Tag: Repentance

Engine of Repentance: Let us all take a good look at the way we are living, let us all reorder our lives under God. Lamentations 3:37-42

Lamentations 3:37-42 The Message

God Speaks Both Good Things and Hard Things into Being

37-39 Who do you think “spoke and it happened”?
    It’s the Master who gives such orders.
Doesn’t the High God speak everything,
    good things and hard things alike, into being?
And why would anyone gifted with life
    complain when punished for sin?

40-42 Let’s take a good look at the way we’re living
    and reorder our lives under God.
Let’s lift our hearts and hands at one and the same time,
    praying to God in heaven:
“We’ve been contrary and willful,
    and you haven’t forgiven.

Word of God for the Children of God

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

How often do we actually take the time to humbly examine our ways?

Seriously. This is a serious question for these serious days we are navigating!

Think about it.

How often do we sit down and put our lives under God’s microscope?

We can glance over our everyday lives and not think much about them.

Yet, if we consider each passing thought, each insensitive or thoughtless word that comes spewing out of our mouth, every careless action that we do out of habit, how would they hold up against the Word?

Don’t we think, don’t we .01% believe it might be a good idea to actually make it a practice to regularly scrutinize our lives?

Yes, I said “”scrutinize”.

To judge ourselves.

Not in the way of condemning ourselves, but rather in the way of cleaning out our lives.

Even Paul said in 1 Corinthians 11:29-32.

1 Corinthians 11:29-32 The Message

29-32 If you give no thought (or worse, don’t care) about the broken body of the Master when you eat and drink, you’re running the risk of serious consequences. That’s why so many of you even now are listless and sick, and others have gone to an early grave. If we get this straight now, we won’t have to be straightened out later on. Better to be confronted by the Master now than to face a fiery confrontation later.

How do you know if someone has truly repented?

Does it involve more than simply feeling sorry?

One of the most common misconceptions about biblical repentance is that it is primarily an emotion.

We tend to measure the legitimacy of repentance by how badly the person feels about themselves. Lamentations offers a different view.

The mark of genuine repentance is more a matter of understanding than emotion.

Verse 40 describes the nature of true repentance: “Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the LORD.”

Many people who are not yet Christians may have a hard time imagining themselves accepting Christ.

Maybe they have had some bad experiences with Christians in the past and can’t imagine themselves being one of “them.”

Perhaps they carry hurts or shame and they can’t imagine letting go of what happened a long time ago.

In situations like that, it can be helpful to provide someone with chances to “borrow” your faith for a while to try it on.

For instance, offering to pray for someone can be a great way to let people embrace your faith without strings attached.

You could say something like,

“When I’m feeling stressed, I find that prayer (just talking to God) really helps. Would you like me to pray for you?”

Most people are fairly open to being prayed for by someone else, even if they haven’t prayed much or aren’t sure what they believe about God or prayer.

Each situation of prayer and conversation about God registers in a person’s mind as a little faith experience.

Every time someone hears a good rumor of things God has done, or every time God’s Word somehow influences their own life story, they’ll begin to imagine what God might do in their whole life. And that’s a step in the right direction.

Repentance begins when we carefully consider our attitudes and actions, agree with God’s assessment, and then maybe turn ourselves around to face the Lord.

What is more, the engine that drives true repentance is hope.

The nature of this hope is expressed in verses 31–32.

It is the conviction that “no one is cast off by the Lord forever” if they come to Him in true repentance.

This assurance springs from God’s own compassion, an “unfailing love” that cannot be exhausted.

God’s unfailing love provides the theological framework for understanding the afflictions and sorrows that will continue to be the subject of this devotional.

Although there is a divine hand behind them (vv. 37–39),

God takes no pleasure in the injustices inflicted by the agents who enact His discipline or from the suffering experienced by His people (vv. 33–36).

Repentance is not stoic resignation that dispassionately accepts suffering.

Nor is it necessarily a kind of spiritual depression that fills us with self- loathing. Repentance is a biblically informed view of ourselves that has been enlightened by God’s goodness and holiness. We may be grieved by what we learn, but the ultimate goal is to compel us to lift our gaze to God’s mercy.

Go Deeper …

Have you confused repentance with regret?

Have you spent so much time dwelling on your regret you have forgotten grace?

Psalm 32:1-2 New King James Version

The Joy of Forgiveness
A Psalm of David. A [a]Contemplation.

32 Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered.
2 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not [b]impute iniquity,
And in whose spirit there is no deceit.

In the name of God, the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit ….

Praying …

Psalm 32 New King James Version

The Joy of Forgiveness
A Psalm of David. A [a]Contemplation.

32 Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered.
2 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not [b]impute iniquity,
And in whose spirit there is no deceit.

3 When I kept silent, my bones grew old
Through my groaning all the day long.
4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me;
My vitality was turned into the drought of summer. Selah
5 I acknowledged my sin to You,
And my iniquity I have not hidden.
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah

6 For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You
In a time when You may be found;
Surely in a flood of great waters
They shall not come near him.
7 You are my hiding place;
You shall preserve me from trouble;
You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah

8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will guide you with My eye.
9 Do not be like the horse or like the mule,
Which have no understanding,
Which must be harnessed with bit and bridle,
Else they will not come near you.

