Are We Above Sin, Or, Should We Live In Sin?

  We err one of two ways, many times. One way, is to acknowledge that sin is bad, but believe sin is distant from us, personally. The other way, is to realize that sin is all around us, even in our own hearts, but be ok with it.
   I read what some Christians say about their relationship with sin. It almost appears that they are above sinning because they know how bad it is, but they don't see themselves as sinners against God, or maybe they see their own sin as, something more along the lines of 'mistakes' that are easily fixed. Many of these Christians live a life that looks holy, or at least they live up to a standard, whether self-made or based on their understanding of Scriptures.
   The other group has no trouble acknowledging that sin is bad, but they assume that since all people are sinners, than that makes sin ok. They look at sin as part of the fabric that makes them up. They can be more tolerable toward the sins of others, unless the sin was directed against them.
  What is common in both groups, is that in the end, most of the time, they fall in sin. The second group doesn't really 'fall' into sin, because they already think sin is acceptable. The first group doesn't think sin is acceptable, and are deceived into thinking they don't sin anymore, and are surprised when that temptation came and they didn't see it.
   Many in this first group do not believe in what is called 'original sin'. They don't believe people are born with sinful natures, and therefore they believe that people choose to sin. They also don't understand from the Bible that sin is a heart issue. When a person sins, it is not because he was around other people who sinned (although living around those who practice sin will make the way easier for us to sin). The culture doesn't cause us to sin. We sin when we are led astray by our own desires. Those desires become more important to us, than God is, and we are drawn away toward something else our heart latches onto. Those desires may or may not be wrong in themselves. But our desire for them, when it is stronger than our desire for God, will lead us to temptation and ultimately sinning. People in this group also think that sinning involves activities like card playing, dancing, smoking, drinking, watching television and going to movies. I wonder if they have really thought through the issue of sin, and how our hearts are idol factories that work overtime if we let them.
   The second group has made peace with sin, simply because they haven't read the rest of the story. The know that Jesus died to pay for sins, and I believe many are trusting that their sins are forgiven because they believe that fact, but, if we really understood the nature of sin, and what God has done to rescue people from sin, we wouldn't want to continue in it. If we have truly 'seen' God, we would give up every attachment to sin that we have. We would know that God is not ok with sin, and that is why He sent His Son to pay the penalty for our sins, but God's grace does not empower us to continue in sin. It gives us the power to say 'no' to sin and 'yes' to righteousness. God's great desire is for us to be reconciled to Him, not use His grace to empower us to continue to sin.
   The Bible tells us to 'take the log out of our own eyes' and then we can help other people with their specks. The problem is, at least with the first group, is that they don't understand that their is a log in their eyes. Their log is blinding them to the truth. They can't deal with their own sin, because they can't see it. Anyone who really wants to, can stop playing cards or going to movies, but those aren't really sin issues in themselves. Because people are successful in saying no to these activities, they think they have stopped sinning. They haven't looked at the lust and idolatry in their own hearts. They can't see the bitterness and pride that is growing all over their hearts. They might not drink alcoholic beverages, but they may be slanderous and deceitful. They might be self-centered and arrogant. The list of heart issues is endless, but we don't look at them if we don't smoke or drink. But we look down on someone else in the church who does. I think it is interesting that Jesus told the Pharisees and Scribes that the prostitutes and tax collectors were going into the kingdom of God before they were. Many who are in this first group fall into sin. Some turn their backs on the Lord after that. They feel like they were deceived, when the problem is as simple as having a wrong belief system.
   When Jesus was with the group of people who wanted the woman who was caught in adultery stoned, Jesus gave them a direction of what they could do. He told them that whoever was in the group who had not sinned was to cast the first stone. The group ended up leaving, and Jesus was alone with the woman. No one stoned her and Jesus did not condemn her either. But He did say to her, 'Go and sin no more'.
   I like what C.J. Mahaney said one time. Here is the quote, and I will never forget it; 'Sin, though inevitable, is never acceptable'. Of course, we know that it is inevitable, but, we know that the answer is in the Cross. As long as we are on earth, we will live with the temptations to sin every day. But, because of what Jesus did on the Cross for us, we don't have to live in sin anymore. We have new hearts that want to do right. We still have our old natures, but we can put them to death every day.
   Both groups of people err in the doctrine of sin and God's grace. Neither seem to understand the power or the purpose of the Cross, and why God did what He did for us in the Gospel. We are not above sin, nor should we continue in it. We should look at God's face and we will never be the same. But we will see how low and sinful we are, and the power of the Cross will be mighty to us.

