Have you ever had the experience of driving in a strange city and suddenly realizing you were going the wrong way on a one-way street? What you do next is very much like the biblical idea of repentance. You make a U-turn and change your direction as fast as you can. Repentance is motivated by the realization that you have taken the wrong way in life. Repentance is made complete when you admit your sin and make a commitment, with God’s help, to change your life’s direction.
WHAT IS REPENTANCE?
Matthew 3:1-3 . . . “Turn from your sins and turn to God.”
Repentance means being sorry for sin and being committed to a new way of life serving God.
Luke 19:8 . . . Zacchaeus . . . said to the Lord, “. . . if I have overcharged people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!”
Repentance is made complete by changed behavior.
Exodus 9:27-34 . . . When Pharaoh saw this, he and his officials sinned yet again by stubbornly refusing to do as they had promised.
Repentance that produces no lasting change is insincere.
WHY DOES GOD WANT US TO REPENT?
Leviticus 26:40-42 . . . “At last my people will confess their sins and the sins of their ancestors for betraying me and being hostile toward me.”
All of us need to repent because we have betrayed God with our sins.
2 Chronicles 30:9 . . . The Lord your God is gracious and merciful. If you return to him, he will not continue to turn his face from you.
Repentance is necessary for an ongoing relationship with God.
1 Samuel 7:3 . . . Samuel said to all the people of Israel, “If you are really serious about wanting to return to the Lord, get rid of your foreign gods. . . . Determine to obey only the Lord; then he will rescue you.”
We must turn away from all other gods in order to worship the one true God.
Proverbs 28:13 . . . People who cover over their sins will not prosper. But if they confess and forsake them, they will receive mercy.
Isaiah 55:7 . . . “Let the people turn from their wicked deeds. Let them banish from their minds the very thought of doing wrong! Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”
Jeremiah 3:12 . . . “ Therefore, go and say these words to Israel, ‘This is what the Lord says: O Israel, my faithless people, come home to me again, for I am merciful. I will not be angry with you forever.’”
Repentance is necessary to receive God’s mercy.
Ezekiel 18:30-32 . . . “ Therefore, I will judge each of you, O people of Israel, according to your actions, says the Sovereign Lord. Turn from your sins! Don’t let them destroy you! Put all your rebellion behind you, and get for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O people of Israel? I don’t want you to die, says the Sovereign Lord. Turn back and live!”
Ezekiel 33:11 . . . “As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people. I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live. Turn! Turn from your wickedness, O people of Israel! Why should you die?”
Repentance is the key to having new life from God.
Matthew 3:2 . . . “Turn from your sins and turn to God, because the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”
Luke 24:47 . . . “There is forgiveness of sins for all who turn to me.”
Acts 2:37-38 . . . Peter’s words convicted them deeply, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” Peter replied, “Each of you must turn from your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Forgiveness of sins and entrance to the Kingdom of Heaven is only for those who have turned away from their sins and turned to God.
Acts 3:19 . . . Turn from your sins and turn to God, so you can be cleansed of your sins.
Forgiveness of sins and the Kingdom of Heaven are only for those who have turned away from their sins and turned to God.
Matthew 11:20-24 . . . Then Jesus began to denounce the cities where he had done most of his miracles, because they hadn’t turned from their sins and turned to God. . . . “You people of Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be brought down to the place of the dead.”
Refusal to turn away from our sins will bring God’s judgment.
WHY IS REPENTANCE NECESSARY?
Ezekiel 33:10-16 . . . The good works of righteous people will not save them if they turn to sin, nor will the sins of evil people destroy them if they repent and turn from their sins.
Repentance leads to forgiveness of sin.
Jeremiah 5:3 . . . They are determined, with faces set like stone; they have refused to repent.
The unrepentant heart rejects God and remains in sin’s grasp.
Luke 13:1-8 . . . You will also perish unless you turn from your evil ways and turn to God.
Jesus taught that without repentance we face judgment.
Luke 15:10 . . . There is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.
All heaven rejoices when one sinner repents.
IS REPENTANCE A ONE-TIME EVENT, OR DO WE NEED TO REPENT EACH TIME WE SIN?
Psalm 51:16-17 . . . The sacrifice you want is a broken spirit. A broken and repentant heart, O God, you will not despise.
While salvation is a one-time event, God is pleased by broken and contrite hearts willing to confess and repent of sin.
1 John 1:8-9 . . . If we say we have no sin, we are . . . refusing to accept the truth. But if we confess our sins to him.
Confession and repentance of sin is a constant mark of the person walking in the light of fellowship with God.
