When God gives us what we want

Well, I allowed the business of the season to distract me from the real meaning of Christmas – God with us. Although I have gone through the motions of time with God, because I was tired it was not deep or life-giving time. I knew I was sliding away from God, and this past week I have gotten back on track. It was wonderful yesterday during the sermon at church to learn something new! To me that is a sign that I have put God first again. When my walk with God is stale, I don't see new things in His Word. It is same old, same old – dry, stale, and lifeless.

Our congregation continues to work through The Story, a novelized version of the Bible showing God's story of His endless pursuit of the people He loves. We just looked at the story of Samuel and the establishment of a human king over Israel.

God wanted to raise up a nation that would be so different from the people around them that those people would see His power and His blessings and they would want to know this God of the Israelites. Part of the difference was that God, Himself, was their king. But, the Israelites felt like that wasn't working.

Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah,and said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.”( 1Sam 8:4-5)

The Israelites wanted to be just like the neighbouring nations. They thought they were missing out on something. (Hmm, that sounds like many Christians today. God wants us to be different, but we want to enjoy the same things that everyone around us enjoys.)

God was disappointed that His people were rejecting Him as their king. He had His prophet Samuel warn the people what it would mean to have a human king over them.

So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who asked him for a king.
And he said, “This will be the behaviour of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen, and some will run before his chariots. He will appoint captains over his thousands and captains over his fifties,will set some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers. And he will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants. He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage, and give it to his officers and servants. And he will take your male servants, your female servants, your finest young men, and your donkeys, and put them to his work. He will take a tenth of your sheep. And you will be his servants. And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the Lord will not hear you in that day.”

Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, “No, but we will have a king over us,that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.” (1Sam 8:10-20)

So God had Samuel anoint Saul as king. Here is the resume of that king:

There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of power. And he had a choice and handsome son whose name was Saul. There was not a more handsome person than he among the children of Israel. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people. (1Sam 9:1-2)

This is where I started to learn something new. Saul's resume was that his father was powerful and that he was tall and handsome. This is what the people wanted – a king who looked “kingly.” They were not interested in the king's character or relationship with God, they wanted a king who looked the part.

Saul's kingship was a sad story. I had always wondered why the first king God had selected was such a failure. God gave the people the king they wanted – not the best person for the job! Sometimes God will give us what we pray for (what we pester Him for), even when it is not good for us or His kingdom.

The people wanted a king just like the other nations, so they got a tall and handsome man who did not obey the Lord and who became prideful in his own eyes. He failed miserably as a king. Then God had Samuel go and anoint another king, a “man after His own heart.” (1Sam 13:14)

God sends Samuel to the house of Jesse of Bethlehem to anoint one of his sons as the future king of Israel. When Samuel sees Jesse's oldest

“he looked at Eliab and said, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him!" But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." (1Sam 16:6-7)

Samuel had fallen into the same trap as the people of Israel, thinking that tall and handsome makes for a good king. After showing the people that their idea of a king was horribly wrong, He chooses David, a teenage sheep herder who doesn't look outwardly like a king. It is through David that the future Messiah would come – the ultimate fulfilment of all the blessings and promises of God.

The first king of Israel was such a mess-up because God gave the people what they wanted. God didn't make a poor choice for the first king, rather He let the people have what they pestered Him for. It is in King David that we see what kind of king God wants us to have. A king who's first love is God Almighty.

It is Christmas. In North America a HUGE part of the celebration includes lavish gift-giving to those who already have so much. It is a time where the commercials promote and feed greed. The lines between need and want become so blurred. As God's people are we going to be just like everyone around us, or are we going to be different?

Heavenly Father, thank you so much for Christmas! Thank you so much for the incredible privilege of knowing You! As we celebrate the birth of your Son, we also give gifts to others. However, it has become a celebration of consumerism rather than a celebration of Your gift of salvation. You gave us what we desperately needed. We give to satisfy wants. Help us to find the right balance between giving to show love, and giving to satisfy greed. It is a hard balance because we have adopted the culture around us. Help us to give to those who NEED our gifts, just as we NEED Your gift of Jesus. Let our celebration of Jesus' birth not look just like the celebrations of those around us who don't even know You. As we celebrate Christmas may we find ways to give others the ultimate Christmas gift – the gift of a relationship with Your Son.

