Repentance - Today in the Word

JUNE 2011

Repentance

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.

Acts 3:19

2 • Today in the Word

TODAY WITH PAUL NYQUISTPresident of Moody Bible Institute

The confrontation be-tween King David and the prophet Nathan in 2 Samuel reads like the climax of a great Shakespearean play. You’ll remember that God sent Nathan to

confront David of his sins against Bathshe-ba and Uriah. Nathan ingeniously spun a heart-wrenching and dramatic tale of a poor man whose only lamb was stolen by a rich man. At the end of Nathan’s story, David was irate, demanding that the thief be punished. Then Nathan said to David: “You are the man!” (2 Sam. 12:7).

But unlike a Shakespearean play where each actor has a script, David had a choice. He could deny the accusation or he could acknowledge his sin. Which re-sponse did David choose? In 2 Samuel 12:13, David said plainly, “I have sinned against the LORD.”

And in his remorse he penned the powerful words of Psalm 51: “Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against You, You only, I have sinned and done what is evil in Your sight” (vv. 2–4).

King David’s response provides a good model of repentance for us today. When David was faced with his sin, he didn’t rationalize it. He didn’t ignore it, and he didn’t give excuses for it. As followers of Christ, we should all have an abiding de-sire to obey God’s Word, but like David,

when we sin, we must be faithful to repent and recalibrate our lives. Nothing—not our pride, nor our reputation—is more im-portant than our being right with the Lord.

Scripture reminds us of God’s expecta-tions for holy living in 1 Peter 1:14–15: “Do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior.” God is clear that He wants our complete obedi-ence in every area of our lives—in all our behavior.

Of course, as descendants of Adam, none of us can fully escape sin. We’re all go-ing to fall short, but when we do, we must confess our sins. Praise God for His prom-ise that says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteous-ness” (1 John 1:9).

The dramatic life of David chronicled in Scripture should give us hope because, like us, he was far from perfect. He was a mur-derer and adulterer, and yet God called David a man after His own heart (1 Sam. 13:14). Why? Because David pursued obedience, and when he was confronted with his sin, he repented.

Friends, it is so easy to become satisfied with partial obedience. But God is looking for people who will not be satisfied with anything less than holiness, people who will not be content with unconfessed sin in their lives. Let us strive to be such people.

A Model of Repentance

God does not change. Although He is the Father of the heavenly lights, unlike the constellations that move in their courses or the sun whose light is sometimes hid-den from view, God “does not change like the shifting shadows” (James 1:17). Theologians refer to this as God’s “immu-tability.” Divine immutability is related to God’s independence. He is distinct from His creation. All that God has created re-lies on Him for its existence, but He is not dependent upon anyone or anything (Acts 17:25). He is perfect in His being and in His purposes. He never errs and never needs to change His mind. Yet the Bible often uses language which seems to imply that God does change. Most notable are those passages in the Old Testament that speak of God “relenting” (cf. Ex. 32:14; 1 Chron. 21:15; Jer. 26:13).

When the Bible describes God as “re-lenting,” it does not reflect a change in God’s nature or understanding. Rather, the change occurs in our relationship with Him according to the promises of His Word. God “turns” toward us or away from us depending upon our faith or disobedience (Num. 6:26; Ps. 85:4). He turns from an-ger and shows compassion (Deut. 13:17). But God does not change in His essence. His character remains the same. His plans

and purpose are fixed. Similarly, when we speak of the unchangeable nature of God, we are describing His being, not His in-volvement with us. Immutability is not the same thing as inactivity or indifference. Theologian Herman Bavinck explains, “Though unchangeable in himself, God lives the life of his creatures, and is not in-different to their changing activities.”

An anthropomorphic dimension to the language of change is applied to God in the Bible. This means that such language describes God’s dealings in terms of our experience of Him, because we can only relate to God as finite creatures who must operate within the bounds of time. God is infinite, eternal, and omniscient. He acts within the timeline of our experience but is not bound by its limits. There is no “be-fore” and “after” with God when it comes to His divine nature.

At the incarnation the divine Son, Jesus, took to Himself a human nature that He did not previously possess. The One who was God from eternity past became human and subjected Himself to the limits of time and space—even to the point of death. He did this so that the Father might “turn” from His anger and receive all who repent and believe on Christ’s name.

To learn more about the immutability of God read God’s Greater Glory: The Exalted God Of Scripture and the Christian Faith by Bruce Ware (Crossway).

www. todayin theword.com • 3

For Further Reading

THEOLOGY MATTERSby John Koessler

When God Relents

In March 2011, the Egyptian cobra went missing at the Bronx Zoo. Before the zoo staff found it almost a week later in good health, the cobra became famous on Twit-ter, gathering more than 220,000 follow-ers. The famed escapee mastered the art of posting up-to-140-character messages (virtually) overnight. The cobra’s venom-ously sarcastic rants ranged from criticism of Wall Street to concern that the cupcakes it was eating were going straight to its hips.

It’s easy to create the online buzz these days and become famous. And it’s easy to drown in the sea of tweets, blogs, posts, and status updates, because—let’s face it—we live in a world where even a cobra can have a micro blog. In our “networked” world, is it possible that the Internet noise could overshadow the still, small voice of the Lord in our lives? How important it is, then, in our interconnected world not to lose connection with the eternal, unchang-ing Word of God!

Our Today in the Word team views this devotional as a tool for our readers to dig deeper into God’s Word, a guide to an-chor your soul more firmly in the love and hope of Christ—and a means to create a community of believers who study the Bible together every day. What a privilege! And what a joy it is for all of us to see the reflec-tion of this community in the feedback you send us: your e-mails, letters, notes, and phone calls. Thank you for responding to our request to tell us about Today in the Word in your life.

In their letter to the editors, Carol and Rich-ard from Texas describe an unusual meet-ing they had during their visit to Ukraine in October 2010, when Richard was tour-ing Ukraine with the Singing Men of Texas choir and Carol was accompanying him. While getting ready for the tour, the couple read an article in our February 2010 is-sue about Ukrainian believers who receive Today in the Word. The city of Kherson and the church mentioned in the article were the venue of one of the many Sing-ing Men of Texas concerts. Imagine the couple’s excitement when they realized that in the country they knew almost noth-ing about there were readers of Today in the Word just like them, and they could establish an immediate personal connec-tion with them. Carol and Richard took several issues of Today in the Word to Ukraine, and while in Kherson, they had no difficulty finding their Ukrainian Today in the Word counterparts featured in the February article: the Kavetskeys and the Seredenkos. And they sent us several pho-tos to prove it!


FROM THE EDITORS

Media Medley

by Elena Mafter

Continued on page 38

American and Ukrainian readers of Today in the Word met in Kherson, when the Singing Men of Texas choir visited the city during their tour of Ukraine in 2010.

Volume 24 Issue 6

EXECUTIVE EDITOrPaul Currie

ManagIng EDITOrHeather Moffitt

assOCIaTE EDITOrElena Mafter

COnTrIBUTIng EDITOrsadam KelloggJohn Koessler

WrITErDavid Mathwin

DEsIgnrachel Hutcheson

LaYOUTLarry Bohlinnancy rudd

1-800-DL MOODY (356-6639)

www.moodyministries.net

PrEsIDEnT J. Paul nyquist

PrOVOsTJunias Venugopal

CHIEf fInanCIaL OffICErKen Heulitt

VICE PrEsIDEnTsWilliam BlockerLarry DavidhizarLloyd r. DodsonChristine gorzJohn a. Jelinek

Collin g. Lambertfrank W. Leber Jr.stephen OakleyThomas a. shawgreg r. Thornton

TrUsTEE CHaIrManJerry B. Jenkins

TrUsTEEsChristopher DenisonT. randall fairfaxThomas s. fortson

J. Paul nyquistBervin C. PetersonDavid schipperPaul Von TobelMark Wagnerrichard Yook

Moody Bible Institute is the sole publisher of Today in the Word, copyright © 2011 by Moody Bible Institute. All rights reserved. Please direct all Today in the Word inquiries to Constituency Response, 820 N. LaSalle Blvd., Chicago, IL 60610. Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2010 by Biblica, Inc.TM Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. Printed in the U.S.A. Today in the Word is published monthly. Printed on 30% recycled paper.

Repentance

A familiar quote captures the essence of God’s love for us despite our weaknesses: “God loves you just the way you are, but He loves you too much to let you stay that way.” For a loving relationship between a holy God and a depraved sinner to thrive, one of us needs to change—and it isn’t going to be God.

Repentance is the act of turning from a defiant way of thinking or acting and turning to God in obedience, love, and worship. By God’s grace, He allows us to repent. We shouldn’t dread repentance—we should celebrate it!

This month in Today in the Word, that’s exactly what we’ll do. We will study the nature of repentance, with examples from Scripture, and the spiritual rewards we can glean from making repentance a way of life. This study will change how you think and feel about repen-tance in a way that we pray will revitalize your love for Christ and refresh your pursuit of holiness in Him.

At Today in the Word, we work to make each day’s study a challenge to draw you closer to God and fur-ther away from the sin nature that afflicts us all. We hope that this issue in particular will be an encourage-ment and catalyst for spiritual growth. And we could not offer it without your steadfast support. Thank you for helping create a heart of repentance daily in the lives of hundreds of thousands of readers!

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Anyone who has taken children to an all-you-can-eat buffet knows they can create concoctions few adults would eat. Young ones let loose on the dessert bar delight in mashing together ice cream, pie, cook-ies, and soda. What might have been delicious and refreshing has become entirely unappetizing to most of us.

Has the church done the same with repentance? Why do so many view the idea of repentance as the spiritual equivalent of a visit to the dentist? How can we reorient ourselves? This month in Today in the Word we will examine re-pentance and attempt to understand this important topic from God’s perspective in Scripture.

In our reading today we first note that both John the Baptist and Jesus began their preaching ministry with the words, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near!” (Matt 3:2, 4:17). Mark’s account includes Jesus’s words, “Repent and be-lieve the good news” (Mark 1:17). The word translated here from Greek as “good news” is euangellion, the same word used for our English word gospel.

Why does Jesus link “good news” and re-pentance so closely? To use our analogy of a dentist visit, would anyone greet the words, You need a root canal! with joy? Would you take spiritual counsel offered this way?

A sense of the depths of our own sin can often be spiritually healthy, but if repentance only in-volves our past—whether recognition of the sorrows we caused or the guilt and horror we feel—we will not understand Christ’s command. In Greek the word for repentance is metanoia, which means “change of mind.” Inter-estingly, it has little direct

association with feelings or emotions. With this in mind, we begin to glimpse the goodness God has for us.

Repentance involves transformation. It is not about the past, but the future. It is not focused on what we have done, but what God will do in us. It is not about God laying a guilt trip on us so much as it is about God showing us how to be free from a past that enslaves us. This truly is good news!

Even when it comes to our own sin, we can still struggle to take the focus off ourselves. Unfortunately, it is not hard for us to be self-centered, even with important aspects of the Christian life such as prayer requests and testimonies. Sometimes even thinking about our sin can be a way to bring the discussion back to our-selves. This month let us seek to see God’s work in us. Reflect on these words: Blessed are those that bring the euangellion of metanoia! (see Isa. 52:7).

