Acts 20:21 I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.
We begin a new month of devotions focusing on repentance. But before we can dig into the goodness of this verse, let’s first define what repentance is for the believer. In the Bible, repentance refers to the absolute, whole change of mind and heart that turns a person from sin and toward God. Think of it as a complete U-turn or about-face. It is a total change that encompasses more than just regret or feeling sorry. It results in the transformation of your life through obedience to God’s will.
In today’s verse, the Greek word for repentance is metanoia. This is literally translated as a change of mind. In this verse, it describes the fundamental turning around, the reorienting of one’s mind and heart towards the will of God and His plan for our lives.
We are beginning this month’s look at repentance with the core message of salvation because we need to be sure that we have the correct heart posture before going into further study each day. It is more than just a change of heart that we are looking at here. We are also looking at faith because if we do not know Who we are turning to, there can’t be true repentance. There can only be conviction.
The truth of the matter is this – Jesus died for our sins, in our place, to give us eternal life. He bore our punishment for us, becoming the sacrifice needed to fulfill the requirement for remediation. Without Him, we would be hopelessly lost, floundering about in our attempts to make things right. But because He stepped in and bore our punishment for us, we are now free. We are made new, washed clean in the blood He shed, and are adopted into the family of God.
Our response to this is faith. We believe in our hearts that He died for our sins and rose again, defeating death, and we ask Him to be Lord of our lives. But faith is not the only thing that we need in our lives. We need to turn away from our sin, to stop living the life that was leading us to destruction prior. We need to start living a life that demonstrates our faith in Him and aligns with His purpose and His will for us.
We must make a complete turn around, ceasing the things that were destructive and sinful and begin to live a life of faith, seeking and fulfilling His purpose for our lives. Our life is no longer governed by rebellion and self-seeking behavior. Instead, it becomes a life that focuses on others, loving and serving them as we share God’s grace with others. Our lives of change become our testimonies. We are able to help others turn from sin and develop faith in Jesus as we tell them about the changes in our own lives.
Before we study any further this month let’s take some time in prayer. Examine your heart. Ask God to show you what in your life needs to change and then turn from it. Confess it to God, ask for forgiveness, and turn away. Turn to Him. And then trust and believe that you are forgiven. His grace is free to all who seek it. All we have to do is repent and turn to Him.
Prayer: Lord, Examine my heart and show me where I need to change. I repent of the sins that are holding me back and I ask for Your forgiveness. Wash me clean and make me whole again. Amen
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