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Life of David Part 16: A Repentant Heart

9/2/2016

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And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.  Philippians 1:6 On photo of Evening Sky by Lani Campbell
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6 On photo of Evening Sky by Lani Campbell
​None of us is perfect nor can anyone of us say we do not sin. If that isn’t true for you, stop reading right now, this devotional isn’t for you. This devotional is for those of us who have stumbled, fallen short, or even turned away from the Lord.
David, though he was a man after God’s own heart, who did all of God’s will, also sinned. Sin can really throw us for a loop, especially the “big” ones. Those sins that affect other people, those sins that affect our entire lives, and those sins that could label us as just as evil as the rest of the world can stop our forward progression with Christ if we let them. It depends on our response to our sins. We’ll begin today reading in 2 Samuel 11. Verses 1-4 read,
In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.
2 It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king's house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful. 3 And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” 4 So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she had been purifying herself from her uncleanness.)
 
David, for whatever reason was denying part of who he was in God. Instead of leading his army in battle as was the norm for the spring, David was in Jerusalem. He was walking on his roof and there she was, this beautiful woman bathing and purifying herself. David was tempted. He could have gone inside and laid with one of his wives. He could have gone inside and written to Joab to find out how the battle was going. He could have embraced who he was as a mighty warrior and joined Joab in the battle. He had many doors out of the sin he was about to commit but he didn’t take the way out. He ordered her to come to him and she did.
Whenever we are tempted as David was, there is a way out. God will not let us be tempted beyond what we are able to withstand. He will always provide a way out of the situation so we won’t have to sin. 1 Corinthians 10:11-14 says,
Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. 12 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. 14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.
 
We don’t have to sin; we can avoid it. But we all do anyway. We close our eyes to who we are in Christ. We close our eyes to the ways out. We give in to our flesh and satiate those desires, and we sin. But sin has consequences. Bathsheba, the woman David took found out she was pregnant. She sent a message to the king and now he was stuck. Her husband Uriah was at war and that meant he couldn’t be the father. He would find out what Bathsheba had done and might disgrace her and divorce her or even kill her. David panicked. He didn’t pray about it and ask God what to do. He came up with a plan. He called Uriah to him. Verses 8-13 record what happened.
Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” And Uriah went out of the king's house, and there followed him a present from the king. 9 But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house. 10 When they told David, “Uriah did not go down to his house,” David said to Uriah, “Have you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?” 11 Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah dwell in booths, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field. Shall I then go to my house, to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing.” 12 Then David said to Uriah, “Remain here today also, and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13 And David invited him, and he ate in his presence and drank, so that he made him drunk. And in the evening he went out to lie on his couch with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.
 
David was desperate to have Uriah sleep with his wife so that he would assume the baby was his. But Uriah wouldn’t give himself that pleasure when the rest of the army couldn’t enjoy their homes and wives. Even drunk, Uriah did not go see Bathsheba. So David had to come up with something else to save Bathsheba and to keep his secret safe. He wrote a letter to Joab to put Uriah with the stronger more valiant men in the frontlines. Uriah was not the same caliber fighter as the men on the frontlines. His experience was further back. And so being less of a warrior, he was killed in battle.
Joab, perhaps didn’t know why David wanted Uriah dead but it was clear to him that he did. He, himself had murdered someone and when he sent his message to David letting him know how the battle went and that men had died with a postscript “and by the way Uriah died too” he let David know that his murderous plan had succeeded. Verses 26-27 read,
When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she lamented over her husband. 27 And when the mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.
 
David and Bathsheba’s reputations were safe. 2 Samuel 12 continues the harrowing tale. David had sinned and that sin had snowballed into more sin. David had lied, brought people into his lies, murdered a man, and spread the blood guilt to another person as well. David had stopped pursuing God’s heart. But God had not stopped pursuing David’s heart. God does not give up on us. He knows who we are truly meant to be, because He made us. He loves us deeply and so He will discipline us and bring us back to Himself. Proverbs 3:11-14 reads,
My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline
    or be weary of his reproof,
12 for the Lord reproves him whom he loves,
    as a father the son in whom he delights.

13 Blessed is the one who finds wisdom,
    and the one who gets understanding,
14 for the gain from her is better than gain from silver
    and her profit better than gold.

The Lord loves us and He disciplines those whom He loves. He disciplines because He wants our faith perfected, He wants us to be the image of Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:3). He wants us to know the joy of that profound unity with Him (Romans 6:5). Hebrews 12:10-11 says,
For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. 11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
 
So while David lived satisfying his flesh, God did not give up on Him. Verses 1-12 in The Message read,
1-3 and sent Nathan to David. Nathan said to him, “There were two men in the same city—one rich, the other poor. The rich man had huge flocks of sheep, herds of cattle. The poor man had nothing but one little female lamb, which he had bought and raised. It grew up with him and his children as a member of the family. It ate off his plate and drank from his cup and slept on his bed. It was like a daughter to him.
4 “One day a traveler dropped in on the rich man. He was too stingy to take an animal from his own herds or flocks to make a meal for his visitor, so he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared a meal to set before his guest.”
5-6 David exploded in anger. “As surely as God lives,” he said to Nathan, “the man who did this ought to be lynched! He must repay for the lamb four times over for his crime and his stinginess!”
7-12 “You’re the man!” said Nathan. “And here’s what God, the God of Israel, has to say to you: I made you king over Israel. I freed you from the fist of Saul. I gave you your master’s daughter and other wives to have and to hold. I gave you both Israel and Judah. And if that hadn’t been enough, I’d have gladly thrown in much more. So why have you treated the word of God with brazen contempt, doing this great evil? You murdered Uriah the Hittite, then took his wife as your wife. Worse, you killed him with an Ammonite sword! And now, because you treated God with such contempt and took Uriah the Hittite’s wife as your wife, killing and murder will continually plague your family. This is God speaking, remember! I’ll make trouble for you out of your own family. I’ll take your wives from right out in front of you. I’ll give them to some neighbor, and he’ll go to bed with them openly. You did your deed in secret; I’m doing mine with the whole country watching!”
 
