Tag: Return

It is Not To Late to Turn Back to God

It is not to late to repent and turn to the LORD. This morning I was reminded of this as I read how Josiah returned to the LORD when his predecessors had drifted away.

“13Go, inquire of the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found. For great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.” – 2 Kings 22:13 (ESV)

“3And the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people joined in the covenant.” – 2 Kings 23:3 (ESV)

Josiah found his moment to return to the LORD and he did not take it lightly. He boldly stated the drift and then just as boldly committed to the LORD in front of all to see.

But Josiah did not just make statements, he took action as well. He torn down alters and burned bones to remove the remnants of the turning away. He was not like the politicians that say one thing then do another. He was true to his word and returned fully to the LORD.

The drift away from the LORD is slow and almost unnoticeable. It happens with little things that we compromise on and then drift into the larger things that begin leading us. But there is time to turn it all around despite the time it took to get there and those who were involved. We have to just commit ourselves to the LORD and then carry out His Word in our daily actions dedicated to bringing Him glory.

What is your thoughts on the drift and coming back to the LORD? Are you of the belief that we may be too far gone to turn back to Him? What if you took the LORD into your heart and devoted to Him and again put your trust in Him and took action to bring Him glory?

So, We Will Reign with Christ?

In short, YES.

“28And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’” – Genesis 1:28 (ESV)

Here we go. We, as man, were always supposed to reign and rule on the earth. God created man in His own image to have dominion over all on the earth. But, Adam and Eve failed, falling into sin thanks to the evil one and his deception. Adam and Eve were to be the king and queen of earth and they did not make it.

Then, God sent Jesus to demonstrate to the world, how it was supposed to play out. Jesus reigned on the earth in the way that God intended. He loved and cared and protected and healed in this world showing His dominion. And then He died giving us the path back to righteousness. Jesus reigned in this world, and died to show us the way back to where we would again reign.

How is it that we do not see that we will reign over the New Earth? Well, I don’t know the answer to that, other than I am blinded by the sin in my life and know that it is one of the tactics of the evil one. What I can say is that when we turn to the Word of God, we will find the truth throughout. Whether introduced, mentioned, discussed, and repeated, there are many places where we will find what our role is and will be in the New Earth.

“3Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life!” – 1 Corinthians 6:3 (ESV)

Here in Paul’s letter, he makes it clear that we will be reigning and ruling in the New Earth over all. We will be returned to out place of dominion that we lost with the fall. Jesus provided us the way back to our rightful created place in God’s Kingdom. We will indeed reign with Him forever.

“5And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.” – Revelation 22:5 (ESV)

What do you think about reigning? Are you of the thought that you will simply be a subject in the Kingdom? What if you review God’s Word and know that not only will you be a member of the Kingdom of God, but you will be returned to the place of dominion that you were intended for?