Caught Red Handed!

Reading through the book of Joshua has been great, since it's one of those books that I rarely read but I forget how powerful and edifying it is (it is part of the Scriptures after all!) Usually we pull out the verse that says, "As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD". Cross-stitched on a pillow or etched on a coffee mug, this verse has become the Christian anthem that most people really do not think about.

The context of that phrase is one of serving ONLY Yahweh! Putting away the other gods in your life to serve Him alone.

"Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD!
And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Ammorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

- Joshua 24:14-15

Notice that the gods Joshua spoke of were gods from the other side of the River AND/OR the gods of the Amorites which is where the people of Israel were living. Gods from where they CAME from and gods that were where they were PRESENTLY living! We'll talk more about that in a bit.

The people answer Joshua in verses 16-18 and say that they will serve the LORD, but Joshua says in v. 19 that they CANNOT serve HIM! Not a very positive reinforcement there, is it? But read on...

"But Joshua said to the people, 'You cannot serve the LORD, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. If you forsake the LORD and seve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you, after He has done you good.'"
-Joshua 24:19-20

We cannot be with God and have other gods/idols in our lives and expect Him to be okay with that. He won't be. In fact in Deuteronomy 12:1-4 He told the people there (and us today) not to worship Him with pagan idolatrous things!

The first commandment, God says, is to "not have other gods before Me". That phrase 'before Me' that God uses means, in the presence of or in the face of', meaning other gods in His presence. We are not to serve other gods in the LORD's presence. Remember, God sees everything. He knows if we are serving something, or someone else along with serving HIM.

But the people answered Joshua again saying, 'No, but we will serve the LORD!" How emphatic!

"So Joshua said to the people, 'You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD for yourselves, to serve Him.' And they said, 'We are witnesses!'"
-Joshua 24:21-22

We can fool ourselves pretty well into thinking that we are serving the LORD alone, but are we really? How do we know if we are only following HIM?

By obeying His Commandments. Time and time again the prophets came to the people and warned them to turn back to the Torah/Law which they had forsaken. They followed after other gods throughout much of their history because they continually rejected His Covenant, His commandments.

Yeshua (Jesus) said to the Pharisees and some of the scribes (namely the religious leaders),

"Laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men,..."
And
"All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition."
-Mark 7:8a, 9a

He was giving them the same message He gave His prophets to deliver to the people in times past...Repent! and turn back to the Law of the LORD!

Back in Joshua 7 we read about Achan. The Israelites lost the battle at Ai and 36 men of the Israelites died in battle because of Achan's sin. What was his sin? Achan had taken a wedge of gold, 200 shekels of silver, and a Babylonian garment. Doesn't sound like a big deal, does it? But the LORD called them 'accursed things' and men lost their lives and Israel lost a battle because of Achan's covetousness.

It says that YHWH's anger burned against the children of Israel because of those things which Achan had taken. Then YHWH told Joshua that He would not be with him unless he destroyed the accursed things from among them. Did Achan confess? Not yet.
So Joshua gathered the people according to their tribes and the LORD brought forth the guilty.

"In the morning therefore you shall be brought according to your tribes. And it shall be that the tribe which the LORD takes shall come according to families; and the family which the LORD takes shall come by households; and the household which the LORD takes shall come man by man.
-Joshua 7:14

And the LORD did just that until finally Achan was brought forth after going through all those people, and Joshua came to him and said,
"My son, I beg you, give glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession to Him, and tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me."
-Joshua 7:19

Can you imagine being Achan? Being in that position where all the people are gathered...thousands, perhaps millions of people...and slowly out of each tribe, out of each family, out of each household, it comes down to YOU. You would HAVE to know that God is singling you out for what you knew was already a sin. But Achan never said anything until finally he stood before Joshua and had to confess. Would the LORD have forgiven Achan if he'd repented before Joshua came to him? I believe so because the LORD is merciful and has allowed us to do just that, but we'll never know about Achan because he didn't do that. As a result he, his children, his livestock and all that he had were stoned and burned. This is a very serious issue with YHWH. As Joshua says in ch. 24, YHWH is a holy God. Sin cannot stand in His presence.

There is no hiding from the Father who formed us and sees everything within us.

Achan was caught red handed for his disobedience to YHWH's command (Deuteronomy 7:25-26)! There in Deuteronomy the LORD told them exactly what not to do...exactly what Achan did!

But we're all guilty of doing something similar, aren't we? I know I am, but we can't take the professing church's stance and say, "Well none of us are perfect, but thank God for His grace!" Grace is NOT a license to sin (Romans 6:1, 15-23), but it is the power of God working in us to accomplish HIS will and follow HIS Law (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:27; Ephesians 2:8-10). We have no excuse for if we sin willfully we count the blood of Yeshua as worthless, and can expect judgment (Hebrews 10:26-31)

That doesn't mean that we will never mess up, but that our heart's desire should be to not mess up! And when we do sin, to REPENT! We are never going to be perfect on this side of eternity, but we should be walking after the ONE who IS perfect...Yeshua our Messiah! Walk just as He walked...in perfect submission to Torah. Walk in the light as He is in the light...He IS the Light! (1 John 1)

We can see how our sin can affect those around us, just like Achan's did the children of Israel. Our sin can affect our household, our family, our church family, our co-workers, etc... because God is faithful to deal with the sin in our life and He WILL NOT let it be swept under the rug. And we can't forget that He isn't concerned with just us, but those around us as well. He wants our witness to be unblemished, but if it's not, He will expose our disobedience to deal with others in our life, so that they might see the power of a holy God.

Personally I'd rather have Him deal with them through my obedience rather than my disobedience!...but it's my choice. It's your choice.

Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve,...

...but as for me and my house, we will serve YHWH.

