Author: Pure Joy

~ The True Way to Repent. ~

 The word Repent is used in the Bible Many times, so it's obviously a Very Important thing to Do.

Yet Many people don't know what Repent actually means. 

From my own personal experience, it was a Long time into my Journey of Faith before I found out what it means.
I had read about it and heard it mentioned, but I didn't know what it actually meant.

Over the years I've come to realise that the word Repent has been given a 'Bad Name'. It's been made to seem like it's something Strange, and people have Dramatised it.
Many people have been 'Put Off' by these 'Lies & Manipulations'.

But the 'Truth' is, that 'Repenting' is one of the Best things You can Do, because the Outcome leads to 'Peace & Freedom', and Harmony with God. 

Basically the word 'Repent' means:

~ Stop Doing Whatever You're Doing that's 'Wrong',
~ Turn Away from it,
~ And Follow God's Right Way to Live.

It's Not Strange.   It's No Big Drama.   It's just Plain & Simple.

With that in Mind, Imagine You're looking down from above at a Path that runs horizontally across. 
It leads all the way to the Left as far as you can see and out of sight.
It also leads all the way to the Right as far as you can see and out of sight.
There's a 'Line' in the middle 'Separating' Left from Right.

The Left side of the Path represents 'the devils' Way to Live, which is often referred to in the Bible as 'the worlds way'. 
At the end of the Path to the Left is Hell.

 The Right side of the Path represents 'God's Way' to Live.
At the end of the Path to the Right is Heaven.

On the Path of Life, there is No 'In Between Ground'. 
There's Only 2 Ways to Live, either 'the devils way', or 'God's Way'. 

Imagine that the Path represents 'Your Life', and now Imagine Yourself 
'On the Path'. 

Be Truthful with Yourself :

~ Which Side of the Line are You on ?
~ And which Direction are You Heading ?

Pause for a moment and Think about that 'Honestly & Seriously'. 

~   ~   ~   ~   ~

There are some people who Believe in God & Jesus but they're Heading in the Wrong Direction. 
And some Believers are Living Their Lives on the 'devils side' of the Path.

There are many reasons for that. It could be because they're Doing something Wrong but Nobody has told them that it's Wrong in 'God's Eyes', so when they see 'Other People' Doing it, they Think it's ok for them to Do it.
Or it could be that they know what they're Doing is Wrong, but they Choose to 'Do It Anyway' just so they can 'Fit In' with people and be 'Liked' by 'people'.
Then there are people who 'Manipulate' Bible Verses to 'Suite Themselves' so they can 'Do Whatever They Want', even if it's Wrong. They say things like 'Some Bible Verses are not relevant in the modern world'. 
Well people have probably been saying that for Thousands of years.

But the 'Truth' is, that in 'God's Eyes' what's Right is Right, and what's Wrong is Wrong. And that will Never Change.
~ (Malachi 3:6) says, “For I am the Lord, I do Not Change”. 
~ (Hebrews 13:8) says, “Jesus is the Same Yesterday, Today, and Forever”. 

If God's Word says something is Wrong, then it's Wrong.
It will Never Change just because 'people' want it to Change.
It just means that those people are heading in the Wrong Direction on the Wrong side of the Path.

There are Many reasons why people end up on the Wrong side of the Path or  heading in the Wrong Direction.
Some is out of 'Personal Choice'. And some is because they have been 'Misled'.

But whatever the reason, the Important thing is to 'Repent'. 

God is so Loving, Graceful and Forgiving that if You 'Honestly & Sincerely' Repent, then He will 'Welcome' You back onto the 'Right Side' of the Path.

God knows who the 'Fakes' are, but He also knows the 'Genuine' Believers who have 'Gone Astray'. 
Repent, and feel God's Love in Ways that You've never felt before.

Jesus will be 'With You' Every Step of 'Your Journey'. He will Guide You and He will Fill You with the Power of the Holy Spirit.

But He will Never 'Force' Any of this on You. 
You need to be Willing to Accept His 'Guidance & Power'.

Jesus wants what's 'Best for You'. 
He knows that the Best thing for You to Do is to get as 'Far Away' from the 'devils side' of the Path as You can, and as 'Quickly' as You can.

There are many people who have Repented, but they 'Linger' around near the 'Dividing Line' of the Path.
The devil can then Easily 'Lure' them back onto 'his side'. 

That's what happened to me at the beginning of my 'Journey with Jesus'. 

 When I started my Journey over 20 years ago, I made a 'Choice' that I wanted to become a 'Decent Person'. 
I knew that meant 'Stopping' the Wrong things I was Doing, and Start Following 'God's Way'. 
I Did Do that. 
But I wasn't Aware at that point of the 'Mighty Power' that was Available to me from the Holy Spirit that would Enable me to take 'Giant Leaps of Faith' to 
'Get Away' from the devils 'Lure'. 

