Those who do not know God and His will are condemned to wander around in the dark. The sin darkened world is a dangerous place. People who are ignorant of God’s word or reject it make decisions that have both temporal and lasting consequences.
From Genesis to Revelation God has revealed to us the spiritual reality behind all that we see. Still, I am often surprised by the number of Christian people who chose to be among those who are ignorant of God’s word.
Over and over again I learn of the anguish of Christian parents whose children have decided that they know more than God about running their lives. Their parents pray fervently that their children would not suffer irreparable harm because of their willful disobedience.
Fortunately, it is never too late to repent and believe the Gospel. God’s Holy Spirit is willing to do what Luther calls His “alien work.” It is the work of bringing sin to light. When God sent the prophet Nathan to David, it was to bring David to repentance. He had been willfully living in the darkness of his adultery and murder. To this Nathan declares: “You are the man!” (Read 2 Samuel 12).
Nathan next declares God’s judgment upon David. Then David, by the power of the Holy Spirit, is brought to repentance and restored to faith! Thanks be to God that Nathan had the privilege of announcing to David God’s forgiveness and the Holy Spirit was able to do His proper work of producing faith.
In response to this event David writes: “I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’ and you forgave the iniquity of my sin” (Psalm 32:5).
May the light of Christ and His word shine into our hearts. Where we have failed to live according to God’s will, may His word bring us to repentance. When we have come to repentance, may His mercy abound more as the light of the Gospel of forgiveness penetrates our sin darkened hearts.
Prayer: O heavenly Father, cause the light of your word to penetrate our souls so that the Holy Spirit may work there to bring us to repentance and faith. Amen.
God’s richest blessings in Christ,
Pastor Philip Quardokus
Download a pdf of all the Lenten devotions here.
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