10 Many sorrows shall be to the wicked;
But he who trusts in the Lord, mercy shall surround him.
11 Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous;
And shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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Advent Reflection: How Sure Are We That We Would Listen to the Message of Our John the Baptist? Matthew 3:1

Matthew 3:1-6 English Standard Version

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

3 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2  “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”[a] 3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said,

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare[b] the way of the Lord;
    make his paths straight.’”

4 Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, 6 and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

If John the Baptist were alive today, a noisy passenger on an airplane, or an unkempt passenger on a commuter train, a homeless person sitting against a building with his sign or someone standing on some street corner or in some other public place with a bullhorn or mic running his mouth, his message to the masses would be the same message he preached in the wilderness so long ago.

“Where do you think you are going , how far can you run you brood of snakes?”

“Do not think for even one hot second you can flee from God’s coming wrath!”

Picking up a rock or stick he says shaking them; “God can raise up far better Christians than you with these!”

“Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Who is actually going to take any time to actually listen to any of those words without thinking: “He is Drunk!” “He is off of his medications!” “Arrest him!”

We certainly won’t ever go near him to be baptized in any river called Jordan!

Just another sad, down on his luck soul in weird clothing not worth any time.

Yet, I wonder how many of us would take him seriously – in our world that is deafened by the constant noise and chaos, how many would actually listen to a man in the streets of any city who claimed to be preparing the way of the Lord?

John’s timeless message is like a banner waving over every heart on the planet.

It continues to wave bold and strong, even in our darkest of days – like today!

We all need only look up, pay attention and see that God’s kingdom is at hand.

Our present circumstances are not our final destination-here is not all there is!

The beautiful thing about that ancient John the Baptist’s invitation, is that it does not require any whole google search check-list of things to accomplish.

There is no get-your-life-together-first requirement – there are no rules you and I have to follow before repentance – for repentance now is where it begins.

A moment of recognition then a moment of confession (Peter’s Confession of Christ as Messiah when the disciples were asked by Jesus who did the people say, and thought Jesus was – and Jesus proclaiming BINGO) Matthew 16:13-20

The Bible assures us that when a person, or a nation, repents of sin, God is faithful and just to forgive (1 John 1:9).

When people humble themselves and with their whole heart seek the Lord, He will hear them – He will heal them. And, He forgives them (2 Chronicles 7:14).

Have we lost that “very first loving feeling” of being 1000% forgiven by God?

Psalm 32 English Standard Version

Blessed Are the Forgiven

A Maskil[a] of David.

32 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
    whose sin is covered.
2 Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity,
    and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

3 For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away
    through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
    my strength was dried up[b] as by the heat of summer. Selah

5 I acknowledged my sin to you,
    and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
    and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah

6 Therefore let everyone who is godly
    offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found;
surely in the rush of great waters,
    they shall not reach him.
7 You are a hiding place for me;
    you preserve me from trouble;
    you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah

8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
    I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
9 Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding,
    which must be curbed with bit and bridle,
    or it will not stay near you.

10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
    but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord.
11 Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous,
    and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

What a simple, yet unheeded message from the Psalmist’s and John’s call:

“Know you will be blessed” “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”

If that ancient John the Baptist declared the kingdom of heaven was at hand, more than 2,000 years ago, exactly how much nearer is God’s kingdom today?

Every new moment of everyday, we are one step closer to our heavenly home.

Yet, how likely is it that we will continue to live as though this is all there is?

We will continue to strive for the things of earth, which will one day pass away.

Even Jesus himself said to those who had gathered around Him, His Message,

Matthew 5:4 Amplified Bible

4 “Blessed [forgiven, refreshed by God’s grace] are those who mourn [over their sins and repent], for they will be comforted [when the burden of sin is lifted].

Today, let’s take 1% more heed to John’s ancient, yet relevant message, ask God to begin, renew our hearts, minds, souls, surrendering more everything to Him.

Every spark of coming chaos, darkness, hardship, trial, sin, and struggle, let us enter our prayer closets, invite God inside, confess them, to lay them at His feet.

Will you read John’s ancient admonishment as recorded here in Scripture and in some part of your busy day-take the time to absorb them-try to find relevance?

There is a brooding, budding John the Baptist within every single unbeliever!

There is a brooding, budding John the Baptist within each and every Christian!

When does our world of chaos and darkness around us-hear his words of truth?

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Heavenly Father, We come before You, humbly seeking Your will and Your way. Forgive us, Lord, for doing as we please, in a world that is not our home. Help us to gain a heavenly perspective of “By Your stripes we were healed”. Help us heed the timeless call of John the Baptist—“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 

Please, ABBA Father, give us a fresh and refreshed and refreshing boldness and more clarity to share this message with those around us, to break away from the noise and chaos and speak words of truth. Thank You, Father, for preparing the way through Your Son. There is no other way. Continue to work in our lives until the glorious day when Jesus returns. For it is by Him, for Him, and because of Him that we live, and move, and have our being. It is in His name above all names that we pray. Amen.