So I 'Tentatively' took 'Little Steps' towards 'God's Way'. 
I was Heading in the 'Right Direction', but because I wasn't putting my 'Complete Trust' in God, then the devil was able to 'Lure' me back with his 'Lies & Trickery' through 'Other People'. 
I Wrongly continued to Believe 'people' about 'How to Live my Life', and I felt that I would 'Miss Out' on things if I Fully 'Let Go' of my 'Old Lifestyle'.

Even though I was Heading in 'God's Direction', I Regularly 'Looked Back'. 
I now realise that was the 'Biggest Mistake' I made.
Every time I 'Looked Back', the devil had the 'Opportunity' to 'Lure' me back again.

There are many different ways that people 'Look Back' after they've Repented.
One of the worst ways is by 'Thinking' about the Wrong thing that You 'Used' to do, or 'Thinking' about the people who had a 'Wrong' Influence on You.
Every time You 'Think' about Your 'Past' that's Connected to a 'Wrong' Way of Living, it's like Opening a Door in Your Mind to the devil, and he will take Any Opportunity You 'Give' him to 'Trick' You back onto 'his side' of the Path.

Another way that people 'Look Back' is by Continuing to spend time with the 'Wrong' people or staying in Contact with them.
Those people will Continue to 'Lure' You back onto the 'devils side' of the Path.

Both of those ways led me back onto the 'Wrong' side of the Path many times.
But since I realised these things and since I Discovered the 'Mighty Power' of the Holy Spirit that Jesus Gave me, I No longer 'Waste' my time or energy 'Thinking' about my Past or spending time & contact with 'Wrong' people.

I Made a Firm Decision Many Years ago to 'Get Rid' of 'worldly ways' Out of my Life, and to 'Only' Believe God about 'Who I Am' and 'How to Live my Life'. 
That Firm Decision has led to 'Real Freedom' in my Life, and Opened the door to 'God's Plan for My Life'. 

I Honestly Don't 'Miss' Anything at All from my 'Old Lifestyle', and I 'Truly' mean that.
I've Lived Life on the 'devils side' of the Path, and I'm now Living on 
'God's Side'. 
I can 'Wholeheartedly say that:

“Life with God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit 
is Everything You could Ever Dream of, and Much More”. 

My Guidance to You about Repenting is:

~ Believe God's Word in the Bible & His Guidance to You Personally about what is Right & Wrong. Don't look to 'people' for Answers, because too many people have got Corrupted Views.

~ If there's something You are Doing that's Wrong in 'God's Way' of Living, then 'Stop' Immediately. Don't put it off till tomorrow, the devil will have 'Tricked' You again by tomorrow.

~ Make a 'Sincere' Commitment to 'Turn Away' from the 'Wrong' Lifestyle. Remember, God knows who the Fakes are, but He Gives Power to the Genuine.

~ Now that You're Facing the Right Direction towards God,
 Don't 'Look Back'.
Stay Focused on God. 
There's Nothing 'Behind You' that's worth risking 'Missing Out' on 
what God has got Planned Ahead of You.

~ Be Open & Willing to Accept the Guidance of Jesus, and the 'Mighty Power' of the Holy Spirit. 

~ Use that Power to take the Biggest 'Leaps of Faith' you can take to get as 'Far Away' from 'the devils' side of the Path as You can. 
   * That could be Staying Away from certain people.
   * It could be Deleting Apps off Your phone.
   * It might be 'Getting Rid' of certain things that Remind You of Your Past.
   * It could be Deleting All Your 'social media' accounts.
   * It might mean Not watching certain programs.
   * A Great 'Leap of Faith' is to 'Only' Believe 'God's Word' and Not 'people'.
   * It could Simply be Saying 'No' to the 'worlds ways'. 
          The Bible says in (James 4:4) “If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God”.   ~ It's Your Choice.

Whatever You Do, Do Something that's Personal & Helpful to You so You can 'Get Away' from the 'Lure' of the devil. 
The Bible says: “Resist the devil and he will Flee from You”, (James 4:7). 

The Closer You get to God, the further Away from the devil You will be.

Remember,  Jesus is 'With You Always'. 
If You've got any doubts, Give them to Jesus, and put 
Your 'Complete Trust' in Him. He will Never let You down.

Jesus knows the Power that's 'In You', and He knows what 
You are Capable of.  He Lovingly says to You,

“You Can Do It”. 

Enjoy Your 'Journey with Jesus' along the Path of Life.

And Enjoy the Wonderful Blessings 
that God has got Planned for You 
when You Repent, and Never Look Back.

~ Spiritual Gifts Given ~ worldly sins Forgiven. ~

 While Jesus was Physically on earth, He said to the Disciples that after He Rises from death He would 'Send a Helper' in the form of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus was True to His Word.

About 50 days after He Rose, the Disciples were gathered together.

'Suddenly there came a Sound from Heaven, as of a rushing Mighty wind', (Acts 2:2). 
It wasn't an actual blowing wind, it was a Sound 'Like a Mighty wind'. 

'Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of Fire, 
and sat upon each of them'. (Acts 2:3). 

At that point a Truly Wonderful thing happened.