David had been so wrapped up in his own desires that he had not even seen his sins. But when God showed it to him, he humbled himself and was convicted! And He immediately confessed and repented of his sins. Verses 13-15a read,
David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die.14 Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child who is born to you shall die.” 15 Then Nathan went to his house.
 
God forgave David, but He knew full well that His punishment had to stand. David and Bathsheba’s child would die. It is a horrible and severe penalty but God knew best. Verses 15b-20 continue the narrative.
And the Lord afflicted the child that Uriah's wife bore to David, and he became sick. 16 David therefore sought God on behalf of the child. And David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground. 17 And the elders of his house stood beside him, to raise him from the ground, but he would not, nor did he eat food with them. 18 On the seventh day the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spoke to him, and he did not listen to us. How then can we say to him the child is dead? He may do himself some harm.” 19 But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David understood that the child was dead. And David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” They said, “He is dead.” 20 Then David arose from the earth and washed and anointed himself and changed his clothes. And he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. He then went to his own house. And when he asked, they set food before him, and he ate.
 
David knew why the child was sick and he knew that the child’s death would be his penance. Yet he prayed hard that the Lord would let his beloved son live. But God did not change his mind. David’s servants couldn’t understand why David had lamented and fasted while the baby was alive and stopped at the baby’s death. So David explained in verses 22-23,
“While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, ‘Who knows whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ 23 But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.”
 
When David stopped pursuing God and began chasing his own desires, God remained faithful, He did what David needed Him to do and brought Him back. 1 Corinthians 1:4-9 reads,
I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, 5 that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge— 6 even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— 7 so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
God loves you! He wants you to be blameless on the Day of Jesus Christ. He wants you to live up to the purpose He has for you. When we are faithless, He is faithful ( 2 Timothy 2:13). When we are weak, He is strong (2 Corinthians 12:9). He disciplines but never without a purpose. That purpose is your perfection and His glory. Being a man after God’s own heart meant that when David realized his sin, he was convicted. He didn’t wallow in guilt and shame. He confessed and repented and turned back to God. Being a person after God’s own heart means we too will confess and repent. Rather than flounder about in condemnation, we’ll turn back to the Lord and keep walking, keep letting Him perfect us, and keep glorifying Him.
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2 Kings 22-23:30 Repentance is More than Saying Sorry

2/16/2016

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Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. Matthew 3:8
Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. Matthew 3:8
​2 Kings 22-23:30
After King Manasseh died, his son Amon was king for two years and did what was evil in The Lord’s sight. He was murdered by his servants. The people of Judah struck down the servants and made Josiah his son their king in his place (2 Kings 21:19-26). Josiah’s reign was unlike any king before or since. He began obediently following what he knew of The Lord. Chapter 22 verses 1-2 read,
“Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath. 2 And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and walked in all the way of David his father, and he did not turn aside to the right or to the left.”
Josiah loved The Lord and because of that he set out to repair the Temple. Verses 3-7 describe it,
“In the eighteenth year of King Josiah, the king sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, son of Meshullam, the secretary, to the house of the Lord, saying, 4 “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, that he may count the money that has been brought into the house of the Lord, which the keepers of the threshold have collected from the people. 5 And let it be given into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the Lord, and let them give it to the workmen who are at the house of the Lord, repairing the house 6 (that is, to the carpenters, and to the builders, and to the masons), and let them use it for buying timber and quarried stone to repair the house. 7 But no accounting shall be asked from them for the money that is delivered into their hand, for they deal honestly.”
This was not a new ordinance, but it was one that had been forgotten or ignored. Jehoash had made the decree during his reign that all the money brought to the temple as offerings for sin and thanksgiving would be set aside for Temple repairs and maintenance (2 Kings 12:4-16).  Josiah’s zeal for the Lord naturally extended to a zeal for how the Lord expressed His presence to The People and how the people worshipped Him, His Temple.
Josiah wanted to do what was right in the eyes of God. When he discovered that the money brought to the Temple was for its upkeep, he immediately changed the way things were done and did them the right way. Jesus had the same zeal for His Father’s house and cleaned it out when He saw the sin going on in it (John 2:13-17). Zeal for the Temple ensures it is properly maintained and extends to keeping it pure, practicing the commands of The Lord in Spirit and in truth, and keeping it holy. The Temple building does not stand today. It was destroyed in 70 A.D. Today, believers are the Temple of God; He indwells us and His presence is always with us. Love for the Lord and zeal for His Temple becomes about keeping ourselves healthy, pure, worshipping in Spirit and in truth, and being holy as God is holy. 2 Corinthians 6:16-18 reminds us,
“What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said,
“I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them,
    and I will be their God,
    and they shall be my people.
17 Therefore go out from their midst,
    and be separate from them, says the Lord,
and touch no unclean thing;
    then I will welcome you,
18 and I will be a father to you,
    and you shall be sons and daughters to me,
says the Lord Almighty.”

