Midrash on repentance as a daily basic spiritual practice:

“Whoever (person, city nation) conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy”.[Pr. 28:13]

“Repentance is given before anything else, by definition.”

To repent is to agree with how God says things really ARE. We are sinners, and in need of forgiveness and Mercy. It is to align with the facts about Reality. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God as Isaiah puts it. So we all need to repent—to confess, change and turn away from sin and towards God.

Looking at repentance again today! Good meditation in our times—the practice of repentance. The first commandment Jesus gave was repentance!

Repent-turn from and toward, change your mind about things, and act differently. Confess-agree with Him that you are a sinner. And accept His forgiveness, and offer it to others. Change starts in confession. It’s metaphysical, as we are sinners, and He is not, we need His Actual Life to make us pure or whole. God looks for a contrite (turned) heart.
To lust after is sin, for instance, because it means we do not trust God to provide what we really need, and instead take it by ourselves. It’s a sin related to coveting what is not ours. Forgive us Lord for lack of trust. For striking rather than speaking to the rock.
Greek—repent means to think differently after.
Talmud Yoma 86a). “Repentance and works of charity are man’s intercessors before God’s throne”.[5] Sincere repentance is equivalent to the rebuilding of the Temple, the restoration of the altar, and the offering of all the sacrifices.[6]

In the New Testament, the first command that Jesus gave was to repent.[Matthew 4:17] He thus repeated the message of John the Baptist.[Matthew 3:2][25] Jesus sent out disciples who “proclaimed that people should repent”.[Mark 6:12] In his Pentecost sermon, Peter the Apostle called on people to repent,[Acts 2:38] an appeal he repeated in his sermon at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple: “Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out”.[Acts 3:19] Paul the Apostle likewise testified “both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God”[Acts 20:21] and said that “The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent”.[Acts 17:30]

The Greek word used for repentance in the New Testament is μετάνοια (metanoia),[26][27] and the Greek verb for “to repent” is μετανοῶ, contracted from μετανο-έω (metano-eo),[28][29] as in Mark’s account of the initial preaching of Jesus: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”

Confession is our way home, if we believe in sin. It places us in the right orientation to contact the outstretched God.

When I worked with elderly who were dying they tended to either have regrets or true repentance at the end. Repentance can come earlier if we let it! It’s an orientation, to life. It was also the first commandment that Jesus gave. And John the Baptist made obvious. They were saying, get yourself in a place where you feel like confession is necessary. And turn away from what you are currently doing;. Change your mind and turn around.

God does’t want regret, He wants a contrite heart, that is true repentance. Regret is still us trying the fiend for ourselves. repentance, is realizing, we can’t.

Regret at the end, is un-dealt with sin. Repentance, is owned sin which can put us in a position to transform!

We have Peace on our land, that maybe the best gift for our creatures.

Regret is different than repentance—repentance includes admission of guilt, reception of forgiveness, and restitution to the degree that we can. At the end of life, people tend to either have regrets or repentance. Sorry God i sinned….Repentance means confession thanks praise and restitution…

In the New Testament Jesus told this parable: “There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’ I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.[Matt. 21:28-29] The word used here for “repent” means to change one’s mind, thought, purpose, views regarding a matter. It is to have another attitude or mindset about something.

This change is well illustrated in the action of the Prodigal Son.[Luke 15:11-32] The issue of repentance is also discussed in connection with the will and disposition. One of the Hebrew words for repent means “to turn”. The Prodigal Son said, “I will arise…, and he arose”.[Luke 15:18,20] The Prodigal said, “I have sinned against heaven”.[Luke 15:21]

In the well-known story of the Pharisee and the Publican, the Greek word used for repentance means “to be a care to one afterwards”, to cause great concern to another. This meaning is exemplified by the repentant person who not only has profound regret for his or her past, but also the fulfilled hope in the potential of God’s grace to continually bear the fruit of healing and true reconciliation within the individual, with others, and most especially with God. The Hebrew equivalent is strong as well, and it means to pant, to sigh, or to moan. So the publican “beat upon his breast, and said, ‘God be merciful to me a sinner’ “, indicating sorrow of heart.[Luke 18:9-14]

The part played by one’s will and disposition in repentance is shown in the confession of sin to God: “I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin”.[Psa. 38:18]

Let’s repent, confess, then thank and praise our way into His Presence today!