112. REPENTANCE BRINGS BLESSINGS. Romans 2:4.

When you find yourself on the wrong side, re repentance (Saying Sorry) allows you to make a U-turn and head back in the right direction. And that’s a real Blessing. Now, saying sorry or repenting to God doesn’t increase His desire to be with you: It just increases your capacity to be with Him. Sometimes we think we need to repent because God is angry with us, and He needs time to “cool off”. Or we think of repenting as a way of punishing ourselves so that, perhaps God will be less severe with us. This sort of thinking is not true; or valid In God’s eyes. Because, that’s not repentance, it’s low self esteem, and low self esteem causes you to believe that you have so little worth or value that your response doesn’t matter. With real sorrow or repentance for what you have done however, you will understand that because you are valued and worth so much to God your response to Him means a great deal and is therefore very important to Him, Paul says in the above scripture, “God’s kindness is meant to lead us to repentance.” When you truly love God, your greatest concern should NOT be whether God will punish, hurt or stop loving you, but that your actions, verbals and behaviour may have hurt Him. That’s why your response is important. When David murdered Uriah after he had slept with his wife, he, went a whole year without repenting. During that time he had to force his mind not to think about what he had done. What a miserable year that must have been for him. That’s what “not repenting” does, it hangs around in your mind (Guilt) until it’s dealt with. In the end even Israel’s King couldn’t cope with his own guilt; not because of the sins or crimes themselves (which were bad enough) but because David knew he could not approach his God with a guilty conscience. It was that which kept him away from his God, and it’s the same guilt that will keep you and me away from our God as well, What he, David, couldn’t cope with You and I can’t either. If we truly love God...There is no sin, shame, disgrace or anything else we may encounter that we can’t talk to God about. And receive not only a sympathetic ear and forgiveness but also a solution to the problem. Almighty God cannot tolerate or acknowledge an unrepentant heart. So if you feel you are having trouble hearing from God, or making contact with Him, and you truly want to renew or resume your relationship with Him, come to the open arms of the Saviour like David did, ask Him to show you where you went wrong, and when He does, approach God with a repentant and sorrowful heart. David cried to God “My sin is always before me” and then with this prayer from (Psalm 51:3) he prayed “Cleanse me with Hyssop then I will be clean; Wash me and I will be whiter than snow…. Create in me a pure heart… Oh God...Restore to me the joy of your salvation” (Psalm 51:7,10-12). As a result, God forgave Him, wiping his slate clean. And David went on to be Israel’s greatest King. You see, repentance isn’t for God’s benefit No! On the contrary, we need Him. it’s for yours and mine. God doesn’t need us, He just wants to love us with an everlasting love. So the contrary applies, we need Him: And so desperately that we cannot continue to live a Spirit-filled life without Him. Therefore, He is looking for repentant people to love Him. Understand this:- It is impossible to love God fully without a regular examination and reassessment of one’s conscience. Beware, Satan is always ready, willing and able to pounce, He hates “Repentant Christians”. But God’s Holy Spirit will, (If we allow Him to) take us along that long sometimes difficult road through a lifetime of full repentance to that place where we hold absolutely nothing back from Our God, and our lives can be an open book before Him. A Christian once wrote; Sometimes, people are afraid that if they don’t change fast enough, God will get impatient with them. They may not personally use those words, but, their wondering thoughts go like this, How many sins do I have to commit before I have to start worrying about them? Is there a level of sin that is acceptable for a Christian? And if you go beyond it your in danger? - eg. is there a limit to impurity, just as there is an expiry date on the food and drug administration? Is the standard high like it is for Homogenised milk or is it like the standard of purity required for hamburgers with lots of room for junk stuff? Is it possible for a Christian to just never grow and still be one?.. The issue is not whether God will get tired of forgiving our sins, His forgiving is always the right response to sincere repentance. God is not worried that He might be taken advantage of. The danger isn’t that God won’t respond to honest repentance. The danger is that we might become so trapped in the dangerous thoughts sin inevitably produces that we become callus, complacent and simply unable to repent it’s because of this that ALL sin must be dealt with and taken seriously. Also sin is sin, there is no small, medium or large sizes. It’s our consciousness or awareness of sin that God is concerned with and how long we take to recognise and deal with it. That is what shows God just how seriously we value our relationship with Him. Some of you will remember the Julie Andrews song from “My fair Lady” “If your In Love Show\Me”. We have to show God and the rest of the world, just how much we truly Love Him. And Repentance is our first step. The next steps come almost automatically and are much easier. If you were invited to a Royal Garden party at the Palace, How small a stain would you permit on your dress or jacket. Would it concern the Royal personage? I don’t think so, But I’m sure it would ruin your entire afternoon!! Missionary Frank Laubach preached the gospel to a tribe that had a long history of bloodshed. The chief was so moved, he repented and accepted Christ on the spot then he turned to Laubach in appreciation and said “That was wonderful Now, who do you want me to kill for you today?” That was his starting point. Only God knows what everyone’s beginning will be. What’s yours? Make a start. Thank you for reading these few words on repentance. Yes, it takes Courage, time and Humility; all are absolutely necessary when approaching the throne-room of God for forgiveness. Without a repentant heart. Forgiveness can’t flow, and without forgiveness neither can true love. And the apostle John tells us, without love we cannot please God. So, the best way to practise repentance is to use it with our family, friends, neighbours and workmates. The more we use these abilities, the easier it becomes. I know this from personal experience. ‘Nothing is impossible with God ’. God bless, Phaline. ----------------------------

