Tag: Repent

Prayer for Change

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What man is like Job, who drinks up scoffing like water, who travels in company with evildoers and walks with wicked men? For he has said, ‘It profits a man nothing that he should take delight in God.’

Job 34:7–9 (ESV)

Holy Father. My ways are not unknown to you and my path is prepared before me in your wisdom, mercy, and grace. Your steadfast loving kindness goes before me and abundant mercy follows me. You are the One who has created all things, and you are the One who sustains all things. There is nothing in all the universe that is outside your sovereign will. You uphold and sustain all things. The very atoms of creation would fly apart without your compassionate care. It is You alone that gives life and breath to all things. It is you alone that brings order from chaos.

Yet, in my life I am continually pushing back on these very truths. My mind determines that I know what is good and right all the time, when I am actually self-centered and self-righteous. My heart yearns to give and receive love, but taints this desire with only seeking my own self-interests in the process. My soul longs to be in fellowship and communion, yet it seeks to isolate and separate from everyone.

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Go Away

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And as he reasoned about righteousness and self-control and the coming judgment, Felix was alarmed and said, “Go away for the present. When I get an opportunity I will summon you.”

Acts 24:25  (ESV)

What do we do when we encounter a Biblical truth that runs contrary to our current lifestyle or comfort level with sin? Often, we respond to God in the same manner that Felix responds to Paul after hearing the gospel proclaimed before him. Our first instinct is to remove from our presence the offending words calling us to repentance and faith. Like Felix, we put them away from us so that we may go on about our life as we see fit. To soften the decision we may even tell ourselves that we will think about this later, when we’re ready. I know this is true in my own life. There have been numerous times where the Lord brought spiritual insight and conviction into my heart about a particular sin and my response was exactly the same as Felix. I set it aside and told myself I would work on this at the next opportunity. All because I still wanted my sin more than I wanted Jesus.

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Smell of Death

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Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.”

John 11:39 (ESV)

Here is Jesus at the tomb, preparing the people for the miraculous resurrection of Lazarus from the dead. It is a very emotional moment in the life of Jesus as John tells us he is deeply moved twice in this one scene. Jesus is even brought to tears as we weeps with the people. This is one of the most rich texts of the Gospels that gives us a deep insight into the heart of Jesus as it delves into his emotions and motivations. There is a lot going on in this passage. In this verse, after hearing from Jesus that they are to take away the stone covering the cave, Martha confirms for us that Lazarus has not just recently passed away but has been dead for four days. He is not just dead, but he is dead dead. He has been dead long enough for the decomposition of his body to begin and the putrid stink of death to be pervasive. Martha is concerned that this is not just some recently deceased person, but is a person who is way past the point of return. This is why when Jesus was told that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer where he was. Why? Because he loved Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. He loved them and knew that he was going to raise Lazarus from the dead and make him whole again. All for the glory of God that they might believe.

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Devouring Strongholds

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For Israel has forgotten his Maker and built palaces, and Judah has multiplied fortified cities; so I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour her strongholds.

Hosea 8:14 (ESV)

In verse 14, Hosea gives a final statement to summarize the state of Israel’s heart toward God. In their hypocrisy, they have worshipped idols of their own making. In their hardness of heart, they have neglected and spurned the goodness of God. Which has led the people to forget their Maker completely. Israel has chosen to move away from a life of dependence and trust in the sure promises of their loving Father toward a life of self-righteousness and self-reliance. This has become manifest in their building of palaces and fortified cities. These palaces and cities become their strongholds of protection and security. Places where they feel most safe and secure. Instead of trusting and relying on their heavenly Creator, they have placed all their hope and trust in their man-made contrivances. The Lord will awaken them from the misconceptions of their mind and the deceptions of their heart by destroying the very thing in which they have placed all their hope and trust.

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Concealed in the Heart

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Journal Entry // January 2, 2022

if I have concealed my transgressions as others do by hiding my iniquity in my heart, (ESV)

Job 31:33

What do we do with our sins and transgressions against God’s holiness when we try to conceal them? Are we ever really truly able to conceal them? Job states that people try to conceal their sins by hiding them in their hearts. I don’t think I have ever truly thought about what happens when I am hiding, concealing, and covering up my sins. I haven’t put a lot of thought into the possibility that in an effort to hide my sins (both from God and from others), I am storing them in my heart. Where else would I be hiding them though? By storing all my “hidden” sins in my heart I have created a breeding ground for future sin and transgression. The Bible’s solution to this propensity is confession. Confession of my sin to both God and others. Confession of the hold that sin has on my heart and mind is the pathway back to freedom in Christ. The promise of Christ is to cleanse my heart of this “hidden” filthiness and restore the fellowship of the Spirit within me.

