Tag: repentance

The Gift of Salvation

2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

Our merciful Lord bears with our wicked world. He defers His anger as so many, all of us included at some level, turn to idolatry, superstition, heresy, disobedience, profaneness, immorality and general lack of reverence for Almighty God. Through it all, Our Father in heaven is steadfast in seeking His will that none shall perish. Having already sacrificed His Son to atone for our sins, He sends His Holy Spirit to set in us a desire to repent of our sins. The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sins so that we see the desperate need that we have to accept the gift of salvation from Jesus Christ.

Aided by the Holy Spirit to accept the atoning work of Our Savior, we are washed clean of our sins. We then enter into a new period of repentance as we battle our flesh daily. God knows that we must still deal with the corrupt nature of our flesh, so He provides the the Holy Spirit to stand beside us. In our continuous battle against our sin nature, the Holy Spirit will never leave our side. God’s endless patience is evident.

During this daily battle of sanctification, the Holy Spirit shows us our sins in an entirely different light. Instead of just seeing our sins as the iniquity that damns us, we begin to see our sins in light of the pain and suffering that they caused and continue to cause Our Lord. The Holy Spirit helps us take the agony we experience when we realize what we have done and turn it into sorrow and repentance as we consider our past, present and future sin. The Holy Spirit then guides us into a deeper relationship with Our Savior. Ultimately, the Holy Spirit strengthens us as we fall and leads us to victory over sin, sanctifying us for our eternal place of glory.

Let us seek the Holy Spirit for the supernatural aid that we need to recognize and fully repent of our sins. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to examine our hearts to reveal those dark spots that we keep hidden even from ourselves. Let us learn to live in the joy of a fully repentant life.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your perfect love and forgiveness as expressed through the sacrifice of Your Son, Jesus. We ask for Your forgiveness, Father, for our sins that sent Your Son to the Cross on our behalf. We praise Your Name for the patience that You have with us as we continue to struggle with our sin natures. We thank You for providing the Holy Spirit to aid and guide us as we battle against our flesh. We pray, Lord, that the Holy Spirit will strengthens us to turn away from the darkness in our lives today so that we may turn toward the marvelous light of Our Savior for all eternity. We ask all these things in the name of the Chief Cornerstone of our lives, Jesus Christ.

Unconditional Love Provides the Foundation for Forgiveness

Ephesians 1:7
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.

When we think of forgiveness, we usually think of it in terms of how it plays out in our natural interactions with others. We may find it hard to forgive someone who has offended us, but we can usually find the mercy to forgive them under the right conditions. They come to us and express sufficient regret and express a sincere desire that they will never do it again. Conversely, we feel like we should be forgiven if we are willing to express our sorrow for the pain we have caused to another and we are willing to say we will not cause that harm again. In the natural, among people of good hearts, this process works much of the time.

Almighty God looks at forgiveness in a different light. He certainly requires the same natural interactions of forgiveness that we are familiar with. For God to forgive us, He requires us to come before Him humbly and confess our sins. For God to forgive us, He requires us to repent of our sins. But Our Father in heaven also requires supernatural interaction. Because of His holiness, we cannot approach Him with our expressions of sorrow and repentance unless we have accepted Jesus as Our Savior. For Our Savior must first approach the Father as Our Mediator. He must identify us as ones who have been cleansed by His atoning blood. In the supernatural, under these conditions, this process works every time without fail.

Let us repent of every sin and iniquity in our lives. Let us ask Our Lord to forgive us with true contriteness in our hearts. Let us rejoice as we are washed clean of every blemish that separates us from Our Father in heaven. Let us praise the name of Our Redeemer who saved us through the richness of His grace.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your perfect, unconditional love and the mercy plan for forgiveness that You have provided through Your Son, Jesus. We bless the name of Jesus for making it possible for us to come before You with our confessions and our desire to repent of our sins. We rejoice in knowing that Our Savior stands before You as Our Mediator and that His atoning blood covers us so that we are acceptable to receive Your forgiveness. We pray, Lord, that we will always be mindful of what it cost You to reinstate us in Your favor. May the world around us see us in the light of Your favor and be drawn to Your Son to receive the same treasure. We ask all these things in the name of Our High Priest, Jesus Christ.

