Repentance @ MindSay 
god
suffering
all of us are experiencing suffering
suffering that will end to....
life are bound with suffering.
if we suffer, we must learn something.
to suffer is to love
a love that make us strong
a love that make us "US"
a love that leads to forgiveness
a love that leads us to repent.
if we know the real meaning of love
we can live in this physical world
in PEACE AND IN HARMONY WITH GOD AND IN NATURE...
suffering
all of us are experiencing suffering
suffering that will end to....
life are bound with suffering.
if we suffer, we must learn something.
to suffer is to love
a love that make us strong
a love that make us "US"
a love that leads to forgiveness
a love that leads us to repent.
if we know the real meaning of love
we can live in this physical world
in PEACE AND IN HARMONY WITH GOS AND IN NATURE...
What God has joined
"That man should not separate what God has joined is a truth that applies to more than marriage. God has joined the three offices of prophet (teacher), priest, and King in the mediatorial role of Jesus Christ, and he directs us in the Bible to relate positively to them all. God has joined faith and repentance as the two facets of response to the Savior and has made it clear that turning to Christ means turning from sin and letting ungodliness go."
--J.I. Packer in the foreword to The Gospel According To Jesus by John F. MacArthur, Jr.
--J.I. Packer in the foreword to The Gospel According To Jesus by John F. MacArthur, Jr.
Nothing So Exquisit the Pain, Nothing so Exquisit the Joy
Alma Chapter 36
My son, give ear to my words; for I swear unto you, that inasmuch as ye shall keep the commandments of God ye shall prosper in the land.
36:2 I would that ye should do as I have done, in remembering the captivity of our fathers; for they were in bondage, and none could deliver them except it was the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and he surely did deliver them in their afflictions.
36:3 And now, O my son Helaman, behold, thou art in thy youth, and therefore, I beseech of thee that thou wilt hear my words and learn of me; for I do know that whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day.
36:4 And I would not that ye think that I know of myself--not of the temporal but of the spiritual, not of the carnal mind but of God.
36:5 Now, behold, I say unto you, if I had not been born of God I should not have known these things; but God has, by the mouth of his holy angel, made these things known unto me, not of any worthiness of myself.
36:6 For I went about with the sons of Mosiah, seeking to destroy the church of God; but behold, God sent his holy angel to stop us by the way.
36:7 And behold, he spake unto us, as it were the voice of thunder, and the whole earth did tremble beneath our feet; and we all fell to the earth, for the fear of the Lord came upon us.
36:8 But behold, the voice said unto me: Arise. And I arose and stood up, and beheld the angel.
36:9 And he said unto me: If thou wilt of thyself be destroyed, seek no more to destroy the church of God.
36:10 And it came to pass that I fell to the earth; and it was for the space of three days and three nights that I could not open my mouth, neither had I the use of my limbs.
36:11 And the angel spake more things unto me, which were heard by my brethren, but I did not hear them; for when I heard the words--If thou wilt be destroyed of thyself, seek no more to destroy the church of God--I was struck with such great fear and amazement lest perhaps I should be destroyed, that I fell to the earth and I did hear no more.
36:12 But I was racked with eternal torment, for my soul was harrowed up to the greatest degree and racked with all my sins.
36:13 Yea, I did remember all my sins and iniquities, for which I was tormented with the pains of hell; yea, I saw that I had rebelled against my God, and that I had not kept his holy commandments.
36:14 Yea, and I had murdered many of his children, or rather led them away unto destruction; yea, and in fine so great had been my iniquities, that the very thought of coming into the presence of my God did rack my soul with inexpressible horror.
36:15 Oh, thought I, that I could be banished and become extinct both soul and body, that I might not be brought to stand in the presence of my God, to be judged of my deeds.
36:16 And now, for three days and for three nights was I racked, even with the pains of a damned soul.
36:17 And it came to pass that as I was thus racked with torment, while I was harrowed up by the memory of my many sins, behold, I remembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world.
36:18 Now, as my mind caught hold upon this thought, I cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me, who am in the gall of bitterness, and am encircled about by the everlasting chains of death.
36:19 And now, behold, when I thought this, I could remember my pains no more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more.
36:20 And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain!
