Good Morning All!!
Ezra 10:2; “And Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, of the
sons of Elam, addressed Ezra: “We have broken faith with our God and have
married foreign women from the peoples of the land, but even now there is hope
for Israel in spite of this.”
If you are a parent, have you ever said to your child who was in trouble
or broke something, “what was the last thing I just told you?” Have you ever looked on in exasperation as
they proceeded to do the one thing you warned them not to do? How could they miss what you told them? How could they forget what they just heard a
few minutes ago? You just told them that
engaging in this or that activity could cause them harm and now; you are
dealing with the consequences.
As the Israelites were about to
enter the Promised Land, God instructed them to remain faithful to God and to
not marry the foreign women in the land they were conquering. Marrying the foreign women would have brought
in foreign idols which would have tempted the men of Israel to fall away from
the one true God. God warned them this
would lead to their destruction and it did.
The Israelites were conquered and taken off in captivity to Babylon. They disobeyed God and paid the price. Now, having just returned to the Promised
Land from captivity, they did it again.
How often do we have this occur to us?
Do you have that one sin that just seems to creep up on you even when
you know it is wrong? Do you try to
avoid the gossipers but always seem to fall in with them? Maybe you go a few days but you soon find
yourself drifting towards the group.
Just a little listen then I’m gone and soon you are sucked in. Maybe you visit some websites that you
shouldn’t. Maybe you can go a few days
but then there you are looking when you shouldn’t be. Maybe it is more painful; maybe it is alcohol
or some other drug; maybe it is a relationship that is destructive and you
cannot seem to pull away. Whether your
sin is painful or just problematic and embarrassing, it leads us into a time
when we are separating our relationship with God.
Yet God in his mercy keeps calling us back. It doesn’t matter if this is the first time,
the tenth time or the thousandth time or the millionth time; God cleans us off
and sets us back on the path of righteousness.
There is no sin, no failure, no weakness of character that will stop him
from loving us, restoring us and redeeming us.
God’s love has no stops; God’s love for us never dies. We are his beloved children and he will never
leave us.
Father
of all mercy, you are our hope. Your
love moves you to redeem us and not reject us.
Your mercy keeps us safe in all that we experience in this life. No matter how weak we are you gently lift us
up and restore us to your family. Keep
us in your loving embrace. Be with those
who are truly struggling with sin and its painful effects. Send your Spirit to reinvigorate them and
restore them in your kingdom. In the
precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.
God’s Peace,
Pastor Bret
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