Repent Small

By D’Ann Davis

“When you discipline a man with rebukes for sin, you consume like a moth what is dear to him; surely all mankind is a mere breath!”

Psalm 39:11

Little by little sin, like yeast, leavens the whole dough. Few of us make one big decision to build our lives on sin. Most of us make little decisions here and there as we increasingly harden ourselves to the Spirit’s call. Little decisions turn into big ones, and before we know it, we have built our lives around our idols.

In the midst of our sin, God is still merciful and compassionate, wishing none of us to perish (2 Peter 3:9). In His kindness He leads us to repentance, Romans 2:4 instructs. Our loving Father intervenes and disciplines us for our sins as He draws us back to Him. In this process, the psalmist tells us, He “consumes like a moth” what is dear to the sinner. What a severe mercy this is! Merciful in that He is bringing us home at all. Severe in that what we hold dear is consumed. The more we have built our lives around sin, the greater this devastation is.

One thing I try to continually preach to myself and to our ministry participants is to repent small so that we do not have to repent big. Daily repentance is painful. It is a crucifying of the flesh, a dying to self. But no daily repentance sting hurts as badly as a life dedicated to sin that must be consumed to be corrected. When we forgo our healthy relationships for sinful ones, reject time with the Lord for time with our sin, sacrifice our ministry and witness for the thrills of instant gratification, and arrange our lives in a manner conducive to our idolatry, then the rebuke and discipline required are of a far greater measure. We paint ourselves into a corner where now all ties must be cut, assets divided, phones rendered, numbers changed, jobs forfeited, areas of town avoided, or marriages devastated by disclosure. This pain can be excruciating, but it is soul-saving.

The psalmist comments on the fact that man is a mere breath. We are not God, our idols are not God, and our sinful pursuits will not last. They are not greater than God’s power to remove them or His will to redeem us from them. If we are so finite that we are a mere breath, how much more fleeting and vain is our sin! Let’s be a people who understand the folly of serving any master other than the Lord our God, Alpha and Omega. Let’s trust His hand as He removes that which keeps us from Him, even that which is dear to us. Let’s repent small that our lives might be founded on the cornerstone of Christ and not the sinking sand of sin. Let’s trust His goodness when He lovingly disciplines us, knowing that despite the pain it is for our good. He is a perfect Father who assures us, “For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and chastises every son whom He receives” Hebrews 12:6.

“Dear Lord, thank You for Your gracious hand that wounds us to heal us. Please help us repent of our sin daily that our lives might not be built around sin, but around You. Please consume that which is dear to us if it keeps us from You. Help us to trust Your hand, knowing You are good. In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.”

The Love in the Law

By Samuel Parrish

"For I find my delight in your commandments,
    which I love.
I will lift up my hands toward your commandments, which I love,
    and I will meditate on your statutes."

Psalm 119:47-48

Have you ever tried one of those “Read the Bible in a X” plans? By now, I think there is an app for every possible way through it. Some have you reading in ten different books that seamlessly work together to tell the work of God and eventually make up the whole thing. The ones I started with early in my walk with Christ were always straight through, Genesis to Revelation. I would get through the first half of Leviticus just in time to want to scream “I get it! You want them to do what you say!” and then give up. 

These yearly treks through the first 100 or so chapters of the Bible would leave me baffled when I would read other places in the text. Psalm 119, for example, is a love song about the laws of God. A song about rules. The imprints of my spiral notebook on my forehead were a pretty good indicator of how far I was away from singing about rules. 

I had seen the Northern Lights on a cold night in the Scottish isles. I had watched my sisters grow up and marry wonderful men. There were impossible healings, miraculous births, rescues from certain death, and overwhelming moments in God’s creation. Those were the things that made me want to sing. Not Leviticus. 

Sometimes though you just need to keep reading. Verse 21 says that those who forget the law are judged. 37 says that the law filters what is treasured and what is worthless. In 61, the law is comfort during times of suffering and despair. How does a bunch of rules cause so much joy in the heart of the Psalmist? If you’ve ever worked with babies, you already know the answer. 

The number one way to get a newborn to sleep is a really tight swaddle. From the outside, having your arms and legs all bundled up looks unbearable, but for that child, it is the ultimate comfort. The world is new, loud and scary, and that blanket represents safety and care. And now I think I’m just about ready to sing about Leviticus.