A Little Leaven...pt 1

"Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."
- 1 Corinthians 5:7-8

For years I never noticed this verse (mainly because I hardly read my bible!), but when I did begin to dig into the Lord's Word I soon noticed this passage. When I did I couldn't believe what it said, that Christ is our Passover! As John said,

"Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"
- John 1:29 Jesus, the Son of God, was/is also the spotless Lamb of God! Because of His sacrifice our sins have been forgiven and we are now heirs with Him according to His Word (Romans 3:24-26).

There is no longer a need to offer up a lamb at Passover because He has once, for all, cleansed us by His blood and because He is the Passover Lamb.

This does not do away with His Feasts, it only makes them more relevant as we seek to keep them.

Today as I write this it is the last day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. A feast in which we remember the death, burial, and resurrection of the spotless Lamb of God - Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus Christ).

Every year the feasts become more and more real in the work that God is doing in our lives. He is constantly removing the leaven (sin) from us if we are willing to obey Him. However, during the feast itself the intensity of the spiritual warfare is almost exhausting, except for the fact that YAHWEH gives us strength.

He is without sin, yet He became sin for us so that we might be saved through His sacrifice and now He has given us His Holy Spirit to war against principalities and powers AND against our own flesh!

One passage of Scripture that the LORD has led me to over and over again is Romans 6,7, and 8. It seems especially powerful during this feast of Unleavened Bread when Christ, the Bread of Life, came to redeem us from the power of sin and proved He was without spot or blemish by resurrecting from the dead! Because of this, all who place their faith in Him, repent, and obey His Word are no longer slaves of sin, but slaves of righteousness.

Now we look unto His coming at the end of the age! He has fulfilled the feast of Firstfruits by His resurrection and He will resurrect us...His bride who is without spot IF we are cleansed by the washing of His Word.

"But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who are asleep."
- 1 Corinthians 15:20

The Majesty of God

Recently a scientist remarked about the universe saying, "The more we discover, the less we know."

Scientists have been trying to figure out how big the universe is but none have been able to discern the measurement. Often, they use an evolutionary basis to calculate their findings but are clearly in error since evolution has been proven false time and time again.

Some purpose (again, through evolutionary thought processes) that the universe stretches out at 156 billion light years wide! That's astounding, but there's no way to be sure since they're using a false belief to determine the information. The truth is the universe is so vast that even if we could find the size of it we wouldn't be able to wrap our minds around it. In fact, people can't even fully understand the vastness of our galaxy, or even our solar system for that matter.

If we step outside and peer into the night sky we can see the stars in that sky (if we live away from too many city lights) and get a "small" glimpse at the enormity of Yahweh's creation.

"When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?"
- Psalm 8:3

But that's just it, isn't it? Even in all of God's splendor and majesty, He made the universe and all that is in it - for us! We are His greatest creation, made in His image. Yet we choose to sin and walk away from Him day after day without the thought of repentance. Without the thought of eternity. Do we ask ourselves "Why"? Why do we shun the One who gave us life and all good things under the sun? Our pride and selfishness keep us from falling on our knees before our Creator.

The prophet Jeremiah wrote:

"Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is the LORD. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it? I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings."
- Jeremiah 17:7-10

Jeremiah is partially quoting from Psalm 1 in the first few verses here. Notice that if we trust and hope in the LORD, rather than ourselves, we will be upheld by His hand and planted firmly....unmovable. If we choose to look to our own strength, however, then we will surely be deceived and perish because the heart of man is "deceitful" and "desperately wicked". It will not tell us the truth, therefore we cannot trust in our own ways lest we be led astray, away from God. But if we place our faith and trust in Him and His perfect Word, then we will yield fruit/good works which men will see and then glorify the God of heaven and earth. And though our heart is not trustworthy and will condemn us, the LORD is greater than our heart, and He knows us (1 John 3:20).

The apostle Paul writes:

"Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be."
- Romans 8:7

Our flesh will never be submissive to God and His standard. His standard (the Law) is the plumb line with which to measure sin, yet many in the professing church throw it out saying it was "nailed to the cross" when in fact it is the only truth there is. It is HIS word. If it is truth and men have tried to say it is no longer in effect, then we see how they can look past Yahweh as the Creator of all things and deny Him in their own lives.

Scientists are just now getting there first look into some of the moon's deepest craters. Something that is so close to our own planet (in comparison with the rest of the universe) and they think, in their pride, that they have accomplished such great things. Though I marvel at the technology of today it saddens me to think that for all that mankind knows, it is like Solomon in all his wisdom. He knew the truth but in the end he could not grasp it with his heart, therefore he turned away from the LORD and followed after other gods.

What do you see when you look at our universe? A vast emptiness of cosmic coincidences....or the work of a loving Creator?

Forgiving

On my last post I talked a little about asking for forgiveness, but what about forgiving others? Are we to just forgive people whether they ask for it or not, or are we supposed to wait till they come to us? When and how do we forgive? Let's see what the Lord says in His Word.

"And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses."
- Mark 11:25

"And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation but deliver us from the evil one."
- Luke 11:4

"Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, 'I repent,' you shall forgive him."
- Luke 17:4

"And be kind to one another and forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you."
- Ephesians 4:32

"Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do."
- Colossians 3:12-13

"But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared."
- Psalm 130:4

The Lord, full of mercy and compassion, and justice forgives us of our sins when we come before Him in repentance and not before (1 Samuel 7:3; 2 Kings 17:13; 2 Chronicles 7:14, 30:6; Isaiah 55:11; Jeremiah 36:3; Ezekiel 18:21, 33:11; Zechariah 1:3; Matthew 3:2; Acts 17:30). This tells us that we cannot expect to be forgiven of our sins without asking Him for forgiveness.

