a movement of awakening and question-driven transformation. David Walt (J.D.’s father) joins the latter part for a reflective conversation and the singing of the hymn “I’d Rather Have Jesus,” reinforcing the call to clarify desires and deepen devotion.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Welcoming Words and Transition

• Gratitude for Andrew Forrest’s Leadership
  • J.D. Walt begins by acknowledging Andrew Forrest, who led for the past 18 days:

    “He dove right in and just owned it. Consecration prayer ... he had energy. Big energy all the way through the hymn, sang the hymn and led us to the fields. That guy... I hope you got his book, ‘Love Goes First’ because it's fantastic.”
    (00:17–01:15)

2. The Meaning and Movement of Lent

• Defining Lent

  • Originates from Old English “Lencten” meaning “to lengthen” (signifying springtime and longer days), but J.D. quickly redirects the focus:

    “It’s spring again. Big deal, right? ... This is how time moves. The Bible calls this kind of time ‘Chronos’ ... The Bible also speaks of another kind of time, ‘Kairos.’ ... Kairos time is God time ... God time is the reality that happens when eternity breaks into time, when Kairos breaks into Chronos. This, of course, is the story of Jesus.”
    (04:27–07:10)

• Scripture Focus

  • Galatians 4:4–5:

    “…when the fullness of the time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, so that he might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive adoption as sons and daughters.”
    (03:52–04:15)

• Difference Between Chronos and Kairos

  • J.D. Walt breaks down the distinction:

    “Chronos Time is measured by seasons and kept on a calendar. Kairos time is marked by a story and kept by a community. That means the most important timepiece we have is not a calendar or a clock, but the Bible itself, the revealed word of God.”
    (06:38–07:22)

3. Lent as a Season of Awakening and Questions

• Invitation to Deeper Engagement

  • J.D. encourages listeners to seek movement and transformation, not just another lap around the sun:

    “We don’t need more shifting seasons. We need more movement. We don’t need more religion. We need more life. ... We don’t need more answers. We actually need more questions. Jesus asking—welcome. Here’s the meaning of the movement of Lent.”
    (07:30–08:08)

• Transformational Journey Framed as Inquiry

  • J.D. references the mentorship of Maxie Dunham and the shaping role of three transformational questions for this Lenten journey:

    “This is not a book of answers, but one of questions. ... We will touch on what I call the question of all questions ... and be warned, they are deep questions. And the depth at which you’re willing to engage them will determine the growth you can expect on the other side.”
    (10:24–11:44)

• Personal Preparation and Prayer

  • Ends this section with a prayer of consecration and an invitation into intentional reflection:

    “Lord Jesus, we step into these 40 days of Lent, eager to follow you, to walk in your ways, to discover your will, and to awaken to new life in you. Come, Holy Spirit. Where you lead us, we will follow. We are ready.”
    (12:02–12:38)

4. Ritual, Community, and Family Legacy

• Ash Wednesday Practices

  • Looking ahead to the evening’s Ash Wednesday service, J.D. describes the familiar and solemn ritual:

    “Tonight we’ll gather over just across a block away at the Gillette Methodist Church and we will kneel at the Altar. And I will say, and others will say to each one of us, ‘from dust you have come, and to dust you shall return. Repent and believe the gospel.’ And then we’ll make the mark of the cross in the ashes right on your forehead. And today is the beginning of the 40 days of Lent.”
    (13:58–14:41)

• Multigenerational Ministry & Recognition

  • J.D. shares about his father’s (David Walt) induction into the Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame, emphasizing shared achievement and legacy:

    “But you know what? I needed to take Martin and Daddy with me. ... They were with you because they were part of it. ... You did it together, didn’t you?”
    (13:41–13:56)

5. Music and Desire: “I’d Rather Have Jesus”

• Hymn Selection as Heartbeat of Lent

  • David Walt chooses to mark the season with hymn #140, “I’d Rather Have Jesus”:

    “I’d rather have Jesus than anything this world affords today. Lent is this journey of clarifying our desires. And so we’re going to start off right here singing this great hymn.”
    (15:41–15:53)

