![\"Peace](\"http:\/\/biblicalcounselinginsights.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/Peace-through-Repentance-300x240.jpeg\")
Are you angry or frustrated because of other people\u2019s behavior, trying to act the way you think a \u201cChristian\u201d should act, hiding your true feelings, agonizing on the inside?<\/p>\nAre you angry or frustrated because of other people\u2019s behavior, trying to act the way you think a \u201cChristian\u201d should act, hiding your true feelings, agonizing on the inside?<\/p>\n
Maybe you\u2019re spending hours talking your problem out with a professional or a trusted friend. They listen, and you feel better because you have talked things through, but you don\u2019t really experience lasting peace. The professional or your friend may be telling you that you just need to readjust your environment to find peace. That may be true, but it\u2019s also true that you need to deal with what is inside of\u00a0you. What are you holding on to?<\/p>\n
<\/span><\/span>One of the toughest things to do when we\u2019re wrong is to admit fault to ourselves, and admit to the Lord that we\u2019ve\u00a0sinned<\/em>. <\/span>Sin<\/em> is not a very popular word these days, and it\u2019s an even harder behavior to admit when it is your own. <\/span>But the good news is that sin is the simplest thing to deal with!<\/em><\/p>\n The victory message of the Church today is found in the Bible: Jesus Christ came to this earth to die for your sins and to enable you to walk in the Spirit.<\/em> The question is: How can you free yourself from sin?<\/span><\/p>\n Freeing yourself from sin involves repentance, and repentance can be broken down into five practical steps.<\/p>\n The first step is to admit and say to God, \u201cI\u2019m wrong.\u201d King David knew he was wrong when he committed adultery. But until that reality moved from his head to his heart, he didn\u2019t want to repent. Human nature hasn\u2019t changed. Before you can move to the next step, you need to admit your sin to God.<\/p>\n Step two is saying to God, \u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d However, it\u2019s important to remember that you aren\u2019t simply telling God you\u2019re sorry in order to make yourself feel better. It\u2019s saying, \u201cI\u2019m sorry God,\u201d and really meaning it. According to 2\u00a0Corinthians 7:9-13, \u201cThe world\u2019s sorrow brings death, but a Godly sorrow brings life.\u201d<\/p>\n Step three follows: \u201cGod, forgive me.\u201d Not, \u201cGod forgive me because I feel guilty, and I don\u2019t like that feeling.\u201d That\u2019s not repentance; that\u2019s just wanting to feel better. You need to say from your heart, \u201cGod, forgive me for the wrong that I\u2019ve done.\u201d<\/p>\n And you\u2019ll know God\u2019s forgiveness has come when you are able to go on to the fourth step and can say in all sincerity, \u201cGod, cleanse me. I\u2019m not just wanting relief from my sin. I want a change of life. I want you to restore fellowship with me as though I\u2019ve done nothing wrong.\u201d Isn\u2019t that what you really want with your Heavenly Father?<\/p>\n That will lead you into step five, where you admit you can\u2019t walk in the Spirit in your own flesh, and you say \u201cGod, I don\u2019t have it in and of myself to be a loving individual in this relationship. I\u2019m at the end of my rope, so please empower me.\u201d<\/p>\n Being empowered is asking God to fill you full of His Spirit where you\u2019ll experience a peace that passes all understanding, and the kind of joy that is humanly impossible to attain. God wants to give you the ability to live a Spirit-filled life in the midst of your difficult situations. Are you willing to allow Him to bring you peace?<\/p>\n Memorize Psalm 139:23-24:<\/p>\n \u201cSearch me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.\u201d<\/p>\n[This summary is from Dr Brandt’s message\u00a0The Heart of the Problem<\/em>. Click here<\/a> to listen to the audio or read the transcript.<\/em>] [Go to\u00a0Discover Inner Peace<\/em>]<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Are you angry or frustrated because of other people\u2019s behavior, trying to act the way you think a \u201cChristian\u201d should act, hiding your true feelings, agonizing on the inside? Maybe you\u2019re spending hours talking your problem out with a professional or a trusted friend. They listen, and you feel better because you have talked things […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[39,117,235,37],"author_meta":{"display_name":"ddunn","author_link":"https:\/\/biblicalcounselinginsights.com\/author\/ddunn\/"},"featured_img":null,"coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["Inner Peace<\/a>"],"unlinked":["Inner Peace<\/span>"]},"tags":{"linked":["anger<\/a>","frustration<\/a>","Inner Peace<\/a>","repentance<\/a>"],"unlinked":["anger<\/span>","frustration<\/span>","Inner Peace<\/span>","repentance<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":"0","relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 12 years ago","modified":"Updated 4 years ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on October 30, 2009","modified":"Updated on July 2, 2017"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on October 30, 2009 10:06 am","modified":"Updated on July 2, 2017 6:28 pm"},"featured_img_caption":"","featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"ddunn","author_link":"https:\/\/biblicalcounselinginsights.com\/author\/ddunn\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblicalcounselinginsights.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblicalcounselinginsights.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblicalcounselinginsights.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblicalcounselinginsights.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblicalcounselinginsights.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=453"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/biblicalcounselinginsights.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6886,"href":"https:\/\/biblicalcounselinginsights.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453\/revisions\/6886"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblicalcounselinginsights.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblicalcounselinginsights.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblicalcounselinginsights.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Take a step . . .<\/h5>\n
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