John the Baptist challenged the religious leaders of his day to produce the fruit of their alleged repentance. They had giftings, and titles, and a booming temple system, but no real fruit. The Spirit of the Lord is presenting that same challenge to today’s religious leaders.
Posts Tagged ‘repentence’
Thought for the Day – The Challenge Flag
Posted in Thought for the Day / Quotes, tagged challenge, fruit, religious leaders, repentence, temple system on December 6, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Patterns
Posted in Commentaries, Opinions, tagged patterns, patterns of behavior, patterns of thought, religion, repentence, rituals on July 29, 2013| 1 Comment »
As human beings we are creatures of habit. It normally begins with a pattern of thought, which often evokes a specific pattern of emotion, which generally results in a certain pattern of behavior. In and of itself, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but even a relatively healthy pattern can sour over time. Just as we have a natural tendency to adopt these patterns, we also seem inclined to get stuck inside of them. Unwittingly they begin to shape our concept of reality and of how we fit within it. For too many of us, the pattern of our lives repeats itself over and over again. Given enough time, we can easily begin to derive a sense of security (and maybe even identity) from our pattern; and if we’re not careful, we can quickly become a slave to it.
Patterns tend to breed rituals, and rituals tend to spawn religion, which is what causes us to rage against anyone or anything that might suggest we need to alter our pattern. I remember working in a bar years ago, watching people cry in their beer about how terrible their lives were, only to have them curse the bartender who dared propose that maybe they should make a change. I’ve heard it said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting it to turn out differently. Based on that measure, there would seem to be a good many of us battling this affliction.
Assuming that all of that is true, it should then come as little surprise that “repentance” is a significant tenet of the Christian life. While many still associate that word with the idea of being sorry or regretting their actions, it actually refers to a change of mind or a change of direction (i.e. a change of pattern). But more than that, I don’t believe that God would simply have us trade our old bad sinful pattern for a shiny new sanctified one. I sense that the life He’s authored for us is meant to be filled with growth and spontaneity and wonder; none of which happens when you consistently march in circles (even when those steps are taken within the walls of the temple). Indeed, the security and familiarity that accompanies repetition would seem to be the antithesis of faith.
To my mind, one of the great flaws of religion across the ages has been its propensity to create a pattern and then to spend all of its resources trying to defend and preserve it from change. I believe that one of the reasons the Lord sent His Holy Spirit to dwell within us was to free us from the bondage that comes with being trapped within a rigid pattern.
While I’m not suggesting that there shouldn’t be a certain consistency within the life of a true believer (which could rightfully be described as a pattern), I am saying that if we are not diligent, adherence to our pattern can take precedence over the dynamic, real time relationship that the Lord intended for us to have with Him. When that happens, it not only impacts the believer, but everyone that the Lord means to touch through them.
As I have endeavored to walk with the Lord over the years, I have found that He consistently challenges the presuppositions that are so often used to prop up my pattern. It’s not always that what I have supposed is necessarily wrong, but at best it is incomplete. Ultimately, I need to guard my heart against the complacency that so naturally accompanies a pattern.
In other words, am I really listening for His voice or do I believe that I know Him so well that I already know what He’d say? I sense that this is part of what Jesus was saying when He admonished us to come as little children (Matt. 18:3). Don’t come as an accomplished veteran, who is filled with his own ideas & experiences. Come as a child, who genuinely relies on his Father for guidance. Even for the seasoned follower, that is a pattern worth adopting.
Bjcorbin's Blog 
A Change of Heart
Posted in Commentaries, tagged chameleon, change, change of heart, change of mind, changed mind, circumstance, defile, destination, external condition, internal condition, lost, repentence on December 17, 2024| Leave a Comment »
There was a long season of my life in which I was profoundly lost. That term can mean different things to different people, but for me, it meant that I was lost as to the meaning of life, as to what my purpose was, and as to who I was meant to be. Like most people in that condition, I would not have used the word “lost” to describe myself, but clearly that was the case.
