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Grace is amazing ... and so is the gift of repentance!

"Repentance is godly sorrow for our sins, because of the wrong done to God, and therefore the hurt inflicted on Him (Gen 6:6) ... if there is no conscious repentance, just an acceptance of grace then there is no awareness of what we have been saved from ... which leads to a corresponding lack of depth and commitment ..."

I read this in a book whilst I was at Bible College some 16 years ago. It must have struck me quite powerfully at the time as I wrote it on the inside cover of the Bible I was reading. It resonated with an experience I had recently had of being led by the Spirit into a season of repentance the like of which I had not experienced before. This did indeed lead to a deepening of my faith and a greater commitment to Jesus and the growth of His Kingdom throughout the world ... avery rich time indeed, and foundational in all that has followed.

Up to that point I had been 'saved' some four years, I had experienced the wonder of forgiveness, but had not really appreciated the gift that repentance is, and the fruit that comes when we avail ourselves of the liberty we have in Christ to turn away from things that hurt God, others and ourselves. Thankfully the Spirit led me on a walk along that road and, by grace, I'm still walking it! It's not just a quick polish on the surface every now and again, but a deep work that changes us from the inside out ... often that is a painful process ... but always worth it if we are prepared to walk through it.

I believe this is the key issue whenever we encounter Spiritual 'apathy' - whether it be in groups of people, in other individuals or in our own lives! The Christian faith is much more than a veneer of respectability on an otherwise unchanged life ... it is a root and branch change of motivation, purpose and meaning in life ... Christ being the motivation, the purpose, and the meaning.

I wonder why we choose to nibble on scraps when we could be feasting on the abundant life that is ours?!

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