Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord; though they join forces (hands), none will go unpunished. Proverbs 16:5.

The false prophets in Israel always told the king what they thought he wanted to hear. True prophets were accused of troubling Israel, but in reality it was the sins of Israel that brought them trouble. America is not Israel, but America’s problems are the same.

America has a heart problem. Actions and words originate in the heart. The remedy for our country is not to elect a pastor as president. The remedy is for individuals to get right with God. I’m not talking about city wide revivals or Christian rock concerts. I’m talking about individuals getting alone with God and doing business with Him.

It begins with repentance which is a changing of the mind which leads to a turning or change of direction. This is an agreement with God, not about one’s neighbor or fellow worker, but about one’s own spiritual bankruptcy. Conversion needs to follow repentance.

The word for being converted means more than turning away. It carries with it the idea of turning to something or someone. We are to turn from our sin unto God. We are to side with God against ourselves, which brings us face to face with His Son, Jesus Christ who only can save us from our sin.

If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (II Cor. 5:17) Through Christ we individually receive the righteousness of God. A righteous people will bring moral change.

…let the word of Christ dwell (take up its life) in you richly…

Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; Acts 3:19

Repent means to change your mind. To be converted means to turn about. One can repent but never be converted, however one cannot be converted without first repenting.

A symptom of repentance without conversion may be asking God for deliverance but not having power to overcome sin. Repentance without conversion is acknowledging the truth of Scripture without submitting to it. It is profession of faith without obedience. True repentance is a changing of one’s mind that results in conversion.

The true meaning of conversion is not just turning about. It is the turning away from one thing and turning unto something or someone else. It is the turning away from sin and turning unto God. It is agreeing with God against ourselves and asking for His mercy. It is accepting Jesus Christ as our only hope of salvation.

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. II Corinthians 5:17

To repent means to change one’s mind. To be converted means to turn away from and turn unto. Have you turned from sin to God?

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. II Peter 3:9

…let the word of Christ dwell (take up its life) in you richly…

Note: Repentance and penance are not the same thing. See blog article: Whats the Difference?

When a man’s ways please Yahweh [1], He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. [2]

You may not be able to affect enemies directly….but you can do so indirectly by attending to your own life. [3]

[1] Yahweh – LORD – “I AM Who I AM” – The God who exists.*

[2] The Christian Counselor’s New Testament and Proverbs, 4th revised Edition by Jay Adams, copyright 2019 by the Institute for Nouthetic Studies.

[3] “Ibid” – notes on Proverbs 16, verse 7.

*W.E. Vines Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words – copyright 1984, 1996, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, TN, pages 140 & 141.

And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?

And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows (birth pangs). Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.

And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
Matthew 24:2-14

…let the word of Christ dwell (take up its life) in you richly…

Never study the Bible to confirm your position. Study the Bible to correct your position.

Author Unknown

…the ability to comprehend spiritual truth is a gracious gift of God, sovereignly bestowed upon the elect (v. 11). The reprobate ones, on the other hand, are passed over. They reap the natural consequence of their own unbelief and rebellion – spiritual blindness (v. 13).*

See Isaiah 6:9&10

*NKJV McArthur Study Bible notes on Matthew 13:10-15

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?

Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.

For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

Matthew 23:29-24:1

Note: In 70 AD Titus, the Roman general, leveled Jerusalem.

Jesus addressing the religious leaders of His day:

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Matthew 23:23-28

…rend your heart, and not your garments,…Joel 2:13a

My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments… Proverbs 3:1

When I left home in Iowa at the age of nineteen to move to Miami Florida, Mom sent a pocket sized Gideon New Testament with me. Inside the front cover a note was written on the flyleaf which said; This book will keep you from sin or sin will keep you from this book.

Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. Psalm 119:11

…let the word of Christ dwell (take up its life) in you richly…

Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord;
Abide in Him always, and feed on His Word.
Make friends of God’s children, help those who are weak,
Forgetting in nothing His blessing to seek.

Take time to be holy, the world rushes on;
Spend much time in secret, with Jesus alone.
By looking to Jesus, like Him thou shalt be;
Thy friends in thy conduct His likeness shall see.

Take time to be holy, let Him be thy Guide;
And run not before Him, whatever betide.
In joy or in sorrow, still follow the Lord,
And, looking to Jesus, still trust in His Word.

Take time to be holy, be calm in thy soul,
Each thought and each motive beneath His control.
Thus led by His Spirit to fountains of love,
Thou soon shalt be fitted for service above.

William D. Longstaff, ca.1882 – copyright status is Public Domain. Courtesy of Timeless Truths Publications – Copyright © 2002-2020 Free Online Library