Twelve Signs of a Repentant Heart

WRETCHED TV episode 2513

Segment 1: Introduction to Repentance and its Biblical Meaning The speaker introduces the concept of repentance, emphasizing its importance in Christian faith. They explain that the Bible outlines two forms of repentance: worldly sorrow (metamelomai), where one is sorry due to fear of consequences, and genuine biblical repentance (metanoia), which signifies a complete change of mind, will, and heart. The key to true repentance is recognizing sin for what it is and being deeply grieved by it, rather than merely avoiding punishment.

Segment 2: Signs of Genuine Repentance The speaker discusses several signs of genuine repentance. These include acknowledging sin without downplaying or excusing it, confessing before being caught, and being transparent about one’s wrongdoings. True repentance is marked by an eagerness to make amends and the desire to repair the damage caused by sin. The speaker stresses that repentance should be self-focused and not used as a tool to judge others.

Segment 3: Making Amends and Processing the Impact of Sin In this segment, the speaker shares a personal story of receiving a confession and reparation from a former employee. This leads into the idea that true repentance involves not just an emotional response but also a practical desire to fix past wrongs. The genuinely repentant are patient with those they’ve hurt and are willing to bear the consequences of their actions, no matter how severe. The speaker encourages individuals to work with spiritual leaders when facing significant consequences, such as church discipline or legal issues.

Segment 4: Humility and Ongoing Repentance The final segment focuses on the attitudes of humility and teachability in genuine repentance. The speaker warns against the dangers of becoming overly focused on avoiding consequences or creating a checklist of repentance actions. Instead, the goal is to continually strive for repentance as a way of life. Christians are called to repent regularly, as sin is a constant presence, but they should avoid becoming overly mechanical or rigid in their repentance efforts.

The post Twelve Signs of a Repentant Heartappeared first on Wretched.

Twelve Signs of a Repentant Heart

OCTOBER 21 | MANKIND’S BASIC NEED REMAINS EVER THE SAME

By terrible things in righteousness wilt thou answer us, O God of our salvation…which stilleth the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the people.

PSALM 65:5, 7

Some earnest persons try to reason that since there is no stillness in this mechanized world, we must learn to get along without it.

This is the summation of their reasoning: we cannot hope to bring back the still waters and the quiet pastures where David once led his sheep. This rat race of civilization is too noisy for us to hear the still, small Voice, so we must learn to hear God speak in the earthquake and the storm. And if modern evangelism is geared to the tumult and the agitation of the times, why should anyone complain? Does it not represent an honest effort to be all things to all men that by any means some should be saved?

The answer is that the soul of man does not change fundamentally, no matter how external conditions may change!

The aborigine in his hut, the college professor in his study, the truck driver in the bedlam of city traffic have all the same basic need: to be rid of their sins, to obtain eternal life and to be brought into communion with God. Civilized noises and activities are surface phenomena, a temporary rash on the epidermis of the human race.

To attribute sound values to them and then to try to bring religion into harmony with them is to commit a moral blunder so huge as to stagger the imagination, and one for which we shall surely be paying long after this frenetic extravaganza we call civilization has ended in tragedy and everlasting grief!¹

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¹  Tozer, A. W., & Smith, G. B. (2015). Evenings with Tozer: Daily Devotional Readings (p. 319). Moody Publishers.

OCTOBER 21 | GOD WAS FORCED OUT

Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

—Matthew 16:24

Before the Lord God made man upon the earth He first prepared for him a world of useful and pleasant things for his sustenance and delight. In the Genesis account of the creation these are called simply “things.” They were made for man’s use, but they were meant always to be external to the man and subservient to him. In the deep heart of the man was a shrine where none but God was worthy to come. Within him was God; without, a thousand gifts which God had showered upon him….

Our woes began when God was forced out of His central shrine and things were allowed to enter. Within the human heart things have taken over. Men have now by nature no peace within their hearts, for God is crowned there no longer, but there in the moral dusk stubborn and aggressive usurpers fight among themselves for first place on the throne….

