A Repentant Heart

Hey, it's time for encouragement from Our Daily Bread. The reading for today titled A Repentant Heart was written by Matt Lucas. A friend had violated the vows of his marriage. It was painful to watch him destroy his family. As he sought reconciliation with his wife, he asked my counsel. I told him he needed to offer more than words. He needed to be proactive in loving his wife and removing any patterns of sin. The prophet Jeremiah offered similar advice to those who'd broken their covenant with God and followed other gods.

It wasn't enough to return to him, though that was the right start. They also needed to align their actions with what they were saying. That meant getting rid of their detestable idols. Jeremiah said that if they made commitments in a truthful, just and righteous way, then God would bless the nations. The problem was the people were making empty promises.

Their heart wasn't in it. God doesn't want mere words. He wants our hearts. As Jesus said in Matthew 12, the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. That's why Jeremiah goes on to encourage those who would listen to break up the unplowed ground of their heart and not so among the thorns.

Sadly, like so many people, my friend didn't heed sound biblical counsel and consequently lost his marriage. When we sin, we must confess and turn from it. God doesn't want empty promises.

He desires a life that's truly aligned with him. If you, Israel, will return, then return to me, declares the Lord. If you put your detestable idols out of my sight and no longer go astray, and if in a truthful, just and righteous way you swear as surely as the Lord lives, then the nations will invoke blessings by him and in him they will boast. This is what the Lord says to the people of Judah and to Jerusalem.

Break up your unplowed ground and do not sow among thorns. Circumcise yourselves to the Lord. Circumcise your hearts, you people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, or my wrath will flare up and burn like fire because of the evil you have done.

Burn with no one to quench it. Now let's pray. Heavenly Father, help us to walk in your wisdom, and when we fail and when we sin, may we humbly and genuinely repent from it and seek to restore what we've broken. Thank you, Lord, for your grace and your mercy when we fail to live up to what we profess. And it's in Jesus' name that we pray. Amen. Thanks for listening today. My name is Wes Ward, and today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.