ALL – Psalm 65:1-13
ALL – Proverbs 23:24-25
OT – Isaiah 37:1-38:22
NT – Galatians 6:1-18
Interesting passage for the day: Don’t be misled; remember that you can’t ignore God and get away with it: a man will always reap just the kind of crop he sows. – Galatians 6:7, The Living Bible
Thought: I can never read this verse without examining my life. Can you? I can’t imagine coming across this verse and patting myself on the back to tell myself, “You should be good to go!” Even at my best, I fail. I fall short. Even when I’m sowing mostly the kinds of crops I want, I’m bound to be sowing something I don’t want, too.
On the other hand, we walk by the grace of God. So what I hear this verse saying is not that God’s going to surprise us one day with a bad crop of stuff we didn’t even know we were sowing. Instead, it’s a call to trust in Jesus’ cross and walk by His Spirit and rest in His loving grace toward us. It’s a call to hold nothing back from Jesus—not knowingly. It’s a call to humility and confession and repentance and obedience at the foot of the cross.
Question: Are you holding back anything from Jesus today—anything that you know of? Sow seeds of repentance and faithfulness rather than rebellion and waywardness.
To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.
Showing posts with label repentance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label repentance. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Sorrow-Motivated Life
ALL – Psalm 48:1-14
ALL – Proverbs 22:17-19
OT – Ecclesiastes 7:1-9:18
NT – 2 Corinthians 7:8-16
Interesting passage for the day: For God sometimes uses sorrow in our lives to help us turn away from sin and seek eternal life. We should never regret his sending it. But the sorrow of the man who is not a Christian is not the sorrow of true repentance and does not prevent eternal death. – 2 Corinthians 7:10, The Living Bible
Thought: We just looked at our motivation for doing right, and found that the promises of God give us a desire and a drive to obey Him. But what about our motivation for turning away from what’s wrong? I mean, let’s be honest. Sin is often pleasurable. Temporarily pleasurable, but still. We often have plenty of desire to do what is wrong. Finding the motivation to turn away from it—a motivation above and beyond the bare truth, “I know I shouldn’t be doing this”—can be pretty difficult.
And so we find that while God’s promises are one form of godly motivation, sorrow is another. Yes, that’s right. Sorrow can motivate us to turn away from wrong. Sorrow can motivate repentance. Sorrow sparks in us a deep desire to set things straight, to reconcile broken relationships, to mend what we’ve destroyed. In sorrow we can finally set aside our pride enough to admit what we most hate to admit: “I was wrong.”
When you sin, do you care that you’ve sinned? When you hurt someone, do you squelch that feeling of regret that begins to rise up in your gut? Do you perhaps even add literal insults to injury, talking yourself and everyone else into the twisted belief that your hateful words and behaviors are justified?
May God give us hearts that can still feel deep, genuine, true sorrow. Not the kind of sorrow that people sometimes wallow in—more a mire of despair, really. But the kind of sorrow that motivates us to make a move, to change course, to commit our lives into Jesus Christ’s hands, to seek forgiveness, to deal with our sins. May our sorrows move us to gladly walk by the Spirit, praising God for freeing us from the lives that apart from sorrow we would still live.
Question: Which sins and pains especially lead your heart into change-motivating sorrow? And once you’ve answered that question, consider this one: Which of your own personal sins leads you into repentance-motivating sorrow? Some of us may not sorrow over that kind of sin in our lives as we should. Help us to understand how destructive your particular sin can be. Please. Lead us into godly sorrow.
To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.