It is in His name and to Your glory I pray. Amen.

Too busy

Once again I find life too busy.  This is a busy season for us all.  We need to make sure that we do not lose the important with the urgent.  God must be our number one priority in this busy time of year.  We celebrate the Saviour's birth with so much business and materialism that we forget what the true meaning of Christmas is all about!

Christmas is about the birth, the death, and the resurrection of our Saviour!

Prayer of St. Francis

This image has receive many hits, so I thought I would share it again.  St. Francis' prayer describes the heart of what Jesus came to do in our lives.  Christmas is not about material gifts, but gifts of character, compassion, peace, and hope,

Christmas Giving

Christmas in North America is a special time of giving. All the stores are advertising Christmas deals that you "can't miss."  We give so much that the average Canadian spends $800 on Christmas gifts. I know I have given gifts to my boys that I thought they really wanted, and that I believed would also enrich their lives. A month or two later they were forgotten. The money was wasted – in so many ways.

Christ taught that it is more blessed to give than receive, so what is wrong with our gift-giving traditions? We are giving to the wrong people! We spend hundreds of dollars giving gifts to people who are already among the richest in the entire world! We are so concerned with the treasures of this world, which are here today and gone tomorrow. The Bible's message is so different!

He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward him for what he has done. (Pr 19:17)

Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so they may take hold of the life that is truly life. (1Ti 6:17-19)

Don't try to ignore this passage by saying you are not “rich.” If you are reading this, that means you have education and access to a computer. That already makes you wealthier than most of the people in this world. You are rich. If you have a house over your head and a full stomach, you are richer than the millions that will go to bed hungry in a shelter that doesn't keep out the elements.We are to be rich in good deeds (are you too busy to consider the poor this season?).  We are to be generous and willing to share. I don't think Paul means just passing around the wealth from one wealthy person to another. When we live of life characterized by giving generously to those in need, we lay up treasure in heaven.

This is a live chart of statistics available at http://www.stopthehunger.com/

7,081,262,322	current total world population
905901347	undernourished people in the world right now
1,566,326,767	overweight people in the world right now
522,108,923	obese people in the world right now
17,182	people who died of hunger today
10,096,900	people who died of hunger this year

We like to live like the proverbial ostrich with our heads in the sand. I challenge you to look around you this Christmas season and see beyond your traditions and your materialism and take a look at what Jesus really meant by giving. Jesus quoted from Isaiah 61 when He stated why He had come.

The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. (Lk 4:18-19)

It is a disgrace to Christ that those of us who claim the name Christian should spend so much on ourselves, and leave the needs of the poor completely unmet! Do we spend more on our Christmas gifts than on the priorities of Jesus? How much do we spend on reaching the lost? There are over a billion people who have never even heard the name of Jesus one time, and we celebrate His birth in gluttony and materialism.

Please watch this video from Gospel for Asia that puts things into perspective.

Forgotten Christmas

Dear Father,

As I put this study together, I am appalled at my own misplaced priorities. For many years I have been among the North American poor, yet I have always had food and shelter. I would try to give my children as many gifts as I could – usually from second-hand stores, but I had bought into the lie that they needed “things” to be happy. Please forgive me, Father. Please help me to adopt your priorities this Christmas season. Please help those who read this blog post to re-evaluate their own traditions and priorities. As your ambassadors, we have mismanaged your resources. Please forgive us. Please show us what specific needs You want each one of us to focus on this Christmas season. Please give us hearts that seek to build up treasures in heaven rather than building our own kingdoms here on earth. May Your name be praised in our words and our actions this Christmas season.

Amen.

Happy American Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

to all my American friends.

Today's post is by a guest author -- my pastor, Shawn Ketcheson.  He is a great man of God -- willing to preach the hard truths of Scriptures, yet (or because of that) full of the abundant life Jesus came to bring.  He is humble, willing to share openly about his mistakes and brokenness.  He is having a tremendous impact on those around him as he calls us all to bring the Good News to those who have not heard.

This is a newsletter that Shawn sent out prior to Canadian Thanksgiving.

My Dear Friends:
Happy Thanksgiving everyone.  I’m looking out my office window at home and comparing the colors of the leaves on the trees here to the colors of the leaves on the trees in the banner above.  There isn’t a lot of difference.  The colors are amazing in both.   Isn’t God incredible.  So much to be thankful for.   We thank God for food in a world where many go without.  We thank God for friendship in a world where many walk alone.  We thank God for hope in a world where many walk without faith.  And we thank God for safety in a world where many live in fear.  We are so blessed.  Lots to say thanks for.
Do you always feel thankful?   Are you always thankful?  Do you always appreciate what you have?  I know I don’t.  Sometimes I really don’t feel all that thankful.   When I don’t feel thankful, I remind myself of how fortunate I am in comparison to others and, I rediscover that thankful heart.   I remind myself that I have a loving supportive wife, when some people are in  relationships that are falling apart.   I remind myself that I have awesome children who are fun to hang out with.  I remind myself that I am a part of an incredible church family in a world where many have no faith family.  Is this a “Biblical” approach to Thanksgiving?    Should our thanksgiving be dependent on our having “more” of whatever than somebody else?  Today I am feeling a bit guilty for this approach to being thankful.  Doesn’t it seem rather shallow to be dependent on the miss fortunes of others to have a thankful heart.   Do I need to go a tad deeper?  I think so.
On Sunday we will look at the standing orders of the Gospel.   Here they are,  “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).   These are called “standing orders” because they apply to every Christian in every situation.  The Greek makes this very clear because these imperatives are all in the present tense. You could translate it “continually rejoice, continually pray, and continually give thanks.”

This is a great challenge, isn’t it?  After all, we would have no problem if the text said,

“Rejoice sometimes”
“Pray occasionally”
“Give thanks when you feel like it.” 

 It’s the modifiers that trip us up:

“Always.”
“Continually.”
“In all circumstances.”

Want to know if your faith is genuine?  It is not your ability to memorize verses or judge and correct others that proves your faith is genuine.  Your faith is the real deal when your heart leads you to rejoice, pray and give thanks, in all situations.   If we only rejoice and give thanks when there is  money in the bank, when the marriage is good, when the deal goes through, when the doctor says, “You don’t have cancer,” when the kids are doing well, when the church is growing and your friends are glad to see you; if that’s the only time you give thanks then our faith is extremely shallow.  If we are not “rejoicing always”, “praying continually” and being “thankful in all circumstances”;  then our faith is shallow, even if we are quoting Scripture, serving, and tithing.  

How do we give thanks when our hearts are broken? How do we give thanks when we are confused? How do we give thanks when we are angry at what sin has done in the world?  I came upon an amazing list this past week addressing the issue of  “Thanksgivings”.  We will focus on this list on Sunday.  In the midst of all we can give thanks because of these truths:

God is sovereign.
Nothing happens by chance.
God causes all things to work together for good for his children.
That hard times reveal our weakness, break our pride, and show us our total need for God.
That God has triumphed over sin and death through his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
That God uses the worst that happens to promote our spiritual growth.
That God is faithful even when we are faithless.
That God’s Word will be vindicated.
That God’s promises are true.
That evil will not reign forever.
That heaven is real.


At the beginning of the message on Sunday, Shawn shared a video clip challenging our gratitude in compairison to those who face incredible hardships.  We were all moved by the video.  Then came the real challenge.  Would we still feel as grateful if the clip showed a compairison of our lives to that of the wealthy? Ouch.  If our gratitude is only valid when compared to what someone else has or experiences, it is shallow gratitude and will fail us when our circumstances change.



Shawn also gave us each this incredible list of things we can be grateful for regardless of our circumstances. This is worth meditating on whether you are celebrating Thanksgiving this weekend or not.

We can all be thankful and joyful when there are no health, money or relationship issues. God calls us to be thankful and joyful in all circumstances.  “All”.  How is this possible? Thanksgiving and joy comes from the following truths:

That God is sovereign.

That nothing happens by chance.

That God causes all things to work together for good for his children.

That hard times reveal our weakness, breaks our pride, and shows us our total need for God.

That God has triumphed over sin and death through his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

That God uses the worst that happens to promote our spiritual growth.

