I think growing up in church and being surrounded by religious things such as T.V. evangelists, when I hear the word “repent” I always tense up a little. People who shouted this word seemed to be angry. Imagine my surprise when I had to speak last Sunday and one of the points was about repentance. I always thought repentance meant to stop what you are doing and to go in a different direction. It definitely seemed harder than presented once put into action. So much so many give up and give in to sin or negative behavior because it’s just too hard to change or stop. We subscribe to “Well, everybody sins. No one is perfect. That’s just the way I am. You have to die from something.”

In my research for the message, I found this article about repentance. It stated, “Repentance Is NOT Behavior Change.” Needless to say, it caught my attention. I discovered that repentance has 3 elements and we only have been dealing with one element. There must be a change of mind, a change of heart, and volition. There also must be HELP via the power of God or Holy Spirit. You can’t change on your own will. You need your will and the help of Spirit or God.

I also believe other things help in this process of repentance. Things like affirmations or meditation. Whether that be speaking scriptures pertaining to what you are trying to change or speaking positive, affirming, encouraging words to help change your mind and cleanse your heart. Same for meditation. I didn’t YELL to the audience REPENT or YOU’RE GOING TO HELL! I simply presented the process of repentance and why it was necessary if they really wanted to be their best spiritual selves or Christ like.

https://what-christians-should-know.org/repentance-is-not-behavior-change/

~Nikki