Would you bring our un-dergraduate school students before the Lord today? Let’s ask God to use these men and women mightily for His Kingdom wherever they are serving Him this summer.

Read: Mark 1:14–28

The time has come . . . and the kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the

good news!Mark 1:15

Wednesday, June 1

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Today in the Word • 7

Pray with Us

In a famous Greek myth, the god Zeus banned any other god from giving aid to mankind. Prometheus had pity on human-ity, however, and gave them fire and other gifts of civilization. But he also gave man-kind the so-called “gift” of ignorance of their mortality. Otherwise how could any human be happy, knowing that nothing would truly last? The ancient Greeks probably thought Prometheus did the Greeks a favor. Would this kind of ignorance be a blessing?

This month we seek to open our hearts to God’s com-mand to repent. Seeing our failures and foibles should give us pause. Every sin emphasizes our own in-completeness and indeed, our own mor-tality. This recognition, however, should ultimately not lead to despair, but to joy.

We saw yesterday that in Matthew’s Gos-pel Jesus began His preaching ministry with a call to repent. This call is preceded by a quote from Isaiah 9:2: “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light” (Matt. 4:16). For all humanity, who dwell in the “shadow of death,” this rec-ognition of mortality is the beginning of

good news. We begin to see that we need rescue from this condition of death (see Rom. 7:24).

This becomes clearer as we look at the context from the passage Jesus quotes. Isaiah 9 rings with hope and joy, but this hope does not come in a vacuum. In

the preceding chapter the prophet warns of the com-ing destruction of Israel by the dreaded Assyrians. The chapter concludes saying, “Then they will look to the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom, and they will be thrust into utter darkness (Isa. 8:22). Only after establishing the real-

ity of their dark predicament does Isaiah proclaim, “The people in darkness have seen a great light” (9:2).

God will send rescue, but only when we see Him, and not ourselves, in the midst of our pain. As scholar Kallistos Ware put it, “To repent is to look, not downward at my own shortcomings, but upward at God’s love. It is to see not what I have failed to be, but what by the grace of Christ I can yet become.”

The apostle Paul stands as wonderful example of a Christ-centered reflection on his past. His lament in Romans 7:24 quickly transitions: “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1). For Paul, dwelling on his deeds—past or present, good or bad—distracted him from seeing God’s love. God wants us to experience this same freedom from obsessive focus on self. Let us hope to imitate Paul, as he followed Christ (cf. 1 Cor. 11:1).

Join us in praying for Moody Radio Southeast, WMBW, broadcasting out of Chat-tanooga, Tennessee. May our Father bring many listeners into a new relationship with Jesus Christ through the min-istry of Leighton LeBoeuf, Paul Martin, David Morais, Andy Napier, and Juanell Rice.

Read: Matthew 4:12–17

The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in . . . the shadow of death, a light

has dawned.Matthew 4:16

Thursday, June 2

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Pray with Us

“Begin at the beginning, then go on till you come to the end: then stop.” So said the King to the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland. Nearly all of us associ-ate beginnings with possibilities; note, for instance, how we view the seasons. Poet Dylan Thomas wrote that we should “Begin at the beginning: It is Spring,” be-cause we think of spring as a time of new birth. Frank Sinatra sang of Fall as the “September of his years,” which fits with our view of winter as time of death. But what if we were wrong about the begin-ning? What if, like Twee-dledee and Tweedledum, we had it contrairiwise?

The story of Creation in Genesis 1 gives us more than a mere factual record of how the universe began. Understanding creation gives us insight into how God ordered reality itself. The chapter con-tains a great deal of language indicating patterns of order, such as the repetition of “God saw that it was good,” and sig-nificantly for us today, that evening and morning were the first day. Interestingly, these passages describe the days begin-

ning at night, not in the morning. This is no coincidence, so let us consider its im-portance in light of our focus this month.

The pattern established in verse 5 makes more sense when we look at it in context. In 1:2 we read, “The earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the sur-

face of the deep.” Light is not created until verse 3. Darkness comes first, then God brings light and or-der out of the chaos. Right here in the first few verses of the creation story, God tells us that He brings good out of evil, wholeness out of a void. Though Sarah be barren, though God’s people be enslaved in

Egypt, though Mary be a virgin, redemp-tion will come.

When faced with our sin and the misery and destruction it caused, we may be tempted to despair. “Darkness” may seem triumphant. Yet, this is just where God begins His work. Repentance can mean a new day for all of us. Tomorrow we will continue to unpack the importance of this “night and day” pattern in Genesis.

Each morning can promise new hope, but how often are hopes disappointed! Hope can be renewed when we see that God brings help often at our lowest ebb. As one commentator states, “If creation began in the dark, can it be wondered that our [new birth] will be begin there also?” Today let us not shy away from the darkness of our souls, knowing that God’s “new creations” are made through repentance.

Continuing our prayers for Moody Radio, it is our privi-lege to lift up Collin Lambert, Vice President of Moody Radio. As Collin and his team work hard to create programs where listeners can turn for truth and hope, let’s ask God to bless their efforts and encourage their hearts.

Read: Genesis 1

God called the light “day,” and the darkness . . .

“night.” There was evening, and there was morning—the

first day.Genesis 1:5

Friday, June 3

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Pray with Us

Beginnings can be difficult for most of us. For example, our culture is permeated with anecdotes about first days on a new job. Search “first day of work” on the Internet and most results include anecdotes about unexpected tasks or bad bosses. Of the millions of options, though, probably none say, “On my first day of work I was shown my office and told to sleep.” Such an experi-ence would go against all of our expectations.

Yesterday we found a similar unexpected twist when we noticed that in Genesis 1 days begin at night instead of the morn-ing. Unpacking this seeming flip-flop of our expectations can help us understand God’s love for us and our need for Him.

Thanks to electricity, we can be active 24 hours a day. But before artificial light, after sundown it was simply dark. Activity needed to cease. What could one do except sleep? Sleep should remind us of our finitude. Our bodies weaken and must “shut down.” Without sleep we would die, and yet sleep itself foreshad-ows death.

We can make no new beginning with God unless we see that all we can bring is our tired and broken self to Him. Je-sus’ words to the Pharisees in Matthew 9:11–13 must have been hard for them to hear. As religious leaders in Israel, they believed they brought something valuable to the table. Not so, says Jesus.

And until they saw this, He would remain irrelevant and even threatening to them.

Repentance does involve a kind of death. We must kill any grand notions we harbor about ourselves. We often think this is too

hard, but who among us, when we are tired, would not want sleep? This is all God asks of us when we approach Him, for He “desires mercy, not sacrifice.”

God knows our weakness, and He will not ask for more than we can give. Christ’s words in Matthew no doubt seemed harsh to His audience, but they are imbued with love and compassion. He is the boss who wants you to start the day with a nap.

None of us enjoy failure, yet it is inevitable. The test is in what we do with failure. God offers forgiveness to those who fail. Author Shirley Carter Hughson once wrote to a friend, “All He asks is that we repent, and then go straight forward trusting in His love.” Let us pray for this contrite spirit, one that will not hide our sin from ourselves or God. He waits for us this day with open arms and loving forgiveness.

Praying for Moody Radio, we invite you to uphold the team of our station in Chicago: Roy Patterson, Mark Elfstrand, Julie Roys, Brian Dahlen, Monte Larrick, and Dave Mitchell. Praise the Lord for these talented individuals who are using their gifts for the glory of the King.

Read: Genesis 1

Go and learn what this means:

“I desire mercy, not sacrifice.”

Matthew 9:13

Saturday, June 4

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Pray with Us

French revolutionaries in 1793 had a problem. Their hopes and plans for a new society had not come to pass. But they refused to blame themselves, and conclud-ed that their good ideas simply needed great enforcement despite the violence that had already plagued the Revolution. Surely one more batch of heads from the “enemies of the people,” and things would be fine. If not, then surely two batch-es would be enough. Or three. The “Reign of Terror” was born.

In light of our look at creation the past two days, today our concept of rest, action, and repentance gains sharper focus. We are like those French revolu-tionaries in many ways. They persisted in thinking, “the next intersection will surely be the right one,” without understanding where they were to begin with.

The author of Hebrews addressed his letter to Christians who seem to be stuck in their spiritual lives (cf. Heb. 6:1–12), but they also misunderstood what prog-ress meant. The author warns us that God’s blessings require the persistence of faith (4:1, see 3:14–19). Many with

Moses misunderstood. Their final des-tination was not somewhere they could reach themselves.

God’s rest on the seventh day of Cre-ation (v. 4) pointed not toward a physical promised land they might somehow at-tain by their own efforts, but to a spiritual

“place” they could never reach on their own. Many missed this (vv. 5–10), but as long as it is “today” it is never too late (v. 7).

Verse 10 tells us that God always meant for us to share in the “rest” He experienced on the

seventh day. We should not interpret this “rest” as a respite from exhausting labor, but rather as fullness, completion, and satisfaction. This verse does not imply the simple negative of inactivity and not doing anything—this is about doing things differently. We can still be diligent to enter this rest, but it requires a new per-spective and “solution” to our problem. As we saw June 1, we need metanoia, a re-orientation of our reality. We must retreat to move forward.

The author warns us that we all will have to account to God for our deeds (v. 13). But, among other things, God has given us His Word to lead us to repentance (v. 12). Exposing ourselves to His Word can be one way our faith can be active, one way to be diligent to enter His rest. His Word unmasks all the intentions of our heart. This is painful, but a blessing, for it leads us to repentance, and a ceasing from our dead works (Heb. 6:1).

Today, please pray for Elsa Mazon, Nathan McMillan, Tricia McMillan, and Daniel Anderson at Moody Radio’s programming and produc-tion. They work on and off the air to help produce Moody Radio’s uplifting, biblical pro-grams, heard by thousands of listeners every day.

Read: Hebrews 4:1–13

Anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their

works, just as God did from his.

Hebrews 4:10

Sunday, June 5

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Pray with Us

In his book Orthodoxy, G. K. Chesterton explains that he loves fairy tales (“entirely reasonable things,” he assures us), partly because of one basic law of the universe they teach: Joy is conditional. Cinderella, for example, can have the time of her life if only she will be back by midnight. Pinocchio can be a real boy only if he will not lie, and so on.

Matthew 11 teaches us that God’s grace is free, but not without condi-tions. As the chapter be-gins, Jesus assured people of the validity of John’s message (v. 10), but the problem for His audience was not lack of evidence. Verse 17 indicates that the people maintained an aloof detach-ment from events they witnessed. John the Baptist and Jesus had brought their mes-sages, but their hearers missed the point (vv. 18–19). All they had witnessed should have led them to repentance.

Many of us grew up with an image of “gentle Jesus, meek and mild,” but He minced no words here. Jesus compared

the Gentile cities of Tyre and Sidon favor-ably with the Jewish cities of Bethsaida and Chorazin (vv. 21–22). Sodom, a city that did not recognize the presence of God’s messengers, will be better off than Capernaum (v. 23), a city who had an even greater witness. Only after these judgments and warnings does Christ

then begin to speak of blessings. And, curiously enough, these blessings go to the “little children” (v. 25) who can receive the revelation of God the Son.

