A Fresh Start Begins with Repentance

[A Fresh Start Begins with Repentance]( Current Teaching Series [Connecting with God: The Lord's Prayer]( [Listen to Today's Broadcast]( [A Fresh Start Begins with Repentance]( By Rick Warren — 10/23/2021 [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Email]( “Let us test and examine our ways. Let us turn back to the LORD. Let us lift our hearts and hands to God in heaven and say, ‘We have sinned and rebelled.'" Lamentations 3:40-42 (NLT) The path to a fresh start and a clear conscience begins with repentance. What does it mean to repent? It means three things: First, take responsibility for your sin. Second, turn away from those things. And, third, turn toward God and his grace. The Bible says, “Let us test and examine our ways. Let us turn back to the Lord. Let us lift our hearts and hands to God in heaven and say, ‘We have sinned and rebelled’” (Lamentations 3:40-42 NLT). Repentance doesn’t mean rationalizing your sin. Don’t think, “It was no big deal.” It was a big deal, or you wouldn’t have remembered it. And don’t say, “It happened so long ago” or “It was just a stage I went through” or “Everybody does it.” You can’t rationalize sin, minimize it, excuse it, or blame others. That is not true repentance. Pay attention to this: The greatest holdup to the healing of your hang-up is you. You’re not waiting on God or anyone else. God is ready and wanting to heal the hang-up in your life. The Bible says in 1 John 1:8, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” (NIV). Would you like to get rid of the self-defeating habits in your life? You will stop defeating yourself when you stop deceiving yourself. It starts with gut-level honesty and acknowledging that something is wrong, no matter how much you want to rationalize it and excuse it. You need to admit your sin, confess it, and get it out of your life. Take that first step of repentance today and get on the path to a fresh start. [PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>]( Talk It Over - What are you pretending not to know? What are you pretending not to feel guilty about? What are you pretending is not a sin? - What steps will you take to address your sin and get it out of your life today? - What do you think God wants you to do after you’ve repented of your sin? The post [A Fresh Start Begins with Repentance]( appeared first on [Pastor Rick's Daily Hope](. [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Email]( [Get The Lord's Prayer Children's Book when you give a gift to support Daily Hope]( "Perhaps the most important role you can play in the life of a child is teaching them to trust God through prayer. It’s the key to living with hope." —Pastor Rick That’s why it’s so important to strengthen the hope of kids by introducing them to Jesus’ model for prayer at an early age. And we’re excited to help you do that with Pastor Rick’s children’s book, The Lord’s Prayer: Words of Hope and Happiness. Filled with thoughtful insights from Pastor Rick as well as stunning illustrations from award-winning artist, Richard Jesse Watson, this book brings the poetic scripture from the King James Version alive for readers young and old. It’s sure to become a meaningful bedtime ritual, a treasured memory, and by God’s grace, a legacy that bears good fruit for generations to come. [LEARN MORE]( [Complete Audio Series (Purchase)]( Includes 8 full-length messages from Pastor Rick's series Connecting with God: The Lord's Prayer. [LEARN MORE]( [Series Summary]( Message 1: You've Got to Get Connected Message 2: Prayer of Connection Message 3: Prayer of Surrender Message 4: Prayer of Dependence Message 5: Prayer of Cleansing Message 6: Prayer of Release Message 7: Prayer of Deliverance Message 8: Prayer of Fulfillment [PLAY TODAY'S BROADCAST]( Pastor Rick Warren [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Linkedin]( Enjoy today's devotional? Listen to Pastor Rick’s daily audio teaching at [PastorRick.com]( Did someone forward this devotional to you? [Subscribe to Pastor Rick Warren's Daily Devotional.]( As the founding pastor of Saddleback Church with his wife Kay, Dr. Rick Warren leads a 30,000-member congregation in California with campuses in major cities around the world. As an author, his book [The Purpose Driven Life]( is one of the best-selling nonfiction books in publishing history. It has been translated into 74 languages and sold more than 50 million copies in all formats. His book [The Purpose Driven Church]( was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the century. Rick also founded [The PEACE Plan]( to address five global issues—spiritual emptiness, self-serving leadership, poverty, disease, and illiteracy—through the power of ordinary people in the local church. You can listen to Pastor Rick’s Daily Hope, his daily 25-minute audio teaching, and sign up for his free daily devotionals at [PastorRick.com](. © 2021 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission. You can unsubscribe by clicking the link below. Sent to: {EMAIL} [Unsubscribe]( Pastor Rick's Daily Hope, 23182 Arroyo Vista, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688, United States