ALL – Proverbs 22:17-19
OT – Ecclesiastes 7:1-9:18
NT – 2 Corinthians 7:8-16
Interesting passage for the day: For God sometimes uses sorrow in our lives to help us turn away from sin and seek eternal life. We should never regret his sending it. But the sorrow of the man who is not a Christian is not the sorrow of true repentance and does not prevent eternal death. – 2 Corinthians 7:10, The Living Bible
Thought: We just looked at our motivation for doing right, and found that the promises of God give us a desire and a drive to obey Him. But what about our motivation for turning away from what’s wrong? I mean, let’s be honest. Sin is often pleasurable. Temporarily pleasurable, but still. We often have plenty of desire to do what is wrong. Finding the motivation to turn away from it—a motivation above and beyond the bare truth, “I know I shouldn’t be doing this”—can be pretty difficult.
And so we find that while God’s promises are one form of godly motivation, sorrow is another. Yes, that’s right. Sorrow can motivate us to turn away from wrong. Sorrow can motivate repentance. Sorrow sparks in us a deep desire to set things straight, to reconcile broken relationships, to mend what we’ve destroyed. In sorrow we can finally set aside our pride enough to admit what we most hate to admit: “I was wrong.”
When you sin, do you care that you’ve sinned? When you hurt someone, do you squelch that feeling of regret that begins to rise up in your gut? Do you perhaps even add literal insults to injury, talking yourself and everyone else into the twisted belief that your hateful words and behaviors are justified?
May God give us hearts that can still feel deep, genuine, true sorrow. Not the kind of sorrow that people sometimes wallow in—more a mire of despair, really. But the kind of sorrow that motivates us to make a move, to change course, to commit our lives into Jesus Christ’s hands, to seek forgiveness, to deal with our sins. May our sorrows move us to gladly walk by the Spirit, praising God for freeing us from the lives that apart from sorrow we would still live.
Question: Which sins and pains especially lead your heart into change-motivating sorrow? And once you’ve answered that question, consider this one: Which of your own personal sins leads you into repentance-motivating sorrow? Some of us may not sorrow over that kind of sin in our lives as we should. Help us to understand how destructive your particular sin can be. Please. Lead us into godly sorrow.
To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
You’re Not Really Sorry!
ALL – Psalm 83:1-18
ALL – Proverbs 13:4
OT – Joshua 9:3-10:43
NT – Luke 16:19-17:10
Have you ever had someone hurt you frequently enough that you just began to expect he/she would hurt you? Have you had a person like that say sorry? Over and over and over, saying sorry and asking for forgiveness, but never changing?
At some point you just want to scream, “You’re not really sorry!”
When people aren’t sorry enough to change, sorry enough for repentance that goes deeper than the words, “I’m sorry,” it becomes really hard to forgive. Why? Because we begin to expect more pain, more frustration, more sin. We just know it’s coming.
But Jesus still calls us to forgive those who claim to be repentant:
Rebuke your brother if he sins, and forgive him if he is sorry. Even if he wrongs you seven times a day and each time turns and asks forgiveness, forgive him. – Luke 17:3b-4, The Living Bible
We are to be quick to forgive, quick to show mercy, quick to reconcile. Even with the most habitual offenders.
How have you shown forgiveness recently?
To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.
The rest of this week's readings are:
April 15th, 2010
ALL – Psalm 84:1-12
ALL – Proverbs 13:5-6
OT – Joshua 11:1-12:24
NT – Luke 17:11-37
April 16th, 2010
ALL – Psalm 85:1-13
ALL – Proverbs 13:7-8
OT – Joshua 13:1-14:15
NT – Luke 18:1-17
April 17th, 2010
ALL – Psalm 86:1-17
ALL – Proverbs 13:9-10
OT – Joshua 15:1-63
NT – Luke 18:18-43
April 18th, 2010
ALL – Psalm 87:1-7
ALL – Proverbs 13:11
OT – Joshua 16:1-18:28
NT – Luke 19:1-27
ALL – Proverbs 13:4
OT – Joshua 9:3-10:43
NT – Luke 16:19-17:10
Have you ever had someone hurt you frequently enough that you just began to expect he/she would hurt you? Have you had a person like that say sorry? Over and over and over, saying sorry and asking for forgiveness, but never changing?
At some point you just want to scream, “You’re not really sorry!”