That God is faithful even when we are faithless.

That God’s Word will be vindicated.

That God’s promises are true.

That evil will not reign forever.

That heaven is real.

That this world is not the “real” world.

That when we are weak, he is strong.

That his grace is sufficient for every situation.

That nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

That our salvation rests on God and not on us.

That there is no pit so deep that the love of God is not deeper still.

That the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from every sin.

That God delights to save sinners.

That the Lord can soften the hardest heart.

That there are no impossible cases with God.

That even when we feel alone, we are never alone.

That our Father will not test us beyond what we can bear.

That the Holy Spirit abides with us always.

That the Lord Jesus feels our pain.

That the Holy Spirit prays for us when we are too weak to pray for ourselves.

That the Lord Jesus intercedes for us so that we are finally saved.

That God uses everything and wastes nothing.

That our doubts cannot cancel God’s work in us.

That someday we will be conformed to the image of Christ.

That God is faithful to finish his work in us.

That our hardships equip us to minister to others.

That we are invited to come boldly to the throne of grace.

That God’s plan far exceeds our puny imagination.

That weeping endures for a night, but joy comes in the morning.

That we are still God’s children even when our faith falters.

That while we suffer outwardly, we are being renewed inwardly.

That our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal weight of glory.

“Thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live” (MSG).

I like that phrase “no matter what happens” 

because it perfectly describes life in a fallen world.

Thank you Pastor Shawn for your love for God and for people.
God has gifted you to be a blessing to so many.

Don't come empty-handed

As a church we are going through The Story, which is a novelized version of the Bible. It contains NIV Biblical text in chronological order with some transitions to connect the accounts into one magnificent story. It does leave out some of the Biblical text, so I have been trying to read the full account as I prepare to lead and support in my small group studies.

As I read the accounts of God giving the Law to Moses, a line jumped out at me.

Ex 23:15 “No one is to appear before me empty-handed.”

I didn't quite know what to make of that, as we often say in Christian circles that we have nothing to offer God. I decided to go on, but 11 chapters later, there it was again!

Ex 34:20 “No one is to appear before me empty-handed.”

It jumped out at me and almost clobbered me on the head. God was clearly trying to get my attention. I still didn't know what to do with the verse, so I prayed about it. And, as usual for me, God answered me with Scripture.

We have looked at this before. Jesus shares parables to help us understand a spiritual truth.

(Lk 14:28-34) “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.' Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.

The verses in Exodus still apply today. Just as a king surrenders to the stronger king, with no conditions, we are to come to God surrendering everything. God wants me to challenge the Christian notion that we come to Jesus empty-handed. Rather than with empty hands, Jesus calls us to come to Him with absolutely everything we have and everything we are. We are to hold nothing back, not a habit, not a relationship, not a house, not a job, not anything! We are to bring everything to God, or He doesn't want us to come at all.

No one is to appear before God empty-handed. Is that how you have come to Christ – offering nothing? Take time today to meditate on the Scripture above and come before God offering everything. It will transform your relationship with God, and He in turn, will transform your life!

Father, there is some truth to the idea that we come before you with nothing to offer. You do not need anything we have. You prefer to use the weak rather than those with strengths, because Your power shines through our weaknesses. However, You spoke to me very clearly through Your Word. No one is to appear before You empty-handed. Although You do not need what we offer You, we need to give it up. Whatever we hang onto in this life holds us back from knowing You and serving You fully. Please help each one of us to recognize what we are holding onto today. Give us the desire and the conviction to offer it up to You today. We praise You and worship You, for You are holy and righteous and loving and compassionate. We fall to our knees in wonder and amazement that You want a relationship with us! You want a deep intimate relationship with each person reading this. Thank you that You are not a distant God, but rather our Father. In the name of You Son, Jesus, Amen

Depression Talk

I have been working, fasting and praying to put together a talk on depression for our Ladies' Breakfast.  Well, the breakfast was today, and God blessed many people through what I was able to share.  My written version of the talk is much longer than a regular post, so I am going to send you to a link. Please share it with others who may benefit.

