Ezekiel 11:18-20 “They will return to it and remove all its vile images and detestable idols. I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God.”

And here we have the results of repentance. In the first place, the Jews discarded their idols, that is, the things that had come between them and God. In places like the US that don’t have many physical statues of deities, the idea of idolatry doesn’t necessarily click, but it’s no accident that popular entertainers are called idols. That can be all too accurate! All sorts of things can come between us and God, and repentance involves getting them out of the way. The second thing is that God responds to genuine repentance by giving us a new heart. To be honest, our old heart loves the idols, the things we have set up in place of God, and God has to change that. However, our own will is involved, and that is an essential part of repentance. We need to choose to be different. If we will make that choice, God will bring it to pass. And the result of all of that is that our lifestyle will change, from avoiding God to seeking Him, from flaunting our disobedience to obeying Him in humility and gratitude. That can be such a dramatic change that people all around us will notice and be influenced. That is one of the most powerful forms of evangelism!

Just recently a lady in this church, who moved here from another city, gave a testimony in which she explained how she had come to Christ. She is a music teacher, and she had a voice student who was so negative and pessimistic that it was depressing dealing with her. Then that student moved to another town, and after some time they had a telephone conversation. The former student was so up-beat and happy that the music teacher thought she might be talking to a different person! It turned out the student had made a friend in her new location who was a Christian, and before long the student opened her own heart to Christ and was transformed. The music teacher was so impressed that she sought out a church herself, and before long she discovered what it was all about. Transformation is contagious! I have been a Christian for so long that probably even my siblings have no memory of me from before that, but my life still needs to be an example of what it is to walk with Christ. My problem as a Caucasian missionary in Japan is that people tend to explain away my lifestyle as simply American. They don’t know some of the Americans I do! Besides, I still mess up on a pretty regular basis, and I have to keep my repentance up to date. I too have the tendency to let things come between me and God, and I have to deal with that as soon as I realize it. Also, I have learned the hard way that I can’t walk the right path on my own; I’ve got to have God’s guidance, protection, and support. It is only when I walk in that humility that I walk right, and others can be drawn to Him through me.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for the strong reminder yesterday of my human fallibility. Thank You for prompting me to withdraw for a while so that I didn’t compound the problem, and for enabling me to apologize appropriately. Help me indeed let go of my “rights,” because they come between me and Your children, and even between me and You. May I be the obedient vessel that You desire, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!