The Road to Repentance - II Chronicles 32-33 and John 18:19-40
Some people say that we should not talk about being close to the Lord and far away from the Lord, because God is always right with us, and He lives in every believer. I think we can talk about being close, though, because we can live in the same house with someone and be very far from them. The closeness I am referring to is about a close relationship. It is important for us to stay close to the Lord, because that makes the road to repentance shorter and easier. Hezekiah was close to the Lord most of his life. He led the people of Judah to be faithful to God and to win great victories. However, at the end of his life, he got away from the Lord, because of pride. He had to humble himself and return to the Lord. In his case, the road to repentance was short and relatively easy. Manasseh was a whole different story. He lived a very evil life, and he led the people of Judah far from God. It was not until he was taken by hooks to Babylon that he decided to repent and turn back to God. The road to repentance for Manasseh was long and difficult, because he was so far from God. Some people operate under the assumption that they can sin and sin for a long time, and then, in a moment they can repent and everything will be restored. They do not understand this principle. The more we sin, the harder it is to get ourselves to turn back to God. It takes more pain, suffering, and time to turn us around. That is why I say the road to repentance is longer and harder.
In John 18 Peter denies Jesus 3 times. He knows he has failed his Lord. The other gospels tell us that he went out and wept. How long do you think the road to repentance was for Peter? What do you think was in his way? Was there pride or doubt? We will see later in the story. The question today is "How close are you to the Lord?" Are there sins for which you need to repent, but you are so far from God you can't make yourself go the distance and endure the difficulty of that much change? Please, don't put it off, because it will only get harder. Start down the road to repentance today, and go as far as it takes to get back to God.
Tomorrow, I intend to read II Chronicles 34-36 and John 19:1-22.
In John 18 Peter denies Jesus 3 times. He knows he has failed his Lord. The other gospels tell us that he went out and wept. How long do you think the road to repentance was for Peter? What do you think was in his way? Was there pride or doubt? We will see later in the story. The question today is "How close are you to the Lord?" Are there sins for which you need to repent, but you are so far from God you can't make yourself go the distance and endure the difficulty of that much change? Please, don't put it off, because it will only get harder. Start down the road to repentance today, and go as far as it takes to get back to God.
Tomorrow, I intend to read II Chronicles 34-36 and John 19:1-22.