"Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you-even Jesus." Acts 3:19-20

 

As the Jews at the temple marvel at the miracle God has done through the hands of Peter, he takes the opportunity to preach a message of repentance to them.  The rules and laws and old way of doing things had kept many of the Jews and their leaders from receiving the truth of Jesus Christ, so Peter tells them to repent.  To repent is to change the way one thinks.  So, when Peter told them to repent he was literally telling them they needed to change the way they had been thinking, about Jesus and the Old Covenant.  Something new and better had come, and if the people would just receive this truth their sins would be forgiven, and they would experience a refreshing brought on by the grace of God.

 

God is always ready to bring that refreshing to our lives.  He does it the day we receive Jesus as our Savior and Lord and our sins are wiped out, and He continues to do it throughout our lives.  But, it always starts with a time of repentance, that is a time when we change the way we are thinking about a given situation in time.  Perhaps today you face a time in life that has you weighed down, and you could us a fresh breath of air!  If that is you change the way you are thinking about your situation!  Release it to God!  Think about it as a time when God is going to do something great in our life, a time when you will experience the grace of God like never before!  Repent and allow refreshing to come your way!

 

"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." Matthew 11:28-29