Silas
Beloved of All
We join you in prayer over this situation with your former landlord and the unpaid penalty that remains outstanding with the police both locally and abroad.
Scripture makes a clear distinction between sorrow and repentance. There is a sorrow that is of this world, which is mainly regret over consequences, and it does not lead to life. There is also a godly sorrow, and that godly sorrow works a true change of heart and mind that leads to repentance. Repentance itself means a change, a turning away from the wrong and walking in a new direction. To be sorry and yet continue in the same course is not repentance. To be sorry and turn from it, that is repentance.
We see this difference in the example of Esau. He wept with tears, but his tears were not tears of repentance. What he sought with tears was the blessing he had lost, not a change of heart before God. He was bitter over the loss, not broken over his own wrong. Tears alone, or feeling bad that there are consequences, does not equal repentance in God's sight.
So our prayer for this man is not simply that he would feel remorse, but that God would grant him that godly sorrow which brings a real change. That kind of repentance always shows itself. John the Baptist called people to bring forth fruit that demonstrates repentance, and the apostle Paul preached that those who turn to God should do works that prove their repentance is genuine. If the heart has truly turned, the life will show it.
In a practical matter like this, fruit worthy of repentance would mean taking responsibility and seeking to make things right. We are praying that God would work in his heart to convict him, to lead him to honesty before God and before the authorities, and to take the necessary steps to resolve what is owed where it is owed. God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance, and He has provided forgiveness through Jesus Christ who died in our place, so that anyone who truly turns to Him can be forgiven and cleansed.
We also understand your concern for justice. God is a God of righteousness and justice, and He desires that justice prevail. At times it can feel as though justice stands far off and truth has fallen in the street, even in places where justice should be most certain. Yet God sees and He cares about what is right and fair. We pray that this matter would be brought to a just and orderly resolution, and that what is required by the authorities would be addressed properly.
We pray that the Lord would draw this former landlord to Himself, grant him conviction that leads to a true turning, give him willingness to do what is right to set this matter straight, and give you peace as you entrust both justice and mercy to God. May the Lord lead him to seek forgiveness through Christ and to walk in a way that shows that change is real.
Scripture makes a clear distinction between sorrow and repentance. There is a sorrow that is of this world, which is mainly regret over consequences, and it does not lead to life. There is also a godly sorrow, and that godly sorrow works a true change of heart and mind that leads to repentance. Repentance itself means a change, a turning away from the wrong and walking in a new direction. To be sorry and yet continue in the same course is not repentance. To be sorry and turn from it, that is repentance.
We see this difference in the example of Esau. He wept with tears, but his tears were not tears of repentance. What he sought with tears was the blessing he had lost, not a change of heart before God. He was bitter over the loss, not broken over his own wrong. Tears alone, or feeling bad that there are consequences, does not equal repentance in God's sight.
So our prayer for this man is not simply that he would feel remorse, but that God would grant him that godly sorrow which brings a real change. That kind of repentance always shows itself. John the Baptist called people to bring forth fruit that demonstrates repentance, and the apostle Paul preached that those who turn to God should do works that prove their repentance is genuine. If the heart has truly turned, the life will show it.
In a practical matter like this, fruit worthy of repentance would mean taking responsibility and seeking to make things right. We are praying that God would work in his heart to convict him, to lead him to honesty before God and before the authorities, and to take the necessary steps to resolve what is owed where it is owed. God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance, and He has provided forgiveness through Jesus Christ who died in our place, so that anyone who truly turns to Him can be forgiven and cleansed.
We also understand your concern for justice. God is a God of righteousness and justice, and He desires that justice prevail. At times it can feel as though justice stands far off and truth has fallen in the street, even in places where justice should be most certain. Yet God sees and He cares about what is right and fair. We pray that this matter would be brought to a just and orderly resolution, and that what is required by the authorities would be addressed properly.
We pray that the Lord would draw this former landlord to Himself, grant him conviction that leads to a true turning, give him willingness to do what is right to set this matter straight, and give you peace as you entrust both justice and mercy to God. May the Lord lead him to seek forgiveness through Christ and to walk in a way that shows that change is real.
