Opening Prayer: Oh Lord Jesus, make me happy enough in you to
avoid sin, and wise enough in you to avoid danger, that I may always do what is
right in your sight. In your name I pray, Amen. ~Tim Keller
Scripture: Joel 2:12-148
Journal: What do you think is the purpose of
repentance? What is it designed to
accomplish within us? How is God longing
for you to return to him?
Reflection:
Martin Luther opened the Reformation by nailing the
“Ninety-five Theses” to the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. The very first of the theses stated that “our
Lord and Master Jesus Christ . . . willed the entire life of believers to be
one of repentance.”
On the surface this looks a little bleak. Luther seems to be saying Christians will
never make much progress in life. That,
of course, wasn’t Luther’s point at all. He was saying that repentance is the
way we make progress in the Christian life. Indeed, pervasive, all-of-life-repentance is
the best sign that we are growing deeply and rapidly into the character of
Jesus. Consider how the gospel affects
and transforms the act of repentance.
In “religion,” the purpose of repentance
is basically to keep God happy so he will continue to bless you and answer your
prayers. This means that religious
repentance is selfish, self-righteous, and bitter all the way to the bottom. In
the gospel, however, the purpose of repentance is to repeatedly tap into the
joy of our union with Christ to weaken our impulse to do anything contrary to
God’s heart. ~Tim Keller
Prayers
Closing Prayer: May we return to you, O God, from our many
wanderings. May we return to you, O God—each
and every day—with all our hearts. May
we return to you with fasting and mourning and weeping. May we rend our hearts, instead of our
garments, and return to you, O God.
Amen.
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