The grace of God is something that we can't earn or work for, but it certainly isn't given to those who are not seeking Him. The professing church today has been preaching a message of grace without truly understanding what God's grace is really all about. In fact, most of us have no idea what grace even means.

Grace
G5485
χάρις
charis
khar'-ece
From G5463; graciousness (as gratifying), of manner or act (abstract or concrete; literal, figurative or spiritual; especially the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life; including gratitude): - acceptable, benefit, favour, gift, grace (-ious), joy liberality, pleasure, thank (-s, -worthy).

The grace of God is His influence on our hearts which then reflects, or shines, outward in our lives. In other words His will in our life produces fruit. That's how James can say that faith without works is dead (James 2:14-26).

So what is God's influence? It is His Law written upon our hearts by the Holy Spirit because of Jesus' atoning sacrifice, and all of which reflects through our lives in good works which God had prepared before hand (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:27; Matthew 5:16-19; Ephesians 2:8-10).

So the forgiveness that God brings and which is unchanging because HE is unchanging, cannot be given unless we come to Him first. Does this apply with us forgiving others? What's interesting about the Scriptures that we read earlier is that almost (if not every) situation seems to be dealing amongst the body of Christ. But even if a non-believer asks for forgiveness it would appear that we are to forgive them, but most certainly if it is a brother or sister in Messiah. There is no doubt that we are to forgive those who have sinned against us but then come asking for forgiveness. If they show fruit bearing evidence of repentance then we are commanded by the Lord to forgive them.

But should we forgive those who don't ask for forgiveness? Though we are certainly NOT God, we are to follow Him as our example and walk as He walked (1 John 2:6). However, again because we are NOT God we are not without sin. Our relationship with other people is affected by this. Christ, who was/is without sin, forgives us of our sins when we come to Him in repentance. Can we do the same being sinners ourselves? Though we are sinners, if we are IN Him and abide in His love then the Holy Spirit gives us the strength to obey His voice. He also brings about fellowship among those who individually have fellowship with Messiah. If a brother sins against us it does not appear that we should automatically forgive them unless they come to us and ask for forgiveness. Until they come, though, we should certainly be praying for them, showing them love and grace in our actions and words toward them.

The context of passages like Mark 11:25 is clearly dealing with our sin against our brother or sister - the sin of unforgiveness.

"And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses."
- Mark 11:25

We are clearly told not to harbor anger unjustly toward anyone (Psalm 4:4; Ephesians 4:26) and surely the Lord will not forgive us if we will not forgive those who come to us asking for it.

Paul writes in his second letter to the church in Corinth,

"so that on the contrary, you ought rather to forgive and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one be swallowed up with too much sorrow. Therefore, I urge you to reaffirm your love to him. For to this end I also wrote, that I might put you to the test, whether you are obedient in all things. Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ, lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices."
- 2 Corinthians 2:7-11

We really should know better as to what the enemy of our souls is doing to get us to turn away from the Lord. If anyone has been made to sorrow (a godly sorrow to be exact) then we should forgive them and not give Satan an open door in which to bring division in Messiah's body. That person which was sorrowful was obviously experiencing a godly sorrow which produces repentance leading to salvation (2 Corinthians 7:10)! Who are we to deny forgiveness to someone who has repented?! The only way Paul could say to forgive someone is if they were in that place where they had experienced the sorrow of the Lord and asked for His forgiveness, which then would lead any who are already His to forgive that person.

We can become too haughty, too self absorbed to notice that we are in the same place as everyone else - we ALL need to seek the Lord of heaven and earth for salvation and to set our minds on things above rather than on things of the earth (Colossians 3:1-3). In other words looking unto Him rather than ourselves or the things of the flesh (our sinful nature).

I have often noticed that I am quick to judge, but slow to listen and seek His guidance. If I listened to my Savior more often I would see others as He sees them. I would reach out to others as He reaches out to them, and I would forgive those who need and want it. I've been forgiven and I don't deserve it. That should say it all. His commandments, His statutes, His judgments are righteous and true, they speak His truth and I hold them close because they are His words. In them I see that His love is greater than anything I could imagine and yet simple enough for a child to understand. I'm forgiven because He was forsaken. Amen.

Hallelujah! His mercy endure forever!

Asking for Forgiveness

It always seems that when you know you have to ask for forgiveness from someone it's the hardest thing in the world to do. The feeling of shame, embarrassement, humility....all rise up inside and seem to push and pull you away from doing the right thing and going to the person you've wronged.

No one wants to feel bad, right? We shouldn't be made to feel bad....right? Well my friends, our flesh (sinful nature) is telling us this lie!

There is a HUGE difference between just feeling bad about ourselves and knowing that we are sinners who sin against the Most High God. If I feel bad about myself it's just a selfish pity party that I'm throwing....and no one's invited! It's just for me!...how ridiculous! What have I got to feel bad about. I'm above ground and breathing, right?! God could wipe us off the map for just some of the thoughts we have throughout the day, much less the things we actually do! His mercy endures forever!

One thing that I have to remind myself of is that my flesh fights against my spirit and is hostile toward God. It CANNOT be subject to God's Law (Romans 8:5-7). How then can I expect it to do good things?

But there is a sorrow which we should experience from time to time. A godly sorrow that actually nourishes us and brings us back closer to the One who purchased us with His own blood. The apostle Paul says it best:

"Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. for you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. For a godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death."
-2 Corinthians 7:9-10

Isaiah spoke of this sorrow:

"And in that day the Lord GOD of hosts called for weeping and for mourning, for baldness and for girding with sackcloth."
-Isaiah 22:12

A wordly sorrow actually produces death! But how? By feeding our flesh which is a enemy of God. Everytime we feed our flesh we've sinned and everytime we sin is a step away from God. Nothing can remove us from His hands (Romans 8:37-39), but we can remove ourselves (Hebrews 6:4-6).

