Netherwood Park church of Christ -- Sharp(er) Focus |
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| VOL. 30 | APRIL 5, 1998 | NO. 14 |
| TIMES OF REFRESHING |
I love spring, don’t you. The daylight hours are longer, the grass is turning green, the trees are budding out, the flowers are starting to come up and the birds are singing. What a refreshing time God has provided us in the spring. Every season has its own beauty, but, except for allergy sufferers, I think most of us like spring the best.
God has provided another time of refreshing, a refreshing of the soul and a refreshing of our relationship to God. This time of refreshing can come anytime we need it. Listen to Peter’s words in Acts 3:19: "Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord."
Sin separates us from our loving Father. It plunges us into everything that destroys us and our relationship to God. If not dealt with properly, it brings death. If the sun did not bring the warming of spring to the earth, everything would die. If the Son does not bring forgiveness to us, we will die. But, in fact, He has brought forgiveness and life to us if we are willing to repent, to turn from sin and seek the forgiveness of God. And when we do times of refreshing come from the Lord!
Is there sin in your life that you are not dealing with? Is there something that you keep on doing that is wrong, or a sin that you have committed that you have not faced and repented of? What does it do to you? David said of his sin which he had not repented of, "When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long". But when Nathan confronted him with his sin, David acknowledged his sin before God and he repented. Then he said, "I acknowledged my sin to You and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord’ - and You forgave the guilt of my sin" (Psalm 32:3,5).
To repent means "to change the mind". It means that when we conceal our sins we are of the mind that says we are going to be in charge of our life. When we repent, we change our mind and say that we are going to truly make Christ "Lord" or "Master" and He will be in charge. We will follow Him and His desires, not our own. Then will come spring in our spiritual life, then will come times of refreshing!
We must not let pride or any thing else keep us from times of refreshing and the forgiveness that we so desperately need from the Lord.
Do you need a season of refreshing in your spiritual life? Does it feel like winter in your relationship to God? Perhaps there is sin in your life of which you have not repented. If so, it hurts only you and it doesn’t need to. The Lord wants there to be spring in your spiritual life just as He sends spring and renewal to the earth for us to enjoy.
-- Wayne Sharp