Joy in this Journey By: FaithLine

A Call to Repentance

• Jessica Berrios • Season 2 • Episode 1

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We're diving deep into the prophet Joel's powerful message from Joel 2:12-13, where he calls God's people to "turn to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning." This isn't just another devotional—it's a wake-up call for anyone caught in the trap of superficial spirituality. Just as the people of Judah were guilty of tearing their garments without experiencing true heart-change, many of us today "play church" without allowing God to transform us from within.

What happens when we truly surrender our hearts to God? As we explore in this episode, authentic repentance leads to complete transformation. "You're no longer the same person," we share. "You no longer think the same, feel the same, act the same." This isn't about gradual self-improvement—it's about divine intervention that makes us new creations. And the beautiful promise attached to Joel's call is that when we turn to God with sincere hearts, we discover He is "gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness."

Whether you're seeking spiritual renewal or have drifted away from faith altogether, this message speaks directly to you. God is waiting with open arms, not to condemn but to restore. Join us on this journey of discovering joy through authentic relationship with God. Your heart—not your religious performance—is what He's truly seeking.

Thank you for listening! Please follow us on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Youtube @myfaithline to stay updated about our weekly episodes. Let us help you Find Joy in Your Journey Today!! To support our journey please visit our web page at www.myfaithline.com God Bless!

Speaker 1:

Welcome to Joy in this Journey podcast by Faithline. Join us as we bring you weekly episodes on Bible devotionals to empower you to live in faith. By faith, through God's grace, Find joy in your journey today.

Speaker 2:

God bless you all and welcome to another podcast episode of Join this Journey by Faithline Guys. We are on our season two. Yay, I am so excited. I thank God for bringing us through a year of victory. We hit our 20th episode, amen. And now we are starting our season two, episode one Amen.

Speaker 2:

And I just pray that this podcast can be a blessing to your life. And the Lord brought me to this life and the Lord brought me to these Bible verses, amen. And I just pray that you are blessed and if you have your Bibles, you can open up with me. If not, just listen and be blessed by the word of the Lord. And it's in Joel, chapter 2, verse 12 through 13. And we read the word of the Lord in the name of the Father, son and Holy Spirit. Amen Now, therefore, says the Lord in the name of the Father, son and Holy Spirit. Amen Now, therefore, says the Lord turn to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping and with mourning. Surrender your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness, and he relents from doing harm.

Speaker 2:

The prophet Joel functioned as a spiritual watchman over Judah. He pleaded with the nation to turn to the Lord in repentance, in genuine repentance. To turn to the Lord in repentance, in genuine repentance, as the only way to avoid the devastating destruction Of the coming day of the Lord. In Joel 1.15, and the prophet starts here as now, therefore Declares the Lord, turn to me With all your heart. And Joel, opening himself as a prophet of the lord, he is letting them know that that is not him speaking, but the word of the lord speaking to them to turn to him with all their hearts. And turning to the lord with all our hearts, we acknowledge in repentance that we are broken and that we are in need of a savior, we are in need of forgiveness, we are in need of restoration. And when we do surrender our hearts and turn to God, we discover that the Lord is close to the brokenhearted, that he rescues those who are crushed in spirit Psalms 34, 18. He desires for us to know him, but the only way we can know who he is if we open our heart to him and come to him, humble, broken in repentance, to know that we broken in repentance, to know that we, we are nothing without him. When we come to him, we open up a way of healing. We open a way to become whole. We open up a way to be restored, to have a relationship with a god that made the heavens and the earth in joel's day.

Speaker 2:

The nation of judah was guilty, and what were they guilty of? Of putting on a false display of repentance. This is not time to put on a false display of repentance. This is not a time to just play church. This is not a time to come in and out as we please and well, I'm there just in body, but in spirit I'm somewhere else. This is a time to come completely repented, with all our hearts to God. And Judah was guilty of that of putting a false display of repentance.

Speaker 2:

The people performed rituals of tearing their clothing without experiencing true, heart-crushing remorse for their sin. And when we are truly, truly repentant and we see who we are, we see the ugly, we see the sin. It leads us to change. When we are repented, it changes us. You're no longer the same person.

Speaker 2:

Anyone that has truly experienced the day of repentance that they accepted their Lord and Savior, jesus Christ, can testify. Their behavior changed. They were no longer the same person. They no longer thought the same, they no longer felt the same, they no longer act the same, they no longer felt the same, they no longer act the same. We completely change and then we have a devotion to god, we completely turn our hearts, our life is completely changed. It wasn't just an act, it wasn't just for the moment, it was true.

Speaker 2:

And when you are true, you experience God's love, gracious love and mercy. His steadfast love you can experience. And so Joel was telling them turn your hearts. And how can you turn your hearts? Turn it and fasting. It says here with weeping and with mourning Because when you turn your heart to the Lord, it opens your eyes. And when you come to him in fasting and prayer, it reveals. And when the Holy Spirit starts to reveal the truth, the wickedness, the evil, I don't know about you, but it moves you to tears. It moves me. Evil, I don't know about you, but it moves you to tears. It moves me. It breaks me to see how long it took me to realize I needed him, and I don't know how many are with me today that can testify that. It just breaks your heart for how long you lasted without him, but thank God, the day the appointment came for him to come and operate in us through his Holy Spirit, that we are no longer the same, and we encourage everyone that hasn't taken that step yet to be daring enough to give God the opportunity to show you the truth, because when you turn to him with all your heart and separate yourself in consecration and the Holy Spirit in you, it cries and moves your heart, not only for yourself, but to those who still haven't seen yet, that are blinded.

