“Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; and hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; that they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: for in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. Forasmuch then ...

“Cut off thine hair, O Jerusalem, and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on high places; for the LORD hath rejected and forsaken the generation of his wrath. For the children of Judah have done evil in my sight, saith the LORD: they have set their abominations in the house which is called by my name, to pollute it. And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart. Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be called Tophet, nor The valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter: for they shall bury in Tophet, till there be no place. And the carcases of this people shall be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth; and none shall fray them away. Then will I cause to cease from the cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of mirth, and the voice of ...

True Repentance

Sometimes life can feel like one big performance. We can get caught up in pleasing people, becoming successful, and attaining our greatest dreams. While those things are all good, what happens when we fail? 

Most people are hard on themselves when they don't live up to their own expectations, or the expectations others have set for them. Can you remember a time you messed up? Did you feel guilt, shame, or even condemnation?

God’s Word talks about this very thing. That’s because God knows that we are not perfect, and that we will mess up in life. But when Paul talks about sorrow that comes from God, he talks about it very differently.

In 2 Corinthians, Paul says that godly sorrow doesn’t lead to condemnation, shame, or guilt, but rather it leads to repentance and restoration. When we look to Jesus, we are reminded that He took on all of our shame and guilt on the cross. This means we don’t have to carry the shame that Jesus already carried.

When we mess up, our first ...