Repent – January 19, 2020
Command: repent
Revelations 2: 5
5‘Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent.
Story: Israel repents
Ezra 10:1-4
1Now while Ezra was praying and making confession, weeping and prostrating himself before the house of God, a very large assembly, men, women and children, gathered to him from Israel; for the people wept bitterly. 2Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, said to Ezra, “We have been unfaithful to our God and have married foreign women from the peoples of the land; yet now there is hope for Israel in spite of this. 3“So now let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives and their children, according to the counsel of my lord and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law. 4“Arise! For this matter is your responsibility, but we will be with you; be courageous and act.”
Acts 3:19
19“Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord;
2 Corinthians 7:10
10For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.
When meditating on the commands and stories, keep these questions in mind:
- What do I learn about God, Jesus, and/or the Holy Spirit?
- What do I learn about man/ people?
- What troubles or bothers me? What does the Holy Spirit reveal to me in light of this?
- How does the command connect to the story?
- What is God saying to me (or what should I obey) & what am I going to do about it?
- Do I have any fears, doubts, or resistance in keeping this command?
- What does this command reveal about the condition of my heart – what do I really believe and what do I really want?