Repent

“Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus.” 

— Acts 3:19-20 (ESV)

“God never asks us to repent to shame us, but to restore us—so that we may again enjoy the sweetness of His presence.” 

— A.W. Tozer

A few verses earlier, Peter and John encountered a crippled beggar at the temple gate. Instead of giving him money, they healed him in the name of Jesus. The people were amazed and ran to see what had happened.

Peter immediately used that moment to preach the gospel. He didn’t shy away from the hard part — he called them to repent.

Repentance is not a bad thing. It’s actually great news!

Sin keeps us in bondage and shame. But when we repent and turn back to Jesus, our sins are blotted out, and times of refreshing come from the presence of the Lord.

I saw this powerfully in my own family. When my oldest daughter was caught stealing a toy, I had her go and repent to the person she stole from. After she did it, she came back to me and said, “Daddy, I feel so much better!” That little moment showed me how freeing repentance really is.

We live in a culture that wants to tiptoe around sin and hard topics. But the church cannot do that. Church should not just be a feel-good experience where we bask in God’s presence and ignore our junk.

The church is meant to preach the full gospel, equip the saints, and help people deal with sin so that the refreshing presence of God can flow through us to a hurting world.

This is the answer the world is desperate for.

We don’t need to chase miracles for the sake of miracles. Miracles are wonderful — but they should point people to Jesus and lead to repentance. When repentance happens, times of refreshing come.

If you’re carrying guilt, anxiety, depression, or shame today — that weight is from sin. But there’s a better way. If you give that sin up and turn to Jesus, He will blot it out, forgive you completely, and give you eternal life and real peace instead.

That is a far better deal than what the world is offering.

Let’s stop being afraid to talk about repentance. Let’s go out there and bring this hope to others. Let’s bring freedom to the captives.

Go preach the gospel — and call people to repent so they can experience the refreshing presence of the Lord.