Is Our Repentance Genuine?

Have you ever wondered if you are truly sorry?  I have and I hope that I am but I want to make sure that I am, because it is a vital concern regarding our eternal life.  So this morning I am going to share some verses so you can examine your own heart and I can examine mine.

2 Chronicles 7:14  "If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land."  Humble means: Marked by meekness or modesty.  How do you humble yourself? The publican humbled himself, when he said, 'God be merciful to me a sinner'.Luke 18:13.  So if we are called by His name and come to Him in prayer honestly seeking forgiveness and admit our faults and sins, it is a humbling experience, when we admit that we are a sinner in need of God's grace, it is very humbling.

Jeremiah 29:13  "And you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with ALL your heart."  (my emphasis)  When it is our highest priority to seek God with ALL our hearts, then He knows we are sincere in our repentance.

Mark 11:24  "Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them and you will have them."  I am pretty sure that if you are humble and seek God with ALL your heart that your belief will be stronger and your prayers will be more earnest.

James 5:16  "Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed.  The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much."  If we have hurt anyone in any way, we are to confess our wrong to them and make things right, if they don't accept our apology, it will become their problem but we will be right before God.  Make sure you are sincere, even to tears if that is what it takes.

1 John 3:22  "And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight."  If you don't know whether you are keeping His commandments, then go to Exodus 20 and read them over again and pray over them and God will show you whether you are or not.

This was a heavy subject, wasn't it?  Let's review it just a bit.  We need to humble ourselves before God and seek Him with ALL our heart and also believe with all our heart that what He promises He will do and He has promised to forgive us, hasn't He.  Then if we have wronged someone, we need to confess the wrong to them and then to God and then review the commandments and see if we are keeping His commandments according to His will.  Then if we can surrender all these things and be honest with God, then we will know that our repentance is sincere and genuine.

I am going to have to go over this again and make sure my repentance has been and is sincere and genuine.
How about you, it doesn't hurt to review our condition, it is a challenge and I love challenges so let's accept this challenge and move forward in God's grace.  How about it?  Grandma Joan