The Mercy and Eternal Atonement of Christ

Romans 5:19
For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

As a result of the disobedience of Adam, we were born with a sin nature. Because of Adam’s disobedience, we naturally put ourselves first in all things. This behavior alone puts us in direct violation of what Jesus taught were God’s greatest commands. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:38-39

The violation of either one of these two commands is enough to condemn us to eternal death. We cannot remove the condemning stain of this sin on our own. There is no escape or recovery from this sin except through the redemption provided through Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

As a result of the obedience of Jesus to the calling of His Father in heaven, we are made righteous in the eyes of the Father. God removed our sin through the sacrifice of His own Son. He removed our sin in the only way that was acceptable to Him – through the shed blood of His Son which cleanses us. We accept His mercy and eternal atonement through our surrender to His Son, Jesus Christ.

It is important to understand that God does not hold us responsible for inheriting sin. He will not condemn anyone because of the sin that was inherited. He will condemn those that refuse to accept Jesus as the only measure of deliverance from their inherited sin and their ongoing iniquities. He will condemn those who choose to live in submission to the darkness of the flesh rather than under surrender to the light of the world, Jesus Christ.

Let us strive to have those around us see that we love God above all things and that we love them as we love ourselves. Let us show the world what is only possible through Jesus Christ.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we ask forgiveness for the sin in our lives. We pray that You will reveal to us all the places in our lives where we are living in darkness, instead of in the Light. We ask You, Lord, for the grace to be able to repent of all the sin that remains in our lives. We thank You, Father, that through Your mercy You have made a way for us to be delivered from the condemnation that we deserve. We praise Your name, Father God, because through Your perfect love we have been given an eternal inheritance that we did not and cannot earn on our own. We bless the name of Jesus who now dwells within us. We pray that we may become Light to the darkness in world around us through His presence. We ask all these things in the name of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.

Overcoming Darkness

Genesis 1:3
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

As light was the first work in the creation of the earth, so has light been the first work in the creation of new men or women in Christ. In both cases the light was brought forth to overcome the pre-existing chaotic darkness that existed.

Jesus is the light, the truth and the way. No darkness can exist in His presence. When we accept Him as Our Savior, He comes to dwell within us and the process of removing all the darkness from our lives begins. All of our sins are brought into the light by the Holy Spirit. Repentance is required. To do otherwise is to suggest that we are sufficient in our own ways. It is not enough to be sorry for our sins. We must recognize our unworthiness. We must recognize our need to be cleansed by the Blood of the Lamb. We must fully submit to Jesus so that we will have the strength to turn away from the darkness, so that we may live in the light. This process will continue as long as we are in our corrupted bodies. It will not be completed until we stand before Our Father in heaven at His Throne.

From the beginning of time, darkness has been allowed to exist with light. When the new earth is perfected for all eternity and comes into place with the new heaven, the darkness will be put aside forever. When we take our place in God’s kingdom, the darkness in our lives will also be set aside forever.

Let us beseech the Holy Spirit to inspect us. Let us implore Him to reveal every bit of darkness in our lives. Let us repent of the darkness that is uncovered. Let us ask for the grace and strength that we need to learn to live in the fullness of the Light of Jesus Christ.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for exposing all the darkness in our lives. We pray that we will fully submit to the cleansing process. May Your Light extend to the outer margins of our lives. May no element of our lives be untouched. We pray that the complete work of the Blood of the Lamb will prepare us to take our place in heaven for all eternity. We ask all these things in the name of the Great Eternal Light, Jesus Christ.

Choosing to Walk in the Light

Isaiah 6:5
And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”

When we go into the presence of God, anything that is not pleasing to Him will come to mind. We cannot get by with a general sense of sinfulness. The Holy Spirit will not rest until we have been convicted of all of our sin, down to the smallest transgression.

When Isaiah came upon the vision of the Lord and saw His holiness, Isaiah immediately proclaimed that he was a man of unclean lips. Isaiah knew that he would not be able to serve the Lord without cleansing himself from the sin that he had been shown.