Fairy tales do possess a bit of magic, for when children read them, they never question the world

portrayed. They never think to ask, “Why must Cinderella be back at midnight? Why not 12:30?” This passage shows that Jesus wants this same attitude from us. Great rewards await us. But if we mimic Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Caper-naum, if we stay aloof “adults” in the face of the gospel, we will lose everything. “Then He began to denounce the towns . . . because they did not repent” (v. 20).

Repentance is the key, or condition, of God’s bless-ings. Many may fear what God has for them, and perhaps this is why they, like the audience in chapter 11, assume an aloof posture. But the wise know that nothing matters without repentance. We cannot work our way into God’s blessings; like children who bring their boo-boos in order to receive the biggest band-aid in the house, we bring our repentance before God knowing that He will heal us.

Moody Radio programs are broadcast on more than 1,200 stations in the U.S. and Canada. Will you join us in thanking the Lord for Moody Radio’s programming and production team—Anita Lustrea, Tim Svoboda, Daniel Royle, Jon Gauger, and Mike Kellogg?


I praise you, Father . . . you

have hidden these things from the

wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.

Matthew 11:25

Monday, June 6

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Those with children know that mealtime can be an adventure, with new foods sometimes creating a great crisis. For many young ones, the unknown must by definition be horrible. It may take all the patience, bribes, or threats in a parent’s bag of tricks just to have one bite even attempted. Finally, the child obeys. The dreaded vegetable or casserole turns out not to be so bad after all. The anticipation and dread turn out to be far worse than the experience itself. Reality, once feared, now becomes pleasant once actually tried.

Yesterday we saw Jesus issue some of the sternest words in the Gospels. Those who reject His message face a fear-ful judgment (Matt. 11:21–24). But He follows this stern message with some of the most delightful words in the Gospels in verse 30. We often think of God like a tyrannical coach: playing for Him will be misery, but at least it’s better than being His enemy. Jesus explodes this insidious lie.

Life for many Jews at the time of Christ must have seemed burdensome. They experienced Roman occupation, with all the spiritual failure that implied. But this did not compare to the burden imposed by many religious leaders. While scholars debate the exact nature of Pharisaical teaching, a clue comes

in Jesus’s own words in Luke 11:46: “You load people down with burdens they can hardly carry.” Clearly God had been made into a taskmaster, and following Him was turned into assuming dreadful duties.

As we saw yesterday, Jesus spoke the harsh words of verses 20 through 24 to people who stood by, perhaps out of fear, clinically evaluating Him. His message in verses 28 through 30 show us that His judgments are meant not to scare us into abandoning personal happiness, but to lift the burden of living life on our own terms. He welcomes us to His rest. His yoke is so much lighter than the ones we give ourselves.

In his classic Mere Christianity C. S. Lewis writes, “The terrible thing, the almost impossible thing, is to hand our whole self . . . to Christ. But that is far easier than what we are all trying to do instead.” Repentance will not always be easy. But Scripture tells us that keeping the burden of guilt makes us far more miserable. The glory of the gospel is that God promises so much more than we could ever make for ourselves.

Concluding our prayers for Moody Radio’s programming and production staff, let’s remember Melinda Schmidt, Lori Neff, Angela Tavernelli, and Greg Wheatley. Ask the Lord to give them wisdom as they proclaim God’s truth over the airwaves and online.


For my yoke is easy and my

burden is light.Matthew 11:30

Tuesday, June 7

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Today we look at Judas, one of the more heart-rending characters in Scripture. Author Dorothy Sayers, in her play, The Man Born to be King, speculates that Judas “means to be faithful—and he will be faithful—to the light which he sees so brilliantly. What he sees is the true light—only he does not see it directly, but only its reflection in the mirror of his own brain; and in the end that mirror will twist and distort the reflec-tion.” Sometimes we don’t acknowledge the fact that we really serve our own idea of reality.

Because we know the end of the story, we be-gin reading the Gospels with Judas as the villain. But we must remember that Judas gave up a great deal to follow Jesus, just like the other disciples. He stuck with Him when others left (John 6:60–71). He must have had many gifts and the trust of the other disciples to serve as treasurer. To see Judas with no good qualities reveals only what we hope for, because that would make his betrayal easier to explain.

The problem of Judas does not get easier if we look at Judas’s reaction to events. He “was seized with remorse” (v. 3) and even returned the money he received. He knew that he betrayed “innocent blood” (v. 4). This certainly looks like repentance. Why was he condemned?

Despite all appearances, Judas did not repent. This makes sense only when we remember that repen-tance is not about our sin, but God’s grace. Judas’s death evidences his fail-ure. While suicide has many possible motives, one can be a kind of nar-cissism. Judas could not

escape his shame and misery because his world was not big enough to let God in. Judas’s actions echo two Old Testa-ment passages (vv. 9–10). Matthew first cites Jeremiah 32:6–9, where the proph-et bought a field on the eve of exile. The Zechariah passage (Zech. 11:12–13) prophesies an ultimate rejection of the Good Shepherd. One can see why Mat-thew uses these texts. Judas had much promise, but rejected the One who could have truly saved him.

In the myth of Narcissus, the nymph Echo truly loved Narcissus, but he disdained her. She is, after all, not himself. Judas’s failure to see God’s love in the midst of his sin doomed him to a prison of his own making. We ourselves may never repent unless we realize that no sin is beyond God’s forgiveness, and none of us is beyond Christ’s redemption. Nothing this day should keep us from the throne of grace.

Your prayers will be an encouragement to Dr. Paul Nyquist, Moody’s President. Please join us in asking the Lord to guide Dr. Nyquist and help him to lead Moody well during this exciting year of Moody Bible Institute’s 125th Anniversary.

Read: Matthew 27:3–10 Acts 1:10–15

So Judas threw the money into the temple and

left. Then he went away and hanged

himself.Matthew 27:5

Wednesday, June 8

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Charles Dickens’s famous line, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” begins his novel A Tale of Two Cities. Key events turn on the question of identity. One character has a “body double” with an uncertain role. Throughout the novel the reader seeks to discover characters’ destiny, and the actions of this mysterious “body double” propel the story to its thrilling climax.

Yesterday we looked at the tragedy of Judas Iscariot, and today we look at someone much like him, the apostle Peter. Both served from the beginning with Jesus. Both had important roles in His ministry. Both, at the moment of crises, sinned greatly. Peter’s denial of Christ (John 18:15–18, 25–27) cannot have been much worse than Judas’s own actions. Both expressed re-gret for their deeds (Matt. 26:75, 27:3). But as we saw yesterday, Judas destroyed himself while Peter became a leader of the church. What was the difference?

Before the events of John 21 we have many signs that Peter will turn out differ-ently than Judas. First, we note that Peter

rejoined the disciples. After all of Peter’s boldness proved worthless (see Luke 22), he had the guts to return to his friends. Because of this he could witness the resurrection. We note his excitement as he ran to the empty tomb. Again we see that Peter did not obsess over his sin, and this freed him to focus on the wild hope

of what God might have in store.

This same self-abandon-ment is revealed in our passage for today. Heed-less of his dignity, Peter hurled himself into the water far ahead of the other disciples (21:7). Jesus mirrored Peter’s threefold denial with

three questions of His own. Crucially, He showed His confidence in Peter by giving him the task to “feed my sheep” (v. 17).

Peter’s actions should remind us of another story. In the Parable of the Prodi-gal Son, the father runs toward his son upon his return, an “unseemly” move for a prominent village elder. So great is God’s love for us, that He abandons all claims to injury, all concept of His own dignity to receive us back in the fold.

God did not see Peter’s sin as an irreparable disaster, but as an opportunity to conform Peter more to the image of Himself. We cannot deny the misery our sin causes, but we must not stop there. Like Peter, we need a greater vision of how God can fill us with His love, even if we have walked away from Him. God still has work for us to do, and our repentance and His forgive-ness prepare us to fellowship with Him and others.

We are thankful for our Health Service team that cares for the undergraduate and seminary students study-ing at our Chicago campus. As Queren Domingues and Ann Meyer prepare for the next school year, let’s ask God to give them continued strength and health.

Read: John 21:1–14

As soon as Simon Peter heard him

say, “It is the Lord,” he . . . jumped into the water.

John 21:7

Thursday, June 9

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Pray with Us

Count Philippe-Paul Segur, personal aide to Napoleon, wrote a memoir of the disastrous campaign in Russia in which Napoleon suffered 500,000 casualties. Segur said, “We said among ourselves as we watched this stubborn, unbending giant wrestle . . . with the presentiment that this first step [of leaving Moscow] would be his ruin. . . . He dreaded above all to be giving way. Any risk was preferable to that!” Not even Napoleon’s brilliance could outfox the snares of his ego.

Today we examine an epi-sode in the life of Judah, whose thoughtless behav-ior ensnared and embar-rassed him. But unlike Napoleon, he used a moment of self-rev-elation to allow God to transform him.

After helping to sell Joseph into slavery (Gen. 37:26–27), Judah’s decisions went from bad to worse. He married a Ca-naanite (v. 2). His sons were a disaster (vv. 3–10). While traveling with his friend Hiram, he slept with his daughter-in-law, who posed as a prostitute, then covered his tracks, “or we will become a laugh-ingstock” (v. 23). Judah used the word

we, though there is no indication that his friend Hiram had sinned! Judah did not own up to his deeds, and remained blind to who he was.

When the people brought a pregnant Tamar before Judah and accused her of prostitution. Judah self-righteously pro-

nounced judgment, pro-claiming, “Bring her out and have her burned to death!” (v. 24). Tamar’s subsequent revelation, however, provoked this ex-traordinary statement from Judah, “She is more righ-teous than I.”

We know that this was more than mere regret,

and it truly became a moment of transfor-mation. The definitive evidence appeared later in his life. Some time later when Jacob’s children ventured to Egypt for food, it was Judah who offered himself as a substitute for Benjamin (cf. Gen-esis 44). He had sold his brother, mar-ried a Canaanite, had wicked sons, and fathered a child through his daughter-in-law. But repentance enabled him to be transformed into a man who could make selfless decisions.

Repentance is about hope, and Judah’s example should give hope to all. The “Shepherd” of Hermas, a Christian in the second century, helps us to reflect on God’s grace in repentance: “The Lord appointed repentance . . . for the Lord knows the heart . . . [and] the weakness of man. The Lord, being compassionate, dealt kindly with creation and established this repen-tance.” Take time today to praise God for not aban-doning us to our sins.

Ken Heulitt, Chief Finan-cial Officer, oversees all of Moody’s financial operations. Praise the Lord for his counsel that helps Moody exercise good stewardship of the gifts provided by our ministry partners.

