Repentance Should Not Be Delayed

As Francois de La Rochefoucauld once remarked, “When our vices quit us we flatter ourselves with the belief that it is we who quit them.” Many times, our repentance is really nothing more than us trying to escape the consequences of our sin. We are sorry only because we are caught or maybe it caught up with us.

That however isn’t the kind of repentance God wants from us. Consider what is said about the woman Jezebell( probably not her real name but an apt description) in the message to the church at Thyatira found in Revelation 2. Here is a woman who is involved in wickedness and leading others to it. It is said of her “I gave her time to repent, and she does not want to repent of her immorality.”

God is willing to forgive. He wants us to turn back to him. He will give us chances to do just that. But there comes a point when our sin isn’t ignorance, immaturity or weakness, it is just simple rebelliousness. That kind of sin will be punished by God and we will face the repercussions!

Don’t let sin ruin you before you quit it, Get out of it while the getting is good!

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Until Midnight

In Acts 20, there is the tragicomic event surrounding a young man by the name of Eutychus. He did what a lot of folks before and after him did, he fell asleep during a sermon. Unfortunately, he was setting in in the third story window at the time. So instead of nodding off and hitting the pew in front of him, he fell to his death. The good news was the apostle Paul was delivering the sermon and had the ability to bring him back. I don’t know, however, if we can judge Eutychus too harshly. The sermon had gone on till midnight. Paul wouldn’t finish it up till daybreak. That’s a long lesson. I know some folks that might want to jump out of a window if I had a lesson that long, yet these Christians wanted to be there to hear Paul. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not pushing for all night sermons but I think we might need to adopt these folks' dedication. They knew that Paul was only in town for a limited time only and they were determined to ...

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Mysterious Ways

William Cowper didn’t see any reason to live. He decided that he’d jump off the bridge over the Thames. So, he called a cab to take him there. But that night in 1763, a thick fog enveloped London. It was so thick the cab driver couldn’t find the bridge and couldn’t even find the way to take William home. In frustration, he ordered the driver to stop and get out to get his bearings. He walked up to the nearest house to read the number and it was William's house. Gone now were William’s thoughts of suicide and instead a new idea came into his head. So, he went in and wrote these words: God moves in mysterious ways His wonders to perform. He plants his footsteps in the sea And rides upon the storm. You fearful saints, fresh courage take; The clouds you so much dread Are big with mercy and shall break In blessings on your head. I sometimes wish we could see all the ways God watches over us when need it. There are...

Ecclesiastes 12:10

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