Mᴏᴜɴᴛ Sɪɴᴀɪ Day 9 – Seventh ascent, Steps of Repentance "𝘚𝘰 𝘔𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘖𝘩, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘯 - 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘯𝘰𝘵, 𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯!” 𝘌𝘹𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘴 32:31-32 𝘕𝘒𝘑𝘝 Once again, Moses climbs the rugged heights of Sinai to intercede for the nation. But this time, he does not ascend because of the people's trembling fear; he ascends because of the terrible, devastating sin. Interestingly, the final stretch to the modern summit of Jebel Musa is known as the 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘙𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦. Showing a fierce, breathtaking love and mercy for a deeply flawed people, Moses intercedes. He beautifully anticipates the ultimate love and mercy of Jesus Christ by offering his very own life to God in exchange for the life of his nation. 𝘋𝘰 𝘐 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘺𝘱𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘦? We are not perfect. We know that all too well, and God knows it intimately. Even after experiencing a beautiful, spirit-filled encounter with God, there will be times when we stumble and transgress. But God, in His infinite love and unshakeable mercy, made a permanent way for us. Through the perfect life and sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we are given the grace to climb those very Steps of Repentance, leading us straight into the secure embrace of His grace. Lovely one, you might never fully comprehend the infinite, boundless depth of God’s love for you, but you can rest in the absolute certainty that He will never turn His back on you. Do not let shame keep you at the foot of the mountain. Enter into His presence today with a heart of honest repentance, because Jesus Christ has already given His life for you. You are, and will always be, God’s beloved. Pray with me: Father, thank You for Jesus Christ and that I can come to You with a repenting heart. Forgive me, Lord, for breaking Your heart. Teach me Your paths through Your Word. Though I might never understand the fullness of Your love, mercy, and grace – I know that You love me. I praise You for that. Amen. Pastor Iriza www.womenoftheword.co.za