Becoming Like Jesus: Confession and RepentanceSample

Change Your Ways

For this last week of the Plan, we are going to focus on the final part of confession and repentance. As a reminder, confession is agreeing with God. It’s being honest about what’s on the inside. Repentance is aiming your life towards God. It’s changing what’s on the outside.

We do this by:

A - Admit you’ve sinned. In the first week, we looked at what sin is, why it matters that we don’t let sin control our lives, and how to own up when we mess up.

B - Beg for mercy. Last week, we took the next step of humbling ourselves and learning how to ask God for mercy.

C - Change your ways. Now, we are going to focus on doing things differently in the future.

Let’s jump in.

Pray…

Heavenly Father, make me more like Jesus. I want to become the kind of person that truly loves you with all that I am and loves others the way you love me. I know that can’t happen if I stay the same. So I’m asking you to change me from the inside out. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Read…

From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers—Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew—throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” And they left their nets at once and followed him. Matthew 4:17-20 NLT

Consider….

Jesus began His public ministry telling us the time has come for us to see our sins the way God does and to return to Him as the rightful King of creation. This message wasn’t just something Jesus said once and forgot about it. Matthew, the author of Scripture we read, includes the line: “From then on Jesus began to preach…”

That means that Jesus was continually reminding people that they needed to turn away from their sins and aim their lives toward God in order to be a part of His Kingdom.

Entrance into the Kingdom comes through repentance, and life in the kingdom is shaped by repentance.

The very next thing we read in Matthew’s Gospel is a story about two fishermen who respond to Jesus’ invitation by completely changing their way of life. Before Jesus called them, they were fishermen. But when Jesus showed up, they left their old life behind so they could follow Him.

When Jesus calls you, He doesn’t call you to keep living as if nothing has changed. He calls you to devote your life to loving God and loving others. He’s inviting you to turn away from our self-ruled way of life and live under the rule and reign of God.

Accept your invitation into the Kingdom of God by repenting of your sins and turning to Jesus.

Practice…

Identify an area of your life where you need to change your ways to be more like Jesus.

What parts of your old life have you had to leave behind in order to follow Jesus? What parts of your old life are you still holding onto that you need to let go of?

Repentance means changing the way we think, talk, act, and live. It’s about aligning our lives with the values and practices of God’s Kingdom. It's a process that takes time, is rarely smooth, and requires effort. We won’t always get it right, but if we keep doing our best to admit when we’ve sinned, beg for mercy, and actually change our ways, then we will see God transform us into people who think, talk, act, and live more like Jesus.

Start by picking one area of your life that doesn’t look like Jesus yet and ask the Holy Spirit to help you make a change.

Listen…

Find a quiet place where you can continue to spend time with God. Maybe you have a favorite chair, a certain spot in your backyard, or a particularly cozy closet. Wherever you need to go to limit distractions, do it.

Set a timer for five-ten minutes. Ask God to speak to you. When you get distracted, come back to God by praying this Scripture:

Teach me your ways, O Lord, that I may live according to your truth! Psalm 86:11 NLT

When the timer ends, thank God for the time you spent together and go into your day looking for opportunities to love Him and love others.