Repentance | Day 19
Titus 3:5; Acts 3:19; 2 Peter 3:9; Jeremiah 26: 3; 1 Peter 2:24
Please comment below with your conversation with God and/or insights from today’s Scriptures.
You can answer the following:
What are the Scriptures telling you about repentance?
What happened to your mind or perspective when you surrendered to God’s call for repentance?
What are some of the changes you have seen (before and after) in your life since you repented?
What is your prayer to God regarding repentance?
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Opened Possibilities | Lemuel Ayudtud
The Greek word for “repentance” is μετάνοια (me-tä'-noi-ä). This word occurs 24x in the New Testament (which was originally written in Greek). It means a change of mind of a purpose he has formed or he has done. It’s root word is μετανοέω (me-tä-no-e'-o). This word occurs 32x in the New Testament. It means “to change one's mind for better, heartily to amend with abhorrence of one's past sins”.
Repentance is a core doctrine or teaching of Christianity but scour the world religions and you will find that repentance is foundational to most if not all of them. Why is that?
Since our way of thinking governs our way of living, repentance is required for a change of life. You can’t change your life thinking the same way. It’s impossible to live for God if your perception of Him and His will does not align with His Word. And because God will not change His methods and ways (and why should He?) it’s you who have to change to suit.
People are the same no matter where we live or what we grow up believing. As a matter of being human, alot of people reject repentance because it calls to question their life and lifestyle. It comes against their personal notion of good and bad as well as their own agendas and world perspectives. If we dive in deeper, people resist repentance because it puts their pride in question—they question the reason for repentance since they think they’re good enough.
The issue with the “good enough” mindset is that it requires a comparison: good enough compared to who? Sure maybe we’re better than our parents were. Maybe we’re more patient than our friend who snaps at the “small” things. Maybe we’re more giving than the guy who bypassed a homeless man begging while you gave them a dollar. Maybe we are “better” than some people… and so we think.
The greatest issue with this thinking is that there is an assumption that we know everything about the person we’re comparing ourselves to. Unfortunately, we don’t. Sure in one area we maybe better, but how about in other areas? If we continue going this way of thinking, we’ll find ourselves not “good enough” in other ways.
Now let’s consider who we are compared to God. When we do that, we realize there is no way for we could be good enough compared to God. Whatever goodness we may have compared to God is not good at all. In fact the Scriptures tell us that our righteousness is but a rancid, dirty piece of linen. Yes, that “good enough” mantra that people have in their minds to resist the call for repentance, is actually bologna, to put it mildly.
All of us need to repent. All of us need to go to a place of mind change before God. When we recognize that we are all sinners and that our goodness is not good enough, then we all need to submit to the mandate of God to repent.
What is repentance at its core anyway? What is the heart of it?
When we study the Scriptures we find that the core of repentance is submission to God’s Will for our lives. Repentance is admitting that we don’t know everything, we don’t have everything figured out, and that God’s ways is best for us. It’s admitting that our lives without Him is flawed and without Him we miss the purpose for our lives.
In a soteriological sense, it means we are admitting that we are sinners separated from God requiring for us to turn away from those sins to follow after righteousness and holiness. It also means that we submit to the grace of God to save us and not our own works even if we’re “good enough”.
Sin has imprisoned us to see that only our ways are right and true. Our pride has blinded us to the incredible open fields of God’s goodness and generosity. Our selfish thoughts and sense of personal righteousness cloud our hearts to even realize our own shortcomings and misgivings. It is our sinfulness that also roadblocks us from the power and the promises of God.
In repentance we submit to the power of God to rest in us to do His will. That’s right: repentance is our humble act, directed by God. It brings the life changing power of God into our hearts and minds; the power of God is all that we need to be redirected from walking in our own ways to walking in His way and following His leading. And when the power of God is guiding us, then the possibilities to receive His promises are now available to us. The power of God opens our prison doors, setting us free to roam in His grace and delight in His promise!
Yes, repentance IS turning away from sin to following God, but it is also turning away from the affects of those sins to positioning ourselves to receive the goodness of God for our lives. Our once filthy, sinful lives are now opened to divine possibilities through the act of genuine, God led repentance.
Lord, teach me to repent. Teach me to lay down my pride and selfish thoughts and yield to Your will and way. And, Lord, help me to fully repent. Help me to release some of the things I hold on to because it’s comfortable or convenient. Lead me to know that Your ways is best for me and that no matter how good I think I maybe, Your goodness cannot be compared, Your holiness too perfect for me to even come close. So teach me to submit to Your command to repent in everything, in Your Name Jesus, I pray, amen.