A POURING OUT OF THE SPIRIT

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“And afterward, I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.”

“I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the Lord has said, even among the survivors whom the Lord calls.”

Joel 2:28-32

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In yesterday’s devotion, we found the people of God being implored to remember the goodness of God as expressed through all the awesome things He had done, was doing, and was yet to do for the Israelites of Joel’s time. They were encouraged to not be afraid because the Lord had shown over and over again that He would use His power to take care of His people.

As Joel 2 concludes, we find the Lord talking about a day still yet to come for the Old Testament Israelites, a time that would come following God’s establishment of a new covenant with His people through His Son Jesus. It would be a time when He would connect to His people in a special way, a way that was, is, and will always be distinctly personal.

It would be a time when He would pour out His Spirit on His people. Look again at these words from God concerning what was yet to come for the Israelites:

“And afterward, I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.”

“I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the Lord has said, even among the survivors whom the Lord calls.”  Joel 2:28-32

God promised a time still yet to come for the Israelites when he would pour out His Spirit on not just a select few but rather all His people, all men and all women. This prophecy was again pronounced after God sent His Son Jesus to earth to save His people. You may remember these words spoken by the Savior:

“I will ask the Father, and He will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth.” John 14:16

“The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” John 14:26

This was the Spirit God was speaking of when He spoke to His people in the time of Joel, the Holy Spirit He would send on them at His appointed time, a Spirit who would teach them all things and remind them of Jesus’ teachings forever, something critical to Christians, those who were striving to live as Jesus did.

And indeed, this outpouring of the Holy Spirit came in a big way and God has been sending His same Spirit to be with His people ever since. Look at this account of when God’s prophecy came true:

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Acts 2:1-4

The gathered crowds at that first Pentecost after Jesus ascended had no idea what was coming but as we know, it was the appointed day when God poured out His Spirit on His people not just for the moment but forever. That Holy Spirit has enlightened countless believers since its onset and it will continue to enlighten until the other event mentioned by God in our scripture passage in Joel, the future judgment day, the Day of the Lord. God mentions that day of judgment as being great and dreadful but that will only be for those who have chosen to not receive Jesus as Savior. For those who believed and trusted in Jesus as Savior, it will be the day when they are taken into eternal life with God and Jesus, free from any and all afflictions they might suffer from in the present world.

It will be God’s final act in the long running play of the great things He has done when the promised salvation of His people through His Son takes place, an act that will see Satan and sin vanquished forever along with all who decided to not follow Christ. Make sure you are counted among the saved, choosing Jesus today and, in doing so, receiving the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. It’s a decision you’ll never regret.

Amen,

In Christ,

Mark
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GREAT THINGS HE HAS DONE

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“Surely he has done great things!”

“Do not be afraid, land of Judah; be glad and rejoice. Surely the Lord has done great things! Do not be afraid, you wild animals, for the pastures in the wilderness are becoming green. The trees are bearing their fruit; the fig tree and the vine yield their riches. Be glad, people of Zion, rejoice in the Lord your God, for He has given you the autumn rains because He is faithful. He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before. The threshing floors will be filled with grain; the vats will overflow with new wine and oil.

“I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten—the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm; My great army that I sent among you. You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the Lord your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will My people be shamed. Then you will know that I am in Israel, that I am the Lord your God, and that there is no other; never again will My people be shamed.”

Joel 2:21-27

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

The opening line to one of my favorite old hymns goes like this:

“To God be the glory, great things He hath done!”

Indeed, we serve a God who is defined by His greatness, an unmatched greatness born out of an omnipotence that has been unmatched and unrivaled since the dawn of creation.

Did I mention this God created everything?

Everything.

So yes, He deserves all our honor and glory and praise.

As we continue to look at the second chapter of Joel, we find this proclamation of God’s greatness ranging back to Old Testament days. Look again at these verses here:

“Surely he has done great things!”

“Do not be afraid, land of Judah; be glad and rejoice. Surely the Lord has done great things! Do not be afraid, you wild animals, for the pastures in the wilderness are becoming green. The trees are bearing their fruit; the fig tree and the vine yield their riches. Be glad, people of Zion, rejoice in the Lord your God, for He has given you the autumn rains because He is faithful. He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before. The threshing floors will be filled with grain; the vats will overflow with new wine and oil.

“I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten—the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm; My great army that I sent among you. You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the Lord your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will My people be shamed. Then you will know that I am in Israel, that I am the Lord your God, and that there is no other; never again will My people be shamed.”  Joel 2:21-27

Note how this reminder of God’s reputation for doing great things is used to dispel the fears of the Israelites. Joel’s words offer a sense of comfort to the people of God in his day and they offer comfort to us today, more than 2,000 years later.

Yes, God had done great things for the people of Israel.

He had delivered them from the hands of Egypt’s treacherous Pharaoh.

He guided, protected, and provided for His people as they journeyed for forty days across the wilderness to the holy land He had promised them.

He led them into that promised land and beat back their enemies as they settled and sought to make it holy before the very God who had given it to them.

