1 Kings 8:46-51
Verse 48 “…and if they turn back to You with all their heart and soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive, and pray to You toward the land You gave their ancestors, toward the city You have chosen and the temple I have built for Your Name;”
We have talked about the need to turn to God in repentance and we see the degree of that turn today. Our turning from our sin isn’t turning to one side or the other, it is an about-face. If our sin has taken us in the direction against God, it is important for us to turn toward Him the full 180 degrees. Turning fully from our sin and making Him our first and only focus is the only way we can truly repent.
This is hard for some to accept as they are unwilling to give up their sin because they enjoy it or identify themselves with it. This is one of the reasons the modern church has fallen so far from the holiness God has called us to. This is probably the biggest reason the world is in need of a revival, the Church has left her first love and turned to the things which gratify the flesh.
Until we are ready to do a 180 from our sins, we will never experience revival. Until the Church (those who are true Christians, dedicated to the Lord) is willing to forsake the sins the world embraces, she will not be able to impact the world the way God intended her to. As the Bride of Christ we are called to be faithful unto Him alone and we can’t do that if we are trying to please ourselves and Him.
Turning this 180 degrees to face the Lord full-on will likely cause us to lose relationships we have cherished. This may be a result of turning from the sin and therefore no longer wanting or needing to associate with them as to keep ourselves from again turning to the sin or it could be the people we care about don’t want to associate with us because we have come to hate the sin and they feel like we are rejecting them or judging them.
One thing to know is what we gain in relationship with Christ far out shadows the loss of relationships of the human variety. When we repent we are saying we want a healthy relationship with God and it means more to us than others loving us, but that in no way should our love for God mean we treat others with anything less than love.
Making It Personal
Have you ever had a 180 degree kind of repentance? How did that kind of repentance change your thinking in other areas of your life? What do you need to do a 180 turn on today?
Making It Personal Kids
Why is it important to turn fully away from your sin to face Jesus? Why do you think others will not be happy if you turn to follow Jesus away from your sin? What do you need to turn away from to look to Jesus?
Closing Prayer
Father, we repent of not truly turning an about-face from our sin. Give us the wisdom to see the need to make a clean break from the sins which control our lives until You alone are given control of our hearts and minds. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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