repentance

Acts 3:19

Last week we celebrated the greatest series of events in human history—Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection.  And now what is our appropriate response?  How does one respond to such a passionate demonstration of love and mercy by the God of the universe?

The only worthy response is for us to follow Him with the same passion with which He pursued us.  To love Him, to seek Him, to clear our thoughts and actions of anything that would hinder our relationship with Him.

Daily repentance is a crucial part of our walk with Christ.  The word used in the New Testament for "repent" is metanoeo.  It means to “change one's mind.” In order to receive God’s salvation from sin, we must repent—change our minds and our actions regarding sin.  Repentance is a daily, sometimes hourly, action for believers in order to keep the relationship with God open and clear.

As Christians, we still experience temptations and can sometimes fall into sin, but we are no longer slaves to sin. Romans 6:6 declares, “We know that our old self was crucified…that we should no longer be slaves to sin...” Believers have God’s Holy Spirit within them to help them say “no” to temptation and to convict our conscience of wrongdoing when we do sin.

The Bible says, "Seek the Lord while He may be found. Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts: Let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon" (Isaiah 55:6-7). 

Take a few moments and confess every sin God brings into your thoughts.  Repent by changing your mind and your actions regarding those sins.  Thank the Lord for His forgiveness.

Prayer:  Lord Jesus, I repent today and place my trust in You.  I want to be “all in” with You.  Remind me daily to confess my sins and turn from all unrighteousness.  Thank you for your amazing grace and tender mercies toward me.  All praise to You!

-aaron tomes