Catalysts Of Repentance

It is important that the catalyst leading to our repentance is biblical.   #daybydaylw   Interested in learning more about becoming a devoted follower of Christ? Go to follow.lifeword.org!   ~~~   When I was in junior high I played basketball for the Mabelvale Junior High Red Raiders. One particular game stands out in my memory. We had gone in for halftime to make adjustments to our game plan, went back out to warm up before the second half began. It was our ball to begin the second half, which required an in-bounds play from halfcourt. My teammate was the one who would make the pass, and the plan was for him to pass it to me at half court. The rest of my team was scattered around the gym. I break away from the kid who was defending me to create some space between us so that my teammate can pass the ball to me. He passes it to me as I am breaking away, and once I get the ball and start dribbling, I see that there is no one between me and basketball goal. So I start dribbling as fast as I can and running as hard as I can. And just as I am about to start preparing to go into my lay-up, it dawns on me…this is the wrong side of the court. My team’s goal is on the other end. Thankfully, I had this realization in enough time that I could continue dribbling and turn towards my goal and bring the ball up the court in the proper direction. I realized I was doing something wrong. I was convinced it was wrong the wrong direction, the wrong goal, so I stopped going that direction, turned and went to the other end of the court, the other direction. That is a very rudimentary, simplistic illustration of what repentance is—to realize you are wrong, to stop what you are doing, and to turn from your wrong direction and go in the right direction. And when we think about it, everyone repents, in one way or another, under that basic definition and understanding. Everyone is actually pretty skilled at the basics of repenting. We are constantly changing our mind about stuff, changing our actions, changing our directions. But what is the catalyst for our repentance? Over the next few days, I want to give you at least three catalysts that oftentimes spur our repentance, and I want us to ask the question, “Are these catalysts in line with biblical repentance?”