A Heart Change
Prayer 365 // The Rhythm of Repentance
“The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” - 1 Samuel 16:7 NIV
“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” - Psalms 51:10-12 NIV
This week we’ve been on this powerful theme titled “The Rhythm of Repentance.” I believe the rhythm of repentance is so essential because it’s something we should do daily. As you know, we do it as a part of our prayer but it’s not just simply a prayer but I believe it is also a lifestyle. It’s something we must engage in not just from the fruit of our lips but from the surrender of our hearts. Yes, it’s more than an apology, it’s the total life surrender and submission to the goodness of God.
Today I want you to know that the rhythm of repentance creates a heart change. I want you to say out loud, “God, change my heart.” For our devotion, we referenced 1 Samuel 16:7. You may be familiar with this text, this is where Samuel is about to anoint David as King, but when Samuel saw Eliab he thought that this has to be the one God has chosen as King, but God said “No, that’s not the one.” And the scripture says, “The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” I want you to know that one of the greatest enemies of repentance is the outward appearance.
Often we are busy trying to uphold an appearance or reputation that we’ve created for ourselves so we settle for the look of repentance rather than the essence of repentance. We choose an outward form of repentance rather than the true meat of repentance. In other words, I believe we’ve developed an affinity for appearance and have lost a value for authenticity. God is letting us know in this text that He’s not concerned with what people look at, He’s not looking at what you can see on the outside, but He’s most concerned with the heart. Jeremiah 17:9 says that “The heart is deceitful above all things." The only one that really knows what’s going on in the heart is God, so that's what gets His attention that's where His search begins.
So when a person has an affinity for the outward they will do things to appear repentant, to appear remorseful and apologetic. Some of those things include crying, perhaps a change of action, things that appear to be evidence of change. While some of those things may be good, they don’t necessarily qualify as true change. A person may look differently on the outside but has there been a change on the inside? Understand that God is not just concerned about your life (your visible actions), He’s concerned about your heart… because your life is a reflection of your heart.
This is shown to us in Proverbs 4:23 where the writer says “Keep your heart with all diligence. For out of it spring the issues of life.” Friend, that heart is the thing that God is after. This is why the psalmist, David, was specific in his request in saying, "Create in me a pure heart.” He’s saying "God, do something with this heart because if I try to change my actions without changing my heart, my actions will not be sustained." He goes on to say "renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.”
Something amazing happens when we give our hearts to God! Through Ezekiel, God describes this as a heart exchange where God takes our stony heart and replaces it with a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26). That is what happens! This is the ultimate effect of repentance! This is where God gives us a willing spirit, a spirit that will obey him. So we must understand that if our hearts change, our lives with change.
I want to close by saying this: some say that the best apology is changed behavior and I don’t necessarily disagree with this statement. However, I believe that changed behavior is only possible through a changed heart. My prayer for you is that you would not just experience an outward change in your life because that won’t last. But that you would experience an inward change through the heart. That’s what the rhythm of repentance is all about, that’s why we do it every day. Because we want our hearts to stay fully postured, perpetually positioned in a state of surrender towards God.
Prayer Focus: heart change.
I’m praying for you and with you,
Pastor Enrique Brooks
“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” - Psalms 51:10-12 NIV
This week we’ve been on this powerful theme titled “The Rhythm of Repentance.” I believe the rhythm of repentance is so essential because it’s something we should do daily. As you know, we do it as a part of our prayer but it’s not just simply a prayer but I believe it is also a lifestyle. It’s something we must engage in not just from the fruit of our lips but from the surrender of our hearts. Yes, it’s more than an apology, it’s the total life surrender and submission to the goodness of God.
Today I want you to know that the rhythm of repentance creates a heart change. I want you to say out loud, “God, change my heart.” For our devotion, we referenced 1 Samuel 16:7. You may be familiar with this text, this is where Samuel is about to anoint David as King, but when Samuel saw Eliab he thought that this has to be the one God has chosen as King, but God said “No, that’s not the one.” And the scripture says, “The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” I want you to know that one of the greatest enemies of repentance is the outward appearance.
Often we are busy trying to uphold an appearance or reputation that we’ve created for ourselves so we settle for the look of repentance rather than the essence of repentance. We choose an outward form of repentance rather than the true meat of repentance. In other words, I believe we’ve developed an affinity for appearance and have lost a value for authenticity. God is letting us know in this text that He’s not concerned with what people look at, He’s not looking at what you can see on the outside, but He’s most concerned with the heart. Jeremiah 17:9 says that “The heart is deceitful above all things." The only one that really knows what’s going on in the heart is God, so that's what gets His attention that's where His search begins.
So when a person has an affinity for the outward they will do things to appear repentant, to appear remorseful and apologetic. Some of those things include crying, perhaps a change of action, things that appear to be evidence of change. While some of those things may be good, they don’t necessarily qualify as true change. A person may look differently on the outside but has there been a change on the inside? Understand that God is not just concerned about your life (your visible actions), He’s concerned about your heart… because your life is a reflection of your heart.
This is shown to us in Proverbs 4:23 where the writer says “Keep your heart with all diligence. For out of it spring the issues of life.” Friend, that heart is the thing that God is after. This is why the psalmist, David, was specific in his request in saying, "Create in me a pure heart.” He’s saying "God, do something with this heart because if I try to change my actions without changing my heart, my actions will not be sustained." He goes on to say "renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.”
Something amazing happens when we give our hearts to God! Through Ezekiel, God describes this as a heart exchange where God takes our stony heart and replaces it with a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26). That is what happens! This is the ultimate effect of repentance! This is where God gives us a willing spirit, a spirit that will obey him. So we must understand that if our hearts change, our lives with change.
I want to close by saying this: some say that the best apology is changed behavior and I don’t necessarily disagree with this statement. However, I believe that changed behavior is only possible through a changed heart. My prayer for you is that you would not just experience an outward change in your life because that won’t last. But that you would experience an inward change through the heart. That’s what the rhythm of repentance is all about, that’s why we do it every day. Because we want our hearts to stay fully postured, perpetually positioned in a state of surrender towards God.
Prayer Focus: heart change.
I’m praying for you and with you,
Pastor Enrique Brooks
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