How do you feel about repentance? Should we call each other to repent? Or do you think everything is forgiven anyway so why bother with repentance? The latter type of thinking seems to become more common these days even within church. We might ask for forgiveness but we don’t repent. But the Bible is pretty clear about our need of repentance in order to be saved.

For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.
(2 Cor. 7:10, NLT)

God’s grace and mercy is available for all of us any time and every time we need it but only through repentance.

Because when we repent, we turn back to God and his ways. Then the Holy Spirit will help us to change and grace will empower us to live in God’s way.

With the words of Florence Allshorn “Repentance is not a mere feeling of sorrow or contrition for an act of wrongdoing. Repentance is contrition for what we are in our fundamental beings, that we are wrong in our deepest roots because our interior government is by Self and not by God.”

Repentance is not a once in a life time event. We need to repent daily. This does not mean that we could not be certain of our salvation. But as A.W. Pink has pointed out “the Christian who has stopped repenting has stopped growing.” Repentance is part of our daily surrender to God and his will and guidance in and through our lives.

Repentance – or turning back to God – is sometimes very hard to do but it is always joy in the end. We need to keep this in mind and keep on turning to God all the time. That way repentance becomes natural and our hearts won’t harden against God. That way we are awake and alert to God and his ways. That way we are ready to follow Christ anywhere and anytime. That way we are open to the leading of the Holy Spirit day and night.

It is time to turn to God and live, don’t you think?

 

Gracious God,
Thank you for always waiting for me with open arms.
Forgive me for trying to figure out my life on my own.
I repent and give you the rains of my life.
Do whatever you want with me,
just don’t let me go from your presence.
Be praised, Lord, be praised forever and ever.
Thank you for your powerful yet gentle grace.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen

Q4U: What do you think of repentance? How often do you repent?

Be blessed, my fellow pilgrim, as you turn to God daily!

Image courtesy of Mari-Anna Stålnacke.  Linking up today with Unite the Bloggersphere and #tellhisstory.