So if I don't ask for forgiveness (to the LORD first and then to the person) I'm sinning. If I sin against an individual, I haven't just sinned against them, but against the LORD!

Look at 2 Samuel;
After Nathan had confronted David about his sin with Bathsheba and his murder of her husband Uriah, we read:

"So David said to Nathan, 'I have sinned against the LORD.'"
- 2 Samuel 12:13a

David knew that though his sin involved people, it was primarily against YHWH that he sinned.

"And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." - Matthew 10:28

Jesus was pointing to the fact that if we sin against God there is no escaping His judgment. Therefore we need to repent and ask Him for forgiveness. Though it may be difficult to swallow our pride and humble ourselves before Him, we'd better get to swallowin'!

Paul said that love is the bond of perfection (Colossians 3:14) and so in that I say that pride is the bond of imperfection. Our pride holds all our sins closely together and refuses to let go lest we humble ourselves before the King and Judge over all creation!

If we don't repent then we don't have access to the free gift of salvation that God offers us through His Son Yeshua/Jesus. If we do repent and exalt Him as Lord and Savior over us then we have entered His covenant and must now walk in that covenant by adhering to its terms -which is obeying His voice (commandments, statutes, judgments, laws). Each time we disobey, we begin to walk away from Him, BUT we can always turn back to Him and ask for forgiveness. His mercy endures forever!

Look again at 2 Samuel 12:13 -

"So David said to Nathan, 'I have sinned against the LORD.' And Nathan said to David, 'The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die.'"

Blessed be the name of YAHWEH! When David knew in his heart that he sinned against the LORD and then confessed it, the LORD had forgiven him!

That same forgiveness is promised to us when we come before Him and seek His forgiveness;

"Let the wicked forsake His way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return to the LORD, and He will have mercy on him; And to our God, for He will abundantly pardon."
Isaiah 55:7

"Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnatn of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy."
Micah 7:18

"Therefore brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful."
Hebrews 10:19-23

"Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the LORD and He will lift you up."
James 4:7-10

-We can see that what James writes here and what Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 7:9-10 is what the Lord called for through the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 22:12.

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
1 John 1:9

Going to someone we've sinned against, whether it be because we've lied to them, had an outburst of wrath against them, mocked them, or whatever, is the most crucial thing we can do as a follower of Messiah. Whether they be our enemy, friend, or especially a brother or sister in Him, we MUST go before our Father first and then them in asking for forgiveness! We cannot let our sin tear at the relationship we have with HIM and with them. If they are an enemy or friend, then our opportunity to be a light to them for the sake of Yeshua is up to us whether or not we apologize and seek forgiveness. If they are a part of His body, then we have surely sinned against Him as well as them. If we don't seek them out and hear from the Lord through them then we will eventually be cast out from His body (Matthew 18:15-17).

Asking for forgiveness is a hard thing to do, especially if we're living in the flesh (our sinful nature). But the more we crucify our flesh by obeying His commandments (Romans 7:14,18,22-25; 8:3-8)then we will begin to see things as He sees them (Psalm 111:10) and offer ourselves up as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to Him (Romans 12:1-2).

If we can then humble ourselves before the God of the universe, then why wouldn't we humble ourselves before those who are just like us....people in need of HIM. For YAHWEH is God and His mercy endures forever!

Whom Will You Choose?

Well, here we are at what some call a milestone election. Perhaps the most important election in the history of this country, others would say. The nation is on the brink of financial disaster, a bad recession to say the least, and the world is following close behind. Home foreclosures are at a record high, unemployment is the highest it's been in years, businesses are closing up faster than they can let their employees go, and natural disasters have hit our country furiously over the last few years causing untold damage and expense. Not to mention the national debt is over 10 trillion dollars and the government is slowly but surely buying us, uh... I mean the banks, up left and right. All of this and more is awaiting the next president.

But most people are confident that he (whoever he is) will get this country going again and restore America to her glorious self! Though the road will be difficult, our nation will pull through. I say....don't count on it.

It's amazing how we as a society are so quick to gravitate to men in hopes that they will save us. Can John McCain or Barack Obama do anything to thwart God's judgment on a nation that is unrepentant and non-submissive to His Law? Somehow I doubt it.

Yes, you read that right....God is judging this country.
"But we're blessed by God in this country, with all of our freedoms, right?"
To that kind of question I would say, "Look around".

This country has only been blessed by God in the sense that He hasn't wiped us off the map yet! The freedoms we have, that God has allowed us to have, have made us think we are a nation blessed by God....His special christian nation, but if we take a deeper look we'll find something quite different.

We're constantly opening doors to things that are clearly in opposition to the Word of God - legalizing homosexual marriage, pornography, violence, abortion, etc...

God is not pleased with our lazy, greedy, ungodly lifestyles in this country and our almost total rejection of Him as our God - Creator, Lawgiver, and Judge. Money has become our god. Power has become our god. Influence and prestige have become our gods. All these things and more have become our gods and we've placed them on the altar of our heart, in place of Yahweh - the Living God of the bible!

Our nation is no different then some of the world's largest empires throughout history. Empires that built upon their own strength and grew nationally by "patriotic" endeavors in which they conquered civilizations under the guise of freedom. The Greeks and even the Romans had Democracy and certain freedoms for the people. We ourselves have become a Democracy, though we were created to be a Republic. You know, "...and to the Republic, for which it stands. One nation, under God..." A Republic is ruled by law (the Constitution in our case) whereas a Democracy is ruled by the majority (mob rule). We have walked in very similiar paths as some ancient empires. We've even had slavery in this country, closer to the time of it's foundation. We believe we've become more advanced and knowledgable, but all we've done is replaced one sin for another. Now instead of enslaving people with physical chains, we use prescription drugs, parts of the entertainment world, man-made foods, etc...

