Tag: Repentance

Posted on

Lessons to learn from David’s singular truth

Reading Time: 2 minutes 
“I am on the verge of collapse, facing constant pain. But I confess my sins; I am deeply sorry for what I have done.”Psalms‬ ‭38:17-18‬ ‭NLT‬‬

​Wow. This entire Psalm of David is so raw and honest. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he must have had Covid… j/k. Who can compare to David’s songs and prayers of repentance? The entire psalm is filled with a mixture of physical, emotional and spiritual pain he is experiencing. As I read it, I feel as though he’s not going to make it, he’s describing the end of his life.

This psalm blows my mind because, in the middle of this physical calamity David 100% attributes the cause to God being angry, himself being guilty as charged and ridding himself of his sins. There is not one ounce of any possibility that he has caught something natural or the result of “general” sin or sickness being a part of our fallen world, Nor does he attribute it to an attack from a very real entity of evil! He completely receives it as FROM God and goes directly to God to admit, repent and wait for judgment to pass. “My wounds fester and stink because of my foolish sins.”

He is NOT expecting to be let off the hook, but asks for the patience go through, and to wait for God to come and relieve his pain. “For I am waiting for you, O Lord. You must answer for me, O Lord my God.” And, “Come quickly to help me, O Lord my savior.”

I can honestly say, I have never thought about this kind of raw, direct, straight to the point prayer when I have been at my sickest or lowest moments in life. He doesn’t blame a virus, bacteria, infection, a devil or even God himself. He just flat out starts repenting and recognizing his own unworthiness. I am humbled by this and it makes me think about my own mortality, and times of fever, aches or misery. Once again, I am thankful for the lesson and model from David’s own life and the words he left behind for me to reflect on.

PRAYER:

​Dad,
Wow, what a glimpse into a world that I am not comfortable in at all. I know very few who are at the point of extreme pain and solid resolve acceptance of who is really in charge of life itself.

I am normally talking people out of such honest thoughts and prayers when they speak of their own responsibility and repentance for sin! I will not be so foolish to do so again. Mostly, because I realize how little I actually know of such things! How could falsely relieve the tension by pretending that I know of someone’s circumstances? I will also think through my own response to sickness, pain and suffering. I am thankful for David’s honest and pure words.

Posted on

When our body remembers and reminds us

Reading Time: 3 minutes 
“Annas and Caiaphas were the high priests. At this time a message from God came to John son of Zechariah, who was living in the wilderness. Then John went from place to place on both sides of the Jordan River, preaching that people should be baptized to show that they had repented of their sins and turned to God to be forgiven.” Luke‬ ‭3:2-3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Luke starts this chapter with a quick list of authorities of who these leaders were and where they were serving. Then he gets to two of the high priests. These are two guys serving in a very long legacy line with very specific jobs working for God. However, Luke SKIPS over the Roman officials and his own priests and introduces John, a son of a priest himself. Luke wants us to know, this is the person God chose to talk to – “a message from God to John.”

What was the message? Repent of sin and SHOW life change by behavior change! Start with a symbolized object lesson of dunking, dying and resurrecting all clean and fresh. Then the crowd asks a brilliant question, “what should we do?” NOT, what should we believe. John’s mini-sermon is a wide-view lens of the entire Old Testament Prophets messages of “true repentance.” Here they are: take care of the poor, quit cheating people and stop being so greedy! Can this list of behaviors define righteousness? No, not entirely. Can this list guide our behaviors to better reflect God? Absolutely! Caring for outcasts, being fair in transactions and live within your means so you can be generous and not try to con your way through life – these are pretty good places to start.

Apparently sin makes us snobs, cheats and cheap! Who would have thought? The people that came because they were just curious but critical were offended. The people who came and were convicted went into the water to start their journey back to God.

Baptism isn’t magical, it’s a transformational marker. It’s a moment where our physical body remembers going under the cold water and our soul remembers the momentary feeling of embarrassment, the submission to another’s will, loss of control and rising to newness. It’s like remembering your first kiss – a powerful connection of emotions and feelings that lodge in your whole being, not just your brain.

The first step, John says, “in showing” repentance and turning to God. Physical actions, physical signs, memories and onlookers, these are important to behavioral change. Luke writes later about another such physical sign when it comes to being filled with the Spirit. It could be witnessed. These are moments that are captured, tracked and remembered. What behavior has changed in me that proves to me (and others) that I have not only been obedient, I’ve also been consistent in moving towards God and away from my sin, myself in the past?

PRAYER:

Dad,
I clearly remember the physical locations and purposeful decisions in my life where you challenged me and I responded with a YES. And with those memories, my body helps remind me that those moments weren’t a dream or a thought, they were real and powerful. I still remember being baptized in water with a bunch of people watching. I still remember being baptized in the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues and having a new hunger for the Word of God, a keen sense of hearing your voice and a new boldness to become who who called me to be. I have no doubts that my ideals of change only become reality in my behaviors of change! Thank you.