A Solemn Assembly
Put on sackcloth and lament, O priests; wail, O ministers of the altar. Go in, pass the night in sackcloth, O ministers of my God! Because grain offering and drink offering are withheld from the house of your God. Consecrate a fast; call a solemn assembly. Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD.
Joel 1:13–14
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A Solemn Assembly
God’s Word comes to Joel as it instructs him to gather the priest so that they might call all the people of the land to come and gather in repentance for their sins. God does not desire the destruction of His people. He has called them to repent and be saved. In our own lives, we too bring about calamity and disaster through our own unchecked unrepentant sins. We too often live lives of selfishness, turning inward towards our wants and desires and away from God’s will for our lives. Yet even in the midst of our suffering from our own self-inflicted wounds God does not abandon us. The pain and suffering often serve to bring us to repentance and to turn from sin and death toward life and salvation. As we survey the cross, we see Christ’s death which atoned for our sins and in faith we know we have forgiveness. When our hearts are tempted away from God His love and mercy bring us back. He turns us away from sin, death, and the devil, and restores our relationship with Him. Through His Word and Sacraments Christ comes to us, forgiveness comes to us, life and salvation come to us.
Joel 1:13–14
+
A Solemn Assembly
God’s Word comes to Joel as it instructs him to gather the priest so that they might call all the people of the land to come and gather in repentance for their sins. God does not desire the destruction of His people. He has called them to repent and be saved. In our own lives, we too bring about calamity and disaster through our own unchecked unrepentant sins. We too often live lives of selfishness, turning inward towards our wants and desires and away from God’s will for our lives. Yet even in the midst of our suffering from our own self-inflicted wounds God does not abandon us. The pain and suffering often serve to bring us to repentance and to turn from sin and death toward life and salvation. As we survey the cross, we see Christ’s death which atoned for our sins and in faith we know we have forgiveness. When our hearts are tempted away from God His love and mercy bring us back. He turns us away from sin, death, and the devil, and restores our relationship with Him. Through His Word and Sacraments Christ comes to us, forgiveness comes to us, life and salvation come to us.
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