When people aren’t sorry enough to change, sorry enough for repentance that goes deeper than the words, “I’m sorry,” it becomes really hard to forgive. Why? Because we begin to expect more pain, more frustration, more sin. We just know it’s coming.
But Jesus still calls us to forgive those who claim to be repentant:
Rebuke your brother if he sins, and forgive him if he is sorry. Even if he wrongs you seven times a day and each time turns and asks forgiveness, forgive him. – Luke 17:3b-4, The Living Bible
We are to be quick to forgive, quick to show mercy, quick to reconcile. Even with the most habitual offenders.
How have you shown forgiveness recently?
To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.
The rest of this week's readings are:
April 15th, 2010
ALL – Psalm 84:1-12
ALL – Proverbs 13:5-6
OT – Joshua 11:1-12:24
NT – Luke 17:11-37
April 16th, 2010
ALL – Psalm 85:1-13
ALL – Proverbs 13:7-8
OT – Joshua 13:1-14:15
NT – Luke 18:1-17
April 17th, 2010
ALL – Psalm 86:1-17
ALL – Proverbs 13:9-10
OT – Joshua 15:1-63
NT – Luke 18:18-43
April 18th, 2010
ALL – Psalm 87:1-7
ALL – Proverbs 13:11
OT – Joshua 16:1-18:28
NT – Luke 19:1-27
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
A Heart Like a Toilet – Clean on the Outside Only
ALL – Psalm 78:1-31
ALL – Proverbs 12:19-20
OT – Deuteronomy 29:1-30:20
NT – Luke 11:37-12:7
Boy meets girl, what happens next? Usually, they’re both going to try to make a good impression. What happens from there is anyone’s guess.
Prospective worker meets potential boss, what happens next? Usually, they’re both going to try to make a good impression. What happens from there is, again, up in the air.
Pastor meets congregant, what happens next?
Good impressions are not only part of the secular world. Believers like to make a good impression on people, too. Not only do we want to make a good impression—we want people to like us! I can’t think of anyone who would prefer to be despised rather than liked.
But what happens is that we begin to make an idol out of our reputations and our relationships. We want people to like and appreciate us so much that we will sin to get their approval, or else we’ll sin if we don’t get it. And often, the way that we sin to get people’s approval is that we stop being honest. All of us already have sin in our lives; those of us who need other people’s approval and appreciation add yet another sin—we hide the sin that’s already there rather than bringing it into the light, humbly and honestly confessing our sins and repenting of them before God.
A love of men’s approval and respect that rules over all other loves, including our love for God, is deadly. Jesus talked with the Pharisees about this issue in their lives:
Woe to you Pharisees! For how you love the seats of honor in the synagogues and the respectful greetings from everyone as you walk through the markets! Yes, awesome judgment is awaiting you. For you are like hidden graves in a field. Men go by you with no knowledge of the corruption they are passing. – Luke 11:43-44, The Living Bible
Are you pretending to be someone you’re not? Are you covering over your shame in order to deceive people? Don’t get me wrong—it’s not a good idea to give people detail after detail about our sins. But we must be honest about the fact that we are sinners, and even help people know what kinds of struggles we face and ask for their help and prayer. We must deny the temptation to create a false image of ourselves, to paint a picture that says we have everything under control. The only way to keep our hearts clean is to deliberately and honestly admit who we are, how we think, what we want, the things we do. The best way to lead others to know God is not to portray ourselves as people who never sin, but as people who have learned to confess our sins in humble honesty before God, finding the grace that He has already provided for us through Jesus Christ.
Are you honestly cleaning out the corruption in your heart by confessing your sins and having them washed away by the blood of Christ? Or are you harboring your sins, refusing to confess and repent of anything for fear of what people might think?
To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.
ALL – Proverbs 12:19-20
OT – Deuteronomy 29:1-30:20
NT – Luke 11:37-12:7
Boy meets girl, what happens next? Usually, they’re both going to try to make a good impression. What happens from there is anyone’s guess.
