October 25th, 2023
Wednesday, October 25th
Rend Your Heart
By: Pastor Melissa
Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. (Joel 2:12-13)
What feeds your appetite? Is it money, power, control? Is it something literal, sex, sweets, food, exercise, drugs, or alcohol? Or what about applause and accolades, always desiring to be in the spotlight or the best. There is something (or let’s be honest probably more than one) that feeds our desires. When we get it, it’s a dopamine hit and yet when the sensation or feeling goes away, we are back to square one looking for something or someone to fill the void. The vicious cycle of our fallen and broken state.
Israel has now come face to face with her sins. The prophet Joel exposing the truth.
When what is filling your appetite instead of Jesus is exposed, what are you doing with it?
“Rend your hearts and not your garments”. Tearing one’s clothes in the ANE often meant they were confronted with their sin. Here Joel says to tear our hearts open and expose it. Return to Yahweh. He is a good, good, Father who will relent.
Why does Yahweh tell the people to fast and return?
Fasting gives believers the opportunity to deny themselves the substances that literally sustain human life, food and drink. When we deny ourselves what allows our bodies to continue, we become dependent on something more, something greater. We become dependent on the One who brings life, gives life, and sustains it. For He is both Living Water and the Bread of Life. He is our dopamine!
God of the universe has stepped into our reality, was offered all that world could give Him, and denied it. Instead, Jesus walked a sinless life, whose will was always the Father’s. He picked up a cross made for the sinners and took it on for us, for you. Then He rose! His resurrection conquered it all. And He left His Spirit to empower and equip us to do the same.
Rend Your Heart
By: Pastor Melissa
Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. (Joel 2:12-13)
What feeds your appetite? Is it money, power, control? Is it something literal, sex, sweets, food, exercise, drugs, or alcohol? Or what about applause and accolades, always desiring to be in the spotlight or the best. There is something (or let’s be honest probably more than one) that feeds our desires. When we get it, it’s a dopamine hit and yet when the sensation or feeling goes away, we are back to square one looking for something or someone to fill the void. The vicious cycle of our fallen and broken state.
Israel has now come face to face with her sins. The prophet Joel exposing the truth.
When what is filling your appetite instead of Jesus is exposed, what are you doing with it?
“Rend your hearts and not your garments”. Tearing one’s clothes in the ANE often meant they were confronted with their sin. Here Joel says to tear our hearts open and expose it. Return to Yahweh. He is a good, good, Father who will relent.
Why does Yahweh tell the people to fast and return?
Fasting gives believers the opportunity to deny themselves the substances that literally sustain human life, food and drink. When we deny ourselves what allows our bodies to continue, we become dependent on something more, something greater. We become dependent on the One who brings life, gives life, and sustains it. For He is both Living Water and the Bread of Life. He is our dopamine!
God of the universe has stepped into our reality, was offered all that world could give Him, and denied it. Instead, Jesus walked a sinless life, whose will was always the Father’s. He picked up a cross made for the sinners and took it on for us, for you. Then He rose! His resurrection conquered it all. And He left His Spirit to empower and equip us to do the same.
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