The Daily Fountain Daily Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 22 October 2019 – Call To Repentance
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TOPIC: Call To Repentance
READ: Jeremiah 31:15-26 King James Version (KJV)
15 Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not.
16 Thus saith the LORD; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the LORD; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy.
17 And there is hope in thine end, saith the LORD, that thy children shall come again to their own border.
18 I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the LORD my God.
19 Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth.
20 Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a pleasant child? for since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the LORD.
21 Set thee up waymarks, make thee high heaps: set thine heart toward the highway, even the way which thou wentest: turn again, O virgin of Israel, turn again to these thy cities.
22 How long wilt thou go about, O thou backsliding daughter? for the LORD hath created a new thing in the earth, A woman shall compass a man.
23 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; As yet they shall use this speech in the land of Judah and in the cities thereof, when I shall bring again their captivity; The LORD bless thee, O habitation of justice, and mountain of holiness.
24 And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and in all the cities thereof together, husbandmen, and they that go forth with flocks.
25 For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.
26 Upon this I awaked, and beheld; and my sleep was sweet unto me.
THE MESSAGE:
The Lord passionately calls on His children (Ephraim) to repent of their sins and return to Him. God caused them to weep and mourn as a result of their sins (verse 15). While His children (Ephraim) are in tears and pain, God’s expectation of them is that they should acknowledge that they have been like an unruly calf for which they have been disciplined, be ashamed and repent in tears to be restored (verses 18-19). This is God’s expectation of us whenever we fall into sin. We must bow our heads in shame like the publican/tax collector who could not look up to heaven (Luke 18:13). In other words, we must know the sin(s) we are repenting of, and specifically mention it (them) to the Lord. We must not hide under the cover of the General Confession in our divine services without our hearts going to specific sin(s) to confess before God.
While we remain in sin, we are in captivity and it is God’s desire we do not stay there long but be brought back so that we can be a blessed people (verses 22-24). Why should we remain in captivity of sin when the Lord wants to set us free? It is for this reason He sent His only begotten Son into the world (John 3:16). He assures us that when we come to Him with our multitude of sins, He will not drive us away (John 6:37). We are warned to seek the LORD while he may be found, and call upon him while he is near (Isaiah 55:6).
PRAYER: Dear Father, grant that I will ever take Your call to repentance seriously in Jesus Name. Amen.
