The text for the month of October is Joel 2:12-13, which states, "Now, therefore," says the Lord, "Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning." So tear your heart,and not our clothes; return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm."
Just a ONE quick point about this text...
The text makes it clear that God requires a torn heart. In Bible times people commonly tore their clothes as an outward sign of grief and sorrow, especially after they realized they were guilty of sinning against God. In reality, this practice was meaningless to the Lord. God desires for a person's heart to be torn! Simply put, this means that a person must really have a broken heart concerning his sin! After committing adultery and murder David stated, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart- these, O God, you will not despise" (Psalm 51:17).
It seems that many people reach a point in their life where they decide to turn away from sin and "do better." They may decide to stop drinking, smoking, cussing, looking at pornography, or abusing drugs. They may even resolve to be a forgiving/generous/loving individual. Of course, we would applaud such decisions. HOWEVER, simply changing for the better is not what the Lord requires!!! The evidence that a person is genuinely being changed by God is a broken heart concerning his past sins! Simply saying, "I'm not going to do that anymore" is not sufficient.
The harsh reality is that many people have simply "outgrown" their sinful behavior. They no longer do some of things they used to do because they have jobs, spouses, kids, and other responsibilities. The problem is they have never had a torn heart! They have never truly experienced "godly sorrow" which brings about "repentance" which leads to "salvation" (2 Corinthians 7:10).
Romans 2:4 states, "God's kindness leads us to repentance." A person must recognize his guilty condition before God (Romans 3:23), see the cross as his hope (Romans 5:8), and really have a broken heart because of the sins he committed or his "new life" is simply a change for the better and not what the bible calls repentance. Genuine repentance will almost certainly include "weeping and mourning" (Joel 2:12-13) because the person's heart is torn. I sincerely hope you know what I'm talking about!!!
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Friday, August 5, 2011
The Lord is with you...
This month I am going to try to use the famous story of Joseph (Genesis 37-50) to encourage someone who may be facing difficult times...
When Joseph was 17 years old his brothers sold him into slavery. He was taken to a foreign land (Egypt) where he was imprisoned and mistreated for 13 years! (Can you imagine being a slave in a foreign land at the age of 17???). Joseph was alone in a foreign land. No one searched for him (His father believed he was dead). His was wrongfully imprisoned and no one defended him. However...
In the middle of Joseph's story the Bible says, "The Lord was with Joseph" (Genesis 39:2, 39:21). Jospeh had absolutely nothing going for him except the fact that the Lord was with him! In reality, that is all he needed! In the end, Joseph was delivered from prison, exalted to the position of 'vice-president' in Egypt, and reunited with his father and his family. Today, he is remembered as a hero of the faith!
In Hebrews 13:5 the Lord promised every believer, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." At times we all find ourselves in situations that appear to be bleak. We may not have a lot "going for us". Times may be difficult. We may be alone. No one may seem to care. However, the one thing that never changes is that the Lord is with us (if you are his child). In reality, that is all we need! A job, savings account, education, home, family, and friends are all great things, but if I had to choose between having all those things, and having the Lord be with me, I would choose the Lord every time.
Today, I hope it lifts your spirit to simply be reminded that no matter where you are, and no matter how difficult and hopeless life may appear to be, if you are a child of God the Lord is with you! He has not forsaken you. Have a blessed August with the Lord!
When Joseph was 17 years old his brothers sold him into slavery. He was taken to a foreign land (Egypt) where he was imprisoned and mistreated for 13 years! (Can you imagine being a slave in a foreign land at the age of 17???). Joseph was alone in a foreign land. No one searched for him (His father believed he was dead). His was wrongfully imprisoned and no one defended him. However...
In the middle of Joseph's story the Bible says, "The Lord was with Joseph" (Genesis 39:2, 39:21). Jospeh had absolutely nothing going for him except the fact that the Lord was with him! In reality, that is all he needed! In the end, Joseph was delivered from prison, exalted to the position of 'vice-president' in Egypt, and reunited with his father and his family. Today, he is remembered as a hero of the faith!
In Hebrews 13:5 the Lord promised every believer, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." At times we all find ourselves in situations that appear to be bleak. We may not have a lot "going for us". Times may be difficult. We may be alone. No one may seem to care. However, the one thing that never changes is that the Lord is with us (if you are his child). In reality, that is all we need! A job, savings account, education, home, family, and friends are all great things, but if I had to choose between having all those things, and having the Lord be with me, I would choose the Lord every time.
Today, I hope it lifts your spirit to simply be reminded that no matter where you are, and no matter how difficult and hopeless life may appear to be, if you are a child of God the Lord is with you! He has not forsaken you. Have a blessed August with the Lord!
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