Tag Archives: repentance

As Long As It Takes

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If you read the book of Lamentations you will feel the anguish over the state of things in Israel due to their disobedience. In fact, throughout the Old Testament you will often hear the Jews crying out to God: How long will you continue to forget us?

And often you will hear God’s reply: As long as it takes.

God doesn’t delight in punishing his people. He created us to fellowship with him, to love and obey him. And because he created us with the ability to choose or reject him, he drew a line in the sand. We call the condensed version of this line The Ten Commandments. There needs to be no guessing concerning the requirements for having a blessed relationship with him:

Worship me only. Love me above all else, Obey my instructions how to treat people, how to conduct business, what to believe. And for we who live after the cross: accept my Son as your Savior.

Sure it’s a tough list of rules. In fact, an impossible list to achieve for us humans. Yet God’s requirements don’t change. Here’s the line in the sand. Cross it and enjoy a forgiven life under grace. Stay where you are and accept the consequence.

Be assured. God won’t just let you stay on that side without doing everything he can to get you to come over to his side. You may even find yourself asking, “Why, God? How long are you going to cause me pain?”

AS LONG AS IT TAKES.

The Bible Hurts My Feelings

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God is speaking through Jeremiah concerning those prophets who claim to speak for God  – but don’t. (Jeremiah 23) These liars are preaching a health and wealth gospel at the same time Jeremiah is telling them how angry God is, and how God is going to punish them for their disobedience. 

The false prophets tell them they are ok: “Don’t worry! The Lord says you will have peace!… No harm will come your way.” (23:17)

The thing is, God’s Word is not a “feel good” book. In fact, in verse 29 of the same chapter, God asks, “Does not my word burn like fire?… Is it not like a mighty hammer that smashes a rock to pieces?”

I think that’s why there are so many different religions out there. I mean, who wants to worship a God who makes you feel bad about yourself? So let’s make up a theology that tells us how great we are, how worthy, how powerful we are in and of ourselves to become better and better. We want to believe we are ok just the way we are. If you listen, you’ll recognize those lies in some of the most popular churches spewed by some of the most famous preachers of our time. Maybe even in your home town, in tiny churches, that go unnoticed expect for the faithful few who attend.

But have you ever experienced that heavy blow that comes from the realization that you are wrong? Have you felt the convicting fire of the Holy Spirit over unconfessed sin? It’s not comfortable, is it? It might even hurt your feelings, big time.

When you are at that point, you have a choice. You can tell yourself you’re ok, you can repeat a mantra to make yourself feel better, you can self-medicate, or even learn to live with the discomfort. Or you can accept what Jesus died to give you.

Forgiveness.

Then you can know the spiritual health that comes from having a pure heart. You can enjoy the wealth of having the God of Creation living in you, the sure hope of eternity with him. No false theology can come close to it!

So I challenge you read the Bible for yourself. But get ready to have your feelings hurt. If you ask God to speak to you through his Word, he will. He will tell you you are lost without him. He will tell you you are a sinner. He will tell you you are wicked, self centered, unclean. But he will also tell you about his love and his grace. He will tell you about how he went to the cross to pay for your sins. And he will ask you to come to him, to say you’re sorry and mean it, to allow him to turn your life around…

And bless you beyond what you could ever ask or even think.

God, thank you for tearing down all my defenses, for making me look at myself the way you see me. I am a sinner. There is nothing good in me. And I have to tell you, that hurts my feelings a little. But, God, I also want to thank you for lifting me up, for forgiving me when I asked you to, for blessing me with yourself. Thank you for your Word that cuts… and heals. Thank you for you!

A Good Heart

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How many times have you heard or said: He (she) has a good heart? How do you know? An adulterer who takes in stray animals, a thief who volunteers to mow a neighbor’s lawn, a liar who takes meals to shut-ins. Does kindness or thoughtfulness indicate a good heart?

In Jeremiah 17:9&10, we read that the human heart is “the most deceitful of all things and desperately wicked.” Who can know what is truly in a heart, what really motivates a person to do anything?

Only God.

God is not fooled by acts of charity when the charitable person is harboring hatred or evil, and is rejecting him. I might be fooled into thinking a person has a good heart, even into thinking he or she walks with God. But unless that heart has been broken over sin, unless that person has repented and accepted God’s forgiveness, that person is actually carrying around a desperately wicked heart, and Jeremiah reminds us God judges the heart.

You can put pearls on a pig, but it’s still a pig. You can put frosting on manure, but that doesn’t make it a birthday cake any more than a kind act gives an unsaved person a good heart.

Can non-believers be nice people, kind, and considerate? Of course they can. Satan is the master at making sin look good. But let’s not be fooled into thinking they are ok the way they are. Because “good” isn’t good enough! And an unrepentant heart is not a good heart.

God, I pray that each of us will take a good look at our own heart because that’s the only heart we can know. Your word tells us that without you, our hearts are desperately wicked. It also tells us you don’t judge our actions without judging our hearts. May our hearts be broken in light of our sin, may we bow before you in repentance, and may you turn our wicked hearts into good hearts. May we determine to obey your word today, and may others recognize that any goodness in us comes from you.

