Wendy's Blog

All I really need to know I learned in DBC...#5

More thoughts from class:

Process in the Changing of the Heart:
Step 1: Waking Up - eyes open, the deaf can hear. Regeneration. This is something we don't control though, regeneration is an act of God. All of life's drama is a battle between good and evil, true and false, right and wrong, beauty and horror, faith and unbelief, life and death. It's either or, no middle ground. And we always start on the wrong side. But thanks be to our God who is gracious...
Past grace: God said, "I am for you, I sent my only son to die for your sins, will I not give you everything?"
Present grace: God said, "I am with you, I will never leave you or forsake you."
Future grace: when we see God, we will be like Him

Step 2: Owning up - facing reality, my circumstances, my sins.
We need to
- know what's wrong, identify specifically and accurately our sins, despite the temptation for blindness. Don't fool ourselves with euphemism, don't sugarcoat our sins and transgressions.
- realize that, "I do what I do," nobody makes me do it. Don't blame our situation or people around us, don't just say, "it's not my fault."
- realize that sin is serious before God!! Sinning is bad not because it's hurting myself or others, not because it's hurting my self-esteem or my social reputation, but sinning hurts God first and foremost.

Step 3: Shifting weights
- confessing what's wrong
- asking for help
- confessing and trusting God for who He is
- Joy: the true marker of real change, at the end of the process, there's a sense of relief, gladness and gratitude...the joy of repentance

posted by 板板子 @ 11:08 PM