This is just to reiterate on my latest post, “My Wedding Date is set.”
But, first, let me say this: You have no idea how delighted I was when I opened up the page and read all the comments on my last post.
Your respectful tone and candid way of expressing your agreements/disagreements with the post are unparalleled and I applaud you all. Your spiritual and mental maturity was on a display for all to see. I learn a great deal from each comment; thank you!
I believe with all my heart that this is the only way we, the body of Christ, can learn from one another and grow into the fullness of Him who called us into His Kingdom.
I was also a bit disappointed to hear from the Admin of this page that some comments were actually deleted because they were not respectful and beneficial for anyone and few people who persisted on dropping curse words were banned from the page.
Well, I guess that is the game of social media.
Coming back to my latest post, I am planning and praying to make one video message about true and genuine repentance, what it means to “Turn Around” from our sinful ways. But for now, as a follow up to my latest post, let me say few things here:
True repentance comprises at least the following four important occurrences:
- Feeling guilty of our sin (be ashamed of our sin before God and man, without trying to down play it)
- Confessing our sin (naming it as it is; not in a general term but specific term) to God and others who can help us to come back to God
- Changing our life in a 180 degree direction, in a completely opposite direction from our past life
- Speaking against the sin we’ve committed, to rescue and save others (John 4, the story of the Samaritan woman). Even believing in Christ in our heart is not a good enough evidence for our salvation according to Romans 10:9; confession of our faith should follow our faith.
So, let’s say, a girl on the “My Wedding Date is set” post writes the following on her “To Do List”:
- Speaking to the cameraman
- Confirming the date with the limousine guy
- Choosing the color of the flower girls’ clothes
- And oops, going to my church with my fiancé to confess our sin
- Confirming the date with the party hall people
- Making sure the bridegroom’s tuxedo is ready for pick up
Do you see the problem with the above list?
Well, true repentance looks like this on a “To Do List”:
Matthew 26:6-7 – that is all!
What does Matthew 26:6-7 say?
“While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman (“sinful woman” according to Luke 7) came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table.”
My dearest, all the items on this sinful woman’s “To Do List” were in that perfume jar and she broke the jar and damped it all out and she said, “Here I am; I come to You as I am; please forgive me and take me in.”
In return, she received from Christ another “jar of perfume” which has a lasting aroma, aroma of life to those who are heading to life and aroma of death to those who are heading to death (2 Corinthians 2:15-16).
The Bible says, “Cast your bread on the surface of the waters, for you will find it after many days.” (Ecclesiastes 11:1)
If we “cast our bread” on the water, cancel and call it all off today, we will find “our bread” (the wedding ceremony and all) back again with holiness and purity; without any regret or shame attached to it. Why? Because “the water” takes it in and washes all the dirt and stain off and gives it back to us again. We lose nothing.
That is what turning around looks like. When we drop “our water jar” down, we only have one agenda on our “To Do List”, i.e. to get it all right with God. We won’t have any other agenda that precedes it or comes after it. That is what “Seeking the Kingdom of God first” looks like.