Reflecting on Acts 3:11-26“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 Messiah, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus. (Acts 3:19-20)
The word repent means to change the way that you are thinking.
Their mindset had led them to reject and crucify Jesus.
It is this kind of thinking that leads us to sin, to act in unloving ways.
To sin is the the opposite to the love God wills for us (Matthew 22:37-40).
It leads to ‘times of destruction’, not times of refreshing.
Does the way we think, the way we live, produce times of refreshing?
Do they give life or take life, do they restore or destroy?
God is working to restore everything, to make everything ‘very good’ again.
God appoints Jesus to do this, and Jesus raises up workers for this mission.
We are called as Jesus followers to think and live this way.
Repenting is not just a one-time act that leads to becoming a Christian.
It is a daily renewal process, constantly rethinking how we think and live.
No matter how bad we mess up (these people had crucified Jesus), we can be restored.
God is eager to refresh our lives, and to use our lives to refresh others.
Am I eager to be refreshed, and to be the means of refreshing others?
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, refresh my thoughts, words and deeds, that I may be a source of refreshing to others. May times of refreshing coming in and around me, as we together make things 'very good' again.