Repentance Restores Relationship
Prayer 365 // The Rhythm of Repentance (Day 5)
“Because of this decision we don’t evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly don’t look at him that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We’re Christ’s representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them. We’re speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he’s already a friend with you.” - 2 Corinthians 5:16-20 MSG
This has been a powerful week of devotion and prayer as we've navigated through the theme: The Rhythm of Repentance. Day 1, we discovered that repentance is the Secret Sauce to our success. Day 2, we learned that repentance is more than an apology, it's a total life surrender. Day 3, we discussed how repentance doesn't simply produce a life change, but a heart change produces change in our lives. Day 4, we took a close look at God's response to repentance, which is found in His faithfulness. On the final day of this week of devotion I want to share with you this truth: Repentance Restores Relationship.
It’s by grace that we’re able to receive this new life in Jesus Christ. I believe choosing Jesus, in it self, is an act of repentance — acknowledging the need and receiving Him as savior of our lives. Through this submission to Jesus, we receive new life and a fresh start and all of this "comes from God who settled the relationship between us and him.” This shows us that repentance restores relationship.
When we look at the word restore, it means to bring back to a former state. This means that God is restoring a relationship that pre-existed. For the person who believes they’ve never had a relationship with God I want to point your attention to a conversation God had with a young prophet in Jeremiah 1:5 where He tells Jeremiah, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you...” The word used here for knew describes a deep sense of intimacy. Whether you believe it or not, you were in relationship with God, spiritually, before the foundation of the earth. He knew you. But when we entered into this earth through flesh, we became separated because of sin and it’s God’s desire to restore that original relationship. This relationship is restored through the act of repentance and the gift of God's forgiveness.
In the KJV this is called reconciliation and it describes how we have been given the ministry of reconciliation. In other words, God’s desire of restored relationship is not just for our’s with Him, but our relationships with each other. You see, reconciliation is achieved through the series of two steps: repentance and forgiveness. It’s God’s desire that we would be motivated through our being reconciled to Him to be reconciled with each other.
Just a week ago we talked about forgiving daily and, for some of us, forgiving is a hard thing to do. Forgiveness can seem difficult if you don't have a heart of repentance. It's through the regular practice of repentance and receiving of God's forgiveness that we are better positioned to be able to offer forgiveness to others. For the person who says they have trouble forgiving, I would question the depth and frequency of their repentance. Because anyone that engages God through repentance, they know what it feels like to be forgiven - even when you, yourself, feel you don't deserve it. I, for one, know that I've done much in my past that I don't believe deserves forgiveness but I'm so thankful that God is faithful and just - He keeps his promise to forgive me.
It's through a life committed to the rhythm of repentance and regularly receiving the gift of forgiveness, that we are empowered to forgive others. This is how we represent Christ: by freely offering to others what was freely offered to us — forgiveness. We will discuss this in further detail in our message this Sunday titled, The Rhythm of Forgiveness.
Prayer Focus: that you would have the courage to forgive by flowing in the rhythm of repentance.
I’m praying for you and with you,
Pastor Enrique Brooks
This has been a powerful week of devotion and prayer as we've navigated through the theme: The Rhythm of Repentance. Day 1, we discovered that repentance is the Secret Sauce to our success. Day 2, we learned that repentance is more than an apology, it's a total life surrender. Day 3, we discussed how repentance doesn't simply produce a life change, but a heart change produces change in our lives. Day 4, we took a close look at God's response to repentance, which is found in His faithfulness. On the final day of this week of devotion I want to share with you this truth: Repentance Restores Relationship.
It’s by grace that we’re able to receive this new life in Jesus Christ. I believe choosing Jesus, in it self, is an act of repentance — acknowledging the need and receiving Him as savior of our lives. Through this submission to Jesus, we receive new life and a fresh start and all of this "comes from God who settled the relationship between us and him.” This shows us that repentance restores relationship.
When we look at the word restore, it means to bring back to a former state. This means that God is restoring a relationship that pre-existed. For the person who believes they’ve never had a relationship with God I want to point your attention to a conversation God had with a young prophet in Jeremiah 1:5 where He tells Jeremiah, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you...” The word used here for knew describes a deep sense of intimacy. Whether you believe it or not, you were in relationship with God, spiritually, before the foundation of the earth. He knew you. But when we entered into this earth through flesh, we became separated because of sin and it’s God’s desire to restore that original relationship. This relationship is restored through the act of repentance and the gift of God's forgiveness.
In the KJV this is called reconciliation and it describes how we have been given the ministry of reconciliation. In other words, God’s desire of restored relationship is not just for our’s with Him, but our relationships with each other. You see, reconciliation is achieved through the series of two steps: repentance and forgiveness. It’s God’s desire that we would be motivated through our being reconciled to Him to be reconciled with each other.
Just a week ago we talked about forgiving daily and, for some of us, forgiving is a hard thing to do. Forgiveness can seem difficult if you don't have a heart of repentance. It's through the regular practice of repentance and receiving of God's forgiveness that we are better positioned to be able to offer forgiveness to others. For the person who says they have trouble forgiving, I would question the depth and frequency of their repentance. Because anyone that engages God through repentance, they know what it feels like to be forgiven - even when you, yourself, feel you don't deserve it. I, for one, know that I've done much in my past that I don't believe deserves forgiveness but I'm so thankful that God is faithful and just - He keeps his promise to forgive me.
It's through a life committed to the rhythm of repentance and regularly receiving the gift of forgiveness, that we are empowered to forgive others. This is how we represent Christ: by freely offering to others what was freely offered to us — forgiveness. We will discuss this in further detail in our message this Sunday titled, The Rhythm of Forgiveness.
Prayer Focus: that you would have the courage to forgive by flowing in the rhythm of repentance.
I’m praying for you and with you,
Pastor Enrique Brooks
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