Hello My Sisters!
I’d like to share an experience with you that I had the other day. One Saturday morning I was ironing one of my favorite white shirts. I didn’t know that someone had left water in the iron a few days before, which caused rusting. Unknowingly, I added more water. As I was ironing, I pushed the steam button and a blast of steam came out, but with the steam came this yucky brown water. Have you ever done that? Don’t you just hate it? Well, now the shirt had a big ugly spot on the front. Oh my gosh! It was ruined! I immediately ran into the bathroom, turned on the water, put it under the running water with a little soap, and without too much effort the spot came right out.
What does this experience have to do with repentance? Well, I got rid of a spot before it became a stain. Stains are stubborn and hard to remove. And so it is with sin. When you receive new life in Christ, your body is the temple of God. The church is in you. It’s pure, it’s clean, it’s holy. However, when you get out of your godly character, and commit sin, whether you mistreat someone, spread gossip, falsely accuse someone, lie, cheat, fornicate or sin in some other area, you must repent right away. That sin is a spot on your spiritual life. Your church is blemished, but thank God it can be cleansed if you repent. "Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin"…. Psalms 51:2
What is repentance? Repentance is the action of sincere regret. This action has two elements, sorrow and change. Yes, you have to be sorry, but proof that you are sorry is in the change that you make. You must change your behavior so that you don’t commit that same sin again. Just saying “I’m sorry” is not repentance. It’s not enough. If you’re sincere and you want God to blot out that sin, you must make a change. The longer you wait to repent, the harder it gets to do it. Don’t put it off. When you first feel that condemnation, stop and repent.
Don’t allow that sin to linger. It will cause a stain. Catch that spot before it becomes a stain so that your growth in the Word won’t be hindered. The scripture says "Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” Ephesians 5:25-27
God has given his people a spiritual spot remover. It’s called repentance. DON’T FAIL TO USE IT!
