DAILY BIBLE DEVOTION

 

TURN TO ME

Again we have a prophet spreading

God's message of love, begging the

people to admit their wrongdoing,

and sincerely repent and turn back

to him. When you read the old

Testament, you start to wonder if

they will ever learn. I wonder what

historians one hundred years from

now will say about us and our

behavior. Will they read the New

Testament and find remnants of

Christian groups and compare

their behavior with the Bible, and

find us worthy of the name? I'm

not so sure. Not only is there a lot

of what I consider very

un-Christian behavior by

individuals but also by Christian

groups towards one another.

Perhaps we should reread Joel and

the messages given by some of the

other prophets and take these

messages to heart. God wants us to

turn to him. He wants us to take

responsibility for our actions, and

ask forgiveness so that he can

forgive and renew us. God isn't

looking for grandiose exhibitions

of repentance, but a sincerity of

heart. It's how much we are willing

to change our behavior. It's how

welcoming we will be to the

stranger, how much we are willing

to help others to grow in their

faith as well as how willing we are

to grow in our own.

PRAYER

Forgiving God, you are so patient

with us. We repeat our sinful

behaviors again and again. We

turn to you today and ask for your

forgiveness and the desire to

change. Amen.