36:21 Yea, I say unto you, my son, that there could be nothing so exquisite and so bitter as were my pains. Yea, and again I say unto you, my son, that on the other hand, there can be nothing so exquisite and sweet as was my joy.
36:22 Yea, methought I saw, even as our father Lehi saw, God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels, in the attitude of singing and praising their God; yea, and my soul did long to be there.
36:23 But behold, my limbs did receive their strength again, and I stood upon my feet, and did manifest unto the people that I had been born of God.
36:24 Yea, and from that time even until now, I have labored without ceasing, that I might bring souls unto repentance; that I might bring them to taste of the exceeding joy of which I did taste; that they might also be born of God, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.
36:25 Yea, and now behold, O my son, the Lord doth give me exceedingly great joy in the fruit of my labors;
36:26 For because of the word which he has imparted unto me, behold, many have been born of God, and have tasted as I have tasted, and have seen eye to eye as I have seen; therefore they do know of these things of which I have spoken, as I do know; and the knowledge which I have is of God.
36:27 And I have been supported under trials and troubles of every kind, yea, and in all manner of afflictions; yea, God has delivered me from prison, and from bonds, and from death; yea, and I do put my trust in him, and he will still deliver me.
36:28 And I know that he will raise me up at the last day, to dwell with him in glory; yea, and I will praise him forever, for he has brought our fathers out of Egypt, and he has swallowed up the Egyptians in the Red Sea; and he led them by his power into the promised land; yea, and he has delivered them out of bondage and captivity from time to time.
36:29 Yea, and he has also brought our fathers out of the land of Jerusalem; and he has also, by his everlasting power, delivered them out of bondage and captivity, from time to time even down to the present day; and I have always retained in remembrance their captivity; yea, and ye also ought to retain in remembrance, as I have done, their captivity.
36:30 But behold, my son, this is not all; for ye ought to know as I do know, that inasmuch as ye shall keep the commandments of God ye shall prosper in the land; and ye ought to know also, that inasmuch as ye will not keep the commandments of God ye shall be cut off from his presence. Now this is according to his word.
***
I could rant about the amazing Chiastic structure of Hebrew poetry in this passage, probably for a good few pages I could. But this chapter has special meaning tonight, not because of the amazing paralell encoding by the author, but because of the content. Without going into any specifics, just know that I've felt the sensations Alma describes in this verse, both the good and the bad.
My son, give ear to my words; for I swear unto you, that inasmuch as ye shall keep the commandments of God ye shall prosper in the land.
36:2 I would that ye should do as I have done, in remembering the captivity of our fathers; for they were in bondage, and none could deliver them except it was the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and he surely did deliver them in their afflictions.
36:3 And now, O my son Helaman, behold, thou art in thy youth, and therefore, I beseech of thee that thou wilt hear my words and learn of me; for I do know that whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day.
36:4 And I would not that ye think that I know of myself--not of the temporal but of the spiritual, not of the carnal mind but of God.
36:5 Now, behold, I say unto you, if I had not been born of God I should not have known these things; but God has, by the mouth of his holy angel, made these things known unto me, not of any worthiness of myself.
36:6 For I went about with the sons of Mosiah, seeking to destroy the church of God; but behold, God sent his holy angel to stop us by the way.
36:7 And behold, he spake unto us, as it were the voice of thunder, and the whole earth did tremble beneath our feet; and we all fell to the earth, for the fear of the Lord came upon us.
36:8 But behold, the voice said unto me: Arise. And I arose and stood up, and beheld the angel.
36:9 And he said unto me: If thou wilt of thyself be destroyed, seek no more to destroy the church of God.
36:10 And it came to pass that I fell to the earth; and it was for the space of three days and three nights that I could not open my mouth, neither had I the use of my limbs.
36:11 And the angel spake more things unto me, which were heard by my brethren, but I did not hear them; for when I heard the words--If thou wilt be destroyed of thyself, seek no more to destroy the church of God--I was struck with such great fear and amazement lest perhaps I should be destroyed, that I fell to the earth and I did hear no more.
36:12 But I was racked with eternal torment, for my soul was harrowed up to the greatest degree and racked with all my sins.