Read: Genesis 38

“She is more righteous than I, since I wouldn’t

give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not sleep with

her again.Genesis 38:26

Friday, June 10

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Pray with Us

Experienced educators know that at times, “the rabbit trail is the lesson.” When they change their plans to fit the interests of the class, the greatest amount of learn-ing occurs. Genesis 38, which we read yesterday, represents one of the more un-usual rabbit trails in Scripture. The diver-sion should catch our attention.

As the oldest son of Jacob’s favorite wife, Rachel, we know that Joseph was special to his father. This status as the favorite son (see Genesis 34) is fully confirmed in chapter 37. We can sur-mise that Joseph may have been foolish and naive with his brothers, and not malicious. Unlike them, Joseph seems like a good guy. When they sell him into slavery in Genesis 37, we are left begging for the story to continue.

At this moment the story stops. By switching so abruptly, God tells us that something im-portant is happening with Judah, something so monumental that we need to turn our fo-cus from Joseph. We saw yesterday how Judah’s repentance changed him person-ally, and today we see what role he played in Scripture’s grand gospel narrative.

Before chapter 38, Judah is hardly men-tioned. When Jacob blessed his sons (Genesis 48), surely we expect that the messianic thread (developed since Gen. 3:15) would continue through Joseph. He is the good and obedient son. If we read carefully, we should be a little shocked when this does not happen.

Jacob does honor Joseph greatly by giving him a double blessing (48:14–22). Judah’s blessing, however, has distinct chris-tological overtones. From him the “scepter shall not depart” (49:10), and the themes of wine and blood

hint at the sacrificial imagery of the Lord’s Supper (49:11–12).

We have our “aha!” moment when we look at the genealogy of Jesus record-ed in Matthew 1, with special care to mention Tamar (Matt. 1:3). Surely, Matthew intends to recall Genesis 38, and Judah’s repentance echoes in our brains as John the Baptist cries, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near!” (Matt. 3:2). Repentance is at the heart of the gospel. The rabbit trail has become the lesson.

Facing the crisis of our sins may look like a breakdown, but it is in reality a breakthrough of God’s love. Like the publican (Luke 18:9–14), when we repent our downcast eyes will lead us heavenward, and “those who will hum-ble themselves will be exalted.” Take some time today to repent before God, opening your heart to a break-through of His love. By relinquishing pride, shame, and sin, we allow God’s good gifts of reconciliation and for-giveness to fill our lives.

Continuing our prayers for Moody’s finances, please lift up the Controller’s Office: Michael Duong, Susan Malnati, Robert Jones, Neng Khang, and Alice Leighton-Armah. Let’s ask the Lord to bless these individuals for their commitment to serving Him at Moody.

Read: Genesis 48:14–22; 49:8–12

The scepter shall not depart

from Judah.Genesis 49:10

Saturday, June 11

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Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax once commented, “Those who say spring training is unnecessary have never tried to throw a baseball.” It seems the great ones may be great because they never feel they have arrived and never grow complacent.

The same holds true of repentance. The fifth- century Christian Abba Sisoes told friends as he lay dying that he was ask-ing God for more time to repent. “You do not need to repent,” replied his fol-lowers. “Truly,” Sisoes said, “I don’t know whether I have even begun to repent.” This sounds depressing if we think of repentance as focusing on our sin. As we have seen, however, true repentance focuses on God with eager expectation. This makes repentance a way of life, not an action confined to certain points in time.

Our passage in 1 John today at first glance may unsettle us. In verse 5 we see the declaration that “God is light,” and cannot have fellowship with darkness. We may desire to “walk in the light”

(v. 7) but what of our sin, and the dark-ness that arises in our own hearts? Do we have hope?

Some attempt to escape the dilemma by arguing that John means only our initial confession of sin at conversion. Justified, we now will walk in light, which means

that John addressed unbe-lievers. In fact, this is the very attitude John wants to counteract in these pas-sages. The verb John uses for “confession” in verse 9 has a present or ongo-ing tense. Christians stand justified before God, but are not perfect. There are

times when we “walk in darkness.”

The dilemma posed by verse 6 is resolved through confession and repen-tance. Denial of our sin does indeed put us at grave risk, as verse 8 indicates. But verse 9 gives us a great promise and great hope. God will forgive, and “purify us from all unrighteousness.” God has “no darkness at all,” but His cleansing grace allows us to dwell in His formerly inapproachable light.

Redemption is not without cost and can at times bring pain. Paul often uses the imagery of a long race as an illustration of the Christian life (2 Tim. 4:7; Phil 3:14). We might find this sobering, but only if we think we have already arrived. If we know that we still sin, we can find encouragement. As our reading today says, living in the truth must be practiced (v. 6). Like Sandy Koufax and Abba Siseos, we are on the right track when we realize we still have a ways to go.

Concluding our prayers for the Controller’s Office—Pau-lette Philips, Roger Sipes, Annita Smith, Teresa Stegall, and Linda Wahr—will you request that the Father give this team unity through His Spirit as they work together to care for Moody’s finances?

Read: 1 John 1:5–10

If we claim to be without sin, we

deceive ourselves.1 John 1:8

Sunday, June 12

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After Emperor Nero’s suicide in a.d. 68, Rome found it had no clear leadership. Different generals vied to take control of Rome in this “Year of Three Emperors.” In the end Vespasian won, and most histori-ans agree that he ruled well. But a danger-ous precedent had been set. Ultimate con-trol could now simply go to the strongest, and this dynamic contrib-uted to Rome’s instability for centuries to come.

This same sense of appearing to find solutions, while in reality establishing destructive patterns, per-vades our reading today. To establish context, we need to understand what sin fully entails. Judges 20:16 states that some Benjamites “could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.” The Hebrew word for “miss” here is frequently means “sin.” Language is flex-ible, but the concept of sin as “missing the mark,” seems to be the intent. To clarify, this, though, we should not think of sin as specific misdeeds a tad off-center, but rather something that involves our whole being. We do not have bad aim; we orient ourselves in the wrong direction and cannot “hit the mark.” We need continual repentance to find the right path.

Right from the start in Judges 17 things seem strangely amiss. Micah steals silver from his mother, and she blesses him (v. 2). They dedicate the silver to God . . . to make an idol (vv. 3–4). A wander-ing Levite stumbles into town, and Micah makes him his priest. Verse 13 reveals the extent of Micah’s confusion. Levites

served as priests in Israel, but this did not guaran-tee God’s favor. Aaron, for example was a Levite and he made the golden calf (see Exodus 32). This same Levite later becomes a priest for the Danites, who used him to sanction their brutal conquest of

Laish (18:27), and they worshiped the same idol Micah made.

First Kings 12:25–33 indicate that Dan was probably a center for idol worship in the northern kingdom, and idol worship contributed to their conquest by Assyria. Some scholars wonder whether this is part of the an-swer to the mystery of why Dan is not listed in the twelve tribes of Israel in Revelation 7:4–8. Actions oriented in the wrong direction have disastrous consequences.

The refrain throughout the last four chapters of Judges, “In those days Israel had no king” (17:6, 18:1, 19:1, 21:25) describes more than political instability. Israel lacked a spiritual center, so actions that seemed to flow from good motives were rotten from the inside out. We need to see ourselves like the Israelites if we want to avoid their fate. We must change the direction of our aim to live in God’s light, according to His plan, not according to what we think is right in our own eyes.

Today our prayers go to God for Christine Gorz, Vice President of Corporate Com-munications. Please pray that God will equip Christine with everything she needs to lead her teams well as they serve Moody’s departments and our constituents.

Read: Judges 17

In those days Israel had no king.

Judges 17:6

Monday, June 13

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Most homes have unwritten rules, in-cluding the common precept, “Don’t flush when someone is in the shower.” Most know that when the toilet flushes, cold water flees the shower, leaving the innocent showering one to get scalded. Bible professor Dale Davis recalled an occasion when his son did just this to him, eliciting his yelp of pain. After a hasty apol-ogy, his son crowed, “You can’t beat me up, because you’re my dad.” Davis adds, “He meant, ‘Because of who you are, you are committed to act in a certain way’.

Repentance opens us up before God, but our sin also reveals the character of God Himself. First Samuel 12 shows that while judgment accompanies sin, it comes with heavy doses of mercy.

By this point, Israel had already asked for a king, had chosen Saul to be king, and finally anointed him king over Israel (see 1 Samuel 8—10). In chapter 12, Samuel makes it clear that now there is no going back, and the people must fully under-stand what they have done (v. 7).

Samuel wanted the people to face reality. His speech rehearsed Israel’s unfaithful-ness. They “forgot the Lord” (v. 9) and are conquered by various enemies. When pressured again (v. 12) they caved and ask for a king. Even now, the wheat har-vest will be ruined as a judgment (v. 17).

But judgment is not the dominant theme here. Two crucial times we see God’s reaction to Israel’s sin in the form of the phrase, “The Lord sent,” (vv. 8, 11). Even in the midst of our sin, God loves His people. He sends deliver-ance. Israel might have ar-

gued that God had no such deliverance at the end of chapter 12, but in fact God’s mercy stood right in front of them in the form of Samuel. He would intercede for the people (v. 23), something hinted at already (v. 11).

In fact, not only does God stay close when we sin, He is especially active. Our trans-gressions become the platform for the Lord to show who He really is. He simply won’t “beat us up.” He will not let our sin go unnoticed, but He will act consistently with His character of love and mercy.

As with Israel, so too with us: God never abandons His people. Take a moment to reflect on how God has provided for you in the midst of your sin. How has He gotten you back on track? Perhaps at times it was a friend, an author, an event, or quite possibly, even a sermon. “Shout aloud, Israel! Be glad and re-joice with all your heart! . . . The Lord has taken away your punishment, he has turned back your enemy” (Zeph. 3:14–15).

While you pray, please men-tion Marketing and Commu-nications: Rhonda AuYeung, Lawrence Bohlin, Jennifer Enger, and Lynn Gabalec. Let’s ask the Lord to give them creativity as they work on projects for Moody’s various ministries.

Read: 1 Samuel 12

You have done all this evil; yet do not

turn away from the Lord.

1 Samuel 12:20

Tuesday, June 14

my neighbor is one of the nicest people I know, a really good man. He’s always available to help

anyone. I know he’s not a Christian. I’ve witnessed to him many times. He listens and responds graciously. And yet has never made a decision to confess his sin and receive Christ. The truth is that his lifestyle is more “Christian” than many so-called be-lievers I know. It’s frustrating. Won’t God forgive a person like that?

No one can have a relation-ship with God based on how good he or she is. Salvation is all about grace and what

Christ has done for us. Forgiveness of sin is all about God. God is holy. He is our judge. He is righteous. We, on the other hand, are sinners, and our sins must be judged. All the good things we do are not enough to meet God’s standard—the Bible says all of us fall short of the glory of God (Rom. 6:23). While your neighbor is doing good things, the good that he does, the Bible says, is like filthy rags (Isa. 64:6). Sin is an ugly cancer that cuts us off from God. The only thing that will wipe away our sin, friend, is the righ-teousness of Christ. Keep praying for your neighbor. Keep your witness going. Show him your care for him not simply by words but also by the good things you do for him, and let him hear regularly your gratefulness for what Christ has accomplished in you. I love your heart.

