Repentence is for believers

Its hard to pick one thing to write about so I will try to make all the things I want to say fit together somehow. Todya at church, Josh talked about repentence. One thing that really stood out to me was his comment that repentence is for believers...PLease thing about this and email me or leave a comment if you want to talk about it. This morning was sooo good for me. Church was very meaningful for some reason and all of a sudden, everything was just as it should be. I experienced church/God.
It all started a few days ago.... because I am unsure of my audience at this point, I want to be general in this blog...Anyway, a few days ago, one of my new KC friends made a comment that really convicted me of some things. LIke I said, no details necessary, but even though it was not his intent to make me feel bad or change me, His example called me to repentence. On a similar note, I also was able to lead by example with another friend. so what did I learn or how has this changed me. Does this mean that I am cured of all impure thoughts, or temptation to talk bad about people?....Heck no. It probably means that the temptation will be greater and I will probably catch myself falling into the tempation or justifying things at times. Or will my friend that I have helped be cured forever of what he struggles with....No, not at all. Does this mean that he or I need to sit in a puddle of guilt because we have not been changed or because we are human and we struggle with things? By no means....I thank God that my friend cares enough about me, a member of his community, to stand up to me and call me to a higher standard. I also thank God that I am open to the gentle rebuke or at times the swift kick in the you know what.
I find that one of the biggest disservices the church did to me and many other young church goers is the sense of guilt that we have attached to the conversion experience and repentence. Some people are more prone to guilt than others I am sure, but I watched a documentary last week and one of the saddest things that I saw was a group of children crying at a church camp. the speaker had an alter call after an intense childrens sermon and the children all wanted to recommit their lives and cry, and from experience I know that many of them were experienceing a false sense of guilt. I cannot remember how many times I experienced paralyzing guilt trips as a child and even now.
There is so much more to be said on these things but for now this is it. so now I challenge you to be sensitive to your community and to God. Look for the areas where we can learn from each other and instead of feeling guilty and not good enough, lets figure out how to help each other and look for help from others when we need it.

"I am wrong and of these things, I repent"
~Derek Webb