Matthews 3:5-6 says, “There went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the region round about Jordan, and were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.” From time to time throughout church history, there have been outbreaks of this phenomena where whole areas came under conviction of sin. In times of this type of repentance many come under such powerful conviction that they go through great agony of soul as they struggle with guilt. They also receive great joy as they come into forgiveness from Christ.

If you have not seen the documentaries, Reformation I and II, you would be blessed to watch them as they chronicle some amazing events in modern church history.

I once visited a place where such an event took place in Florence, Kentucky, called the Cain Ridge Revival which brought such a great spirit of repentance and swept thousands into the kingdom.

We desperately need this revival of repentance again. Even though much of the present day church is opposed, we must continue to pray.

Be encouraged. Colin

It is true that there should be a time when repentance begins in our lives, but repentance from sin, accompanied by a turning of heart toward God to accomplish His will, is a positive and present continuous experience in the life of the believer. Repentance is indeed an ongoing action of turning away from any action or behavior that the Holy Spirit reveals is not in accordance with His will for us.

I am not saying that we should be in a constant state of remorse. God forbid. This would imply that we have not accepted forgiveness.

I believe the modern church has made repentance to be a negative doctrine. We should see that repentance is a very positive attitude. Accompanied with faith in God’s forgiveness it enables us to joyfully experience the great blessings of His kingdom.

Acts 17:30-31 says, “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent: because he heath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained.”

Men, let’s be willing and quick to repent and begin a 2 Chronicles 7:14 movement in our day.

Be encouraged. Colin

It is very sad that many of the people of God are not that interested in hearing anything about the word, repentance. Unfortunately, in an ever increasing number of churches, the word, repentance, cannot even be mentioned because it may cause an offence to some listeners.

Some churches believe that it is unloving to tell people that they are sinners and that we need to repent. They reason that because God is a God of love that He would not want to offend homosexuals, pedophiles, abortionists, pornographers, or in fact, anyone who could be called as a sinner. Therefore, all sinners are welcome and made to feel comfortable in their congregations.

John the Baptist preached, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2) and it cost him his life.

The man who was the most loving of all men, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, preached the same word, “Repent: for the kingdom heaven is at hand.”

The truth is that no matter how close at hand the kingdom of heaven is, it cannot be experienced by anyone who is not repentant. Although the kingdom of heaven “is at hand” and can be so close, yet we can completely miss out on all it has to offer.

Be encouraged. Colin

Men, it is up to us to keep ourselves humble, meek, and free from pride.

1 Peter 5:6 says, “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.”

We must exercise our own self restraint when it comes to dealing with pride. It is not that we can win in this battle against pride by our own strength, for our own strength will surely fail us. But, we must exercise our own will to call upon the Lord. We must also exercise our own will when we need to repent. We cannot expect God to act on our behalf while we remain passive.

Too many men are far too passive when it comes to prayer, praise, worship, and keeping ourselves in humility. Our nation is desperately needing repentance. Our churches desperately need repentance. If we, at this time, do not feel the urgency of repentance, then we are indeed in a backslidden state. I am a very optimistic person and I do not relish “doom and gloom.” However, I believe that the spiritual state of our nation is worse than most believers realize. We must act in repentance, now!

Be encouraged to pray. Colin

Men, TODAY WE MUST PRAY! We must pray that the church will receive a mindset for spiritual warfare. A real battle is raging in our country to turn this nation into a humanistic, godless society.

King David knew that he was called to the kingdom to fight for his nation in his day. Do we know this calling is upon us also? In Psalm 144:5-6 David prays, “Bow thy heavens, O Lord, and come down: touch the mountains, and they shall smoke. Cast forth lightning, and scatter them: shoot out thine arrows, and destroy them.” He calls for volcanic eruptions and arrows of lightning to scatter and destroy the ideologies and false teachers that were influencing the nation away from God.

As New Testament believers, we cannot take up physical swords against our enemies, but we can pray that God will deal with our enemies and turn the listeners against them.

Psalm 144:11-15 gives us the valid reason for this spiritual warfare–that our sons will be mature in their character and spirituality in their youth, and our daughters polished like palace gem stones (v. 12).

Psalm 144: 13-15 is the final reason for spiritual warfare–that our economy may be blessed.

Men, we must pray today and always, individually, and as a family, for our nation.

Be encouraged to pray, Colin

God delights in humble men. Luke 1:51-52 tell us that God “hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.”

There is a great need for men who are successful, but not proud of their success. The man who is prideful of his success has failed the test of humility and is not successful at all. He is heading for a fall.
To be little in one’s own eyes, even in the midst of accomplishment and success is something to be desired for it is rare. God loves this attitude of humility.

Most men fail to understand how obnoxious pride is to God. Everything man has creation wise has been given to him by God. Even the air we breathe. It is God that gives the power to get wealth. Deuteronomy 8:17-18 says, “And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealthy. But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth.”

King Saul’s leadership of Israel came under a big test of obedience and we learn that God will only co-operate with leadership that is serious about obedience.

King Saul was given two chances to prove his complete obedience, but he failed both times. The first is where he was told to wait for the prophet to pray and offer sacrifices, but instead of waiting he did it himself. 1 Samuel 13:13 says, “And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God, which he commanded thee.”

The second was when God commanded Saul to “Go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not.” However, Saul was only partially obedient because he feared his people and instead spared the king of the Amalekites and the best of their sheep and cattle to offer up sacrifices to the Lord. This sounded a very good idea, but it was disobedience.

After this, Samuel the prophet did not come to visit Saul again and the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul.

Men, we cannot afford for this to happen in our leadership as fathers, or in our business. As the leader of our family, it would do us good to sit up and take notice that God is with our fatherhood and will give us the wisdom we need from day to day to lead our families as we are obedient to Him.

All partial obedience takes God out of the picture. Colin

We must not think that grudging, partial obedience is in anyway acceptable to God, for it is not acceptable. No father or employer will accept grudging obedience. Half-hearted obedience is regarded as rebellion in Scripture.

1 Samuel 15:22 says, “Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.” This word was spoken to King Saul by Samuel the prophet after Saul had partially obeyed God. As far as God is concerned, disobedience, or even partial obedience, is rebellion which God considers as evil as witchcraft and idolatry.

Have you ever considered that one of the big strongholds to be brought down in our lives is half-hearted, partial obedience?

Be encouraged to be an example to your family in this matter of obedience. Colin

I believe with all my heart in praying for our government and nation that all corruption of our leaders will come down and that God, by His grace, will grant us godly leaders, whether it be in Washington or our local governments. How we long to see our countries free from humanistic, progressive, New World Order government.

However, we must be honest to God and ourselves regarding any disobedience in our own lives. The Holy Spirit constantly seeks our obedience in one way or another, whether it is in our attitudes, wrong speech, morals, or worldliness. Are we responding to the voice of the Holy Spirit.

The big question is, WHAT EXTENT IS OUR OWN DISOBEDIENCE TO THE VOICE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AFFECTING OUR PRAYER LIFE FOR THE OBEDIENCE OF OTHERS?

I believe the answer could be much more than we think. We need to ask ourselves today what the Holy Spirit is speaking to us about. To whom are we listening and being obedient?

Be encouraged to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit. Colin

The word “readiness” implies a ready, prepared, and determined mindset against all areas of disobedience, both in our own lives and in the lives of others where we can influence change.

The word “revenge” means “vindication, retaliation and punishment.” These days, disobedience is often just frowned upon, but not considered a serious problem or something to get worked up about. However, we are told in this Scripture that all disobedience should be put right and punished as necessary.

To be continued. Colin