You could go on and on in describing the greatness of God but the point is that the Israelites were well aware of all God had done. He had watched over them and kept them in His care before. He would continue to do so as long as they remained faithful and obedient to Him.

He would ensure there were green pastures for the wild animals to graze and be well fed.

He would make sure the vines in the vineyards and trees of the orchards were bearing abundant fruit.

He would send plentiful rains to ensure life flourished, both in the autumn and spring.

Through all this, He would ensure that the threshing floors were “filled with grain” and the vats overflowing with “new wine and oil.”

Yes, the Lord had sent locusts on His people to bring judgment upon them but if they repented and returned to Him, He promised to repay them for all the years the locusts brought destruction and devastation on the land. Once suffering under famine, the people would now “have plenty to eat”, enough to make them full, and they would be brought to a place of praise, giving God thanks for all the wonders He had done.

Indeed, there were many great things that God had done for them and there are many things He has done great for us as well.

So how well do we account for all of God’s great deeds and works unto us? Are we persistent and consistent in how we give thanks to Him for even the smallest of blessings He has bestowed upon us?

Do we proclaim His greatness to anyone we get a chance to speak with?

or

Do we take His greatness and goodness for granted, simply receiving and enjoying what He provides without a hint of gratitude? Do we just assume God will always do great things for us even if we never acknowledge those great things before Him or others? Have we gotten in the habit of taking from God and never giving Him anything back in return?

Friends, these are all important things we should ponder. For to not recognize God for the great things He has done for us is simply akin to disrespecting and dishonoring Him in the worse way possible.

And He deserves much better than that.

Like all of our honor, glory, and praise every second of every minute, every minute of every hour, every hour of every day, and every day of every year.

In other words, at all times and in all places, to God be the glory for great things He has done!

Amen,

In Christ,

Mark
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THE LORD'S PITY

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Then the Lord was jealous for His land and took pity on his people. The Lord replied to them:

“I am sending you grain, new wine and olive oil, enough to satisfy you fully; never again will I make you an object of scorn to the nations.”

“I will drive the northern horde far from you, pushing it into a parched and barren land; its eastern ranks will drown in the Dead Sea and its western ranks in the Mediterranean Sea. And its stench will go up; its smell will rise.”

Joel 2:18-20

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In yesterday’s devotion, we saw how God doesn’t want anyone to show they are sorry for their sins outwardly without an associated change within, calling on His people (and us) to rend their hearts, showing how brokenhearted they were over disobeying and disrespecting their Lord. You’ll recall that God called all the Israelites into a sacred assembly for a communal gathering centered on repentance where there was to be consecration, fasting, and mourning while asking the Lord to relent over the judgment He was considering in response to the sins of the Israelites.

So how would God respond if His people did indeed do as He instructed? Would He relent over the punishment He was considering?

We find the answers as we continue our study of Joel, Chapter 2. Look again at these words here:

Then the Lord was jealous for His land and took pity on his people. The Lord replied to them:

“I am sending you grain, new wine and olive oil, enough to satisfy you fully; never again will I make you an object of scorn to the nations.”

“I will drive the northern horde far from you, pushing it into a parched and barren land; its eastern ranks will drown in the Dead Sea and its western ranks in the Mediterranean Sea. And its stench will go up; its smell will rise.”  Joel 2:18-20

Things could have gone one of two ways for the Israelites.

Either God could surrender them to the armies of Assyria and Babylon, allowing the forces of those two empires to invade and destroy the land and carry His people into captivity.

or…

He could be show jealousy for the land, not wanting to give it up to anyone else, and show pity on His people, withdrawing His arm of judgment from them and sparing them harm.

The latter was a great example of the pity of the Lord, a show of compassion and forgiveness that would receive and accept the repentance of His people, a divine consideration that would remove the possibility of consequences in honor of His people choosing to rend their hearts and turn away from their sins back toward Him. This show of sympathy would include returning blessing to His people as we find God promising to send “grain, new wine and olive oil” in such quantity to satisfy His people fully. And with the further withdrawal of attack by the nations to the north, God promised to “never again” make Israel “an object of scorn to the nations.”

All His people had to do was do as He asked and rend their hearts, repenting and returning to Him. That was all that was required to receive the pity of the Lord.

But we know what happened and knowing how little God was asking for His people to do to return to His favor just makes the final outcome seem even crazier. For we know the Israelites decided to remain in their sinfulness and not return to God, opting instead to worship the pagan gods and idols of other nations. And so God removed His offer of pity and instead sent judgment, offering up His nation and its people to the Assyrians and Babylonians and the destruction and devastation they brought.

It could have been so very different. That’s the disappointing and troubling part of this whole story and it leads me to a place where I start thinking about the Lord’s people today and how they respond to His amazing grace that He extends so freely each and every day.

Do we show our appreciation for the Lord’s pity, fully expressed through His deep mercy for us, by turning from our sins, rending our hearts and confessing those sins before Him, and seeking His righteousness in the way we live?