Prospective worker meets potential boss, what happens next? Usually, they’re both going to try to make a good impression. What happens from there is, again, up in the air.
Pastor meets congregant, what happens next?
Good impressions are not only part of the secular world. Believers like to make a good impression on people, too. Not only do we want to make a good impression—we want people to like us! I can’t think of anyone who would prefer to be despised rather than liked.
But what happens is that we begin to make an idol out of our reputations and our relationships. We want people to like and appreciate us so much that we will sin to get their approval, or else we’ll sin if we don’t get it. And often, the way that we sin to get people’s approval is that we stop being honest. All of us already have sin in our lives; those of us who need other people’s approval and appreciation add yet another sin—we hide the sin that’s already there rather than bringing it into the light, humbly and honestly confessing our sins and repenting of them before God.
A love of men’s approval and respect that rules over all other loves, including our love for God, is deadly. Jesus talked with the Pharisees about this issue in their lives:
Woe to you Pharisees! For how you love the seats of honor in the synagogues and the respectful greetings from everyone as you walk through the markets! Yes, awesome judgment is awaiting you. For you are like hidden graves in a field. Men go by you with no knowledge of the corruption they are passing. – Luke 11:43-44, The Living Bible
Are you pretending to be someone you’re not? Are you covering over your shame in order to deceive people? Don’t get me wrong—it’s not a good idea to give people detail after detail about our sins. But we must be honest about the fact that we are sinners, and even help people know what kinds of struggles we face and ask for their help and prayer. We must deny the temptation to create a false image of ourselves, to paint a picture that says we have everything under control. The only way to keep our hearts clean is to deliberately and honestly admit who we are, how we think, what we want, the things we do. The best way to lead others to know God is not to portray ourselves as people who never sin, but as people who have learned to confess our sins in humble honesty before God, finding the grace that He has already provided for us through Jesus Christ.
Are you honestly cleaning out the corruption in your heart by confessing your sins and having them washed away by the blood of Christ? Or are you harboring your sins, refusing to confess and repent of anything for fear of what people might think?
To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Don’t Bring Your Sin to Me
ALL – Psalm 33:1-11
ALL – Proverbs 8:33-36
OT – Exodus 32:1-33:23
NT – Matthew 22:69-27:14
A smoker who’s trying to quit doesn’t get much help from smokers. An alcoholic who’s trying to quit doesn’t get much help from drinkers. An fornicator who’s trying to quit won’t get much sympathy from fornicators. Misery loves company. So does shame. So does sin.
Judas had betrayed Jesus and was filled with remorse when he realized what he’d done. He went back to the people who had paid him to hand Jesus over to them – the chief priests and other Jewish leaders.
“I have sinned,” he declared, “for I have betrayed an innocent man.”
“That’s your problem,” they retorted. – Matthew 27:4, The Living Bible
Are you struggling with temptations and sin? Go to people who will share your convictions for support. Go to people who will point you toward Jesus, toward the cross, toward the Spirit, toward righteousness and forgiveness and grace. Don’t do what Judas did and seek help from people who are proud of their sin.
Then he threw the money onto the floor of the Temple and went out and hanged himself. – Matthew 27:5, The Living Bible
Where do you turn when you recognize your sins? To Jesus and the people who are following Him—to those who can help to free you from the noose around your neck? Or to those who oppose Him—to those who will hand you a rope and let you die?
To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.
ALL – Proverbs 8:33-36
OT – Exodus 32:1-33:23
NT – Matthew 22:69-27:14
A smoker who’s trying to quit doesn’t get much help from smokers. An alcoholic who’s trying to quit doesn’t get much help from drinkers. An fornicator who’s trying to quit won’t get much sympathy from fornicators. Misery loves company. So does shame. So does sin.
