REPENTANCE AND NEW CREATION UNDERSTOOD IN THE HOLY PLACE OF GODS LOVE FOR US

Repentance centers in our awareness and acceptance of God's unfathomable love for us. That love encompasses us and infuses us and creates for us a Holy Place. Outside that love there can be no repentance because the prime movers of our confession are fear, guilt, obligation and reward. Inside God's love, our Holy Place, however, the impetus of our confession is the unwavering assurance that we are already forgiven; an unshakable desire to restore the peace of our fellowship; the energetic resolve to live in the promise of new creation. Repentance is the realization of the promise of Scripture. When we distill Paul's words and grasp the essential message of his apostleship, we see that repentance is not a duty-bound response to law, but a mysterious yearning of our souls to be centered in our Holy Place, to be fresh and clean and whole, to be new creation in Christ Jesus. In the peace-filled wonder of our Holy Place, our confessions are specific and intimately honest. Such disrobing of our souls brings the full mantle of God's grace to bear on our lives, and we begin to understand the words of Paul, that "...in Christ all things become new." There comes a growing awareness that becoming new demands of us a departure from that which is old. In Christ, the latent giftedness of our former living is continually refined and magnified by His grace. We depart from the passive exercise of our potential and answer the call to be stewards of our gifts. We turn away from the emptiness and vanity of outward form which has no substance of true worship and join our heart and mind in energy-filled response to the Holy Spirit as we are moved to praise and adore God. We leave behind shallow relationships that require only surface loving and submerge ourselves in the rich fellowship of faith-sharing that flows between us as we follow Christ's command to "love one another as I have loved you."

A New Creation
We enter now our Holy Place Assured of peace and matchless love. Confessions bold, our lives unfold And bare the sin revealed by grace. From empty words and idle days We proudly tried to sanctify, We turn away; and humbly pray Lord, fill our lives with work and praise. For gifts that lie like dormant seed In fields of dry and sterile shame; Come cultivate and recreate The fertile soil where gifts are freed. Instead of shallow love we wear To hide our heart and clothe our pain, Release us now to reavow A depth of love beyond compare. A new creation in us yearns To know the fullness of our joy. Let us proclaim with hearts aflame The promise that within us burns. Amen.

A NEW CREATION
BROOKFIELD L.M.

1. We en - ter now our Ho - ly Place As - sured of 2. From emp - ty words and i - dle days We proud-ly 3. For gifts that lie like dor - mant seed In fields of 4 In - stead of shal - low love we wear To hide our 5. A new cre - a - tion in us yearns To know the

peace and match - less love. Con - fess - ions bold, our lives un tried to sanct - i - fy; We turn a - way and hum - bly dry and ster - ile shame; Come cul - ti - vate and re - cre heart and clothe our pain, Re - lease us now to re - a full - ness of our joy. Let us pro-claim with hearts a -

fold and bare pray, Lord, fill ate the fer vow A depth flame the pro -

the sin re - vealed by grace. our lives with work and praise. tile soil where gifts are freed. of love be - yond com - pare. mise that with - in us burns. A - men.

Text: Matthew A. Lowry, 1954- ; Copyright 1992, Orange,CA. Tune: Thomas B. Southgate, 1814-1868.