Repent
Y’ ever been goin somewhere, maybe on a vacation or business trip, the area totally unfamiliar, and you realize too late that you missed your exit ? Blood pressure and adrenaline spikes and you frantically search your gps or phone for the next exit to do a uey… but wait…there’s one o’ them crossovers that’s made for “emergency vehicles only” … well…do i – dont i – do i- dont i ??? Do they REALLY care if i use it ? I mean…it IS an emergency…sort of. So…after deliberating about it for a whole two seconds, you dart back into the fast lane and brake so hard that the folks behind you doing 75 haveta slam on brakes, almost creating a major accident, horns blasting and at least two of em shouting something inaudible while tellin you through sign language that you are “number one” in their books🙄. Well…at least you found your turn-around, albeit you almost kilt a family of five in the process. We’re quick to turn around when we’re going the wrong way because it just don’t make good sense to keep goin the wrong way; right ? So why is it we find it so hard to REPENT ? Shouldn’t it be the natural thing to do if we’re goin against God’s laws, commands, precepts or directives ? Do we give greater attention and credence to this world’s opinions, suggestions and bad habits, than we do t’ GOD…the Creator of all the heavens, the earth…and us ? Do we not realize that we were created “by GOD” primarily for “HIS pleasure”( Colossians 1:16 ) ? He could’ve made us puppets on strings, but He didn’t. He gives us free will to choose. Sure…He could make us do as He wishes, but He doesn’t. He knows that if we’ll trust Him and place our complete faith in Him, we’ll come t’ see that He is a loving GOD…the Friend a friend would love to have ( Hosea 6:6 ). He knows if we’ll test Him, we’ll see that He’s trustworthy and loyal. He ain’t out to kill our fun and make us boring…He’s all about havin fun and building relationships…and He’s got a great sense of humor … just look around you at some of the things and people He’s created 😉🤣( Jeremiah 29:11 ). The only time we’re exempt from “man’s law” is when it goes directly against “God’s law” ( Acts 5:29 ). God clearly states that we are to submit to the governing authorities, because they were established by Him ( Romans 13:1-7 )… and if we hold to those standards, and those governing authorities make laws that contradict God’s laws, then we hold “to the higher road”…God’s. We may face persecution or penalties, but at least we won’t dishonor GOD or go against His principles, His codes of conduct or standards of righteous living. In other words, that illegal uey went against state law as well as God’s directives…and im pretty confident that the po-po aint gon’ be lenient if we try the ol’, “ I was just repenting” excuse ! Wrong is wrong, no matter how we try to justify it ! I’m pretty sure, we do this quite often, so as to feel better about our sin. We dishonor and disrespect our spouses with our unkind words and rude behavior, and we say it’s because “they” made us … or it’s because “they” did the same thing. This behavior has never and will never line up with God’s word. Number one, it dishonors one of God’s kids ( how would you respond if someone was dishonoring one of your kids ? )… plus, God’s word says we are to love them like Christ loves His church ( Ephesians 5:25 ) … demonstratively , sacrificially and unconditionally. If both parties would try harder to commit to this one principle and let the Spirit lead, divorce lawyers would be looking for other work. Children are a blessing from God, whether they are ours or someone else’s. When we treat em as less, God ain’t pleased ! He’s already warned us that to abuse a child or direct them towards unrighteous behavior, is deserving concrete shoes while in deep waters ( Matthew 18:6 ). This goes not only for children, it relates to “baby / immature Christians.” God takes a hard stance on how we treat each other ! Anything we do that MISSES GOD’S MARK of PERFECTION, is “SIN”… period. If we’re as serious about repentance as GOD says we oughta be, then we WILL TURN AROUND … 180 degrees , and go GOD’S WAY !! Jesus says, “ Produce fruit in keeping with repentance “ ( Matthew 3:8 ). The fruit He’s referencing is “fruit of His Spirit”, “Spiritual fruit” ( Galatians 5:22-23 ) … we’ll never be deficient if we’ll produce, harvest and make this “fruit” a staple of our daily diet. “ Every tree ( vine ) that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire” ( Matthew 3:10 ). And who enjoys being burnt; right ? Therefore, “ Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near” ( Matthew 4:18 ) … nearer than we think ! Aintcha tired of pushin against the goads ( Acts 26:14 ) ? Google it…if you’re interested.