True Repentance

Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. (Mt 3:8)

John the Baptist rebuked the Pharisees and Sadducees who came to hear him preach. Evidently they did not come in true repentance. John’s rebuke could as well be applied to me. There are certain sins I commit over and over again. Day after day I come to God to confess and repent. But is it true repentance? Where is the fruit? Repentance is more than sorrow or regret. The core of repentance is deciding to change. That change may not be possible without God’s power, but just as essential is our choosing to do differently. Lord, help me to truly change and not just regret my sins after the fact.

Pursuit of Wisdom

My son, if you accept my words
   and store up my commands within you,
turning your ear to wisdom
   and applying your heart to understanding,
and if you call out for insight
   and cry aloud for understanding,
and if you look for it as for silver
   and search for it as for hidden treasure,
then you will understand the fear of the Lord
   and find the knowledge of God. (Pr 2:1-5)

Wisdom doesn’t usually just hit us over the head. We must diligently seek it. That is, we must diligently seek God, who is the source of all wisdom. It is a lifelong journey – a quest to which we must continually apply ourselves with steadfastness of purpose.

It's All His

[Job] said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” (Job 1:21)

This is Job’s response to the news that all his children and all his servants and all his wealth have suddenly been destroyed. Job knew that nothing we have is truly ours. God gives it to us and God can take it away. It all belongs to him and he is within his rights to do whatever he pleases with it. Now God has taken it all away, and even though Job cannot possibly understand why he still says, “may the name of the Lord be praised.” Not only is Job’s faith great, but also the degree of his surrender to God. Lord, help me to truly understand that all I have is yours. You could take it all away tomorrow and I would have neither cause for complaint nor need to fear the future. Financial security is good, but faith in you is better. But Lord, it is harder to face the prospect that something bad might happen to my family than to me. Surely that was Job's greatest hurt. I surrender my family to you, Lord. I know they are yours, and I know you love them far more than I. Guard them. Draw them to yourself. And, whatever happens, may we one day be together with you for eternity.

Act Now and Save!

A man who remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed – without remedy. (Pr 29:1)

God’s patience with each sinner does not extend forever. A time comes when there remain no more chances for repentance. We must have always some urgency in our evangelism. We never know how many more chances a lost person will have.

Watch Your Flocks

Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds. (Pr 27:23)

We must give careful attention to whatever God has entrusted to us. Good stewardship requires diligence and steadfastness.

Speak Up

Like a muddied spring or a polluted well is a righteous man who gives way to the wicked. (Pr 25:26)

When people are saying bad things I tend to timidly stay silent. I need to speak up. I need to be bold to defend the cause of righteousness.

The Measure of God's Wrath

I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues – last, because with them God’s wrath is completed. (Rev 15:1)

There is a measure to God’s wrath. It is not limitless or unending. As great and terrible as his wrath is shown to be in this book, there is a point at which it is completed. In fact, his wrath is proportional to our sin, and this graphically demonstrates how great our sin is. This helps me to understand how much Jesus had to suffer for my sins, and helps me realize how much he loves me. Lord, help me never to treat sin so lightly. Remind me, Lord Jesus, of the wrath that you endured for my sake.

The Winepress of God's Wrath

The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath. (Rev 14:19)

Too often today we share the Good News and people seem uninterested. Perhaps it is because they haven’t heard the Bad News. No one today would preach “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” (Jonathan Edward's most famous sermon) and if they did they would be reviled for it. The concept of sin is just as out of fashion as absolute truth. People cannot see God’s grace because they refuse to see his wrath. Lord, help the lost to see that they need a Savior because they deserve condemnation. Help me to share the truth in a way that others will receive it.

After the Tears

“This day is sacred to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law. (Neh 8:9b)

The people were weeping in repentance as they heard the law read which they had so long forgotten. No doubt there were tears of deep regret and a sense of loss for all the years they had not walked in the Lord’s ways. True repentance is often associated with tears. This is good and right. But God doesn’t want us to remain there. If we continue to mope and cry we are looking backward and not forward. God has separated us from our sin as far as the east is from the west. We are new creatures in Christ; why do we continue to mourn? Nehemiah commanded the people to “celebrate with great joy” and we should do the same. Lord, forgive me for clinging to my sin when you have cast it away and for dwelling on my regrets when you have a bright future prepared for us. Help me to truly accept your forgiveness and truly trust in your sovereignty – to set my face toward the future and not the past.

Being in the Fight

They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. (Rev 12:11)

I don’t tend to think about the spiritual warfare that is always going on around us. I feel as though I am far from the front lines, but no one is. To win in battle you first need weapons, which we have: the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. But you also need to be willing to wade into the fight despite the risk of death. Lord, help me to be that committed to you and to your calling on my life.