Crucified Hearts

Here below are two passages of scripture for our meditation and instruction in the faith of Christ.

I bring them to you after the Lord brought them to me this morning, to meet my own need for a deeper repentance, that I might see my sin as He sees it and that He may yet give me a repentance that does not need a repentance of its own.

The first passage, from The Book of Revelation, describes the condition of the church in the last days, a condition of spiritual self-satisfaction and self-righteousness. She is blind to her true condition and in great danger of eternal separation from the Lord.

Yet God, in His mercy, in His great love for Her, reveals her need and shows her just what she needs to do to be restored to faithfulness and communion with Him. He calls her to repentance with the promise of restoration, if she will.

The second passage, from the Psalms, is a powerful description of what such a repentance is like when the spirit of the Lord brings home to us the “shame of our nakedness”, when He exposes the shame of our sinfulness, the shame we have so desperately tried to hide from Him and ourselves.

If we see our sin, our lawlessness, in it’s true light, as sin against God, sin that would crucify Christ afresh, we will pray for repentance in the spirit of this Psalm. We will be able to identify with the Psalmist anguish over his sin. And we will cry out to God for forgiveness.

God has given us the clearest warnings as He tries to awaken us to our need.

“He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.

But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death….

But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.” (Rev. 21:7-8,27 NKJV)

As Jesus says to the Laodiceans, “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.”

Do we have ears to hear what the spirit says to the church, to us in these last days?

Will we find repentance before it’s too late, before the final words of judgment?

“He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.” (Revelation 22:11 NKJV)

Those who do overcome find their victory in the blood of the Lamb, when they come to a place of complete and daily dependence on the righteousness of Christ (Romans 3:21-31). Only the robe of his righteousness can cover “the shame of our nakedness”; only the indwelling presence of His Holy Spirit can shield us from the powerful temptations of sin.

Those who were sealed in loyalty to God in the tribulation of the last days (Rev. 7:1-3; 14:1-5) are sealed by His Spirit (Eph. 1:13; 4:30; 2 Tim. 2:19) through faith in the blood of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”

“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.” (Rev.12:11 NKJV)

“And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.”
(Rev. 22:17 NKJV)


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To the Church in Laodicea

14 “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation.

15 “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. 17 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.

19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

21 The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.

22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”

— Rev. 3:14–22 ESV


Psalm 38
A PSALM OF DAVID, FOR THE MEMORIAL OFFERING. 

1 O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath!
2 For your arrows have sunk into me, and your hand has come down on me. 

3 There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin. 
4 For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me. 

5 My wounds stink and fester because of my foolishness, 
6 I am utterly bowed down and prostrate; all the day I go about mourning. 
7 For my sides are filled with burning, and there is no soundness in my flesh. 
8 I am feeble and crushed; I groan because of the tumult of my heart. 

9 O Lord, all my longing is before you; my sighing is not hidden from you. 
10 My heart throbs; my strength fails me, and the light of my eyes—it also has gone from me. 
11 My friends and companions stand aloof from my plague, and my nearest kin stand far off. 
12 Those who seek my life lay their snares; those who seek my hurt speak of ruin and meditate treachery all day long. 

13 But I am like a deaf man; I do not hear, like a mute man who does not open his mouth. 
14 I have become like a man who does not hear, and in whose mouth are no rebukes. 

15 But for you, O LORD, do I wait; it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer. 
16 For I said, “Only let them not rejoice over me, who boast against me when my foot slips!” 

17 For I am ready to fall, and my pain is ever before me. 
18 I confess my iniquity; I am sorry for my sin. 
19 But my foes are vigorous, they are mighty, and many are those who hate me wrongfully. 20 Those who render me evil for good accuse me because I follow after good. 

21 Do not forsake me, O LORD! O my God, be not far from me! 
22 Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation!

– Psalm 38, ESV

Here is a brief list of other Psalms of repentance if you want to continue with this meditation: Psalms 6, 32, 51, 102, 130, 143.

I have them in a playlist on my Dwell Bible app. I highly recommend the app for listening to scripture; it also allows you to read along if you like.