The Daily Fountain Daily Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 17 August 2020 – Call To Genuine Repentance
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TOPIC: Call To Genuine Repentance
Read: Zechariah 1:1-6 (NKJV)
- In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,
- “The LORD has been very angry with your fathers.
- “Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Return to Me,” says the LORD of hosts, “and I will return to you,” says the LORD of hosts.
- “Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets preached, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Turn now from your evil ways and your evil deeds.” ‘ But they did not hear nor heed Me,” says the LORD.
- “Your fathers, where [are] they? And the prophets, do they live forever?
- Yet surely My words and My statutes, Which I commanded My servants the prophets, Did they not overtake your fathers? “So they returned and said: ‘Just as the LORD of hosts determined to do to us, According to our ways and according to our deeds, So He has dealt with us.’
THE MESSAGE:
Zachariah the Prophet came from the Tribe of Levi and this qualified him for two offices: He was both priest and a prophet. He had a mandate of reminding the Jews who returned from exile in Babylon what had happened to their forefathers which led to their captivity and the destruction of the temple. He also told them the plan of God for the remnants, those who had returned to Jerusalem with him and his companions (verse 1). Prophet Zechariah in our text, encourages the Israelites to return to the Lord their God. The word “return” here means genuine repentance, to forsake their evil ways and practices and not to walk on the path that their forefathers walked which led them to the Babylonian’s captivity (verse 4).
God promises that if we repent and forsake our evil ways and practices, He is just and righteous to forgive and to cleanse us of our sins. Like the Israelites, you also need to repent of all your wicked ways in order to enjoy your fellowship with God. You cannot experience the benefits of becoming God’s child and the joy of walking with Him without confessing and repenting of your sin genuinely (1 John 1:6). Sin always cuts people off from God’s glory and robs them of their blessings, thereby making them miserable. God is calling you to turn and submit to Him completely in order to enjoy freshness from His presence (Acts 3:19).
PRAYER: Dear Father, forgive all my shortcomings and cleanse me by the Blood, in Jesus’ name. Amen