The newborn isn’t wrong: the world really is loud and scary. Sin in our hearts and in the world calls louder and more creatively as we journey through this life. Many of us who have chased those voices have seen first hand how empty the promises of sin are and desperately want something else. Something more. 

And we have a Father who has exceedingly and abundantly more for us if we follow him. 

In that moment, Leviticus ceases to be a list of annoying no’s and explodes into the infinitely beautiful YES of a Father who wants our best and sacrificed his son so that we would have the promise of something more. 

So, do you see love in the Law?

Is the call of obedience still a burden for you or is it the source of joy and comfort the Psalmist shows us it can be?

The same God who gave us his word wants to give us a love for it; we just need to ask. 

Hardened Sinners

By D’Ann Davis

“Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God. For the spirit of whoredom is within them, and they know not the Lord.”

Hosea 5:4

Ephraim and Israel were guilty of grievous sin against the Lord. They had exchanged the truth of God for a lie and had worshipped the creature over the Creator, much like what is described in Romans 1. Instead of being a light to other nations representing God’s holiness, love, deliverance, and sovereignty, God’s people had jumped in bed with the idols of the other nations. Throughout the book of Hosea God continually compares Israel’s idolatry to whoredom. Like an unfaithful spouse, the people had forgotten their first love.

Israel had gone so far in their sin that they were now operating under the noetic effects of sin. This effect is the distortion of thinking and hardening that happens when we sin against the Lord. The more we sin against Him, the less we see the grievous nature of it, the less godly sorrow we have, the less we care, and the more shame we feel. In our ashamed and hardened posture, we find it difficult if not seemingly impossible to return to Him. The deeper this hardening runs, the less we care about it. We find ourselves in a nasty cycle of apathy, sin, and shame. Our deeds do not permit us to return to the Lord.

We are lost without Him as it is, but when we consider the noetic effects of sin, it is a wonder any of us ever returns to Him. Thankfully though, we are loved by the God of salvation. In our worst state, He loves us still. “But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Knowing we needed a sacrifice and propitiation for our reconciliation to Him, He sent His Son Jesus to die for us, on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him and be reconciled to Him (2 Corinthians 5:18-21). God not only saves us from our sin, but He also saves us from our blindness and apathy toward the weight of that sin! He takes our hearts of stone and gives us hearts of flesh, according to Ezekiel 36, and He puts His Spirit within us that we might keep His commands. We truly serve a loving, initiating, compassionate God.

So let us know Him and seek Him while He may be found. Let us cast aside the sin that so easily entangles and run the race set before us as Hebrews 12:1 exhorts us to do. Let us surrender our sin and our apathetic understanding of it in exchange for a godly sorrow that leads to life and repentance instead of death (2 Corinthians 7:10). Let us repent of our whoredom and return to our first love.

Dear Lord, we have all sinned against You. We pray that You would continually draw us close to You and convict our hearts, that we might not be hardened toward You and Your love. Thank You for making a way for us to be reconciled to You through Jesus Christ Your Son. Restore to us the joy of our salvation oh God, that we might love and serve You all of our days. In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.

Lessons from the Prodigal – Part 3

By Ricky Chelette

“…his father saw him… and ran and embraced him and kissed him… But the father said to this servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a rung on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and lets eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.” 

Luke 15:20b-24

Have you ever been celebrated by your father, really celebrated? Can you remember a time when your dad was so overjoyed in seeing you that he beamed with pride? If that ever happened to you, it was likely a red letter day in your life. There’s something about a father’s approval and blessing that is uniquely powerful.

If you remember the first part of the prodigal story, the son has asked for and received his inheritance. He has wasted his inheritance on wild living and sensual delights. Reaching the end of himself and realizing the err of his way, he now knows that what he had was better than anything he was seeking. He repents for his sin against God and against his loving father. While he was still a long way off his father, eagerly anticipating the return of his son, sees his son making his way home. The father’s response is instructive for us as we encounter those we love who have been in the far country. The father’s example gives us at least three responses to those who on their way home: 

• Love unconditionally. Notice that father doesn’t ask for his money back, doesn’t ask for an accounting of how/where it was spent, and doesn’t lecture the son on his irresponsibility. He simply runs to his son, embraces him, and kisses him. When we love like Jesus loves we rejoice when those in disobedience choose light over darkness and good over evil. The one that was lost had found his way home. This was not a time for lecture or conjecture. He was already aware of his sin. He had already been disciplined by his Heavenly Father and experienced consequences for his actions. Now was the time for love to be demonstrated through a hug and a kiss. 

