Dear Global Christian Warriors,
My friend Ian has written an excellent article on taking advantage TODAY to repent:
What does it mean to repent? How do we know if we are on the right track?
There is a saying that the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. There are many who call for us to turn to God and to repent of our sins. Effectively, they are saying that, whatever direction our individual journey has taken, the next single step should be to repent, to turn toward God and away from worldly pursuits. The bible is clear on this. Jesus said to ‘Love the Lord with all thy heart… and love thy neighbor as yourself.’ (Matthew 22). That’s all well and good if, on that critical next step on the journey, we make the affirmative choice to turn toward God. Unfortunately, the adversary woos us away from that choice every minute of every day.
We are tempted every minute of every day. The unparalleled access to information that exists today throws temptation in our faces at every turn. There is always something faster, better, stronger that we should buy (whether or not we have the money) and someone better-looking, smarter or healthier who we should emulate (or worship). In fact, the worse the choices someone makes means they should get more attention and adulation (watch any reality tv show). Even the government tells us to live in ungodly ways – don’t repay your debt, do what government says not what God says, etc., etc. This brings us back to the question of how we know what God wants us to do once we make the choice to serve Him and not the world.
God brought my attention to Psalms 12 through 15.
“Help, Lord; for the godly man ceaseth; For the faithful fail from among the children of men.” (Psalm 12:2)
“…Our tongue will we make mighty; Our lips are with us; who is lord over us?” (Psalm 12:5)
King David, an anointed of God, has troubles. He is surrounded by the worldly instead of the godly. They attack and justify themselves with their talk and convince others to follow them. I certainly see this failure everywhere I look today. Churches support things that are abominations to God. Secular leaders encourage indolence, lie to their constituents, and foist all manner of ungodly statutes upon us. It seems as though lawlessness knows no boundary nor does restraint have a place. The work of the wicked takes a toll on King David and on us.
“…Having sorrow in my heart by day? How long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?” (Psalm 13:3)
In these Psalms, King David is looking for answers. He struggles with the problems of his time (not to mention his own sins). There is some comfort that even King David faced issues like we face today. He needed guidance just like we do when there is so much evil in the world. And much of the world cheers for the evil doers. It is so easy to feel overwhelmed with what is occurring. Big tech and ‘mainstream’ media support the lawless and defame the righteous. When I talk to people, the common question is – What can one person do? Are we too late?
“The fool hath said in his heart: ‘There is no God’; They have dealt corruptly, they have done abominably; There is none that doeth good.” (Psalm 14:1)
It can feel like God has already judged us; that we fall short in so many ways. Yet, God understands that we all have to deal with our carnal nature and work to overcome it – or not. We have that choice to make. God wants us to make that choice. We struggle with our own strongholds. I feel like I ask forgiveness for the same things over and over.
As noted above, we all have to make the choice to serve God. Because of the ready availability of sinful pursuits, it is a choice we have to make EVERY DAY! We have to know what we are choosing by our behavior. It is not enough to choose God once and think the work is done.
“Shall not all the workers of iniquity know it … And call not upon the Lord? There are they in great fear; For God is with the righteous generation.” (Psalm 14:4-5)
God is with those who seek Him, who choose Him. He gave us the information we need to know what to do. It is all in the Bible – all of which is useful for instruction. For the Lord to help you, you have to do your part. You put forth the effort in whatever God has called you to then God makes the miracles happen. Do your part – repent (change), pray for God’s help and guidance so you can act according to His will, then see what God will do. This is the key. It is found throughout the Bible but is clearly stated in Psalm 15.
“Lord, who shall sojourn in Thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell upon Thy holy mountain?
He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness. And speaketh truth in his heart;
That hath no slander upon his tongue, nor doeth evil to his fellow, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor;
In whose eyes a vile person is despised, but he honoureth them that fear the Lord; He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not; He that putteth not out his money on interest, nor taketh a bribe against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved.” (Psalm 15)
Then, when you stumble – and we all stumble because we are not perfect – we need to confess our sins to God and ask his forgiveness. Turning to Psalm 32, King David gives us the benefit of confessing our sins so we can move on in doing God’s will.
“I said: ‘I will make confession concerning my transgressions unto the Lord’- and Thou, Thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. For this let every one that is godly pray unto Thee in a time when Thou mayest be found….” (Psalm 32:5-6)
The benefit of being honest with God and getting all the dirty laundry cleaned is that God forgives. We stumble. We repent. We re-affirm our choice to serve God not the world. God forgives. Don’t be fooled into thinking that a single choice to believe in or serve God is enough. Don’t let your journey wind up at the wrong destination because of a mis-step. There is a time limit when God may be found and provide His forgiveness. Don’t wait. This is why we have to choose God every day on our individual journey through life. Using God’s Word, we can all know how to do God’s will even if we do not know specifically what our calling is. Read the Bible then read it again until you understand it. Seek help only from those who preach the Bible. Seek God daily. Ask Him for forgiveness when you stumble. Do it now. Don’t wait for time to run out because TIME WILL RUN OUT!
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Do you see repentance as vital for our times? To our knowledge National Day of Repentance is the only Christian ministry focusing solely on personal and national repentance in every nation and applying it in our lives.
No church, no denomination supports us, only YOU! Though we work as volunteers, costs and requests for food pour in each day far beyond our capacity to fulfill these requests.
In Luke 8:3 we see three women who understood the mighty move of God in front of them and wished to provide "from their substance." The Lord Jesus tells us in John 14:12 that he who believes in Him will do greater works for the Kingdom because He is now with the Father. We believe this move of His Gift of Repentance, now bursting forth in Africa, is such a work.
Would you please pray for us? And then give from a cheerful heart as the Lord leads? THANK YOU!--whatever amount you give, we pray that you'll receive a blessing--- 2 Corinthians 8: 2-4 and Luke 8:3--- and Fruit that will abound to your spiritual account, Philippians 4:17.
God bless you.
Pastor Jeff Daly
National Day of Repentance
pastorjeff@repentday.com
you tube channel: national day of repentance
National Day of Repentance is a 501c3 tax exempt nonprofit organization
To strengthen your own times of repentance, do you want to find others also repenting near where you live, to join you in prayer? Please email us for information, pastorjeff@repentday.com. And please use our repentance materials on our website, www.repentday.com, and join us in our several weekly repentance calls, including a powerful 2 hour Africa Kneels zoom call on Thursdays. Email us for that information.
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