Tag: rot away

4.e. “Separated themselves from all foreigners and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers”

Nehemiah 9:1   Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the people of Israel were assembled with fasting and in sackcloth, and with earth on their heads. And the Israelites separated themselves from all foreigners and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. And they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a quarter of the day; for another quarter of it they made confession and worshiped the Lord their God.

Leviticus 26:39-40    And those of you who are left shall rot away in your enemies’ lands because of their iniquity, and also because of the iniquities of their fathers they shall rot away like them.  “But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers in their treachery that they committed against me, and also in walking contrary to me,

Psalms 106:6-7    Both we and our fathers have sinned; we have committed iniquity; we have done wickedness.  Our fathers, when they were in Egypt, did not consider your wondrous works; they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love, but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.

Daniel 9:3-10     Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.  I prayed to the LORD my God and made confession, saying, “O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments,  we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules.  We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.  To you, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us open shame, as at this day, to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, those who are near and those who are far away, in all the lands to which you have driven them, because of the treachery that they have committed against you.  To us, O LORD, belongs open shame, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against you.  To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him  and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God by walking in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.

1 John 1:7-9    But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.  If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

When we come to God’s word with a desire to know Him and gain understanding and wisdom we will become aware of His Holiness and our sinfulness.  We will see self-centered sin.  We will see worldly sin.  We will see how far we have departed from honoring and glorifying Jesus Christ. God’s word will become vital and active in our life.  We will see the need for confession and change.  We will no longer be blind to His handiwork or deaf to His leading.  We will be changed and our lives will be changed because we will know the truth of our sinfulness and the steadfast grace, mercy, and love of Jesus Christ.  It is in this truth that we confess and rely on forgiveness.  It is in this truth we are being filled with the power of the Holy Spirit.  It is in this truth we can come before God in confession and thanksgiving.

New heavens and new earth

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”

“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind.”

Psalms 102:26  They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away, but you are the same, and your years have no end. The children of your servants shall dwell secure; their offspring shall be established before you.

Isaiah 34:4     All the host of heaven shall rot away, and the skies roll up like a scroll. All their host shall fall, as leaves fall from the vine, like leaves falling from the fig tree.

Isaiah 66:22     “For as the new heavens and the new earth that I make shall remain before me, says the LORD, so shall your offspring and your name remain.

2 Peter 3:7-12     But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.  But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.  The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.  But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.  Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness,  waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn!

Revelation 20:11    Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.

Revelation 21:1    Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.

Have you ever heard someone say “Live like there is no tomorrow”?  What are they really saying?  For some this would translate into “Party Time” and give no thought of the ramifications their actions would have on them or others.  Why not?  They assume all will end and there is nothing beyond this life.  No eternity.  No judgement. No God. No Heaven. No life after death.

For others, who believe, they may see this as so important they contact all family and friends they can, knowing they have little time, and tell them of God, eternity, judgment, life after death,  Good News of Jesus Christ, and salvation, new heaven and new earth, life eternal.  By the way this is how we ought to think – like there is no tomorrow.

There was a small book I read written by Brother Lawrence.  While he was out tending his garden the question was posed to him, “what would you do if you knew the world would end tomorrow?”.  He replied, “I would keep tending my garden.”  Brother Lawrence explained why.  He said he absolutely knew that he was doing God’s will and purpose.  He lived continually in the presence of God.  He sought nothing of his day but only to that which God was leading.  He sought to hear God’s leading and then, by faith, acted upon that.  He stayed in close contact with God through His word and in prayer.  Brother Lawrence only wanted to do what God had purposed for His life.  The world did not influence his actions, God did.  The world did not give him satisfaction, God did.  We all would do well to seek to know and understand God’s purpose for our life and then, by faith, always take action accordingly as His quiet small voice of leading is directing us.