All tagged contrition
Prayer should bring us to repentance, and then transform our character. God revels in the repentance of sinners, but repentance involves much more than the empty words "I'm sorry", it requires a change of heart... A turning away from what offended. In fact, that is the literal meaning of the word; turning away.
Do you feel grief today before God? Is your heart breaking within you for some sin that convicts you unrelentingly? I am not speaking about a superficial knowledge of having done something wrong, but rather the deep understanding of a sin that emanates from your very soul. Are you seeking repentance for wrongdoing that has brought you to godly grief?
When it comes to God’s grace, do you believe that you have the tiniest amount of worthiness? Do you feel that you are owed forgiveness or that in some way you deserve to receive Jesus? If so then you are not prepared for His coming or the arrival of the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist knew what it felt like to be unworthy… do we?
Are we reluctant to ask something of God? Are we too embarrassed by our condition, or too ashamed of our sin, to reach out to Him for forgiveness and help? When should we bring our needs and our contrition before Him in prayer? Sometimes we do so at a certain time of day, or come to Him only when we feel overwhelmed, but we have been told specifically when we are to come… we are to come always, right now, and without ceasing, and in so doing we find that this is also how God forgives us.
Do we love Jesus without wavering? Do we love Jesus as much as He would like for us to? This is what I am dwelling on this morning. I am asking myself if my faith is sufficient, and my love for Christ deep enough. I am also contemplating how I could possibly face failure, and if Jesus could still love me?
On the day that we accept Jesus as our savior we wash our robes clean in His blood, and in that moment of absolute purity we have been made worthy, dressed in white, and praise God as we are there before His throne, but do we continue to wash our robes thereafter? Do we remain clean and pure so that we can serve God day and night in His temple?