"Repent then and turn to God..."   Acts 3:19

You may have noticed the theme of repentance running
through my website. The reason for this is because I feel

it's one of the things most lacking in the church today.  It's

also something God has spoken to be about in my own

life.  In a nutshell,  you MUST repent of your sins.  It's not

a request, it's a command.

I had been seeking the Lord for renewal in my life for a 

couple months.  On the very first day I began to pray the

word of the Lord came to me..."Repent!" 

"Repent, then,  and turn to God, so that your sins may be

wiped out, so that times of refreshing may come from the

Lord..."  Acts 3:19

I was talking with someone recently about what makes

a "healthy church". (This church was taking a scientific

survey to see how healthy it was.)  I told him,  "If I repent,

and obey the Lord, I will be spiritually healthy, if I don't I

will be sick!"  It's the same for the church.  We don't need

a survey to tell us how to be healthy.  Take a look at

Revelation chapters 2-3. What does the Spirit say to the

churches over and over again?  REPENT!

Why aren't we preaching that?  Today it's, "all about grace." 

(And don't get me wrong, I'm all about grace.  I totally need

it everyday of my life!)  But grace doesn't get us out of the

need to repent.   Why does He  shower us with grace?

"For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to

all men.  It teaches us to say NO to ungodliness and worldly

passions..."  Titus 2:11

His grace first of all teaches us to say "No" to sin.  If we

do sin, we MUST repent. What has happened however

is that often we are not saying no to sin.  We are not preaching

against sin, and we're not repenting of sin!  In fact, sin is

hardly even mentioned in many churches!   We all want

God to wash over us and to just feel His love!  

"...God's kindness leads you toward repentance." Romans 2.4

See what I mean?  You can't get away from it.  God is showering

you with kindness and love trying to get you to repent.  But if

you go long enough soaking in the love, but not repenting, 

you're just fooling yourself.  I wanted to be close to the Lord,

and He told me how to do it: 

"Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped

out, so that times of refreshing may come from the Lord..." 

Acts 3:19

How did God say I could get refreshed?  If I would repent and

turn to Him, MY SINS WOULD BE WIPED OUT, and then I would have "times of refreshing" from the Lord.  We are weak, and the

church is weak, because we don't preach this message and

we don't practice it. 

'Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed

with this inscription: "The Lord knows those who are His," and

"Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn

away from wickedness." 2 Timothy 2.19

I'll paraphrase.  The Lord knows if you're really a Christian or

not.   He knows if  you're really part of His family.  And, if you

claim to be a Christian, and say you belong to Him, you MUST

turn away from sin.  You MUST repent.   The word MUST

impressed me one day as I was praying.   Repentance isn't

optional, it's a requirement.

If you don't believe this and practice it, maybe you're not

really a Christian.  If your church doesn't teach this and practice

it, maybe you need to find another church.  This is foundational.  

 'Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm..."

2 Timothy 2.19

The good news about repentance is that it leads to us getting

close to God again.  It's our way of saying, "You are right, I was

wrong Lord".  More than that,  it's our way of bowing to His Lordship. 

When I repent I'm saying, "You're the Lord, Your ways are right,

and I will obey you."  Out of that comes wonderful refreshing

from the Lord.