Running From God/Website Update
Joel 2:13 NIV
"Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity."
Oh, the shame we as Christians feel on a regular basis. We are taught and encouraged to repent of our sins, but must the shame last long after the repentance has taken place? The answer is obvious, but for some reason, we all still allow ourselves to feel guilty for our sins long after they've been forgiven. So much so, that some may even turn away from Christ completely because the guilt and shame has turned to fear of punishment. When I was heavy into alcohol, deeply depressed and living in sin, I ran from God out of fear of being punished for my life choices. Knowing what I know now, I can see that this isn't the case. However, instead of "rending" our clothes (or tearing our clothes as those in Biblical times did to show their remorse and trouble), we are encouraged to reevaluate our hearts and expose our need for Christ's salvation in our life. The prophet Joel tells us that God is not a God of punishment or anger, but rather a God of compassion and love. We can find peace in returning to God because he will no longer punish us as our sins deserve. God sent his only son to die on the cross to serve our punishment. I want to encourage you today to "rend your heart and not your garments," and return to the loving and gracious Lord who is calling you home.
When in your life have you ran from God because of your guilt and shame? How do you feel now knowing that God won't get mad or punish you?
Website Update
I think some of the updates on the website might be getting lost for my regular viewers as many know exactly what they're looking for and go to a specific page (such as daily thoughts) and surpass the homepage (which is totally fine!) Because of this, I wanted to give my regular daily thought viewers a brief update because our ministry has been up to some fun things!
- RedeemedByTheSpirit now offers a weekly newsletter every Monday to your preferred email address. The newsletter is full of updates on the ministry, as well as lessons and words of encouragement. To sign up, fill out any of the contact info forms at the bottom of any of the pages and be sure to click the newsletter subscription button.
- Donations are still being taken for Matthew 25: Ministries that will help provide disaster relief for the people of Ukraine. More info can be found on the homepage, as well as a link to the donation website. There is also a link on the homepage that will take you to the Matthew 25: Ministries website where you can learn more about their nonprofit organization.
- Audio sermons are being posted every Saturday for those who would rather listen to a lesson than read it. These are Mp3 files uploaded so that you may be able to listen to them on any of your devices. We are working on creating a Podcast to make it easier to find us, but for now these files will continue to be uploaded weekly. They will be anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes long and are located under the "Audio Sermons" tab at the top of the webpage.
As always, we are so greatly thankful and blessed to have you all come by this website, and I hope that my lessons may inspire and strengthen your relationship with God. At RedeemedByTheSpirit Ministries, we strive to assist others in finding God's redeeming love, whether you're an existing believer who has strayed away, or a new believer. Our hope is to encourage you to turn your lives over to Christ and see the beauty that he has in store for you.
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