PROMISES FROM GOD:
2 Chronicles 7:14 . . . “Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land.”
Jeremiah 3:22 . . . Come back to me, and I will heal your wayward hearts.
God is always calling us back to him.
Ezekiel 18:21 . . . If wicked people turn away from all their sins and begin to obey my laws and do what is just and right, they will surely live and not die.
Acts 2:38 . . . Each of you must turn from your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. When you turn to God you receive the Holy Spirit.
I've been thru alot of 'stuff' and made alot of mistakes in the past, one's that I am Not proud of....but then I re-dedicated my life to The Lord; asked for His will to be done in my life, instead of mine. Since then, things have been going smoother for me... yes, I still have problems. I thank God for His loving grace and forgiveness. Now I minister to other Women who may be going thru a rough time, or may just need a "listening" ear. (via IM)
If you enjoy reading my blogs.....I have a group on here....."Promises From The Bible"
Just click on the link below for more info, under "Xianz Groups"
Have you ever had a guilty feeling about something? Perhaps you did something wrong and you felt guilty about it. Perhaps you have magnified the feeling of guilt beyond the “wrongness” of the act that precipitated the guilty feeling. Or perhaps you feel justly guilty for a sin, and you don’t know what to do about it. The best way to relieve justifiable guilt is to confess the sin to God and ask him to forgive you. If the sin is against another person, confess the sin to that person and ask that person to forgive you. Forgiveness is the only cleansing agent that can remove both guilt and a guilty feeling about a sin.
IN WHAT WAYS ARE WE GUILTY? Romans 3:23 . . . All have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious ideal.
James 2:10 . . . The person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as the person who has broken all of God’s laws.
The magnitude of guilt may change with the magnitude of sin, but the presence of guilt is as sure with a “little sin” as with a “big sin.”
James 4:17 . . . Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.
Sin is not only doing wrong things, but not doing right things.
Jonah 1:4-5 . . . All this time Jonah was sound asleep down in the hold.
The absence of a guilty conscience doesn’t always mean you are doing right.
HOW CAN I BE FREED FROM GUILT? Psalm 19:12-13 . . . Cleanse me from these hidden faults. Keep me from deliberate sins! Don’t let them control me. Then I will be free of guilt.
By avoiding sin as much as possible and confessing any sin to God. Guilt is the consequence of wrongdoing.
Acts 13:39 . . . Everyone who believes in him is freed from all guilt and declared right with God.
This is a wonderful example of the grace of God. All we have to do is accept God’s free gift of salvation. This means believing that God sent his Son, Jesus, to die for our sins so that we are no longer guilty for them.
Numbers 14:39-45 . . . “We realize that we have sinned, but now we are ready to enter the land the Lord has promised us.” But Moses said . . . “It won’t work.”
We must be sincere in admitting guilt.
Jeremiah 3:13 . . . Only acknowledge your guilt. Admit that you rebelled against the Lord your God.
There is a high cost to acknowledging guilt and admitting sin, but an even higher cost if we don’t.
Job 6:29 . . . “Stop assuming my guilt.”
Job’s friends kept assuming he was guilty for some sin that caused his trouble. There are two lessons here: (1) Sometimes we are not guilty of wrongdoing, but we feel guilty. We must learn to discern between true and false guilt. (2) We can better deal with our own guilt if we develop an attitude of not assuming everyone else is guilty.
1 John 1:9 . . . If we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.
Prayer and confession frees us from guilt. Don’t let guilty feelings over sin keep you from prayer, your only means of confessing to God and restoring your relationship with him.
PROMISE FROM GOD: Acts 13:39 . . . Everyone who believes in him is freed from all guilt and declared right with God.
Those who trust in God are no longer guilty.
Singles include those who have never married, those who are divorced, and those who are widowed. The Bible does not set forth either singleness or marriage as the absolute standard for everyone. Rather, Scripture teaches that each individual must seek the will of God for his or her life. For some, this will lead to marriage. For others, it will lead to a single life. Single or married, our purpose is the same: to honor and serve God and to help others.
IS GOD’S PLAN FOR EVERYONE TO MARRY? IF I’M SINGLE, AM I MISSING OUT ON GOD’S PLAN FOR ME?
Matthew 19:12 . . . Some choose not to marry for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven.
1 Corinthians 7:1-2 . . . Yes, it is good to live a celibate life.
1 Corinthians 7:6-8 . . . I wish everyone could get along without marrying . . . God gives some the gift of marriage, and to others he gives the gift of singleness.
Either marriage or singleness can be a gift from God. Is it all right to remain single? Yes, of course. Is it all right to marry? Yes, of course. There are advantages to each.
