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Day 202, or July 21. Today is the day to repent. Our thoughts today come from Isaiah chapter

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30 verse 15. This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says, In repentance

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and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have

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none of it. First the big picture surrounding this verse. As Isaiah comes toward the end

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of his condemnations of Israel's neighbors, there are some lovely pearls of encouragement

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from God. Sadly, they are not always accepted, but it reminds us that God is not simply a

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condemnor, but a source of encouragement and hope.

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The Now Today's Action Step The world of the 21st century is so active

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that it could be excused for thinking that doing things is the way to a satisfied and

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complete life. Isaiah tells us on God's authority that it is quite the opposite. He uses four

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words to describe what our persona should be. Repentance, rest, quietness and trust.

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Real contentment always begins with repentance, and the others are then consequences. Repentance

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comes in many varieties. The most important is toward God when we confess our sinfulness

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and inadequacy before the God who made us. This is the most important step you will ever

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make if you see it through to receiving God's gift of eternal life. You can get more help

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with this by listening to Day 21 again. Repentance towards others is vital too, otherwise

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you will get more and more knotted up inside as you carry a load of unforgiveness around

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with you. An often forgotten act of repentance is inward repentance, the act of forgiving

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yourself for doing, thinking and saying the wrong things at the wrong time. So do you

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have any repenting to do today? Could you use the rest, quietness and trusting attitude

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that Isaiah talks about? Well, you know where to start now, so why not make a note to listen

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to today's reading again next week to see if you've actually repented, or are you no

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better than Isaiah's hearers?