Repentance Isn't Punishment

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 So He brought me to the door of the northgate of the Lord's house; and to my dismay, women were sitting there weeping for Tammuz. --[Ezekiel 8:14] In pagan practices, Tammuze was a Sumerian shepherd who married the goddess Ishtar.  When he died, fertility ceased on the earth.  Since he was a vegetation deity the women of Judah were weeping for him in order to restore fertility by bringing him back from the dead.  ...at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the alter were about twenty-five men with their backs toward the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east, and they were worshipping the sun toward the east...For they have filled the land with violence; then they have returned to provoke Me to anger...My eye will not spare nor will I have pity; and though they cry in My ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them." --[Ezekiel 8:16-18]



Repentance isn't punishment; it's joyful reunion wit the One who loves us perfectly - [Luke 15:7] What's bringing me joy?  Sitting here quietly convalescing through Covid not worrying about rushing out the door anytime soon, being quiet and still with a cup of coffee during my time with the Lord.  A sense of yet another Sabbath with God.  The feeling of being better than the way i felt yesterday.  Catching up on my rest, shutting out the world.  They in the world could never hold a candle to the One inside me.

What makes me said is knowing that those who purport to be Christians and only lend lip service will be told by Jesus, "I didn't know you."  The thought that maybe my parents never made it home.  My brother may not make it home.  i told him about that, and i'll continue to pray for him.  i fear that i won't hold up my end of the bargain...Oh, i will get to heaven but may only be worthy of one crown instead of two. 

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