Repentance with Joy Helps You Receive God's Presence!
REPENTANCE HOME PAGE
Home of: TASTE HEAVEN MINISTRIES!
PLEASE NOTE: I am currently having difficulty answering emails
because I am in a heavy learning mode right now. I am kind of one
track person and am just not able to do everything all at once. Sorry.
Thanks.
EMAIL FROM DAVID IN QLD AUSTRALIA 3/09: "I have been heavily
involved in ministry in my church...I love your site...your site makes
sense.....and appears one of the most significant contributions to
Christian literature I have encountered and I am reasonably well
read..."
EMAIL FROM YOLANDE IN S. AFRICA 7/09: "...I have been reading some
deep and exciting books by people having heavenly encounters and was
crying out in my heart for foundational teaching, for I wanted this so
much and wanted it practical. During a long fast, I came across your
website. I have purchased your books (can recommend to every hungry
soul) and have shared with others who are purely delighted at the
light you bring. You are a exceptional good teacher, a pure gift from
heaven, practical, grounded in the Word, spiritual and sincere, and
you lay a foundation so we as the church can get more out of the
literature of pioneers and ground breakers...who wets our appetites
for the deepest places in God."
YOU ARE NOT ALONE! DURING 2005 THE AVERAGE NUMBER OF PEOPLE ON THIS
WEBSITE FOR EACH DAY WAS OVER 584.
FROM 12/99 THROUGH DEC. 2005 THERE HAVE BEEN 1,074,786 VIEWS TO
PAGES ON THIS WEBSITE. THAT NUMBER ALMOST DOUBLED IN 2004 AND IT
ALMOST DOUBLED AGAIN IN 2005.
YOU CAN EXPERIENCE
GOD'S PRESENCE
BY REPENTANCE WITH JOY!
ENJOY A DEEPER CHRISTIAN LIFE!
YOU _CAN_ GROW EVEN IN DIFFICULT AREAS
BECAUSE YOU _CAN _TASTE HEAVEN NOW!
OF DEFINITIONS AND A DEEPER CHRISTIAN LIFE
This site shows HOW TO repent by training your heart to joyfully
trade earthly dependencies for receiving God's presence intensely by
His grace. The principles you find here are effective for idolatry of
the heart and unwanted behaviors! It is intended as a practical way
for you to experience the deeper Christian life.
Repentance is more than just what you do after you do something
wrong. Repentance is a biblical practice—an activity that describes
something you can do for great personal growth and change.
IN BIBLICAL TERMS, repentance means to change your mind about sin
and about God. The word repentance is used most of the time where we
are to change our mind after sin. But in my search I saw this verse:
"...If you return to the Lord with all your heart, remove the foreign
gods...from among you and direct your hearts to the Lord...He will
deliver you..." (1 Sam. 7:3). To me, "directing our heart toward God,"
sounds like a repentance where we "change our mind" about sin and
about God, BEFORE we do something wrong.
So on this website and in my books, I use the word "repentance" in a
broad sense rather than the strict definition. I do that because
repentance is the word that most accurately describes what you get
when you try to fit everything together that the Bible says about
growth toward God. It is in that sense that I am saying we should
repent.
The way I see it, we are to repent so as to remove the obstacles
that keep us from abiding in Christ. Doing this, involves getting our
heart to hear the truth of the scriptures so that God can use His word
to change us from the inside out. Much with us has to change but
thinking about repentance this way makes actually doing it realistic.
Deep level change isn't going to happen just because you know
something in your head. Being effective at "changing your mind"
requires taking steps to train your heart that it is right, good, and
safe to turn and draw near to God. You have to take steps to calm your
fears and build your faith. You have to become a teacher and your own
heart has to become your student. By this, you can change from the
inside out.
Mostly, this site is for Christians who want to EXPERIENCE GOD'S
PRESENCE more fully and intensely. It is for Christians who want to
"abide in Christ" in a deeper way. But it is NOT JUST FOR CHRISTIANS
because the information here is practical for those who want freedom
from unwanted behaviors. These principles are effective and work well.
REPENTANCE SHOULD BE AS IMPORTANT A PRACTICE TO YOUR CHRISTIAN LIFE
AS PRAYER OR READING THE BIBLE. IT CAN HELP YOU JUST AS MUCH.
