Tag Archives: repentance

November 15

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Acts 9:32-11:18

Cornelius was a good man. He even believed in God. But it wasn’t enough. He needed Jesus. So Peter went and shared the Gospel with Cornelius and his whole family. They repented that day, received the Holy Spirit, and were baptized. And they were Gentiles. I love the last verse we read today, “So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.” Yes, even Gentiles!

We’re going to see that God no longer recognizes a difference between Jews and Gentiles. Peter said, in 10:34-35, “…I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right.” Doing that right thing is accepting Jesus as Savior and it doesn’t matter if you are Jewish, Italian, Iranian, German, African, Chinese, or the mixture we call American. 

It’s not enough to believe in God. It’s not enough to be a law-abiding citizen. It’s not even enough to give to the poor or go to church or pay your taxes. Do you know Jesus? Have you accepted his forgiveness? Have you received his grace through faith? If you have, then you are a child of God, one of the chosen.

If you haven’t repented of sin and accepted Jesus as your Savior I pray you will do that. Do the right thing. Give yourself to the Lord and begin to serve him today. I promise you that walking with Jesus is so much better than going it alone.

Heavenly Father, I thank you that salvation is not limited to Jewish people. I thank you it’s not even limited to just good people. Your Word tells us all of us have sinned, none of us reach your glory or even come close. We all need Jesus. So I pray for those who have yet to humble themselves and receive your forgiveness. May they do the right thing today. And may we who know you represent you well so that others will want what we have in you. Some of our friends and neighbors need the forgiveness that only Jesus provides. May hearts turn to you today. 

August 26

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Ezekiel 27:1-28:26, 33:21-33

Some people think being a Christian ought to guarantee health, wealth, and happiness. And in a sense, they are right. God created Adam and Eve who enjoyed all that and more in the Garden of Eden. But when sin entered the picture, things changed. Forever.

Jerusalem was in ruins. And Ezekiel tells us the Jews were questioning God. Shouldn’t they, as descendants of Abraham, “possess the land”? 

God, through Ezekiel in chapter 33 reminds them that as long as sin exists, as long as they disobey God’s commands, they will not possess the land. 

He goes on to say God is not impressed with their worship. They listen to the Word but don’t put it into practice. They express devotion but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. 

Ezekiel says you might as well go to a concert and enjoy the music, admire the talented musicians, and be thrilled by the performance for all the good it does to hear God’s Word and not be moved to action. The result is the same. You leave the venue unchanged.

God would remind us today that we cannot enjoy the things God created us to have – joy, fellowship with our holy God, peace, strength, hope – as long as sin exists in our lives. 

The question is: what are you going to do about it? Did you go to church yesterday and hear the Truth proclaimed from the pulpit? Did you allow God to speak to you today when you read his Word? Have you felt him nudge you toward talking to your neighbor or co-worker about the Lord? Have you felt conviction over a sin you’ve committed?

Hearing is the first step. But it’s not the only step. We need to get out there and obey, allowing God’s Word to change us from the inside so we can live for him in the day to day.

Remember, you can’t possess the land, you can’t have that sweet fellowship with the Lord if you have sin in your heart.

Material health and wealth aren’t the focus here. What is important is your heart’s condition in light of Scripture. I pray that you will allow God to defeat sin in your life as you confess and repent. Then you will possess the “land” he has in store for you.

And there is a great view from there!

August 25

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Jeremiah 30-31; Ezekiel 26

God is talking about making a new covenant with Israel. He tells them in the past they were punished for the sins of their parents and grandparents. “The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge”. One day, God says, if you eat sour grapes you will be the one who puckers up. Everyone will die for their own sin.

In the Old Testament, prophets were continually reminding generation after generation the many sins committed in the past. So it must have come as quite a shock when Jeremiah said God, in his new covenant, would forgive their wickedness and remember their sins no more.

We who live after the cross have a clearer picture of this new covenant. Jesus taught us about sin and repentance, responsibility and choice. And when he tells us he throws our sins into the deepest sea or removes them as far as the east is from the west, when he says he’ll remember them no more – he means it.

I know there are many who believe, because Scripture tells us we will be held accountable for our thoughts and actions on judgment day, there will be a big screen TV playing blue-ray videos of our lives for everyone to see. I know in my heart that won’t happen to me.