Josiah’s desire to please God yielded results he did not expect. While accounting the monies for the Temple repairs Hilkiah the high priest found something. Verses 8-10 read,
“And Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. 9 And Shaphan the secretary came to the king, and reported to the king, “Your servants have emptied out the money that was found in the house and have delivered it into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the Lord.” 10 Then Shaphan the secretary told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it before the king.”
The book of the Law, had not been opened for generations. Up to now, the priests and the king had been basing the worship, offerings, and sacrifices on the oral teachings passed down from priest to priest. But when Josiah heard the way The Lord had commanded, it was obvious to him that Judah was not obeying The Lord.
Cleaning out the Temple brings things up from the past. It gives us a chance to get rid of the garbage and it gives us a chance to return to the way God intended us to be. Cleaning out and repairing the Temple brings us back into alignment with the will of God. It did the same for Josiah and Judah. Verses 11-13 record Josiah’s response.
“When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes.12 And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Achbor the son of Micaiah, and Shaphan the secretary, and Asaiah the king's servant, saying, 13 “Go, inquire of the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found. For great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.”
The Law showed Josiah who walked in the way of David and did not veer from following The Lord. That he fell short of God’s glory and covenant. That is what the law is intended to do, show us our sin and reveal to us our need of The Lord. Romans 3:19-26 reads,
“Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”
When Josiah realized his sin and that of Judah he immediately inquired of The Lord. He understood that Judah would have to pay for their sin and he wanted to know what The Lord would have them do. He was telling God how remorseful he was. Verses 14-20 read,
“So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter), and they talked with her. 15 And she said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Tell the man who sent you to me, 16 Thus says the Lord, Behold, I will bring disaster upon this place and upon its inhabitants, all the words of the book that the king of Judah has read. 17 Because they have forsaken me and have made offerings to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the work of their hands, therefore my wrath will be kindled against this place, and it will not be quenched. 18 But to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, thus shall you say to him, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Regarding the words that you have heard, 19 because your heart was penitent, and you humbled yourself before the Lord, when you heard how I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and you have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you, declares the Lord. 20 Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes shall not see all the disaster that I will bring upon this place.’” And they brought back word to the king.”
God honored Josiah’s repentance by keeping him from the wrath that would come on Judah. He would be gathered to peaceful eternity before the wrath of The Lord was carried out. Peace with God and is the reward for repentance. Repentance is not solely an attitude of the heart. It is borne in action. Repentance does not mean to escape wrath it means to act in congruence with The Lord’s will. John the Baptist said it this way in Matthew 3:7-10,
“But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 10 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
And Josiah definitely bore fruit in accordance with repentance. His heart wholly belonged to God and that ardor showed itself in action. First he shared this newfound knowledge with the people and together they committed themselves to God. Chapter 23 verses 1-3 read,
“Then the king sent, and all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem were gathered to him. 2 And the king went up to the house of the Lord, and with him all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the priests and the prophets, all the people, both small and great. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of the Lord. 3 And the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people joined in the covenant.”
Then he purged the Temple, Jerusalem, Judah and Israel of idolatry. He passionately destroyed every idolatrous thing there was because he loved God with all his heart, soul, and strength. Loving God like that means we love Him with our emotions, our spirit, and our muscles. It is comprehensive, active, and tangible. Verses 4-20 describe what Josiah did.
“And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and the priests of the second order and the keepers of the threshold to bring out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven. He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron and carried their ashes to Bethel. 5 And he deposed the priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to make offerings in the high places at the cities of Judah and around Jerusalem; those also who burned incense to Baal, to the sun and the moon and the constellations and all the host of the heavens. 6 And he brought out the Asherah from the house of the Lord, outside Jerusalem, to the brook Kidron,and burned it at the brook Kidron and beat it to dust and cast the dust of it upon the graves of the common people. 7 And he broke down the houses of the male cult prostitutes who were in the house of the Lord, where the women wove hangings for the Asherah. 8 And he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had made offerings, from Geba to Beersheba. And he broke down the high places of the gates that were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were on one's left at the gate of the city. 9 However, the priests of the high places did not come up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers. 10 And he defiled Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, that no one might burn his son or his daughter as an offering to Molech. 11 And he removed the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun, at the entrance to the house of the Lord, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the chamberlain, which was in the precincts. And he burned the chariots of the sun with fire. 12 And the altars on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars that Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord, he pulled down and broke in pieces and cast the dust of them into the brook Kidron. 13 And the king defiled the high places that were east of Jerusalem, to the south of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 14 And he broke in pieces the pillars and cut down the Asherim and filled their places with the bones of men.
15 Moreover, the altar at Bethel, the high place erected by Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, that altar with the high place he pulled down and burned, reducing it to dust. He also burned the Asherah. 16 And as Josiah turned, he saw the tombs there on the mount. And he sent and took the bones out of the tombs and burned them on the altar and defiled it, according to the word of the Lord that the man of God proclaimed, who had predicted these things. 17 Then he said, “What is that monument that I see?” And the men of the city told him, “It is the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and predicted these things that you have done against the altar at Bethel.” 18 And he said, “Let him be; let no man move his bones.” So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet who came out of Samaria. 19 And Josiah removed all the shrines also of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which kings of Israel had made, provoking the Lord to anger. He did to them according to all that he had done at Bethel. 20 And he sacrificed all the priests of the high places who were there, on the altars, and burned human bones on them. Then he returned to Jerusalem.”
Josiah didn’t do all this in order to fulfill prophecy, he wasn’t even aware of the prophecy. It was his love of God that moved him to act. It was his passion for God that inspired the people of Judah to follow his commitment. Josiah not only restored, the Temple and all of Israel, he restored the practices that The Lord had put into place. Verses 21-23 reads,
“And the king commanded all the people, “Keep the Passover to the Lord your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant.” 22 For no such Passover had been kept since the days of the judges who judged Israel, or during all the days of the kings of Israel or of the kings of Judah. 23 But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah this Passover was kept to the Lord in Jerusalem.”
Josiah was twenty five years old when he restored the celebration of Passover to Jerusalem. He did great things for the Lord and in turn for God’s people at a young age. Passover is a celebration of God’s salvation. Passover, like the Law is messianic. Passover is blatantly about Jesus. Josiah’s actions brought the testimony of Jesus, the Salvation of the world back to Judah and glorified The Lord. He didn’t know he was acting prophetically. He didn’t know about Jesus, his descendent who would be born in fourteen generations after him (Matthew 1:11-16). He still acted in faith and testified about salvation to all the nations by his acts.
Josiah made Israel holy again; he would not allow anything or anyone unholy to sully the God’s people or land. Verses 24-25 read,
“Moreover, Josiah put away the mediums and the necromancers and the household gods and the idols and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might establish the words of the law that were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the Lord. 25 Before him there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses, nor did any like him arise after him.”
God’s wrath still had to happen. But God kept his promise to Josiah and gathered him home to peace without tasting God’s wrath. Verses 26-30 read,
“Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 29 In his days Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt went up to the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates. King Josiah went to meet him, and Pharaoh Neco killed him at Megiddo, as soon as he saw him. 30 And his servants carried him dead in a chariot from Megiddo and brought him to Jerusalem and buried him in his own tomb. And the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and anointed him, and made him king in his father's place.”
Josiah was only 38 years old at his death, but no king had been as zealous for the Lord as he was before him and none would ever come after him with such passion.
Salvation begins with recognizing sin. No matter how good we are, we are sinful. Josiah was good; he kept the law as well as he knew how. Yet, when confronted with the Law that God had given to Moses, he realized how sinful he was. Salvation continues with repentance. Remorse for his sins moved Josiah to go to The Lord and then to act on his remorse by cleansing all sin and idolatry from the land. Josiah didn’t repent in order not to experience God’s wrath. He repented because he loved God and wanted to do what was right in his eyes.
Repentance as ‘fire insurance’ is not repentance. Real repentance comes from love of God and sorrow for sin and results in actions and becoming like Jesus.
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2 Kings 21 Manasseh’s Evil Leads to Dire Consequences

