God's Response
Prayer 365 // The Rhythm of Repentance (Day 4)
“This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.” - 1 John 1:5-10 NLT
This week’s theme for our devotion is The Rhythm of Repentance. So far we’ve talked about repentance being the secret sauce to our success, more than an apology and leads to a heart change. Now that we’ve talked about our part, I want to take time to express to you God’s part. Today we’re going to focus on God’s response. What is God’s response to repentance? We find this in 1 John 1:9 (NLT) where it says "But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.” You see, when we repent, we are met with God’s response. His response is His faithfulness. Faithfulness is His rhythm. We gain access to rhythm of God’s faithfulness through the act of repentance.
When we say that God is faithful, what does that mean? It means God is constant, dedicated, and devoted to you. He is loyal — He won’t turn His back on you. He is dependable — He’s not like our friends that may or may not show up on time. He is steady, unwavering, unhesitating, and trustworthy — all of this relates to God’s faithfulness. Say it out loud, “God is faithful!” That’s His rhythm, that’s His response to our repentance. He’s not looking at us with a condescending demeanor, He’s not waiting to say, “I told you so” nor “What took you so long?” Instead, He is ready to meet us with His faithfulness! As long as we maintain the rhythm of repentance, making it our lifestyle, we will always be met with the rhythm of His faithfulness.
Not only is He faithful, but He’s just — meaning He’s righteous, there’s nothing defective about Him. And as a just God, He’s a keeper of His promises. Say it out loud, “God is a just God, and a keeper of His promises.” God is going to keep His promises! When He gave Jesus as the sacrifice, as the perfect atonement for our sins, He didn’t go back on His word. He doesn’t show favoritism or subjectivity when it comes to forgiving our sins, meaning "I’ll forgive this but not that.” No! Understand that the blood of Jesus, which is the love of God manifested, it covers a multitude of sins and faults. When I say a multitude, we’re talking about the sins of the entire world — the past sins and the future sins. He died for you before you took your first breath! He died for you before you made your first mistake! The blood of Jesus had already paid for that! That was a promise! A promise through His blood! A promise that was established from the Garden of Eden and it still has the same power today in 2020. Yes, God is a keeper of His promises.
So what is He faithful to do? What is He just to do? To forgive us. Yes, God desires to forgive you. Forgiveness is just on the other side of our repentance. This is why we shouldn’t wait to repent, why we shouldn’t allow it to go so long. This is why we shouldn’t be slowful or feel hesitant. No, God is faithful! He’s ready to forgive you if you would simply repent. He’s ready to forgive you and cleanse you of all unrighteousness. He’s ready to make you whole again, to make you right again. Not because of what you can do (there’s nothing we can do to make us righteous), but righteous because the sacrifice of His son — righteous because of our faith in Jesus.
My prayer for you is that through walking in the rhythm of repentance that you would receive the rhythm of God’s faithfulness. Because that’s His response! He’s faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us of all unrighteousness.
Prayer Focus: To maintain the rhythm of repentance and receive the rhythm of God’s faithfulness.
I’m praying for you and with you,
Pastor Enrique Brooks
This week’s theme for our devotion is The Rhythm of Repentance. So far we’ve talked about repentance being the secret sauce to our success, more than an apology and leads to a heart change. Now that we’ve talked about our part, I want to take time to express to you God’s part. Today we’re going to focus on God’s response. What is God’s response to repentance? We find this in 1 John 1:9 (NLT) where it says "But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.” You see, when we repent, we are met with God’s response. His response is His faithfulness. Faithfulness is His rhythm. We gain access to rhythm of God’s faithfulness through the act of repentance.
When we say that God is faithful, what does that mean? It means God is constant, dedicated, and devoted to you. He is loyal — He won’t turn His back on you. He is dependable — He’s not like our friends that may or may not show up on time. He is steady, unwavering, unhesitating, and trustworthy — all of this relates to God’s faithfulness. Say it out loud, “God is faithful!” That’s His rhythm, that’s His response to our repentance. He’s not looking at us with a condescending demeanor, He’s not waiting to say, “I told you so” nor “What took you so long?” Instead, He is ready to meet us with His faithfulness! As long as we maintain the rhythm of repentance, making it our lifestyle, we will always be met with the rhythm of His faithfulness.
Not only is He faithful, but He’s just — meaning He’s righteous, there’s nothing defective about Him. And as a just God, He’s a keeper of His promises. Say it out loud, “God is a just God, and a keeper of His promises.” God is going to keep His promises! When He gave Jesus as the sacrifice, as the perfect atonement for our sins, He didn’t go back on His word. He doesn’t show favoritism or subjectivity when it comes to forgiving our sins, meaning "I’ll forgive this but not that.” No! Understand that the blood of Jesus, which is the love of God manifested, it covers a multitude of sins and faults. When I say a multitude, we’re talking about the sins of the entire world — the past sins and the future sins. He died for you before you took your first breath! He died for you before you made your first mistake! The blood of Jesus had already paid for that! That was a promise! A promise through His blood! A promise that was established from the Garden of Eden and it still has the same power today in 2020. Yes, God is a keeper of His promises.
So what is He faithful to do? What is He just to do? To forgive us. Yes, God desires to forgive you. Forgiveness is just on the other side of our repentance. This is why we shouldn’t wait to repent, why we shouldn’t allow it to go so long. This is why we shouldn’t be slowful or feel hesitant. No, God is faithful! He’s ready to forgive you if you would simply repent. He’s ready to forgive you and cleanse you of all unrighteousness. He’s ready to make you whole again, to make you right again. Not because of what you can do (there’s nothing we can do to make us righteous), but righteous because the sacrifice of His son — righteous because of our faith in Jesus.
My prayer for you is that through walking in the rhythm of repentance that you would receive the rhythm of God’s faithfulness. Because that’s His response! He’s faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us of all unrighteousness.
Prayer Focus: To maintain the rhythm of repentance and receive the rhythm of God’s faithfulness.
I’m praying for you and with you,
Pastor Enrique Brooks
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