I hear you speak of the sovereignty of God. my question is this: does that mean that whatever hap-

pens God willed it into being? What does sovereignty of God mean? Is that biblical?

While the phrase “sovereignty of God” is not found in the Bible, you can’t read the Bible without seeing God’s absolute authority

in it. It is a very biblical concept. But not ev-eryone has the same understanding of what sovereignty means. I believe that God has power over the things that He has brought into being and the circumstances He has al-lowed. The difference between God and all of us is that He doesn’t need consensus. He’s not accountable to anyone or anything.

Some suggest that if God allows something, then He has willed it to happen. Whether bad or good, then, He becomes ultimately responsible. I personally believe from my understanding of the Bible that this notion goes against all that God is. Would God send His own Son to the cross for the sins of men, if He Himself caused each of those sins to be committed? In addition to the re-ality of God’s sovereignty is the reality that He gave humanity free will and the ability to make choices. With our choices come con-sequences. But our gracious, sovereign God can redeem even our sinful choices for our good and His glory. Even the horrific death of Jesus on a cross of shame was redeemed by God to make a way of salvation. His sov-ereignty makes our salvation possible.


Continued on next page

Question and answerMichael Kellogg, Moody Radio Host

www.todayin theword.com • 21

The only thing that will wipe away our sin is the righteousness of Christ.

When a Christian is seri-ous about marriage and his or her spouse com-mits adultery, isn’t that

biblical grounds for divorce? If it is biblical, is it also mandated?

The Bible teaches the sanctity of marriage as a covenant be-tween a man and a woman be-fore God. Matthew 19 initially

seems to indicate that divorce is never per-mitted under any circumstances. But then you come to verse 9 where Jesus said, “I tell you, that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.” The term sexual immorality is a general term that covers any sex outside of marriage.

A married man or woman who becomes entangled in an extramarital affair might confess and repent. There can be forgive-ness. Obviously serious trust issues must be addressed, and such a couple would be wise to seek good, spiritually informed counsel.

Vance Havner once said that if a man says he is faithful to his wife 90 percent of the time, he is not faithful at all. That’s what the confessing party needs to deal with. The offended man or woman must see that the guilty party has not only confessed and re-pented but also has forsaken the sin. If, however, the guilty husband or wife has displayed remorse but not repentance and continues to be caught up in that same sin of adultery, from my understanding of God’s Word, there is no question the Bible would allow for divorce.

I married an unbeliever who is a very good man. He has always enjoyed gambling like a hobby.

After we got married we would go together to the casinos. It’s not for the money—it’s just something we enjoy doing together. But I’m won-dering if it is sinful.

I have a standing rule that if I think something is sinful, then for me it is sinful. Romans sug-gests that anything your con-

science tells you is wrong for you, stay away from it. To do it, even if others say it’s okay, becomes a sin. I had a pastor friend, who was consumed by baseball. He was convict-ed that he was spending too much time over baseball—was actually obsessed by it, and so at least to him it became sin.

The word gambling or the verb to gamble is not mentioned in the Bible. That doesn’t mean it isn’t sin. We are to be good stewards of all that God gives us, whether it’s our time or money. I’ve had acquaintances who were obsessed by gambling; it controlled their lives, and they were slaves to it. The more im-portant question for you is whether you think the Holy Spirit is convicting your conscience, which makes gambling wrong for you. Not all sins are listed in the Bible. Drug addiction is not mentioned, but it is certainly not some-thing that pleases God. You are doing well in being sensitive to your conduct, and, of course, also considering how it affects your husband.

Continued from previous page

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Pray with Us

Billy Beane was a “can’t miss” baseball prospect. Tall, athletic, and fast, Beane could on occasion hit mammoth home runs. Scouts drooled over him. Yet, as Michael Lewis relates in his book Money-ball, there was just one problem: Beane couldn’t play. He couldn’t actually do things players need to do, like extend pitch counts, get walks, and hit behind runners. His play-ing career didn’t last long.

Saul looked like a “can’t miss” king. Tall, handsome (1 Sam. 9:2), having lead-ership ability (1 Samuel 11), he seemed poised to help Israel prosper. But we know that his rule col-lapsed, his dynasty ending with his death. What went wrong?

It’s astonishing how quickly it unrav-eled. Facing a crisis in 1 Samuel 13, Saul decided to offer the sacrifice on the sev-enth day (cf. 1 Sam. 10:8). It’s easy to sympathize with Saul. He felt anxious, and many of us would feel the same way in his shoes. His whole kingdom seemed to be slipping away. It seems he was trying to do the right thing to gain God’s favor. Why, then, such a harsh judgment (vv. 13–14)?

When confronted, Saul did not repent. He knew he disobeyed but quickly shifted blame to Samuel. As one Old Testament scholar pointed out, the “you” is empha-sized in verse 11, so Saul’s words might be translated, “When I saw that the men were scattering, and that you, yes you, did not come.” This reminds us of a simi-

lar Hebrew construction in Genesis 3:12, where Adam stated, “The woman you put here with me, she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

The fourth century bishop John Chrysostom once wrote, “All the variety of God’s commandments can be reduced to the single

principle of repentance. . . . We are not condemned for the multitude of our transgressions, but for our refusal to repent.” In verse 14, David’s kingdom is foreshadowed, for he was the “man after his own heart.” Were Saul’s crimes worse than the adultery, murder, and pride of David (2 Samuel 11; 23)? Certainly not! But throughout his life, Saul shifted blame and refused to confess his deeds (cf. 1 Sam. 15:20–21).

What is closest to God’s heart? How many of us try to manage our relationship with God through our be-havior? It is a very common trap. We forget that God looks at the heart, that He desires, “mercy, not sacri-fice” (Hos. 6:6; Matt. 9:9–13). Let us seek God’s heart by asking Him to soften our own. We have nothing to lose and everything to gain by simply admitting the truth. He offers us the blessing of His presence when we acknowledge our sin and repent.

Continuing to uphold Market-ing and Communications, we ask that you remember Julia Baad, Rachel Hutcheson, Elena Mafter, and Loral Robben in your prayers. May they have insight and inspiration to create excellent visual and written materials representing Moody.

Read: 1 Samuel 13

But now your kingdom will not endure. The Lord has sought out a

man after his own heart.

1 Samuel 13:14

Wednesday, June 15

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Pray with Us

The documentary The Smartest Guys in the Room details Enron’s 2001 financial collapse. Many things went wrong at Enron, but their focus on shareholder value over actual profit sealed their doom. Enron leadership often encouraged artifi-cial inflation of stock value to mask bal-ance sheets in the red. Emphasizing style over substance will eventu-ally catch up with you.

Today’s reading shows David taking the opposite approach and facing real-ity. His story teaches about repentance, but also about what God truly values.

We are used to thinking of David as “a man after [God’s] own heart” (1 Sam. 13:14). He authored many of the psalms. Christ Himself is called the “son of Da-vid.” (see Matt. 1:1). But he murdered and committed adultery. He ordered a census that resulted in a plague killing 70,000 Israelites (2 Samuel 24). His poor parenting brought about civil war in Israel (2 Samuel 13—14). We may hon-estly wonder how someone like this could possibly be described as a person after God’s own heart, and today’s reading gives clues to the answer.

Note first the contrast between David and Saul. When confronted, David confessed directly. The brevity of his words showed spiritual strength (cf. Luke 18:13). He put forward no excuses, the opposite of Saul’s whining in 1 Samuel 13 and 15.

We noted yesterday how Saul worried about image, but David responded by abasing himself, lying all night on the ground (v. 16). It should have been Saul, not David, who confronted the blasphemous giant Goliath (1 Samuel 17).

Finally we note that each time Samuel confronted Saul, he then lapsed into erratic or negligent behav-ior (see 1 Samuel 14, 17). In contrast, after Nathan confronted him, David did what he should have done all along and finished the war in person.

To be “after God’s own heart” does not demand perfection on our parts, but it does mean that when confronted, we listen to God and repent honestly. David’s actions give us more than a warning—they give hope.

Even through the death of his child we see the inclina-tion of David’s heart. He wept and prayed in hopes that God would heal the child, because he knew deeply the heart of God—grace and forgiveness. The child’s death did not diminish David’s faith. He continued to believe that God was the best refuge for sinners (cf. 2 Sam. 24:14). If we wish to be people after God’s own heart, we must know that repentant sinners be-lieve that God is not done with us just yet.

Event and Guest Services—Brenda McCord, Calvin Rob-inson, and Carmel Swift—help plan Moody conferences around the country. Let’s ask the Lord to prepare the hearts of people who will be in attendance at the upcoming events.

Read: 2 Samuel 12

David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against

the Lord.”2 Samuel 12:13

Thursday, June 16

Apply the Word


Pray with Us

Those who have interacted with children know that their reckless behavior can sometimes bring about pain. We warn them, but they do not listen, and sooner or later someone gets hurt. No good parent, however, would refuse to comfort a hurting child sim-ply because it was “their fault.” Today we see that God’s care for us is no different, and how His love should move us toward repentance.

Judges 1:27–36 presents the incomplete conquest of the land. God want-ed the occupying na-tions driven out to pro-tect His people, knowing that they would eas-ily slip back into idolatry if surrounded by them. God had pledged to go before them in conquest, so the fault lay with the Israelites. They were warned (2:2), but they disobeyed (vv. 12–14). In turn, they suffered occupation and oppression from their enemies. God acted as He promised He would, and this is no surprise.

God’s reaction to their suffering may surprise us, however. Out of nowhere He “raised up judges” (v. 16) who deliv-ered them from their enemies. There is no indication that God acted because of any movement back toward God in the text that “earned” them this deliverance. Even in spite of this unexpected gift, the Isra-

elites again “prostituted themselves to other gods” (v. 17). But God did not leave His people.

In verse 18 we see the reason for God’s deliver-ance. He cannot stand to sit by for long and have His people suffer. Again, we should not as-sume that verse 28 de-

scribes Israel’s repentance, as none of the traditional Hebrew words for “repent” are used here. Simply put, God pities us. One might almost say He looks for excuses to shower us with blessings. True repentance would obviously be best. But crying out, “Daddy, I’m hurt, please help me,” does move the heart of God.

God will hand us over to the consequences of our own behavior. But such disasters are never what God truly wants for us. If you suffer and are not at the place of repentance, tell God of your suffering. It is a fine begin-ning. But while we can begin with crying out in pain, we cannot stop there. Without true repentance, the Israel-ites fell back into destructive habits (v. 19). God hears us in our suffering—how much more will He hear our cry, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner!” (Luke 18:13).

Continuing our prayers for Event and Guest Services, join us in thanking God for the special ministry of hos-pitality that Stacey Craelius, Nancy Holec, Christina Kim-ball, and Lillian Mante offer our campus visitors each day.

Read: Judges 2

For the Lord was moved to pity by their

groaning because of those who

oppressed them.Judges 2:18

Friday, June 17

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Pray with Us

If God is good, why do bad things happen? Skeptics have used this question to argue against Christian faith, but genuine seekers ask this as well. Faithful believers, from Job to the present day, know that this question is more than an intellectual puzzle. It impacts our lives all the time on an emotional and spiritual level. We cannot ignore it or explain it away.