36:13 Yea, I did remember all my sins and iniquities, for which I was tormented with the pains of hell; yea, I saw that I had rebelled against my God, and that I had not kept his holy commandments.
36:14 Yea, and I had murdered many of his children, or rather led them away unto destruction; yea, and in fine so great had been my iniquities, that the very thought of coming into the presence of my God did rack my soul with inexpressible horror.
36:15 Oh, thought I, that I could be banished and become extinct both soul and body, that I might not be brought to stand in the presence of my God, to be judged of my deeds.
36:16 And now, for three days and for three nights was I racked, even with the pains of a damned soul.
36:17 And it came to pass that as I was thus racked with torment, while I was harrowed up by the memory of my many sins, behold, I remembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world.
36:18 Now, as my mind caught hold upon this thought, I cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me, who am in the gall of bitterness, and am encircled about by the everlasting chains of death.
36:19 And now, behold, when I thought this, I could remember my pains no more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more.
36:20 And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain!
36:21 Yea, I say unto you, my son, that there could be nothing so exquisite and so bitter as were my pains. Yea, and again I say unto you, my son, that on the other hand, there can be nothing so exquisite and sweet as was my joy.
36:22 Yea, methought I saw, even as our father Lehi saw, God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels, in the attitude of singing and praising their God; yea, and my soul did long to be there.
36:23 But behold, my limbs did receive their strength again, and I stood upon my feet, and did manifest unto the people that I had been born of God.
36:24 Yea, and from that time even until now, I have labored without ceasing, that I might bring souls unto repentance; that I might bring them to taste of the exceeding joy of which I did taste; that they might also be born of God, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.
36:25 Yea, and now behold, O my son, the Lord doth give me exceedingly great joy in the fruit of my labors;
36:26 For because of the word which he has imparted unto me, behold, many have been born of God, and have tasted as I have tasted, and have seen eye to eye as I have seen; therefore they do know of these things of which I have spoken, as I do know; and the knowledge which I have is of God.
36:27 And I have been supported under trials and troubles of every kind, yea, and in all manner of afflictions; yea, God has delivered me from prison, and from bonds, and from death; yea, and I do put my trust in him, and he will still deliver me.
36:28 And I know that he will raise me up at the last day, to dwell with him in glory; yea, and I will praise him forever, for he has brought our fathers out of Egypt, and he has swallowed up the Egyptians in the Red Sea; and he led them by his power into the promised land; yea, and he has delivered them out of bondage and captivity from time to time.
36:29 Yea, and he has also brought our fathers out of the land of Jerusalem; and he has also, by his everlasting power, delivered them out of bondage and captivity, from time to time even down to the present day; and I have always retained in remembrance their captivity; yea, and ye also ought to retain in remembrance, as I have done, their captivity.
36:30 But behold, my son, this is not all; for ye ought to know as I do know, that inasmuch as ye shall keep the commandments of God ye shall prosper in the land; and ye ought to know also, that inasmuch as ye will not keep the commandments of God ye shall be cut off from his presence. Now this is according to his word.
***
I could rant about the amazing Chiastic structure of Hebrew poetry in this passage, probably for a good few pages I could. But this chapter has special meaning tonight, not because of the amazing paralell encoding by the author, but because of the content. Without going into any specifics, just know that I've felt the sensations Alma describes in this verse, both the good and the bad.
Tear your hearts, not just your clothes!
The prophet Joel is a rather enigmatic fellow. It is believed that his book could have been written as early as the ninth century B.C.. The prophets Ezekiel, Amos, Jeremiah, Zephaniah and Micah use many similar phrases, so it is possible that though he was not otherwise mentioned in the Old Testament, his prophecies were known and heeded by those who came after him.
His overall message in his book is one of judgment and punishment. He does not voice the popular notion that the judgment will be only for those outside of God's family, with only blessings for those who claim the Lord. Instead, he – along with other prophets – hold to the theology that the punishment will be universal, with restoration and blessing coming after judgment and repentance.
On the subject of the Day of the Lord, Joel holds forth. He speaks of locusts as actual locusts, he calls it as he sees it. There isn't a lot of pretty allegory in his work; he's a straightforward prophet.
His prophecies speak of darkness, fire, destruction. A time when the light of sun and stars is dimmed if not obliterated.