Because of this, I tended to be a chameleon, who completely changed depending on who I was with. Despite a strict religious upbringing, I found myself amazingly open to things that I’d been taught were wrong, with seemingly little impact on my conscience. I attribute this to my unconscious desperation to find a place and/or tribe where I fit in.
The longer I wandered in this state of being, the more confused I became. If you hang around a chameleon long enough, you begin to realize that you have no idea what their natural color is. And even the chameleon himself will eventually lose touch with that reality. In those days, I could look in the mirror and not recognize the face that was staring back at me.
One morning, after a long night of debauchery, I had the sudden and strong urge to change the course of my life, and I went to the local Recruiting Office to join the military. The decision to enlist in the Navy shocked everyone who knew me, and on some level, no one was more surprised than me.
If you had asked me a day earlier, that idea was nowhere on my radar. Yet, within a matter of days, my head was shaved, and I was getting screamed at by some crazed Drill Sergeant in North Chicago. Life, as I had known it, would never be the same.
At the time, I reasoned I just needed a change of scenery, and to get around some different people. And it is tempting to conclude that this was what ultimately changed my course, but with the benefit of hindsight, I realize that it wasn’t the change in circumstances that drove the change in my mindset.
The reality is that the “sudden and strong urge to change” came from a moment of clarity, in which I recognized that the life I was leading was unsustainable. After years of being whatever I needed to be so as to function within the group dynamic, I realized that I needed to pick a specific direction, and then start walking toward something. That revelation spurred a change in my thinking, and that change of mind drove the change in course.
I clearly had no idea of where I was going, or as to how I would handle this new reality, but I was utterly convinced of my need to change. If I hadn’t been, I likely would have quit at the first obstacle on my new path, and returned to the life I abandoned. But it was clear to me that there was no going back.
This is significant because of our very human tendency to focus on external factors (i.e. circumstances), most of which we cannot control, while ignoring the internal conditions of our being (i.e. mind, will, emotions), which are within our reach. Indeed, I have concluded that true, substantive change always begins with an internal shift (i.e. a changed mind, a changed heart).
Beyond the practical implications of this concept are the spiritual principles that lie beneath it. Scripture tells us that God doesn’t see us as we see each other (i.e. externally), He looks at the heart of a man (i.e. internally) – (1 Sam.16:7). It also warns us to guard our hearts above all else, because “everything you do flows from it” (Pro.4:23). Jesus went so far as to say, “Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them (Mark 7:15-16).”
Though we are prone to point to external factors (e.g. people, situations…) as a way to justify the poor condition of our hearts, the scripture would suggest that these external factors are to some extent a result of the condition of our hearts. If this is true, the first step in changing our situation, is changing our own mind and/or heart. This is why “self-control” is considered a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal.5:23).
I would submit that one of the reasons we struggle to hear God’s voice in the midst of turmoil is that we are focused on Him making a change to our external condition, and He is focused on making a change to our internal condition.
The scripture clearly points to the need for, and the power of repentance, which is ultimately a change of heart, mind, direction… John the Baptist challenged the authenticity of the Pharisees and Sadducees authority by demanding that they, “produce fruit in keeping with repentance (Matt.3:8).” He understood that without a genuine change of mind/heart, it didn’t matter how they dressed or who they hung out with.
We will know that our repentance is genuine when we arrive at some new destination. I can meet my neighbor half way around the block, and claim that I’m not where I was yesterday, but if I keep returning to the same address, there has been no real change
We live in society that is obsessed with outward appearances, and we often fall into the trap of believing that some type of external change (e.g. if I was rich, if I was famous, if I found the right person, if I lost 100lbs, if my candidate wins the election…) will bring about a change in our hearts, but it never really works like that. The shift must come from within, and the first step belongs to us.
Indeed, God promises that if we’ll take a step towards Him, He will take a step towards us (James 4:8).
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