God's Call to Genuine Repentance

READ | 2 Corinthians 12:20-21
On a high shelf sits a clear glass jar half full of cookies, and six-year-old Todd is determined to have one. So when his mom walks into the kitchen a few minutes later, she finds the boy standing on the counter— one arm still in the jar—chewing fast. The first words out of his mouth are, "I'm sorry." He is obviously sorry mom caught him, and he's unhappy about the punishment that he expects. But Todd is probably not actually feeling remorseful for eating the cookies.

Believers sometimes approach confession and repentance the same way. In prayer, we get comfortable confessing and expecting forgiveness. Sorrow usually accompanies the guilty admission, and feelings of shame and remorse are labeled as repentance. What we must ask ourselves is, Why are we ashamed? Too often our guilt has shallow roots. We're sorry to have been caught or sad over the consequences of our actions. At times we are upset that we've failed to live up to our own standards of good behavior. But genuine repentance goes deeper than self-reproach; it involves a sense of grief over having wronged God by sinning against Him.

Remorse is not the end of the story. Children of God want to please their heavenly Father, not grieve Him. So the repentant man or woman will feel driven to make a lasting change in attitude or behavior— the choice will be made to forsake the sin and practice obedience. In response to true repentance, the Holy Spirit pours His power and strength into the believer to stand against Satan's temptation.

Rekindling the Flame

1 Timothy 4:14-16 Sadly, a believer's passion to serve the Lord and share the gospel sometimes fades. When this happens, some choose to settle for a lukewarm life. They neither risk much for His name nor receive many blessings. Others stop ministering altogether and drift aimlessly through life. But the wise choice is to rekindle the flame of passion that first lit when we received salvation. When we were saved, we received the gift of the Holy Spirit, our Helper in ministry. But wrong choices and poor priorities can hinder His power in our life. If that happens, how can we renew our passion for God? The first step is to pray for the Holy Spirit to fill?or control?us again. That requires self-examination and repentance of any sins the Lord brings to mind. It also means giving back to God the right to reign over our life. Next, think about what was and what wasn't happening in life when our passion last burned brightly. Understanding how external pressures and activities affect our ministry helps us prioritize wisely. A smart last step is to retreat and devote a day or more to refocus on the Lord. This is a good time to recall His words of encouragement from Isaiah 41:10. In that way, we can resist fixating on problems. Instead, it's important to remember that He'll shepherd us through any trial. The more we focus on God, the smaller our distractions and stress will seem. We don't need to settle for a lukewarm life. The passion we experienced at salvation can be ours again if we'll fix our focus on the Lord.