Repentance is the dullest word imaginable

There is a story about a little boy who had a mind of his own. His mother had asked him repeatedly to sit down at the dinner table but he refused. Finally, after threatening a grounding, the little boy relented and sat down but said defiantly as he sat, "I'm sitting down but on the inside I am standing up!"

This is a really wild world in which we live. Up is often down and south often turns out to be north. Good looks like evil and the devil is transformed into an angel of light.

Yet what I am writing below has really helped me.

I may be in a season of refreshing with my Christianity ... but something has really come home to me in the past 2 weeks ... how freeing it is to repent each day, preferably in the morning before you have dug yourself a hole.

It is easy to do and should look something like this:

1) confess a fault or sin you have committed
2) ask God to forgive you of it through Jesus Christ
3) ask God to change your heart through His Spirit so that the sin or fault is less likely to occur again
4) go back to # 1 until you are finished

But wait! there's more!

One further step.

Ask God to shine His light on your heart to expose your motives. Ask God to shine His light on the darkest places of your heart.

This assures that your repentance is genuine and that you are not 'standing up on the inside' while sitting down, like the little boy.

Having completed the action above, you are through with your repentance.

Why is it so freeing?

My theory: our spirits get off-center as we go through this world on a daily basis. We are subject to trials and temptations and sometimes give in when we should be standing strong. You know this is true.

We need a daily cleansing of this and repentance is a fantastic way to do it.

I feel stronger each day when I do this ... stronger in my spirit, less apt to fall into discouragement and fear, more apt to walk in His way. I feel less critical of others. I feel less self-centered and more 'on the verge of' praise.

So, don't be like the little boy whose actions did not line up with his heart. Come before God every morning and do what I have outlined above and see the difference it makes.

Start tomorrow morning, ok?