The roots of our hearts have grown down into things, and we dare not pull up one rootlet lest we die. Things have become necessary to us, a development never originally intended. God’s gifts now take the place of God, and the whole course of nature is upset by the monstrous substitution. POG021-022

Lord, deliver me from this dependence on material things. If You need to completely remove some things from me, help me to be willing to give them up in complete submission to You. Amen. ¹

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¹  Tozer, A. W., & Eggert, R. (2015). Tozer on the almighty god: a 365-day devotional. Moody Publishers.

OCTOBER 21 | The supremacy of Christ

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.

Colossians 1:15–20, nasb

Thou art the Everlasting Word,

The Father’s only Son;

God manifestly seen and heard,

And heaven’s beloved One.

Worthy, O Lamb of God, art Thou,

That every knee to Thee should bow!

In Thee, most perfectly expressed,

The Father’s glories shine:

Of the full Deity possessed,

Eternally divine:

True image of the Infinite,

Whose essence is concealed;

Brightness of uncreated light;

The heart of God revealed.

Josiah Conder, 1789–1865¹

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¹  Manser, M., ed. (2015). Daily Guidance (p. 337). Martin Manser.

October 21 | Exalting the Poor

Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation.

James 1:8

Today’s verse is a command for the poor Christian to rejoice. A Christian who is economically poor may have nothing in the material world to rejoice about, but he can rejoice in the knowledge that God is exalting him spiritually in his standing before God. He may be hungry, but he has the Bread of Life. He may be thirsty, but he has the Living Water. He may be poor, but he has eternal riches. He may not have a satisfying home here, but he has a glorious home in the life to come. In this life he may have trials, but God is using them to perfect and exalt him spiritually.

The Christian who is deprived can accept his trials because of the hope of receiving an incorruptible and undefiled inheritance that will never fade away (1 Pet. 1:4). True riches belong to us, so poverty is a short–lived trial that can be endured as we look ahead to a glorious time of exaltation.¹

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¹  MacArthur, J. (2001). Truth for today : a daily touch of God’s grace (p. 318). J. Countryman.

October 21 | Paying Sin’s Price

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 6:23

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Christ paid a debt He did not owe to free us from a debt we could not pay.

In the scientific realm there are universal laws, such as the law of gravity. These laws are built into the creation by its all–wise Creator and keep it functioning normally.

Just as God has made inexorable laws to govern the physical dimension, so also has He decreed universal spiritual principles. The most significant of those spiritual laws is that sin demands death; death is the wages sin pays. The Greek word translated “wages” was commonly used to speak of giving compensation for service rendered. When God sentences sinners to Hell, He is merely giving them the compensation that they have earned and that His justice demands.

In sharp contrast to the inexorable law of sin and death is the gracious “free gift of God”—“eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Eternal life is not a wage but a gift, and hence it can’t be earned. Good works, church attendance, or religious rituals will not entitle anyone to it. After recounting his religious credentials—credentials unsurpassed in first–century Judaism (Gal. 1:14)—Paul dismissed them as “loss for the sake of Christ” (Phil. 3:7).

The free gift of eternal life comes only through “Christ Jesus our Lord.” In Acts 4:12 Peter declared that “there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved.” And in John 14:6 Jesus said simply, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.”

“Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift” (2 Cor. 9:15)!

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Suggestions for Prayer: Have you lost touch with the reality that “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death” (Rom. 8:2)? If so, spend some time in prayer today, thanking God for giving you eternal life.

For Further Study: What do the following passages teach about the possibility of earning eternal life: Romans 3:28; Galatians 2:16; 3:11; Philippians 3:9; Titus 3:5?¹

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¹  MacArthur, J. (1997). Strength for today. Crossway Books.

October 21 | Willing to Go

Scripture reading: 1 John 5:1–4

Key verse: 1 John 5:13

These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.

