CHOOSING REPENTANCE – Part 1 of 3

EDITOR’S NOTE: Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, a season the Church sets aside for reflection, humility, and renewed dependence on God. When the ashes are placed on our foreheads, as will be done today in many churches around the globe, we’re reminded of two profound truths: our human frailty and God’s endless mercy. The ashes don’t shame us -- they invite us to honesty. They call us to repent -- to turn FROM the sinful patterns that pull us away from God and to return TO the One who welcomes us with grace.

CHOOSING REPENTANCE – Part 1 of 3

“Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.”  (Acts 3:19 NIV)

Many years ago, the following note in the thief’s handwriting was found in a stolen Trans Am returned by police to its owner in Los Angeles: “Your CB is in the trunk. The radio is out because I couldn’t stop my friend from taking it (insurance will cover radio). I’m sorry it had to be your car, but I was looking for one and the car lot left the key in and unattended. Your left back tire loses a little air at times. Your brake light comes on a lot and sometimes stays on when you drive (check your brakes.) I hope this didn’t put you out for me taking your car. I would have preferred a dealer’s car. But this was all that was available. Sorry (needs gas).”

Everyone -- including car thieves -- at one time or another faces moral failure. How do we deal with such failure? We have a choice. We can choose to ignore it or we can repent. Repentance is an attitude that chooses to confront sin rather than ignore it. And such an attitude choice is absolutely vital to our physical, emotional, and spiritual health.

Unfortunately, most of us have a limited view of repentance. We tend to think of repentance only in terms of salvation. The word repent conjures up images of some scraggly street preacher announcing the end of the world via a sandwich board. Yet, an examination of Scripture reveals that repentance is an attitude that is more characteristic of Christians than of non-Christians. It is not just a one-time action that ensures heaven after we die.  Instead, repentance is an attitude that confronts and deals with failure in every area of life. Martin Luther understood this truth. The first of the Ninety-five Theses he nailed to the church door in Wittenberg in 1517 read, “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘repent,’ He willed that the entire life of believers be one of repentance.” 

-- Adapted from “Choose Your Attitude, Change Your Life” (1992) by Robert Jeffress

#6309

ASH WEDNESDAY BEGINS OUR LENTEN JOURNEY

“From that time Jesus began to preach His message: ‘Turn away from your sins, because the Kingdom of heaven is near!’”  (Matthew 4:17)

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, a season of reflection, repentance, and preparation leading up to Easter. It is a time for Christians to turn their hearts toward God, acknowledging their sin and human frailty and seeking His grace and mercy.

Some churches use ashes on Ash Wednesday, typically made from the palm branches of the previous year's Palm Sunday. When applied to the forehead in the shape of a cross, or on the back of the hand, they serve as a visible reminder of our mortality and the need for repentance. The words often spoken during this ritual, "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return," echo the humility and dependence on God's forgiveness that this day symbolizes.

Ash Wednesday invites us to pause and consider the state of our hearts. It is a call to let go of sin, to seek reconciliation with God, and to embark on a spiritual journey of renewal. This day also encourages acts of charity, prayer, and fasting, helping us to draw closer to God and to our community.

As we begin this Lenten journey, let us reflect on our need for God's grace and commit to walking the path of repentance and transformation. May this sacred time be an opportunity for deepening our faith and embracing the hope and promise of resurrection in Christ. 

-- SOUND BITES Ministry, compiled from a variety of sources

#6065

REPENTANCE REQUIRES TRUST AND HUMILITY

If our problem is really sin – a fundamental breach in human existence – then repentance, not self-improvement is the first requirement. This is the biblical view of the foundations of morality. The prophets, John the Baptist, Jesus, and Paul all beckoned their hearers to a new life by calling them first to give up the old in repentance. (See Mark 1:15; Luke 13:3-5; Acts 26:20; Romans 2:4; 2 Corinthians 7:9-10.)  Repentance is the absolutely inescapable first step of the Christian moral life. Without repentance, the Christian moral life is impossible.

Repentance requires two things: humility and trust. Repentance requires the humility involved in the confession that I am a sinner, one whose life is not whole and who lacks the power both to find either the direction to wholeness or the resources for wholeness on my own. Repentance requires trust in God’s power that can and will ultimately sustain and establish me if I let go of myself into God’s powerful hands. Without both trust and humility, repentance is impossible. 

-- Adapted from “Vision and Character” by Craig R. Dykstra

#5794

LENT BEGINS

“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23 NIV)  “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23 NIV)

The Season of Lent is like a roller coaster ride with emotions that are down and up again and again as the story of our salvation makes plain our sinful ways and the cost of redemption. We begin with Ash Wednesday where we roughly bump up against our own mortality. Here we know that sin and death are real, and they are real not just for someone else. Sin and death are real for us. This is where we begin the Lenten Season, with our face pressed hard against the reality of our sin and our death. If we did not know how the story ends, this would be a dark and depressing journey. But we do know how the story ends and therefore in the midst of austerity and fasting we remember our faithful Savior and the Easter declaration that life is always victorious over death, always! 