'They were All Filled with the Holy Spirit'. (Acts 2:4). 

It wasn't just a Little Bit of the Holy Spirit, they were 'Filled' with the 
Holy Spirit. 
This is what's known as Pentecost. 

This 'Mighty Power' sent from Jesus gave them the 'Wonderful Gift' to 'Do' what Jesus had Previously asked them to 'Do', ~ “Go into All the world and Preach the Gospel to Every Creature”, (Mark 16:15). 

'They began to Speak in Other tongues (Languages) 
as the Spirit gave to them'. Acts 2:4). 

The Bible says at that time there were people from 'Every Nation under Heaven' staying in Jerusalem, and when the Sound of the Mighty wind happened, they All came together where the Disciples were.

The people all spoke in Different Languages, but 'Everyone Heard' the Disciples Speaking in 'Their Own Language'. (Acts 2:5-6). 

The people were All 'Amazed' and said, 
“How can we All hear in Our Own Language”. (Acts 2:7-8). 

That's the Power of the 'Holy Spirit', He will Give You Wonderful Gifts to 'Do' Amazing things.

The Disciples 'Stood Up' and Peter 'Immediately' started to Preach the 'Gospel of Jesus' and saying Scripture to the people. He didn't Waste any time. He was 'Given a Gift' and he put it to Good Use 'Straight Away'. 
It was probably Peters way of 'Showing' Jesus how 'Grateful' he was for 'Saving his Soul', and 'Setting him Free' from the Traps of the 'world'. 

While Peter was Boldly talking about Jesus, the people asked, 
“What shall we do”?
Peter replied,
“Repent, and let Every one of You be Baptised in the name of  Jesus Christ for the Forgiveness of sins, and You Shall Receive the Gift of the Holy Spirit”, (Acts 2:37-38). 

Then in that one day, about 3,000 people were Baptised and their 'Souls Saved'.
WOW. That's the Amazing Power of the Holy Spirit.

That Power is Available to You.

It Doesn't mean You will have to Preach and Baptise 3,000 people. And it Doesn't mean You will have to Speak in different tongues (Languages). 

The Powerful Gifts of the Holy Spirit will be 'Unique & Individual' to You Personally, to Help You Achieve God's Purpose & Plan for Your Life.

He will also Give You Power to be 'Set Free' from the 'Lies & Corruption' of the 'world' so You don't get 'Tricked', (Acts 2:40).    

The devil is Fully Aware of the Power of the Holy Spirit and the Amazing things that can be Achieved through God's people when they're Filled with the Holy Spirit. So the devil has been Using 'his followers' to try to 'Scare' people away from wanting to 'Welcome' the Holy Spirit into their Lives.

Throughout my 'Journey of Faith', I've Seen, Heard, and Read Lots of False Teachings, Manipulations of Bible Verses, and Corrupted Views of what it means to Welcome the Holy Spirit into Your Life, and about what the Spiritual Gifts actually mean. 

These 'Wrong Teachings' have either 'Pushed' people Away from God, or they've given Many True Believers a 'False Understanding' of what it means, which has led Many Believers into trying to 'Do' certain things that God has 'Not' asked them to 'Do'. 

The Truth though is in God's Word and His Guidance.

Before I started to write this writing, I asked God to 'Guide' me.
His Guidance was, “Stay Focused on Me”. 

That's the Guidance I give to You ~ 'Stay Focused on God'. 

There's Lots of 'Lies' being Spread around about the Holy Spirit & His Spiritual Gifts. The Only Way to know the Truth, is from the 'Source' of the Holy Spirit, which is God & Jesus.

Let God & Jesus Guide You through God's Word, and more Importantly by having a 'Direct' Personal Relationship with them. 
They will let You know the Truth.

If You have ever been Told that You can't receive the Holy Spirit or His Gifts, that's a 'Lie'. The Bible says:
“For the promise is for You, and to All who are afar off, 
as Many as the Lord our God will call”, (Acts 2:39). 

The Holy Spirit and His Gifts are obviously Not Scary, because the Bible doesn't say that the Disciples were Scared when they were 'Filled with the Holy Spirit'. And it doesn't say that Any of the people were Scared when they Heard the Disciples Speaking in 'Their Own Language'. It says that the were 'Amazed'. 

When You Believe God's True Word, and Not what people 'Say' about God's Word, then You will have Peace.

There's a Beautiful Bible Verse that says.
“Repent, that Your sins may be Blotted Out, so that times of Refreshing
may come from the Presence of the Lord”, (Acts 3:19). 

When You Welcome the Holy Spirit into Your Heart, Mind & Soul, it's 
Very Refreshing.
He 'Washes' You Clean of the 'Rubbish' that's been 'Holding You Back', and Refreshes 'Your Life' with Peace, Love, Joy, and the Amazing Power of the Holy Spirit.

How do You Welcome the Holy Spirit ?

God's Word says,

“Repent, and let Every one of You be Baptised
 in the name of Jesus Christ for the Forgiveness of sins, 
and You Shall receive the Gift of the Holy Spirit”.