Judas had betrayed Jesus and was filled with remorse when he realized what he’d done. He went back to the people who had paid him to hand Jesus over to them – the chief priests and other Jewish leaders.
“I have sinned,” he declared, “for I have betrayed an innocent man.”
“That’s your problem,” they retorted. – Matthew 27:4, The Living Bible
Are you struggling with temptations and sin? Go to people who will share your convictions for support. Go to people who will point you toward Jesus, toward the cross, toward the Spirit, toward righteousness and forgiveness and grace. Don’t do what Judas did and seek help from people who are proud of their sin.
Then he threw the money onto the floor of the Temple and went out and hanged himself. – Matthew 27:5, The Living Bible
Where do you turn when you recognize your sins? To Jesus and the people who are following Him—to those who can help to free you from the noose around your neck? Or to those who oppose Him—to those who will hand you a rope and let you die?
To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Weekly Sermons in Swanton: Responding to The God Who Is Light
The message, preached on January 17th, 2010, covered 1 John 1:5-10, and it can be heard via streaming audio at http://www.swantonalliance.org. John announces one life-altering truth: God is Light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we want fellowship with this God, we must walk in the light and confess our sins, finding that the God who is Light forgives and purifies us, too. Note: Past sermons can be accessed through the resources page.
Monday, December 28, 2009
What Have We Done?
Zechariah 12-13; Psalm 147; Proverbs 31:1-7
How long has it been since you thought about the effects your actions have on others? And I’m not just talking about all the little consequences that play into the lives of our families and neighbors—though those matter, too.
But how long has it been since you’ve thought about the fact that your sins against God pierced the Lord Jesus Christ?
Do you care about Jesus? Do you love Him? Do you believe He loves you? Created you? Gave you life? Gave you food? Gave you breath? Do you believe He has only ever done good to you?
If Jesus is worth knowing at all, then it ought to matter to us how our decisions impact Him. And the painful truth is that we’ve pierced Him by our sins. If we love Him at all, at least, this truth should be painful. As people realize who Jesus is and what they have done, they will mourn:
And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son. – Zechariah 12:10, NIV
Does your heart mourn over what you’ve done against Jesus?
How long has it been since you thought about the effects your actions have on others? And I’m not just talking about all the little consequences that play into the lives of our families and neighbors—though those matter, too.
But how long has it been since you’ve thought about the fact that your sins against God pierced the Lord Jesus Christ?
Do you care about Jesus? Do you love Him? Do you believe He loves you? Created you? Gave you life? Gave you food? Gave you breath? Do you believe He has only ever done good to you?
If Jesus is worth knowing at all, then it ought to matter to us how our decisions impact Him. And the painful truth is that we’ve pierced Him by our sins. If we love Him at all, at least, this truth should be painful. As people realize who Jesus is and what they have done, they will mourn:
And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son. – Zechariah 12:10, NIV
Does your heart mourn over what you’ve done against Jesus?
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Reading - Clement of Rome I-XVIII
If you have never taken the opportunity to browse some of the wealth of materials available through the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL), you ought to enjoy some reading there now (http://www.ccel.org/). Tonight I have been reading the First Epistle to the Corinthians, written by Clement of Rome. The chapters are brief, and the points are simple.
1. There is much to be said in praise of the Corinthians.
2. The Corinthians are currently divided because of envy and rivalry.
3. The proposed resolution will come through repentance and faith lived out in many forms of obedience, especially humility before God and one another.
Our attitudes are important and impact the way we treat each other. It is easy for a while to appear to have the right attitudes, but bad attitudes will eventually show themselves through our actions and relationships.
1. There is much to be said in praise of the Corinthians.
2. The Corinthians are currently divided because of envy and rivalry.
3. The proposed resolution will come through repentance and faith lived out in many forms of obedience, especially humility before God and one another.
Our attitudes are important and impact the way we treat each other. It is easy for a while to appear to have the right attitudes, but bad attitudes will eventually show themselves through our actions and relationships.
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