2/15/2016

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​2 Kings 21
When Hezekiah died, his son Manasseh became king in his place. As good as Hezekiah was, his son was evil. All the good Hezekiah did for Judah, Manasseh undid and did worse. Verses 1-3 read,
“Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hephzibah. 2 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the despicable practices of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. 3 For he rebuilt the high places that Hezekiah his father had destroyed, and he erected altars for Baal and made an Asherah, as Ahab king of Israel had done, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them.”
How did he become so evil, how could he disregard the Lord and The Law so completely? It does not say, but there are some clues. Hezekiah may have been a faithful king but at some point pride had filled him. When he was told what would happen to his sons because of his arrogance, he did not care (2 Kings 16-19). Hezekiah cared more about himself than his own children. Manasseh was not even born yet when Hezekiah found out that some of his sons would be eunuchs in the king of Babylon’s palace. He was already prideful and perhaps he didn’t give his sons enough attention to ensure they knew the way of The Lord. Another clue is Manasseh’s young age when he became king. He was twelve, just shy of manhood and it doesn’t say that he had an agent or guardian to help him with his kingship until he reached adulthood. When one gives a child an adult’s responsibilities especially is he has not been taught, he cannot expect him to do the job as an adult.
Manasseh did even worse things than rebuilding the high places and building new altars for Baal and Asherah. He worshipped angels. Baal and Asherah are imaginary gods but angels are real and they are not meant to be worshipped, they are ministers to The Lord. But Manasseh worshipped them and he had Judah worship them. And he went even further in leading Judah into unimaginable evil. Verses 4-8 reads,
“And he built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, “In Jerusalem will I put my name.” 5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord. 6 And he burned his son as an offering  and used fortune-telling and omens and dealt with mediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. 7 And the carved image of Asherah that he had made he set in the house of which the Lord said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever. 8 And I will not cause the feet of Israel to wander anymore out of the land that I gave to their fathers, if only they will be careful to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the Law that my servant Moses commanded them.”
He did what no king before him had done and desecrated the Temple with altars to false gods. That act is so vile that it is one of the evil acts the antichrist will commit before Jesus returns (Daniel 9:27). Manasseh’s acts led to God’s anger against Judah, their idolatry (and that of Israel) led to their eventual captivity in Babylon (2 Kings 24:3). The Babylonian captivity reflects the tribulation in many ways as well as indicating our sin state to us. They turned to false gods and away from The Lord and so they had to face the consequence of being without the way to worship The Lord. Hosea 3:4 reads,
“For the children of Israel shall dwell many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or pillar, without ephod or household gods”
God gave them the Law, He made a covenant with the wonderful promise that they would not have to be without a home or without Him. He sent them prophets to warn them. He sent them disciplines to teach them. Did they listen? Do we? Verse 9 reads,
“But they did not listen, and Manasseh led them astray to do more evil than the nations had done whom the Lord destroyed before the people of Israel.”
So The Lord could not let things stay as they were. He warned them again and He condemned Manasseh’s evil. Verses 10-15 read,
“And the Lord said by his servants the prophets, 11 “Because Manasseh king of Judah has committed these abominations and has done things more evil than all that the Amorites did, who were before him, and has made Judah also to sin with his idols, 12 therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing upon Jerusalem and Judah such disaster that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle. 13 And I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria, and the plumb line of the house of Ahab, and I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. 14 And I will forsake the remnant of my heritage and give them into the hand of their enemies, and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies, 15 because they have done what is evil in my sight and have provoked me to anger, since the day their fathers came out of Egypt, even to this day.”
The punishment that came on Samaria (the capitol of Israel during that time) and the desolation that fell on Ahab’s descendants would also happen to Judah. They would be wiped out, all the sin completely eradicated so that they could be made new again. They would be handed over to the enemy so that eventually they could be saved. That punishment is not because The Lord does not love His people, but because He loves them so much. He wants them to be saved. He wants them to experience life without Him and so realize their need for Him. He wants to limit their destruction and the effects they will have on others.
Paul wrote to the church in Corinth regarding a man who was committing vile acts of sexual immorality and told them to do the same to him. 1 Corinthians 5:4-5 reads,
“When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.”
It is not easy to let the ones we love face the consequences of their actions. It is not easy to see them suffer, but real love wants them to be saved. God had to punish Judah in order to save her. The people would eventually return to The Lord and to Jerusalem, Judah and Israel. Hosea 3:5 says,
“Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God, and David their king, and they shall come in fear to the Lord and to his goodness in the latter days.”
Did Manasseh listen to the Lord? Verses 16-18 reads,
“Moreover, Manasseh shed very much innocent blood, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another, besides the sin that he made Judah to sin so that they did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.
17 Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh and all that he did, and the sin that he committed, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 18 And Manasseh slept with his fathers and was buried in the garden of his house, in the garden of Uzza, and Amon his son reigned in his place.”
He kept right on sinning in the vilest ways. He sacrificed people, he killed the people of Judah and he led the people to sin with him. But God loved Manasseh! So He allowed him to be taken in captivity. 2 Chronicles 33:10-13 tells us what happened.
“The Lord spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they paid no attention.11 Therefore the Lord brought upon them the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria, who captured Manasseh with hooks and bound him with chains of bronze and brought him to Babylon. 12 And when he was in distress, he entreated the favor of the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. 13 He prayed to him, and God was moved by his entreaty and heard his plea and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God.”
And he really did know that The Lord was God, he showed the fruit of repentance. 2 Chronicles 33:14-17 reads,
“Afterward he built an outer wall for the city of David west of Gihon, in the valley, and for the entrance into the Fish Gate, and carried it around Ophel, and raised it to a very great height. He also put commanders of the army in all the fortified cities in Judah. 15 And he took away the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the Lord, and all the altars that he had built on the mountain of the house of the Lord and in Jerusalem, and he threw them outside of the city. 16 He also restored the altar of the Lord and offered on it sacrifices of peace offerings and of thanksgiving, and he commanded Judah to serve the Lord, the God of Israel. 17 Nevertheless, the people still sacrificed at the high places, but only to the Lord their God.”
He was handed over to the enemy and repented. He took down all the altars, he restored The Temple and led Judah to repent. Manasseh’s captivity and repentance was a forecasting, a prophesying of Judah’s eventual captivity, the lessons they would learn and the repentance required to end it. If we will just listen to The Lord, obey Him, and pay attention to His warnings and discipline, we could save ourselves a great deal of suffering.
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​Revelation 9: The Fifth and Sixth Trumpets: Will Anyone Listen?