The Game of Life

  Today I was thinking about a basketball game. There is a player running down the court dribbling a ball, hoping that no interruptions happen that will cause him to lose the ball before he gets the chance to throw it into the hoop. If you notice though, there is always someone in front of him, by his side, or around him ready to take the ball away from him. Many times, the opponent  is successful, which means the other team gets the ball and then they start running down the court in the opposite direction. The table is turned. The one who stole the ball either is dribbling it down the court or has thrown it to another one on his team so he can dribble it down the court and throw it into the hoop and gain the points for his team. Notice though, how the guys playing defensive try to get the ball away from the one running with it. They are always in front of him, trying to distract him or cause him to lose the ball.
  When a person comes to Christ, it is much like the basketball player trying to get the ball into the hoop. Only our opponent is invisible. We don't see him standing in front of us trying to block our way as we go forward in our walk with the Lord. But the fact of the matter is, when you came to Christ, you didn't sign up to be in a war, but, like it or not, you are in one.

   You see, at the beginning of time, when God created Adam, and Eve, there was an opponent back then. In fact, the opponent attacked them and won. He tricked Eve into not trusting what God said, and taking the forbidden fruit that God told Adam not to take. Ever since that time, the devil who is our opponent, is constantly in front of us, beside us, behind us, and will attack any place that is vulnerable to us.

  For nonbelievers, or people who haven't come to Christ yet, the opponent tells these people lies. The lies would be that God isn't good, or that He isn't to be trusted. Also, that we really aren't sinful people in need of a Savior, but man is basically good. He tells the average person that he is good enough to go to heaven and be right with God, while he tells the prisoner, and those enslaved in sin that they are too bad for God to save. So, he keeps people to himself by lying to them, so they won't turn to God and be saved.
  For people who know the Lord, the opponent tells them lies too. There are so many lies that we believe, but the only way we can know the lies, from the Truth, is to know what Scripture says. We really can separate the truth from the lies when we spend time in God's word and getting to know Him better.
  In Genesis, We see the story of Cain and Abel. Abel offered the right kind of sacrifice before God. His sacrifice consisted of animals that were offered as a sacrifice. Later we learn in the Bible that God directed the people to offer sacrifices of animals for sin. In the New Testament, we see Jesus being the Ultimate Sacrifice for our sins. He is referred to as the 'Lamb of God' who shed His blood for us.
   Cain did not offer the right kind of sacrifice. He offered vegetables to God. He became angry when God did not accept his offering, but accepted Abel's offering, so he was jealous and killed Abel. God spoke to Cain and told him that 'sin would be crouching at the door' but Cain would have to master it. Cain was an angry man and did not keep the door shut when sin was on the other side.
   The opponent, who is the devil, is on the outside of the doors of our hearts. He isn't waiting for an invitation to come in. He will press hard so the door comes down and tempt us with sin. He can never make us sin, but he can persuade us that sin is good for us, with his many lies. Then he has us, when we believe his lies. The Bible says that whoever sins is a servant of sin. The devil's work consists of tempting us to sin, day and night, seven days a week, fifty-two weeks out of a year, all the years of our lives.
  The devil is much like the opponent on the opposing basketball team. He won't give up on us, because if he can persuade us to sin (note: he never makes us sin. We do that by choice), then we, who were created in God's image, bring dishonor to God's reputation and we misrepresent the true and living God. The devil has tons of tricks up his sleeves and will custom make them for each of us. So, with this in mind, how should we respond?
  The Bible tells us to put on the whole armor of God. You can find this in Ephesians chapter 6. If there is any place that is not covered, Satan will attack, probably with lies that we aren't prepared to resist. So, we need to be on guard by knowing Scriptures (not just memorizing, but digesting) and praying. God tells us that we need to have humility and resist the devil and he will flee. Of course, the devil will come back around at another angle. That's why we always have to be on guard.
   So, if you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you are in the Game of Life. Remember, God is for you and will help you in time of need, if you call upon Him. We need to take the ball down the courts and score the basket, with nothing hindering us. Only when we are envisioned for winning, will we be able to have the grace and strength to overcome the devil and his tricks and temptations. And always remember, the ultimate battle is already one, though there were be many trials and difficulties for us while on earth. God is the Victor.

