12/04/2024 – God Commands us to Repent
Acts 17: 30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31 because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”
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From beginning to end, the Bible calls everyone to repentance. This is the purpose of the prophetic message. The goal of the prophets was not to demonstrate their ability to predict the future. It was to bring the word of God for conviction and repentance. This is what every prophet was trying to accomplish in the power of God- to bring the people of God to repentance.
One of the majestic titles for God is Lord of Armies. We tend to think that God is lacking in soldiers. But He has millions upon millions ready to fight for righteousness. God will fight against every kind of evil to accomplish His plan. But God prefers to conquer our hearts. He pleads with His people: return to me! To repent means to turn around…to come back to God’s purpose. He is crying out to His church today: return to me! He is at the door of every heart asking to have communion with us.
Saying “I am sorry” is not enough. God is calling us to return to Him with all our heart. He is calling us to rend our hearts. True repentance requires a change in our intentions and our actions. May the Holy Spirit lead us to true repentance.