12/21/2015

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And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. 2 Thessalonians 2:8
And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. 2 Thessalonians 2:8
​Revelation 9: The Fifth and Sixth Trumpets: The First Two Woes
As I mentioned yesterday, the trumpet or shofar is a call to come to God, repent, and atone for sin. Yesterday, we read about the first four trumpets. Today we will read about the next two. The first four trumpets affected the earth and water and made life dangerous, precious, and difficult but the fifth and sixth trumpet affect humans directly. Verses 1-6 read,
“And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit. 2 He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft. 3 Then from the smoke came locusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth. 4 They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree, but only those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. 5 They were allowed to torment them for five months, but not to kill them, and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings someone. 6 And in those days people will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them.”
These locust like creatures are not heavenly beings, they are locked in the bottomless pit, where the beast is until he makes war on, conquers, and kills the two witnesses (Revelation 11:7-8). It I also the place where Satan will be locked for 1,000 years. (Revelation 20:1-3). These locust-like beings like everything else in the bit are sanctioned by Satan, but bound and released by God. Satan may think they are meeting his purposes, but God will restrict them and use them for His purposes.
God allows them only to harm the lost, those who have not been sealed by Him. They cannot harm the grass or trees only people. The torment and suffering they cause does not kill. Instead the tormented suffer for five months and long to die rather than continue. God is giving them a chance to repent, to ask why the sealed are untouched, recognize their sin, and turn to Jesus. Whatever these creatures are, they sound horrific. Verses 7-11 describe them.
“In appearance the locusts were like horses prepared for battle: on their heads were what looked like crowns of gold; their faces were like human faces, 8 their hair like women's hair, and their teeth like lions' teeth; 9 they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the noise of their wings was like the noise of many chariots with horses rushing into battle. 10 They have tails and stings like scorpions, and their power to hurt people for five months is in their tails.11 They have as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit. His name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek he is called Apollyon.”
When I was a teenager, a pastor said he believed them to be helicopters with some sort of terrible weapon being shot from them. I can see where he would think that. But I disagree with him. Helicopters do not shoot from their tails. They would not be kept in the bottomless pit, and demons would not need to use helicopters to spread their torturous plague. But I do not like to guess, because my assumption could be wrong and mislead people.
Verse 12 reads,
“The first woe has passed; behold, two woes are still to come.”
I believe the sealed will recognize what is happening and so have the chance to tell the lost. They (or we) will recognize the trumpets and be able to alert people, “This is it, your chance to repent and escape the wrath of the lamb!” I think it will be our responsibility to warn them as prophets warned people for thousands of years. John the Baptist called out in the wilderness. “Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.” (Matthew 3:3). We will call out to the nations, “Jesus is returning! The time to repent is now!”
Malachi 3:1-5 describes John the Baptist’s prophetic ministry before Jesus began His redemptive ministry culminating in His crucifixion and resurrection. But I believe it also describes the church and our prophetic ministry to warn people that Jesus is returning and this time it will culminate in The Day of the LORD, eternal life or eternal death. It reads,
“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. 2 But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord.4 Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.
5 “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.”
God is calling! Are you listening? Can the lost hear? Whether they heed is not our problem, but making sure they hear is. Ezekiel 3:16-19 says it this way,
“And at the end of seven days, the word of the Lord came to me: 17 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. 18 If I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. 19 But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul.”
If we do not warn them, they will have no choice but to die in their sin. God doesn’t want that for them (2 Peter 3:9), neither do we.
Verses 13-19 illustrate the sixth trumpet.
“Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar before God, 14 saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.”15 So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour, the day, the month, and the year, were released to kill a third of mankind. 16 The number of mounted troops was twice ten thousand times ten thousand; I heard their number. 17 And this is how I saw the horses in my vision and those who rode them: they wore breastplates the color of fire and of sapphire and of sulfur, and the heads of the horses were like lions' heads, and fire and smoke and sulfur came out of their mouths. 18 By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed, by the fire and smoke and sulfur coming out of their mouths. 19 For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails, for their tails are like serpents with heads, and by means of them they wound.”
The angels bound until this time are fallen angels bent on the singular cause of leading the demonic army. Again the Lord uses Satan’s minions for His purpose. The Euphrates is one of four rivers formed by the river coming out of Eden. (Genesis 2:10-14). The Euphrates formed a border for the Land God promised Abraham’s descendants. (Genesis 15:18). And it is from border that the demonic army will rise to kill a third of the already dwindling and weak mankind. Do the math on the number of troops in that terrifying army and you will get 2,000,000,000,000. That is two trillion. That is 285 demonic soldiers for every man woman and child on earth right now. The horses have the power to kill and wound in their mouths. They will kill by the fire, smoke, and sulfur which comes from their mouths (Spoiler alert: They will be destroyed by the sword coming from Jesus mouth! Revelation 19:15, 2 Thessalonians 2:8).