Today’s reading cer-tainly does not provide a complete answer to this question, but it may shed some light. We see that bad things happen not only because of our sin, but to remind us to reorient our lives toward our true home.

In Deuteronomy Moses gave the Israelites a summary of the Law and their history as a people. Chapter 8 tells of God’s provision during the forty years of desert wandering and the blessings of the Prom-ised Land they soon will enter. We must see that God’s first impulse and greatest wish is to bless us. He creates and saves us, not

to make minions for His bidding but to share the abundance of His love.

But Deuteronomy 8:14–17 both warn and foreshadow what may come. All of these blessings might lead the Israelites to forget the Source, and distort their perception of who they are. God gives

gifts in spite of, not because of, our state of purity. Chapter 9 reminds the Israelites that their real danger came not from the enemies they faced in battle (9:3), but in their own hearts. Perhaps this is why Moses rehearsed one of their great failings, the Golden Calf.

Their disobedience here led God to declare that

He wished to destroy the Israelites (9:14), but Moses interceded, appealing to the character of God and His faithfulness and mercy. For all the harsh language of chapters 8 and 9, God’s mercy is the dominant theme. He seeks to save us from ourselves (8:3, 16). We need to be reoriented in our walk with Him.

The theme of God’s mercy extends when Moses stated, “Then I took that sinful thing of yours . . . and ground it to powder as fine as dust” (v. 21). Just as Christ was “crushed for our iniquities” (Isa. 53:5), God does for us what we cannot do for ourselves. Suffering can be a call for us to repent, a call to realize that God loves us enough not to let us walk away. Let us heed this call “as long as it is called ‘Today’ so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness” (Heb. 3:13).

Concluding our prayers for Event and Guest Services, will you remember Brandon Chism, Joy Gruber and So-nya Valeff? May they experi-ence God’s grace and mercy as they manage the many logistics of planning Moody’s large-scale events.

Read: Deuteronomy 8:1–9:21

It is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God is giving you

this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people.

Deuteronomy 9:6

Saturday, June 18

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Pray with Us

In ancient Persia, no male between the ages of 15 and 50 could escape army ser-vice. A man named Pythius approached King Xerxes with a request. Might Xerxes exempt the eldest of his five sons from the military? Xerxes not only denied the re-quest, he took Pythius’s son and had his body hacked in two, so that the depart-ing army could march be-tween his body as they left the city. Approaching the king came with great risk.

With sin comes guilt, and guilt brings fear. Over the next three days we will see that when we approach the King of kings, we have noth-ing to fear. This is true because of God’s nature, but also because of what God seeks to accomplish through repentance.

In our reading today let’s assume the perspective of those that heard the Baptist’s message. Here we have a fiery preacher who lived in the desert, perhaps alone. He ate locusts. He used strong and vivid language (v. 7). He rebuked Herod, surely knowing what that might mean (3:19–20). One might easily fear this man, not for his anger, but because of his holiness.

This fear may have been heightened by John’s words in verse 7. His words went to “the crowds,” and in verse 8 he seem-ingly removed the last of their spiritual defenses. Not even membership in the nation of Israel got them a pass.

Having been verbally dressed down, with no leg to stand on, they responded in the only way possible, “What should we do then?” Surely this took great courage. What might this crazy prophet tell them to do? Would it be the modern equivalent of, “Sell everything and be a missionary in Green-

land”? What does repentance mean?

John indicated that repentance means that some things must change, but these things are simple, obvious, and straight-forward. Share food and resources. Don’t cheat others. Be content. We might even think, “They got off easy!” But to think this is to miss the point. God is not impressed much by what we have done or will do, and John understood this. He does care greatly about who we are. Repentance involves transformation first and foremost, not action.

Many of us may fear to approach God by baring our souls. We may cringe in anticipation of what God will “require” of us, and so stay away. But we can trust God’s loving embrace. He is not standing by with a cosmic whip, waiting to flog us into submission. Rather, He sent His Son to redeem us and sends His Holy Spirit to transform us. Let us turn to Him today with hope instead of fear.

Please lift up the ministry of Counseling Services—Stephen Brasel, Gayla Gates, and Holly Porter—at our Chicago campus. May God use these employees to help our students experience true freedom in Jesus Christ.

Read: Luke 3:7–14

What should we do then?Luke 3:10

Sunday, June 19

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Pray with Us

Horatio Alger’s tales of rags to riches through pluck and effort in the late nine-teenth century embodied how many saw America. Alger performed countless charitable acts, but guilt over an accusa-tion of sexual molestation lingered with him. Some viewed his charitable acts as a response to this transgression. He once wrote a poem to a monk struggling with sin, and the final stanza reads: Thy guilty stains shall be washed white again / by noble service done thy fel-low men. For Alger, even redemption was in reach of those willing to strive for it.

This tragic attitude can infect any of us; it’s tragic because it creates an impossi-ble burden, one that God never intended we bear. Yesterday we saw that repen-tance may involve something outside our expectations, and today we see how God means for us to be reconciled to Him.

Like yesterday, our text opens with so-bering words. Paul seems to create an impossible burden in verse 10, stating that all of us must give and receive our due for what we’ve done, “whether good or bad.” By itself, this statement offers

nobody hope, and Paul agrees, referenc-ing the fear of the Lord (v. 11). Death and judgment await.

But the centrality of the gospel mes-sage liberates Paul from fear. We have already “died” for our sin—because Christ died for us (v. 15). This death

liberates us from bondage to ourselves, and one form this bondage can take is the balance sheet in our own conscience. None of the past matters now be-cause our old selves died in the death of Christ. We are “new creations.” As one commentator states,

“We must not look upon [Christians] in terms of what they bring to their relation-ship with Christ, but in terms of what they have become in Him.”

This new freedom is oriented toward a new end, that of reconciliation. God seeks to bridge the divide between Him-self and the world He loves. We should commit to this same ministry (vv. 18–19). It begins with us. Through repentance we reconcile ourselves to God, and make it possible to be reconciled with others. The old bondage has passed away.

Facing our sin is never easy. But repentance is much, much easier than the impossible task of righting the balance sheet in our favor. Repentance is God’s gift of reconciliation to us. We must embrace it, and this day let us not hesitate to heal the divide between God and ourselves, and with those that we have sinned against. God’s great mercy and forgiveness transform us, mak-ing it possible for us to extend incomprehensible for-giveness to others, too.

Will you raise up the Stewardship Department in prayer? As members of this team meet and speak with Moody’s financial partners around the country, may they be ministers of Christ’s hope and love.

Read: 2 Corinthians 5:9–21

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation

has come.2 Corinthians 5:17

Monday, June 20

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Pray with Us

The Greek philosopher Socrates claimed that he tried to live in obedience to the command, “Know thyself.” For Socrates this meant recognizing his limitations. As Plato’s Apology states, “He among you is the wisest who, like Socrates, knows that his wisdom is really worth nothing at all.”

John Calvin wrote, “Without knowledge of self, there is no knowl-edge of God.” Failure to understand ourselves will hinder us from knowing God as we might. As we have seen, repentance gives us “great understand-ing,” whereby we know God better by seeing who we really are.

Much could be gleaned from this chap-ter, but for our purposes we will focus on verse 29, where the woman declared, “Come, see a man who told me every-thing I ever did.” These words may strike us at least as hyperbolic. Clearly, in their brief encounter, Jesus did not do exact-ly this. The passage provides clues for understanding this unusual statement, and her subsequent repentance.

Jesus broke many of society’s barriers in this conversation. Jews and Samaritans did not converse, and neither did rab-bis and women. Jesus would not let this stand in the way of His compassion for this woman. Notice how gently He peeled off her masks and misunderstandings before her “self knowledge” in verse 29.

In dropping her guard, revealing her sin, and ac-knowledging that sin, the Samaritan woman real-ized she was “known.” Her words contain not just amazement, but also relief. No more pretending! I can be myself! Our understand-

ing deepens when we grasp the cultural context. The gathering at the local well was a prominent social time for women. She came later in the day to avoid peo-ple. Her living situation no doubt brought shame to herself and the community (v. 18). Now, however, she was free. She no longer feared her past because Messiah has come. Her first action was extending the good news to the community that had excluded her. We do not receive freedom in order to stand still, but to move forward with our lives joyfully.

The spiritual pride practiced in John 4 by Jews and Samaritans can easily slip into our own lives. Who is the gospel for? Christianity is not for “good” people. It is not for people who think they have it all figured out. It is “for the sick” (Matt. 9:12). Will we experience the glory of being known by God through repentance? We can experience the relief, joy, and transformation that Jesus brought to the Samaritan woman when we acknowledge who we are and who Jesus is.

In praying for Dr. Junias Venugopal, Provost and Dean of Education, let’s remember Next Step, an open-house event taking place on our Chicago campus today for future seminary students. May these men and women feel welcome and be encouraged in their ministry calling.

Read: John 4:1–39

Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be

the Messiah?John 4:29

Tuesday, June 21

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Pray with Us

C. S. Lewis says in his essay “The Weight of Glory” that, while we may recognize beauty, beauty does not recognize us. We cannot have a conversation with a prized orchid or inspiring song. Beauty smiles, but not in our direction. We often sense alienation from the world and long for a response. We want to be acknowledged.

We have seen that part of God’s purpose in re-pentance is freedom from fear, the past, and the self. Today we see that because God meets our deep need of acceptance, we have freedom in the way we can treat others.

We first note the surprise that greets us in verse three. We expect it to say, “Whoever loves God knows God,” but instead it says, “is known by God.” To grasp the significance of this unexpected reversal, let’s look first at the context. The Corinthians were divided about this issue of eating of food sacrificed to idols. Paul states clearly that this issue is no issue at all (v. 8), as eating or not eating in itself does nothing for our spiritual well being. Instead, Paul uses this dispute to expose a deeper problem.

To be with like-minded people is a powerful way to fill our need for acceptance. These associations can lead to real friendships that bless us wonder-fully. Sometimes, however, we use our belonging in one group to feel superior to others, and the Corinthians had done exactly this (v. 2). Verse 3 has nothing to

say against friendships with like-minded people. But it does serve as a reminder: you are already “known,” you already belong. “Why then,” Paul seems to say, “do you create these false categories?”

We will make the same mistake as the Corinthians unless we ap-proach God with humility. Now we under-stand verse 3 more clearly: Our love for God is already evidence that He knows us. We are already secure in His love and knowledge; we don’t need to prop ourselves up with alternative sources of security or power. In John 4 the woman’s repentance gave her true self-awareness; today we see that humility enables us to love God and others. To be loved is to be welcomed into the heart of things, as Lewis says: “The door on which we have been knocking will be opened at last.”

Paul continues in chapter 8 to show us what we must do with this freedom. The difference between people creates an opportunity for service, not division. Wheth-er weak or strong, when we know that we are truly accepted by God despite our failures, we can put others before ourselves. If you have been squabbling with other believers about an issue, take this opportunity to reflect on your own position as known and loved by God. Then through His grace, extend that love to others.