  • Memorable Lyrics Sung Together

    • “I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold,
      I’d rather be his than have riches untold,
      ... I’d rather have Jesus than anything this world affords today.”
      (16:28–19:28)

  • Reflections on the Hymn’s Meaning

    “Isn’t that true?”
    “It's true that true words were never spoken.”
    (19:34–19:38)

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On entering Lent:

  “Lent is an invitation to break the predictable pace of another trip around the sun and get in step with the movement of the story of Jesus.”
  (08:52–09:08, J.D. Walt)

• On transformational questions:

  “Be warned, they are deep questions. And the depth at which you’re willing to engage them will determine the growth you can expect on the other side.”
  (11:37–11:44, J.D. Walt)

• On clarifying desire:

  “Lent is this journey of clarifying our desires.”
  (15:43–15:46, J.D. Walt)

• On spiritual legacy:

  “But you know what? I needed to take Martin and Daddy with me. ... They were with you because they were part of it.”
  (13:41–13:52, David Walt)

• On community sharing:

  “Send us a picture of you maybe with the ashes on your forehead ... our little Facebook group on Facebook, it’s called a wake up call. We just have love out there. It’s very refreshing.”
  (20:20–20:36, J.D. Walt)

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Timed Segment Guide

• 00:00–01:15 – Welcome back; gratitude to Andrew Forrest
• 03:52–04:15 – Scripture reading: Galatians 4:4-5
• 04:27–07:10 – Explaining the meaning of Lent and the difference between Chronos and Kairos time
• 07:30–08:08 – Need for movement, awakening, and transformative questions
• 10:24–11:44 – Framework of questions for Lent; warning about their depth
• 12:38–13:06 – Prayer for embarking on the journey
• 13:41–13:56 – Multigenerational legacy: Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame reflection
• 13:58–14:41 – Ash Wednesday ritual description
• 15:41–19:28 – Singing “I’d Rather Have Jesus” with David Walt
• 19:34–19:38 – Affirming the truth of the hymn’s message
• 20:20–20:36 – Encouragement for community participation and sharing

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Closing Thoughts

This episode sets a reflective, earnest tone for Lent, emphasizing a journey that is not about answers but about questions, transformation, community, and clarifying the deepest desires of the heart. The combination of scripture, song, family faithfulness, and community invitation encapsulates The Wake-Up Call’s approach—awakening listeners daily to the movement of Jesus’ story in real, true time.

Key Question Asked:

• “Are you ready?” (11:57, J.D. Walt)

Final Words:

“We are embarked, friends, on the 40 days of Lent. And we pray these will be crystallizing days and clarifying days ... revealing to us the deeper desires of our hearts and our minds for the only things that satisfy.”
(19:39–20:07, J.D. Walt)

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Transcript

[A]