Believer, You and I have an obligation of love to warn people about what is coming. We have a duty to tell people about Jesus. We have the power in our mouths to give them a chance at salvation.We have to give them a chance to repent. Blow the trumpet! Sound the alarm! Call them to Jesus. Their response is their choice, but we should give them the choice. Will they listen now, before it’s too late? Maybe. Will they listen when trumpet after trumpet is blown? Verses 20-21 read,
“The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, 21 nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.”
They will be so hardened, deaf, and blind to God’s love they will not listen or repent, but God will call none the less. Because God will not give up them, neither should we.
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Revelation 8:6-13 The First Four Trumpets, A Call to Repent.

12/20/2015

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The sounding of the trumpet or the Shofar is a call to come together, to gather before God, to repent, to be atoned and begin anew.
​Revelation 8:6-13 the first four trumpets.
Verse 6 reads,
“Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.”
The sounding of the trumpet or the Shofar is a call to come together, to gather before God, to repent, to be atoned and begin anew. God used the trumpet to call the Israelites to Himself. Exodus 19:16-19 reads,
“On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. 17 Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain.18 Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. 19 And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder.”
On The Day of Atonement, the High Priest made sacrifices for himself and Israel and entered the Most Holy place and burned incense there just once each year. But every 49 years the Day of Atonement was more special. It was the beginning of the 50th year, the Year of Jubilee. Leviticus 25:8-12 describes it.
“You shall count seven weeks of years, seven times seven years, so that the time of the seven weeks of years shall give you forty-nine years. 9 Then you shall sound the loud trumpet on the tenth day of the seventh month. On the Day of Atonement you shall sound the trumpet throughout all your land. 10 And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, when each of you shall return to his property and each of you shall return to his clan. 11 That fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you; in it you shall neither sow nor reap what grows of itself nor gather the grapes from the undressed vines. 12 For it is a jubilee. It shall be holy to you. You may eat the produce of the field.”
The trumpet sound warns of God’s judgement also with a call to repent before it is too late. Joshua chapter 6 records the story of the fall of the city of Jericho. Joshua and his men were ordered by The Lord to march around Jericho, led by seven priests carrying trumpets and on the seventh day, they sounded the trumpets and the impenetrable walls of the city fell.
Each trumpet that sounds in Heaven is a call to the people of earth to come to God, to repent of sins, be atoned, and avoid His great and terrible Judgement. They are warnings that will have to be heeded. They are events that cannot be ignored by anyone. They will affect everyone. Verse 7 reads,
“The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed hail and fire, mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth. And a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.”
Consider the implications of one third of the greenery on earth burned and gone. It will mean less food for horses, cows, and other livestock, which will in turn mean less food for people, so much less that not a single person will go untouched. Think about the ramifications of a third of the trees gone. Less shade leads to less water. Reduced photosynthesis which means less oxygen and more carbon dioxide, and fewer places for birds and bugs to make homes all lead to less food and more toxicity. That is what my average brain comes up with, I am sure it doesn’t compare to the earth shattering results of the first trumpet.
Verses 8-9 read,
“The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood. 9 A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.”
This will basically destroy the ocean’s ecological system. I cannot even fathom the catastrophic effects that will have.
Verses 10-11 say,
“The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water.11 The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many people died from the water, because it had been made bitter.”
One third of the fresh water on earth will be poisoned. Not only will we not have free access to drinkable water, but eventually the rain will be poison as well. That poison rain will poison the rest of the water. People will die from drinking it, people will die from being rained on, and people will die of thirst. This doesn’t even mention how animals, livestock, crops, and the atmosphere will suffer. It will be devastating to people, to the economy, and the environment.
Verse 12 says,
“The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of their light might be darkened, and a third of the day might be kept from shining, and likewise a third of the night.”
The sun, moon, and stars will be darkened by a third. Maybe you can’t see how bad that might be. Perhaps you think so it’ll be a little darker outside. Not only will that put stress on energy resources such as oil, but think of how we depend on the sun’s warmth and energy. Already photosynthesis will be decreased, how much more so when the sun is only shining at 2/3 capacity? How cold do you imagine it might get?
Each of these trumpets sounds horrific enough but verse 13 reads,
“Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew directly overhead, “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow!”
The next three trumpets will be even worse than the first four. The world will be in a cataclysmic state. People will suffer and be terrified. They will be looking for somewhere to turn. The next three trumpets will only make it worse. But will they recognize the call to come to God, repent, and be forgiven? Woe means anguish, calamity, and affliction. Throughout the Bible it is used to begin a warning of judgement to people who God knows will not heed the call, but to whom He offers the chance anyway.
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Psalm 51 Sorry, You’re not as Good as You Think, but God Can Give You a New Clean Heart