We have not realized, that as a country, we are blaspheming the name of God by "saying" His name and "saying" we love Him, but we live like we never knew Him!We hold on to cheap grace, believing God has forgiven us of all our sins so that we can keep on sinning! How heretical. Did Jesus die so that we could continue to sin freely? Absolutely not!(Romans 6:1-2). In fact, He came to defeat sin in the flesh. If we are in Christ, then we are free from the power of sin, but still have the capability to do it. God has given us, then, His Spirit so that we would not walk according to the flesh, but according to His Commandments - thereby crucifying our flesh (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:27; Romans 8:1-4).

The Roman Empire was one of the largest empires to ever rule most of the known world. It covered approx. 2.3 million square miles at it's zenith. Rome absorbed cults and religions into it's own pagan belief system thereby assimilating whole nations into itself. When the Roman Catholic church became an empire in and of itself around the beginning of the 3rd century, it carried out it's missionary work the same way, allowing pagans to keep many of their traditions and objects in hopes that they would more easily convert to christianity. Through the Dark Ages, the people were kept in the "dark" as they had no copies of Scripture for themselves. The Catholic priests taught the people since the bible was in Latin and they were the only ones that knew the language. Do the research, it's not hard to find. In doing what they did, the priests taught the people many heresies along with the truth, and the people bought it. Heresies like purgatory and praying for the dead, certain people being saints, and even that Mary was the co-redeemer with Christ! Unbelievable apostasty! This historical background is given to point out a fact: we as a religious nation have come from this very same Roman Catholicism more than we realize. And by so doing, we have walked in our own paths rather than in the LORD's. We have taken man's word over God's. We've kept our own traditions thereby making the commandments of God of no effect in our lives (Matthew 15:3-9). We sit in our pews and chairs and listen to our pastors, many of whom are not wholly teaching the Word of God, and we're buying it. It's the blind leading the blind. It's time we wake up and heed the voice of the LORD. We need to seek Him in His Word and test these doctrines and teachings to prove if they are right or not. Like the Bereans saught to see if what Paul was saying lined up with Scripture (Old Testament) so we must do.

The Founding Fathers of our country, most of whom were deists, wanted this nation to have freedom of religion, unlike the tyrrany they had escaped in England. Unfortunately for them, God isn't a big advocator for freedom of many religions.

"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.'" - John 14:6

Many of the Founding fathers were, as I said, deists including Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, James Madison, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, and even George Washington.

The definition of deism is: A belief in God, the Supreme Being, based on reason rather than revelation and involving the view that God has set the universe in motion but does not interfere with how it runs.
Deism became prominent in the 17th and 18th centuries during the Age of Enlightenment. Deists do not believe in a triune God, three persons existing in one. In other words, they reject the Trinity - Father, Son, Holy Spirit, and believe that God is just one individual who, as stated above, does not get involved with His creation. And they reject the deity of Jesus Christ. This is unbiblical and heretical to say the least! Think of it! These men were not only deists, but wanted a country that would not be solely submissive to the LORD of heaven and earth alone, but where people could worship whatever god they wanted in whatever religious way they wanted. Today that's even more acceptable than it was then, however, the LORD said

"Before Me there was no god formed, nor shall there be after Me. I, even I, am the LORD, and besides Me there is no savior." - Isaiah 43:10b

Our Founding fathers were philosophical in their approach to religion and government. Rather than seeking the God of the Scriptures - Yahweh - they sought their own definition of God and fought to create a country that would be molded to their image rather than His.

And the same problem persists even today. We are a nation that would rather be led by men than God.

When God's people asked for a king, it wasn't what the Lord wanted. In fact it was sinful. He allowed them to have a king and He even anointed David as king after Saul, yet it was still not what God had wanted all along - for the people to cry out to Him as their King.

The people speaking to Samuel said,
"Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, 'Give us a king to judge us.' So Samuel prayed to the LORD. and the LORD said to Samuel, 'Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.'" - 1 Samuel 8:5b-7

The people didn't want God as their King, but rather, they wanted to have a man rule over them just as the nations had.

Their hearts were far from the Lord, and it showed even when Samuel tried to warn them what the king would be like, they still asked for one.

Aren't we doing the same thing in this country? If we are supposedly a "nation under God" then why are we not submitted to Him as our King? Do we think that it just wouldn't work? That God can only rule over us in our individual lives and through men, but not over a whole nation by Himself? How absurd!

If God created the heavens and the earth and gave life to everything, then He can certainly rule over people who want to be submissive to Him. But that's the key: we need to be submissive to Him and then He will bless us (Deuteronomy 28). But a country that is under many gods cannot be subject to the One true God. We can only pray for His mercy upon us, and hold to His promises that He will carry us through the trials and tribulations.
Jesus said, "If you love Me, keep My commandments." - John 14:15. Those commandments, by the way, were not a new set of commandments, but the one's He gave from the beginning (John 7:16; 1 John 1:7). It is only through obedience to Him that we are blessed. If we're saved by His grace through our faith, then we should produce fruit befitting that. God is God and we are not, which means He knows best.

The president is only a man! and we (mankind) are all unrighteous -
"Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar" - Romans 3:4

"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?" - Jeremiah 17:9a

"There is none who does good, no not one" - Psalm 14:3

Sure, men who run for the presidency and for Congress want to do good things for this country, or so they say, but they cannot compare to our Lord and Savior.

And that is precisely why I'm not voting (gasp!). That's right, I'm not voting (gasp again!).

As I've said, "the lesser of two evils...is still evil." It doesn't matter whether Barack Obama becomes president or John McCain; they will both continue to be lawless men walking in opposition to the Law of God.

