WHO'S SORRY NOW?

An article by 

Molly Noble Bull

Who's Sorry Now is the title of a popular song recorded by Connie Frances back in 1958. But for me and perhaps other Christians, the title has another meaning. I’m talking about repentance.

I was raised in a liberal, mainline denominational church but back when sin was a big deal—back when bad was bad and good was good. In fact, we always repeated word-for-word from the prayer book what was called the General Confession (confession of sin) before taking Holy Communion/The Lord’s Supper. So I got in the habit of repenting of my sins at an early age.

But after I married and my husband and I joined an evangelical church, I noticed that sin didn’t appear to be as serious a mistake as it had been at my previous church. The church seemed to be saying that repentance came before salvation, but after salvation, it was optional.

Someone told me that once you were saved you didn’t need to repent anymore because your sins were forgiven—past, present and future. I can and do believe that because the Bible says so, and I believe the Bible. Nevertheless, I continued to repent of my daily sins at my new church—24/7, and I am still doing it today.

Why?

Call it habit, if you like. I call it love and respect for the LORD and his only begotten son, Jesus.

Christians are in a marriage relationship with their future spouse, Jesus, and I think we should think of that relationship like marriage between one man and one woman. When wives burn dinner, husbands often take the family out for a meal at a restaurant, and most wives tell their husbands they are sorry for burning the meal even though they aren’t required to do so via the marriage license. It is simply the kind and polite thing to do, and it shows love and respect for the husband.

Can you imagine a proper wife thinking or saying, “Okay. I burned supper. But if you think I am going to say I’m sorry, you have another think coming.”

I repent of all my evil thoughts and deeds that are not in line with the God’s views found in the Holy Bible because I love the Lord and want to please Him, and it is hard to miss the importance of repentance all through the Bible. I am especially aware of what the Book of Revelation has to say on the subject.

As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

Revelation chapter 3 and verse 19, KJV

See what I mean?

I find this verse important because, to me, it leaves the impression that even at the end of the world, repentance would have been possible if sinners had simply repented—told to the Lord in prayer that they were sorry.

And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:

Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

Revelation 9: 20-21, KJV

And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.

Revelation 16: 9

Who Is Sorry Now?

Those that refused to repent of their sins and follow the Lord with their whole hearts.

Molly 

Postscript:

I cannot go into the entire world and preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, but as a Christian author, my books and articles can. Take a look at the cover of my newest western romance novel, When the Cowboy Rides Away. 

By the way, you can read the first few chapters for free if you visit my web site at www.mollynoblebull.com. Once there, scroll down and click Molly's Free Downloads, and allow a minute or two for the chapters to load. 

Or

http://bit.ly/cowboyrides 

The Cowboy Rides Away has two companions--two study guides for home school families based on my western novel and written by Jeanette Pierce. Take a look.

To find all my novels, write Molly Noble Bull in the search slot at online and walks-in stores. 

MY FATHER'S WORLD

by Molly Noble Bull

The Heavens and the earth were created by my Heavenly Father. But I had an earthly father, too.
His name was Sam Noble.  

                                                                Sam Noble

After over a year of planning and building, the Sam Noble Park was dedicated in Sarita, Texas on Wednesday afternoon, February 15, 2012. The next two photos were taken at the park on the evening the park was dedicated. 

However, the original park was started years earlier when my father was a county commissioner in Kenedy County, Texas.

I called Sam Noble Papa, and there is nothing Papa and Mama liked more than church, children and ballroom dancing. I only wish they could have been there on the night the park was dedicated to see the children, their parents and others enjoy that wonderful park.

Papa was born on December 18, 1904 in Hallettsville, Texas, the youngest of eleven children. His father was a county sheriff, and Papa was eleven years old when his father died. His widowed mother moved her younger children to Kingsville, Texas. Some of Papa's older brothers and sisters lived in Kingsville and worked for the Missouri Pacific Railroad, and my grandmother bought a home in Kingsville where Papa lived during his early years in the area.

My father was always interested in cowboying and had worked on a ranch near San Antonio, Texas before becoming a Kingsville city fireman. It was while he was working for the Kingsville Fire Department that he met and married my mother. Mama was the daughter of a Texas cowboy and ranch manager who ran the Santa Rosa Ranch in Kenedy country Texas for almost forty years. 
Papa became interested in serving his community while working for the Kingsville Fire Department. At the same time, he began spending weekends and summer vacations working cattle with my grandfather on the Santa Rosa Ranch and gaining still more ranching experience. 

When I was five years old, Papa moved us to the Santa Rosa where we lived for one year, and Papa worked for my grandfather, punching cattle. My grandfather retired from the ranch around 1952, and Papa was hired to run the Santa Rosa. Soon after that, the Santa Rosa Ranch was divided between the owner's three sons, and Papa became the first foreman of the La Paloma Ranch where he worked until he retired at age sixty-five.
While working on the La Paloma, Papa was elected Justice of the Peace and then County Commissioner of Kenedy County, Texas. He continued as county commissioner after he retired. 

I am an only child, and I married my college sweetheart. We have three sons and six grandchildren, and all three of our sons are involved in ranching in Texas today. Our grandchildren are involved in 4-H and FFA. 
My father died in a nursing home in Kingsville on December 25, 1989, and he and my mother are buried in the cemetery in Riviera, Texas.   
#
The Overcomers: Christian Authors Who Conquered Learning Disabilities by Margaret Daley, Ginny Aiken, Jane Myers Perrine, Ruth Scofield, and me, Molly Noble Bull, was published by Westbow Press in late 2011. Recently, we learned that The Overcomers is a finalist in the 2011 Women of Faith contest for Christian writers. The Overcomers is a popular book title right now; so when looking my book, write in the entire title. The Overcomers: Christian Authors Who Conquered Learning Disabilities.

To find all my books and novels, write Molly Noble Bull in the search slot at online and walk-in bookstores.