Monday, August 4, 2014

Is Repentance something that is necessary?

Who in their right mind wants to go to Hell? Isn't that why we say that "magical" prayer: "Jesus, forgive me of my sin and come into my heart as Savior and Lord! Amen"...and "poof"...it's all good! Got my tickets...going "upstairs" some day and hope to have "good seats in the house"...right?

What is this repentance thing anyway? I mean, I kind of think I know..."start being nice, watch my cussin', don't get drunk so often, and stay away from prostitutes. Oh, and don't be so crazy when I am at a bar or some concert."


Honestly, repentance I have come to realize is more than just "stop the sinning", it's why do I want to sin in the first place. It does not mean it is always wrong to do things like attend concerts or even go and enjoy myself in public places, rather it is the why I am doing so.
 Repentance is to me more like changing what I have always loved to do...to simply loving Him more than anything I want to do. To stop sinning is a by-product...not the purpose of why I came to Him. I came to Him because:

 " The Father (God) has come(to me!)...to rescue and deliver us by...drawing us to Himself! He has taken us completely out of the control of the Dominion of Darkness which had so much influence in our lives (knowingly and subliminally) and has now brought us into His Kingdom, all being made possible through His Very Son, who kept His promise true and bought for us our freedom...through the shedding of His Very Blood. This new way of life not only forgives us of our sins, but allows us to have the Father's Kingdom alive and living in us...in our very hearts!"
                  Gleaning from Colossians 1:13-14

So what I am learning is if I choose not to show interest in repentance, or just keep on dealing with life, in reference to my personal desires, needs, or wants...without any consideration to consider change or consider what God has to offer me, it only hinders any advancement of God's Kingdom having power...guidance...or direction in my life. If I want Jesus...then I got to want everything that comes with it.

 In the Gospel of Saint Matthew, something had happened. It reads the time had now come, when John the Baptizer had been arrested and put in prison, that Jesus returned to Galilee. Jesus then moved...from His hometown of Nazareth and now stayed in Capernaum, a lakeside village in Galilee. Then, it reads Jesus picked up where John had left off:
 "Repent! Completely change your minds on how you think and act in this life, for the time has now come to you to embrace a Godly Sorrow...one that originates in your very hearts, for God's Kingdom has arrived, and is here...now!"  
                   Gleaning from Matthew 4:17

 My take on this is God through the power of His son is wanting to take us from a fear-based, regret filled way of life to a totally new way of life that includes having a Godly Sorrow that brought us much grief...to a whole different way of life.

 " The time has come for you to make this decision, now that you have given an undivided attention to wanting Jesus. It is time to stop relying on and copying the behaviors and customs others around you do...because that is all you know from the present and pagan world you have been acquainted with. Now, with the very power of the Holy Spirit made available to you, you now have received the gift from Him to change your whole outlook and how you think...your very conduct in this life.
 It is a totally fresh and new outlook, full of new ideals and new attitudes, and when you begin to do this you will soon discover a completely different lifestyle in both word and deed that enables you to "get tuned in" on what is acceptable...and what exactly is the Father's very will...in your life. 
When these life changing thoughts are invited into your life, it literally brings out God's best in you, fully satisfying that deep hunger for purpose in all we do and bringing into our hearts and minds a God-given maturity."
                    A Gleaning from Romans 12:2   

One more thing...this "Godly Sorrow"...it's not like being sorry about something...it's much much more:

" Godly Sorrow (likened to an internal distress) brings to us a repentance, not meaning to turn from sin on our own abilities, strengths, or even will power, rather by simply and clearly changing our minds about sin. By making this type of decision, this God-given power of repentance contributes to our salvation, demonstrating a power not only to deliver us from evil without the regrets of such decisions, but enables us to be free of the worldly griefs and hopeless sorrows which accompanies and are the very characteristics of this present pagan age we now live in...proving deadly, particularly at the end when we lie on a deathbed...full of regrets." 

                             A Gleaning from 2 Corinthians 7;10       

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