• Forgive lavishly. Forgiveness is so powerful because it always costly to the one who forgives. The father instructs his servant to kill the fattened calf and prepare a feast. Though the son had taken a significant portion of wealth from his father and wasted it on irresponsible living, the father gives even more to put on a feast. Forgiveness costs. When Jesus demonstrated his love for sinful humanity He didn’t do it by posting a sign or overlooking a misstep, He gave up His very life. 

• Give praise to God. Celebrations always have purpose and focus. There is something to be celebrated and someone to be thanked. Though the text does not explicitly indicate the praise of God, the son’s realization that his sin was first “against heaven” and the father’s statement of his son being “lost and now found,” “dead and now alive,” would give us strong indication that Jesus was intending his audience to see this family as a family of faith. When God works miracles, people of faith respond with praise and worship to the Giver of good gifts! If you read between the lines you can almost hear the praises being sung, the prayers being offered, the miraculous deeds of God being gloriously recounted. 

How are you at loving lavishly those who may have hurt you, taken something from you, or failed to live up to your expectations of them? Do you really love unconditionally or is your love based on others’ meeting your expectations?

Who is it that you need to forgive? Are you willing to pay the price or exact a price? Jesus says that we will only be forgiven to the degree that we have forgiven others (Matt. 6:14-15). 

Who gets the credit when God does the impossible? Do you praise God and celebrate His goodness or do rush in to try to see how you made a difference?

The story of the prodigal is a story of all of our lives. We have all wandered from the Father, squandered our inheritance, and have experienced the consequences of our sin. But the glorious good news of the Gospel is our Heavenly Father is watching and waiting for our slightest turn toward home. He is waiting to run to us, embrace us, and love us. He has demonstrated His love for us in that while we were still in the far country, Jesus, His only Son, would die for us (Rom. 5:8). Our sin has exacted the greatest price of forgiveness upon Him - the sacrifice of His only Son. With such magnanimous grace and forgiveness lavished upon us, how can we do any less? How can we resist such a Father - such a Savior?

Lessons from the Prodigal – Part 2

By Ricky Chelette

“But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’  And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.”

Luke 15:17-22

“But when he came to himself.” Verse 17 may be one of the most powerful verses for any individual. No one makes any progress until we take an honest look at who we are, where we are, and what we are doing. The son had been living in the far country enjoying money he hadn’t made and living a life he hadn’t earned. But pleasure never replaces people. Desperate, alone, and hungry, he was at the end of his rope. Friends who partied with him when he was buying drinks are long gone. A Jewish boy, he now competes with pigs for discarded food. He is humiliated. It is hardly the life he had once lived or imagined.

Sometimes our clearest vision comes at our darkest hour. Rarely do we appreciate what we have until it is gone. The prodigal remembered his former life - the kindness, the blessings and privilege he took for granted - and longs for what once was. No work of the father, no manipulative scheme, no well-placed word of guilt eventuated this reality. God was at work and He always is.

The prodigal realizes the gravity of his actions and their consequences. He knows against whom he has sinned and longs for reconciliation (verse 18-19). His movement is God-motivated and God-directed. Only when he realizes the spiritual significance of his actions does he know to reconcile the earthly relationships he has wounded.

Philippians 1:6 says, “that he [God] who began a good work in you will bring it to completion.” We can’t control the lives of others, but we have a Father who is faithfully working all things for good to those who love Him and are called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28). God is faithful! We have no idea how long the prodigal was in the far country. It may have been a few weeks or a few years, but however long, He was never alone and never out of the sight of God.

But don’t miss what Jesus says about the father: “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.” Great fathers pray with expectancy. The prodigal’s father allowed the wishes of his adult son, but was praying expectantly that the son would soon come home. “While he was still a long way off…” what amazing words! Do we pray with that kind of expectancy – with that kind of faith? The father knew God was at work even when he could not see God working. He kept looking with hope for His son. Good fathers not only believe God’s truth, they live it.

“His father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.” No condemnation. No judgment. No correction or even instruction. Just compassion and love. Was the father weak in his position on truth? Absolutely not. The son knew the father didn’t approve of his choices as evidenced by his acknowledgement of sin against his father. But the consequences of the son’s sinful choices were enough for the father. Instead of demanding acknowledgement of the father’s right beliefs, the father was simply compassionate and loving. Good fathers leave the conviction and judgment to God alone.