7/11/2015

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Psalm 51

I was talking to a young friend the other day. This six year old girl was very proud of her goodness. She loves being a “good girl.” It makes her happy when people appreciate her good behavior. She asked me why some people were bad and did bad things. I shared with her that everyone has done bad things, we have all lied, had mean thoughts, and other things. I told her only Jesus had never done anything wrong. She considered this and told me a secret she had kept, a lie she had told to someone. I could see this lie had weighed on her sweet heart. She was sad to have done it and she was so happy that I didn’t end my friendship with her over her misbehavior.

I think that like my little friend, many of us want to think we are “good” and other people are “bad.” But the truth is we are all sinners, we are imperfect. King David thought he was a really good guy, until Nathan the prophet pointed his sin out to him. He had sinned horrifically. The sins he committed would make the headlines of every trash rag out there. He lusted after a married woman, got her pregnant, and murdered her husband. But when Nathan showed him his sinfulness, he responded with remorse. You can read all about it in 2 Samuel chapters 11 and 12. He wrote this psalm in response to his great sin. Verses 1-6 read,

“Have mercy on me, O God,
    according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
    blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
    and cleanse me from my sin!


3 For I know my transgressions,
    and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
    and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you may be justified in your words
    and blameless in your judgment.
5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
    and in sin did my mother conceive me.
6 Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,
    and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart”


We are all sinners because we are broken and imperfect. We were born sinners because that is the nature of man. But we do not have to remain in that faulty state. Like David, we can turn to our God, He is merciful. He doesn’t have to be merciful and forgiving. He chooses to be merciful and forgiving because He loves us unconditionally. Only God can make us righteous. Only He can remove the stain of sin from our souls. Giving all our money to the poor won’t make us good. Healing a million lepers won’t make us righteous. It is God who we have sinned against. Any hurt we have done to any person is a sin against the Lord. He loves that person we hurt. He created that person. If we love God, we show it by loving the people He loves.

No one else can judge us, no one else can condemn us, and no one else can forgive us. Because everyone has sinned. Everyone has missed the mark of the image and nature of God, except God, our Savior Jesus the Christ. But by Jesus’ blood we are made clean, we are made righteous. Verses 7-12 read,

“Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
    wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
    let the bones that you have broken rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins,
    and blot out all my iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
    and renew a right spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from your presence,
    and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,

    and uphold me with a willing spirit.”

Hyssop was the plant used to sprinkle blood on the penitent who offered sin offerings and burnt offerings to The Lord. When God covers us with Jesus’ blood we are washed whiter than snow, no blemish, no blot of sin, just a pure clean new soul. God promises to make us as pure as snow is white. It is a gift, not a wage. We can’t earn it, we accept it. Isaiah 1:18 says,

“Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord:
though your sins are like scarlet,
    they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red like crimson,
    they shall become like wool.”


Not only does God completely remove our sin no matter how awful, from us and create a new heart that wants what God wants within us, He chooses never to bring our sins to mind. They do not exist to God.

David was a man after God’s own heart. He had a friendship with The Lord. He was gifted by God in so many ways. He worshipped with abandon. He wrote amazing songs and poems to the Lord. He prophesied. He was anointed with The Holy Spirit. He truly was a friend of God’s. When he sinned with Bathsheba, God didn’t end their relationship. He didn’t say, “I gotta stop hangin’ with ya, Dude. I’m taking my Holy Spirit and leavin’ ya.” He disciplined David. And because of that discipline, David became a better king, closer to God than before. And though his son died, God gave him another son, a son who would become king after him, who would be wise and who would build the Temple of the Lord. God gave David his son Solomon who would be a great legacy.