THE BENEFITS OF REPENTANCE
The benefits of repentance are many. The Bible says, "...REPENT AND
RETURN, SO THAT YOUR SINS MAY BE WIPED AWAY, IN ORDER THAT TIMES OF
REFRESHING MAY COME FROM THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD" (Acts 3:19).
The benefits of repentance are that you find freedom from unwanted
and sinful behaviors, damaging pursuits, harmful reactions, long term
addictions, co-dependence. You even find freedom from subtle sins of
the heart. But that isn't all.
You also experience a "refreshing" from the "presence of the Lord."
BY REPENTING SO AS TO EXPERIENCE GOD'S PRESENCE, YOUR SINGLE-HEARTED
LOVE AND DEVOTION TOWARD GOD WILL INCREASE GREATLY. Abiding in Christ
becomes realistic. The deeper Christian life becomes practical. This
site shows you how.
ABIDING IN CHRIST
When I talk about repentance it is always a repentance that is
toward abiding in Christ. By "abiding" I believe the Bible means we
are to stay inside the presence of God. Christians have Christ inside
them but we are also told to "abide in Him." I think this means we are
to stay inside the radiant presence of Christ -- 24 hours-a-day. By
this we "...walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light..." (1John
1:7).
To me, abiding in the presence of God is the same thing as abiding
in the presence of the kingdom of God.
We abide in Christ by repentance that removes obstacles so we can
draw near to God, learn to stay there, and learn to let Him draw near
and stay near to us. Understanding your thirsty desires for God and
how to repent makes abiding in Christ realistic for anyone. Everything
that I write is toward this end.
DRINKING FROM GOD
On this website and in the ebooks I use the words "drinking from
God" to also mean "feeding" on Him. To me drinking from God is the
same thing as receiving His presence or letting God draw near to us.
Learning to drink from God is important because without learning to
actually receive His presence we can't abide in Christ. It is by
learning to keep on drinking like a branch on a tree that we abide
inside the presence of God all the time. Doing this is realistic for
you.
On this website and in the ebooks I explain how we drink from
earthly things and how you can reapply those same principles to God. I
explain these things in practical ways so that you can do them.
WHY YOU CAN CHANGE
WE KEEP DOING WHAT WE DON'T WANT TO DO BECAUSE OF THE "BENEFITS" WE
GAIN FROM THE BEHAVIOR. EVEN THOUGH THE BEHAVIOR MAY HURT US GREATLY,
IT REASSURES US, MAKES US FEEL STRONG, OR SECURE IN SOME WAY.
REPENTANCE LETS YOU TRADE EARTHLY DEPENDENCIES FOR GOD'S PRESENCE!
THE REASON YOU CAN CHANGE IS BECAUSE OF GOD'S ABUNDANT GRACE TO DRAW
NEAR TO YOU!
WHEN GOD'S PRESENCE POURS THROUGH YOU, YOUR LONGINGS ARE FILLED MORE
DEEPLY AND MORE PLEASURABLY THAN ANYTHING THIS LIFE HAS TO OFFER.
Do you have a behavior you want to change? REPENTING BY TURNING TO
GOD AS WHAT REASSURES YOU AND SOOTHES YOU WHEN YOU HURT. DOING SO CAN
HELP YOU GROW EVEN IN AREAS THAT HAVE BEEN DIFFICULT FOR YOU TO
CHANGE!
Are you a Christian who doesn't have any major or obvious sins? This
site can help you experience God's presence more fully. It will help
you understand and repent of the hidden idolatry of your heart. It is
just that the benefits of deep level repentance are so great, that it
corrects more obvious sins too.
THE WHOLE THING IN THREE SENTENCES
The repentance that I will help you with is the path to the deeper
Christian life. It is a repentance that changes your behavior because
it changes your heart.
I will be teaching you how to joyously repent from seeking to
receive earthly glory for yourself to a place of seeking and receiving
the presence of God. I will be teach you practical ways of how you can
actually receive the kingdom of God and abide in Christ here.
Everything that I write about is "to the end that we...would be to
the praise of His glory" (Eph 1:12). Doing that means that we first
have to repent from living to the praise of OUR glory.
WHY YOU NEED THIS INFORMATION
You need the information on this site because IT ISN'T OBVIOUS HOW
TO DIRECT YOUR HEART AWAY FROM EARTHLY SOURCES AND TOWARD GOD—OUR
FEARS, HURTS, AND DISBELIEF ARE TOO GREAT.
