Repent and Return

Feb. 18, 2019 Monday Message

David thought he could cover up his affair with Bathsheba, going so far as to arrange the death of her husband Uriah. But God wanted no part of David’s scheme and deception. That’s the character of God; He NEVER goes along with any scheme or deception. The prophet Nathan called David on his misdeeds. David repented and returned to God, and you can read all about it in Psalm 51. We should learn from David’s example, that when we err, we need to repent and return to the Lord.

Paul thought he was doing the right thing by persecuting followers of “The Way,” the new Christian sect that was dividing Synagogue congregations. But Paul had it backwards. Jesus personally called Paul on his actions on the road to Damascus, and IMMEDIATELY Paul was baptized and started telling everyone the redeeming Good News of Jesus the Christ. Jesus spoke directly to Paul, and that’s hard to ignore!

Adam ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden after he was told not to. When God called him on it, Adam tried to shift the blame, first to God, and then to Eve. “The woman YOU gave me – SHE gave me the fruit!!” Again, God wants no part of scheme and deception. God’s pretty inflexible on this – he’s not about to change his mind.

What if God had called Adam on the misdeed, and Adam had replied, “Sorry, my bad. What could I have been thinking? I know better. Please forgive me, and give me another chance.”

We know our God always shows love and forgiveness – He is a God of second-chances. Do you think he might have forgiven Adam if Adam had been more contrite?

If repent and return was good for David, it’s good for us too!

Norton Lawellin

Let’s worship together! Jesus in the City Fellowship meets at 10:30 Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019. We continue our “Basics of Christianity” series. This week I’ll look at Paul’s response to God’s grace. See you at church!