Adam Yauch is best known for being the co-founder of the Beastie Boys (a hip hop group).  He wrote music, directed films, and was given an award from his state college ”in recognition of a significant contribution to the American artistic or literary heritage.” He fought with illness later on in life and sadly left behind a wife and daughter. But he was more than all of his accomplishments…he was (and still is) a precious soul.

My heart hurts for his family and friends. At the risk of sounding cocky, insensitive or rude please know I say this with sorrow and urgency in my heart: I don’t know where Yauch is right now (as I don’t know where he stood before God) but I do know that as of May 4, 2012 he has passed into eternity to meet Him face to face… and so shall we one day.

If you were to die today, do you know if you would go to Heaven? If not, then I beg your pardon…literally.  Please listen to this mp3 called “3 MInutes Left” and be sure that you are on your way.  Consider contacting me at aubrey@iBegYourPardon.ca to let me know what you’ve decided.

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When I ask both Christians and non-Christians, “Do you know what the word ‘repent’ means?” I hear different answers; some say “forgiveness?” or “to stop doing bad.” I politely explain to them that although those are good guesses, it actually means something a lot different. In fact I think that understanding what “repentance” actually means is so important that if a person doesn’t get it, they could end up going to Hell.

The word “repent” or “repentance” comes from two old Greek words: #1 Metanoa (pronounced: Met Annoya) and #2 Metamelomai (pronounced: Meta Melom Eye).

I’ll start by explaining Metamelomai first. In simple terms it means “to be sorry that you got caught”. I work at a high school; I saw one of my students cheat on a test once and when he was busted, he looked so sorry…sorry that he got caught.  Students are not allowed to be on their cell phones either and if we (staff) see them, we are to take them to the principal’s office.  I’ve busted many students for this and again…many are sorry…sorry that they got caught.  How do I know?  I know because if I do decide to cut them some slack and just tell them to keep it in their bag, as soon as I turn my back, the phone comes right back out.

If those two examples don’t hit home, just type “To Catch a Predator” in YouTube and look at the faces and excuses of the guys who get caught on camera right before they were about to sexually assault someone.

That kind of “I’m sorry I got busted” repentance simply isn’t repentance at all.  It’s what I call “human sorrow”. And the Bible has something to say about it:

“For God can use sorrow in our lives to help us turn away from sin and seek salvation. We will never regret that kind of sorrow. But sorrow without repentance [Human sorrow] is the kind that results in death.” - (2 Corinthians 7:10 NLT1 brackets mine)

Q: Can you think of any examples in your life or in the media where people seem to only be sorry for getting caught?

Part 2…next post

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Richard Wagstaff Clark was born (1929) / He was loved by many /  He went to school / He was the creator of American Bandstand / He was a radio and TV legend / …. but he was more than all of his accomplishments…he was (and still is) a precious soul.

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A person can only be a Christian (the way the Bible defines one) when they understand the “Fine Print” as Jesus explained it.  We need to repent of our sin and put our trust in the Savior… period.  But there is one more thing we need to know before we can (or should) “sign our lives away” to Jesus and it is this: Life before Heaven will not always be easy, smooth, or fun…

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Last post I explained that the first thing God requires us to do so that we can go to Heaven is to REPENT. Here’s the second thing…

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