Depression Talk Nov 3, 2012

Inconvenient Truth about your Halloween Chocolate

Please follow this link to an article about extensive child labour in the chocolate industry.  It is shocking, disgusting, and we can't stand by and blissfully enjoy our chocolate at the expense of children who will never have a childhood.


The Inconvenient Truth about your Halloween Chocolate

Depression

It is becoming clear that I keep taking on more than I can handle.  It has been another very busy week that has left me exhausted.  Once again, this blog has suffered.  Please pray that God will help me to prioritize my commitments according to His will -- and that I will listen and obey!

Right now, I am preparing to share a message on depression at a Ladies' Breakfast this coming Saturday.  Since I don't have a blog post ready, I am sharing some of the introduction to my message.

 Depression

Why am I talking on such a difficult subject this morning?

There is a deep shame associated with depression – and that shame is magnified in the church.

I have dealt with depression for 35 years – over 25 years of that battle has been as a Christian.

I have always been open about my depression. As a result, I have been told many horrible things by Christians – some well-meaning, others simply self-righteous and judgemental. I have also talked with many Christians who are terrified that anyone will find out that they are taking antidepressants. A pastor friend of mine was told by one of his superiors never to talk about depression from the pulpit.

I am discussing this topic this morning because it is past time for this veil of shame to be removed! People dealing with depression and other mental health issues need compassion and healing instead of shame and abuse! I don't want others to go through the pain I have been through – pain magnified because those from whom I sought help did not understand depression and suicide.

2 years ago I was in a place closer to suicide than ever before as a Christian. All hope was gone. The people in my life who I had hoped would help me, thought I needed a strong hand. I didn't. My life circumstances were extremely difficult, and I didn't know how to cope. 

 I was a single mom with two boys on the autism spectrum. The oldest (about 16) was constantly being sent home from school as he was too aggressive to be there. Meltdowns – similar to temper tantrums --were common over very little things. One child's meltdown would trigger a meltdown in the other. These meltdowns would often last 45 minutes. They were filled with verbal and sometimes physical aggression, tears, cowering in fear, and the worst had Caleb responding to imaginary voices. 

My brother moved in with us, and for many reasons this escalated the stress and the meltdowns at that time. I also face health issues which include chronic fatigue. I was trying to get help with the home situation, and was given advice from people who had no clue what my life was really like. 

Please don't give life-circumstance advice if you really haven't seen or experienced what that person is going through. Advice that works in many, or even most situations, doesn't work in every situation. My extreme hopelessness was intensified by advice that I could not follow-through on. 

I was belittled and accused of making excuses, when the reality was that my stress-load was so high, and had been for way too long. Something “simple” to this person was truly impossible for me at that point in my life. At this point, my son also became suicidal and I was accused of giving him that idea. I tried very hard to hide my depression and my suicidal thoughts from my children. Since this person thought my depression was attention-seeking behaviour, he thought my son was imitating this attention-seeking. So, when I asked for help because my son was suicidal and his brother was frantic over the situation, I was told to go to a parenting workshop.

This person was well-meaning. Probably very frustrated with me. However, the “help” dramatically increased my hopelessness.

I had to take some time away from the kids and work on some strategies while the stress-load was removed. However, things didn't really improve until my oldest moved in with his dad and the stress-load decreased for the entire family.

I want to talk about several myths that surround depression. I want to share truths from the Scriptures, and I want to share some tools to help deal with depression – both as someone dealing personally with depression and for those with a loved one dealing with depression.First, I want to try to give you a glimpse into the mind of someone dealing with depression.

Waking up depressed is excruciatingly painful. The living darkness surrounds me, oppresses me, consumes me, filling me with negativity and despair. The darkness devours all hope, all dreams, all sense of worth. My eyes and ears are covered with scales that filter everything coming in, allowing only darkness to enter. No light can get to my mind, my emotions, my faith. 

Well rehearsed tapes of my failures and worthlessness play over and over. “You can't do anything right. You never will get it right. Your boys would be so much better off without you. No one would miss you if you were gone – in fact they would be happier if you and your depression were never heard from again. You think God will rescue you – well, we both know how disappointed He is with you. You have failed Him too many times already. You are worthless. You are a failure. You are ugly in body and soul and no one will ever love you. Your life causes more pain than good.” over and over and over with slight variations in content, but no variation in the overall message.