A Deadly Price-Tag

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God expresses his anger toward a disobedient people in the book of Nahum. He says things like: I am your enemy; and, I will not allow the guilty to go unpunished. He reminds them their riches, which are many, and gained dishonestly, will not save them from God’s wrath, from the consequences of their sin.

Nahum reminds us God is very serious about sin. He never excuses sin, or rationalizes it, or overlooks it. Every sin comes with a deadly consequence, whether it’s an angry two-year-old who pushes her brother off a chair, or a man addicted to porn who kidnaps, tortures, and rapes young women, like the man captured in Cleveland last year.

God says often in his Word that he will not let the guilty go unpunished. Then he turns around and says ALL have sinned. We are all guilty. We all face the consequences for every sin we’ve committed.

I am a Christian. But that doesn’t mean my sins, although forgiven, don’t come with a deadly price tag. My sins require death just like the sins of Ariel Castro (that monster from Cleveland). Every one of my sins come with a death sentence.

But when I accepted Jesus as my Savior, he took my sins and placed them on his own shoulders. He paid the painful consequences for me, he did not sweep them under a rug.

Hear me when I say, those who have not experienced Jesus’ grace will pay for their own sins. Every one of their own sins. The wages of sin is death, either Jesus’ death on the cross, or yours… for eternity.

God, may we all view sin from your perspective. Drive us to our knees, Lord, when we are faced with our own sin, our guilt and shame. Thank you for Jesus, for the cross, for your grace that is offered to anyone who comes to you with repentant hearts. I pray that everyone who reads this blog today will humble themselves and accept what you offer, and that is to pay for our sins yourself. The thought of anyone paying the ultimate price for their own sins frightens me. I pray that it will frighten all of us.

Blushing: A Lost Art?

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When King Josiah heard the Law of Moses read (2 Kings 22), he ripped his clothes in grief. He recognized God’s Sovereignty and his own guilt, and understood God’s righteous anger. Josiah repented. But it didn’t deter God from punishing a disobedient nation. What Josiah’s repentance did was to protect him from God’s wrath.

Repentance does the same today. When faced with our own sin, when driven to our knees in despair over our own guilt, and after accepting Jesus as Savior, we, too, are protected from God’s wrath. Oh, not from hardships during our lifetime on earth, but the greater expression of God’s wrath – eternal hell, separation from God forever. We who have humbled ourselves will only know his love and presence – forever!

But in our society it’s getting harder and harder to convince people of their need of Jesus. Sin is considered normal, fun, an alternate lifestyle, or a right. 

Confess what?

Jeremiah, in chapter 5 of his book, talks about how low the people had become. Verse 15 says, “Are they ashamed of their disgusting actions? Not at all – they don’t even know how to blush!” 

Isn’t that true today, too? Acts of sin are so blatant we can become desensitized. When was the last time you blushed at the sight of sin on TV, in a song, in your own life? Why is that? What does that say about your heart’s condition before a holy God? What does it say about mine?

God, I confess that I have become hardened to the presence of sin. I have seen so much, accepted so much, I have forgotten how to blush. Remind me, Lord. Help me to see sin the way you see it. May I be grieved, may I repent, may I turn from sin, and honor you with my life every minute of every day.

Living Water for a Thirsty Soul

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I know that Jeremiah’s prophecy was given to the flesh and blood nation of Israel during the reign of King Josiah. But, believing all Scripture is given by God for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction, I asked him to speak to me, today, in 2014, as I read the first couple of chapters of the book of Jeremiah. There is so much there!!

When I read these words as though I was the intended audience, I hear God say: I knew you, Connie, before I formed you in your mother’s womb; Get up and prepare for action; I will make you strong; I am with you, I will take care of you; you used to love me like a young bride and followed me gladly, but there have been times you strayed.

Jeremiah 1:13 has me examining myself today. “For my people (I) have done two evil things: They have abandoned me – the fountain of living water. And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all!”

Is my soul restless, thirsting, unfulfilled? Is it because I have turned from the Living Water? Didn’t Jesus describe himself in those terms? What is my relationship with him?

Then, have I dug my own worthless well in hopes of finding what I need on my own terms? How is that going? My attempts can’t hold water compared to what Jesus offers.

Father God, Thank you for your Word that speaks to us when we go there. Thank you for the blessing, and the conviction, that comes from spending time in these precious pages. May I allow you to drench me with the Living Water, and may your Spirit refresh me today so that I can serve you with energy! You are all I need. Thank you.

Nineveh’s Story

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Jonah’s story excited me this morning. Usually I look at the man Jonah, and the lessons he learned through his experience recorded in this book. But today I saw the city of Nineveh. It was a city full of sinful people. 120,000 idol worshipers living in spiritual darkness. But God had been working behind the scenes in the hearts and lives of the residents of Nineveh. They were ready to hear the Truth. As soon as Jonah preached God’s words, they repented. They repented! They realized their sin and called on God – and they were saved.

