Recently, I’ve been studying the Jewish roots of many of Jesus’ parables.
And I came across an interesting saying from a Jewish Rabbi that I believe has something to teach us.

Rabbi Eliezer said, “Repent one day before your death.”

His disciples asked him, “Does then one know what day he will die?”

“Then all the more reason to repent today”, he replied, “lest he die tomorrow, and thus his whole life is spent in repentance.”

When I first became a believer-
I thought by simply dealing with my outward sins that I could live a state of sinlessness.

But it wasn’t long before the Lord began revealing and dealing with my inward sins and attitudes.

Now, and the longer I walk with Him, I understand more and more the meaning of daily repentance!

If we truly want to be free and walk in His liberty-
– we cannot avoid this crucial requirement for freedom.

Because we cannot receive His forgiveness without it-
– repentance must be a way of life for us. 1 John 1:9.

Staying close to the Lord is His heart’s desire for us-
– but one of the main conditions for it is walking in regular repentance.

When we walk in humility and truthfulness about our sin-
– we are walking in the light, and the blood of Jesus keeps cleansing us from sin. 

So, let’s lay down our pride and turn to Him every day, with genuine repentance!

(PR)

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“Return, Israel, to the Lord your God.Your sins have been your downfall! Take words with you and return to the Lord. Say to him: “Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously, that we may offer the fruit of our lips.” Hosea 14:2.

How do we deal with demandingness?  

We must repent of it. 

Our passage today tells us how.  

First:

Return! 

“Return to the LORD.”  

The key to ridding ourselves of anything that is spiritually injurious is to return to God.  

The pursuit of God involves a shift away from dependence on one’s own resources to dependence on God.  

Doing good and correcting wrong behavior does not automatically make us good people.  

Obedience is extremely important, but it must be accompanied by deep, heart repentance. 

Second:

Repent! 

The passage says: “Take words of repentance with you.” 

This phrase means that we must put into words a clear description of what we are repenting of.  

If we are not clear about what is going on inside us, how can we repent of it?  

Next: 

Receive! 

“Forgive all our sin.” 

Repentance puts us in touch with God’s forgiveness.  

We can work to bring about change also-

– but the greatest catalyst for change is humbly positioning ourselves before God and asking for His forgiveness. 

Then: 

Rejoice! 

“Accept what is good, so that we may repay You with praise from our lips.” 

The thought here is: 

“Receive us that we may worship You more effectively.” 

The purpose of all restoration is to worship God.  

We will be drawn into true worship when we give up insisting on our own way and learn to trust God for our own happiness.  

When repentance moves us from a spirit of demandingness to absolute trust in God-

– then we are in the place where God is able to make our feet like “hinds’ feet,” 

– and equip us with the ability to ascend into the heights with Him. 

“Tender and skillful Invader of my heart, I yield my stricken being to You for healing. Drain every drop of demandingness from my being. For I want not only to be better but to be whole. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.” 

(PA)

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If you have ever watched soldiers doing close-order drill on a parade field-
– you know how quickly they can reverse themselves and head in the opposite direction.
If they attempt this while standing still-
– the command is “about face.”
If they want to reverse while marching-
– the command is “to the rear, march.”
In either case, there is an abrupt change leading in an entirely different direction.
This is a good picture of what genuine repentance looks like.
It means to change one’s mind and start moving the opposite way.
One of the Bible’s greatest preachers of repentance was John the Baptist-
– who called his hearers to a complete “about face.”
He had seen too many shallow gestures where people pretended to repent-
– but were not willing to change their behaviour.
John insisted that those who exhibited only superficial contrition should instead “bear fruits in keeping with repentance.” Luke 3:8.
When his listeners asked what he meant by that-
– they were told to share their food and clothing,
– to be fair in their business practices,
– and to be content with their wages.
In other words-
– they were to change their ways and
– leave their old patterns of behaviour behind.
Repentance includes something else

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“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,The people He has chosen as His own inheritance.”

“Jesus answered and said…if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.” Matthew 21:21.

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“Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began” (Acts 3:19-21).
The word for “restitution” in this passage is the Greek word-
“Apokatastasis”.
This is the one and only place it is found in the New Testament.
The word literally means to “restore again” or “to repair”.
The plan of God in sending His Son Jesus was to restore that which had been broken and ruined.
The Lord’s saving work is a global repair job.
Each one of us has come to Him already ruined by sin.
But God’s will and His promise is to restore and renew us through His Son.
This restoration process isn’t a one sided affair.
Having been initiated by the Lord-
– it requires of us humans,
– one essential response, that is,
– repentance!
The passage above draws a clear parallel between repentance and refreshing.
Anyone who has walked with the Lord for a while knows this well.
Repentance brings refreshment, over and over again.
Allow yourself to be refreshed.
Seek the Lord today and let Him show you where you need repentance.
Then, go ahead and make the turn.
And watch how quickly and beautifully you’ll be-
– restored, repaired and refreshed.
Make it a daily habit!
And you’ll find yourself in the stream that leads to eternal life!
(PR)

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