Wheels of Glory! Blog

How to Help Someone Repent pt 1 – VOTD.09.19.17

Posted in Verse of the Day | September 19th, 2017 | by

A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need. Proverbs 17:17

One of the challenges of being in any kind of Christian community (family, church, friendship, etc.) is finding ways to “Bear one another’s burdens” (Gal 6:2) in a way that truly helps rather than causes things to get even worse. Sometimes our intentions are good but how we live out helping our brothers and sisters is defective. And helping someone repent is an area where the Bible both calls us and cautions us, because it can be a real minefield.

To start with, there is no formula. What will be a game-changer for one person with one kind of issue they’re repenting from, will be useless or counter-productive for another. Secondly, the zeal for the repenter to pursue repentance can ebb and flow and if we’re out of rhythm with that we’ll be frustrated.

Fortunately, the Bible gives us forthright insights on how to actually help a person change or repent… and how not to help them, which is just as important. Today we’ll start looking at some passages on how to help someone repent.

Prayer changes things. (more…)

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Godly vs. Worldly Repentance – VOTD.09.18.17

Posted in Verse of the Day | September 18th, 2017 | by

For you felt a godly grief…For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. 2 Corinthians 7:9-10

I was listening to tearful Christian mother whose barely-adult daughter was in jail, guilty of some serious crimes. “The problem is,” the mother said, “<daughter> has always repented so well. We saw some problems, but we believed her when she tearfully repented and promised never to do it again.”

In today’s verses, Paul commends the leaders in the Corinthian church for repenting. And not just repenting, but repenting correctly. We don’t see this kind of repentance very often. And some of the reason for this is that in our love for the repentor and our desire to see restoration, we accept “worldly repentance that leads to death”.

We begin by naïvely accepting the general goodness of the repentor as a substitute for true repentance. Maybe we assume a divine calling or accountability to a group of leaders as a guarantee against falling into sin in the first place. Then we mistakenly assume that the repentor’s sorrow and confession will provide the power to produce change. Or we accept the repentor’s defensive attitude when we doubt their ability to change.

Israel’s first king, Saul, is a perfect example of someone who puts on a good show of repentance, but doesn’t change. As anyone familiar with the mentality and tactics of the abuser knows, false repentance is a common ploy abusive people use. They can be very convincing—and they can even convince themselves that they have changed. What they did was wrong, but they are finished with it forever. If their victim will only forgive them, all will be well. So now it’s their victim who bears the brunt of making things right again. (more…)

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After Repentance Comes Living – In Search of a Repentant Heart pt 2 – VOTD.09.12.17

Posted in Verse of the Day | September 12th, 2017 | by

If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 1 John 3:20

Last time we began talking about repentance as an outgrowth of our topic of forgiveness. Obviously, it’s natural for the repentant person to just want to “move on”. But true repentance doesn’t indulge that wish, and so those who want to succeed in leaving their sin behind are completely honest about how they are doing at walking out their repentance.

This can lead to the opposite problem: Repentant people need to forgive themselves. We serve a merciful God who delights in restoring people, while not placing them in circumstances they are not able to bear.

God offers repentant people a restored relationship with Him and a new (and perfect) plan for lives.

Hosea’s promise to repentant Israel went like this:
“He will heal us”, “He will bind up our wounds”, “He will revive us”, He will restore us”. He makes it so we can “live in his presence” (6:1-2). After healing comes living. Repentant people accept responsibility for past failures but do not drown themselves in guilt. They focus their attention on present living in Jesus.

Even if we’ve gotten pretty good and consistent about offering forgiveness to others, forgiving ourselves can be more difficult. Understanding why self-forgiveness is difficult can give us clues to make it easier: (more…)

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In Search of a Repentant Heart pt 1 – VOTD.09.11.17

Posted in Verse of the Day | September 11th, 2017 | by

You will never succeed in life if you try to hide your sins. But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy from God. (Proverbs 28:13)

A study of forgiveness is never complete without looking at the other side of the coin: Those who sin and repent. Because “all have sinned” and “if we claim to be without sin, we lie” (Rom 3:23/1Jn 1:8), repentance in central in Christian life. Confessing and forsaking our sins, which is what ‘Repentance’ means, is foundational, not just for new believers, but for all believers.