God will work the same way with each of us. Through His Holy Spirit, He will convict us of every single point of iniquity in our lives. Then He will lead us to deeper revelation of the things in our lives that are simply displeasing to Him. The process will continue until we are properly prepared to serve Him.

Let us make time to sit in the presence of Almighty God. Let us surrender to His light so that our darkness will be revealed. Let us repent of the darkness in our lives and choose to walk in the light.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the restlessness that the Holy Spirit brings upon us when we are walking in darkness. We thank You for the absolute focus that You put on our sins, making it impossible for us to take on a vague sense of the sinfulness in our lives. We pray the Holy Spirit will bring our every iniquity into the light so that we may repent and move forward in obedience to Your calling on our lives. We ask all these things in the name of the Perfecter of Our Faith, Jesus Christ.

Removing the Last Parcels of Sin from Our Lives

Matthew 5:26
Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.

In Matthew’s gospel, we are taught that when we have a debt that needs to be paid that we should try to reconcile with the one to whom we owe the debt. We will always end up suffering the consequences of the unresolved debt if we do not try to come to terms with our creditor. We should try to come to terms with the creditor prior to going before the judge. This passage is generally regarded as a teaching about how to handle conflict concerning civil matters.

The same perspective can very easily be applied to sin in our lives. It was necessary for Jesus to redeem us from our sin debt for there is not a space in heaven where the slightest sin is allowed. While our entire sin debt has been paid by Our Savior, it remains our responsibility to come to terms with and repent of all the sin in our lives. We must confess and ask forgiveness for every act for which we deserve to be accused and judged before the Throne of God.

As new Christians, we likely found it relatively easy to identify and turn away from the obvious and grievous sin in our lives. It is probable, however, that as we matured in Christ that the Holy Spirit began revealing to us undetected areas in our lives that held the last parcels of sin debt. These may seem to be the smallest of sins, but they are certainly great enough to separate us from Almighty God. Thus, the Holy Spirit is relentless in bringing to light sins that may have been lingering below the surface in the form of such things as anger, jealousy, gossip, greed, etc.

Be certain that this painful revealing process will continue with us until we breath our last breath. Thank God that He has provided His Holy Spirit to bring us to complete repentance for the sin debt that Our Savior has paid in full for us.

Let us call on the Holy Spirit to inspect us, to enlighten us of any speck of iniquity which remains in us. Let us turn away from all that the Holy Spirit reveals that is dark in our lives. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to give us the strength to overcome the continuing solicitations of the world and the attacks of the enemy. Let us seek to remove the last parcels of sin from our lives.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for sending Your Son to spare us from our sin debt. We thank You for Your mercy as You see us struggle against sin in our lives. We thank You for Your grace as You provide Your Holy Spirit to aid us in departing from our errant ways. May Your countenance shine upon as we turn away from our old lives and learn to live according to Your kingdom principles here on earth. We ask all these things in the name of Our Redeemer, Jesus Christ.

Peace, Comfort and Freedom of Confession

Psalm 32:5
I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.

In the flesh, it is very difficult to deliver a full confession of the sin in our lives. We simply are not equipped to deal with self-condemnation without the aid of the Holy Spirit. Our carnal minds are not able to fathom the real joy in the forgiving mercy of Jesus Christ.

It is very important that we confess our sins and repent of them quickly. We should not hold on to them for any reason – not even to punish ourselves. We must take God’s merciful grace and cleanse ourselves of our sins. We must recognize that Jesus Christ has atoned for all of our sins for all eternity. To hold on to any sin, even its guilt, is to continue to unnecessarily suffer its destruction in our lives.

