Minor confessions
lead to major change.
It is in the confession of the little things that allow us to deal with the big things in life. We have to become people willing to see beyond the religious façade we can all create and truly embrace the Word of the Lord for our lives.
It is in the confession of the little things that allow us to deal with the big things in life. We have to become people willing to see beyond the religious façade we can all create and truly embrace the Word of the Lord for our lives.
The book of Joel is a book of prophecy centered around the
“Day of the Lord.” This day is most
often called “the great and terrible Day of the Lord.” This day is great for those who are ready for
it and is dreadful for those who are not.
This week’s confession declares that too often we are comfortable and complacent in our
salvation, but we live oblivious to the desperate
need for salvation of those around us.
Joel speaks of some major realities about this Day of the
Lord and why it is coming.
On that day the Lord
will be fully revealed in the full view of the full world. On
that day “every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is
Lord.” That day, therefore, will be both vicious and victorious. It will be victorious for those who are
ready for that day and vicious for those who are not.
Here are three realities from Joel that help us interpret
the events prophesied.
1. The Lord God will justly judge sin.
1. The Lord God will justly judge sin.
2. The Lord God will richly reward righteousness.
3. The Lord God will pour, not measure out, His Spirit.
3. The Lord God will pour, not measure out, His Spirit.
Judgment and reward is an interesting concept in our
culture. I will blog this week about
that at pastorkirk.blogspot.com. We must
remember that you cannot justly reward the positive side without punishing the
negative side of the matter. You can
reward without punishment but that is not justice.
The pouring of the Holy Spirit will be my third blog entry
for the week, so check that out too. The
basic idea is that in the OT God sent his spirit upon particular people at
particular times to accomplish particular tasks. On the Day of Pentecost, after the
resurrection of Christ, God freely poured out His Spirit on his people.
So this week I want you to be challenged by what you truly
believe. There is a day coming…and it is
both vicious and victorious. Are you
ready? If you think you are, are you
living complacent or passionate about the Gospel?