In her book, Tramp for the Lord, Corrie Ten Boom writes of a time when God called her to go beyond what seemed humanly reasonable. She had just finished speaking at a church in Denmark when two nurses approached her and asked her to go to their apartment for tea. When she arrived at the apartment, she realized she would have to walk up ten flights of stairs to get to her destination:

“Oh Lord, I do not think I can make it.” But the nurses wanted me to come up so badly that I consented to try …

We finally reached the apartment … I knew that a blessing of some kind was waiting for us … I opened the Bible and pointed out the verses about salvation. A mother of one of the nurses listened intently … I prayed, then the two nurses prayed and finally the mother folded her hands and said, “Lord Jesus, I know already much about You. I have read much in the Bible, but now I pray You to come into my heart … Make me a child of God. Amen.”

Corrie turned and looked at one nurse’s father, and he, too, expressed a desire to accept Jesus as his Savior. Corrie writes, “Suddenly the room was filled with great rejoicing and I realized the angels had come down and were standing around, singing praises unto God.”

Are you willing to go wherever God calls you to go? His blessings wait for you there.

Lord, forgive me for the times I fail You. Make me willing to go anywhere at Your command.¹

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¹  Stanley, C. F. (2002). Seeking His face (p. 308). Thomas Nelson Publishers.

October 21 | “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” (2 Cor. 5:1.)

THE owner of the tenement which I have occupied for many years has given notice that he will furnish but little or nothing more for repairs. I am advised to be ready to move.

At first this was not a very welcome notice. The surroundings here are in many respects very pleasant, and were it not for the evidence of decay, I should consider the house good enough. But even a light wind causes it to tremble and totter, and all the braces are not sufficient to make it secure. So I am getting ready to move.

It is strange how quickly one’s interest is transferred to the prospective home. I have been consulting maps of the new country and reading descriptions of its inhabitants. One who visited it has returned, and from him I learn that it is beautiful beyond description; language breaks down in attempting to tell of what he heard while there. He says that, in order to make an investment there, he has suffered the loss of all things that he owned here, and even rejoices in what others would call making a sacrifice. Another, whose love to me has been proven by the greatest possible test, is now there. He has sent me several clusters of the most delicious fruits. After tasting them, all food here seems insipid.

Two or three times I have been down by the border of the river that forms the boundary, and have wished myself among the company of those who were singing praises to the King on the other side. Many of my friends have moved there. Before leaving they spoke of my coming later. I have seen the smile upon their faces as they passed out of sight. Often I am asked to make some new investments here, but my answer in every case is, “I am getting ready to move.”—Selected.

The words often on Jesus’ lips in His last days express vividly the idea, “going to the Father.” We, too, who are Christ’s people, have vision of something beyond the difficulties and disappointments of this life. We are journeying towards fulfillment, completion, expansion of life. We, too, are “going to the Father.” Much is dim concerning our home-country, but two things are clear. It is home, “the Father’s House.” It is the nearer presence of the Lord. We are all wayfarers, but the believer knows it and accepts it. He is a traveller, not a settler.

—R. C. Gillie.

The little birds trust God, for they go singing

From northern woods where autumn winds have blown,

With joyous faith their trackless pathway winging

To summer-lands of song, afar, unknown.

Let us go singing, then, and not go sighing:

Since we are sure our times are in His hand,

Why should we weep, and fear, and call it dying?

’Tis only flitting to a Summer-land.

—Selected.¹

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¹  Cowman, L. B. (1925). Streams in the Desert (pp. 305–306). The Oriental Missionary Society.

October 21 | Righteousness through Propitiation

1 John 2:2

He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.

This word propitiation is one of the great words of the Bible even though it appears only four times in the entire New Testament. The Greek word for propitiation translated the Hebrew word which described the Mercy Seat, the cover of the Ark of the Covenant which sat in the Holy of Holies. God was believed to dwell above the Ark, between the outstretched wings of the two cherubim at either end of the Mercy Seat. The Ark contained the stone tablets on which were written the Ten Commandments, the Law which man continually broke. But once a year, the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies and sprinkle the blood of a sacrifice over the Mercy Seat to cover the broken Law. In this act, he made propitiation for the sins of Israel.

As a result of the covering of the Mercy Seat with blood, God, looking down, no longer saw the broken Law, but saw instead the blood of the sacrifice. Propitiation was made. In the same way, John wrote, “If anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world” (1 John 2:1–2).¹

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¹  Jeremiah, D. (2002). Sanctuary: finding moments of refuge in the presence of God (p. 308). Integrity Publishers.

