“So repent [change your inner self – your old way of thinking,
regret past sins] and return [to God – seek His purpose for your life], so that
your sins may be wiped away [blotted out, completely erased], so that times of
refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord [restoring you like a cool
wind on a hot day].”
--Acts 3:19 AMP
We hear a lot of people say, ‘I’m
struggling with my weight’. It came to
me during my meditation time that I’m not struggling. I did it willingly by doing things my way. Not availing myself of the many resources
designed to help me. I began to think,
the same thing goes for my Christian walk.
I’m not struggling with sin, I give in to the temptations
willingly. Not availing myself of the
Source designed to help me.
The Apostle Paul described it best in
Romans 7:17-25:
“But
I need something more! For if I know the
law but still can’t keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging
my best intentions, I obviously need help!
I realize that I don’t have what it takes. I can will it, but I can’t do it. I decide to do good, but I don’t really do
it. I decide not to do bad, but then I
do it anyway. My decisions, such as they
are, don’t result in actions. Something
has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time. It happens so regularly that it’s
predictable. The moment I decide to do
good, sin is there to trip me up. I
truly delight in God’s commands, but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me
joins in that delight. Parts of me
covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge. I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real questions? The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ
can and does. He acted to set things
right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my
heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally
different.”
Now what? There’s a saying that goes, ‘when you know
better, you do better’. Once you’ve
recognized the problem, consciously make better choices. Repent
(turn from sin and dedicate oneself to the amendment of one’s life) and redirect (change the course or
direction of), and enjoy the ‘times of
refreshing’ promised in God’s Word.
Margaret Slaughter
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