Note: I am not saying basketball players are the devil! I'm just coming up with an illustration that makes sense to us!

Why Do We Turn To God?

  What are some reasons for people becoming Christians? Are there reasons that are not good? What harm can they do?
   Let's take Isaiah, for example. He was a prophet during the Old Testament days. One day, his eyes were opened to something he'd never seen before. His mind was blown because he had seen the True and Living God. What was his response?
   Basically, he came undone. He saw God, and he also saw something else. He saw his own sin and felt helpless before a holy God.
   In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!”

 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.  And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar.  And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.” (Isaiah 6 ESV)

  This section of Scripture is rich. Don't skim over it. This is what happens when a person encounters the true and living God. Now, let's look at another person. This person was at work catching fish, when a man calls him to be a follower of His. This is recorded in the New Testament in Luke, chapter 5.

On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat.  And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”  And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.”  And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down  Jesus' knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”  For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken,  and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him. (ESV)

  Again, we see a person who has his eyes open to who God is. Peter (Simon) is never the same after this. Look at the verse where Peter tells the Lord to depart from him. What was the reason? Peter saw the true and living God in holiness, and, he also saw his own sin. This is what happens when a person sees God. They see God's holiness, and like a mirror works, they see their sinfulness. This is a good thing. God is delighted to take away our sins. 

   In the New Testament, we see people coming to Jesus for many different reasons. Some wanted to be healed. Others wanted Jesus to settle an argument. Whatever the reason was, the only reason we really need to come to Him is because of the seriousness of our sin. It's not wrong to ask God to heal us or protect us. What is wrong though, is when we come to God in order to get things from Him. People use other things in this world to get what they want. It is called 'idolatry' and it is the oldest sin in the book. Idolatry is when we worship something in order to get something in return from the object we worship. We expect the object we worship to make us happy or to serve us in some way. We come to God, because He has drawn us to Himself, and revealed to us our need for a Savior. We turn to the Savior to remove our sins and give us a new heart, and the power to say 'no' to sin, and 'yes' to righteousness. But if we come to God only to escape hell, we might be in for a surprise.

   God wants us to be reconciled to Him, and that can take place because Jesus died on the Cross to pay for our sins so we could be reconciled to God. If we just want to escape hell, then we are not necessarily interested in being reconciled to God. So we can ask ourselves, Do we want to be reconciled to God by having a relationship with His Son, or, Do we just want to go to heaven when we die? Is our relationship with God based on a conviction of sin and our need of Him, or is it based on idolatry, using God to get what we want?

  Can we use God like a Genie in a bottle? Many people do, but that is not the same as responding to the Gospel message. God sees our hearts and knows what our motives are. If you are concerned about your relationship with God, please send an email to RUgood@mail.com or you can also visit http://thegospelconversation.blogspot.com or http://test4gp.wordpress.com

  You can ask God to help you look at your own heart. Be honest with yourself and God. Remember, God knows your heart. He can help you see your sin and your need for Him, but if you are not honest with yourself, you will not see your sin, and you will remain blind to God. You could fool yourself, but you will never fool God. Pray for eyes to see Him with. God is an awesome God.