Most Christians today are not even conscious of when they are
working to fill their longing for God apart from Him. If you were
aware, it is also likely that you would try to repent in ways that
would be ineffective and damaging. I will show how you can be
effective at removing the obstacles preventing you from turning and
drawing near to God.
It is time for radical change! YOU NEED INSTRUCTION AND YOU NEED THE
HEART-TRAINING THE AREAS IN YOUR HEART THAT NEED TO BE ADDRESSED ARE
DEEP AND WELL HIDDEN. This site will show you how to turn to God in
ways that are more complete than what you may have ever thought was
even possible. You can enjoy a deeper Christian life!
NOT EVERYTHING IS FREE
I give a lot of instruction here but I don't give away the material
that I call Heart-training. You will have to buy that.
Are you in a country where online purchases are difficult or
impossible? Then email me and I can give you the Heart-training for
free. For the rest of you please support this ministry by purchasing
the materials.
Regardless of how you get the Heart-training please don't dismiss
the importance of the Heart-training in your pilgrimage with God.
WHY YOU CAN REPENT WITH JOY!
Jesus endured the cross for the joy set before Him (Heb. 12:2). We
should follow His example.
Repent with joy because of God's grace to draw near to you without
His holding back! Rejoice your heart to believing that when you draw
near to God, HE WILL draw near to you (James 4:8)!
More is realistic and possible! The practical reasons you can repent
and turn more fully to God are because of His grace. The earthly
substitutions we make for God are always close to us. You can repent
because God wants to be God to you. He wants to be close to you,
intensely!
The Bible tells us, "And without faith it is impossible to please
Him for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a
rewarder of those who seek Him" (Heb. 11:6). The faith that pleases
God believes that when you come near to God, He rewards you with His
presence by also drawing near to you!
EARTHLY SUBSTITUTIONS FOR GOD'S PRESENCE ARE TOTALLY UNNECESSARY.
YOU JUST NEED TO LEARN HOW TO WORK WITH YOUR HEART UNTIL YOU FIND
FREEDOM TO ACT BECAUSE OF GREATER FAITH TRUST TOWARD GOD.
BY APPLYING THE PRINCIPLES AND USING THE TOOLS GIVEN HERE, YOU _CAN
_EXPERIENCE GOD'S PRESENCE FLOWING AROUND AND THROUGH YOU 24
HOURS-A-DAY!
Don't be alarmed by the amount of material you find on this site.
Large portions of 3 eBooks are on these pages. If you get frustrated
by not remembering what you have read and what you haven't, you may
find it easier to go to the books and materials page and down load
this information in book form.
It will take effort on your part to direct your heart toward God,
but you can do it! I will show you how.
YOU _CAN_ EXPERIENCE A DEEPER CHRISTIAN LIFE!
EMAIL ME IF YOU WANT THE EBOOKS AND CAN'T PAY FOR THEM, OR
ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE OUTSIDE THE USA - I WOULD BE HAPPY TO GIVE THEM
TO YOU.
FOR YOU WHO ARE INSIDE THE USA I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR
SUPPORT FOR THIS MINISTRY. I AM AVERAGING OVER 5,000 HITS / DAY TO
THIS WEBSITE. BUT DURING 2002/2003 I DIDN'T COME CLOSE TO SELLING
ENOUGH EBOOKS TO COVER THE RELATED COSTS. THANKS.
PLEASE CONSIDER SUPPORTING THIS MINISTRY WITH PRAYER, ON A MONTHLY
BASIS FINANCIALLY, OR BY PURCHASING THE EBOOKS. THANKS.
PLEASE ASK QUESTIONS ON THE FORUM...THANKS!
_ _
EMAIL FROM TIENIE IN S. AFRICA 10/08: "I have read most of the info
on your website. It is very practical and easy to understand. In the
past few years I have read a few books on the subject ''Living in the
presence of God". Those books all date back to the 1600 and
1700.Molinos(The Spiritual Guide) ,Guyon (Experiencing the depths of
Jesus Christ), Brother Lawrence (Practicing His Presence). Your
material is much more understandable and usable..."
I am praying for the Lord's abundant blessing on your efforts to
direct your heart toward Him.
Barry.
UNDERSTANDING YOURSELF — HOME
E-MAIL THE AUTHOR...
(C) Barry Hall 1999
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Bold emphasis in the scriptures quoted here has been added by the
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