I'm not condemning anyone for voting. I'm just doing what I know the bible says to do - pray. Pray for whoever becomes president and that this country would wake up and fall on its knees before the Almighty Lord. He is my King, and He is the only One I'm choosing to rule over me. Whom will you choose?

The Day of Atonement

I'm a sinner rotting in a body of death.
Cheerful thought, heh? But it's a fact (Romans 3:10-19), and one that I'm coming to realize more and more as I look into the perfect Law of God.

His Torah not only shows me my sin,though, but it also amazingly demonstrates how to crucify it! Not leaving me to walk in my own understanding, which leads to death (Proverbs 14:12), but giving me the exhortation and understanding to walk in His light (Psalm 119:105-107).

Through the years I have come to find myself agreeing more and more with what the apostle Paul wrote in Romans chapter 7.

"For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man.
But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God - through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin." - Romans 7:22-25

Paul is not giving the o.k. to walk in hypocrisy, as some might try and say. Serving both the law of God and the law of sin as if that were acceptable. On the contrary, he's simply stating a fact that exists in the life of every believer in Messiah. A person who wants to serve God while still struggling against the flesh. But we can only serve God through the work and power of the Holy Spirit who then causes us to walk in His commandments (Ezekiel 36:27). True, biblical grace: God's influence on our hearts which then reflects through our lives.

So why am I saying all of this?
The Day of Atonement.

The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) is a sabbath rest that the LORD has commanded us to fast on, afflict our souls, and offer a burnt offering unto Him. We know how to fast (though, do we understand why?), but how and why do we afflict our souls and offer a burnt offering to the LORD?

In order to understand those we must first understand what atonement means, and so we have to go beyond the dictionary definition and look directly to our Savior.
Jesus died for us and we have to try and realize just how big of a statement that really is.

Think about it for just a moment. The Creator of the universe and all mankind, the Judge of both the living and the dead, the Beginning and the End of all things, the great I AM died on a cross to save us.
Yeshua the Messiah, our salvation, gave His very life to defeat sin and give us the chance to live.

And He didn't die peacefully. He died the most excruciatingly painful and horrific death that mankind has ever known. And He did it for us. If that doesn't afflict our souls then nothing will.

And that's the commandment for the Day of Atonement...that we afflict our souls.

We have to focus on the fact that we didn't deserve what He did for us. He was betrayed and abandoned by His closest friends, He was scourged, spit on, laughed at, beaten, and finally crucified. The wrath of God was poured out on Him because He took OUR place! That should have been us that went through all of that, yet He paid OUR debt!

As any person might ask, "Why did He do that?"
Because we couldn't...
and because He would not leave His creations in a place of hopelessness. Yeshua did not create us with the intention of letting us die. Man chose death for himself, unable to pay the price for his redemption.
But Messiah died to give us life....if we believe in His sacrifice.

Atonement has been made for us, even while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8)

Afflicting our souls for the Day of Atonement is something that matters a great deal to the LORD because He knows the benefit it has in our lives. And realizing that not only did God die for us (who don't deserve it) but He also died for all of mankind, even those who reject Him. Many will go to hell, separated for eternity from the LORD who died to save them, because they refuse to let go of their flesh (which is dying anyway).
This should also cause affliction in our souls.

We can read in Isaiah 58 and Psalm 25 about true affliction of the soul and see that God's concern and compassion for those who are lost should be our concern as well. He wants to give people freedom from their sins and draw them closer to Himself and life eternal.

God didn't die so we could keep living in sin, but so we could be free from it!! Hallelujah! But our enemy, our flesh, and the world will not let up. We are in a constant war, and when we lose a battle, we have to get back up and keep going. But we have to remember that we can only do that by the power of God's grace in our life! We won't be perfect on this side of eternity, but we are to walk as He walked and He is perfect.

There is much to grieve about on the Day of Atonement: the sacrifice of our Savior for sinful man and the rejection of that sacrifice by much of sinful man. That's why the feast is called a sabbath of solemn rest.

But if we have been saved by the blood of the Lamb, then we can offer up our lives as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable (Romans 12:1-2) to God, who is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29), thereby obeying the command to offer a burnt offering on this day. Then we can look forward to the next feast, the Feast of Tabernacles, and the joy that awaits us in the Day the LORD returns for His people to dwell with us forever. Yes, we can look forward to that great Day, but not without looking upon the sacrifice and atonement that was made for us.

For a more indepth look at the Day of Atonement, click on the title of this blog to visit my site, ezekielthree.com where you'll find a study on this Feast day and more.

The Feast of Trumpets

What is the Feast of Trumpets? Well, on our calendars it's known more familiarly as Rosh Hashanah. However, in reality we're talking about two completely different feasts.

Rosh Hashanah actually means "Head of the Year"; in other words, it's the Jewish New Year. The Jews believe that it is the beginning of their civil year, but it has very little to do with Yahweh's Feast of Trumpets as read in Leviticus 23.
In fact, the new year celebration of the Jewish people comes directly from the Babylonian calendar system which they began to adopt after their captivity there, some 2,500 years ago.

The Feast of Trumpets.
"Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
Speak to the children of Israel, saying: 'In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a sabbath-rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation.
You shall do no customary work on it; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD.'" - Leviticus 23:23-25

First of all let's define a few things:
The Seventh Month: While we're looking at the end of September, which is the ninth month, how can we say that the feast is in the seventh month?
Well, the LORD told Moses and Aaron before He led them out of Egypt that the beginning of their months, or the true new year, was actually in the spring around the time of our months March/April. So starting from there we end up with the seventh month falling around this time of year. God's calendar is the true time keeper, not our Gregorian calendar.