Believer, God doesn’t leave you when you sin. Can you imagine having to get re-saved whenever you sinned? You’d have to get saved a hundred times on some days. God doesn’t restore our salvation, He restores our joy over His salvation. When we sin and realize it, it hurts us to know we erred. When we repent and realize that God loves us enough to forgive every transgression we are overjoyed and grateful. That joy shows in our lives. That love cannot be contained. We are compelled to tell people about the love of The Father, the goodness of Jesus, and the jubilation of The Holy Spirit. Verses 13-15 say it this way,

“Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
    and sinners will return to you.
14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God,
    O God of my salvation,
    and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.
15 O Lord, open my lips,
    and my mouth will declare your praise.”


We want to tell everyone who they are missing out on. God doesn’t want lemmings who follow rules. He doesn’t want us to blindly follow the rituals or mindlessly utter prayers. He wants each of His beautiful children to know the exultation of life with Him. He wants us to see we are missing Him and need His wonderful mercy and magnificent grace. He wants us to know Him. Verses 16-19 say,

“For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;
    you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
    a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.


18 Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;
    build up the walls of Jerusalem;
19 then will you delight in right sacrifices,
    in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;
    then bulls will be offered on your altar.”


Jesus is not fire insurance. He lived for us, He died for us, and He rose from the dead for us. The only thig it takes to have a relationship with Him is our repentance (remorse and sorrow for our sins) and our submission to His authority over our lives. No thoughtlessly spoken or heedlessly repeated prayer will save anyone. God doesn’t want that. It is our broken and contrite heart that makes us cry out to Jesus for salvation that He wants. And when we give Him our broken heart, He makes it beautiful and clean. He aligns it with His. It is not the ritual that God wants, it is the love and gratitude behind the ritual that He appreciates. He doesn’t care if we look religious, good, or bad to the world. He cares about our soul, the truth of who we are in the heart.

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1 John 5:16-17 Sin that Leads to Death and Sin that Doesn't Lead to Death

1/22/2015

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1 John Chapter 5 Verses 16-17

Today’s passage is a complex and perplexing one. It is controversial, with people on both sides of some doctrinal argument using it to defend their discord with the church.  I want you to remember I am a lay person. I have no training in theology. But I do have the Spirit of God and I do trust His teaching.

Verses 16-17 read,

“If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that. 17 All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death.”

Okay, I get that, we are to pray for our brothers and sisters when we see them sinning and God will give them life. But if they are already our brothers and sisters aren’t they already saved? Yes. So what does John mean that God will give him life? If we back up a few verses we read about Jesus giving us eternal life and about overcoming the world and living as a testimony to Him. Eternal life not only as living eternally one day in Heaven, but living for Jesus now filled with the Spirit. It is Jesus who gives us life. He is eternal life. Eternal life is lived differently than the temporary earthly life.  Eternal life is the relationship we enjoy with God. 1 John 1:1-4 explains it this way.

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2 the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— 3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.”

 

John 5:23-24 says,

“that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.”

So in my understanding, if we see a brother sinning in a way that does not lead to death, and we ask, God will give him life. God will restore Him and bring him back to a place where he is living victoriously as a witness to the awesome power and love of God. Revelation 2:5 reads,

“Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.”

Of course that brings up the next question. What is sin that leads to death and sin that doesn’t lead to death?  Living victoriously, walking in the light or following Jesus means we have to confess our sins and repent. Repent doesn’t mean feel bad and keep sinning. It means recognizing, stopping and no longer doing it. It was when the church in Ephesus repented that they could glorify Christ the way they did when they first believed. John didn’t write to them to hide their sins, he said repent. We are not supposed to go around pretending to be perfect. We aren’t. Jesus doesn’t need to restore perfect people. We are to confess our sins to one another. 1 John 1:6-10 reads,

“If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”

If someone can’t admit to their sin, they can’t repent. If someone wants to keep practicing sin then it is leading to death. They are living like a dead person, and they may very well be. But while they claim to be a believer the life they lead is not a testimony to the greatness of God which will bring people to life in His kingdom. It is a witness to a lie and will cause people to stay away from Jesus and keep down the path of death.

If someone can’t admit to their sin, our prayers won’t restore them because until they repent, they can’t have life. Life with fellow believers means we will know one another and love one another. It means we are going to be aware of sins. That means bringing them to light. When that happens we have choices. Shame and guilt hide sin. Godly conviction leads to repentance.

In 2 Corinthians Paul wrote to the church and mentioned a letter he had written regarding terrible sin that had been practiced by some of them. He knew it would cause them sorrow but he understood how they needed that sin brought out into the light so they could respond to it. 2 Corinthians 7:9-11 reads,

“As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us.

10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. 11 For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter.”

When they repented God restored them to life. He had already forgiven them but now The Spirit worked through their repentance and caused them to mature and glorify God even more. But for those who let guilt keep them from repentance they couldn’t enjoy that discipline and restoration.

So sin that leads to death is unrepentant sin. Today, examine your heart and life. Ask the Spirit to reveal to you the practices you may have been hiding from yourself. Listen to your brothers and sisters without defensiveness and if any sin is shown to you, repent.

All sin prior to salvation leads to death. If you see someone sinning without godly remorse, if they don’t think it is wrong, then don’t point it out to them, don’t pray for their forgiveness. It may seem harsh. But John says not to ask God for them. Let God be God and do what He will with them. You keep being Jesus and walking in Him. When they reach a point of repentance, God will give them life.

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    Donna Campbell

    As I read the Bible every day, I take what God teaches me, what He says, and write it out. I then share that with you. It gives me a deeper understanding of the Word and I hope that it will encourage you as it does me, to put your love and faith into action.

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