SCRIPTURE:
“Therefore, you Israelites, I will judge each of you according to your own ways, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, people of Israel? For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!”
Ezekiel 18:30-32
OBSERVATION:
At the end of the day, we will be responsible for the things that we have done. No one else can repent and turn from our offenses for us, we will need to do that ourselves. It’s a choice that we all have been given – stay in our sin and die, or repent and live. We get to choose.
APPLICATION:
As a child, the concept of good and evil was made clear to me. When I did something I wasn’t supposed to do, I would be disciplined for it. I wouldn’t be able to watch TV, ride my bike or play with my friends. No one else could receive the discipline for me, I would have to.
Having to watch as my friends got to play was difficult. It was torturous and felt like I was dying inside. It would often eat me up knowing that I did something wrong.
However, things would change the moment I would say I was sorry. It was as if a release happened and I could move forward. Did it take away the consequences? Absolutely not, but there was a freedom that I felt that came in apologizing, and saying I would do my best not to do it again. I didn’t understand it then, but that was repentance.
As an adult, we still feel those same feelings. When we do something wrong and sin and continue in that sin, there’s a dying that takes place within us. When we apologize and truly repent, it’s like new life springing forth.
We will make mistakes and we will sin; the question is what will we do after? The directive is clear – Repent and live.
PRAYER:
Father Almighty. Forgive me Lord for times when I have been slow to repent. Thank You Lord for wanting the best for me. May I always choose to repent that I may live, this I pray, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