A Holy Convocation: What does the word convocation mean? The Hebrew word for convocation is "miqra" (mik-raw) which means a public meeting; also a rehearsal.
The idea is that the feasts of the LORD are holy meetings between Him and us, as well as rehearsals. Rehearsals for what, you may ask? Rehearsals for the time coming when we are with Him for all eternity.
The word for feasts is "moed" which means appointment, or a fixed time. The Feasts of Yahweh are appointed times that He has specifically set aside to meet with us throughout the year. They are important for that reason alone, but He also works in many ways during the feasts, in the lives of His people.

In verse 24, the LORD says that the feast of trumpets should be a memorial of blowing of trumpets.

Memorial = zikron - a memorable thing; a record
Blowing of Trumpets = teruah - clamor, that is, acclamation of joy or a battle cry.

It is a memorial of an acclamation of joy!
In Nehemiah 8:1-12, Ezra read from the Law to all the people assembled on the Feast of Trumpets. As he read, the people were convicted upon hearing the Commandments and began to weep, however, the Levites who taught the people said,
"This day is holy to the LORD your God: do not mourn nor weep...do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength."

So how can we say that the Feast of Trumpets, which Yahweh gave to the Israelites, is for us as believers in Christ? And what about the 'offering made by fire to the LORD'? How does that work today under the New Covenant?

Quite simply, the feast itself speaks of not only hearing the voice of the Lord, but responding to Him with our lives as we await His return.
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service."
Romans 12:1

If we offer up not only our praises, but our very lives as a sacrifice to God, then He will accept that offering if we are living in obedience to His Word.
And because our God is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29), our lives then become a "burnt offering" in a sense.
This is not spiritualizing the matter, since the idea of literal, animal sacrifices were simply a shadow, or picture of the sacrifices which we are to now offer up.
In fact, in Hosea 14:2 it reads,
"for we will offer the sacrifices of our lips."
The word for sacrifices in the Hebrew is "par" which means literally - bull calves.

The Feast of Trumpets speaks clearly of Jesus'/Yeshua's return for His saints. Whether or not we respond to His calling by repenting of our sins is the decision we must make.

Because of this, it is beautiful to see that The Feast of Trumpets is literally Yom Teruah, or the Day of the Awakening Blast.
The Trumpet (Hebrew - shofar) was often used as an alarm, a call to battle, or an awakening blast for the people to respond to. This is why the shofar (trumpet) can be best identified with the voice of God. It represents His voice because the Lord often uses the trumpet as a picture of calling His people to Him.
Exodus 19:16 tells us of the shofar which sounded from the Mountain. It grew louder and louder and the people shook.
Moses spoke and God answered Him by voice. Moses responded to the blast of the shofar and God then answered him.
This should be our response as well. The shofar sounded louder and louder, just as the Lord does with us to get our attention.
Our prayer should be that we would hear His voice and respond to Him before He has to cry out to wake us up!
Like Elijah, we too should listen to the 'still, small voice' of the LORD. The one that is gentle and peaceful.
Otherwise we will not fully understand what He is saying to us when it comes to the point that He's shouting to get our attention.

The Day of the LORD (the Day when Christ returns) is a Day which Joel describes as terrible, and a Day of darkness and gloominess (Joel 2:1-2), and all accompanied by the sound of the trumpet (shofar). This is 'terrible' to those who do not know the voice of the LORD - those who do not have a saving relationship with Him and reject His commandments (Matthew 7:21-23)

But to those who love and obey Him, the Day of the LORD is a great day of salvation to all His people who wait for Him.

"And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they willl gather together His elcet from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."
Matthew 24:31

Notice the 'great sound of a trumpet' that accompanies our Lord's return.
Also,
"For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first."
1 Thessalonians 4:16

Notice the words like 'shout' and 'voice' which are alongside the phrase 'trumpet of God'. There is a definate link between the shofar and the voice of the Lord.

"I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, saying,
'I am the Alpha and Omega, the first and the Last'
Revelation 1:10-11a

We see from the context of this chapter that the 'voice' that John heard was the Lord Yeshua's, and it sounded like a trumpet.

Clearly, the shofar that sounded from Mount Sinai as God spoke to the children of Israel was also a prelude to the coming of our Messiah when the heavenly shofar will sound again and He will gather His saints to Himself!

Jesus said, "'My sheep hear My voice,'" - John 10:27a

Do you hear His voice?
Can you tell where the Lord is directing you?
If not, then you must search His Word to determine whether you truly know the Shepherd or not. If you don't, then when the shofar sounds from heaven and our Messiah returns for those who love Him, He will say to you,

"I never knew you, depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness"

Romans 7:18 (The NEED for God's Torah)

"For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find."<

This was written by the apostle Paul in his letter to the Romans, and here in the seventh chapter we see in such clarity the struggle between our spirit and our flesh (sinful nature).
In particular, Paul makes an interesting case for the importance of God's Law(Torah) in our lives as followers of Jesus(Yeshua)!

We of course have to remember that in Paul's case that he's making to the Romans, it is not just for them....it's for us as well. Simply put, Paul is building a case against all mankind that we all are sinners in need of a Savior. That savior is Christ.
We cannot do anything to earn our salvation, because we are sinful from birth and have no hope of attaining perfection outside of our Messiah. In fact, His salvation is a free gift, but it still must be excepted under His terms or it will not take effect in our lives.
His terms are that we walk in His truth(word) and come to Him in repentance, otherwise we will never be able to receive His salvation.

So in verse 18 of chapter 7, Paul points out that in his flesh(sinful nature) there is NOTHING good. But then he says, "for to WILL is present with me". What does he mean by this?
"for to will" is simply referring to what Paul wants to do according to his spirit, which is born again of God. Remember, there is no struggle between the flesh and the spirit in someone who isn't saved.
Only those who have accepted Messiah Yeshua as their Savior and walk in obedience to Him are saved/born again, and therefore experience the battle between the spirit and the flesh. Or in other words, what the mind wants to do (according to the will of God) and what the flesh wants to do conflict within the life of the believer.