Will you join us in express-ing gratitude to God for Moody Theological Seminary Instructors Jayanthi Benjamin, James Coakley, John Fuder, Daniel Green, and Sajan Mathews? Praise the Lord for their investment in Christian ministry leaders studying at our Chicago campus.


Whoever loves God is known

by God.1 Corinthians 8:3

Wednesday, June 22

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Pray with Us

Some of us may recall an old television public service ad where an actress reminded us that, “Playing doctor can kill you.” It seems incredible that such a message would be needed, but in truth we often prefer our own way to the skill and training of medical professionals, and we vastly overesti-mate our own wisdom, even when it can lead us into error and death. Today we look at how Christ, the “Great Physi-cian,” can use humility to save us from ourselves.

To understand our text, we must realize that the Phari-sees were not “bad guys” in the eyes of most people. Unlike the Sadducees, they had not “sold out” to the Romans. They preserved traditional orthodoxy, like belief in the resurrection, and stressed the need for purity in their obedience to God’s law. They resembled conservative believers in many ways, which should make us wonder what their issue was with Jesus.

In the beginning of Matthew 9 we see Jesus miraculously heal a paralytic and

proclaim His power to forgive sins. Many rejoiced, and in verses 9 and 10 Jesus reached out in intimate fellowship to hated collaborators with the Romans. At this, the Pharisees objected. Their whole system appeared in jeopardy. They faced a popular healer (v. 8), and their popularity was based partly

on standing against the Romans. Jesus threatened to overturn all they had strived for and taught.

In Matthew 9:9–13, Jesus cannot offer anything to the Pharisees. They felt no need for forgiveness. Blind to the truth, they had no

hope (cf. 1 John 1:8–9). Those who feel no need for repentance simply feel no need for Christ at all.

Here we see how this text matters to us. Will we prefer our own systems, theologies, and positions of power over Christ Himself? It’s time for us to stop pretending to be doctors, and go to the “Great Physician” as the poor and sick people we truly are.

We find encouragement in the words of the early church father John Chrysostom: “As often as you sin, repent of your sin. Do not despair. . . . Do not by indifference lose hope of the good things prepared. For here is a physician’s office, not a courtroom; not a place where punishment is exacted, but where forgiveness is granted.” When we experience ongoing struggle with sin, we can still trust that Christ, the Great Physician, will bring healing.

Continuing our prayers for Moody Theological Semi-nary Instructors, please lift up Walter McCord, Andrew Pflederer, William Thrasher, Julius Wong Loi Sing, and David Woodall. May God use these gifted professors to speak His truth into the lives of our students.


It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but

the sick.Matthew 9:12

Thursday, June 23

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Pray with Us

In Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II, historian John Dower details Japan’s postwar reconstruction. They faced many physical challenges, such as rebuilding infrastructure. But Japan’s greatest obstacle was their deep psychological despondency, what Japa-nese observers called the Kyodatsu con-dition. Originally used as a clinical term for individu-al patients, now it applied to the whole nation. For many, kyodatsu was the “great enemy that could destroy Japan.”

One cannot repent without admitting fault, but true repentance should never leave us with-out hope. Our text today warns us of the dangers of wallowing in personal fail-ure without reorienting our lives toward God.

Paul references his former “letter” (v. 8), which many believe to be 1 Corinthians, an epistle where Paul pulled no punches. Divisions, immorality—even turning the Lord’s Supper into a drunken feast—Paul did not hesitate to spell out their sins. Notice that Paul did not relish his pro-phetic role. He genuinely cared about this

church, and woe to any of us who exult in pointing out others’ faults.

Paul makes clear that he did not rebuke them merely because he was angry or disappointed in them. He did not even criticize for the sole reason that they had sinned. As verse 9 tells us, Paul made them

“sorry” in the hopes that it might produce repentance.

The context of 2 Corin-thians is Paul’s desire to vindicate his apostolic ministry. This is not Paul’s indulgence in a touch of vanity here, for something much greater is at stake,

namely, their perseverance in the faith (2 Cor 1:12–24). Paul’s desire for their repentance made him a true apostle of Christ (2 Cor. 7:12).

Our text today reveals not only Paul’s heart but God’s as well. When we sense God confronting us with our sin, we must not focus on our sin alone. We must not think that God is merely angry with us. He seeks to move us beyond the worldly sorrow that leads us toward spiritual death. He wants us to be reborn. He wants us to have hope.

Japan’s tradition of Bushido called for “honorable” suicide after an ignominious defeat. In the same way, some people think that spiritual suicide is the only response to their sin and failures. This is not what God wants. He is able to bring good fruit from the muck of our defeat. He wants us to deal with our sin, but only because He wants us to be reborn. Godly sorrow “leaves no regret,” for it turns our gaze from our weak-ness to hope in God’s strength to restore us.

Please uphold in prayer Lloyd Dodson, Vice President of Corporate Projects and Hu-man Resources. Among other tasks, Lloyd guides Moody’s efforts in the recruitment of faculty and staff. Ask God to give him wisdom to help bring the right people to Moody.


Godly sorrow leads to

repentance . . . but the worldly sorrow

brings death. 2 Corinthians 7:10

Friday, June 24

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Pray with Us

Few Christians list prophetic litera-ture among their most-read portions of Scripture. Our images of a prophet probably have a man with a wizened face, wild eyes, and gnarly fingers extended in accusation. Prophets mean judgment, not comfort.

Over the next few days we will look at prophetic literature as it relates to repentance. Hopefully we will see that our familiar image of the prophet needs tinkering. If God sends one, He has our eventual blessing in mind.

We usually think of prophets coming in the midst of evil times, but in verse 1 we see that Zephaniah was commissioned “dur-ing the reign of Josiah . . . king of Judah.” Second Kings 23:25 tells us that there was no other king like him. He established right worship in Israel and destroyed many places of idolatry. We may think Zepha-niah’s prophetic role was not needed. But 2 Kings and our text today show other-wise. Previous rulers, like Manassah, left deep scars within Judah. Kings after Josiah, like Jehoahaz, went right back to idolatry. We may wonder if Israel’s return

to God under Josiah was skin deep. At the very least, repentance must be a continual practice, a way of life (cf. 1 John 1).

Chapter 1 indicates that Josiah’s reign probably fostered economic prosperity, with references to money, merchants, and the complacency of wealth (vv. 10–13).

Despite the appearance that all is well, Judah faced judgment (1:4). This is why they needed Zephaniah. They needed a reminder that “the great day of the Lord is near” (v. 14).

When accused we often respond defensively, “Why

us? What about other idolaters?” Chapter 2 tells of God’s judgment on other nations. God is not “piling on,” but warning Judah. This should also comfort us. Judah was not singled out, and neither are we when we face judgment. God is adamantly against all idolatry.

A God who did not care would not warn His people. Zephaniah had the long-term view. He looks forward to when we can be glad, when “the Lord has taken away your punishment” (3:15).

We must not follow Israel’s example (1:12) and believe that God cares nothing for us. Our God cared enough to pour out the judgment for our sin on His own Son to provide a way for us to be in relationship with Him. He cares enough to get our attention, to bring us back into fellowship. If you are trembling in fear at God’s judg-ment, run instead into His loving arms of safety. Write Zephaniah 3:17 on a note card to remind yourself of God’s great delight in you.

Dr. Larry Dividhizar, Vice President and Dean of the Undergraduate School, and his Executive Administrative Assistant, Paula Siebold, would appreciate your prayers. Let’s ask the Lord to refresh their spirits and ener-gize them for the upcoming school year.

Read: Zephaniah 1—3

Seek the Lord, all you humble of

the land . . . seek righteousness,

seek humility.Zephaniah 2:3

Saturday, June 25

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Pray with Us

After the battle of Lake Erie in 1813, U.S. Naval Commander Oliver Perry wrote, “We have met the enemy, and they are ours.” Years later, cartoonist Walt Kelly coined the more memorable, “We have met the enemy, and he is us.” Kelly’s words not only summed up the spirit of his comic strip “Pogo,” they also point to an important spiritual truth we often overlook.

Beginning yesterday, and continuing over the next few days, we will look at prophetic literature related to repentance. Today we take a fresh look at the book of Jonah to glean im-portant truths about Jonah and Israel, but also about our own hearts.

Jonah’s call and initial disobedience are familiar to many, but if we are honest, we probably sympathize with him. Nineveh was the heart of the Assyrian empire. With great brutality, the Assyrians had rapidly expanded their territory (around 850–750 b.c.) routinely dismembering, impaling, and flaying their captives. Their cruelty and rapaciousness made them the

scourge of nations. No wonder Jonah ran the other direction.

We can also credit him for bringing his situation to God. In the belly of the fish he stopped running, and when rescued he obeyed. And yet, so distraught was Jonah by chapter four that he twice wished

for death and revealed the reason for his initial flight. He did not fear what the Assyrians might do to him—he feared God might forgive. Nineveh’s repentance was his worst nightmare, for it meant potential danger for God’s people. We know that eventually, Assyria sacked and scattered the ten

northern tribes in 722 b.c.

Time and again God sent prophets to warn Israel of coming trouble. Mostly they foretold of coming disaster, but the people rarely listened. Did Jonah’s sense of entitlement (4:9) mirror that of Israel it-self? His refusal to receive mercy put him further away from God than any Ninev-ite. Jonah was wrong about Assryia. His greatest enemy was his own heart.

Psychologists use the term projection when we blame other people or things for our failings. It’s a common defense mechanism, and it’s spiritually deadly. If we refuse to face responsibility for our deeds we will, like Jonah, become self-righteous and reject God’s mercy. The Assyrians’ repentance shows us that no one is ever shut off from God’s mercy. But Jonah’s anger shows us another possibility—that as believers we may no longer feel we need it. May God preserve us from Jonah’s fate.

Would you ask the Holy Spirit to provide encouragement to faculty serving the Bible Department at our under-graduate school in Chicago? May the Lord minister to Trevor Burke, John Goodrich, Ernest Gray, and John Hart this summer.

Read: Jonah 4

Should I not have concern for . . .

Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred

and twenty thousand people?

Jonah 4:11

Sunday, June 26

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Pray with Us

No doubt all of us can remember as a child doing something wrong and our parents finding out. Most likely we heard something to the effect of, “If you confess and tell the truth, this will all be easier.” If we trusted them, and if they were worthy of that trust, we discovered that parents care about their relationship and want to restore it.

Some assume that the prophets portray an image of a God who has an “itchy trigger finger” for judgment. Our study in the prophets, however, shows us a God who cares for His people above all, and today’s passage is no different.

Like all prophets, Ezekiel had the burden of proclaiming coming judgment for sin. What sets Ezekiel apart in some ways from other prophets are the lengths to which he’s called to go in order to give God’s message. In chapter 1 God calls him amidst dazzling visions. We might say that He pulled out all the stops. On a number of occasions, Ezekiel did the same, acting out in pantomime the com-ing judgment (see chap. 4; 10; 12). God does not want His message missed.