October 21 | Decreasing Doubt

Scripture Reading: Job 42:1–6

Key Verse: Hebrews 13:5

Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

How should the successful Christian deal with doubt? This question often surfaces during times of tragedy when, for an instant, it may seem to some that God is not present. The Bible, however, tells us that God is always with us, in every circumstance, throughout every moment of our lives. He promises in His Word that He will never leave or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).

As humans, the concept of someone who is incapable of disappointing us is hard to grasp. Therefore, our wandering minds often give way to veins of doubt—doubt that God can provide for us, meet our needs, and turn impossibilities into possibilities.

When feelings such as these seek to break your confidence in God, you must take action. Your best defense is His Word. The Bible is our reassurance, our guide to the undeniable truth of God’s love for us and His desire to know us intimately.

If you are not receiving encouragement from your Bible reading, consider purchasing a Bible study tool, such as a topical concordance. Or you might try inviting a friend to become a Bible study partner with you. This will increase your knowledge in a spirit of fellowship. Be sure to select a person who knows the Scriptures and is capable of directing you to God’s truths in times of doubt. As you study the Bible together, your knowledge will increase and thoughts of doubt will decrease.

Lord, when I was a child, I sang that the B.I.B.L.E. was “the book for me.” I still believe that. Draw me to the ways and means to keep Your Word fresh in my heart.¹

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¹  Stanley, C. F. (2006). Pathways to his presence (p. 308). Thomas Nelson Publishers.

October 21 | Our Textbook

Scripture Reading: 2 Timothy 3:10–17

Key Verse: Psalm 119:2

Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with the whole heart!

Noah Webster, the early nineteenth-century scholar most famous for his dictionary, wrote the following in the preface of his American edition of the Bible:

The Bible is the chief moral cause of all that is good, and the best book for regulating the … concerns of men … The principles of genuine liberty, and of wise laws and administrations, are to be drawn from the Bible and sustained by its authority. The man, therefore, who weakens or destroys the divine authority of that Book may be accessory to all the public disorders which society is doomed to suffer … There are two powers only, sufficient to control men and secure the rights of individuals … the combined force of religion and law.

Over the centuries, countless men and women have dedicated and sometimes sacrificed their lives for the cause of bringing God’s Word to people who need it desperately. From translators and linguistic experts to international missionaries, these individuals understood the importance of each person having access to a Bible and being able to read it in his own language.

The best way to cherish the Scriptures is to use them as 2 Timothy 3:16–17 describes, as a living guide for real life. Don’t let it sit on a shelf or by your bed gathering dust. God’s timeless truth has the power to transform your life when you give it the opportunity.

Dear heavenly Father, thank You for Your Word. It has strengthened me. It has kept me. It has changed my life.¹

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¹  Stanley, C. F. (1999). On holy ground (p. 308). Thomas Nelson Publishers.

October 21st | Direction by impulse

Building up yourselves on your most holy faith. Jude 20.

There was nothing either of the nature of impulse or of coldbloodedness about Our Lord, but only a calm strength that never got into panic. Most of us develop our Christianity along the line of our temperament, not along the line of God. Impulse is a trait in natural life, but Our Lord always ignores it, because it hinders the development of the life of a disciple. Watch how the Spirit of God checks impulse, His checks bring a rush of self-conscious foolishness which makes us instantly want to vindicate ourselves. Impulse is all right in a child, but it is disastrous in a man or woman; an impulsive man is always a petted man. Impulse has to be trained into intuition by discipline.

Discipleship is built entirely on the supernatural grace of God. Walking on the water is easy to impulsive pluck, but walking on dry land as a disciple of Jesus Christ is a different thing. Peter walked on the water to go to Jesus, but he followed Him afar off on the land. We do not need the grace of God to stand crises, human nature and pride are sufficient, we can face the strain magnificently; but it does require the supernatural grace of God to live twenty-four hours in every day as a saint, to go through drudgery as a disciple, to live an ordinary, unobserved, ignored existence as a disciple of Jesus. It is inbred in us that we have to do exceptional things for God; but we have not. We have to be exceptional in the ordinary things, to be holy in mean streets, among mean people, and this is not learned in five minutes.¹

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¹  Chambers, O. (1986). My utmost for his highest: Selections for the year. Oswald Chambers Publications; Marshall Pickering.