You know why? God tells me when I repent of sin he marks the account paid by the Blood of the Lamb. He tosses that sin into the sea and will remember it NO MORE.

So here’s what I see happening. I stand before the throne and look my Holy God in the eye. He says – give me an account of your life, Connie. And before I can utter a word, Jesus steps up beside me and says, “Account paid, Dad.”

Me, standing there remembering my sins, the times I failed God, dishonored him, threw his Word right in his face. Me, remembering the times I could have and should have done more to further his kingdom. God, opening his arms for me and welcoming me home dressed in Jesus’ righteousness.

So does that mean I can live my life any way I want and I’ll get a free pass? Not at all. Every sin I commit comes with a price tag. Every one. If I want Jesus to stand up for me in that day I need to be sure I’m wearing his righteousness. I need to repent, be holy and set apart, I need to be obedient to God’s Word. I need to recognize sin and accept the forgiveness that is mine when I ask him to forgive me.

I’m so thankful God forgives and forgets. But I don’t want to forget. While I’m on this earth I want to remember my failures so I don’t repeat them. I want to remind myself the lengths to which Jesus had to go to wash me clean. I want to live my life out of gratitude, humbly aware that I am a sinner saved by grace. 

Holy God, I know there will be an eternity free from the memories of the sins I’ve committed, compliments of a crucified Jesus. But until that day, Lord let me remember. Let me use those memories to make me want to serve you better, love you more, and run from the temptations that lure me into sin. And thank you, God, for your selective memory. I love you.

August 22

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Lamentation 3-4

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father.
There is no shadow of turning with Thee.
Thou changest not, Thy compassions they fail not.
As Thou hast been Thou forever will be.

Great is Thy faithfulness. Great is Thy faithfulness.
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hands have provided.
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.

Who doesn’t love that old hymn? If you get the chance, why don’t you look it up and read all the verses sometime? The language is dated, but the truth is for today.

The writer of Lamentations kind of sang this hymn in the midst of his sorrow. He looked around and saw the devastation and suffering, he felt the sting of God’s correction.

But in 3:22-24 he states that God is good and God is all he needs. There is hope in these words and if you continue to read you will see even more hope.

God doesn’t like to see his children suffer. In verses 40-42 the writer gets to the heart of it. The truth is, Israel sinned and is experiencing the consequences. Repent, the writer says. Return to the Lord.

If you are experiencing the consequences of sin in your life I would say the same to you. Repent. Return to the Lord. You will receive so much more than you ever imagined:

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth.
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide.
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine with ten thousand beside.

Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.

July 27

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Jeremiah 16:1-17:27; 2 Kings 22:3-20; 2 Chronicles 34:8-33

I gave my heart to the Lord as a little girl. I grew up knowing I was a Christian and that God loved me. It wasn’t until I was  teenager, though, that I really heard and understood the seriousness of sin. I confessed my sin at the altar of our church, broken before a holy God. With tears I accepted his cleansing and it was at that moment I truly realized what it meant to be  Christian.

What is your response to God’s Word? When you read how God hates sin, when you recognize yourself as a sinner, when you realize your need to repent – what do you do?

Josiah tore his clothes when he heard God’s Word read to him. He was devastated, ashamed, broken. Josiah confessed his sin and accepted God’s forgiveness. Then he got up and began to live life a changed man.

I remember my altar experience of long ago. And I wish I could say I got up from there that day and lived a changed life myself. I have to admit there have been times when my walk with the Lord wasn’t a priority and when I allowed sin to get a grip on my heart. There have been other points in my life when God’s Word cut me like a knife, when I looked into the face of a holy God and recognized my sinful state. There have been other tears of repentance when I’ve allowed God to deal with the sin in my life.

And I hope there continues to be. May I always be sensitive to what God would say to me through his Word. May I read it with an open heart. May I recognize those things in my life that hurt my Lord. And may I, like Josiah, be quick to repent.

I pray the same for you.

July 24

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Zephaniah 1:1-3:20; 2 Chronicles 34:4-7; Jeremiah 1:1-19

When was the last time you read the book of Zephaniah? Can you even find it in your Bible? It’s one of those books I have to stop and think where it even falls in the Old Testament.

But reading it today I was reminded that the God of love, of grace, and redemption is also the Mighty Judge. He has the power to destroy this life we know as easily as he created it. 

In our politically correct nation our churches have emphasized God’s loving attributes. But we don’t often hear about his anger. Read Zephaniah and you will see God’s anger toward sin.