Once we have cleansed ourselves of our sins through confession, the Holy Spirit will come along side us and lift us to a new, higher level relationship with the Father. “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.” Psalm 32:1-2

Let us ask the Holy Spirit to inspect us and to reveal to us the darkness of sin in our lives. Let us surrender to the urgings of the Holy Spirit to repent of our sins so that we may be cleansed. Let us rejoice in the peace, comfort and freedom that we are given as we confess our sins and receive the perfect love and forgiveness of Our Savior. Thus let us take our relationship with Our Heavenly Father to a higher level.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your loving kindness, Your mercy and Your grace that has provided a way for us to be cleansed of our sins and freed from its destructive power in our lives. We thank You Jesus for settling our sin debt for all eternity. We exalt the name of Our Savior. We pray that the Holy Spirit will help us to uncover all of the sin in our lives so that we may quickly confess it with our mouths. May we escape the darkness that has overcome us and live in the precious light of Our Redeeming King. May we reach higher and higher in building our relationship with You, Father. We ask all these things in the mighty, holy and precious name of Jesus Christ.

Prepared to be His Bride

Ephesians 5:27
so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

When we observe beauty in nature, we are usually not focused on a single object, but on the beauty of a single object or objects within the context of the total surroundings. If we separate out the single objects, we will find that none of them are perfect. But when we consider the single objects as integral parts of their settings, we are treated to sites that we deem to be perfectly beautiful.

In this same way, God creates beauty in our lives. Even though we are not perfect, God can use us perfectly within the environment that He places us. As individuals in the flesh, we have many imperfections, but as spirit-filled members of the Body of Christ we attain the perfect beauty that Jesus is looking for in His bride.

The Lord sees His Church as wonderful and beautiful. He does not see the Church as individuals struggling to be perfect as He is perfect. He does not see the affliction and filth of the individual members living in the flesh. He sees the breathtaking beauty of the Body of Christ clothed in His holiness, glory and perfection. He sees the work in us that was completed on the Cross.

Let us surrender to the cleansing work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to examine our hearts so that we may repent in preparation for the wedding feast.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You that we are made perfect through the redemption that Your Son, Jesus, has procured for us. We bless the name of Jesus for allowing us to forget the things that are behind us, both our sins and our labors that are of no value to the kingdom. We pray that we be given the grace to press forward with all of our focus on the holy desires, hopes and endeavors that bring us into union with Our Savior who has made us His own. We rejoice in knowing that our day to be with Him has been set aside for all eternity. We ask all these things in the name of the One who prepares us to be His bride, Jesus Christ.

The Atoning Blood of Our Mediator

Ephesians 1:7
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.

When we think of forgiveness, we usually think of it in terms of how it plays out in our natural interactions with others. We may find it hard to forgive someone who has offended us, but we can usually find the mercy to forgive them under the right conditions. They come to us and express sufficient regret and express a sincere desire that they will never do it again. Conversely, we feel like we should be forgiven if we are willing to express our sorrow for the pain we have caused to another and we are willing to say we will not cause that harm again. In the natural, among people of good hearts, this process works much of the time.

Almighty God looks at forgiveness in a different light. He certainly requires the same natural interactions of forgiveness that we are familiar with. For God to forgive us, He requires us to come before Him humbly and confess our sins. For God to forgive us, He requires us to repent of our sins. But Our Father in heaven also requires supernatural interaction. Because of His holiness, we cannot approach Him with our expressions of sorrow and repentance unless we have accepted Jesus as Our Savior. For Our Savior must first approach the Father as Our Mediator. He must identify us as ones who have been cleansed by His atoning blood. In the supernatural, under these conditions, this process works every time without fail.

Let us repent of every sin and iniquity in our lives. Let us ask Our Lord to forgive us with true contriteness in our hearts. Let us rejoice as we are washed clean of every blemish that separates us from Our Father in heaven. Let us praise the name of Our Redeemer who saved us through the richness of His grace.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your perfect, unconditional love and the mercy plan for forgiveness that You have provided through Your Son, Jesus. We bless the name of Jesus for making it possible for us to come before You with our confessions and our desire to repent of our sins. We rejoice in knowing that Our Savior stands before You as Our Mediator and that His atoning blood covers us so that we are acceptable to receive Your forgiveness. We pray, Lord, that we will always be mindful of what it cost You to reinstate us in Your favor. May the world around us see us in the light of Your favor and be drawn to Your Son to receive the same treasure. We ask all these things in the name of Our High Priest, Jesus Christ.