We Live in Two Different Kingdoms-Do Not Be Surprised

   Why are we surprised when things happen like the movie, 'Unstoppable' becomes blocked on Facebook and Youtube? Perhaps we don't really understand that, as long as we are on this earth (this fallen world) we are going to be part of one of two different, opposing kingdoms. They are opposite kingdoms with opposite kings. One is the kingdom of Darkness, which is ruled by the 'god' of this world, Satan, aka Lucifer or the devil, and the other is the kingdom of Light, whose ruler is Jesus Christ.
     First, let's contrast God and Satan. God is all-powerful, all-knowing, omnipotent, omniscient, holy, love, and sovereign while Satan is a created being who is not holy, but deceitful and the Father of lies. Satan's big lie to people is this (actually posed as a question); 'Is God really good?' It will be matched with statements that challenge God's goodness like, 'God doesn't want you to have fun' or ' God really doesn't have your best interests in mind. That's why you are suffering.' The devil always makes God look bad, or untrue.
   When we make God's name known in truth, the devil is angry. He works through people who are in his kingdom. We all are in the devil's realm until we come to Christ in repentance and faith. Jesus actually says that we are children of the devil, despite the fact that everyone generally believes that all people are God's children. The Bible says otherwise.
   The devil will make you think that you are calling the shots in your own life, but really, what is happening is, that you are a puppet for Satan. The devil will try to make you believe that your life is all about you, and everyone else's lives are all about you as well. It is a trick to make you prideful, then cause you to fall and to keep you in the kingdom of Darkness.
   Anyway, back to the original question. Because the kingdom of Darkness covers over the earth right now, we shouldn't be surprised when people yell at us for offering them a tract. We shouldn't be surprised when 'doctors' who perform abortions and get their licenses suspended, turn around and go right back to performing abortions. We shouldn't be surprised when moms and grandmoms angrily bring their pregnant daughters to the abortion clinics. We shouldn't be surprised when we find a girl who is mentally ill because she was a victim of rape all her life. We shouldn't be surprised when a highly esteemed person gets caught in pornography. We shouldn't be surprised when people we trusted steal from us. And we shouldn't be surprised when the word of God is prohibited on Face Book, Youtube and other social media. We shouldn't be surprised, but how should we respond?
   The best thing we can do is to spend time getting to know God ourselves. Spend time in prayer and studying the Scriptures, not just going through a disciplined form of devotions every day. We can only give away what we have received. We really do need to take logs out of our own eyes first, then, when issues come up that are problems caused by those in the kingdom of Darkness, we will be able to bring the light of the Gospel to them. There is no skipping over this step. We cannot tell people what they should and shouldn't do, because all of us are made out of the same clay and live in this kingdom of Darkness until we are rescued. We all have the same seeds of temptation, and only God can give us the strength and desire to stop the temptation from blossoming into sin in our lives. But at the same time, we do hold the standard up high. It is up so high that we all know that no one can reach it. Then we can make known the only One who has ever reached it, and that is how we minister to people.
   But I have to be honest here as well. I struggle to find time to pray. I can see what kind of battle we are in between the two kingdoms. I have so much to get done, and yet, I need to have a vision to be praying. Plus, I am so tired, that I fall asleep while I am praying! I need God's help in this. It is easy to justify why we don't pray, but if we took that same line of reasoning and applied it to literal food, I doubt that most of us would just be too busy to eat a meal. I know I wouldn't. Whenever I set my mind to praying, I remember things I have to do. I reason with myself that I have to do them immediately or I will forget what they are.
   Where are our hearts? Do we love the things of the world (of course we do)? Do those things keep us from loving the things of God that are important to His heart? Can we let go of the things of the world so we can be free to serve joyfully in the kingdom of Light?
   If a person is not born again, he or she will not even see the kingdom of God. Only when we come to Christ and are born again (born spiritually) will we be able to understand the things of God. Here is a url explaining what it means to be born again and in the family of God; http://test4gp.wordpress.com

The Church and the Homosexual Community

   What I am writing about could end up on a few of my different blogs. I just read Mel White's book on 'The Stranger at the Gate' which is like a biography on Mel White, who claims to be a Gay Christian. Before you close your browser, you need to understand the method to my madness here! I was assigned to read this book for counseling class, and when I first got it, I couldn't imagine how this book could be helpful to us. We studied this book this past week, and now I understand why.
  I have to complete a writing assignment telling what I learned from it. I will share some of those things here, specifically because the whole purpose of reading the book was to understand how a Gay person thinks, and more specifically how a Gay person could believe that they are Christian, and how the church is to minister to these people.
  I will try to make this concise, as there are a lot of details I could write, but will keep this brief as to not make it confusing. First of all, I appreciate Mr. White's honesty and openness about his strong beliefs in his God and how it ties in with his homosexual philosophy. As our teacher said, 'Every Gay person uses this book as their mentor'. If you are talking or counseling with a Gay person, and he or she tells you that homosexuality is valid because it has been researched and shown to be scientifically real, you will begin to see this false religion that has duped the whole Lesbian Gay community today. You have to know why these people believe what they do, and what it is that they really do believe in. If you don't know, you will never be able to have a proper perspective on this sin, nor will you ever be able to adequately counsel a person who is struggling with homosexuality issues.
  Mr. White begins the book telling of his strong 'Christian' background. He had a close relationship with his grandmother who basically discipled him. His parents were fundamental Christians who believed that it was a sin to smoke, drink, dance, and go to movies. The grandmother came to a belief that it was wrong for married people to enjoy having sex. Once children came along, then abstinence was in order. I didn't read anything about our sin, Jesus dying on the Cross to pay for our sins, or our response to the Gospel, except from the grandmother who would evangelize Mr. White's friends and invited the boys to 'ask Jesus into their hearts'.
   Mr. White did seem to fear God though. In fact, he was afraid of God. He was sure that if he did something wrong, a lightning bolt would come down from heaven and he would be the target.
   Mel White though, had a strong desire, starting as a youth. He was attracted to the bodies of well-built men. He thought it would pass, but this desire never did. It only continued and grew stronger. He was afraid (and understandably so) that if he told anyone, he would be ostracized. So, he kept his secret to himself. But there was a struggle. He felt guilty for this desire. This struggle continued and he continually asked God to 'heal' him or take the desire away, but nothing ever happened.
   While in high school, he met the woman he ended up marrying. He also thought that maybe if he was married, the desire would go away. But it didn't. He still wanted that relationship with men, but instead he had a wife whom he really did love. He loved her, but his desire was stronger to have a romantic relationship with a man.
  He struggled continually with guilt. He finally told his wife everything, but, at times, secretly he had special times with men he was attracted to. He went to all kinds of counseling and doctors for help. He tried medicine and shock treatments to help him snap out of it. But nothing worked.
  Finally, one counselor explained to him that he was a 'Gay man' and that he should go on with his life as a Gay man. That released him to start going in the direction of living a homosexual lifestyle. He told his wife and they agreed to separate and eventually divorce, so he could pursue his desire.
  The whole point of what I want to write though, is not primarily about Mel White, but what was going on in his relationship with the church at that time. Mr. White served and worked with men like Jerry Fallwell, Pat Robertson, and James Dobson as a ghostwriter. In this book, Mr. White tells about his journeys with these men, and others (like Billy Graham) and really does respect them for what they believe in. But as the chapters went on, there is no question of Mr. White's anger toward the 'Moral Majority' and the 'Religious Right' and those who sided with them on their viewpoint against homosexuality.
  Mel White does not appear to have the Gospel right, to begin with, so that is where the problems that he experiences begins. Mr. White is a legalist. He knows there is a standard, and he thinks that he is on par with that standard until he does something to violate that standard (like dancing or drinking). When he violates that standard, he thinks that God is going to abandon him or punish him. He doesn't understand that he really doesn't keep the standard at all, and God is not punishing him right now, because God punished Jesus in his place. He doesn't understand that he can't keep the standard, to begin with. That's why Jesus came. Because we can't keep the standard, and we will be punished for our sins, if we die in our sins. Jesus kept the standard, and we can only get into heaven on His score. It's not enough to just know this. We must apply this to our own souls.
   When a person is a legalist, they have a lot of guilt. But what happens, so many times, is that the legalist, for whatever reason, does something to violate the standard (such as taking a drink, or going to a dance) and they realize that God didn't kill them for breaking the rule. What ends up happening, is that people then think they are set free. They start talking about God's grace and swing right to the other side of legalism, which is lawlessness.
  So, in the case of Mr. White, he saw that a few drinks, and a dance didn't kill him, so he went further. If his religion taught him that dancing and drinking were worthy of God's punishment, then what about being Gay? Mr. White thinks he is free to do things that he was formerly told were wrong. In his mind, homosexuality fits in that same category.
   There were lies that Mel White was told, but they all tied into his new belief system. One of those lies was that he was born with a sexual orientation to be gay, and that the orientation is permanent. He could not change it even if he wanted to. He was also told that God made him homosexual, and that his homosexuality was a gift from God.
   So, where was the church in all this? Mr. White was part of a well known seminary. He was part of different churches and ministries. For the most part, the church not only rejected homosexuality, but rejected the homosexual as well. As a result of the church's hostility toward Gay people, I believe we now have a community of Gay people armed with all their defenses against the church. They believe the church is stereotyped to hate Gay people and that the church wants them exterminated. Does this sound like the way a church should have responded to people who were Gay 50 years ago or so?
   Both the church and the Gay community have this one big misunderstanding; Gay people are not a race of people, like a nationality. Mr. White lumps the Gay community, and its bigotry with black people, Jewish people, and other people from distant lands that are not welcome in America. We have the hatred from the church, or, so called 'Christians' like those from Westboro, who inform us all that 'God hates fags'. So, how is the church supposed to respond?
   If a man comes into the church, who is known to have stolen things, how do we look at him? What if he is really seeking God? Chances are, we will try to help him to respond to the Gospel. But what happens when a Gay person comes in? We might keep our distance. After all, he might be carrying the AIDs virus, and we wouldn't want to catch it.
   So, my point in all of what I want to say is this; We need to welcome Gay people that come into our gatherings. This DOESN"T mean that we believe that homosexuality is right. Homosexuality is a sin, and God will judge people who will die in their sins. We need to have mercy on these people because they, like Mel White, are probably struggling hard to figure out why they have these desires that they know deep down in their hearts is wrong. Only the church can hold up God's standard AND bridge the gap between our failings and that standard, with the grace of God. The world doesn't have the grace of God. The world doesn't have a correct answer for homosexuality. God is working in the hearts of homosexuals, but are we ready to minister to them? Are we examining our own hearts first, and dealing with our own sins, so that we can help others to be free from their sins?
  One other last thought. I think we have stereotypes about homosexuals as well. We tend to lump them all in the same group as pornographers and child molesters. While those things are sinful, as well, the average Gay person is probably very civilized and wants to be part of a loving, safe society. So, when dealing with them, keep this in mind. They will not appreciate being in the same category as the others, and it is not helpful to think of them in this way.
  So, this is my thought for tonight. Think about this, and feel free to comment or ask questions.