October 21 | Of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.

Father, You said of Jesus, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” And Father, what manner of love You have bestowed on me, that I should be called Your child!

You have appointed Your Son heir of all things. If I am Your child, then I am an heir—Your heir and a joint heir with Christ, if indeed I suffer with Him, that I may also be glorified with Him.

Father, Jesus and You are one. You are in Him, and He in You. You are His Father and my Father, His God and my God. Jesus in us, and You, Lord God, in Him; that we may be made perfect in one.

The church, which is Jesus’ body, is the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

Having these promises, let me cleanse myself from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of You, Lord God.

You bless me richly, Lord—grace upon grace. May I live with a clear sense of Your very real presence with me.

John 1:16; Matthew 17:5; 1 John 3:1; Hebrews 1:2; Romans 8:17; John 10:30, 38; John 20:17; John 17:23; Ephesians 1:22–23; 2 Corinthians 7:1¹

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¹  Jeremiah, D. (2007). Life-Changing Moments With God (p. 316). Thomas Nelson Publishers.

October 21 | God’s Warning System

Scripture reading: Deuteronomy 11:22–25

Key verse: Deuteronomy 28:9

The Lord will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in His ways.

The young family had stepped outside the will of God several months earlier. They stopped attending church regularly, stopped tithing altogether, and gradually decreased in service as their interest in prayer and reading the Bible waned. Slowly, the husband started noticing changes.

Things seemed to wear out more easily, including their bodies. Colds and infections were more frequent. So were trips to the mechanic as the cars continued to have nagging problems. The couple’s investments lagged, even lost ground, as the rest of the economy boomed. Trying to fill the void, they began making unwise financial decisions that further increased their problems, and their marriage started to strain under the duress. Finally, the young couple realized what went wrong: they were leaving out God.

If there is sustained, habitual sin in our lives, it will affect God’s response to our prayers. If He continued to answer all of our prayers despite our sinful conduct, He in effect would be condoning our actions, and a holy God cannot sanction sin. One of the ways God gets our attention is by withholding blessings when there is sin in our lives.

We should always consider it God’s gracious gift, a warning system He has put in place to steer us back within His will.

Dear Lord, thank You for Your warning system that steers me back into Your will. Help me to listen and respond in obedience.¹

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¹  Stanley, C. F. (2000). Into His presence (p. 308). Thomas Nelson Publishers.

October—21 | Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphire with spikenard, spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices.—Song 4:13, 14.

Hear, my soul, what Christ thy husband and thy Saviour, saith to the Church! and as thou art a part of it in him, take it to thyself. Surely the Church of Jesus is his garden, and every plant in it, which the heavenly Father hath planted, must flourish, with all the increase of God, as trees of the Lord’s right hand planting. Even the tenderest plants, the youngest of his people, form a part in this orchard of pomegranates; for every one hath been taken out of nature’s wild wilderness, and brought, by sovereign and distinguishing grace, into the Lord’s garden, his Church; and, like pomegranates, a large and full-bearing fruit, sweet and delicious, they are in Jesus’s eye most pleasant, from the beauty and comeliness he hath put upon them. And do observe how very gracious thy Lord is, in enumerating not only “the pleasant fruits,” but “the chief spices;” meaning, no doubt, that as in him they partake of all that is his, and derive beauty, and fragrancy, and fruitfulness, from their Lord, as the branch from the vine, so do the various graces of his blessed Spirit appear in them, as the sweet fruits under his creating and ripening influence. See to it, my soul, that these things do appear in thee; and that faith, and love, and hope, and joy, and peace in believing, abound in thee, through the Holy Ghost. Oh! the blessedness of knowing these things, and enjoying them. And oh! the blessedness of being thus distinguished, as the rare spices of the East, with such love-tokens of Jesus. Thou knowest that if thou art as an orchard of pomegranates with pleasant fruits, thou art wholly so from Jesus. Nature never produceth them, neither can bring them forth, nor cause them to flourish. Oh! then, thou dear Lord! if I am, by sovereign grace, precious and pleasant in thy view, be thou eternally praised, and eternally glorified for the distinguishing mercy: for of thee, and from thee, and by thee, I am what I am; and oh! let thy grace live in me, to thy praise, and to the glory of his grace, “who hath made me accepted in the beloved.”¹

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¹  Hawker, R. (1845). The Poor Man’s Evening Portion (A New Edition, p. 302). Thomas Wardle.

