During Elul we have the opportunity to make a searching and fearless inventory of our lives. It is just that, an opportunity. And you know what? Opportunities pass.
The purpose of this inventory is so that we might repent of our ways and experience restoration with ourselves, our fellowman/woman and foremost with Yahweh.
As I was contemplating the steps to take, they came to me in Rs.
WHAT IS TRUE REPENTANCE
Recognize- The first step of repentance is to recognize our sin and the exact nature of our wrongs. We must step out of the dark places of our hearts and minds and allow Yahweh to shine His powerful and truthful light into those hidden places.
Responsibility- The next step is that we must take responsibility for our actions. We cannot blame others or our circumstances for our sin. We cannot play the victim role. We must take full responsibility for our actions.
Regret- We must regret our sinful ways and admit to Yahweh and ourselves how far we have fallen. This includes the hurt we have caused others and the pain we have caused Yahweh.
Remorse- We must feel deeply the pain we have inflicted on others and on ourselves and take an account of the cost.
Restitution- As we have felt deeply over our sin, we then must use that emotion to motivate us to make amends to others including restitution for any losses we have caused if at all possible.
Return- Then we will be free to return to Yahweh with clean hands and pure hearts. We make this return authentic and lasting by the last additional steps.
Resolve- We resolve to turn from our sin with the same passion and even more than we invested in our sin. We don’t expect this to be easy and are willing to do the work required within ourselves with Yahweh to stand our ground for righteousness.
Retrain- We begin the process of retraining our brain by learning to think differently having a renewed mind through Yeshua. We seek to take our thoughts captive and throw out old ways of thinking that lead us into sin.
Replace-We replace old thoughts, old rituals, old patterns, and anything that led us into our sin with new thoughts, new behaviors, and relationships that will enhance our walk out of darkness and into the light of Yeshua.
Restore- Having made this complete turn from our sinful ways we can now experience restoration of our character and restoration with our fellowman/woman and most importantly with our Messiah.
Dr. Qaumaniq Suuqiina
BYNA Elder
