Repentance Archives - Faith Lutheran Church, Wesley Chapel

Kurt Steinbrueck September 22, 2020

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Heart Surgery

“Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, people of Israel? For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!” – Ezekiel 18:31-32

What are the worst problems you see in the world, today?

Would you say racism, greed, abuse, or something else?

How do we end such horrible practices?

There are plenty of solutions offered by talking heads, politicians, and our chatty neighbor, but the truth is that all the solutions in the world can’t fix what these issues truly are…a heart problem.

Ezekiel was a prophet to Israel at a time when Israel had been exiled from the Promised Land. God’s own chosen people were exiled from the land God had given them and God had allowed this to happen! Why?

Israel had turned away from God and, instead, were worshiping idols.

We can all probably understand why God would cause His chosen people to be exiled. They had betrayed Him like an unfaithful spouse or a fake friend.

Yet, God continued to provide a way to make things right. How amazing is that? Israel turned away from God to worship hand-made idols of stone and wood and, yet, He continues to plead with Israel to return to Him. Repent and live!

God is offering them a new heart and a new spirit, His Spirit.

God still does!

This is true today for us as well. If we turn away from God, He is always working to bring us back to Him. Sure, we may not worship idols of wood and stone, but here in the U.S. we have plenty of our own idols.

We may worship…

Money
Pleasure
Power
Fill in the blank

God warns us not to turn away from Him and not to put these things above Him. Yet, people do, even those who believe in Jesus still struggle with trusting other things over God.

Perhaps the solution to many of these problems in our world aren’t found in new policies or marches, but in the Gospel. It is only through the Gospel that people’s hearts will be changed. There will still be sin in the world, even in the heart of the believer, but there is also forgiveness for the believer and God’s Spirit working and living in their hearts.

God Offers Us a New Heart
What a wonderful message we have that, in Jesus Christ, our sins are forgiven. That’s why we keep coming back to the cross, back to the ultimate place where God provided the way, through Jesus’ death and resurrection, for us to rid ourselves of all our offenses and get a new heart and a new spirit!!

Heavenly Father,

As I look at the world, today, it breaks my heart to see so many suffering and such horrible things being done. I ask that You would cause Your Gospel to go forth and change the hearts and minds of people towards You. Help me to be a part of that great witness and continue to turn my heart to You.

Amen.

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Kurt

Kurt Steinbrueck January 24, 2020

Blog forgiveness, gentleness, Repentance, sin, sinners

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Gently Restored

gently Restored

“Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.” – Galatians 6:1

What do you do when you hear about someone else sinning?

How about when they sin against you?

Sometimes we are tempted to attack the sinner and destroy them. Sometimes we are tempted to avoid them so we aren’t associated with them or so we don’t have to deal with it.

It’s interesting to see the difference between how Jesus and the Pharisees treated people. The Pharisees labeled people sinners and avoided them. Jesus ate with sinners and offered forgiveness. Jesus doesn’t ignore sin, He gently restores people through forgiveness.

That’s what Jesus wants us to do, too, gently restore people. We may need to challenge a sin, but the intent isn’t to destroy or beat up, it’s to restore the person through repentance and forgiveness.

Watch Yourselves!

What does it mean that we should watch ourselves lest we be tempted? There are lots of temptations that come with dealing with someone who sins. There’s the temptation to become involved in their sin. We may also be tempted towards self-righteousness (as if our sins are better than theirs). We may be tempted to gossip. We may be tempted to ignore the sin and let our brother continue drowning in it because we feel uncomfortable.

There are many temptations to avoid, but God still wants us to deal with the sin of our brothers and sisters and He wants to do it gently with the intent of restoring them…just like we would like to be gently restored when we sin.

Dear Jesus,

Please forgive me when I sin. Please give me wisdom when dealing with the sin of others. Help me to see them as you do, as Your precious child and seek to restore them gently.

Amen.

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Kurt

The Other Six

How To Use These Posts
The Other Six is a short, daily devotional blog post. You can use these posts for personal devotions, however, I’m also going to write them in such a way that you could use them for family devotions. I’ll include a Bible verse, questions and/or discussion points, and a closing prayer. I highly encourage you to do these devotions with your family or friends if possible.
Enjoy!

Kurt Steinbrueck January 8, 2020

Blog Blessings, Repentance

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God Bless You Even If It Hurts

God bless you even if it hurts

“Seek good, and not evil, that you may live; and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you, as you have said. Hate evil, and love good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.” – Amos 5:14-15

Will God help you as you rob a bank?

How about as we gossip? Steal? Tear someone down?

No…sort of.

We should not expect God to help our sinful plans and actions, but He does still continue to work for our good despite our sin.

How might He do that?

He may frustrate those sinful plans. He may burden our heart with guilt. These are acts of love even if they frustrate or cause us pain. Consider this. If a baby starts crawling towards the stairs from the second floor, his parents may grab him quickly and firmly tell him, “No!” The baby may be scared or cry because his parents just preventing him from doing what he wanted. Is that love? Yes.

How about the teenager who is caught doing drugs? If her parents ground her for a month and embarrass her by talking about it with her school’s principal and her friends’ parents so they can help address the problem. Is that love? Yes.

Whether He frustrates our plans, burdens our hearts, embarrasses us, or something else, whatever it is, God continues to work in our lives for our good. Out of love He works to bring us to repentance and to receive forgiveness. Praise God!

So, God will still bless us even when we do wrong. It’s just that He’ll probably do it in a way that frustrates those actions. However, when we seek His will and love good, He can bless our actions as well.

Heavenly Father,

Thank you for loving me even when I do what is wrong. Teach me to love what is good. Change me to seek what is right. Correct me and discipline me when I seek evil that I may repent and be forgiven. Thank you for loving me.

Amen.

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Kurt

The Other Six

How To Use These Posts
The Other Six is a short, daily devotional blog post. You can use these posts for personal devotions, however, I’m also going to write them in such a way that you could use them for family devotions. I’ll include a Bible verse, questions and/or discussion points, and a closing prayer. I highly encourage you to do these devotions with your family or friends if possible.
Enjoy!

Repentance

Heart Surgery

Heart Surgery

Gently Restored

gently Restored

The Other Six

God Bless You Even If It Hurts

God bless you even if it hurts

The Other Six

Faith Lutheran Church in Wesley Chapel, FL serving Lutz, Zephyrhills, Land O’ Lakes, and New Tampa, FL