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- Oct 26, 2007
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So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the LORD your God, For He [is] gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm. Joel 2:13 NKJV
Back in biblical times, God’s people sometimes tore their garments as a demonstration of grief or mourning—sometimes over their own sin. But in today’s verse, God tells His people that they showed true brokenness and remorse—and their need for God’s grace and mercy—when they rend their own hearts and not just their clothes.
If we’re not careful, we Christian men can get too caught up in outward expressions of our need for God. There’s nothing necessarily wrong with those expressions, but we must always remember that God looks at what’s going on in our hearts first.
What do you do when you know you need God’s mercy, forgiveness, and compassion? A good place to start is talking with Him about it. That means confessing your sins, repenting, and asking for the grace you need to change your behavior. After that, regularly praying and studying God’s Word will strengthen you in heart and mind so that you can live as He calls the man of God to live.
Prayer: Gracious Father, You have shown me many times over that You are a compassionate, merciful God who loves me. May that part of You help me to change my heart first then change whatever behavior, speech, or thinking You want to change in me.
Back in biblical times, God’s people sometimes tore their garments as a demonstration of grief or mourning—sometimes over their own sin. But in today’s verse, God tells His people that they showed true brokenness and remorse—and their need for God’s grace and mercy—when they rend their own hearts and not just their clothes.
If we’re not careful, we Christian men can get too caught up in outward expressions of our need for God. There’s nothing necessarily wrong with those expressions, but we must always remember that God looks at what’s going on in our hearts first.
What do you do when you know you need God’s mercy, forgiveness, and compassion? A good place to start is talking with Him about it. That means confessing your sins, repenting, and asking for the grace you need to change your behavior. After that, regularly praying and studying God’s Word will strengthen you in heart and mind so that you can live as He calls the man of God to live.
Prayer: Gracious Father, You have shown me many times over that You are a compassionate, merciful God who loves me. May that part of You help me to change my heart first then change whatever behavior, speech, or thinking You want to change in me.
