2-22-2015

 Good Morning All,

     2 Kings 22:19; “because your heart was penitent, and you humbled yourself before the Lord, … I also have heard you, declares the Lord.”

       I cannot swim; I go right to the bottom.  I am fully aware of the fact that I cannot swim.  I never get in any boat without a life jacket (or two) on.  When we stay at a hotel with a swimming pool, I don’t run and jump in.  I might look at the pool; I might sit on the edge with my feet in the water; I might sit in the hot tub but I do not jump into the pool.  I simply cannot swim.  If we go to the lake, I’ll walk the beach but I don’t swim.  I am a poor, miserable swimmer and I never forget that.

     This is what the Bible means when it talks about being penitent.  Being penitent means that I know that I am a sinner.  I cannot save myself from my sin any more than I can save myself from drowning.  I cannot defeat the devil by myself any more than I can swim from one end of a pool to the other.  If you cannot swim, you live your life accordingly.  If you know you are a sinner, penitent, you live your life accordingly.

    The Lenten season is a more somber and penitent season of the church year.  We are encouraged to be more focused on being penitential.  This doesn’t mean that we focus on how worthless we are or how bad we are or how lost we are; rather, we focus on the fact that we need Jesus.  We need a lifesaver, we need Jesus.  Being penitent is similar to knowing that you cannot swim.  The person who cannot swim stays on dry land; the penitent sinner clings to the cross of Christ.

   So our cry of penitence is about realizing our limitations.  Our cry of penitence is about knowing that we fall short of God’s will.  Our cry of penitence is about knowing that we will drown without Jesus as our Savior.  We will fall into temptation; we will fall into the devil’s trap.  We will jump into the lake or pool thinking that it doesn’t matter that we can’t swim.  Only when it is too late will we remember; I can’t swim.  Being penitent means remembering that I cannot swim and that I will need Jesus to safely deal with the lake or the pool.

   So as we go through this Lenten season, focus on being penitent; focus on seeing clearly that we need Jesus.  Focus on the fact that without his death and resurrection we would be lost.  Focus on the fact that you need Jesus and his saving forgiveness.  It is not that we want it, or like it, or desire it; we need it to survive.  Without Jesus’ death and resurrection we would be lost forever.  We would be trying to swim when we cannot swim.  We need Jesus every day.

Father of all mercies, we come before you confessing our sins.  We are sorry for them and ask you for your forgiveness.  Without you we have no hope.  We need you every hour.  Give us your Spirit so that we will never leave you.  Hold us gently in your loving arms.  Be with those who are in pain or struggling with the devil’s attacks.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret