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Showing posts with the label True repentance

Yoked to Jesus

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“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” †  Mathew 11: 28-30  What is the labour and burden that Jesus is asking me to deal with? Perhaps I have to let go of the compulsive burden (or is it a sort of entitlement?) that my spouse and children should choose a spiritual path that I know to be right. Jesus accompanied Judas Iscariot to the very end but never deprived him of his freedom to choose his own destiny. Jesus on the other hand, uninterrupted by Judas's choice to reject him, continues to accomplish his mission. He does become a victim of Judas's betrayal but he seldom takes on the victim's identity. In divine wisdom, Jesus chooses to die in our place (and that of Judas) in a redeeming act of love. Rather than being compelled to fix those whom God has entrusted to my headship by m

True repentance

To sin and separate ourselves from God is totally a personal act initiated by a personal decision and an action that fulfills the former decision. The sole onus of the sin lies on the individual. Therefore no one else can be held responsible of my sin except myself. But contrarily, to hate sin and come back to embrace God’s love requires more than a personal decision and action. It requires the supernatural assistance called the grace of God. No one comes to God expect by his mercy. This mercy is not available beyond our death. The one who perseveres in sin due to ignorance or wrong understanding is more likely to receive the Grace of God to change than those who consciously persevere in offending God despite adequate knowledge of the inappropriateness of his action. God’s intervention in Saul’s life [by throwing him off the horse] was not a result of his repentance but due to the genuinity of his intention to serve God. A true return to God is characterized by the following: True