3/13/18
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the three-year lectionary.
Why is it so hard for us to get the idea of pursuing the things that God says we need to pursue? Christians confess that God’s ways are holy and right. So why are we so ready to run away from God’s commands?
Jeremiah 31:33 says that God will write his teaching on the hearts of his people. He’ll give them a conscience that would not want to depart from His will. This should make us ready to keep the covenant God has established with us.
The question remains. Why are we so ready to run away from God’s commands? If we are trying to do them by our own strength, it’s easy to understand how we would fail. But the Christian confesses that God lives inside him.
We are so ready to run away from God’s commands because we do still have a sinful nature living within us. That will provoke all sorts of sin. And it’s a real situation, a genuine problem. It’s very hard to overcome our nature, our desires, our native inclinations. There’s no doubt about that.
I wish I had a deep and lasting solution. Yes, we certainly need to dedicate ourselves daily to God’s holiness. Yes, we need to try to mean it when we pray, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” And we need to ask that the Lord would do his will in us as well.
As long as we are living this earthly life, though, we are going to depart from God’s covenant. We are going to find ourselves in sin. That’s why the idea of confession and forgiveness are so very precious. We are not excused from God’s demands of righteousness. But we are promised that when we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleans us from all unrighteousness. This is the good news of Jeremiah 31:33. May the Lord put his teaching on our hearts and in our lives.
If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the three-year lectionary.
Why is it so hard for us to get the idea of pursuing the things that God says we need to pursue? Christians confess that God’s ways are holy and right. So why are we so ready to run away from God’s commands?
Jeremiah 31:33 says that God will write his teaching on the hearts of his people. He’ll give them a conscience that would not want to depart from His will. This should make us ready to keep the covenant God has established with us.
The question remains. Why are we so ready to run away from God’s commands? If we are trying to do them by our own strength, it’s easy to understand how we would fail. But the Christian confesses that God lives inside him.
We are so ready to run away from God’s commands because we do still have a sinful nature living within us. That will provoke all sorts of sin. And it’s a real situation, a genuine problem. It’s very hard to overcome our nature, our desires, our native inclinations. There’s no doubt about that.
I wish I had a deep and lasting solution. Yes, we certainly need to dedicate ourselves daily to God’s holiness. Yes, we need to try to mean it when we pray, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” And we need to ask that the Lord would do his will in us as well.
As long as we are living this earthly life, though, we are going to depart from God’s covenant. We are going to find ourselves in sin. That’s why the idea of confession and forgiveness are so very precious. We are not excused from God’s demands of righteousness. But we are promised that when we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleans us from all unrighteousness. This is the good news of Jeremiah 31:33. May the Lord put his teaching on our hearts and in our lives.
If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.
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