Why is repentance so hard

Love exposes, makes safe, and brings peace. Love sacrifices and gives. Love honors and cherishes and treasures. Love bears, hopes, believes, endures. Because in the way of law, the heart hates messing up.

It hates to be exposed as imperfect and needy and finds ways of measuring up or being worthy with good deeds, better efforts, or self-restrictions. And in the way of flesh, the heart hides and finds ways of covering and denying, coping and nursing, distracting and protecting when confronted with brokenness.

It fears and despises what is true of itself. But in the way of love, repentance satisfies the thirsty soul, the one that aches for restored intimacy. Repentance brings us before the Cross, where both our death and life reside. And when we see the reality of the gospel, our heart changes, little by little, each and every time we repent. Because in our exchange of loves, we find the most beautiful and astounding reality come to life. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, "Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.

The glorious exchange. We get the embrace of our loving Father when we give Him our sinful heart. We get the assurance of His steadfast love and mercy toward us when we offer our surrender. We get the freedom of fixing our eyes on Love Himself when we turn our eyes from worthless things. We get resurrection power for our weakness. And the more we find this sweet exchange applied in our lives, the more we desire to live in this way of love.

Father, expose our hearts, expose Your beauty and love, and compel us to worship You that we might live more and more in this way of love. Prayer is an important part of our walk with God, but it's either overlooked or vastly misunderstood.

In this short e-guide, you'll walk through thirteen prayers that are found in the Bible that you can learn from and apply in your own life.

There are prayers about abandonment, prayers of release, as well as a number of other intercessory prayer requests. We would love to help in any way we can.

First Name. Last Name. Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Submit Comment. Why Is Repentance So Hard? Kyle Campbell. Teach Us, Lord, to Pray Prayer is an important part of our walk with God, but it's either overlooked or vastly misunderstood. It's our gift to you. Just tell us where to send it! Submit a Comment Cancel reply Your email address will not be published.

These features were accompanied by a slew of balance changes that altered the way the game is played. One of the most controversial changes in Repentance was the increased difficulty of Hard Mode, which was caused in part by a nerf to shops. The Binding of Isaac creator Edmund McMillen took to Twitter last week to defend the changes, assuring fans that they would adjust to the playstyle once they learned the new rhythm of the game.

But now that more players are unlocking hidden characters and discovering new item synergies, it's becoming increasingly clear why these changes were made in the first place. When The Binding of Isaac: Repentance originally released , shops in Hard Mode had a high probability to spawn without upgrades, offering fewer items than they normally would.

Restock Machines were also made far less common, rendering shops virtually useless on a Hard Mode run. Shops were once a vital way for players to buy items that could have a dramatic impact on their character builds, so the nerf ruined many tried and true strategies.

Though the fan reaction to Repentance was mostly positive, these nerfs were a common complaint. Thankfully, the developers responded quickly. Within a few days, some of these changes had been partially reverted. Shops in Hard Mode became less likely to receive a random downgrade and more likely to receive a Restock Machine. Tinted rocks containing soul hearts were also made more common, making players less reliant on shops to find extra health. While it's great that the developer behind Repentance is so responsive to fans, it's also worth considering why the nerfs were made in the first place.

Shops also received a buff in Repentance , making them free to enter on the first floor of a run. This could seem inconsequential, but keys are a very valuable resource in the early game. In previous iterations of The Binding of Isaac , using a key to enter the shop on the first floor often meant that players couldn't unlock the Treasure Room on the second floor.