true repentance
by winn collier
Posted under
christian living,
conflict,
daily devotional,
difficult relationships,
faith,
fellowship,
forgiveness,
grace,
humility,
obedience,
relationships,
sin,
submission,
unity (7 comments)
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Jeremiah 26:18-19
They turned from their sins and worshiped the Lord (v.19).
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• Psalm 51:1-12
• 1 John 1:9
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Why might you be tempted to waffle rather than simply repent? What do you need to bring to God in true repentance?
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Today, my son lied to me. The specifics were minor, but his attempts to weasel out of the offense without coming clean caused me concern. One author, writing about our vague “confessions,” said that she imagines “God as a wily writing teacher [leaning] across the table and [saying], not at all gently, ‘Could you possibly be troubled to say what you mean?’”
The Bible characters who seem to always be in the middle of the fray, calling God’s people on the carpet for their sins, naming names—making pretty much everyone uncomfortable—are the prophets. Everyone liked the prophet, so long as he or she predicted blessing and good days ahead. The true prophet, however, was God’s mouthpiece—and God is about the business of uncovering hidden places of rebellion, dishonesty, and idolatry.
On one occasion, God had Micah tell Israel that because of their stubborn refusal to obey, they would be “plowed like an open field” (Micah 3:12). Dire words.
How do we respond when God points out our wayward ways? Do we wiggle and squirm and offer excuses about why we acted so poorly? Do we hide? Do we slough off our responsibility, refusing to own up to our sin?
King Hezekiah and Israel took the harder path, the one that leads to humility and repentance. “They turned from their sins and worshiped the Lord” (Jeremiah 26:19). No bartering. No wrangling. Just a straight, “I was wrong, and I’m sorry.”
The old confession of the church has it right: “Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against You. . . . We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.”
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This is powerful…you can’t come to God with excuses for what you’ve done
among the men
a lot of the sins i have committed
are things men do
know i realize i was trying to fit
into the wrong group of people
Thanks for the great devotional today! True repentance always leads to a “turning away” from the sins that were committed. Otherwise, it is just sadness that you got caught in your sin. 2 Corinthians 7: 10 says, “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” True repentance cannot occur apart from such a genuine sorrow over one’s sin and this usually always leads to salvation since it is produced by the Holy Spirit (according to the will of God). Human sorrow is remorse that has no redemptive qualities at all! It is nothing more than the wounded pride of getting caught in a sin. The shame, guilt, depression, self-pity, and hopelessness can lead a person to die from such sadness. When someone has truly repented of their sins, there will be such a change in the persons attitudes and behavior. (2 Corinthians 7: 11)
Paulajo I really appreciate your words. It makes a lot of sense. Thanks. I feel like I harbor a lot of human sorrow without turning it over to God.
…compromising is not even an option…true repentance is absolute…
Ous God is truly great, his love for us is truly unconditional, even we are too stubborn still there is God that will accept us no matter who we are… I really thank the Lord for having this great privilage to become one of His son.
great interaction, all. I have come to see repentance as a gift, one of God’s kindnesses. It seems like we are all on that page.