Fresh Manna
by Pastor Tim Burt

I know that none of us would ever have the thought that God is blind and stupid, but sometimes we act like it. We think He doesn’t know our heart. We hide our secret behaviors from others but act like He doesn’t know and see them. We think He doesn’t know the futility of our excuses. Who do we think we are fooling?

Galatians 6:7 says, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked…” God is not stupid. When we are stubborn or apathetic – being loose with sinful thoughts and behaviors that are eroding our quality of life and intimacy with Him, He knows it. He tries to reach out to us and influence our hearts with His love. He uses His Word, people, and whatever other resources we pay attention to, to reveal His mercy to us so that we won’t be afraid of Him and so that will once again, desire to walk in His ways. Exodus 34:6-7 says, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin…

Why is God so merciful and what is His ultimate goal? God is merciful because He loves you and wants to give us a fresh start. We all have times when we know we are heading in a wrong direction. We know that we have to come to our senses and quickly because the course we are on is a course of disaster. When we quit fighting or ignoring God’s love reaching out to us, that awareness and godly desire to change stirs in us. It awakens us and creates a yearning for forgiveness and fresh start.

We see this in Acts 3:19 (MSG) “Now it’s time to change your ways! Turn to face God so he can wipe away your sins and pour out showers of blessing to refresh you…” This verse tells us that God will wipe out our sins. The actually word in the Greek text means obliterate – to blot and wipe out. He blots them out with the blood Jesus shed for our sins. (Have you ever taken a black magic marker to blot over something you didn’t want anyone else to see? It became unseeable – blotted out!) That is what God does with our sins! God offers a fresh start! It seems too good to be true but that is why His mercy and grace are so powerful. Don’t fight it. Thank Him for it. He wants to forgive and give a fresh start and refresh you in the process! Hallelujah!

Secondly, God wants us to come into His presence unafraid so we can hear His voice, learn of His love and again hunger to learn from Him as we read His Word. He’ll lead us to places of blessing. Psalm 25:8-10 says, “The LORD is good and does what is right; He shows the proper path to those who go sin and go astray. He leads the humble in what is right, teaching them his way. The LORD leads with unfailing love and faithfulness all those who keep his covenant and obey his decrees.”

As Christians, repentance is to be a continuing part of our life – in many cases daily! As I say this, remember again that God is not mocked and people don’t like to be either! We sin or mess up in little or bigger ways almost daily. We offend God, or people or both! That means that sincere repentance is going to be happening often in our life. That means you are going to have to learn the words “I’m sorry” – “I’m sincerely sorry.” That also means you are going to need to learn to say them with sincerity whenever it’s necessary to say them.

Lucifer’s fall from Heaven was over pride. He is proud and will never repent. That is why He will ultimately end up in the lake of fire – and yes that is a real place! God’s Word says,”… be clothed with humility: for God resists the proud, and gives grace to the humble. “(1 Peter 5:5) Pride will rob from you and kill you.Humility will open all of God’s heart to you!

Too many people have difficulty with open, honest, and personal communication. Pride is the great reason for that difficulty. People get so stubborn and prideful that apologizing feels like a having a root canal and apologies are emptier than a pocket with a hole in it. If repenting to God or saying “I’m sorry” to others is difficult for you, you have pride issues.

If we as Christians,we were walking in the revelation of godly sorrow – repentance at all levels – for things both great and small, repentance would be a continuing and reoccurring experience. This repentance would be to God and to those around us with sincere words from a sincere heart. We know we mess up in all sorts of little ways all the time. So who are we kidding but ourselves?

Why not admit it and repent and ask forgiveness or give a simple “excuse me” or “I’m sorry,” with sincerity when called for. This keeps a heart so very tender before God. What others do or don’t do in response to you has nothing to do with you. Even if this becomes a one-sided practice from you and seems unfair, you do what’s right and you will be refreshed! You are responsible for you! God will honor your efforts!

Today, know and remember that you can get on a right track by repenting to God and turning to Him.  You can carry that to the next level by taking that same humility and apologizing to others as you should. If you do the Lord will “…pour out showers of blessing to refresh you…”

In His Love,
Pastor Tim Burt