Skip to main content

November 9 We Can Change! Alleluia!

The heart of the righteous weighs its answer, but the mouth of the wicked gushes evil. The Lord is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the righteous. ~Proverbs 15:28-29


This is what the Lord says, He who made the earth, the Lord who formed it and established it, and The Lord is His name: “Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” ~Jeremiah 33:2-3

Amazingly, because of repentance, no one is set in their course forever if they don’t want to be. In truth, because all of us were born in sin, all of us began life apart from God. When we read the proverbs above, we all begin life at the place where the wicked are. We all gush evil. We are all full of our own desires and we are often willing to go to great lengths to have those desires fulfilled.

Many of us are civil about getting what we want. The world may call us, “good,” and, perhaps by most standards we are. But God’s standard says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23). So, what the remedy? Change becomes possible when our heart begins to weigh its thoughts, desires, and words, and discovers that in truth, the person in whom it resides isn’t quite where it wants to be. This heart sees God’s standard, holiness, and wants holiness and righteousness to be the goal. The Lord will always hear that prayer and is more than willing to assist in the transformation from wickedness apart from God to righteousness, becoming Like Him instead.

“Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” That is not from a God who wants to remain distant. He wants to be fully known by all those He has created in His image. His desire, in contrast to our sinful selfish ones, is that all would call on Him and be saved. “If anyone is in Christ, he or she is a new creation. The old has gone, the new has come!” The old, the desire for our own ways that separate us from God, is gone, and the new, the desire to walk in His ways and become like Him is come.

He hears the prayer of the one who longs to repent and change. He answers that prayer with gladness, and He hears our prayers and petitions for wisdom, guidance and supply. True, we all begin life separated from Him, so Solomon’s words are true. But thanks be to God! In Christ, we are not doomed to this life of separation, because God Himself wants to draw us close to Him, through Jesus, forever.

Prayer: Father, thanks for listening! Help me hear You too and obey. Thanks for making new life possible in Jesus. Help me share that with others. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Song: Draw Me Close to You 




Comments

Popular posts from this blog

258. "Remember, Always Remember!"

Exodus 12:1-30 Key Verse: "This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord a lasting ordinance." Exodus 12:14 "Celebrate the feast of unleavened bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come." (Exodus 12:17) "And when your children ask you, "What does this ceremony mean to you?" then tell them, "It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when He struck down the Egyptians." (Exodus 12:27) The original act was an act of worship as the first true act of freedom for the people of Israel. They had been brought to Egypt by Joseph during a time of famine so that through Joseph God could preserve their lives. ( Genesis 37 , & 39-50 ) After Joseph died, however, instead of heading back to C...

August 13 What Is Fitting

It is not fitting for a fool to live in luxury—how much less for a slave to rule over princes! ~Proverbs 19:10   On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man!” Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died. ~Acts 12:21-23  Wow! Well, what in the world can there be to benefit us here? First of all, perhaps we should review the first Biblical definition of a fool, penned by no other than Solomon’s Father, David himself. “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” (Psalm 14:1 and Psalm 53:1) It is not fitting for the fool to live the blessed life. Why should they when they deny from whom all blessings flow?  King Herod was a fool. Now, just to be clear, this is not the Herod who ruled at Jesus’ birth and ordered the slaughter of the male children in Bethlehem. He ...

July 26 Time for A Wellness Check Up

This too is a grievous evil: As a man comes, so he departs, and what does he gain, since he toils for the wind? All his days he eats in darkness, with great frustration, affliction and anger. Then I realized that it is good and proper for a man to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in his toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given him—for this is his lot. Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work, this is a gift of God. He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart. ~Ecclesiastes 5:16-20  I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret to being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everythi...