God doesn’t take sin lightly and he certainly doesn’t laugh at sin. He never overlooks sin or excuses it on the basis of someone’s intentions. Like it or not, agree with it or not, God is clear about what sin is. Lying, infidelity, homosexuality, dishonesty, greed, gluttony, drunkenness are all sins as identified by God in his Word. 

Yes, all sin is forgivable when confessed. But no sin will go unpunished. That punishment will be paid either by the one who commits the sin or by Jesus on behalf of the sinner. 

The payment for sin is death. Eternal death. The Bible tells us Jesus not only paid that debt but he conquered death itself. We can either accept what he did or face him on our own. And facing him on our own will only turn out badly.

Let’s thank God for his love, for his grace, for redemption. But let’s not forget who we are dealing with here. He is Almighty God, Holy, Holy, Holy. 

And sin makes him really mad.

Holy God, we bow before you today and acknowledge that you take sin seriously. Forgive us when we don’t. I ask that you’ll reveal in each of us today those things in our lives that anger you. May we confess and repent of them and accept Jesus’ work on the cross on our behalf. I pray that none of us will hold on to sin or think for a minute that you will excuse that sin in us. May we view sin the same way you do and purge it from our lives. May we walk with you today in the righteousness that is ours through your Son.

July 23

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Isaiah 66:1-24; 2 Kings 21:1-26, 22:1-2; Psalm 82; 2 Chronicles 33:1-25, 34:3

Is it possible for someone to be too sinful for God to forgive? Look at the life of King Mannaseh. During the first years of his reign he undid everything his father Hezekiah had done. He worshiped Baal, consulted mediums, even sacrificed his own son. He turned the temple of the Lord into a place of false worship and encouraged the Jewish people to worship the gods of other nations.

His was a blatant act of disobedience and disrespect toward the God his father had served. But in 2 Chronicles 33 we find out Mannaseh repented. He humbled himself before the Lord and God forgave him.

King Mannaseh spent the rest of his life trying to undo the damage he had done. He worked hard to restore the nation as God’s blessed people.

So the answer to my question is – no. There is nothing you or I have done that God can’t forgive. The vilest offender who truly believes, that moment from Jesus a pardon receives. Praise the Lord!

Sometimes we might hold back from serving the Lord because of a sin we committed in our past. We convince ourselves that what we did was so awful we don’t deserve to be forgiven. And you know what?

We’re right to think that!

That’s the definition of grace – receiving what we don’t deserved. Grace that is greater than all our sin. 

If a past sin is holding you back because you think God can’t forgive you, think again. Go to him. Humble yourself. Ask him to forgive you. Repent. Forgiveness is yours for the taking because Jesus has already paid the price for that sin. It’s up to you to accept it for your own.

Don’t let Satan’s lies prevent you from receiving what God is offering you today. Remember, God has seen it all. Nothing you say will surprise him. He’s anxious to hear you tell him you’re sorry for what you did so he can wash you with the blood of Jesus.

Yes, even you.

July 7

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Isaiah 22:1-23:18; 2 Kings 18:7b-8; Micah 1:8-3:12

Don’t God’s words do good to him whose ways are upright? (Micah 2:7b) Isn’t it true that when our hearts are right with the Lord, reading the Bible brings comfort and hope? It’s also true that reading the Word brings conviction and grief when we aren’t obeying him.

The answer to that for some is – so don’t read it. Don’t go to church if the preacher’s sermon on sin makes you feel bad. 

Micah’s words for us today concern those who wear the name ‘Christian’ like a good-luck charm. They think they can live according to their own rules and God will bless them because they say they are Christians.

Micah 3:8-12 says they despise justice, distort what is right, are wicked, accept bribes, “yet they lean upon the Lord and say, ‘Is not the Lord among us? No disaster will come upon us.'”

Really?

Saying you’re a Christian doesn’t make it so. Going to church, tithing, teaching Sunday School or even pastoring a church doesn’t make you a Christian.

Read God’s Word. His requirements for wearing his Name are there. But be warned. If you read the Bible, the words might convict you and drive you to your knees. Reading the Word just might make you feel bad about yourself. Didn’t Paul call himself a wretched man when face to face with his own sin?