Foreign. Good morning, Sewer Nation. Welcome back. And I know you're thinking, oh, we never left. Where did you go? Well, I do want to thank Andrew Forrest for his leadership over the past 18 days or so. My gosh, I just so appreciate how he dove right in and just owned it. Consecration prayer. A little fast at times, but man, he had energy. He had big energy all the way through the hymn, sang the hymn and led us to the fields. That guy, I hope you got his book, the Love Goes first because it's fantastic. It is a word for our time. Yeah. It's just good to be his friend and so appreciate his leadership in the church. Both his local church, Asbury Church in Tulsa, and the broader church. He is. He's a blessing and we'll have him back. So just want to. Just want to note that. Thank you, Andrew Forrest, for jumping right in and crushing it. And now, gang, I haven't even said right. It is February 18, Wednesday, 2026. It is ash Wednesday. I'm John David Walt, and this is your wake up call. And we are, you know, we're diving in to the journey to the cross. Maybe many of us have been this way before, but we've not been this way this time. And I feel like the Lord has got a move for us, a word for us. I've been working, as you know, all last summer I wrote this work, praying for this day. Jesus asking the three transformational questions of Lent. And I hope you'll read the foreword in the book. It's the story of my long now mentorship. He's been my mentor with Maxie Dunham, stretches over 30 years. And he's the one who taught me these three questions. So I hope you'll read that foreword. I've just been very prayerful about entering in this, this Lent with you all. So how about we just dive in? Let's just. Without further ado. So let's begin with consecration, as is our joy. Wake up, sleeper. Rise from the dead and Christ will shine on you. Jesus, I belong to you. I. I lift up my heart to you. I set my mind on you. I fix my eyes on you. I offer my body to you as a living sacrifice. Jesus, we belong to you. And we're praying in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Today's entry is entitled welcome to the 40 days of Lent. Our text is Galatians, chapter 4, verses 4 and 5. Hear now the word of the Lord. But when the fulness of the time came, God sent his Son born of a woman, born under the law, so that he might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons and daughters. The word of the Lord. Now consider this. Lent. The word comes from an old Anglo Saxon word, LinkedIn, which means lengthen. It is a word that signifies springtime, when the days begin to lengthen. Seems pretty harmless and benign. It's spring again. Big deal, right? It's another lap around the sun, another walk through the cycle of seasons. Winter, spring, summer and fall. They come like clockwork, don't they? In fact, they are clockwork. This is how time moves. The Bible calls this kind of time Chronos, the Greek. The Greek root found in our English word chronological. Winter, spring, summer, fall. The Bible also speaks of another kind of time, Kairos. In short, Kairos time is God time, which is not so much about time as it is about God. In fact, God dwells outside time, in the realm of eternity. And this is precisely the amazing thing about God, time, God, time is the reality that happens when eternity breaks into time, when Kairos breaks into Kronos. This, of course, is the story of Jesus. But when the fullness of time came, Kairos God sent his son, born of a woman, born under the law, so that he might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons and daughters. Chronos Time is measured by seasons and kept on a calendar. Kairos time is marked by a story and kept by a community. That means the most important timepiece we have is not a calendar or a clock, but the Bible itself, the revealed word of God. We don't need more shifting seasons. We need more movement. We don't need more religion. We need more life. We don't need more activity. We need more awakening. We don't need more answers. We actually need more questions. Jesus asking welcome. Here's the meaning of the movement of Lent. In the 33rd spring of the first millennium, Jesus of Nazareth began a descent from the Mount of Transfiguration deep into the Valley of the Cross, where he would die a death by crucifixion and rise from the dead as the ultimate act of love to reconcile the lost human race to the God who created us. Beginning today, Ash Wednesday, Lent is a journey of 40 days, ending on Holy Saturday and culminating with easter Sunday. The six intervening Sundays do not count. In the 40 days since the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead on Easter Sunday, Sundays have been for feasting, never fasting. Lent is an invitation to break the predictable pace of Another trip around the sun and get in step with the movement of the story of Jesus. It is an opportunity to wake up to the reality of the real, true and living God in real, true and living time. It's why I always like to say, wake up, sleeper. Rise from the dead and Christ will shine on you. One final note as we embark. This is not a book of answers, but one of questions. It will unfold as a journey of questions. Early on, we will touch on what I call the question of all questions. It will take a few weeks of walking together, but we will arrive at what I call the three transformational questions. And be warned, they are deep questions. And the depth at which you're willing to engage them will determine the growth you can expect on the other side. Now, one final question on this first day of the journey. Are you ready? Let's pray. Our Father, thank you for your son, Jesus. Lord Jesus, we step into these 40 days of Lent, eager to follow you, to walk in your ways, to discover your will, and to awaken to new life. In you come, Holy Spirit. Where you lead us, we will follow. We are ready. Praying in Jesus name. Amen. And now for our journal prompts. Encourage you, if you've got the book, just to use, use the book itself. Use the white space, the margins, the any gaps you can find. Use those spaces to engage in journaling. What are your intentions as we walk into these 40 days of Lent? What are your hopes? What are your questions? All right, we're embarked. It's going to be. It's going to be a significant Lent. I just know it. Well, Dad's here. I'm thankful for that. And he is going to help us sing today. He picked our opening hymn for Lent. I'll hand it over here. Well, we're back. And look who's here. It's our favorite worship leader, the great famous farmer, David Walt.

[B]

Amen.

