Repentance: One of the 3 R's
In days gone by, educators used to speak of the foundation of a good education as reading, writing and arithmetic, the 3 R’s. These were considered to be basic life skills that every person needed to possess in order to succeed in life. In his letter to the church at Ephesus the Lord Jesus, through the apostle John, speaks of another 3 R’s that will enable us to keep Him first in our lives. The 3 R’s of Revelation 2:1-7 are Remember, Repent and Restore. We are to remember those early days when we first believed, days when prayer was a delight and time in the Word was rich and rewarding. We are to repent of all agreement with the lies of the world and the devil and turn from “the sin that so easily entangles us” (Hebrews 12:1). Finally, we are to restore our former manner of life (do the deeds that you did at first) that enabled us to keep Jesus first in every part of our life.
February 18 is Ash Wednesday and the official start of the Lenten season. Historically, Lent has been a time to enter into a season of more focused reflection, prayer and fasting in preparation for the celebration of Resurrection Sunday. As we begin this Lenten season I am going to suggest that we read, and re-read, Revelation 2:1-7 while considering the following reflection points.
- What was your relationship with God like when you first believed? What is it like now? What was it like to pray, to spend time in the Word and to fellowship with other believers?
- Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any places in your life where your thinking does not line up with the truth of the Word of God. Are there any sins that have crept into your life for which you need to confess and repent?
- What are the things that you did when your relationship with God was vital and alive? Why aren’t you doing them now? When will you start doing them again?
- Our bearing witness is the natural result of being in a vital relationship with Jesus. Who has God place in your life that needs to hear of God’s great love and of the forgiveness that is found in Jesus Christ and Him alone?
Author
Pastor Bruce is the Executive Director of God's Living Stones. He lives in Omaha, NE, with his wife Barb. They have two adult children.
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