Life-long Repentance

In Matthew 4:17 we are told that after His temptation in the wilderness and the arrest of John the Baptist Jesus began His preaching ministry with the call for repentance. "Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

Interestingly enough, the word the Lord uses here in Greek, the language of the New Testament, demands that the action of repentance be continual. When we come to Christ we enter into life-long repentance. Of course, this means a permanent change of thinking. But in our daily lives it also means we must continue to turn our hearts away from sins that inevitably creep in. Let me suggest three necessary aspects of continuing repentance.

1. A Sensitive Heart

How do you respond when someone accuses you of wrong? Do you put all your energy into defending yourself? Do you automatically attack? Or do you pray? You can ask God, "Father, is this an opportunity to repent?" Since our ultimate accuser is Satan, you may well discover that the accusation is not completely true. But even in this situation you may have an opportunity to bring your heart and your thinking more in line with your Heavenly Father's. If your heart is sensitive, what the enemy intends for evil will only make you more Christlike.

2. A Thoughtful Heart

The freedom to examine your heart comes to from saturating your mind in the truth of the gospel. Have you memorized verses that give you God's assurance? Do you think daily about their wonderful truth? You don't have to defend yourself. Jesus is actively defending you before the throne of God. (1 John 2:1) You are not condemned. (Romans 8:1) God sees you washed in His blood. (Revelation 1:5) There are hundreds more!

3. A Comforted Heart.

To react in repentance rather than defensiveness you need to be immersed in the love of God that His Spirit desires to lavish upon you. Do you regularly Give thanks for the love of Christ? Do you tremble in wonder at God's amazing grace? Only in such assurance will you be free to continually examine your heart and allow God's Spirit to bring it nearer to His own.

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KEYS TO HAPPYNESS

I thought about using the word blessedness in my title this week. Of course that would have turned readers away in droves. But blessedness is really what I want to write about even though we seldom, if ever, use such a word in these days. I was surprised to see it still listed in my Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary. We tend to replace blessedness with words like success or happiness. But other words do not capture the concept of the blessing of God on our lives. So blessedness is still used in our English translations of Scripture. And while it means so much more, blessedness touches the core of true happiness.

One of my favorite scripture passages that deals with this crucial concept is Psalm 1. It begins, "Blessed is the man." Let me point out several important perspectives of happiness that God shows us in this Psalm.

First, Real happiness is Deep. If we used the psychological definition of happiness we might call happiness, contentment. But contentment is contingent upon how a person feels in a given moment. Your momentary contentment may be shattered in the next instant.

In Psalm 1:3 we read about a truly happy person. "He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season." His happiness does not depend on what is happening in a moment or season. You can trust God in painful times if the source of your blessings are deeper than what is happening on the surface. Yes, you are weeping in this long night of pain or sorrow. But it need not overwhelm you. You can trust God to bring you into His joy in The Morning.

True happiness is Heavy. The life of the person depending on God is sometimes uncomfortably heavy with trials. But you can rejoice in knowing that the heaviness is fruit being matured in your branches. The chaff is not heavy. But it will be blown away.

Finally, Complete happiness is Ultimate. If you asked Kids, who are exhausted and playing poorly in a high school ball game with their team far behind, "Is this is a good game? They would say? "No! This is a terrible game." But if they somehow turn everything around, and come back to win against impossible odds in the final seconds, what would they say about that game?

In this corrupt world I am sometimes tired and weak, foolish and sinful. But I can grin in the struggle because I  know how it will end. Jesus already took the penalty for me. God has promised to lay on my shoulders all the glory that Jesus earned. Romans 8:18 and following assures me that nothing I endure now can compare with the glory that will be revealed in me.