When Hurt Feelings Lead To Repentance!

"Even If I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it--I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while--yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death." (2 Corinthians 7:8-10 NIV)

For all the blog posts, articles, and scripture references that have been used to encourage obedience, ignite repentance, and inspire desire to please God--we should all be thankful.

Why should we be thankful when people hurt our feelings--according to The Word? Because sometimes, we are so caught up in doing what we want to do--those things that please flesh--we forget that the desire of a Christian should be to please God and that means--when we get off track, someone has to be courageous enough to remind us of truth--even if it hurts--for a moment.

Let's face it--no one who thinks they know how to cook appreciates being told their food is lousy. No one who thinks they know how to write appreciates being told their writing stinks. And no one--especially women--likes being told that what they're wearing is not flattering, when they think it is.

Encouraging people to live according The Word to please God is an arduous task--one not many will undertake because they know truth hurts--even the one speaking truth is often stung by it. But if The Word stings--and hurts and slices and dices our consciences, then The Word is doing its job. Usually--for people who really want to please God--once we get over getting our feelings hurt and own up to what we've done or are doing--we repent and get back on track--the path which God had set us upon from the beginning.

When Jesus said, "Do not suppose I came to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." (Matthew 10:34). The sword--God's Word is a two-edged sword--cutting into our consciences when heard  and spoken. Jesus knew that even though He is The Word, He had to speak The Word--to ignite sorrow and repentance.

If we never tell our children what they are doing is wrong, they never have to repent of wrong-doing. However, as children of the most High God, when we read The Word, explication of The Word, or hear The Word, if there is any sin in our lives, our hearts should pricked (our feelings hurt) and we should repent--once we get over our hurt feelings. Just as most parents love their children enough to correct their behavior, God loves us even more--since He is our heavenly Father.

It's time to grow up--man-up/woman-up--and take correction as provided in The Word, get over our hurt feelings and repent of all our wrong-doing. When we make a decision to please God, He gives us favor and the desires of our heart.

Over the past few months--there have been a number of articles written about the Supreme Court decision regarding gay marriage. I have written some of them--not to bash people because of their lifestyle, but to slice their consciences with The Word, reminding them what God said--not me and hopefully, leading them to repentance after they got over feelings being hurt.

The role of every Believer is to seek opportunity to share the Good News--though we may have sinned, we have a Savior who loves us enough that He died for us, that we would have opportunity to reign with Him, forever. If we are not willing to repent of our sins, we cannot reign with Him and our destination for all eternity has already been prepared in the lake of fire. My desire is to see everyone I know and even those I don't know--saved from the lake of fire--and living to please God, not man or flesh. So, if I've hurt some feelings along the way, good. If the hurt feelings have led to repentance--even better. For without repentance, we cannot enter into 
 Heaven. 

 
myBook.to/Normal and myBook.to/TurningForce speaking truth according to The Word, igniting Godly sorrow, leading to repentance!

Mightier Than The Sword! (Excerpt 2))

The moment she thought about their ability to solve crimes, she got a check in her spirit that was so strong that she opened her eyes and looked around her. It was almost as if someone had spoken aloud, but she knew she was alone in the bungalow.

“That’s odd. I wonder where that thought came from,” she wondered aloud.

She pulled out her bible and put on her glasses to read for a while. While she was reading, again she got a check in her spirit. The thought came to her, “this rest will not be for long.”

“What the heck does mean?” She pulled her glasses off and sat nibbling on the end of the stem of eyeglasses, lost in thought.

Laying her head back against the chair in which she was sitting, she closed her eyes and before she knew it, she was asleep and dreaming. Her dreams encompassed the energy draining case they had just closed in which a white male had systematically chosen his victims—females between the ages of 21 and 25, light-complexioned, with short, close-cropped hair styles. He had abducted and raped them and then chained them in abandoned buildings, with their mouths duct-taped, left to die. 

Fourteen women had been found dead in three different states before they finally caught him—in the act of abducting female number fifteen. A witness to the abduction had the presence of mind to videotape the attempt while screaming for someone to call 911. The woman escaped and the man had fled, but not before video of his car was made. When police arrived with the FBI, the woman and the witnesses were able to give a good description and helicopter units were on the scene within minutes. They had found him cowering in what appeared to be the next abandoned building he had planned to use for his victim. In his car, they found a knife, duct-tape, and a chain-ripper with a roll of chain links.

When questioned about the deaths of the women, he was vile and spewed profanity venomously at anyone with short hair. He wore his hair long and it was matted and tangled, making him look like a mad-man in a horror movie.

The psychologist who had profiled the killer had already intimated that the killer was someone who hated short-haired females because they reminded them of men who might have harmed them when they were younger. Eventually, they were able to ascertain that the killer had witnessed his father, raping young, light complexioned black girls just for the fun of it and had attempted to get him involved. During an attempt to rape another victim, his father was killed when the victim fought back and stabbed him to death. Watching from a hole in a wall where his father dragged his victims, he could not get help for him before he died. Apparently, in his mind, he was avenging his father’s death by raping the women and leaving them to die.

Tiffany groaned in her sleep and then turned over into another position. She saw drops of blood circling her and someone with a hood over their face holding a sword. Just as they got close enough to raise the sword to strike, she woke up, drenched in sweat.

Shaking like a leaf, she got out of the chair to get a cold drink. She stood at the sink, holding onto it for fear she’d fall, if she let go of it. Getting a glass out of the cabinet, she opened the refrigerator and took out a bottle of water. Her hand was still shaking as she poured the water into the glass. Lifting the glass with both hands, she was able to steady the glass in order to drink the water, but she was so shaken by the dream that before she could finish the water, the glass slipped from her hand and broke.

Stepping back from the broken glass, she leaned against the wall and forced herself to stop shaking before she attempted to get up the broken glass.

“Breathe,” she told herself out loud, “Breathe!”

Spotting the broom and dustpan in the corner, she retrieved them and swept up the broken glass, but not before a splinter of glass pricked her finger and drops of blood formed a circle on the floor.

She stood frozen—thinking about the dream—and knew that something horrible was about to happen, but she didn’t know what.

Using self-talk to propel herself into motion, she made her way to the bathroom, cleansed the area around the cut and applied antiseptic before wrapping her finger in a bandage.

Going back to her chair, she picked up her glasses, spontaneously chewing on the end, as she became lost in thought.

“Now is not the time for panic,” she told herself. “Now is the time to reflect upon the possibilities and prepare for the unknown.”