We Need Repentance

“I brought hunger to every city and famine to every town. But still you would not return to me,” says the LORD. [Amos 4.6]

What are hunger and famine?

Check this out:

“You will be engaged to a woman, but another man will sleep with her. You will build a house, but someone else will live in it. You will plant a vineyard, but you will never enjoy its fruit. Your ox will be butchered before your eyes, but you will not eat a single bite of the meat. Your donkey will be taken from you, never to be returned. Your sheep and goats will be given to your enemies, and no one will be there to help you. You will watch as your sons and daughters are taken away as slaves. Your heart will break for them, but you won’t be able to help them. A foreign nation you have never heard about will eat the crops you worked so hard to grow. You will suffer under constant oppression and harsh treatment. You will go mad because of all the tragedy you see around you. The LORD will cover your knees and legs with incurable boils. In fact, you will be covered from head to foot. “The LORD will exile you and your king to a nation unknown to you and your ancestors. There in exile you will worship gods of wood and stone! You will become an object of horror, ridicule, and mockery among all the nations to which the LORD sends you. “You will plant much but harvest little, for locusts will eat your crops. You will plant vineyards and care for them, but you will not drink the wine or eat the grapes, for worms will destroy the vines. You will grow olive trees throughout your land, but you will never use the olive oil, for the fruit will drop before it ripens. You will have sons and daughters, but you will lose them, for they will be led away into captivity. Swarms of insects will destroy your trees and crops. [Deuteronomy 28.30-42]

See the famine and hunger here? And why?

“But if you refuse to listen to the LORD your God and do not obey all the commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come and overwhelm you: [Deuteronomy 28.15]

Why? Disobedience.

And how do we know it is because of disobedience? Because the curses upon it say so! How do we know a stove is hot and not to be touched? Because the burning pain says so!

The solution to the "burning pain" of touching the hot stove is simple: stop touching it!

The solution to the hunger and famine Amos mentioned in today's One Year Chronological Bible reading is simple: return to God.

You know, for years I have been subjected to teaching about being patient with God and His will in my life. In this teaching, I have been 'encouraged' to wait patiently for good things from God because patience elsewhere is mentioned as a virtue.

But, there is a problem with my patience... It is not about MY patience!

The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. [2 Peter 3.9]

You see, it is about God's patience! He is waiting on me (not the other way around)! God is waiting on me to repent so that the curse might have served its purpose and be removed. 

The purpose of the curse is repentance. The purpose of repentance is forgiveness. The purpose of forgiveness is the restoration of every blessing of heaven.

Jesus was very clear: 

It was also written that this message would be proclaimed in the authority of his name to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem: ‘There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent.’ [Luke 24.47]

Why did Jesus perform miracles? Because that's what forgiveness does. It removes the curse. But not without repentance.

Why did Jesus tell us to forgive? Because that is what makes us like Him ("Christ"ian) - that is how we "do the same works Jesus did." That is how we are sent into the world as Jesus was sent into the world.

There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent. That starts with me. The unchecked curses upon my life tell me so!

Father, let this message be clear: there is forgiveness of sins for all who repent. Let this message be demonstrated in my life: there is forgiveness of sins for all who repent. May Your people break free from the proud doctrines of suffering that keep them bound in unrepentance.