Repentance

Early today I had my post planned and had most of it in my head. Then God spoke through a visiting Minister this morning on Romans 8:31-39.

"What shall we then say to theses things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation or distress, or persecution, or famine, o nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written. For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. for I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angles, nor principalities, nor power, nor things present, not things to come. Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

The minister began his sermon with I want to tell you about the person who taught Him what repentance means. He began when He was 11 and learning how to us a gun in the 1940's and shot that gun between His fathers legs. All His father said was it was time to go to the house. Then He told about running over a small pig and His father said to bury the pig in the back 40. The stories continued with things He had done and the words His father said after each and every problem. Then He told us of the love of His father for Him. Unconditional love. As the father aged the two would have conversations about what the Minister had done and the father would say I don't remember anything about this or that, but only that the father was proud of Him. The father lived to be 90 years old and never remembered the bad things that his son had done.

Then the Minister said that is what God does for us, who are sinners. We are forgiven as the father forgave his son. God forgets and remembers no more. That is what Repentance is. Wow, I sin, God forgives and forgets. How can we then not forgive and forget. So hard for us. I pray you have a good week.