Times of Refreshing
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“Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the LORD. …” Acts 3:19 (NIV)
What is it that brings times of refreshing in your life? A day off? A vacation? Those times may offer us a break but it’s always short-lived and too soon we are back in the rat race of competitive existence. In Acts 3, Peter seized a divine moment when a crowd gathered after the miracle of a lame beggar who was healed at the entrance of the Temple to tell us how we may experience real seasons of refreshing in our lives. Seeing his opportunity to address the crowd, Peter explained how a man crippled from birth was able to jump up, stand on his feet and walk around, leaping and praising God for the miracle in his life! In verses 16 and 19-20a (NLT), Peter said, “Through faith in the name of Jesus, this man was healed – and you know how crippled he was before. Faith in Jesus’ name has healed him before your very eyes. … Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away. Then times of refreshment will come from the presence of the Lord …”
Peter’s message was simple, powerful, and profound. He was speaking to a deeply religious crowd at the Temple and told them the secret to times of refreshing in our lives comes when we repent. Imagine the reaction of this “religious” crowd? “What do you mean – repent? Us? Why we are faithful Jews coming to the Temple to worship! Why would we ever need to repent?”
When you hear the word “repent” what do you think of? Many may think of some wild-eyed fanatic on a street corner shouting, “Turn or burn!” The image of an angry-spirited preacher distorts the real meaning of this Biblical word and spiritual command. To “repent” simply means to change direction, like when your GPS tells you to “redirect.” You’re going the wrong way and the only way to get to where you need to be is to turn around and go the other way. Biblical repentance begins with the way you think and becomes demonstrative through your behavior. Peter is saying that when we choose to repent of our sins we are turning from our sin to God. Have you ever done that in your life? Sin always cripples our lives and separates us from God and others. It leaves us as spiritual beggars, empty and destitute of God’s blessings, paralyzed with shame and guilt. But when we repent and turn to God from our sins, Peter says God will wipe out our sins and bring times of refreshing, spiritual refreshing! He will wash away the guilt and shame of our sins that has crippled us from walking with God and fulfilling our God-given destiny.
Baptism is an amazing and powerful symbol that demonstrates on the outside how God washes away our sins. It identifies us with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus that Peter spoke about in his message in verse 15. Jesus Christ died on the cross to forgive us of our sins and rose again the third day to give us His life, a new quality of life that empowers us to experience His refreshing presence each day! If you have never experienced that spiritual refreshment, we would invite you to join us this weekend at a Woodlands Church campus near you for Super Summer Baptism 2021. The theme this year is All Things New! Check out our website for more details and how to register.
Just as this lame man experienced a new beginning, you can too. It begins when you make the decision to follow Jesus. “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the LORD. …”