Tag: Repentance

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Fixer Upper Faith

Reading Time: 2 minutes

“In the eighteenth year of his reign, King Josiah sent Shaphan son of Azaliah and grandson of Meshullam, the court secretary, to the Temple of the Lord. He told him, “Go to Hilkiah the high priest and have him count the money the gatekeepers have collected from the people at the Lord’s Temple. Entrust this money to the men assigned to supervise the restoration of the Lord’s Temple. Then they can use it to pay workers to repair the Temple. They will need to hire carpenters, builders, and masons. Also have them buy the timber and the finished stone needed to repair the Temple. But don’t require the construction supervisors to keep account of the money they receive, for they are honest and trustworthy men.” ‭‭2 Kings‬ ‭22‬:‭3‬-‭7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Josiah was only 8 years old when he became king of Judah. Israel had not only abandoned their faith, Josiah’s own grandfather, Manasseh adapted the Temple for idolatrous worship and allowed it to fall into complete disrepair. The entire country had been actively pursuing idols like Baal and Asherah poles were everywhere.

At 20 years old Josiah started a program of destruction, tearing down Baalist altars and images throughout Jerusalem and Judah.

Six years later, at 26 years old, he began to do some serious fixer upper repairs on God’s house, the temple. During the demolition phase, Shaphan, the temple secretary is instructed by Josiah to talk to Hilkiah about getting the finances together for the restoration project. The king told Shaphan to get the money to the temple general contractors overseeing the whole thing. Interesting note that should blow the minds of CFO’s, treasurers and bookkeepers, Josiah tells the secretary, “don’t require them to keep account of the money… because they are honest and trustworthy!”

It is during this massive restoration of the temple that we find out, the building isn’t the only thing that needs repair. The people themselves have to rebuild and restore their faith in God! Amidst the chaos of demolition, the High Priest, Hilkiah finds THE book, THE scrolls, THE laws of God, dictated by Moses and written under his direction. Hilkiah gives the scrolls to Shaphan and he reads them. Then, in his casual update on the progress of the Temple Project he says, “Ok King, the general managers have the money and they’re off and running. Oh, and also, Hilkiah the priest has given me a scroll.” So Shaphan read it to the king. Shaphan may have not even realized what these scrolls were about, even though Hilkiah told him! Now there were two fixer upper projects going on. One on God’s house, the other, rebuilding the hearts of God’s people.

Prayer

Dad,
It’s really hard to imagine an entire country, your own people turning away from you to chase, dating and unite themselves to cold stone statues and phallic looking poles looking for pleasure, happiness and fulfillment. Oh wait, we still do that today! Our idols make look so sophisticated, even subtle, but they are the same lie that Israel fell for. Harder yet is the rollercoaster ride picture of obedience that comes with blessings as well as disobedience that comes with a curse. We have such a dark dramatic story don’t we. Yet, in it all, your light shines, your grace redeems and I see your patience culminating in the sacrifice and salvation through Jesus. Glory and honor to you oh God because of your mercy!

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Vengeance is NOT mine and neither is justice

Reading Time: 2 minutes 
“For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night. Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just.” Psalms‬ ‭51:3-4‬ ‭NLT‬‬

​David’s recorded repentance is an absolute model of transparency and accountability in a leader’s life. Sure, he had been caught and his judgment had also been recorded and carried out by God and God’s spokesperson, Nathan.

The judgment was quick and severe. You can read about it in 2 Samuel 12. Nathan lays out the charge: “you have murdered Uriah the Hittite with the sword of the Ammonites and stolen his wife.“ Nathan also tells David, “You did it secretly, but I will make this happen to you openly in the sight of all Israel.” God had told David, I gave you EVERYTHING and if that had not been enough, I would have given you MORE!

David’s sin, quick trial by God himself and his pronounced judgment lays out how God is faithful and just to deal with sin and deal with a leader who thinks they can do anything they want and get away with it. God’s quick justice was a display of his deep love for David and for any future lives David’s unprecedented power would have destroyed.

Here in this psalm is David’s response. David owns his decisions, his sin and receives the judgment understanding what many leaders try to avoid – “your judgment against me is just!” David’s sin, his “rebellion” as he admits is exactly what happens when we get everything we want, yet want MORE.

We become seduced into thinking we deserve it, can get it and most of all – NOT get caught. All of this is a LIE. There is never a scenario where we “deserve” what a moral and deplorable act of power over another, or seeing and stealing whatever we want is justified! Even if we manipulate and manage to “get” it – that person, that position, that power, it is never right. And, even if NO ONE is watching, no one seemingly has seen us and we delusionally believe we got away with it – it is still wrong and the one true God of all justice SEES it and will judge it. There is no way ANYONE gets away with it.

The Bible just gives us this story to confront our own sin, but also to let us know that no one gets away with it. Judgment and justice may be slow because we are unaware of the trial and sentencing by God, but it is as sure as God’s name and nature. And, (this is hard to believe but true) God does it better, more thoroughly than we can even understand. In this sense, it doesn’t matter if a tyrant or con escapes or avoids a judge, court or trial judgment, NO ONE escapes God’s justice – ever! This is why God tells us “vengeance is mine.” – Romans 12:19.

PRAYER:

Dad,
Knowing that I want judgment on other’s evil but mercy for myself, David’s repentance gives me a sober hope. One that I always come clean before you and two, that I can leave the deep hurt and grief of injustice to you. You alone are capable of carrying out justice. Our courts and trials, juries and judges can’t possibly do as good a job as you!

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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.

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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.