Peter replied,
"Repent and be baptized,
every one of you, in the
name of Jesus Christ for
the forgiveness of your sins.
And you will receive the
gift of the Holy Spirit."
Bible Rank: 12
I was on the phone recently with a friend.
He'd messed up.
Quite frankly, he'd messed up again. It was the umpteenth time.
He said, "I'm going to change."
I said, "You've said this before." I said, "Now it's do or die. You either commit to real change ... or it's all going to unravel. So ... do you know what real change is? Do you know what 'repent' really, really means?"
In Greek, the word for repentance is metanoia. It means to change your mind. And that means that not only your opinion has to change, but you have to change your mind on priorities, on habits, on ways of living life.
One translation of the Bible uses -- for this one absolutely critical word -- are nine descriptive words: "turn away from your sins and turn to God."
I said to my friend, "That's what has to happen ... or it's all going to unravel.
Friend, that's what must happen for you and I too. We must turn away from our worldliness and sin, our bad habits and our misguided desires. This is not legalistic. This is a gift. This is where life is. Life is with God. This is only place where we can turn for hope, for life, for encouragement, for joy, for peace ... and most of all for relationship.
And it's not a defeated fall back -- as in, "this is the 'only place where we can turn.'" This is the victory! This is where you want to go. This is life!
Repent! Turn away from you sins and turn toward God. Turn away, indeed, from death and turn toward life. Turn ... or it will all unravel.
In Christ's Love,
a guy who has turned
(permanent victory)
but needs to keep turning
daily (daily victory)
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