111 Overcoming Discouragement. Jeremiah 12.17.

If you are wrestling with an issue, and feel discouraged, Here is what you can do; First take a short look at the problem. Someone once said, “To hatch despair, just brood over your troubles.”!! Many people who experience setbacks ask why, but they never move beyond the question to the answer. No one can solve their problems by ignoring them, and neither can they be solved by becoming fixated and immobilised by them. Once you recognise and analyse the problem, you need to focus on the solution. Secondly, take a good, long look at the possibilities. Sometimes the problem you face helps you to see possibilities you didn’t know existed. When Louis Waterman needed to sign a document to seal an agreement, The pen he was using wouldn’t write, As a result Waterman worked on producing the first “Fountain Pen” which made him a millionaire. A culture Alexander Fleming was working on in St Mary’s Hospital in London was altered when a mould was accidentally introduced into it. But the result gave berth to the miracle drug “Penicillin”, thereby saving millions of lives. It’s very likely that if you are facing something negative today, there is an opportunity contained in it somewhere or somehow. It may not be easy to find, and it may not lead to a major breakthrough like it did for Waterman and Fleming. But then again – it might!! – especially if it causes you to turn to God for answers. In the words of (Jeremiah 32:17) “Ah Sovereign Lord, You have made the Heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for You.” To overcome discouragement, you can do two things. (1) Speak the right words:- One of the main causes of discouragement is negative self-talk. In his book “Spiritual Depression” Heart surgeon Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones writes “Most of the unhappiness in your life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself.” by that he means, we allow negative messages from our past to affect our thinking, instead of actively telling ourselves good things that will help us think more positively As Paul tells us in (Philippians 4:8) “Fix your thoughts on what is true and honourable, and right and pure and lovely and admirable. And think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” Don’t just think those thoughts, speak them out loud, words are powerful, they can reinforce your fears or strengthen your faith. The choice is yours. (2) Maintain the right expectations. Clergyman J. Wallace Hamilton once observed; “Every person’s life is a diary in which he or she means to write one story and is forced to write yet another.” Have you found that to be true in your own experience? So often life turns out so differently from what you planned. But here’s the good news; The story you write can actually be better than the one you imagined. - But you need to have the right expectations. Bill and Gloria Gather wrote the uplifting song lyrics “I anticipate the inevitable supernatural intervention of God, I expect a miracle” What are you anticipating from God today? Before you answer that question, Pick up your Bible and see what God has promised you and say “Oh Lord God, I humbly ask your favour to give me what I ask of you today, but only if it will, not in any way damage or weaken my relationship with you. In Jesus name I pray. To identify the source of your discouragement, it’s good to get insight and guidance. But you can talk so much and get nowhere. James (1:22 says “Be doers of the word, not just hearers only, thus deceiving yourselves.” So, (1|. Always do what is right. Few things increase discouragement like regret or a guilty conscience. Yes, It’s tough to apologise, admit you faults, forgive, restrain your temper, bear a deserved blame or start over again. But deciding to do so when they are appropriate always pays off. Be willing to view your life realistically, see yourself as you are, accept what you see and what is true. Only then will you be in a position to do something about it. (2) Remember, timing is important. Often we look for relief in the valley instead of waiting on the clarity that comes from standing on the mountaintop. That’s because it takes a lot of effort to get to the top of the mountain when we are experiencing the darkness of the valley. It’s tempting to make changes we hope will relieve our discomfort. But as Dr. Robert Schuller says “When you are on the top of the proverbial mountain… Is the time to make decisions. And here is why...You see your situation more clearly. You are moving to something, not just from something. You are deciding using positive data, not negative. Doing it this way, you are more likely to move from peak to peak rather than from valley to valley. On the other hand if you persevere while you are in the valley, you will make it to higher ground where you can make wiser decisions and develop your character which will serve you well through life. Thank you for reading these thoughts on “Overcoming Discouragement” I’m no professional... But... I know that our God is an encouraging God. And will come to our aid when we ask Him to. He wants us to succeed in life, in whatever area He has placed us. And as long as we put Him first in all our endeavours He will be right there with us in every venture.. So before starting any new projects or continuing existing ones, talk to the God who has all the answers and seek His advice and wisdom with diligence.. God Bless. Phaline. ----------------------