A contrite heart.

A broken spirit and a contrite heart
You will not despise, You will not despise
You desire truth, in the inward parts
A broken spirit and a contrite heart

- Songs of Praise, A contrite heart.

I would like to make special mention about a friend in this post.

Like they always say, it takes a real man to admit his mistakes and repent. This friend of mine did it.

Justin and i were talking about him in MSN; we were concerned with his life that was not going anywhere. He's a young chap, 21 this year. Used to be one of our kakis with a bikeshop we always go to.

Due to some split up in the business, he followed the other shareholder who was dealing mainly with motorbikes. Don't get me wrong here. I don't slam motorbikers, just that their lifestyle was something that caused him to lose his directions.

I remembered Justin saying that he doesn't really know what he is doing, and that we should pray for this friend of ours for an opportunity to see the truth.

And that opportunity came last night.

He came to me, saying that he feels that he's a failure. At the age of 21, did 2 diplomas and didn't achieve a single one. And since he genuinely needed help, how could i bear to leave him alone? We had a good talk about my observations of him, of what caused him to lose his way. We concluded that he needed some directions to walk out of this slump and i tried to give some advice.

It was all good; he was receptive of what i suggested, and it really did seem like he was ready to change his life once and for all.

All we need is God to put everything into place.

I pray that he will stand up and work his way back to a life he truly deserves to lead.

To end this post, some passages from the Bible for you to think about:

The Parable of the Lost Sheep
"Now the tax collectors and "sinners" were all gathering around to hear him. 2But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."
Then Jesus told them this parable: "Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent." -Luke 15:1-7

The Parable of the Lost Son
Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them.
"Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
"When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.' So he got up and went to his father. "But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
"The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.'
"But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate.
"Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 'Your brother has come,' he replied, 'and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.'
"The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, 'Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!'
" 'My son,' the father said, 'you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' " - Luke 15:11-32