Anything someone says is twisted by this darkness. Professions of love or a desire to help are translated as pitiful attempts to get me to stop my depression because my depression is inconvenient for that person. Reminders of good in my life just can't get through the scales on my eyes and ears.

I want to share a couple of prayers that I wrote in times of depression – I have connected them together.

Dear Father, I look forward to a time when I will not start every prayer with a comment on how messed up I am! Right now I am finding it difficult to believe that I will ever see that time. I hate my depression and I hate myself for not stopping it. I hate my inability to change. The depressions are getting deeper and more frequent. How much of that is chemical imbalance and how much is my sin? Each depression pulls me further away from you. Each depression cancels work accomplished for you, and thus gets me more depressed! I have messed up so much that I find it difficult to pray. As my walk with you deteriorates, so do my relationships with Christians. I am so afraid that my depression will destroy my relationship with Wayne too. I hate the depression, yet it robs me of the ability to pray or read, it robs me of the power to overcome.

I am definitely still down. Instead of having a godly sorrow that leads to repentance, I am still hearing the demons telling me that I can’t change. That you hate disobedience and pride more than any other sin and that I’ve failed yet again. I am totally discouraged, aware that I am the problem in my own life. Back to the feelings I had as a suicidal teenager. I’m the one constant in every problem in my life. Right now I feel like there is too much to change. My faith is very weak and I don’t even know what hope is anymore. Absolutely everything is overwhelming – the dishes, the laundry, cooking, facing the boys when they come home from school.

Depression is far more than a pity-party.  It has a physical component -- a chemical imbalance -- just like diabetes or thyroid disease.  I'll post the rest of my message after I present it on Saturday.


If you live in the Ottawa area, I invite you to come to the breakfast at 9am Saturday, Nov.3.  It will be at Trinity Bible Church, 4101 Stagecoach Rd., Osgoode.  click here for more info.

Repentance

On October 4, my post was entitled the Keys to the Kingdom. In that post we looked at the first ever gospel message, preached by the Apostle Peter on Pentecost. Jesus had given Peter the Keys to the Kingdom of heaven, and Peter used those keys to show us how to get into heaven. Peter responded to those who were cut to the heart by his message with the instructions to:

“Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call.” (Acts 2:38-39)

As the Bible records, the keys to the kingdom of heaven require us

1. to be cut to the heart by our sin and what Jesus did on the cross to redeem us
2. to repent
3. to be baptized for the forgiveness of sin

Let's look at repentance. Many people think repentance is just feeling sorry about your sin. That is part of being “cut to the heart.” Feeling sorry is not repentance.

In the New Testament, [repentance] does not merely mean “change of mind” (as some have gathered from the Greek term); it reflects the Old Testament and Jewish concept of “turning around” or “turning away' from sin. Jewish people were to repent whenever they sinned; the New Testament uses the term especially for the once-for-all turning a Gentile would undergo when converting to Judaism or any sinner would undergo when becoming a follower of Jesus.^*

I've heard repentance described as “making a 180.” Turn your life around in a completely different direction – the direction that God calls you to go.

To show that repentance meant more than just feeling sorry or having a change of mind, let's look at the first call to repentance in the New testament.

Then [John] said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. (Lk 3:7-8 NKJV)

John the Baptist tells us that we need to bear fruits of repentance. There must be action that accompanies repentance. A Christian heritage or a Christian ceremony is not enough. Feeling sorry is not enough. We must turn away from sin and this turning will produce fruits – actions or results – of repentance.

Prayer: Father, we know we are sinners. It is our sin, it is my sin, that sent Jesus to the cross. That burdens my heart, and I know it burdens the hearts of many who read this. Please help us to respond to that burden with repentance. Let our lives be different today because we love Jesus. Show us the areas of our lives that need to change. Give us the strength and power to make that change. Thank you so much that Jesus went to the cross! Thank you that He led a sinless life so that we could have an example, and so that He could be the perfect sacrifice for our sins. Help us to imitate Him out of a deep love and gratitude. Please help us, please help me, not to belittle His sacrifice by clinging to our sin and our excuses. In the precious name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

*The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, Craig S. Keener, InterVarsity Press, 1993.