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When is our very last prayer spoken? Another Word about Self-Reflections and Confession | Prophet Joel 2:12-14

The prophet Joel had a broken heart, troubled soul, for the people of his day.

They had gone far too long with their hearts turned away from God. God had sent judgment on them and continued to do so until they turned back to Him.

The word that is used to describe their turning back to Him is repentance. It is a “turning away from something, a changing of directions.” Many times, in our walk with God we ask for forgiveness, but we don’t repent. We do not turn away from the sin. We ask God to forgive us, but we do not turn from our sin. Our God wants our whole hearts to be turned from their sin and to be turned to Him. The people had gotten away from God and God is asking them to return to Him with fasting and weeping and mourning. They should be broken because of their sin.

Joel 2:12-14 New American Standard Bible

12 “Yet even now,” declares the Lord,
“Return to Me with all your heart,
And with fasting, weeping, and mourning;
13 And tear your heart and not merely your garments.”
Now return to the Lord your God,
For He is gracious and compassionate,
Slow to anger, abounding in mercy
And relenting of catastrophe.
14 Who knows, He might turn and relent,
And leave a blessing behind Him,
Resulting in a grain offering and a drink offering
For the Lord your God.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

We have all had moments when we became angry. A lot has been said about driving lately, but many things can push us towards this emotion. At work, we might experience something that isn’t justified, and we get angry. At home one of our children or our spouse might say something that, while true, hurts and causes anger. Or perhaps a friend misses a get-together with us, and we are angry. Perhaps this has happened between you and God. You wanted something to go one way, and it went a different way, and anger at God was the result.

While our anger may seem justified, in the end what does it hide? This emotion can really put some major blinders on us and cause us to miss out on something indescribably exciting and special which God’s planned for us. While we are in this emotional condition, we just might not see, hear, or otherwise experience something good for us. More than likely, we’ve all had this experience. It’s as if our anger has closed our senses off to life and we became focused on its cause.

Perhaps today, even today, try stopping, consider taking another approach, consider staying a little longer in an attitude of prayer, reflecting on the times when you have been angry in the last few days, and confessing them to Jesus.

Throughout your time of self-reflection, confession, recite the Jesus Prayer: “Lord Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.” My hope for you is that this time will be uplifting and will give you freedom! Then, as you go through your day, and that feeling begins to come, focus on what we read in Philippians 4:8, and change your focus from anger to what’s given in the passage of Joel.

8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is [a]lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything, worthy of praise, think about these things.

God only wants to make our hearts whole

Yes! We can absolutely trust God with our whole hearts. Joel writes: “He is gracious, merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.

Abounding in steadfast love – When I hear that phrase, I picture overflowing love that floods out from our God, envelops and surrounds and covers us.

That is the God we serve. One who slows His anger, embraces and heals hearts.

Joel chapter 2, Verse 13 is such an encouragement.

We are to have a broken heart on the inside. God doesn’t want us to appear broken and put on some sort of show, but He wants us to have a broken heart. The encouraging thing is that we can turn back to Him and that He is gracious and compassionate. He is not sitting there waiting for us to return to Him so that He can make our lives miserable. He is so gracious and compassionate.

When we turn back to Him and turn away from our sin, His love for us is so incredible. As Joel says in verse 14, “who knows…He may leave behind a blessing.” What a great thought. We can turn from our sin and turn back to our loving God, and He might even bless our lives for that! God wants to bless us. God wants to do amazing things in our lives. Sometimes, we have to turn from our sin and turn our hearts back to Him and allow Him to be God in our lives.

  1. Spend some quality time reflecting back up on yourself in prayer and ask God if there are things in your life you need to repent from. (Psalm 51 and 139:23-24)
  2. Priorities? Have you started chasing after sin and stopped chasing after God?
  3. Change Directions? Do you need to return back to God with all of your heart?

Today, try to make it your practice to keep your eyes open to things in your life that have caused you to turn away from God and to look for ways to turn your heart and your soul and your strengths back to Him. Repent. He is gracious!! Repent. He is slow to anger!! Repent. He is abounding in His steadfast mercy!!

Come to the Well where the Waters of God’s Life wait to refresh, restore you.

Leave behind what absolutely needs to be left behind at the foot of the Well.

Then turn around. Leave it all behind!! Leave it all behind!! Leave it all behind!!

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us pray,

My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, your power is beyond compare. You turned water into wine. You restored sight to the blind and made the deaf hear. You made the lame walk. You healed the sick and raised the dead. You conquered death in your resurrection. Everything you touch is powerfully transformed. Let me know that powerful touch in my life. Lord, bless me and keep me, make your face shine upon me, be gracious unto me.  Through your mighty name, Amen.

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