Speaker 2:

Many who think this is a game, that church is a game, that church is when only I come to God in the holidays. I only will remember Him when I really need Him. God is there at all times and the way we have treated him he should not be treated. God should be treated more with respect, with honor and reverence, because he is God and he's asking us today to render our hearts. That's the first step. Don't wait to have it all put together and be perfect. Nobody's perfect.

Speaker 2:

It says come as you are, come as you are today. If you haven't done so yet, come to him and you will see you will not be the same. You will not feel the same. You will not be the same. You will not feel the same. You will not see the same. And he was telling them come to the lord, turn yourself from your sin so you can reach the mercy of god, so you can reach amen, his, his kindness. You can reach his amen, his kindness. You can reach his forgiveness. He can clean you. We are undone without him and we must now come and surrender to the Lord. Pour our hearts before him, pour ourselves before him, before his presence. He is waiting for you.

Speaker 2:

So today is asking you. So rend your heart and not your garments. He's looking for your heart and nothing else. He's not looking for an act, he's not looking for pretense, he's looking for sincerity. Come to him, return to the Lord, your God. Many that have left him, believing the lies of the enemy, believing that joy and happiness is in sin and the devil has blind many. But he's saying return to the Lord, for he is gracious and merciful. We shouldn't be here today for the way we act and the way we treat him and the way we live our lives, but yet God is gracious and merciful. He is slow to anger and of great kindness. Every day that we wake up and breathe, you're experiencing him. We shouldn't be here, but yet it pleases him to give us another day, and yet all we could do is find the negative in everything and complain. But God is saying come to me, come to me. When you come to him with your whole heart, everything changes. Mercy comes over your life. He's relents. He relents from doing harm. He doesn't find joy in bringing judgment. He wants the good for you. He wants you to come to him before judgment comes, before it's too late.

Speaker 2:

This is the time to come to the lord. There is a call of repentance. The lord is near and the lord wants you to be saved. There are many things you don't understand, but just open your heart to him, because as you open your heart to him, the Lord reveals, the Lord speaks and the Lord guides. But the only way you can receive if you first you have to take the first step, and that's coming to him with an open heart. Turn to him with all everything, not because I'm telling it, because you want it, because you realize wait a minute. I need a change, I need something, I need something new, I need God, we all need God.

Speaker 2:

So, no matter what you're going through, no matter what you're facing, he is calling you to come to him. Come to him with a genuine heart and you will see that he is gracious, that he is merciful, that he is slow to anger, that he is kind, because he is not here to harm nobody. Not here to harm nobody. He is here to love us, to restore us and to save us. And God is waiting for you to come to him today, to render your heart to him, so you can receive mercy over your life. Father God, we come before you in Jesus' name and we thank you, god, for your word. Lord, you are calling us because you are near and you are giving a call of repentance. May we listen, lord. May we respond in time. You are asking us with a true heart to come to you, because those who come to you with a true heart you will not ignore God. Help us, lord, to come to you with a true and open heart.

Speaker 2:

God, everything that has come against our true repentance, lord, may you take it away today. God, may you help those, god, who are calling upon you in this moment, that have heard your voice and say Lord, I am here. Help me, god, and give me a new heart. May you, god, do an operation in everyone, lord, that has opened themselves to you, oh Holy Spirit, I call upon you. May you wrap every life that is listening in this moment. May you transform, may you, god, enter the hearts and may you save.

Speaker 2:

Today, lord, you see the attacks of the enemy and the lies, god, and we rebuke the devil. In the name of Jesus, may you free the people, god, of sin, may they turn from their ways. Today, god, before it's too late, because you are calling a call and you're giving it today for everyone to come to you in time, in repentance, lord, because you are near God. You see and you know, lord, everything and the days that we are living, god, the enemy has taken advantage, god, and has confused many, lord, but in the name of Jesus, may you, god, clear the way and may you show them, lord, that you are the truth, that you are the light, god, and that you are the way to salvation.

Speaker 2:

God, may you touch the souls in this moment, god, may you turn them from their sin. Lord, may you make them see, god, the truth. May you open them, god, to the truth of your word, that they see, god, that they really need you, lord, that without you we cannot make it, god, that sin is not the way that sin is not joy, that sin is not peace. That is only a lie of the enemy, oh, hallelujah. That is a lie of the enemy to take away many from you, god, and many from salvation and many from life. But in this day, may you set them free in Jesus' name, god. May you give them God, the way, may you give them the strength, god, to call upon you, god, and may they, apart from their ways, may they apart from their sin, may they call upon you today that you are near God, because you are near, lord, to the brokenhearted. You are near.

Speaker 2:

This is the time, hallelujah, to come to you and I call you Jesus today.

Speaker 2:

May you wrap everyone that's listening to this podcast, god.

Speaker 2:

May they know who you are and be different. May they receive a miracle, lord, and may they see your kindness, god, that you are here, lord, not to judge but to save. You are here, god, opening the way through your love and the blood of Jesus. Oh, thank you, god, because you always come in time and you are here, lord, to save those who are lost. And I declare salvation, I declare truth, I declare liberation in the name of Jesus, and I thank you, god, because I know it is your hand. We pray in the name of Jesus and we thank you. God, receive all the honor and glory, amen. So today, respond to the call of repentance. I don't know what you have to apart from, but it's the day of repentance for you, and may you come to him with a genuine heart. Turn to him today, for you will see the greatness and kindness of a Lord and Savior, jesus Christ. I pray that this podcast has been a blessing to your life and may you, amen, receive salvation today in the name of Jesus, until next time.

Speaker 1:

This is your sister in Christ. We assisted you in finding joy. Don't forget to reach out to us by taking a screenshot of any of our podcasts and posting it on your Instagram or Facebook, tagging us in at MyFaithLine, and we will comment back. Join us next week for more episodes on finding joy in your journey through faith. Until next time, remember to live in faith by faith through God's grace. God bless you.