JMD Devotional 178 Joel 2:13-15 Public and Private Repentance
Rend your hearts and not your garments and return to the Lord, your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in loving-kindness; and He revokes His sentence of evil [when His conditions are met]. Who knows but what He will turn, revoke your sentence [of evil], and leave a blessing behind Him [giving you the means with which to serve Him], even a cereal or meal offering and a drink offering for the Lord, your God? Blow the trumpet in Zion; set apart a fast [a day of restraint and humility]; call a solemn assembly.
Being an impulsive guy, I have had many, many things to repent of. Being quick and clever, I am often wrong. Repentance is a turning in your heart and mind over your ways; a reversal of perspective that usually involves sorrow over sin. In my own self, I have had to repeatedly repent over a critical spirit, harsh words, a judgmental attitude, anger, resentment, obstinacy, lust… I could go on and on. Sometimes I have repented privately and left out any confession to the injured party; other times I have hypocritically uttered an apology that was not heart-felt. Sometimes it does cause more harm than good dredging up old business with some people; if you are unsure, ask a wise mentor for advice. Nevertheless, whether the best course is public or private make the repentance genuine. I was once part of a church congregation that met for seven straight evenings for a solemn assembly, to grieve over the collective sin that seemed to divide the fellowship and hold back God’s work through us. We were asked to refrain from idle chat and entertainment, it was very somber, much time spent in prayer and the books of the prophets. That week really ministered to my soul; to sustain that focus on God’s judgment and my sin. The last evening of the event I felt purified and refreshed and refocused, on mission again for God. However, a man in the pew next to me muttered under his breath, “what a colossal waste of time…”
Dear God,
The suffering You sent was good for me, for it caused me to pay attention to your law. Those You love, You rebuke, and Your children You chastise often. Never stop loving me so. I am confident that the trust I placed in You to safeguard my soul is well-founded; it is safe and secure because You are eternally faithful to Your Word. May I sow in tears so that, in the fullness of time I will reap in joy everlasting. I am banking on that.
Amen
All (but*) quotes are from The Amplified Bible, published by
the Lockman Foundation. (AMP)
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
*New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society
**Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. (Eugene Peterson's easy-to-read, contemporary Scripture translation)
If you know of someone who would like to subscribe to
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http://SaintJamesPoetry.blogspot.com
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Being an impulsive guy, I have had many, many things to repent of. Being quick and clever, I am often wrong. Repentance is a turning in your heart and mind over your ways; a reversal of perspective that usually involves sorrow over sin. In my own self, I have had to repeatedly repent over a critical spirit, harsh words, a judgmental attitude, anger, resentment, obstinacy, lust… I could go on and on. Sometimes I have repented privately and left out any confession to the injured party; other times I have hypocritically uttered an apology that was not heart-felt. Sometimes it does cause more harm than good dredging up old business with some people; if you are unsure, ask a wise mentor for advice. Nevertheless, whether the best course is public or private make the repentance genuine. I was once part of a church congregation that met for seven straight evenings for a solemn assembly, to grieve over the collective sin that seemed to divide the fellowship and hold back God’s work through us. We were asked to refrain from idle chat and entertainment, it was very somber, much time spent in prayer and the books of the prophets. That week really ministered to my soul; to sustain that focus on God’s judgment and my sin. The last evening of the event I felt purified and refreshed and refocused, on mission again for God. However, a man in the pew next to me muttered under his breath, “what a colossal waste of time…”
Dear God,
The suffering You sent was good for me, for it caused me to pay attention to your law. Those You love, You rebuke, and Your children You chastise often. Never stop loving me so. I am confident that the trust I placed in You to safeguard my soul is well-founded; it is safe and secure because You are eternally faithful to Your Word. May I sow in tears so that, in the fullness of time I will reap in joy everlasting. I am banking on that.
Amen
All (but*) quotes are from The Amplified Bible, published by
the Lockman Foundation. (AMP)
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
*New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society
**Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. (Eugene Peterson's easy-to-read, contemporary Scripture translation)
If you know of someone who would like to subscribe to
my daily devotional, please forward.
jamesdinsmore_32907@yahoo.com
Short, concise, thought-provoking.
More features:
http://SaintJamesPoetry.blogspot.com
http://recoverydevotional.blogspot.com/
http://jamesezadventures.blogspot.com/
posted by James M. Dinsmore at 6:16 AM
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