Gratitude! My number one word this week! What a joy to live a life of gratitude even when some things are not as I would like them to be. My number two word: Repentance and my number three word: Forgiveness
What am I thankful for this week? For the wealth of good Word teachers and preachers that are either here serving the body of Christ in Nagaland or have come to bless us with their God Inspired words.
We are blessed beyond measure, not a week goes by, that there is not someone somewhere here in our State, freely preaching and teaching the precious Words of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Are we taking that freedom for granted? Do we realise that once we have heard or read the truth we are now held accountable for that truth? Are those God Inspired Words, spoken in our ears changing us? Are we still hungry for it like our forefathers were? Who therefore saw so many miracles. Are we seeking to let Him more and more work through us, and reflect Who He is? Jesus was a perfect reflection of who the Father is but in human flesh while on earth. His first message was: Repent! For the Kingdom of God is at hand (meaning right in front of you-He Himself) saying: if you want to be part of that Kingdom, your first step is to repent. John the Baptist Message too was repent- meaning if you want to take full advantage of all the coming Messiah (Jesus Christ) wants to present to you, first repent. Peter’s first message on the day of Pentecost to the Jews was: Repent. Paul’s message to the Gentiles in all the places he travelled to, also included: “repent “
What happened to the message of repentance? Has it become too sensitive? Is it scrapped from most of the syllabuses in the Theological and Bible colleges? Who still dares preaching it today? And if we knowingly live in sin, can we just brush off repentance like an outdated word not relevant to us anymore, banking and hoping that our good deeds and tithes will still give us a place Up in the Heavenlies once we get there?
Let’s start with a sobering warning and parable of Jesus Himself (Repent or Perish- The barren Fig tree) Luk 13:1-9 -- which probably is often misunderstood or brushed off that it does not include us as Christians. Here just the footnote on it.
“We see here that both repentance and fruitfulness is required- Our Lord did not hesitate to hang great lessons on passing events. It is a great art to lead men’s thoughts from the outward (seen) and temporary to the unseen and eternal. God often gives us texts in the happenings of His protective care. When men’s hearts are awed and softened there is a clearly visible opportunity for striking home.
We have no right to suppose that sudden disasters prove the presence of special sin in those who are involved in them. There are consequences of sin in this life, in the natural set of related events These are not “some sudden act of God”. Accidents are not necessarily punishments, and we who witness the sad fate of others have no right to congratulate ourselves on our moral or spiritual superiority. Instead of judging others, let us look to ourselves and repent of our own wrong doings.
The parable of the fig-tree, with its three years of effort to secure fruitfulness, was intended primarily for the Jewish nation favoured with our Lord’s three years of ministry. But it is of universal application. God is always seeking fruit; love is ever pleading, but sometimes is with holding His protection. Because no matter what proof He gives us of His love, we still go on in our stubborn ways without fruit of repentance, not becoming a reflection of Him and certainly no fruit of helping others turn towards Him.
Here some key thoughts from Francis Dixon
“Anyone who has any doubts as to the importance of the doctrine of repentance needs only to read the sober words of our Lord Jesus Christ recorded in the above Gospel. The Bible is full of this subject, and the word is used over one hundred times – Sixty four times in the Old Testament and fifty-eight times in the New Testament alone. Yet, someone has rightly said of repentance that it is “the missing note in modern evangelism.” It was the key-note of New Testament preaching. Repentance leading to FAITH is everywhere laid down in the Bible as the condition of salvation.
REPENTANCE IS NOT any of the following 5 by itself but should include all of them plus the 3 changes mentioned after that.
1. Only conviction of sin is not repentance.
2. Merely sorrow for sin is not repentance.
3. Just the hatred of sin is not repentance. Repentance includes this, but it is possible to loathe sin and yet not to turn from it. Hating sin alone is not repentance.
4. Simply promising to be better is not repentance. Many people make a life-long habit of doing this. “The way to Hell is paved with good intentions.”
5. Purely turning from one sin is not repentance. To cut out the root of sin is needed.
REPENTANCE should be to turn from sin and dedicate oneself to the betterment of our lives which includes also all of the following three together: 1) an intellectual experience (change of understanding or one’s mind); 2) An emotional change; it is a change of feeling – an emotional experience; 3) A volitional experience it is a change of purpose; and it is a change of conduct- a moral experience (which has to do with submitting our will to His Will)
Let’s live lives of gratitude, forgiveness but also repentance. It should be a modern word and lifestyle if we truly want to live a life of freedom in this life and the life to come.
Be blessed as you seek repentance so you can live in that Glorious Grateful life He all wants us to walk in! Now and when your life is done.
Akhrienuo