-- Norman Shawchuck and Rueben P. Job in “A Guide to Prayer for All Who Seek God”

#5544

A SECOND CHANCE

“Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Jesus a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, ‘Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?’”  (John 8:3-5 NKJV)

I can’t imagine how the adulterous woman felt when she was about to be stoned. All eyes were glued on her, accusing her; and the crowd was playing judge, jury, and executioner. She must have felt alone and hated. She didn’t need accusers; she needed help and forgiveness.

Jesus told the crowd, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” (John 8:7b NIV) All eyes shifted to Jesus when He spoke up. Jesus reminded the people that they too were sinners. Thank God for Jesus, who saved her, forgave her, and offered her a second chance. When we fail, we can be glad that Jesus is ready to do the same for us.

Sometimes we follow the crowd and judge others because we don’t want to be associated with the person who did wrong. Instead, we should take a cue from Jesus and offer people mercy, kindness, and encouragement to change their lives for the better. Isn’t that what we want when we fail? 

-- Tim Carroll in “Devozine” magazine, May/June 2009

#5036

GOD’S TERRIFYING, LOVING PRESENCE

“The LORD delights in those who fear Him, who put their hope in His unfailing love.”  (Psalm 147:11 NIV)

The nice, non-threatening God needs to be replaced by the God whose very presence smashes our egos into dust, burns our sin into ashes, and strips us naked to reveal the real person inside.... It's time to become people whose God is big and holy and frightening and gentle and tender and ours; a God whose love frightens us into His strong and powerful arms where He dares to hold us in His terrifying, loving presence.

-- Michael Yaconelli in “Dangerous Wonder: The Adventure of Childlike Faith”


#4786

ASH WEDNESDAY: SIN, REPENTANCE AND ETERNAL LIFE

“Therefore, do not let sin exercise dominion in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions… But now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification. The end is eternal life.”  (Romans 6:12,22)

Apparently, some of the early Christians interpreted the new freedom that Paul talked about in a way that permitted them to do whatever they wished -- as long as they said they had faith. Paul practically accuses them of deliberately sinning in order to see how much grace God will bestow to counteract the sin. He asks, “Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound?” (Romans 6:1)

The apostle quickly answers his own question. “By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it?” (Romans 6:2) While the Christian is free of the ceremonial laws, there is no freedom for immorality or license. Such attitude and behaviors are inappropriate to the new life in Christ, just as they were to the old covenant. Sins are still acts to be avoided, dangers to be fought.

Paul maintains that justification has cleared the decks of a Christian’s past sins; these are no longer held against the faithful. But he has no sympathy for the notion that Christians are therefore free to do anything. Sin is still sin. Morality is still morality. God expects the best of those who claim the promise. 

-- William Carter in “Good News for God’s People: A Study of Romans” published by Abington Press


#4539

THE HEART OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE

This morning I meditated on God's eagerness to forgive me, revealed in the words of Psalm 103: "As far as the East is from the West so far does God remove my sin."  In the midst of all my distractions, I was touched by God's desire to forgive me again and again.  If I return to God with a repentant heart after I have sinned, God is always there to embrace me and let me start afresh.  "The Lord is compassion and love, slow to anger, and rich in mercy."

It is hard for me to forgive someone who has really offended me, especially when it happens more than once. I begin to doubt the sincerity of the one who asks forgiveness for a second, third, or fourth time. But God does not keep count.  God just waits for our return, without resentment or desire for revenge. God wants us home. "The love of the Lord is everlasting."

Maybe the reason it seems hard for me to forgive others is that I do not fully believe that I am a forgiven person.  If I could fully accept the truth that I am forgiven and do not have to live in guilt or shame, I would really be free.  My freedom would allow me to forgive others seventy times seven times.  By not forgiving, I chain myself to a desire to get even, thereby losing my freedom.  A forgiven person forgives.  This is what we proclaim when we pray: "…And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who have trespassed against us."

This lifelong struggle lies at the heart of the Christian life.

-- Henri Nouwen in “The Road to Daybreak”

#4276

THE NATURE OF REPENTANCE

“Perhaps you do not understand that God is kind to you so you will change your hearts and lives.”  (Romans 2:4)

No one is happier than the one who has sincerely repented of wrong. Repentance is the decision to turn from selfish desires and seek God. It is a genuine, sincere regret that creates sorrow and moves us to admit wrong and desire to do better.

It's an inward conviction that expresses itself in outward actions.

You look at the love of God and you can't believe He's loved you like He has, and this realization motivates you to change your life. That is the nature of repentance.

-- Max Lucado in Walking with the Savior


#4049