DAY 07 - TURNING AFFECTIONS TOWARDS GOD (REPENTANCE)

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FOOD CALENDAR:

Daniel Fruits, Veggies, Legumes, Grains

DEVO: 

Have you turned your heart to God as a consistent exercise? Turning your heart to God opens you to God’s renewing and transforming grace. When we talk about “repentance,” we are not espousing perfection; we are espousing faith and affection to submit to God.

Only God can change a human heart. All human behavior, pain, and suffering begin with a human heart. On the other side of that, a heart that is overwhelmed by affections towards God will see victory, joy, and peace.

2 Corinthians 7:10 NIV Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.

Your heart is aware of relational offenses you have perpetrated against God’s will. Even more technically, your brain’s capacity to remember and process emotion will produce static that is often interpreted as “God is distant” or “God is withholding affection to me.” Reality is, God is affectionate toward you even while you are in sinful and rebellious behavior.

Your repentance means that you are now in process; repentance “leads” you to freedom. To “lead” represents a process in your human perspective. The process is not about God calibrating what you have done, but your own conscience, heart, and neurochemistry reconnecting with God. Sometimes it takes time for your heart to be reconditioned so that you have an unfiltered, authentic connection with Christ. Clearly this isn’t because of God’s side of the relationship. God is not withholding affection, and wants that reconnection more than you do. Repentance encompasses your spirit, soul, and body.  You are simply processing through the emotions of what you have done in the sight of our loving and holy God, and then turning your whole affection towards Him in fresh surrender.

Because of Christ, sin doesn’t change God’s affection towards you. Yes, God hates sin. Sin is incompatible with God’s own nature of holiness. Sin corrupts and destroys. God hates sin because of what it does to you, the focus of His love. God hates sin while being affectionate towards those who sin. This is only possible in the light of Redemption, what Christ did for us at the Cross and Resurrection.

To overcome this relational static with God, and to live in complete harmony with God, it is important that you submit your heart and will before Him. This is how you healthfully re-surrender to Him and access grace for behavior and heart transformation—otherwise known as repentance. Repentance is turning away from your own sin and resourcefulness, and turning to God.

No Shame - Refuse to allow yourself to feel shame. God sees shame as destructive to you. Shame is about “who” you believe you are. Guilt is about “what” you have done. Shame is subjective and based in interpretations. Guilt is objective, you either "did it" or “didn’t do it.” Because guilt is only about what you have "done," you can move forward without being anchored to the past. Shame destroys hope. Guilt makes you aware of the need for transforming grace. You may avoid Devotional Quiet Times because you are disgusted with yourself and can’t bear to face a Holy God, feeling that the shame you feel towards yourself is the shame mirrored in God. NOT SO!! Come to the joy of the Lord and let Him remove your burden of shame!!

Acknowledge Guilt - Sincerely confess (acknowledge guilt for what was done) and transfer to Christ anything disobedient that is weighing down your conscience.

Embrace the Gift of Grace and Righteousness - Let the gift of grace, the gift of forgiveness, the gift of righteousness, and God’s good mood towards you cleanse you; you have to receive His gift of forgiveness and righteousness. To lean onto your feelings that you aren’t sincere or forgiven now is to disregard the power of Christ’s redemption. Your feelings of condemnation and guilt are simply your brain’s hormones releasing, based on and in harmony with your thoughts. If you think God is mad at you, your emotions and physiological feelings will mirror your thoughts, even if they are false thoughts. Begin to rejoice over your freedom, forgiveness, and God’s good mood towards you, and your brain’s hormones will support it with feelings. If you intentionally embrace your sin’s shame and guilt, you magnify your sin as being superior to Christ’s Redemptive blood. The gravity of your sin can never be compared with the excellence of Christ’s gracious gift. It is an utmost honor, a magnifying worship to God, to accept His gift of forgiveness and salvation.

PRAYER:

Lord God, I turn to You with my affection. I decisively turn away from sinfulness and turn my trust towards You. I cannot fix myself. So I put my faith in You, that You are the Author and Finisher of everything that pertains to me. My part is to put my affections on You and trust Your transforming work in me. Thank You for loving me and being unrelenting in Your affection towards me. You are my safe place!

PRAYER PLAN: 

Church Faith Community to Have Health Emotionally / Physically - That EVERYONE at my local church faith community would receive healing.

SUGGESTED READING:  EPHESIANS 1 (NIV)

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, 9 he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

11 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

15 For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

DECLARATION:

My heart is being transformed, and my desires are fully after God. I present my body to God. My body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, Who dwells in me. I am not my own. I am bought with a price. Therefore, in the name of Jesus, I refuse to follow after fleshly impulses. Sin is no longer my master. I am a slave of God, righteousness, and holiness. The zeal of God consumes me. Every competing desire is burned up in my fiery desire for Christ. I have been baptized with the Holy Spirit and fire, and this fire burns up the lustful passions of the flesh. I live in the supernatural power of God’s grace to resist temptation. Through my relationship with Christ I am delivered from the body of this death. Oh happy, enviable, and victorious man/woman that I am. I walk in the Spirit and do not fulfill the lustful desires of the flesh. I daily bond, and have “koinonia fellowship” with Christ, abiding in Him as the Vine, and I am the branch. I am therefore bearing an abundance of fruit that abounds to God’s glory. I am possessed by the resurrected Christ; with my spirit, mind, will, emotions, and body under His transcendent control. Body, settle down in Jesus name and conform to the Word of God. I mortify the desires of this body and command it to come in line with the Word of God. (Psalm 37:4-5; Romans 5- 8; Romans 12:1; 1 Corinthians 6:19)

WORKSHOP SATURATION:

Workshop saturation is taking spiritual topics and listening to them until they change the way you think, believe, and live. During the Awakening fast, we encourage you to binge-listen or binge-watch our Workshops the way you would binge-watch a show on Netflix. See Workshop Saturation for more information and instructions for accessing the Workshops.

COMMENTS:  

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