In Ezekiel 18:2, he quotes a common proverb of his time, which casts blame for their current woes on previous gen-erations. But the proverb does more than shift blame to the past. It also accuses God of injustice, of not caring about them. Strikingly, God responds not with an accusation but with a defense. He val-

ues dialogue. Most of all, He wanted Israel to know He cared about them.

In verses 4 through 18 God makes it plain that no one faces punish-ment without sin. If they find themselves judged, they can assume they

themselves have sinned, and need to stop blaming their ancestors. In verse 23, God shows His grief over their be-lief that He exults in judgment. How could you think this of me?, He seems to say.

God finally reveals His heart (vv. 30–32). Judgment comes because He wants them to repent. He sent Ezekiel to get their attention in numerous ways. They did not listen. Maybe judgment would force them to listen. Maybe now they will “repent and live.”

Facing the reality of our sin will open our hearts to see God as He truly is. Ezekiel 18 may remind you of Jesus’ words in Matthew 23. His heartfelt lament over Jerusalem (23:37) comes after some of His sternest words in all the Gospels (see Matt. 23:33). God wants to bless us, and often does in spite of our sin. But in the end, we must face the truth. We must listen. Neither the people of Jesus’ or Ezekiel’s day did so. Will we?

Continuing our prayers for faculty serving in the Bible Department, thank the Lord for William Marty, Gerald Peterman, Ronald Sauer, and Andrew Schmutzer. Praise God for their investment in the next generation of Bible teachers, pastors, ministry leaders, and missionaries.

Read: Ezekiel 18

For I take no pleasure in the

death of anyone!. . . Repent and live!

Ezekiel 18:32

Monday, June 27

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Pray with Us

Finding a new friend is always exciting. But friendships usually begin with a pe-riod of awkwardness. Are certain topics off limits? Are there rooms in the house I should not see? The stronger the relation-ship, the more freedom we experience with each other as trust is established.

Today and tomorrow we’ll examine repentance in the psalms. They do teach theology, but as poetic lit-erature they also give us insight into our experience. Psalm 32 provides a great example.

David began by describing the burden of sin and guilt. His hesitancy to confess made him miserable (v. 3). Few things are worse than a guilty conscience. But it goes beyond that. David’s silence severed his relationship with God. We should interpret God’s heavy hand in this light (v. 4). He hounded David not to make him run, but to make him come out of hiding.

Verses 5 through 7 glory in the experience of forgiveness and God’s protection that comes with confession. We don’t know the specific context of Psalm 32 in David’s life,

and we can apply David’s descriptions of trouble to the experiences we all encounter (vv. 6–7). The guilt of sin, the broken rela-tionship, not knowing where he stood with God—David knew that this more than anything could destroy him.

Here the text takes an unexpected turn by focusing on God’s instruc-tion, which may seem to have little to do with David baring his soul. Repentance ultimately is about our rela-tionship to God. Brute ani-mals have a limited rela-tionship with us. They must be led with commands (v. 9). Sometimes we reduce God to an automatic rule enforcer. Verse 8 shows

that God wants something much more personal than that, as David developed a clear contrast between God’s leading of us, and leading by “bit and bridle.”

Confession does lead to God’s forgive-ness. But it also restores the relationship, and we receive back our freedom. We can move forward, confident that God’s “unfailing love surrounds” us. Surely this is great cause to “rejoice in the Lord,” and shout for joy (vv. 10–11).

The self-imposed exile created by our sin can make us miserable. But it is not our sin that keeps us from God so much as our failure to confess and repent. When we sin or are sinned against, we want to restore broken relationships with friends. How much more does God want us to return to Him, freed from the burden of guilt? You can confess today, and if you have experienced this restored relationship, you can shout and sing with joy!

Concluding our prayers for Bible Department faculty, let’s remember Timothy Sigler, Michael Vanlaningham, and Michael Wechsler. Ask the Lord to use the classes they teach to help prepare students to build up Christ’s Church around the world.

Read: Psalm 32

Many are the woes of the wicked. But the Lord’s unfailing

love surrounds the one who trusts in him.

Psalm 32:10

Tuesday, June 28

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Pray with Us

The Song of Roland, a semi-historical epic, tells of Charlemagne’s disastrous campaign into Spain around a.d. 778, where his enemy massacred the best men in his army. Charlemagne, of course, was not supposed to fail. To many he stood larger than life, a hero as well as a king. But now he had failed, and his best troops and invincible rep-utation were gone. What would he do?

Psalm 51 finds David in a similar position. Called by God, he stood steadfast in faith even when pursued by Saul. He won key vic-tories that brought Israel power and security they had never known. He was a hero. But then he seduced Bathsheba and murdered Uriah in cold blood. Psalm 51 is David’s response to this disaster.

First we note that David is talking to God and not at Him. When caught red-handed, sometimes children spew out a series of, “Sorry sorry sorry! Don’t pun-ish me!” Here, part of the text is almost playfully argumentative (vv. 4, 13, 15, 18). He seems to say, “God, think of the

good your forgiveness can do!” Far from irreverent, it shows David’s trust in his relationship with God.

David also knew his limitations. He cannot do anything to balance the scales. All we can bring to God is our brokenness (vv. 16–17). In verse 10, David uses the

Hebrew word bara, which is almost always used in conjunction with God’s power. Instances where it refers to man speak of enlargement (cf. 1 Sam. 2:29, Josh. 17:15). Both senses fit the context here. David needed a “new creation,” just like in Genesis 1. His heart need-ed to be pushed beyond

his brutal selfishness.

David closed with an appeal to God’s desire to bless us. As a proud father, He wants to see His children succeed (vv. 18–19). Repentance is David’s theme. But once again we see that repentance is never really about us or our sin, but about God’s love and the future we can have, freed from the burden of sin’s power.

David could not change the death of Uriah or the impending death of his child. But he knew that God could change his heart. The cleansing power of God’s love can constantly renew us. This is why David has always been a model for God’s people, and he can be for us today. He knew that sin was never the end, but a chance for a new beginning with God and a reaffirmation of our relationship with Him.

Please bring before the Lord today our Vice President of Information Systems, Frank Leber, and his Executive Ad-ministrative Assistant, Eliza-beth Larsen. May they find great fulfillment in serving the Lord at Moody today.

Read: Psalm 51

Deliver me from the guilt of

bloodshed, O God . . . and my tongue

will sing of your righteousness.

Psalm 51:14

Wednesday, June 29

Apply the Word


Pray with Us

The philosopher Aristotle was more practical than most. At the heart of his treatment of ethics, he discussed the importance of friendship. Friendship was so important to him that he surmised that its lack made the good life of virtue nearly impossible.

As we close our study of repentance this month, we examine the Incarnation. While Christ of course had no sin, His humility shows us the way toward repentance. He shows His care for us by offering us, among other shocking things, His friendship.

If we reflect on our own lives, we see that we often stumble when alone. We saw Peter deny Christ when by himself. David sinned with Bathsheba when he should have been with the army. Isolation not only makes us more likely to think we can get away with it, it also weakens our resistance to temptation.

Knowing what was in the heart of human-ity (John 2:25), Christ voluntarily humbled Himself. He did not sin but did, in a sense, reorient His perspective. He “did not con-

sider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage” (Phil. 2:6), and He agreed to walk in our shoes and experience human limitations. Crucially, Hebrews 4:15 tells us that Christ can “em-pathize with our weaknesses,” because He has experienced temptation as we have. During His forty-day fast in the des-

ert, He even experienced His temptation alone (Matt. 4:1–11). On the Cross, when forsaken even by the Father Himself, He hum-bled Himself by “becoming obedient to death.”

C. S. Lewis wrote that friendship begins, “when one person says to an-other, ‘What, you too! I

thought I was the only one!’” We are not alone in our temptations, and God has not abandoned us to our sin. Aristotle commented that “a friend is a single spirit in two bodies.” We have Jesus’ promise to be with us always (Matt. 28:20) and His Holy Spirit as a pledge of our future inheritance (Eph. 1:13–14). James called Abraham a “friend of God,” (James 2:23), and if we are Abraham’s children (Gal. 3:7–9) we too can experience this friendship through the gift of repentance.

We see the width and breadth of Christ’s call to us in the first story related to the Incarnation, when poor Jewish shepherds, at the bottom of the economic ladder, are called to witness his birth (Luke 2:1–20). Some time later, wealthy and well-educated wise men from the East come to worship. From poor Jew to wealthy Gentile, Christ calls all of us to be His friends. Let us heed His example of humility, and “Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15).

As we come to the end of our study, let’s thank God for the gift of repentance and ponder the words of King David: “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Ps. 139:23-24).

Read: Philippians 2:1–11

And being found in appearance as a man, he

humbled himself by becoming

obedient to death. Philippians 2:8

Thursday, June 30


Another intriguing story of Today in the Word travels comes from Ruth, our reader in North Dakota: “My copy of Today in the Word went to India in January 2011—Delhi, Assam, and Calcutta. The main pur-pose of our trip was a fact-finding tour on how we can partner in ministry with the Karbi Anglong people in northeastern India. They are wonderful people, full of gratitude to the missionaries who came in the 1800s to lead them to the Lord. It has changed their way of life. There has not been a missionary there since 1954, and they were so grateful for our visit. It was a humbling experience, and such a blessing to us! I love Today in the Word. It goes ev-erywhere I go. I will be taking it to Puerto Rico to American Baptist Biennial in June.”

An e-mail from Kari, M.D., starts with the history of her first encounter with Today in the Word in 2002, when she went on her first medical missions trip to Mexico. The leader of the group forwarded electronic versions of the devotions to everybody in the group every day. “I was deeply moved by both the mission experience and the daily devotions, and I knew then my life was going to change. Through these

changes I depended on TIW for guidance and help and have been a faithful reader ever since.” God used our devotional in an amazing way on Kari’s next mission trip—to Zambia. At the hospital, Kari was closely working with a young Zambian woman, who confided to Kari she was a new believer with no resources “to develop and expand her faith in a systematic way.” Kari goes on to write, “I had my Today in the Word with me and, I am ashamed to say, had a hard time deciding whether to leave it for her, as I depended on it for my own devotions. But in the end I took it out of my suitcase and gave it to the woman. During our next trip to Zambia, she told me how much that one month’s devotion-al had meant for her. She had read and re-read it several times. I was convicted and ashamed of my initial reluctance to give her my booklet. Now, whenever our church sends another group back to Zambia, we manage to find space in our crowded suitcases, filled with medical sup-plies, for as many devotional materials as we can. Today in the Word is much appre-ciated, both in its first use here in the U.S. and in its “recycled” use in the far-away land among a people hungry for Christ.”

FROM THE EDITORS Continued from page 4

Dear readers, we will continue to print your letters, and we hope you will keep on writing to us. We see the Today in the Word community in action nationally and internationally in your stories of how you use this devotional, where it had traveled with you, and how the Word ministers to you through its pages. Facebook and Twitter and flickering screens of various sizes may create an illusion of reality, but we know that in the end, the true reality is the eternal Word of God—Christ and His Kingdom. Thank you for your stories of the Kingdom!

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Repentance - Today in the Word

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