“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Matthew 4:17).

This Lenten season we have been focusing on the heart, which we define biblically as “the ‘basket’ term for our mind, our will, our emotions, and our conscience.” We are preparing our hearts for celebrating Easter. In the first devotional in this series, on March 2, we meditated on Psalm 103 to learn more about the heart of God. David was a man after God’s own heart, and we would strive to be the same.

We are describing the pathway by which our hearts respond and therefore change from rebellious to renewed during the remainder of these Lenten devotionals.

The first step on the pathway is recognition, which means that we see our sin the way God sees our sin. Only God’s viewpoint is total objective as He is the standard of true righteousness.

The second step on the pathway is responsibility, a broken and contrite heart.

The third step on the pathway is regeneration, a work of the Holy Spirit.

The fourth step is repentance. The definition of repentance is turning away from sin and (re)turning to God.

I never did any military drills, but I was in my high school marching band. I enjoyed marching and it was especially fun to perform an about-face. We would be marching at full speed down the football field, then when our left foot would hit the mark, we would abruptly spin around to begin marching in the opposite direction, without missing a beat. This is how I picture the act of repentance.

When Jesus began his ministry, following his baptism and forty days in the wilderness, his first words were “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”  We have talked about recognizing and owning our sin. Our sin is actual treason against God, a rejection of God. David understood that he committed spiritual adultery before he committed sexual adultery. David did not lose the joy of his salvation because he sinned. He sinned because he had already lost the joy of his salvation.

When we have worldly sorrow for our sin, we run away from God. When we have Godly sorrow for our sin, we go running to him. We are the answer for worldly sorry, but God is the answer for Godly sorrow. God’s love is the cause of repentance; our repentance is never the cause of God’s love. “Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?” (Romans 2:4.)

Repentance is a change of mind leading to a change in action. However, our hearts will not naturally take this action. We cannot turn to God unless he has regenerated, or transformed, our hearts. We must cry out to God like David did, taking responsibility for our sin, to experience the life-giving transformation of our hearts that leads us to repentance. Repentant hearts hate sin as much as God does. Repentance does not mean that we will not sin again, but when we stay close to God through prayer and reading the Bible, our hearts stay open to the leading of the Holy Spirit so that it is truly easier to avoid sin. However, when we do sin, we are quickly convicted to recognize, confess, and repent of our sin, returning to Christ.

David, even though he was a man after God’s own heart, was not sinless. Neither are we. So, what do we do when we find ourselves in sin? We do what David did: we repent. We pray for conviction of our sin so that we can repent and change. One of the most soul-searching passages in the Bible is Psalm 51, which David wrote after Nathan confronted him with his sin of adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband.

¹Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.
² Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

³ For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.
⁴ Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.
⁵ Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
⁶ Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

⁷ Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
⁸ Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
⁹ Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.

¹⁰ Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
¹¹ Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.
¹² Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

¹³ Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you.
¹⁴ Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, you who are God my Savior,
    and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.

⁵ Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise.
¹⁶ You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
¹⁷ My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.

¹⁸ May it please you to prosper Zion, to build up the walls of Jerusalem.
¹⁹ Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous, in burnt offerings offered whole; then bulls will be offered on your altar.

As you meditate on this Psalm of David, pray for conviction and repentance, with the confidence that God will have mercy according to His unfailing love.

“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.” (Psalm 51:1-2)

In Christ,

Judy