Word for Today, Thu, 07 Oct 2004: Repent and Be Saved

#1 · October 7, 2004, 12:01 pm

Quote from Forum Archives on October 7, 2004, 12:01 pm
Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Word for Today, Thu, 07 Oct 2004: Repent and Be Saved
Dear friends,

Today's devotional message comes from Crosswalk - Harvest Daily
Devotional. It is about remorse and repentance. A true
Christian has a change of heart. Most people sense remorse when
they do something wrong, but it does not necessarily lead to a
changed heart, a change of attitude, and a change of choices.
The Christian life is a life of gratitude, in which the believer
is grateful for being loved and forgiven. That grateful heart
develops a desire, not only to be sorry and have remorse for sins
and failures, but a desire to repent, that is, to turn away from
past actions. It's not always easy or automatic, and we often
don't get it right even after desiring to change. But the change
of heart and mind is there. Through the constant renewal of
mind, attitude, and choices, real change is possible. Effective
change is Spirit inspired.

Please continue to pray for me. Way back on September 16, I
contracted something that developed into a high fever, then led
to what I thought was bronchitis. I was treated once, was out
of work a couple of days, returned, and thought I was on the
mend. Instead, things got progressively worse. Last Thursday,
September 30, I barely made it home from work. My wife found me
sitting on our couch with all color drained from my face and
breathing with difficulty. She took me to the local emergency
room, where I had oxygen for around four hours. I was diagnosed
with Pneumonia and given a new round of treatment. I will be
out of work for the remainder of this week, hopefully returning
to work next Tuesday. I have to proceed forward with caution,
taking things slowly. It is easy for illness to happen again
after a bout of Pneumonia. Please pray that that my recovery is
effective in restoring my body to health.

My family has been struggling financially for over three years
now. I had a nice career in the software profession that was
abruptly interrupted in June 2001. Finding suitable jobs with
sufficient income to support my family of five has been an issue
ever since that time.

I've been looking at my passions. Do I want to remain working in
the computer industry? That would be nice, it would be the best
way to provide for my family. Can I do anything else? Clearly,
yes. I've scrapped, attempting to sell appliances, provide
evening technical support for low cost software, and I work part
time for my friend, Larry Davies. I know in my own heart that I
have poured everything possible into each endeavor.

Where will it all lead? I may have to start over, but I have
done so several times. I realize I can write, I can teach, I can
counsel, and I still have pretty good software skills. One thing
that I know for sure. I have been giving my life for Christ
every day. I just realized in the wee hours of this morning that
wherever I go, I do have to make my own steps. I can't just let
anything just come to me (though in a few ways, there have been
some things come to me). My heart's desire is not to become
wealthy in the ways of the world, but to simply provide for my
family so that I can offer every area of my life to Christ,
uninhibited. Bloom where you are planted - I'm sure doing that.

My heart still wants to find a stable day time job so that I can
continue to pour out my life, my family, my friends, and various
ministries to others.

When my obituary is written one day, I want it to say that here
is a faithful man who pursued God, loved people, and tried to
make a real difference in life and work, no matter what it is.

Yours in Christ,
Brian

____________________________________________________________

Harvest Daily Devotional

October 6
"Repent and Be Saved"

"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 ... " -Acts 3:19

A vast difference exists between the words remorse and
repentance. It is important that we understand this
difference. People are sorry when their sin catches up with
them. People feel remorse when they begin to reap what they
sow. But remorse doesn't necessarily mean that someone has
repented. The Bible says godly sorrow leads to repentance. If
you are truly sorry, you will not only have remorse for your
sins, you will repent and change your behavior.

Too many people have a false assurance that they are Christians
because they posses a sense of remorse for their sins, even
though they never repent. The Bible clearly says, "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" (Acts 3:19). The word repent means to change direction.
But we have people today who theoretically come to Christ
without ever changing their lifestyle. They have never
repented. They will say, "But I was sorry for what I did," and
then they keep sinning like nothing ever happened. What kind of
sorrow is that?

C. S. Lewis wisely observed, "Repentance is no fun at all. It's
something harder than merely eating humble pie. It means
unlearning the self-conceit and self-will we have been training
ourselves into for thousands of years." This stark contrast
between remorse and repentance should be a warning to us in the
church. Let us never passively soak in the truth without any
real intent to apply it. I plead with you today, if you are
living in some form of habitual sin, for your own sake, repent
and be converted.

Copyright 2004 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright
1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights
reserved. Bible text from the New King James Version is not to
be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as
permitted in writing by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Attn: Bible Rights
and Permissions, P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214-1000.