Christianity is not a “feel good” religion. It’s not even a “do good” religion as much as it is a “be holy” relationship with a holy God. The good news is, through Jesus Christ our Lord we can enjoy that relationship! And when we are in that right relationship with God, his blessings include love, joy, peace that passes human understanding.

Are you a Christian? Really? I pray that is true for each of us today. Wear Christ’s name proudly and remember who it is you represent. Remember what it cost Jesus to give you that name. 

Holy God, I pray that we who call ourselves Christian will be Christians from the inside out. Search us today, Lord. Point out those sins we need to confess. May our hearts be yours through Jesus’ blood. Thank you for the privilege of wearing your Name.

July 5

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2 Chronicles 29:3-31:1; Psalms 66&67

Hezekiah was determined to follow God. And many Jews were ready and eager to follow Hezekiah. They worked together to consecrate the temple and got it done in only sixteen days. They got rid of anything that had been used in the worship of false gods.

Then Hezekiah invited the nation to join him to celebrate the Passover. Jews came to Jerusalem from all over the land. In fact, so many people came with animals to be sacrificed that there weren’t enough consecrated priests to handle them all. So Hezekiah prayed that God would “pardon everyone who sets his heart on seeking God” even if they weren’t clean according to the law.

And God answered Hezekiah’s prayer.

Isn’t that exciting? Do you see yourself in this picture? God allowed the Old Testament Jews a glimpse at what was to come. We no longer need to go through a physical cleansing in order to go to God. We don’t need to be a better person for God to want to forgive us.

While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Psalm 66:18-20 says, “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; but God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer. Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!”

That’s all it takes. Repent of sin. Pray. Let God do the cleaning up after you give him your heart. Jesus is ready and willing to cover your sins with his precious blood and make you clean. 

Let’s set our hearts on seeking God today.

Gracious Father, thank you once again for your written Word. It’s so amazing to read it and see the beautiful pictures you paint of your Truth. Thank you that there are no rituals we need to perform in order for you to hear us. Thank you for prayer. Thank you for access to your Presence through Jesus. May we be seekers of You today and every day.

May 25

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I Kings 8:62-66, 9:1-14, 17-19, 24-28, 10:22; 2 Chronicles 7:4-22, 8:1-8, 11-18, 9:21; Psalm 132

There were conditions for God to dwell in the temple Solomon built. And it had nothing to do with how much gold was used. The condition for God to remain with Israel was their obedience. If they followed the Lord there would always be a descendent of David’s on the throne and God would bless the nation. If they disobeyed the opposite would be true.

We know that Israel chose the latter and God was true to his word.

America has been blessed. Was there ever a nation since the Old Testament nation of Israel that was founded on Biblical principles? And in just a couple hundred years of existence God honored obedience until The United States became the riches, most powerful, best nation on earth. But we, like Israel have chosen the latter. And God can’t bless disobedience.

I believe God is saying to us what he said to Solomon in 2 Chronicles 7:14. “If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

This is Memorial Day weekend. We set aside a day to honor the men and women who have served our country in the military. I am a proud daughter of a Marine and a proud aunt of a Soldier. I believe in our military and thank each and every one of those who serve. I remember with gratitude those who gave their lives so that we can enjoy the freedoms designed for us by our forefathers.

You know we are losing those freedoms, though, don’t you? God cannot bless a nation or an individual who refuses to obey. Christian, let’s determine to pray for our leaders. Let’s speak out in love. Let’s demand that the constitution be followed for a nation under God. Let’s be careful to vote for and support those who desire to obey God.

God wants to bless his people. But here are the conditions: 1) humble ourselves, 2) pray, 3) seek his face, 4) turn from our wicked way. Then and only then can we be blessed. And God promises to bless us when we take those steps.

I trust you will have a good holiday weekend. And I hope you take some time to ask God what he would have you do. I pray that God will lay on the hearts of Christian young people to get involved in our political system. We need leadership willing to obey him.

Dear God, I thank you for the United States of America, one nation under God. I thank you for the Christians who are in positions of leadership. Give them the courage to stand for what is right according to your Word. Convict those in authority who are not following you. Convict those of us who sit back and allow decisions to be made that don’t glorify you. May we humble ourselves, call on you, seek your face and turn from sin. Thank you for the men and women who have served and are serving this nation in the military. Give wisdom to their leaders, grant safety to the troops. Bless their families. God, I pray that we will be the nation under God that our forefathers expected us to be. May we honor you.