REPENTANCE What is true repentance? Is it just saying I’m sorry but turning and doing the same thing again? Is it pretending it didn’t happen and maybe it will go away? The Layman’s bible dictionary defines repentance as: The act of turning from sin and changing one’s orientation from rebellion against God to acceptance of God’s will and Lordship. A patient God commands all persons to repent (Acts 17:30). Christ came to call sinners to repentance (Luke 5:32), and He also counsels believers to forgive a brother who repents (Luke 17:3). Jeremiah 25:5 states: They said, Repent now every one of his evil way and his evil doings, and dwell in the land that the Lord has given to you and your fathers forever and ever. As we have read in the word of God. True repentance is confessing and knowing in your heart and your spirit that what you did was wrong. It means saying I am sorry and knowing with all that you are that is was wrong. It’s turning away from what you have done and having self control and being obedient to God’s word to never do it again. Now I am not saying that we don’t make mistakes. We are human and we are by no means perfect. But when we do this again we repent again and stand up and wipe the dust off and move forward. Many times we hold our sin even after God has forgiven us. We may not speak of it or when it comes up in our mind we try to push it back or pretend it’s not there. We feel guilt. But guilt is not from God. God will convict us through the Holy Spirit. But He will not make us feel guilt. A lot of times we can carry our sins for years upon years thinking we have repented of it. But throughout times in our lives it is like a snake popping up and striking. Making us feel as though we are not worthy. But the fact of the matter is you have to make a choice of if you’re truly sorry or not. Think of it like this. If you were in that same situation again would you sin again or would you walk in God’s will. If you say that you would probably sin again then maybe you should do some soul searching and see what God’s word says about it and choose whether you want to live lukewarm for God. And as we have read we know what God says about being lukewarm. We just have to have faith in God to repent and to let go. Sometimes it’s so hard to trust in God. We feel like we have been let down by Him and the ones that we feel we are to trust. But the fact of the matter is this, yes people are going to let us down. They are going to do something or not do something that we like or don’t like. They are going to act a certain way that disappoints us. They are not going to be the person we thought they would be, today. But there is still tomorrow and only through God are they going to be what He wants them to be. Now God on the other hand. We are going to feel disappointed and wonder why things happened the way they did. But, if we go on the path that we wanted, would the end result be better. I am slowly realizing that even though I have been disappointed in God, in the end His path for my life is to serve Him and will always be better for me then my plan for my life. What is confessing. Confessing means to admit or acknowledge one’s sin (Josh 7:19) and to proclaim one’s faith in a bold and forthright manner (Rom. 10:9-10). And what is conviction it is an awareness of one’s sin and guilt (John 8:9) which leads to confession and repentance. The Holy Spirit is the agent of conviction (Heb. 3:7). In Rev. 2:5 God says: Remember therefore, from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lamp stand from its place- unless you repent. God is our Father and He has saved us through Jesus Christ and only through Jesus Christ. He has sent to us a comforter and guide. Through the Holy Spirit we are convicted of our sins. God is a gentleman so when we are convicted we have the choice to listen to the Holy Spirit and walk in God’s will for our lives. Or we can choose to ignore the Holy Spirit, make excuses as to why not follow what the Holy Spirit is saying or whatever our reason is not to listen clearly and choose self control and obedience to God’s word. When we do not follow the Holy Spirit, we need to choose to confess that what we are doing is wrong and repent from our heart. Otherwise it could stay with us and fester in us and one day blow up like a volcano in our lives. Maybe it’s time for us to go back and truly repent for our sins. Maybe it’s time to cut the head off the snake so to speak and be able to move forward with God. Because I do know from experience that if we hold onto or do not truly repent it is like picking up little pebbles one by one, that eventually grow into bigger rocks to boulders. And trust me carrying these for years, they do get heavy and tiring. And when you’re weak and tired it is hard to see the enemy attacks. For God said we do not battle against flesh and blood but against demons and principalities of the darkness. Acts 3:19: Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord. If we confess and repent and keep Jesus as our light then we will truly stand strong against anything that comes our way. For remember the battle is already won.
Posted on: Tue, 02 Jul 2013 04:03:51 +0000
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