"Understanding"

"Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His Holy Name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits:" (Psalm 103:1 & 2) Do you know how to stop a train wreck? Praise God! Praise Him like there is no tomorrow! Praise Him with all of your heart! Just Praise Him!!! Stop focusing on the negative; stop hating, and start loving; and the best way to get into the heart of Love is by giving praise to the God of Love. "If thou doest well, shalt thou be accepted?", was God's question to Cain; and for Cain to have done well, he would have left off from his hostile attitude, and started to praise God. This is the first step towards a repented heart, and until we get in a right position with God we will most likely not be in a position to repent; no, let me clarify that statement: unless we get in a right position with God, we will not repent! What is a right position with God? What does that even mean? Well; let me see; to start off on your knees might work for starters; or maybe prostrated on the ground, with your face as low as it can go. Getting to the point where you realize how much you need His mercy, and to the point where you know He can deliver it, if you are truly asking. Not as Cain asked for mercy in his response to God's judgement for him killing his brother: "And Cain said to the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear." (Genesis 4:13) There was no remorse for his sin, only remorse for his punishment; he was not sorry for his crime; and there was no plea for pardon or expression of sorrow or regret. The beginning of understanding is the end of yourself: Cain was a selfish person who was about to be deprived of all his material belongings and driven into the wilderness; yet he did not have it in himself to ask for mercy; why? As I said before: Cain had not understood the whole meaning of God's mercy and what giving a sacrifice was all about. He might have had a clue, but not enough to get it right. The position that Cain was in was one of giving an offering to God as though the offering was for his investment into his work: Here God, here is the offering for that which I have produced; now bless it. This kind of offering is not uncommon amongst us believers; it's not right, but it is the common attitude of the heart as we give our tithes, or perform a service for God. The Lord loves a cheerful giver; meaning that He respects the giving of someone who is giving out of a heart of praise; not someone who is giving to be blessed...