A Real Turnaround

Repenting does NOT mean going to God, sorry about the way things are. True repentance comes in the form of turning towards God and new behaviors, leaving old ways of thinking, and behaviors behind us. In other words, when we stop one bad thing, we need to replace it with a good one. Stopping something without a replacement is just setting yourself up to fail.

Let's be honest. If we go to God repenting, but do not change our behavior, what are we doing? We are really just going to God asking Him to change things for us so we can continue still being the same. Does that sound silly to anyone else?

Repentance is visible only when it is accompanied with change: personal change. If you want, need, or desire change in your life, maybe what you need to start with is not trying something "New", or going to God to change "things", but to repent. Repenting who you have become, with the intention of being changed into the person God desires you to be. Maybe it is time to trust in the power of prayer:

Dear God,

You are the author of Life and the creator of all things, and I breathe the air you made with the body you have given me. I know each day is a blessing, but most of the time I seem to be moving too fast to even notice.

I am sorry. Not for the way things have become, but for who I have become. I repent, desiring to be changed, and I want to be the godly person you have designed and called me to be.

Thank you for the completed work you have done through Jesus on the cross, and for the work you are doing inside of me. 

With your strength I will be the godly person you already know I can be, living each day with fresh mercies for my mistakes, using your Word to guide me each step of the way.

In Jesus Holy Name, Amen.

If you prayed that just now, please know that I am praying for you. My prayer for you is that you can discover the change that will lead you to the person God designed you to be.

...just prayin'

In His grip,

Pastor Pat