Good morning and welcome in everybody. Today we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture, but before we do that, I wanted to tell you a little story.
Ever since I was in high school, I’ve always enjoyed astronomy. I liked it so much, that I took it as an elective one year. If I remember right, I got straight A , which was a rare feat in itself! I really enjoyed the class and being able to learn about the constellations, and the many features of the moon. I’ve watched my share of cosmic events high in the evening skies, but more recently, people across this country were able to get a glimpse of a rare solar eclipse. For some it was only partial, but others got to see a full one, which concluded with the ring of fire. This celestial ring shines brightly in its brilliance when the moon completely obscures the sun behind it.
This reminds me of the Christian Life.
God wants us to be in a close loving relationship with Himself, and has sent His Son Jesus to guide us, and shine brightly in the sky. But our relationship with God’s only begotten Son can become obscured by sinful living. Sin, like the moon, can come in between us and our relationship with God. As the moon slowly passes in front of the sun, it only creates more and more darkness in our lives, clouding our ability to see the one who loves us, and the ability to find our way. But no matter how dark it gets, He leaves us a reminder that He is still there. A shining ring of fire, as He waits patiently for people to repent, so He can bring them back into His marvelous light.
“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
— 2 Peter 3:9
Sin can greatly hinder our close relationship with God. The further into sin that one gets, the further away they become from God. Sin can creep into your life like a snake, or like a slow change in the weather. It can deceive you into believing that you are doing the right thing, but the entire time be pulling you further away from God. You might not notice it right away, but slowly the light around you will begin to dim, fooling you into believing the philosophies of this world rather than the truth. Sin is extremely deceitful, as the devil provokes, and tempts us to follow his way rather than the way of Christ. The further off of the narrow path that you wander, the wider and darker the road will eventually become. But during those times, God is patiently waiting for men to come to their senses and repent.
“Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”
— Isaiah 55:7
In order to return to a close relationship with God, one must turn away from those things that displease Him. To forsake means to walk away from something, or give it up completely. Sin will guide us the wrong way, and like the prodigal son, we must return home, to the way of the Lord. When we do, we will find God’s mercy waiting on the other side.
“For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.”
— 1 Peter 2:25
Our God is a kind and loving God, but sin is the manifestation of everything that He is not. Our God cares for us greatly, and sent Jesus as a propitiation for our sins, but this was for the purpose of creating new creatures. In the very beginning, God created man after His own image, but this was according to the flesh. The Lord Jesus was sent, that by the grace of God we could be made according to His Spiritual image. The Lord Jesus has always pleased the heavenly Father, as a perfect example of how we ought to live our lives. He is without sin, and we also should live our lives in the same manner. To attain this level of perfection, every man must turn from his wicked ways, and humbly return to God.
“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”
— 2 Chronicles 7:14
Sin causes estrangement from God, which is the same thing that happened in the garden of Eden. It causes a break in the close relationship that we once had with Him. God hates sin and the further that people get involved with it, the further they distance themselves from God. Sin doesn’t just close off our relationship with God, but with others around us. There are so many downsides to sin, that one would think that you would never get involved with it in the first place. It is so bad that if one continues down that path, God will not even hear their prayer.
“If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:”
— Psalms 66:18
To find our way back to God, repentance is required. It is to step back and examine your own life, and changing your attitude about the way that you are living your life. It begins by recognizing the error of your way, and humbly seeking God with a contrite and penitent heart.
“The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.”
— Psalms 34:18
“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”
— Psalms 51:17
To find forgiveness with God, we must first take steps in a different direction. Our hearts need to change, and become physically broken in His presence.
James 4
⁷ Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸ Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. ⁹ Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. ¹⁰ Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
We must humbly confess our faults unto God, admitting the error of our way.
Jeremiah 3
¹² Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the LORD, and I will not keep anger for ever.
¹³ Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD.
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
— 1 John 1:9
Sin is a wretched and evil thing, because it places a wall between us and our relationship with God. In order to walk in perfect love with Him, we need to abide in His Word. In humble submission, we must accept the error of our way, because it is only then that He can take us back from the darkness, into the light.
Repentance is the message to this sinful world, and that God is waiting for every man to turn from their sins. Perhaps you will remember this, the next time that you have the opportunity to gaze upon His…..
……Ring of Fire
Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody. ❤️
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