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ABATE of Florida Inc SOUTHWEST CHAPTER
42
Chapter Chaplain Tom
Dear Fellow ABATE Members,
Resolution or Repentance? No. 2
It’s that time of year, again. Right?
A few years ago, we wrote you about receiving an email from a person who said that
they were going to change some things for the New Year. We usually call the resolve to
change things, resolutions. The online Encarta Dictionary includes the following
definitions within its description: a firm decision to do something; firmness of mind or
purpose or, an answer to a problem. With resolutions, we usually want to correct
something that is wrong, not good for us, or make an improvement in our lives or
situation.
The problem with a resolution is found within its definition, "to do something." It basically
implies it is something that will be done in the future. If you plan to do something in the
future then, some of that "firmness of mind or purpose" can easily be worn off by the
time that you had planned to take action. Then, sometimes for the very few that ever act
on a resolution, they find that alleged, "answer to a problem" may not really solve the
problem or they just go back to their old ways.
So, this New Year, may we suggest repentance?
To us, repentance is something that comes deeper from the heart than a resolution. The
meaning of repentance is to have a change of mind or a change of purpose (this sounds
a little like a resolution). In order to begin the process, we are told in Psalms 51:3, that
before God, we must acknowledge our transgressions. We must acknowledge that
these transgressions have been against God. In 2 Corinthians 7:9 and 10, we are told
that we must have a godly sorrow for sin. In Luke 18:13, Jesus gives us a picture of the
publican and repentance, "But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even
unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, 'God, be
merciful to me, the sinner!'
John the Baptist was a forerunner of Jesus. If he was here today, we could definitely
call him a Messiah's Messenger! He came to prepare the nation of Israel for their
Messiah. In Matthew 3:1and 2, "In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the
Desert of Judea (while possibly standing on top of his dirt bike/trike) and saying,
"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." As it was then, it is still necessary today
that in order to make some lifesaving changes, one must repent. In Acts 11:18; the
scriptures tell us that repentance itself is a gift of God. Today, God is offering that gift to
you, so that you can have repentance unto everlasting life. There are too many in this
world that say, "I can live my life for self and the world and then, I can repent and turn to
God when I decide." The problem with that is you could get so deep into sin that you
may think you’re not able to get out. And, the devil tricks you into saying to yourself that
it's too late. Of course, one of the obvious problems that I'm sure everyone reading this
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