SINGLENESS MAY GIVE YOU MORE UNDIVIDED ATTENTION FOR YOUR MINISTRY: 1 Corinthians 7:32-38 . . . An unmarried man can spend his time doing the Lord’s work and thinking how to please him.
In your singleness, serve the Lord wholeheartedly. Do not succumb to the feeling that your life is incomplete without a spouse.
BUT WHAT IF I WANT TO MARRY? IS THAT WRONG?
Genesis 2:18 . . . The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a companion who will help him.”
1 Corinthians 7:38 . . . The person who marries does well, and the person who doesn’t marry does even better.
God made man and woman for each other. It is good when the right mates find each other, but tragic when a marriage falls short of God’s glorious plan. People should not feel pressured to marry or to remain single. Ask God to lead you concerning marriage and the right marriage partner.
IF A PERSON’S MATE DIES, IS IT ALL RIGHT TO MARRY AGAIN?
1 Corinthians 7:39 . . . A wife is married to her husband as long as he lives. If her husband dies, she is free to marry whomever she wishes, but this must be a marriage acceptable to the Lord.
Marriage is a lifetime commitment. When a mate dies, the marriage contract is over. It is not wrong for the survivor to marry again.
HOW CAN GOD HELP ME ACCEPT MY SINGLENESS?
1 Corinthians 7:17 . . . You must accept whatever situation the Lord has put you in.
1 Corinthians 7:7-8 . . . I wish everyone could get along without marrying, just as I do. But we are not all the same. God gives some the gift of marriage, and to others he gives the gift of singleness. Now I say to those who aren’t married and to widows-it’s better to stay unmarried, just as I am.
Sometimes when we desperately want something we forget to see the gift of our current situation. Paul found that his singleness was an advantage in pursuing his call of establishing churches. Step back and look for how God might use you in your current single state.
HOW CAN I DEAL WITH THE LONELINESS OF BEING SINGLE? Matthew 28:20 . . . I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
We are never really alone. We can take comfort in the thought that God will never leave us.
1 Corinthians 7:32 . . . In everything you do, I want you to be free from the concerns of this life. An unmarried man can spend his time doing the Lord’s work and thinking how to please him.
We can alleviate loneliness by focusing our attention on the things that God would want us to be doing.
HOW DO I AVOID BITTERNESS OVER BEING SINGLE? Hebrews 12:15 . . . Look after each other so that none of you will miss out on the special favor of God. Watch out that no bitter root of unbelief rises up among you, for whenever it springs up, many are corrupted by its poison.
God tells us to look out for each other. The suggestion is that we share our burdens with one another. Get involved with groups where you feel safe to share your feelings and can have them support you and pray for you.
Christians are followers of Jesus Christ. To be a follower of someone is to pattern your life after him or her. Christ is the ultimate example of how to live a life that is pleasing to God. If we pattern our lives after him, we will please God. Not only that, we will find ourselves accepted into his eternal kingdom. To be like Christ is our goal. We want to think his thoughts, show his attitudes, live as he would live here on earth today. It is an awesome goal, and since we are not perfect, that goal seems unattainable. The key is that we are not Christ, but can only hope to be like him. While we cannot achieve perfection, Christ himself does promise to give us the power for living effectively for him.
HOW CAN WE POSSIBLY EVEN TRY TO LIVE LIKE CHRIST?
Romans 8:9 . . . You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them are not Christians at all.)
By ourselves we cannot hope to live like Christ, for we are not capable of it. But controlled by the Spirit of Christ in us, we can!
HOW THEN DO WE CULTIVATE THE CHRISTLIKE SPIRIT WITHIN US?
2 Corinthians 3:18 . . . As the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him.
As we let Christ control our inner life, he also controls our outer expressions of that inner life.
IF WE CLAIM TO BE CHRISTIANS, WE MUST BE DEVELOPING A CHRISTLIKE SPIRIT:
1 John 2:3 . . . How can we be sure that we belong to him? By obeying his commandments.
This then becomes a test of our faith in Christ-are we living as he wants, are we living a Christlike life? If we are, it would suggest that Christ lives within. If we are not, it would suggest that he does not.
WHAT IS MEANT BY CHRISTLIKENESS? Luke 9:23 . . . He said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross daily, and follow me.”
Christlikeness involves selflessly following Christ.
Luke 6:36 . . . You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.
A compassionate lifestyle is a sign of Christlikeness.
1 Peter 2:21-23 . . . Christ, who suffered for you, is your example. Follow in his steps. . . . He did not retaliate when he was insulted. When he suffered, he did not threaten to get even. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly.