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Home page: www.geocities.com/masinick/

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Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Word for Today, Thu, 07 Oct 2004: Repent and Be Saved
Dear friends,

Today's devotional message comes from Crosswalk - Harvest Daily
Devotional. It is about remorse and repentance. A true
Christian has a change of heart. Most people sense remorse when
they do something wrong, but it does not necessarily lead to a
changed heart, a change of attitude, and a change of choices.
The Christian life is a life of gratitude, in which the believer
is grateful for being loved and forgiven. That grateful heart
develops a desire, not only to be sorry and have remorse for sins
and failures, but a desire to repent, that is, to turn away from
past actions. It's not always easy or automatic, and we often
don't get it right even after desiring to change. But the change
of heart and mind is there. Through the constant renewal of
mind, attitude, and choices, real change is possible. Effective
change is Spirit inspired.

Please continue to pray for me. Way back on September 16, I
contracted something that developed into a high fever, then led
to what I thought was bronchitis. I was treated once, was out
of work a couple of days, returned, and thought I was on the
mend. Instead, things got progressively worse. Last Thursday,
September 30, I barely made it home from work. My wife found me
sitting on our couch with all color drained from my face and
breathing with difficulty. She took me to the local emergency
room, where I had oxygen for around four hours. I was diagnosed
with Pneumonia and given a new round of treatment. I will be
out of work for the remainder of this week, hopefully returning
to work next Tuesday. I have to proceed forward with caution,
taking things slowly. It is easy for illness to happen again
after a bout of Pneumonia. Please pray that that my recovery is
effective in restoring my body to health.

My family has been struggling financially for over three years
now. I had a nice career in the software profession that was
abruptly interrupted in June 2001. Finding suitable jobs with
sufficient income to support my family of five has been an issue
ever since that time.

I've been looking at my passions. Do I want to remain working in
the computer industry? That would be nice, it would be the best
way to provide for my family. Can I do anything else? Clearly,
yes. I've scrapped, attempting to sell appliances, provide
evening technical support for low cost software, and I work part
time for my friend, Larry Davies. I know in my own heart that I
have poured everything possible into each endeavor.

Where will it all lead? I may have to start over, but I have
done so several times. I realize I can write, I can teach, I can
counsel, and I still have pretty good software skills. One thing
that I know for sure. I have been giving my life for Christ
every day. I just realized in the wee hours of this morning that
wherever I go, I do have to make my own steps. I can't just let
anything just come to me (though in a few ways, there have been
some things come to me). My heart's desire is not to become
wealthy in the ways of the world, but to simply provide for my
family so that I can offer every area of my life to Christ,
uninhibited. Bloom where you are planted - I'm sure doing that.

My heart still wants to find a stable day time job so that I can
continue to pour out my life, my family, my friends, and various
ministries to others.

When my obituary is written one day, I want it to say that here
is a faithful man who pursued God, loved people, and tried to
make a real difference in life and work, no matter what it is.

Yours in Christ,
Brian

____________________________________________________________

Harvest Daily Devotional

October 6
"Repent and Be Saved"

"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 ... " -Acts 3:19

A vast difference exists between the words remorse and
repentance. It is important that we understand this
difference. People are sorry when their sin catches up with
them. People feel remorse when they begin to reap what they
sow. But remorse doesn't necessarily mean that someone has
repented. The Bible says godly sorrow leads to repentance. If
you are truly sorry, you will not only have remorse for your
sins, you will repent and change your behavior.

Too many people have a false assurance that they are Christians
because they posses a sense of remorse for their sins, even
though they never repent. The Bible clearly says, "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" (Acts 3:19). The word repent means to change direction.
But we have people today who theoretically come to Christ
without ever changing their lifestyle. They have never
repented. They will say, "But I was sorry for what I did," and
then they keep sinning like nothing ever happened. What kind of
sorrow is that?

C. S. Lewis wisely observed, "Repentance is no fun at all. It's
something harder than merely eating humble pie. It means
unlearning the self-conceit and self-will we have been training
ourselves into for thousands of years." This stark contrast
between remorse and repentance should be a warning to us in the
church. Let us never passively soak in the truth without any
real intent to apply it. I plead with you today, if you are
living in some form of habitual sin, for your own sake, repent
and be converted.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright
1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights
reserved. Bible text from the New King James Version is not to
be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as
permitted in writing by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Attn: Bible Rights
and Permissions, P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214-1000.

>>>>>> Share the good news <<<

Please forward this message to a friend!

____________________SUBSCRIPTION INFO_______________________

=====
--
Brian Masinick, mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: http://www.geocities.com/masinick/

_______________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Declare Yourself - Register online to vote today!
vote.yahoo.com