Tag: repentance

Hosea 11:12-12:14

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            So, what will it take for someone to return to the Lord?  Ancient Israel and Judah were likened to adulterers straying from their one true love, the one true God.  They would go off and do their own thing, making excuses, as if they had done nothing wrong.  God’s message to them was simple and straightforward through the prophet Hosea:  “God’s name is the LORD, the LORD God All-Powerful.  So return to your God.  Patiently trust him, and show love and justice.”
 
            Times may have changed, but people basically have not changed much.  God still grows weary of people taking credit for their own success, making their jobs and vocations a priority over him, stepping on others to get what they want, and finding their security in money, position, and prestige.  If you have found yourself today giving reasons why you cannot meet with God in extended prayer; cannot go to that bible study or attend that small group; cannot fit worship of God into your schedule; have to do this, and do that, and go here and there; have to compromise on that decision; then, it could be that what is most needed is not being seriously considered.
 
            God isn’t into guilt trips, as much as the prophets might sound like it.  Rather, God goes out of his way to invite us into close relation with him.  He looks at us longingly, like a new husband enamored with his beautiful wife.  He wants to be with us.  But if we keep giving him the stiff-arm with all of our other priorities, then we are truly missing out.  Eventually it will bear the fruit of disappointment.  Taking time today to read the message of Hosea carefully might just be a good place to begin coming back to God and finding in him the true desire of our hearts.
 

 

            Almighty God, you are the Creator and Sustainer of all people.  Without you there is nothing strong and nothing holy.  So, increase and multiply the faithful people of this earth with your mercy in order that your gracious rule and reign will permeate the world, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Ezekiel 2:8-3:11

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            When I was a kid my brother and I watched All-Star Wrestling every Saturday.  One of our favorite wrestlers was Rufus R. Jones.  Like all wrestlers, he had a signature move, a lights-out-nobody-is-getting-up maneuver that would always end the match.  Rufus’ move was the head-butt.  Slamming his hard forehead into the head of his opponent always brought raucous behavior from us.  We would act out the head-butt scene over and over, always a bit fearful of smacking each other’s heads.  The hardest head always won.
 
            God gave a message to the prophet Ezekiel concerning the stubborn hearts and hard heads of the Israelites.  The Lord was looking for repentance, for the Jews to turn their hearts and minds back to true worship and a real humble relationship with their God.  The prospect of facing such a task, such an opponent, seemed daunting to Ezekiel.  So, the Lord assured him:  “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with my words to them… Behold, I have made your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads.  Like emery harder than flint have I made your forehead.  Fear them not, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.”
 
            Ezekiel was told by God to pull-out the signature wrestling move and do the lights-out head-butt maneuver.  The promise Ezekiel possessed was that God was going to give him the harder head – there was no way he was going to lose the match.  Like Ezekiel, we are to speak the Word of God with the promise that we will not lose.  Prideful ungodly stubbornness will get us knocked-out, but godly, gracious, and bold stubbornness which determines to do the will of God shall always win the day.
 

 

            Almighty God, you give strength to those in the wrestling matches of life.  Embolden my witness for you so that I will speak and act boldly in the name of Jesus, in the power of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Repentance and Spiritual Fruit

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Exploring Church Ministry BlogLeave a comment
 
 
            One of the issues that every pastor and church leader faces is how to measure the success of the ministry, or the lack thereof.  It is tempting to merely assume that attendance, state of the budget, and how many programs are up and running evidences success.  Lots of people, money, and ministries do not by themselves constitute a healthy church any more than eating lots of food and spending lots of money on eating-out constitutes physical health.  In fact, it is just the opposite.  So, where are we to focus our energies?
 
The two big ideas that Jesus hammered home to the crowds who followed him are:  1) you need to repent; and, 2) you need to bear spiritual fruit (Luke 13:1-9).  The two go together:  a fruitless life points to the need for repentance; and, to truly repent results in bearing the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control.
 
            Jesus, in exhortation after exhortation, and parable after parable, relentlessly went after the fruitless dead religion of his day.  Our Lord believed that such religion needed to be cut out and thrown away.  So, he went after the assumptions that people have about sin, faith, and judgment.  Jesus challenged the presuppositions that people often hold onto which are false.  In dealing with them, Jesus wanted to foster repentance and fruit-bearing.
 
False Assumption:  Other people’s sin is more serious than mine.
 
            It is a common human tendency, apart from Christ, to focus on the bad things in the world and the things that other people do, rather than focus on our own heart and life.              It is so much easier to be a simpleton and believe that _____ so and so needs to be “fixed.”  When there are problems and circumstances which are less than ideal, it is sinful human nature that goes after a scapegoat.  But Jesus will have none of it.  You and I cannot control, change, or fix anyone else; but we can practice self-control, change our personal habits, and be the solution to our own problems.
 
            Christ cuts through all the crud of scapegoating and blame-shifting by saying that every single one of us needs to repent, without exception.  What is more, Jesus’ parables challenge us with a very probing thought:  Are we bearing fruit, or just taking up space?  When we howl for judgment on others, but insist on grace for ourselves then we are the ones with the biggest need for repentance.
 
False Assumption:  My sin isn’t that serious.
 
            When things go awry, many people assume they got a bum rap and were the victims of circumstances.  But Jesus will have none of it.  Here are some personal questions that place the focus on repentance and fruit-bearing: 
Do I continually locate sin outside of my life, or do I see the sinfulness of my own heart? 
Do I believe people in hard circumstances are more sinful than me? 
Do I think that doing things the way they have always been done is what is most important? 
Can I envision that growth and change is necessary for life and for the church? 
Can my life be described as fruitful, or fruitless? 
How can I become fruitful? 
What must I repent of? 
What will happen if I don’t repent?
 

 

            Yes, other people’s sin is serious; but so is mine!  And I must deal with my own sin.  If anybody wants to eat a hot dog, they probably should never see how they are made.  And if anybody wants to continue in a life of being angry, bitter, complaining, and blaming others then they probably should not look at their own hearts and see where all those attitudes are made.  Penitent hearts are what Jesus is looking for in us.

Psalm 27

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment


We are in the Christian season of Lent, which is a time of repentance.  One of the greatest hindrances to repenting and believing is fear.  We reason in our heads that if I was to do the turn-around-thing that something bad or painful will occur.  We feel afraid in our hearts of what will happen if we take a repentant course of action, and we end up doing nothing but being stymied by fear.  
             The answer to fear is a robust faith in God.  The psalmist makes it plain that with attention and focus squarely on God, fear is tamed and exposed as a toothless beast.  “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear?  The LORD is my life’s refuge; of whom should I be afraid?”  Even if embracing repentance leads to a change of life which others, especially family, do not appreciate and they heap abuse upon you, the Lord God Almighty will show you steadfast love and mercy.  “Even if my father and mother forsake me,” said the psalmist, “the LORD will take me in.”
             Getting to know God enables us to persevere with patience instead of scurrying about like scared rabbits.  When we practice repentance and hug faith in the Lord, a settled sense of peace and purpose begin to take hold so that we endure through suffering.  Difficult circumstances will not always be the norm.  “Wait for the LORD, take courage, be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD!”  Praying this psalm repeatedly through the trials of life can help us with faith and patience in those times when words fail us due to fear.
             Hear my voice, Lord God, when I call; have mercy on me and answer me.  “Come,” says my heart, “seek his face;” your face, Lord, do I seek!  Do not hide your face from me; do not repel me in anger.  You are my salvation; do not cast me off; do not forsake me, God my Savior!  Amen.