Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Faith That Changes

As I studied for this past Sunday's sermon the same word kept coming to mind.  Repent.  I remember the first time I was taught about that word, I was a 4th grader at camp.  The counselors told us that to repent meant to switch teams.  It was like going from one side to the other.  It would be like doing what my dad did when he stopped cheering for the St. Louis Cardinals and became a Chicago Cubs fan.  He changed teams.  Too bad, it was to the wrong team.  To repent means to change. At camp, I thought to repent was a one time action.  I would do it once and I would be good.  Jesus and John the Baptist called people to repent during their ministries.  "Repent for the kindom of heaven is near."  I have learned since that time as a 4th grader that repentance is an ongoing process, not a one time action.  Jesus calls me to repent daily.  Each time I discover some area of my life that is not pleasing to Jesus, I repent.  I turn from that sin and I move back to God.  I repent.  God has been showing me lately that my I need to repent from fear.  I have been afraid of other people's opinions of me.  I have been afraid of speaking up and speaking out.  I have been reminded that I have no need to fear, so I repent from fear and turn back to God. 

What do you need to repent from? 

How can you make repentance an ongoing part of your life? 

Real Faith changes when it continually repents.

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