Day 11 of 40 Days of Teshuvah

The purpose of Teshuvah is for the Restoration of all things. Repentance opens the way for restoration to the blessings of God in Christ Jesus.

I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the great locust, the grasshopper, and the caterpillar, my great army, which I sent among you. (Joel 2:25)

I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:14

When I walk In The Spirit,

Things of life make perfect sense.

Than when I went against Your will,

Looking back, seeing past tense.

Now I see what happens

When I willingly repent,

The obstacles sent against me

You do stop and they relent.

Hardship sent to break me

Put an end to this old flesh,

So You can restore

And serve to me Your best.

All the years consumed,

And devoured as You looked,

Only record now I see

Restoration in Your book.

When You said You would restore,

And pay back all they stole;

It was because You waited patiently

For me to reach toward the goal,

Of Your mark and the prize

Of Your will and high calling;

Now I see how all have sinned

And from whence we all have fallen.

So I stop and bow my knee

Oh Lord how did I get here?

Restore to me the years

when I didn’t lend my ear.

To listen or to hear

All that You have planned,

Now my only desire is truth

I humble myself under Your mighty hand.

Poem written by laurette laster © 2018 August

The process of Teshuvah involves the following four steps:

Step 1 Regret. Realize the extent of the damage and feel sincere regret.

Step 2 Cessation. Immediately stop the harmful action.

Step 3 Confession. Articulate the mistake and ask for forgiveness.

Step 4 Resolution. Make a firm commitment not to repeat it in the future.

Many people misunderstand the concept of sin. They think someone who sins is a “bad person.”Actually, the Hebrew word Chet does not mean sin at all. Chet appears in the Bible in reference to a slingshot which “missed the target.” There is nothing inherently “bad” about that slingshot! Rather, a mistake was made ― due to a lack of focus, concentration or skill. Rabbi Shraga Simmons

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So with the Rabbi’s explanation above, we understand that sin is simply missing the mark. When we are born again we are given instructions to desire and consume the sincere milk of the word. “Desire God’s pure word as newborn babies’ desire milk, then you will grow in your salvation.”  (1 Peter 2).  What is the sincere milk of the word? What is Peter referring to? It is the doctrine of Christianity. It is the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We learn that Jesus laid down his divinity to become a human being. We know Jesus was crucified, pouring out His blood for the remission of our sins. That in Jesus resurrection from the dead we are given the precious promise of His Holy Spirit. We have the same Spirit and power that raised Jesus from the dead living on the inside of us so we may become children of God.

When we repent and change our minds we cannot help but be humbled. At our conversion a brokenness ensues that accompanies our true change of heart and mind. This repentance  brings us to our knees in reverent humility. There is a deep root season that is associated with true conversion.

Holy Spirit begins this sensitive training for all of the new believers. In order to grow up and mature we need to first be planted, in order to grow roots. First a root season then a fruit season. We need godly training and teaching. We should not rely on our own understanding. Our walk and training must be accompanied along with studying the Bible and assembling together with like believers. We need to come under the authority of proven God fearing Christians. We need anointed pastors, teachers, and leaders, to lead us. We must mature from milk and become skillful meat eaters. We learn to use our steak knives to rightly divide the word (meat), not stab innocent bystanders, so to speak.

The apostle Paul wrote over half of the New Testament, and was given the mystery of the Tabernacle, along with many other mysteries. The mystery of the atoning work of Christ and His shed blood for the cleansing of our conscience and for the remission of sin. Yet we see that the apostle Paul is a perfect picture of a repentant life style.

He said when speaking of sinners; I am chief sinner. Even though Paul had the revelation of the old man passing away and all things becoming new, he never forgot where he came from.

Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners– of whom I am the worst. Many translations say of whom I am chief.” (1 Timothy1:15 NIV)

Paul knew his past was an example of God’s mercy poured out to sinners.

The more Paul learned and studied the closer he got to The Lord Jesus; Paul see’s where he missed the mark himself and tells us “Brothers and sisters I count not myself to have apprehended; but this one thing I do; forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.” (Philippians 3:13) Our Lord Jesus said to Paul I am Jesus whom thou persecutes: (Acts 9:5).
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This is the idea of Teshuvah. Teshuvah literally means “return.” When we “do Teshuvah,” we examine our ways, identify those areas where we are losing ground, and “return” to our own previous state of spiritual purity. In the process, we “return” to our connection with the Almighty as well.

Without the shed blood of Jesus Christ we could not return. We could lament, beg, cry, feel sorry and do good works, but none of these would have eternal value without the shed blood or sacrifice.

Pray this prayer:

Dear Lord Jesus.  You were crucified and  paid the price for my sin. It was Your Precious blood poured out on the mercy seat for sinners. I confess I am a sinner and I have fallen short of the glory of You, oh God. Lord Jesus You willingly laid down Your life and went to the Cross so I could be set free from the penalty of  sin. I repent of my sins and selfish ways. I’m going to press toward the mark of Your high calling. Teach me how to not look back, but how to press toward the mark for the prize of Your high calling. Lord Jesus you humbled Yourself to die on the Cross, show me how to die to my stinking flesh. I want to humble myself under Your mighty Hand God so that after I have learned and studied You will exalt me at the proper time. Amen

God bless you and keep you and make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you and give you Shalom.

Until next time, thank you for listening with me. Laurette