[A]

I say he's a famous farmer. I've told you the story, dad, about. You know it, of course, but you were inducted into the Arkansas Agriculture hall of Fame.

[C]

I sure. That was a very big honor.

[A]

Yeah, that was really something and.

[C]

But you know what? I needed to take Martin and Daddy with me.

[A]

That's right. They were.

[C]

They were with you because they were part of it.

[A]

They were. So you just. You, you. You did it together, didn't you?

[C]

We did.

[A]

All those years. Well, we're here today on Ash Wednesday. And tonight we'll gather over just across a block away at the Gillette Methodist Church and we will kneel at the Altar. And I will say, and others will say to each one of us, from dust you have come, and to dust you shall return. Repent and believe the gospel. And then we'll make the mark of the cross in the ashes right on your forehead. And today is the beginning of the 40 days of Lent. And this journey of Jesus asking. We're going to be working through this book. Dad, I wrote this book, Finglay Vet.

[C]

You wrote that?

[A]

I did. And we're going to be going for the next 40 days.

[C]

Have you got another one, though?

[A]

I've got one just for you.

[C]

I want it.

[A]

And of course it's on the wake up call every day. But I thought it'd be good if we kind of started right here at the beginning with a song that. That we want to sing again right at the very end.

[C]

Okay.

[A]

It's kind of a, I believe, just a heartbeat of the season of Lent. Tell them what it is right there.

[C]

I'd rather have Jesus.

[A]

What's the number?

[C]

140.

[A]

I'd rather have Jesus than anything this world affords today. Lent is this journey of clarifying our desires. And so we're going to start off right here singing this great hymn, number one four zero in our seedbed hymnal, Our Great Redeemer's Praise. We're going to sing all three verses.

[C]

Okay.

[A]

We've been off here for a couple of weeks, but it's good to be back. Thanks for joining me. And you know, dad, how much these people appreciate you leading us.

[C]

Well, I'm just. I'm honored.

[A]

They tell me every single day I.

[C]

Am honored to be a part of it.

[A]

So let me see if I can pitch this right.

[B]

I'd rather have Jesus than silver or gold I'd rather be his than have riches untold I'd rather have Jesus than house this world ends I'd rather be led by his nail pierced hand Than to be the king of a vast domain or be held in sins treadwish.

[A]

Way.

[B]

I rather have Jesus Than anything this world affords today I'd rather have Jesus than men's applause I'd rather be faithful to his n dear cause I rather have Jesus than worldwide fame I'd rather be true to his holy name Than to be the king of Of a vast domain or be held in sin's tread sway I'd rather have Jesus than anything this world afford today Last verse. He's fairer than lilies of rarest bloom he's sweeter than honey from out of the comb he's all that my hungering spirit needs. I'd rather have Jesus than let it him lead Than to be the king of a vast domain or be held in sin's dread sway. I'd rather have Jesus than anything this world affords today.

[C]

Amen.

[A]

Isn't that true?

[C]

It's true that true words were never spoken.

[A]

Yep. True words were never spoken. Well, we are. We're embarked friends on the 40 days of Lent. And we pray these will be crystallizing days and clarifying days. Already sorting us out already just revealing to us the deepest, the deeper desires of our hearts and our minds for the only things that satisfy. So here we go. And maybe send us a picture. Maybe maybe send us jump on our Facebook page. You know, we got a great. It's one of the most joyful places online. There's so much mess out there. Well, our little Facebook group on Facebook, it's called a wake up call. We just have love out there. It's very refreshing. Send us a picture of you maybe with the ashes on your forehead. We'll get a picture of us and share out with you tomorrow. So it's time to hit the fields. It's time to get our seeds. You all see we've kind of changed our studio. David Walt, who now works for us for with Seedbed, is completely redesigned the set. I love it so much. I know you do too. You'll be watching it change as these days go by. But you see, I got my seeds, Dad's got his.

[B]

Amen.

[A]

And you got yours. Now we'll see you on the field for The Awakening. I'm J.D. walt.

[C]

And I'm David Walt. And I'd rather have jesus.

[A]

Perfect.