We All Make Mistakes

Joel 2:25a, “and I will restore”.

Our God is a God of restoration. Yes, He will chasten us for disobedience and bad behavior, but because of His grace and mercy, He is eager to restore His children to fellowship, and a place of blessing. He does this over and over in our lives.

Paul wrote in Romans 5:20, “Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound”.  Everyone makes mistakes in life. There is the seed of rebellion in each of us. Paul said in Romans l7, “in my flesh dwelleth no good thing”. There is a 100% chance we will fail the Lord over and over again, not because we want to, but because “the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41).

When you read the Old Testament, you will discover that the Israelites failed to follow God’s instructions repeatedly. They were chastened by the Lord for their rebellious ways, but when the prophets prophesied against them, they gave them a message of HOPE as well. Read Joel 2:23-27, the context for our text today, “I will restore”. This is typical of the mercies of God. He reminded His people of better days when they turned from their seasons of rebellion.

Another example of this is found in Jeremiah 29:10-14, “For thus saith the Lord, that after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon, I will visit you.” Yes, those were 70 long years of captivity in a pagan land, but God had not forgotten His people. He gave them hope, didn’t He?

Take courage today friends. God has not forsaken you either. He will restore. A comforting message for folks like you and me that are bound to mess-up sometimes. Let us remember, that for all our blunders, there is mercy!

The Pastor’s Pocket

Pastor Bruce Freeman

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Are You Ready?

Image
It’s that time of the year when the animals are getting ready for winter. They make sure their nesting place is ready for hibernation. They are gathering food or eating a lot of food now to sustain them during the winter months.   In the mornings when we wake up, we get ready for the day. When we are expecting visitors, we get ready for their arrival. The airline industry works hard to make sure their planes are ready to fly. Athletes warm up to get ready for competition.   Jesus tells us to get ready because He is coming.  Are you ready for His return? We must be prepared, for one day the Lord will surely come. How can you be sure you are ready for that moment? (1) Make sure you are saved, born again. (2) Be serving Christ in some capacity. (3) Make sure you are doing the will of God. (4) Be a worshipper. Practice now praising the Lord because that is what you will do in heaven (Revelation 4-5).   Are you prepared for an encounter with the Lord today? Have you positioned yourself to m
Read more

Shopping Season

Image
Our daughter was shopping at a wholesale store recently and sent my wife this text, “Insane how packed it is on Wednesday afternoon!” My wife’s reply to her was, “Tis the season”. The busy shopping season has begun. It’s a great time of the year for retailers.  During this season as Christians, we mustn’t venture out without asking the Holy Spirit to fill us with patience and give us the strength to maintain a Christ-like spirit.   This is a shopping season when many people are searching for, hoping for, something that will satisfy a craving, fulfill a longing, or give them a thrill. For some it will be a party, alcohol, a new car, new clothes, a new boyfriend/girlfriend perhaps. For some, their happiness comes from a sale at the mall, and their many purchases. It’s a season when many are looking for a “high” which turns out to be only temporary.   Friend, there is a “high” you cannot buy. It’s righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17). It’s not something temporal
Read more

Trusting God

Image
You’ve never really given a problem over to God until you completely trust Him with the outcome. Too much of our faith in prayer is tied to getting God to do what we think is best. We rejoice if God does what we ask or if He responds as we think He should. What if God has other plans? Is He any less faithful?   The truth is, God sometimes does have plans that differ from our own agenda.   As we pray, we must be willing to accept whatever God determines best.   That’s never easy, but it’s a place we must come to in our understanding of the Holy One.   We all know the story of the three Hebrew young men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and the fiery furnace.   The story is found in Daniel chapter 3.   An order had gone out from the Babylonian king that everyone in the province was to bow down to the golden idol, and anyone who refused would be thrown into a fiery furnace. I love the approach of these three men in Daniel 3:17, “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us
Read more