Evening, October 21 | “Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts?”—Luke 24:38

“Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest O Israel, my way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God?” The Lord cares for all things, and the meanest creatures share in his universal providence, but his particular providence is over his saints. “The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him.” “Precious shall their blood be in his sight.” “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” “We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are the called according to his purpose.” Let the fact that, while he is the Saviour of all men, he is specially the Saviour of them that believe, cheer and comfort you. You are his peculiar care; his regal treasure which he guards as the apple of his eye; his vineyard over which he watches day and night. “The very hairs of your head are all numbered.” Let the thought of his special love to you be a spiritual pain-killer, a dear quietus to your woe: “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” God says that as much to you as to any saint of old. “Fear not, I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.” We lose much consolation by the habit of reading his promises for the whole church, instead of taking them directly home to ourselves. Believer, grasp the divine word with a personal, appropriating faith. Think that you hear Jesus say, “I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not.” Think you see him walking on the waters of thy trouble, for he is there, and he is saying, “Fear not, it is I; be not afraid.” Oh, those sweet words of Christ! May the Holy Ghost make you feel them as spoken to you; forget others for awhile—accept the voice of Jesus as addressed to you, and say, “Jesus whispers consolation; I cannot refuse it; I will sit under his shadow with great delight.”¹

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¹  Spurgeon, C. H. (1896). Morning and evening: Daily readings. Passmore & Alabaster.

October 21.—Evening. [Or August 10.] | “He setteth the poor on high from affliction.”

IT will be profitable to read the rest of the psalm which furnished us with our last lesson. May the Holy Spirit sweetly bless it to all of us.

Psalm 107:23–43

The divine poet now sings of the Lord’s mercy to sailors in time of tempest.

²³ They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters;

²⁴ These see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep.

²⁵ For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.

²⁶ They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.

²⁷ They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end.

²⁸ Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. (What a pity that they had not prayed before! What condescension on the Lord’s part to hear them now! However long we may have neglected prayer, it is never too late. If the ship is sinking we may even then cry to God.)

²⁹ He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. (He does it all. He commanded the stormy wind to blow and he bids it cease. Some wise men attribute all this to abstract laws. The wisdom which puts God further off is wretched folly; our bliss lies in feeling him to be near.)

³⁰ Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.

³¹ Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

³² Let them exalt him also in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders. (Sailors should go to the house of God as soon as they land, and unite with the general praise. It is to be feared that many who prayed on the sea curse on shore.)

The song now treats of the various changes of human life and the mercy seen in them all.

³³ He turneth rivers into a wilderness, and the watersprings into dry ground;

³⁴ A fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein.

³⁵ He turneth the wilderness into a standing water, and dry ground into watersprings.

God who turned the fruitful land into a wilderness, also transforms the wilderness into a garden. He can bless or curse most effectually. Who would not be agreed with him? If we are in the worst condition, let us have hope, for the Lord turns dry ground into watersprings.

³⁶ And there he maketh the hungry to dwell, that they may prepare a city for habitation;

³⁷ And sow the fields, and plant vineyards, which may yield fruits of increase.

³⁸ He blesseth them also, so that they are multiplied greatly; and suffereth not their cattle to decrease.

³⁹ Again, they are minished and brought low through oppression, affliction, and sorrow.

⁴⁰ He poureth contempt upon princes, and causeth them to wander in the wilderness, where there is no way.

⁴¹ Yet setteth he the poor on high from affliction, and maketh him families like a flock.

This contrast is continually dwelt upon in Scripture, and is especially noticeable in the songs of Hannah and Mary. The Lord casts down the high and lifts up the low: let his name be praised, for thus he rectifies the wrongs of this evil world.