God himself is involved in all of this, you see. It is that important. He is in the presence of his army, as a good leader of war. Joel is clear that the Lord is not detached from the judgment enacted on the people.
God is not just a God of war, though! He loves his people and Joel is sure to tell them so.
Wait! Does this mean God can change his mind???
God's perspective is beyond our comprehension. Completely and utterly beyond what we can possibly grasp. He sees all possible outcomes, all possible decisions, all possible permutations resulting from everything. He is omniscient. But! He lets people choose where they will go. All paths have been seen, but the choice is ours.
Our repentance can bring about a change in the path of anger, yes. "Tear your hearts, not just your clothes," we are told. Repentence isn't about saying, "I'm sorry." It's about change. It's about turning from the way you were going and going in a better direction. It's about making a conscious effort to do what is right, not just sit there and feel sorry.
Today, what we need to do is heed this. The Day of the Lord is coming. It will be terrible. Only those with a contrite heart, a heart that has turned to the will of the Almighty God, will be blessed when it is over.
Will you seek to return to the Lord? He truly is compassionate and he will heal your wounds and soothe even the most troubled spirit of the person that has yielded to him. And he's waiting. Just for you.
Blow the horn in Zion;
sound the alarm on My holy mountain!
Let all the residents of the land tremble,
for the Day of the Lord is coming;
in fact, it is near –
(Joel 2:1 HCSB)
sound the alarm on My holy mountain!
Let all the residents of the land tremble,
for the Day of the Lord is coming;
in fact, it is near –
(Joel 2:1 HCSB)
The prophet Joel is a rather enigmatic fellow. It is believed that his book could have been written as early as the ninth century B.C.. The prophets Ezekiel, Amos, Jeremiah, Zephaniah and Micah use many similar phrases, so it is possible that though he was not otherwise mentioned in the Old Testament, his prophecies were known and heeded by those who came after him.
His overall message in his book is one of judgment and punishment. He does not voice the popular notion that the judgment will be only for those outside of God's family, with only blessings for those who claim the Lord. Instead, he – along with other prophets – hold to the theology that the punishment will be universal, with restoration and blessing coming after judgment and repentance.
On the subject of the Day of the Lord, Joel holds forth. He speaks of locusts as actual locusts, he calls it as he sees it. There isn't a lot of pretty allegory in his work; he's a straightforward prophet.
His prophecies speak of darkness, fire, destruction. A time when the light of sun and stars is dimmed if not obliterated.
The Lord raises His voice in the presence of His army.
His camp is very large;
Those who carry out His command are powerful.
Indeed, the Day of the Lord is terrible and dreadful - who can endure it? (v. 11)
His camp is very large;
Those who carry out His command are powerful.
Indeed, the Day of the Lord is terrible and dreadful - who can endure it? (v. 11)
God himself is involved in all of this, you see. It is that important. He is in the presence of his army, as a good leader of war. Joel is clear that the Lord is not detached from the judgment enacted on the people.
God is not just a God of war, though! He loves his people and Joel is sure to tell them so.
Even now-[this is] the Lord's declaration-turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning. Tear your hearts, not just your clothes, and return to the Lord your God. For He is gracious and compassionate,slow to anger, rich in faithful love,and He relents from sending disaster. (v. 12 & 13)
Wait! Does this mean God can change his mind???
God's perspective is beyond our comprehension. Completely and utterly beyond what we can possibly grasp. He sees all possible outcomes, all possible decisions, all possible permutations resulting from everything. He is omniscient. But! He lets people choose where they will go. All paths have been seen, but the choice is ours.
Our repentance can bring about a change in the path of anger, yes. "Tear your hearts, not just your clothes," we are told. Repentence isn't about saying, "I'm sorry." It's about change. It's about turning from the way you were going and going in a better direction. It's about making a conscious effort to do what is right, not just sit there and feel sorry.
Today, what we need to do is heed this. The Day of the Lord is coming. It will be terrible. Only those with a contrite heart, a heart that has turned to the will of the Almighty God, will be blessed when it is over.
Will you seek to return to the Lord? He truly is compassionate and he will heal your wounds and soothe even the most troubled spirit of the person that has yielded to him. And he's waiting. Just for you.
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