Repentance

Acts 3:19 -- "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out..."

Here Peter speaks the word that John Baptizer and Jesus Christ both began their ministry with, "repent." These great promises that we have discussed the past few days of God dwelling with men can only become a reality for individuals once they have taken the first step of repentance. This glorious Christian life is not something that we think ourselves into, or work ourselves into,but it is something that is freely given to us when we believe what God has spoken to us in the gospel and we act upon that belief by first of all repenting for our sins against a Holy God. Through the Holy Spirit, I was convinced that I was a sinner, that I needed God's forgiveness, and that Jesus Christ had paid my debt of sin so I could receive it. As a result, I fell upon Christ with sorrow and found that He kept His word by forgiving me, cleansing my conscience of guilt, placing within me power to live a new lifestyle (turning from the old) and filling my heart and mind with joy, peace and love like nothing in this world could ever give. Repentance is required of God for entrance into His kingdom...it's the first step to being "born again." You and I cannot afford to do it our way, that leads to death and destruction but repentance leads to life everlasting. The question we need to answer is: "How is our heart with God?"