Repentance – Page 9

Digging in Deeper: Revelation 9:20-21

February 28, 2018February 27, 2018Leave a comment

“The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.” (ESV – Read the chapter)

This is the real key of this chapter and, really, one of the main themes of the entire record. There appear to be two goals of the various acts of cataclysmic judgments described in Revelation. One goal is the punishment of sin. God has been patient long enough and now it is time for judgment. It is time to let people see and experience the full weight of their sin. Just like with the nation of Israel in the days leading up to and during the conquest of Jerusalem and the exile, the time for the whole world has come up and sin is finally being judged on a large scale. Read the rest…

Morning Musings: Jeremiah 4:18

November 24, 2017November 24, 2017Leave a comment

“Your ways and your deeds have brought this upon you. This is your doom, and it is bitter; it has reached your very heart.” (ESV – Read the chapter)

Much of the judgment heralded in the prophets is tough to read. It is gloom and doom that sometimes seems to roll on for pages without reprieve. But, if there’s anything we can take from all of this today it is this: Our choices have consequences. Read the rest…

Morning Musings: Jeremiah 3:25

November 22, 2017November 20, 2017Leave a comment

“Let us lie down in our shame, and let our dishonor cover us. For we have sinned against the Lord our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day, and we have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God.” (ESV – Read the chapter)

Genuine, heart-felt repentance is tough to do. It requires a couple of things that we are pretty loathe to give. It requires first a recognition that we have done something that was not right. It was wrong, not in an abstract way, but in a way that was deeply personal for us and also for the other people who were affected by it. This is tough in and of itself. Often, when we have gotten caught doing something wrong we recognize the abstract, but not the personal. We are inconvenienced by the attention to our misdeeds, but not truly sorry we did it. This is the politician’s apology. In other words, we are more sorry that we got caught than that we did whatever it was we have been caught doing. Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: Galatians 6:1

November 8, 2017November 9, 2017Leave a comment

“Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.” (ESV – Read the chapter)

Paul has in various other places had some pretty tough words for folks in the church who fall into sin and refuse to get unstuck. They range from giving them tough love to kicking them out of the community entirely until they are truly interested in getting themselves back together. Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: Psalm 107:6, 13, 19, 28

October 13, 2017October 12, 2017Leave a comment

“Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.” (ESV – Read the chapter)

This refrain echoes four different times in this Psalm. “Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.” This was the God they served and the people of Israel experienced it over and over and over again. They found themselves in all kinds of trouble, most of which was of their own making. Each time they fell headlong into the mess and from the perspective of the moment, it looked like they were going to be goners. Read the rest…