RTW July 30
Returning Home
“Return home you wayward children,” says the LORD.
Jeremiah 3:14a
My Takeaways
Something Old
Denial leads to destruction.
Something New
The proper response to sin hasn’t changed in the Old Testament and New Testament.
- Acknowledge your guilt.
- Confess your sin.
And I will give you shepherds after His own heart, who will guide you them with knowledge and understanding. Jeremiah 3:15
New Testament
- Acknowledge and Confess
If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts. 1 John 1:8-10
Something to Do
Don’t deny my sin.
“Come home to me again (3:11); Return home (3:14); Come back to me (3:22). These are the words of a merciful, loving and patient Father who will always welcome His prodigal child home. But He seeks true repentance and honesty (5:3)
“Our worship of idols on the hills and our religious orgies on the mountains are a delusion Only in the LORD our God will Israel (Mary) ever find salvation” (3:23) It is a delusion to think that anything other than the LORD will ever satisfy me. Oh, I’m so delusional!
How beautiful are the words “I will not blot you out completely” (5:18)
Stop chasing those idols! They never satisfy. One idol I am becoming aware that I chase is trusting in myself – self-sufficiency, self-knowledge, oh to be rid of self! Yikes!
Thank you Wendy for the reminder that I needed…“Imperfect progress is better than no progress at all. It’s not about perfection.”
I was drawn to the verse Jeremiah 4:30: “What are you doing, you who have been plundered? Why do you dress up in beautiful clothing and put on gold jewelry? Why do you brighten your eyes with mascara? Your primping will do you no good!….” This struck home with me and realized there are times I do this. I try to cover up my sins or make myself “look” okay on the outside. But God knows my heart. I’m not covering up anything with Him. Action steps: Stop covering up. Confess. Repent. Obey.
Oh gosh this is so good. I do this as well. He does know our hearts.