Do you know a prodigal in the far country? Can you trust God’s promises for them? Are you praying expectantly for them and their return?

Are you in the far country? What will it take for you to come to the end of yourself? Are you really willing to experience the consequences of your choices or is today the day you come to the end of yourself? Come home to the Father. He longs to embrace you, kiss you and love you as His beloved son/daughter.

Lessons from the Prodigal – Part 1

By Ricky Chelette

The story of the prodigal son is a parable of loss, love and redemption. We often think the story is only about wayward children, or a kind father; but we couldn’t be more misguided. 

We will spend the next few weeks looking at this powerful parable shared by Jesus in the Gospel of Luke 15:11-32. 

“There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.”
Luke 15:11-16

I’ve always been amazed by the beginning of this story because the son makes a serious request with no apparent resistance from the father. Simply put, he asks for his inheritance, gets it, and leaves the security and protection of his father’s home. It doesn’t take the son long to make poor choices and soon quickly depletes his inheritance on wild living. Alienated, alone, without meaningful employment, and begging for food, the son is in a new dilemma.

But notice the father’s response. Do you see it? There is none. You see the Father didn’t go where the son was. The father stayed home, looking to the horizon; praying for the return of his beloved son. 

I believe what the Lord is trying to communicate to us is the father will indeed allow us to do what it is we want to do if we insist on doing it. But when He allows us to receive what we want, he also allows us to experience the consequences of those poor choices. 

Do you really want God to give you what you desire? Is your desire in line with His will or in direct opposition to it?

If you are a parent with a child who has taken their inheritance and moved into the far country, are you willing to surrender your prodigal to the Lord’s care, knowing that He loves them even more than you do? Are you willing to allow them to experience the consequences of their actions even if those consequences result in your child competing with pigs for food? Or are you chasing them and joining them in the far country, hoping to somehow lessen the pain you know is inevitable?

The truths from this passage are sobering but sanctifying: 

• Sometimes God will give you what you want even when it is not what you need. 
• Rebellion has consequences and God allows us to experience those consequences. 
• Sometimes the bottom of the pit is the place God’s voice is the clearest.
• Good parents trust God and don’t always rescue. 

What lessons have you learned from your time in the far country?

Afraid of Heights

By Samuel Parrish

“And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.”

1 Thessalonians 5:14

A few years back, I got the opportunity to go stand on the skydeck of the newly renamed Sears Tower. There were several places where, after looking over the city of Chicago, you could walk up to an extension of the building and look straight down through the transparent floor below you. I had never been in a building that tall before and was amazed at the view. My travel companions on the other hand were not so amazed. No amount of poking or prodding could get them to stand up there with me, and so we left with our group, grabbed some deep dish pizza and went about our trip. One of them came up to me before the trip ended, and softly confronted me about my lack of patience with the group. You see, he really wanted to try out the skydeck and my nagging magnified the anxiety he was already feeling and shut him down completely. 

Paul didn’t have the Chicago skyline in mind when he wrote 1 Thessalonians, but I do think he included this warning as a way to keep people from missing out on the heights that the Lord promises us as we walk in obedience. 

Paul says in Ephesians 2 that we have been created for good works prepared before we were ever born. God has chosen you to join with him in moving his kingdom forward on Earth! He also knows that fear and uncertainty will keep us from ever doing those works and has given us some instruction on how to get going. 

Many of us just need to do something. Anything.

Paul’s instruction to the idle sounds ridiculous to many of us with schedules that keep us running from before the first cup of coffee in the morning till well after dinner. But how many of us are taking thousands of steps a day just to keep from taking that one step God is asking of us? 

Some of us are just plain scared. We see the work God has prepared and the implications of obedience in today’s world just seem too much. Be encouraged brothers and sisters! He who has begun this work promises to see it to completion. He has given us his Spirit to work in and through us, and promises to never leave us alone or betray us! 

So does this give us permission to look for all the lazy, scared, weak people in our churches and remind them of how far they have to go?

No, but it does mean we have the privilege of patiently walking with people just as Christ has shown incredible forbearance with us. God has not called us into action by reminding us of how far we have to go. He has called us through a radical outpouring of love and grace through the cross. 

“God, may you give us the eyes to see the work you have for us to do, the grace to do it with joy, and the patience to walk with others as we seek to make you known.”