August 12th
“Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed against me, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of any one, says the Lord GOD; so turn, and live.” Ezekiel 18:31-32 NKJV
This passage captures what true repentance is all about. Repentance involves casting all your sin from yourself. This means to abandon the sin and the memory of it. For example, if you have sinned sexually either with porn lust or with another person and fantasized about it in your memory, it is time to stop cherishing that sin and cast if from you. Do not think on it; do not pick it back up after you have thrown it away from you. Cast away the things that remind you of that sin. Some examples here could be pictures, magazines, videos, shows, letters, email and computer files (see Clean House).
After you have cast these things from you, turn away from them and don’t look back! The turning away from them is in effect a renouncement of all your sin and any claims it had on you. God tells us to “get” a new heart and a new spirit, implying that both are already available to us if we simply will go after it and get them. So, for example, instead of looking for more porn online, we can pursue God and seek the new heart and the new spirit He has prepared for us through Jesus Christ. God promises to help us in this process. He said:
“I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God.” Ezekiel 11:19-20 NIV
God gives us the ability and desire to follow after him. All we have to do is respond in faith and obedience, receiving what he has already done for us. (See repentance prayers).
Questions for further thought:
How does a divided heart (i.e. “double-mindedness”) affect our stability in living for God? (James 1:5-8)
When we cling to the sins of the past, because we cherish them or we hold ourselves guilty, how does that affect our ability to move forward with God’s plan for our lives?
In addition to forgiveness, what do we receive from God when we turn from our sin? (Ezekiel 18:32)
Prayer:
“Lord God, I answer your call for repentance today. I turn away from my sin and release it from my mind. Please forgive me, Lord, and cleanse my conscience from the dead works of sin. I invite you to heal any wounds that resulted from my sin or from others who have harmed me. Please guide me in truth via the Holy Spirit and teach me how to walk in righteousness. Thank you, Father! In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”