Or do we receive His grace and mercy while continuing to live in our transgressions, unwilling to change our sinful ways in order to pursue His will and way?

If we choose the former, we will once again find ourselves back in the favor of the Lord, enjoying the riches of His blessings while we once again serve Him in obedience.

However if we choose to live in the latter way, then we are no better than the Old Testament Israelites who God sent judgment upon, removing His protection to allow His land and its people to be assaulted before being hauled off into exile for seventy years where they could ponder how much of a mistake it was to not receive the Lord’s pity with thanksgiving and a desire to be the kind of people He desired them to be.

Given these two options, which way are you going in your own relationship with the Lord today?

It’s a question you had better consider because it carries major implications for your life, one for the better and the other for the worse.

The choice is yours as to which way your life goes.

Amen,

In Christ,

Mark
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REND YOUR HEART

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to Me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.”

“Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and He relents from sending calamity. Who knows? He may turn and relent and leave behind a blessing—grain offerings and drink offerings for the Lord your God.”

“Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly. Gather the people, consecrate the assembly; bring together the elders, gather the children, those nursing at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride her chamber. Let the priests, who minister before the Lord, weep between the portico and the altar. Let them say, “Spare your people, Lord. Do not make Your inheritance an object of scorn, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’”

Joel 2:12-17

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Have you ever known someone who gave an outward appearance they were thinking or feeling one way when they were really feeling another way inside?

It happens all the time, doesn’t it, and I’m afraid we have all been guilty of doing it. Somehow as we grow in experience through life, we also become skilled at hiding our true feelings inside, becoming master deceivers in a lot of ways.

Maybe we have told someone we liked them when inside we really despised them in some way.

Maybe we have tried to act like something wasn’t wrong in our lives around others when the inner truth was that our lives were in severe turmoil and trouble.

Maybe we have even tried to do this to the Lord, professing outward signs of remorse and sorrow for the sins we have committed while inside waiting for the right opportunity to commit the same sins again, a form of counterfeit repentance if you may.

It was this last example that we find at the heart of today’s scripture passage taken from the 2nd chapter of Joel. Look again at these words here:

“Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to Me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.”

“Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and  compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and He relents from sending calamity. Who knows? He may turn and relent and leave behind a blessing—grain offerings and drink offerings for the Lord your God.”

“Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly. Gather the people, consecrate the assembly; bring together the elders, gather the children, those nursing at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride her chamber. Let the priests, who minister before the Lord, weep between the portico and the altar. Let them say, “Spare your people, Lord. Do not make Your inheritance an object of scorn, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’”   Joel 2:12-17

The sins of the Israelites were detestable in God’s sight as they chose to worship the pagan gods and idols of other nations, turning from Him while disobeying His most fundamental commandment to worship no other gods. Such blatant wickedness would result in nothing short of God’s most severe judgment unless the people of God decided to turn away from their transgressions, repent, and go back to the righteousness only God could offer.

Note that God wouldn’t tolerate just a surface repentance which really wasn’t repentance at all. You see, the people of God would often go out into the streets in sackcloth and tear or rend their garments in a showing of emotional distress and mourning. This would also often include a person throwing dust or ashes on themselves to show everyone just how remorseful they were.

There was only one problem. At times, this was all just a show, a carefully sketched act meant to convince everyone that the person was truly sorry for their sins when their hearts were still in love with the sins they falsely repented of. And maybe these people could fool their peers but in no way were they fooling God, the only One who could peer within their very souls and see whether or not sincerity existed.

This is why the Lord calls on His people to go deeper, to show their contrition inside as well as out. He wanted them to rend their hearts and return to Him with all their hearts as they fasted, wept, and mourned over the ways they had disrespected and disregarded Him. For this was the only way the people could change for the good, not just in the short term but the long as well.

Why was the rending of the heart so important?

Because it was the only way the Israelites might convince God to slow His anger and relent from the calamity He was planning to bring upon them, the only way they could get back to the place where God’s compassion, love, and blessings could be found.

Finally, note that the call was far beyond an individual plea. Rather, God expected His people to genuinely return to Him at a collective level as well, commanding His people to congregate and for the priests to consecrate that assembly, making it a holy gathering. All were to be included in the get together, even the children, as the priests made a plea for God’s mercy to come saying:

“Spare your people, Lord. Do not make Your inheritance an object of scorn, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’”

In other words, after rending their hearts and honestly turning back to the Lord, the Israelites would be making a firm commitment to once again be His people, the kind of people He intended and desired for them to be all along. In response to this, the Israelites hope God would once again be their God and spare them the scorn they deserved for their sinfulness, the scorn that would surely come from other nations who watched the once revered and holy nation fall into ruin at the hands of God’s judgment.

Friends, the Lord is speaking to us in powerful ways today and wants us to repent as He expected the Israelites to. He doesn’t want us to show remorse for sins outwardly without an inner desire to change; rather He wants us to rend our hearts so that the Lord might enter in and mend what is broken, bring us back to His favor and the kind of life He wants us to live.

Amen,

In Christ,

Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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