Words of Life for this week are:Repentance
What does it mean to repent? This is a biblical term that means we turn away from sin and turn to God. It’s like making a 180 degree turn. We go the opposite way we were going and turn towards God. If we were steeped in addictive behaviors, we stop, and turn toward God. If we are into a self- centered life that only tries to please the flesh, we stop, and start doing for others. The big question is, how do we pull this off. How do we make this change? This is huge change that cannot easily be done. The Bible says, we must do several things to pull this off. We must confess the Lord Jesus with our mouth. This means we call on his name. It means we say, dear Lord Jesus, please come into my heart, the center of who I am, and forgive me of my sin. I come to you and confess you are God. Take me into your arms of love and change me. This is a prayer of Faith. Faith is the next thing we must embrace. Ephesians 2:8says, “For my grace are you saved through faith…†You must believe and trust that Jesus will do what he says. Jesus said, “ I am the resurrection and the life, he that believeth in me though he were dead, yet shall he live..†We were all dead in our sins and when we confess the name of Jesus and believe in him by faith, we will be saved. We will have eternal life. We will have the power to repent. The ability to turn from an ungodly lifestyle comes by doing these two things. The third thing we must do to sustain living in repentance is to get around some people that believe in Jesus, read the bible regularly, and be in relationship with them. Start going to church consistently and see your life will change for the better. Everyone on the planet needs to repent, including Christians.
God bless you,
Pastor David Greenidge