⁴² The righteous shall see it, and rejoice: and all iniquity shall stop her mouth.

⁴³ Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the loving-kindness of the Lord. (The psalm is a spiritual riddle, and those who are taught of God will spy out the meaning. Providence also is often an enigma, but faith interprets it, and sees the love of God in everything.)

Amidst the roaring of the sea,

My soul still hangs her hope on thee;

Thy constant love, thy faithful care,

Is all that saves me from despair.

O Lord! the pilot’s part perform,

And guide and guard me through the storm;

Defend me from each threatening ill,

Control the waves, say, “Peace—be still!”

Though tempest-tossed, and half a wreck,

My Saviour through the floods I seek;

Let neither winds nor stormy main

Force back my shattered bark again.¹

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¹  Spurgeon, C. H. (1964). The Interpreter: Spurgeon’s Devotional Bible (p. 626). Baker Book House.

October 21 | God’s Proactive Position

You are the God who does wonders; You have declared Your strength among the peoples.

Psalm 77:14

god gives us what He knows will bring us great pleasure and joy, even though we in our finite wisdom and understanding may not know fully what we need or desire.

God does not wait for others to initiate the provision for our innermost needs. He assumes a proactive position in meeting our needs. God may use other people in the process, but He creates, orchestrates, and engineers the solution that satisfies.¹

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¹  Stanley, C. F. (2004). God’s way day by day (p. 314). Thomas Nelson Publishers.

October 21 | Mature Love

When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
(1 Corinthians 13:11)

We seem to forget that today’s verse is found in the love chapter, 1 Corinthians 13. There are two kinds of love, childish love and mature love. Which one is yours? A child demands his own way; he has to be the center of attention; he needs continuous excitement; he throws a tantrum when things don’t go his way!

Now listen, “But when I became a man I put away childish things.” That’s mature love! Paul says, “Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for it” (Ephesians 5:25). It’s one thing to fall in love, it is entirely another to grow in it. Mature love doesn’t demand things—it earns them, and then they mean something. Mature love accepts responsibility and refuses to live like a victim. Until you stop fixing the blame, you can’t even start fixing the problem. Benjamin Franklin said, “Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, and half shut afterwards.” That’s mature love! Marnie Crowel says, “To keep a fire burning brightly there’s one rule: Keep the logs together—near enough to keep them warm, and far enough apart for breathing room. Good fire! Good marriage! Same rule!”

Today you will have a chance to practice mature love. Ask God to help you do it!¹

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¹  Gass, B. (1998). A Fresh Word For Today : 365 Insights For Daily Living (p. 294). Bridge-Logos Publishers.

October 21 | Saved and Sure

scripture reading:	Romans 8:31–39
key verse:	Galatians 2:16

Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.

People who doubt their salvation are miserable Christians and confusing witnesses to the unbelieving world. They are not portraits of “the abundant life” that Jesus Christ gives those who trust Him for the forgiveness of their sins.

How then do you slip into this anxiety–producing mind–set? By subtly shifting from grace to performance. By losing sight of the all–sufficiency of the Cross. Salvation is always “by grace … through faith” (Eph. 2:8 nasb). It is a gift from God.

Once saved, you may drift into a performance–based mentality, thinking your relationship with the Lord depends upon your conduct. This is heresy. Only God’s grace saves you and keeps you saved. Your basis of acceptance before Him is the Cross where God the Father justified you (declared you not guilty) through His Son’s death. You are accepted not on your merit but wholly on Christ’s substitutionary death on Calvary. Once for all, Jesus died for all your sins for all time. When you are saved, your sins are forgiven—past, present, and future.

If you are wrestling with doubt over your salvation, look to the Cross. If you have received Christ by faith, you are eternally secure in the Savior. Nothing can alter that fact.

Dear Lord, I thank You that the foundation of my spiritual life rests on the assurance of my salvation. I am saved and sure. My sins are forgiven—past, present, and future!¹

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¹  Stanley, C. F. (1998). Enter His gates: a daily devotional. Thomas Nelson Publishers.