So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.

Mark 6:7-13

So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them. Mark 6:12-13

I continue my study of Mark, leaning on the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for Mark.  Today, my focus is a commentary-assisted review of Mark 6:7-13. Excerpts from the commentary's for the fourth and final (of four) division (vv12-13):

•  The title of this division per the commentary: "Go Preaching the Word and Doing the Work of the Kingdom." 
• "[The disciples] were not to compromise their message even if it brought rejection and persecution. They had to have the courage to tell the truth about Jesus and the gospel." 
•  "If “repentance” was the first word out of the mouth of John, Jesus, and the apostles (Acts 2:38), it must be an important component of the gospel and the Christian life." 
• The commentary refers us to Thomas Watson's treatise on repentance - The Doctrine of Repentance - where Watson outlines "six ingredients necessary for true repentance...including sight of sin, sorrow for sin, confession of sin, shame for sin, hatred for sin, and turning from sin and returning to the Lord."  We are further referred to Joel 2:12, Acts 26:20, and Ezekiel 14:6.
• "We are called to turn away from all our abominations—not just the obvious ones or the ones that create friction in others. The goal of repentance is not to manufacture peace among others with perfunctory repentance, but rather to turn to God wholly." 
• "Repentance is rooted in a hatred of sin and a joyful awareness of God’s loving-kindness, which leads to joy: “God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance” (Romans 2:4)."

Indeed Repentance must be stressed as core to the gospel - Satan is waiting to consume and eternally condemn those who do not.  We should be sharing the Gospel as Good News, so good that it should motivate us into the arms of the One True God who offers what no other can - life to the full now and for eternity!

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My Prayer: Father God You are an awesome God who loves me and who is full of incredible grace and compassion - saving me and all other believers not because of what we have done but because He is SO good.  I am not deserving of my salvation as my sin is great and it continues....daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.  

Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land, who do his just commands; seek righteousness; seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the anger of the LORD.

Zephaniah 2:3

Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land, who do his just commands; seek righteousness; seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the anger of the LORD. Zephaniah 2:3

I continue my study of Zephaniah using the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary volume for this book.  For this morning, my focus is a commentary-assisted review of Zephaniah 2:3, which is the text for the third division - entitled Judgment May Be Avoided If God’s People Will Seek Him - per the commentary. Excerpts:

• Vv1-3 are a call for repentance and v3 specifically defines what God seeks for repentance: humility, obedience, and righteousness.  These "are evidence of a life given over to Him."
• "Our natural bent is away from humility and toward pride, and pride is the mother of all sin. In order to walk with God, the people of Jerusalem would need to die to themselves and trust in Him, which sounds surprisingly like Jesus’ gospel call (see also Luke 9:23-24)[.]"
• Confession and humility alone won't cut it: "It is not enough simply to acknowledge (or confess) sin; they must also change their behavior....No matter the sincerity of their intent, if their intentions were not followed with actions, they were of no value (see also 1 Samuel 15:22)."
• Use of the word seek in v3 implies a pursuit - and here we are exhorted to pursue God and His righteousness.  See also Matthew 6:33. 
• "Verses 1-3 are a breath of fresh air after the devastatingly difficult judgment and condemnation of chapter 1. Yes, God is just and His judgment is coming, but thankfully God is also loving and gracious, and repentance is possible....God is good, even when it seems like the time is bad. Judgment is coming, but so is grace, so take hold of grace (see also Romans 5:8). 
  

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are SO good, and You offer grace, hope, love and salvation to all - thank You for giving me these gifts.  I am not deserving.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

I pause my study of 1 Corinthians to study DesiringGod.com's Solid Joys Daily devotional, which today, looks at how to repent.  When we sin, and are aware of our sins specifically, we inevitably feel shame, remorse and as John Piper describes, "crummy" or "rotten."  Piper shares how "[a] vague, bad feeling that you are a crummy person is not the same as conviction for sin. Feeling rotten is not the same as repentance."  Instead, Piper encourages us to specifically "call to mind the commands [we] frequently break."  For himself, he lists several, including:

• "Love your neighbor as you love yourself. Be as eager for things to go well for him as you are for things to go well for you. (see Matthew 22:39)"
• "Do all things without grumbling. No grumbling — inside or outside. (Philippians 2:14)"
• "Only say things that give grace to others — especially those closest to you. (Ephesians 4:29)"
• "Redeem the time. Don’t fritter away the minutes, or dawdle. (Ephesians 5:16)"

Piper presses in how being specific are out in the open and not hidden - we confront them.  Piper gets angry at his sin and he wants to kill the sin - not himself - his sin.  Piper then offers us encouragement when we take on such battles, even when we know they are uncomfortable.  He rests in 1 John 1:9 and how Christ forgives and cleanses - we must confess, however, specifically.

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are SO good as I know You forgive and cleanse sin - thank You Jesus for helping me with my daily battle against sin.  The list is long and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me for my many sins, including how I often fritter away the minutes...please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.