Paul also writes that to will is "present with me". The will to do good in the sight of the Lord is "with" him and us because the Spirit of the Living God is within us. He is with us and works in us to will and to do for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). Since, as he first said, there is nothing good in us because of our sinful nature which we inherited at birth, then it is only God who, being with us, is the ONLY good thing present with us.

Then Paul makes the statement, "but how to perform what is good I do not find". To truly understand the context of what Paul is saying here one must go back and read through the preceding chapters of Romans. But we can understand from just a few verses back that Paul, in and of himself, cannot find anything good within him nor can he find out how to perform that which is good.

So how can he, or any of us know what is good and how to perform it? By the Torah(Law) of God and His Word in it's entirety. As Paul just wrote back in chapter 6 verse 12,

"Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good."

AND

"and know His will and approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law," - Romans 3:18

The Torah(Law) of God is not only good but also our instructions of His good will. He therefore, through His law, instructs us as to what is good and how to perform that.
That is why Paul goes on to say in verse 25 of chapter 7 that he thanks God through Jesus/Yeshua for delivering him from his own body of death and that with his mind he serves the Law of God!

Paul served God's law and delighted in it because he served in the newness of the Spirit, not in the oldness of the letter which brings condemnation and death.
That's why Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 3:6 that we are ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills but the Spirit gives life, which is the fulfillment of Jeremiah 31:31-34.

The Law for an unbeliever brings about wrath and death, showing us what our sin is and that we need a Savior. However, once we're in Christ Jesus, we are no longer under the Law but are free from sin and death and free to become slaves of righteousness...now walking in His Law which is a light unto our path (Psalm 119:97-106).

Professing Christendom has twisted the message of God, saying that the law is bondage in the life of a believer and thereby, in essence, they make sin good. This is heretical to say the least.
It is through the Law that we know what sin is (Romans 7:7) and it is by faith that we establish the Law (Romans 3:31). So how does repentance figure in to all of this? Well, quite simply, if we don't repent then we harden our heart to what the Lord is trying to say to us through His Law.
In Psalm 51, David writes,

"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart -
these, O God, You will not despise." - Psalm 51:17

In Ezekiel 36, the prophet, speaking of the new covenant, shows us what God says about the heart.

The Lord said, "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and you will keep My judgments and do them." - Ezekiel 36:26-27

Notice that he says the "heart of stone" and "a heart of flesh". It's the heart of flesh that the Lord is giving us when we are born again. This heart of flesh is soft and workable, and the more so, the easier it is for God to reveal His Law in our hearts and minds. But our heart is only one of flesh when we come before God in repentance. If we continually refuse to humble ourselves before Yahweh and His mercy then we will harden our hearts and make it more and more difficult for His Law to penetrate it. This will eventually lead us away from His love and salvation until we are no longer in Him (Hebrews 6:4-6).

We must repent before the LORD and seek out His Law for our instruction in the things that He approves of for our lives. In this, we will be like a lamp for all to see and glorify Him thereby.

Repentance softens our hearts, and that is what the Lord desires more than sacrifice.

Repentance leads to life!

Repentance. What is it? How does it affect us and why should we care about it?
Well, repentance is much more than some nifty little doctrinal statement made by christians. Repentance is the basis for life in God.
It is, in a cosmic sort of nutshell, choosing to turn from our sins toward God and asking Him to forgive us of those sins which we had previously committed.
Repentance is NOT a one time deal where God forgives all the sins we've ever committed AND those we will commit.
Romans 3:25 says that God passed over our sins which we had previously committed, due to His forebearance and eternal knowledge.
However, we must realize that God does not forgive every sin we WILL commit unless we ask for forgiveness.
We must come before Almighty God in humbleness and fear, and ask for His forgiveness when we sin.
Hebrews points out why -

"For if we sin willfully after we have recieved the knowledge of the truth there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation will devour the adversaries." - Hebrews 10:26

Did you get that? If we sin, knowing full well that we're sinning, Jesus' sacrifice no longer has a place in our lives. It doesn't count because we've put Him to an open shame all over again (Hebrews 6:6).

If we don't repent of our sins we'll die in them. But if we do repent then we experience the free gift of salvation that Messiah Yeshua (Jesus Christ) brings to us by His grace.

Messiah said in Luke 13:3 - "...but unless you repent you will all likewise perish."

Not the message of Jesus that we're used to hearing, is it? But it's the truth of His Word.

Regardless of what people think Messiah said or didn't say, really doesn't matter because He said what He said! We can't change what He has said and done.
He does NOT change and His Word stands forever!

If the Lord died to save us from our sins then we have to ask ourselves why so many of us continue to sin willfully. Do we think God doesn't care anymore about repentance in our lives?
Certainly not! Of course He still cares. He's God and as we already said He does NOT change.
He therefore still cares every bit as much about us and our relationship with Him today as He did ages ago.

Without repentance we will continue to walk in sin, which, ultimately, is walking AWAY from God. He knows this and that is why He wants us to let Him work in our lives to destroy sin.

By the Holy Spirit we CAN overcome sin!

Many times, when Yeshua would encounter someone seeking forgiveness He would forgive them and then tell them "go and sin no more".
That statement would be some kind of awful joke if we couldn't get past our sins. But He knew/knows that by HIS strength and HIS grace we can be truly free when we walk in His Torah (Law).
If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we will know what it means to walk upright and free in His Law. Because we are saved by His grace through our faith.

Repentance leads to life, but walking in darkness and unrepentance just leads us closer and closer to eternal death and separation from God.

"For godly sorrow produces repentance, leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death." - 2 Corinthians 7:10