SORRY IS NOT AN APOLOGY!

 

Thursday, June 11, 2026

 

SORRY IS NOT AN APOLOGY!

 

Heb 12:16-17

16 Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.

17 For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.

 

          Dissecting words often sheds light on a deeper meaning. Our modern word “sorry” [soon to be replaced with “oops, my bad”]  is not an apology at all and is now generally used simply to dismiss an action rather than to rectify a wrong. The origin of the word is Old English and means “pained or distressed.” It is from the noun sore.

 

          Esau foolishly sold his birthright for a bowl of beans after returning from a hunting expedition. He later regretted doing so and wanted to reverse the decision but could not. He found no place or “opportunity” for repentance though he sought it carefully and tearfully.

 

          Esau was "a profane person," which means "a common person, one who lives for the world and not God." Our English word literally means "outside the temple," or not belonging to God.

 

          The word “repentance” is the Greek metanoia and means “compunction for guilt which includes reformation along with a reversal of a decision.” We don’t see much repentance today, but we hear “sorry” many times.

 

          God's grace does not fail, but we can fail to depend on God's grace. Esau is a warning to us not to live for lesser things.

 

Rom 8:18

18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

 

Dear Lord, help me to be more than just sorry. Provide for me a place and an opportunity for repentance. AMEN

 

SALTY WORDS!

 

Wednesday, June 10, 2026

 

SALTY WORDS!

 

Col 4:5-6

5 Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.

6 Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.

 

          Believers are spiritual “insiders.” Both Jesus (Mark 4:11) and Paul (1 Cor. 15:12,13) referred to unbelievers as them that are without. Paul warns us to conduct our daily lives so as to not hinder our efforts to win the lost. Our lives must match our claim to Christianity because everyone is watching.

 

          Josh McDowell, well known for his apologetic book called Evidence that Demands a Verdict, declares that truth must be wrapped in relationship. Our speech must always be with grace. The Greek word for grace here is charis which means “graciousness; the divine influence upon the heart that is reflected in the life.” Many who are eager to give someone a piece of their mind are often ill equipped for the task.

 

          Salt, in this context, is prudence and becomes a restraint to rashness. We may wound a listener by sharing truth that is not also wrapped in love and understanding. A gracious spirit is rare but is always welcome.

 

Eph 4:29

29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

 

Dear Lord let my words be sweet for I may have to eat them. AMEN

 

ENDURANCE!

 

Tuesday, June 9, 2026

 

ENDURANCE!

 

James 1:2-4

2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;

3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

 

          The word “patience” is translated from the Greek hupomone which means “cheerful endurance.” The word assumes that there is something to endure; a hardship to deal with. Most of us have hardships and circumstances that we can’t overcome. Endurance is not a choice, but “cheerful” endurance is and most of us spend our time being anything but cheerful while waiting.

 

2 Cor 12:7-9

7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.

8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.

9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

 

          Paul had an “unsolvable” problem. He prayed three times for relief and removal of this physical problem, and each time God said no. He was forced to release the circumstance to God who provided grace instead of healing. Grace or “charis” is defined as: “divine influence on the heart with its reflection in the life.” Oh, how we need God to influence our heart so that we might reflect this influence in the way we live our lives. All too often we let others know that we are resisting God’s influence on our heart because there is no change in our lives. In his paraphrase of our text, J. B. Phillips sheds some light on the process of endurance.

 

"When all kinds of trials and temptations crowd into your lives, my brothers, don't resent them as intruders, but welcome them as friends! Realize that they come to test your faith and to produce in you the quality of endurance. But let the PROCESS go on until that endurance is fully developed, and you will find that you have become men of mature character with the right sort of independence." (James 1:2-4 – Phillips Translation)

 

          Once we release our grasp, our anger, and our control of the situation, God is then free to go to work. The process of endurance has a product, and that product is the maturing of our character with “the right sort of independence.”

 

Dear Lord, today there are many broken things that I can’t fix. There are circumstances beyond the reach of my control. Help me to cheerfully endure so that the process of endurance might produce the product of character. AMEN