Wednesday; December 11

What is repentance?  There are some religious words that are quite common, then there are others that may not be as familiar.  Now, while the word repentance might not be in everyone’s vocabulary; the concept is pretty simple.  The idea of repentance is turning away from one thing and heading back to another.  Often, we use the word in an emotional, mental and spiritual perspective by referring to a change of heart that comes from following God.  It is changing our attitude about being a follower of His.  Now, while this is an appropriate use of the word, I think there is another element to it – one that involves actions.  Take, for example, the Philippian Jailer in Acts 16.  Before he came to know Christ, he imprisoned Paul and others (and may have even taken part in beating them); but when he learned the truth about Jesus, he became a believer.  Interestingly, it wasn’t just his attitude that changed, so did his actions.  After experiencing the circumstances of his conversion experiences we are told, “And he took them that very hour of the night and washed their wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he and all his household.” (Acts 16:33).  He did more than say, “Oops, I shouldn’t have done what I did.” he tried to ease their suffering by tending to their injuries.  That is repentance. 

Have you recently changed your ways or are you thinking about changing your life to embrace a relationship with Jesus?  If so, that’s great; but don’t forget to do your best to make right the wrongs you have committed.  No, we can’t fix everything we’ve done wrong; but we can try.  When we repent from our mindset and our actions, we’ll begin building a bridge that can lead to repentance and reconciliation. 

Think About It!

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