Two of the Bible studies I am doing this year converge on the topic of repentance. Exodus reminds me in chapter 20 and other places that God is sovereign and will have no other gods before Him. Nothing is to be more important in our lives than serving Him, and anything that gets in the way causes scripture to say: “I the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not share your affection with any other god.” (chapter 20:5) Then, in Revelation, I read the accounts of the seven churches and the calls for them to repent for such things as losing their faith as when they first believed, or for allowing sin among them, or for being “lukewarm” in their faith.
The church has always called parishioners to repent during the period of Lent. This requires self-discovery, self-examination, and recognition that we all have things in our lives to confess. During this season, a time of fasting for some, a time of self-flagellation for some (no where do I see this in scripture), and a call to repentance. This is the topic of My Psalm 309. Take a moment today to journal on this topic, to make it personal, as I recommend in the book I wrote: Restore My Soul Psalms: A Lenten Journal.
MY PSALM 309 REPENTANCE
Dear Heavenly Father,
I come to You in repentance,
Asking forgiveness for the times I have lived my life
As I wanted to, not heeding Your laws and direction.
I make no excuses
Such as, “I didn’t know what I was doing,”
Or “I didn’t think anybody cared about me,”
Or “What did it matter what I did?
I didn’t hurt anyone,” or so I thought.
Now I know I betrayed You and hurt Your Kingdom
By ignoring the very laws of the universe,
By not embracing Your covenant promise
That You would be our God
If we promised to follow You.
Now that I know Your law is absolute,
That You are entirely holy,
That You created the entire universe
And I have a part to play in Your kingdom,
I need to repent. I beg Your forgiveness.
I now know that even the best of us
Cannot stand in Your Holy Presence.
I now know that without Christ’s salvation
I cannot even bow down in Your Presence.
I have not one plea, not one word I can speak
In my own defense, without Jesus’ pleadings
On my behalf.
Forgive me for my past sins,
For unfaithfulness,
For unworthiness,
For false motives,
For self-centeredness,
For ignoring Your Presence,
For dismissing Your influence
And for refusing the promptings of conscience.
I call out to You
In humble repentance,
With this plea:
Help my unbelief.
When I slip into my former ways,
Wake me in no uncertain terms
So I am aware of Your expectations.
Let me never forget
I can do none of this by myself.
I am sure to fail.
But give me Jesus’ strength,
And the Holy Spirit’s guidance
So that I can follow hard after You.
In Jesus’ redeeming power, I pray. Amen.
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