Christlikeness is following in Christ’s footsteps. As we follow our Lord, we attract others to follow him also.
John 13:14-15 . . . Since I, the Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you.
A life of humble service is a necessary part of Christlikeness.
HOW DO I BECOME LIKE CHRIST? 2 Corinthians 3:18 . . . All of us have had that veil removed so that we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more.
Philippians 1:6 . . . I am sure that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on that day when Christ Jesus comes back again.
Ephesians 4:15 . . . Instead, we will hold to the truth in love, becoming more and more in every way like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.
We become more like Christ by carefully studying how he lived and loved. Then we invite him to work his powerful love through us.
HOW CAN I SHOW CHRISTLIKENESS TO MY ENEMIES?
Luke 6:32-33 . . . Do you think you deserve credit merely for loving those who love you? Even the sinners do that! And if you do good only to those who do good to you, is that so wonderful? Even sinners do that much!
We show them Christ by treating them with Christ’s love.
Matthew 5:44 . . . Love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!
Galatians 5:22-23 . . . When the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Here there is no conflict with the law.
2 Peter 1:6-7 . . . Knowing God leads to self-control. Self-control leads to patient endurance, and patient endurance leads to godliness. Godliness leads to love for other Christians, and finally you will grow to have genuine love for everyone.
When Christ lives in us and through us, we can show Christlikeness to others. Actually, we can’t do it-Christ does.
HOW CAN MY CHRISTLIKE CHARACTER AFFECT MY HOME? 1 Corinthians 7:14 . . . The Christian wife brings holiness to her marriage, and the Christian husband brings holiness to his marriage. Otherwise, your children would not have a godly influence, but now they are set apart for him.
1 Peter 3:1-2 . . . In the same way, you wives must accept the authority of your husbands, even those who refuse to accept the Good News. Your godly lives will speak to them better than any words. They will be won over by watching your pure, godly behavior.
How you model your faith in Christ will have an incredible influence upon your children, as well as future generations.
PROMISE FROM GOD:
Galatians 2:20 . . . I myself no longer live, but Christ lives in me. So I live my life in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Lying is deceiving someone. It can be direct-”I didn’t touch that cake” (as you swallow the last bite)-or it can be indirect, such as telling only part of the truth when it benefits you to do so. But to fall short of truth, in any way, is to lie. Pilate asked, “What is truth?” (John 18:38). Pilate had the answer to his question standing before him, in person. “I am the way, the truth and the life,” Jesus said on another occasion (John 14:6). Think of it! Jesus not only tells the truth, he is truth. We cannot follow the God of truth while we persistently tell lies-even “small” ones. Determine to tell the truth in all matters of life, big or small.
WHY DO WE LIE?
Acts 20:30 . . . Even some of you will distort the truth in order to draw a following.
We sometimes lie to become popular.
Acts 5:1-11 . . . [Ananias] brought part of the money to the apostles, but he claimed it was the full amount. His wife had agreed to this deception.
We sometimes lie to make ourselves look good.
Genesis 4:9 . . . Afterward the Lord asked Cain, “Where is your brother?”. . . “I don’t know!” Cain retorted.
We sometimes lie to avoid trouble and punishment.
WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT TO TELL THE TRUTH? Proverbs 12:19 . . . Truth stands the test of time; lies are soon exposed.
Ephesians 4:25 . . . Put away all falsehood and “tell your neighbor the truth” because we belong to each other.
WHAT DOES GOD THINK ABOUT LYING? HOW SHOULD WE FEEL ABOUT LYING?
Proverbs 6:17-19 . . . There are six things the Lord hates-no, seven . . . haughty eyes, a lying tongue.
Proverbs 12:22 . . . The Lord hates those who don’t keep their word, but he delights in those who do.
Romans 1:18 . . . God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who push the truth away from themselves.
God is truth, so he must hate lies and lying. He cannot tolerate them because they violate his personhood.
Psalm 119:163 . . . I hate and abhor all falsehood.
Proverbs 13:5 . . . Those who are godly hate lies.
Colossians 3:9 . . . Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old evil nature and all its wicked deeds.
We should hate lies because they are part of the old sinful nature we had before we were Christians.
CAN WE LIE WITHOUT USING WORDS? Proverbs 10:18 . . . To hide hatred is to be a liar; to slander is to be a fool.
1 John 1:10 . . . If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.
We lie whenever we deceive God, others, or even ourselves.
PROMISE FROM GOD: Proverbs 12:19 . . . Truth stands the test of time; lies are soon exposed.
Lies will be exposed.
See latest stories on Yahoo! News