The problem is there’s far more encouragement to repent than instruction how to repent. And many struggle with the question: How do I know if I’m truly repentant?

In the Bible, there are great passages on both true and false repentance. David truly repented of his sin with Bathsheba and Uriah. Saul put on a good show, but he didn’t have a genuinely repentant heart. Space limits me from going deep into these passages (2 Sam 12 / Ps 32, 51 /1 Sam 15), but it might be good to review them on your own.

Here’s some lessons we can learn from these two examples (and others) of true vs. false repentance: (more…)

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In Search of a Forgiving Heart Pt 2 – VOTD.09.05.17

Posted in Verse of the Day | September 5th, 2017 | by

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:32

We’ve been looking at how to forgive and keep forgiving. Last time we looked at:

1. Forgive whether the offender receive the forgiveness or not.
2. Acknowledge that the offender is a sinful human being who Jesus loves
3. Stop “re-living” the offense.
4. Forgiveness starts by receiving God’s forgiveness.
5. Forgiveness is foundational to our own peace and quiet.

Today we’ll look at a few more forgiveness strategies:

6. Remember that vengeance belongs to God (He repays—Rom 12:19). Even in the natural realm what goes around comes around. If someone hurt us intentionally, we can be pretty sure they’ve been hurt, themselves. And we can be pretty sure they won’t get away with it. Crazy as it may seem, life has a way of making people who spread misery miserable.

7. Still struggling with forgiveness? Try this: Every time you think of the offender, bless them (Lk 6:28). Say a quick prayer of blessing. Say “Father, please bless [name of the offender] and give them a good day.” It’s hard to stay unforgiving when you’re praying for someone. Jesus told us to love our enemies (ibid.). Send them love in a prayer. (more…)

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In Search of a Forgiving Heart Pt 1 – VOTD.09.04.17

Posted in Verse of the Day | September 4th, 2017 | by

Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  Colossians 3:13

Most Christians know we are supposed to love our enemies, do good to those who act hatefully towards us, bless those who wish bad things would happen to us, and pray for those who mistreat us (Lk 6:27). Included in all of this is forgiving those who have hurt or offended us in some way.

Of course, it’s not so difficult to say we love people in the general sense, or forgive people universally. It’s when we come down to the individual level that it gets tough. And to forgive and keep forgiving is stressful. To stay forgiving can be tough if we don’t know how or why we keep finding ourselves unforgiving.

Here’s some thoughts on that:

1. We need to forgive whether the offender receives the forgiveness or not. We’re doing it for God and our own peace whether the offender responds or not.
We may need to re-forgive them repeatedly and often until forgiving becomes a habit. By that I mean that the offender may be a repeat offender. Or perhaps we have a wavering forgiveness that we need re-apply often—every time we begin to feel unforgiving thoughts. (more…)

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In Search of Joy in a Discouraged World Pt 2 – VOTD.08.29.17

Posted in Verse of the Day | August 29th, 2017 | by

You have made known to me the paths of life; You will fill me with Joy in your presence. Psalms 16:11

Last time we saw that we can have a hard time living in the joy that Jesus wants us to live in and gave a few suggestions about what each of us can do about it as we continue to live in an unspeakably distressed world and is filled with negativity.