Many of us believe the US is too far gone, that destruction is inevitable, that this is the end. Is it? Or is God preparing hearts to break in the face of sin? Is he waiting for a Jonah (or Jonahs) to speak his words, then step back and watch God at work? Can there be a mass turning to the Savior in the US? There was in Nineveh.

May we pray believing. May we obey God’s call and not waste any time in the belly of a fish. May Satan be defeated in this land in such a miraculous way that all the nations will recognize God is who he says he is. May God pour his Spirit out on the people living in spiritual darkness right here in the United States of America. And may we turn to him like the people of Nineveh turned to God thousands of years ago.

Pray, dear one. Pray!

A Modern-Day Jezebel

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Ahab and Jezebel’s story as recorded in I Kings 20 reminds me of what is happening in the US these days. Evil people want our land, they want control over what was a nation under God. So they’ve invited us to a “feast”. They lie about Christians, villainize us so that the Truth we stand for looks like evil. They say we blaspheme a loving god when we tell them Jesus is the only Truth. They hate us but convince themselves it is we who hate them. And we, like Naboth, don’t recognize the danger we’re in. We’ve joined their party and it’s going to cost us everything.

That’s been Satan’s strategy since the Garden. He’s had a lot of practice and he’s good at getting into our heads. He’s a master at distorting the truth. And he makes sin look normal, pleasing, harmless, our right.

Naboth was killed in the end. Our civilization is dying, too. And we, like Naboth, are just sitting here dining with the enemy and not defending ourselves. Remember, our enemy is not flesh and blood, but Satan, anti-christ philosophy. And if we don’t stand up to the people who are robbing us of our land, we will lose it all.

Father, I pray you will raise up men and women who not only know you and the Truth of Scripture, but who will stand up in Jesus’ name to defend it. I pray that you will lay on the hearts of godly people the desire to get involved in our political system and reclaim the US for a nation built upon you. Help us to recognize Satan’s lies, to be discerning hearers of the news, to speak up in love, and draw all men and women to you. I pray for this once-great nation. May we repent of the sins of ourselves and our leaders and call on you to heal our land.

If only

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A thought kept going through my mind this morning as I read the first four chapters of Proverbs. “If only I had…”

Solomon talks about paying attention to discipline. Trusting God. Not giving sin a foothold. Guarding my heart. 

If only.

I look back on my life and see the choices I made that led to sin. Had I listened to my parents, trusted God, if I had not ignored the warning signs I wouldn’t be wearing the scars from sins I have committed.

If only.

Now here is wisdom: I can’t repeat the past. There are no do-overs. But I have today. I have forgiveness through the blood of Jesus. And because I have asked for that forgiveness, my sins are washed away and God promises never to remember them ever again. When I confess my sin he is faithful to forgive me and cleanse me from all of it. I’d be foolish to reject this precious gift.

So what will I do with today? Am I going to guard my heart today? Am I going to shut the door on temptation? Am I going to trust God and obey his Word? If I do he promises to show me which paths to take, paths that will bring joy and contentment. If I choose God he promises to walk with me!

I don’t know about you, but I have committed enough sin for one life time. And believe me when I say the momentary pleasure of any sin I’ve committed is not worth the years of regret that follow.

Lord, make me sensitive to your voice. Help me to resist temptation. Defeat Satan in my life today. Grant wisdom and may I choose you.

Battles and Victories and Battles

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Adonijah didn’t get what he wanted. He did everything he could to be king after his father David but we know God and David had other plans. Solomon was to be king. But Adonijah couldn’t let it go.

With Solomon on the throne and their father dead, Adonijah goes to Solomon’s mom. (I Kings 2) You know the people wanted me to be king, he tells her. So do this one thing. Go to Solomon and ask him if I can marry Abishag.

Sounded harmless enough. But when Bathsheba asked her son he was mad. Adonijah’s request wasn’t as innocent as it sounded. Abishag had connections and Solomon said it would be like handing the kingdom over to Adonijah. Solomon not only refused the marriage, he ordered Adonijah’s execution.

Satan wants your soul. And just because you may have had a victory over sin yesterday, don’t think for a minute he’s given up. He’ll try another route, another temptation. He’ll even make it appear innocent, try and trick you into turning yourself over to him.

Ours is a daily battle, a moment by moment battle. Sometimes we will defeat the enemy in our lives. But the war continues. We who know Jesus as our Savior know that he has won the war for our souls, that heaven awaits those who have repented of sin and accepted his grace.

But we need to put on the whole armor of God and prepare for battle today, this afternoon, tomorrow, right now. Satan is just as determined as Adonijah to be king. Satan wants to be king of your life. Beware. Be ready. Victory can be yours.

Father, I thank you that Jesus defeated Satan when he died on the cross and was raised to life again. I know that one day this life on this earth will be over and I’ll be in your Presence forever. Oh glorious day! But until then, may I never turn my back on my enemy Satan. May I never fall for his clever tricks, his innocent sounding temptations to sin. As I put on your armor today I ask that you go with me into battle. Grant victory today in Jesus’ name.