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Fury of God’s Wrath

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Journal Entry // December 29, 2022

From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. (ESV)

Revelation 19:15

Whenever I take a moment to stop and contemplate all that is happening in the world, it can become an overwhelming exercise. As I sojourn through this life, I am assaulted with the anger and hatred of the world arrayed in unity against my Holy God. I can readily see all the many different forces of this world lining up to put an end to the kingdom of God. This assault I see every day is disheartening. It breaks my heart to see the lies and deception of this world making progress in the hearts and minds of seemingly all people around the world. It pains me to see the rebellious hearts of those who would cast down Christ and remove him completely from their life. I hurt for the lost. I am moved in my innermost being to see the glory of Christ revealed to everyone. I yearn for the return of Christ.

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Refusing to Repent

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Journal Entry // December 26, 2022

They were scorched by the fierce heat, and they cursed the name of God who had power over these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory. (ESV)

Revelation 16:9

In my reading through Revelation, I have now reached a point where the bowls of God’s wrath are being poured out in judgment upon the earth. It is a frightful and terrible thing to read through these seven bowls of wrath and consider the full weight of God’s holy and righteous judgment upon this world. The different sections of this destruction are increasing in the amount of destruction they bring. First, there were the seals, then there were the trumpets, and now there are the bowls. Whereas the seals and the trumpets were limited in the scope of how they inflicted the people, a quarter and a third respectively, these bowls will reveal the wrath of God being poured out upon all things. And the people who are being afflicted with these bowls of God’s wrath are responding in their full depraved nature. When the full wrath of God is revealed upon the earth, there is an expectation and a hope that the hearts and minds of the people bearing witness through the infliction of these plagues will turn from their evil ways. There is an expectation that God’s righteous wrath will cause the people to repent and bring glory to God alone. What we see instead is that the people double down on their hatred of God and they curse his name.

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Weigh Your Heart

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Journal Entry// May 26, 2021

Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the heart.

Proverbs 21:2 ESV

How do we discern the rightness of our ways? It is true that in every decision there is a level of acknowledgement that what I am doing seems right. That I typically choose my every step based on the rightness of it in my understanding. There are going to be times where I choose something I know isn’t right, but even then I provide a sense of rightness to the decision even if I have to lie to myself.

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Subtle Drift

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Journal Entry // October 30, 2022

Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. (ESV)

Hebrews 2:1

Of all the warnings in the Bible, both Old and New Testament, drifting away from Christ is the one that most worries me. It worries me in the sense that I can more readily see the drifting of my heart away from Christ at various times and seasons. This continuous slow movement from being a faithful follower of Christ to a place of complacency and apathy is what my sinful thoughts keep pushing me towards. The drift is dangerous because it is oftentimes so gradual that I don’t even realize I am or have drifted until I pay attention. This is the point of the passage. I must pay attention, close attention, to the spiritual state of my heart, mind, and soul. There is no autopilot in the Christian life. There is only careful intentional attention to the details of salvation and grace in my life through Jesus alone.

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Humble Repentance

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Journal Entry // October 8, 2022

And David said to God, “I have sinned greatly in that I have done this thing. But now, please take away the iniquity of your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.” (ESV)

1 Chronicles 21:8

What is it that reveals the humble heart of David that was set upon seeking the Lord our God? It seems like we are always trying to provide an answer to this question by looking at the wrong things. The books and articles I read, the sermons I listen to, and the teachings that all purport to provide solutions to this question all tend to look for the answer in the visible outward expressions that are revealed in our actions. It’s not necessarily a bad thing to work on our outward actions as they are true indicators of our inward heart and character. How I am behaving reveals the true inward state of my heart and mind. The problem with this solution is that we end up focusing on our outward appearance and neglect the source of our sin, which lies squarely in our hearts. It is the pride of our hearts and mind that sets the agenda. It is only with humility that we can begin to emulate this same heart for God that David demonstrates throughout the Bible.

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