1. Joyful Christians have unshakable faith
2. Joyful Christians are grateful for what we have
3. Joyful Christians don’t settle for less
4. Joyful Christians are respectful and honor others
5. Joyful Christians surround themselves with joyful people

6. Joyful Christians aren’t afraid to make changes. A lot of Christians aren’t joyful because they are stuck in a deep rut…a pattern of living that doesn’t serve their calling or purpose in life and from which they can’t seem to get out. Joyful people, on the other hand, are dynamic without being out of control; confident without being arrogant. Often, it’s our fear of being different makes us bored (and boring). Joyful people are constantly trying new ways and practices that add spice to their life (and make them more interesting people). (more…)

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In Search of Joy in a Discouraged World Pt 1 – VOTD.08.28.17

Posted in Verse of the Day | August 28th, 2017 | by

Even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an unspeakable joy that is full of glory. 1 Peter 1:8

God fills His people with joy. But we often have a hard time living in that joy. You see, we live in an unspeakably distressed world and that negativity affects us, and those depressing events can end up leaving us feel hopeless and dejected. Even if discouragement sometimes seems like the easiest mindset to fall into, we know that joy is by far the happiest and most fulfilling way to live our lives.

It is in joy that we are filled with God’s own glory. Joyful people are more content with their life circumstances, and are more fulfilled and satisfied with life. Joyful people are more content in the mundane tasks of life, and they are more engaged in their work and more productive.

Have you ever wondered how joyful Christians manage to routinely be that way? I want to share a few ideas on that this week:

1. Joyful Christians have unshakable faith that God is working all things out for our good for us (Rom 8:28). Confidence in God is always the key to feeling good about ourselves, and joyfulness is no exception. When we know that we know that God is in control and He’s a good God—then we have the confidence to reach for all we can be in Him—then joy is the natural result. (more…)

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In Search of a Hungry Heart pt 2 – VOTD.08.15.17

Posted in Verse of the Day | August 15th, 2017 | by

A woman named Martha welcomed (Jesus) into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and was listening to what He said. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks, and she came up and asked, “Lord, don’t You care that my sister has left me to serve alone? So tell her to give me a hand.” The Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has made the right choice, and it will not be taken away from her.”  Luke 10:38-42

Martha’s choice: Good      Mary’s choice: Best

Last time we talked about common reasons that believers have wimpy appetites when it comes to hungering and thirsting for God: We know how this works in the natural. Our bodies were designed to require nourishment, so it’s normal for us to feel hungry—unless our appetites have been suppressed by sickness or quenched by something we ate previously.

The spiritual sicknesses we covered last time were things like unbelief and unforgiveness. Today I want to look at quenching our spiritual appetites and what we can do about that.

Spiritual snacking can ruin our appetite for Jesus—We’re talking about allowing other things or people or even duties and obligations to come before communing with Jesus. These things may be perfectly OK, even good stuff. But their result has the same effect on our appetites for Jesus as being in sin. (more…)

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In Search of a Hungry Heart pt 1 – VOTD.08.14.17

Posted in Verse of the Day | August 14th, 2017 | by

As the deer pants for streams of water, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. Psalms 42:1,2

It’s likely that all Christians struggle at times with their spiritual appetites. We know they aren’t what they once were, or what they might be, or we look at other believers who are hungering and thirsting for the presence of God and wonder what’s wrong with us.

Many have never experienced a hunger for God in any tangible way; some even teach that such a hunger doesn’t exist once we’re saved in the first place. “Once Jesus lives in you,” they teach, “you have all of Jesus there is to have.” While that is true in one sense, it doesn’t mean we live in an experience of all of Jesus that He wants to reveal to us.

Spiritual hunger is not something unusual that is reserved for only a few impassioned believers; the normal state of a Christian is to be thirsty and hungry for God. He “satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things” (Ps 107:9). All we need is to be thirsty and hungry.

Song of Songs presents a parable where Jesus lays a banquet of His presence before us. And if we’re not feasting out at that banquet it’s usually because either we’re sick—or we’ve been snacking on something else.

The most common spiritual “sicknesses” are unbelief and unforgiveness. “Without faith it is impossible to please (God), for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Heb. 11:6). Most of us believe that God exists, but if we don’t really believe that He will respond to our pursuit of Him with a greater experience of Himself, we are likely to be half-hearted seekers. (more…)

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