True Repentance?

  I am always trying to come up with illustrations on Biblical truths. Illustrations can be helpful sometimes, but they are never perfect. Here is an illustration of something I saw with my own eyes at the grocery store.
  As I was exiting the store, there was a woman pushing a cart in front of me. All I heard was 'I'm sorry", "I'm so sorry". The woman pushing the cart, by accident, must have pushed the cart in such a way that it caught the back of a woman's foot, who was in front of her.
  This woman was so sorry. She appeared to be heartbroken over what she had done, even though it was by accident. She kept apologizing and telling the woman she was sorry. The woman assured her that it was ok.
  So, an offense took place, then the admission of sorrow, and after that forgiveness followed. Trying to understand what goes on with true repentance can sometimes be tricky. Sometimes, people realize and acknowledge that they have done wrong, but are not necessarily sorry for what they have done. Sometimes, people are sad that they got caught doing something wrong. They might only be sorry because of the consequences of their wrongdoing.
  True repentance involves forsaking the sin that we once loved. Although the woman with the cart did not love what she had done, if she were able to do that situation over again, she would have chosen to not run into the heel of the woman in front of her. She truly hated what she had done, even though it was an accident.
  The question for us is; Do we hate our sin enough to forsake it? If we understand that God sees everything we do, what would we change (or want to change)? Are we truly sad about our wrongdoings? Or are we only sad when we get caught or have to suffer the consequences?