It's Time for Christians to Repent

Yvonne Ortega doesn't back down from telling people the truth, because she knows it is the truth that sets people free and heals their brokenness. In this Spiritual Life UPGRADE, she hones in on an often-forgotten truth: God's people need to be holy, and repentance is necessary when the Holy Spirit shows us our sin.

“It’s time for Christians to repent.

"As Christians," Yvonne says, "we may talk about and pray for revival in our country, but it’s time for us to repent of partial or incomplete obedience, which is disobedience or rebellion against God.

I (Dawn) have seen so many ministries across America and around the world focusing on the need for revival.

I traveled with a revival team for a number of years and saw what happened in churches when God's people got serious with Him about their sin. Yvonne's words may seem harsh to some people, but they are really words of love for God's people and His holiness.

Yvonne continues . . .

Joshua told the Israelites,

Be very careful to love the Lord your God (Joshua 23:11 NIV).

In verse 16, Joshua warned them, If you violate the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, the Lord’s anger will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from the good land he has given you.

Perhaps some of us look at Joshua 23:11 and 16 and don’t think those verses apply to us. After all, we no longer live under Old Testament Law but under the New Covenant.

Here are three ways in which those verses do apply.

1. We have often kept quiet in the face of opposition to our covenant with the Lord.

We have not fought for truth. Instead, in the name of multicultural diversity, tolerance, and peace at any price, we have allowed laws and practices contrary to our love for God to abound.

Let’s repent of not loving the Lord as the Bible commands us.

In Matthew 22:37–38, Jesus replied [to an expert in the Law]: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.’

2. We have served the gods of materialism and forgotten what God Almighty has done for us.

During this pandemic, in the United States alone, thousands are in hospitals in critical condition, and thousands have died. Those in the medical field, rescue workers, and caregivers risk their lives daily to keep us safe and healthy.

• Meanwhile, we complain that we can’t get our nails done or go to the tanning booth at the spa.
• We may not be starving, but we moan about the lack of our favorite foods.
• Perhaps we groan about the social distancing restrictions at the golf club.
• At the same time, we dislike the pick-up or delivery-only policies of our favorite restaurant.

Yet, others are hurting because of a lack of money to cover necessities, such as rent or a mortgage and food. They can’t afford pick-up or delivery.

Like the Israelites, we forget all that God has given us and the miracles of the past.

We only focus on our comfort and serve the gods of materialism.

3. We have not hated sin—the works of darkness or evil that God hates.

There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him:

haughty eyes (a proud, arrogant look), a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood,

a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil,

a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community (Proverbs 6:16–19 NIV).

Any one of those sins separates us from our holy heavenly Father God.

Ask the Lord to show you His holy heart.

Perhaps we are thinking we have confessed all our sins and never murdered anyone. We need to examine our hearts according to 1 John 3:15.

That verse says,

Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.

Jesus gives us confirmation of the Old Testament in Matthew 5:17.

He says, Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

Look also at Romans 3:23—For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Yes, It's time for Christians to repent.

Can we stand before God and say we don’t need to repent, because we haven’t sinned and fallen short of the glory of God? Friend, ask the Lord to show you His holy heart.

Yvonne Ortega walks with a small footprint but leaves a giant imprint in people’s lives. She is the author of the Moving from Broken to Beautiful® Series through cancer, forgiveness, and grief. Yvonne speaks with honesty and humor as she shares her life and struggles to help women find peace, power, and purpose through God’s Word. She celebrates life at the beach where she walks, builds sand castles, blows bubbles, and dances. Read more about Yvonne at www.YvonneOrtega.com.

Graphic adapted, courtesy of Delanie at Lightstock.

You Can Ketchup More Fries with Money

Rhonda Rhea's posts always go deeper than one might think at first. Such is the case in this Stewardship UPGRADE.

"Don’t even try to pretend," Rhonda says. "Don’t pretend you don’t know that the hamburger and the French fries have to come to an end at exactly the same time."

I (Dawn) was intrigued by Rhonda's title until I saw a longer version and scanned the article.

The whole title is: "You Can Ketchup More Fries with Money—And Catch Fools with It Too."

Ah... I see. This is about stewardship!

Rhonda continues . . .

Bite of hamburger. Bite of fry. Burger. Fry.

Once you invest your money in the full meal deal, it feels like bad stewardship if any one bite doesn’t live up to the others.

Burger, fry, burger, fry.

These are the rules, people. Hey, it’s not like I make this stuff up.

When you think about it, it’s the only cultured way to eat a burger.

Of course, “culture” and “full meal deal” don’t always go together like… well… like burgers and fries.

I was eating my burger, fry, burger, fry the other day and I happened to glance over at the ketchup packet and noticed it said, “FANCY.”

Well, that was just frustrating. I felt underdressed the whole rest of the meal.

And you don’t want to feel underdressed when you have to go back for that extra order of fries. Because when you’re explaining to the kid taking your money that you had too much burger at the end of your fries, you don’t want to look stupid.

When it comes to dealing well with money, there’s always a challenge not to get stupid. Not because money is evil. Because loving it is.

And it’s a trap.

“But those who want to be rich fall into temptation, a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains” (1 Timothy 6:9-10, HCSB).

Obsession with material things leads to more obsession with material things, and then more—a trap of our own spiraling desires. It’s like always needing one more fry.

How sobering to read verse 9. Our craving for money can lead us away from our faith and right into all kinds of piercing pain. Foolish sinfulness. Certainly nothing sophisticated about that.

Paul tells us to “run from these things” (verse 11). Run away from that temptation to focus on getting rich.

People who already enjoy wealth are not safe from the trap either. It can become all too easy to find security in a big bank account rather than in Christ.

Verse 17 says, “not to be arrogant or to set their hope on the uncertainty of wealth, but on God, who richly provides us with all things to enjoy.”

When Paul tells us to run from the love of money and all the other evils, he doesn’t just leave us running wildly off without direction.

“But you, man of God, run from these things, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness" (verse 11).

As we pursue all the right spiritual things, our view toward all things physical comes more clearly into focus.

When we’re not distracted by loving or trusting in money and things, we see what’s real.

“Instruct them to do what is good, to be rich in good works, to be generous, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good reserve for the age to come, so that they may take hold of life that is real,” (verse 18).

Investing in Kingdom work. That’s real investing.

Incidentally, anytime you’ve invested the meal deal and you’re feeling a little unsophisticated… ketchup. It’s the fancy condiment.

Anything else just won’t cut the mustard.

Are you pursuing the physical or the spiritual? How is pursuing the spiritual a better "deal"? 

Rhonda Rhea is a humor columnist, radio personality, speaker and author of 10 books, including How Many Lightbulbs Does It Take to Change a Person?, Espresso Your Faith - 30 Shots of God's Word to Wake You Up, and a book designed to encourage Pastor's Wives (P-Dubs): Join the Insanity. Rhonda, a sunny pastor's wife, lives near St. Louis and is "Mom" to five grown children. Find out more at www.RhondaRhea.com.

Graphic adapted, courtesy of eisenmenger at Pixabay.