Two Kinds of Sorrow

Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation

and leaves no regret but worldly sorrow brings death.

2 Corinthians 7:10 (NIV)



Sorrow that brings repentance and restoration has to be genuine. True regret calls for a change in behavior. We have seen deep shame cause a person to redirect his or her life to become respected by their family, community, and those close to them.

The world’s brand of sorrow isn’t honest about the issue. Those who buy into secular remorse only are ashamed for the outcome of their bad behavior-for getting caught.

People who observe others doctors, psychologists, preachers, psychiatrists all know those who continually speak of regret, only to repeat same action, have not dealt with the root cause of their problem, that of their spirit and their heart.

When we turn our issues over to God, we place Him in control of our lives and let Him guide us through each day. He does restore us when we allow His guidance and direction to mould our lives.
A friend wondered why we sometimes have to go through circumstances again and again. We decided that, if we didn’t learn what God intended us to the first time, we would take a remedial course until we got the lesson right. Yes, sometimes we all have to go through trials a second and a third time until something clicks and we can say, “I get the message.”

Healing Our Land

If my people, who are called by my name, will 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 (NIV)



I find great comfort in this passage. God told Solomon these words a while after the dedication of the Temple. Earlier, Solomon had asked for God to make provision for the people when they sinned.

Every time I read these words, I pause at the four conditions God lays out for the people (us) to follow. 1.) Humble ourselves-admit when we have sinned. Face up to it; call it by name. 2.) Pray to God-come clean that we are sinners. Ask His forgiveness. 3.) Seek to get close to God-the closer we get to Him the more He knows we mean business. 4.) Change our behavior. Turn our backs to bad behavior.

As I study this for this topic, I find myself caught by God’s response to our acting on the conditions He set forth. 1.) He will hear our confessions. 2.) He will forgive our sin. He will erase it from His memory, 3.) He will heal our land. He will fix all He sees wrong in our land.

Being a writer, I enjoy words. The verb ‘will’ has a definite feel of certainty about it. God doesn’t say “Oh, I might.” Or “Hey, I can.” He doesn’t say, “Gee, I wish I could.” He says, “I will.”

We still have to meet the conditions set forth by God but we have God’s word, that when we do, He will revive our land

God Revives

“I live in a high and holy place,

But also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit,

To revive the spirit of the lowly

And to revive the heart of the contrite.”

Isaiah 57:15b NIV



God lives with us in our hearts. He comforts us when we are down. He energizes our spirits when the world has brought us low. He restores our souls when we realize our transgressions. He brings us back into His fold when we ask forgiveness.

Several of my friends have faced heart-wrenching times in recent months: Illnesses, family incidents, joblessness, or the breaking of traditions.God is there for each of them. God works through the events we deem difficult. He allows these things to happen so that His children might be drawn closer to Him.

One of the men in our prayer group realized we do God a disservice when we pray that a person be freed from a hard time. Rather, we should pray for God to lead them through the circumstance, guiding and teaching them as the individual progresses through the trial.

God will revive us as we look to Him in every situation we face.

Please Pray For The Earthquake/Tsunami Victims

This morning, my husband woke me around 4:30. "Turn on the TV. CNN has breaking news."  I could tell by his tone he meant what he said. What I saw was the horror of the earthquake in Japan. I also watched the devastation of the Tsunami. This evening Hubby called me to come see something on the news about the aftermath of the night in Japan.

Only after daylight did the authorities find out a complete town had been destroyed by the wall of water. This is from CNN.com:

In the city of Minamisoma in Fukushima Prefecture, all that was left of many structures were their foundations. Only concrete and steel buildings appeared to have withstood the wash. No people were visible in the streets of the town, whose population on Friday had been 70,000.

As I heard this on the TV, the news commentator said they didn't know if anyone survived.

PLEASE PRAY WITH ME FOR THE VICTIMS AND ALL THOSE WHO ARE WORKING IN THE AFTERMATH OF THIS DISASTER.

Wait Quietly

“I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.’

The Lord is good to those, whose hope is in him,

To the one who seeks him;

It is good for those who wait quietly

For the salvation of the Lord.”

Lamentations 3:24-26 (NIV)



God is our inheritance; we willingly wait for Him to act. God smiles on those who place their confidence in Him, those who seek Him and obey His rules. Jeremiah, the author, tells us it benefits us to patiently wait for the Lord’s saving grace to be imparted to those of us who seek Him.

When we have doubts and issues confronting us, we can remember that God is our Savior-He will save us from our sins, if we ask Him that God is our healer-He heals all our diseases, and that God is our friend-He is always with us. We can place our confidence in Him.


The key to having our trials and travails resolved is we have to learn to wait for God to take care of the particulars of the situation. He is in charge of our lives and knows what is best for us.

Restore Us Again

“Restore us again, O God our Savior, and put away your displeasure toward us.

Will you be angry with us forever? Will you prolong your anger through all generations?

Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you? Show us your unfailing

love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation.” Psalm 85:4-7 (NIV)



The sons of Korah plead with the Lord to restore the people of Israel. They ask some penetrating questions. Will God be angry with the nation forever? Will He prolong His displeasure for future lifetimes? Won’t God revive His people so they can rejoice in Him?

I heard a story that illustrates the life-giving freedom of God. A dear friend happened to see the father of one of her daughter’s old boyfriends. The father told my friend that his son was no longer incarcerated.

The son had been sentenced for multiple lifetimes for confinement and a statutory violation. The sentence was harsh. In recent years the judge has been removed from the bench. A lot of his decisions have been reconsidered; this case may have been one of those. This fairly young man’s mother never got to see her son’s release. The father joyfully shared the news with my friend.

When we seek God’s forgiveness, He erases His disappointment in us. When we ask Him to revive us, we seek peace with Him. When He restores us, He, once more, grants us His salvation. For this act of mercy, we should rejoice.

Prayers for Revival and Unity

Dear Lord:



Please pour your Holy Spirit out on all our world. Let the people of each nation feel your presence as they go through these traumatic times. Enter into the hearts of the people who inhabit Your lands. Allow your children to petition you with their needs and desires before they make any decision especially if it affects the life of another.

Let your Holy Spirit be felt in your houses of worship. Enter into each service with those in attendance. Strengthen us who call on Your name. Guide us as we walk with You. Comfort those of us who grieve. Direct us who seek our way. Help us as we sometimes fall short and miss the mark.

Allow Your Spirit to be present in each marriage and family in our lands. Speak to each heart, tell them of Your love for them and of Your plans for their lives.

In the name of Jesus,

Amen



Prayer for Unity

Dear Lord:

We see a lot of heartache and sadness around us. We see people hurting others, people not enjoying one another's company, senseless acts of violence. We don't always understand the reasons for this dysfunction but You do. Please help us to put away our differences and learn to work together in this world, so we may work with one another and with You in the next one.

Please restore unity and peace to our world.

In the name of Jesus,

Amen