Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come. —Acts 3:19
Repentance is not a negative message, but one of covenant blessing. When you allow your heart to indulge in lust, pride, rebellion, or selfishness you cut yourself off from His covenant.
Sin does not destroy God’s love for us. He loves us with a love that is incorruptible (Romans 5:8), but you can go to hell with God still loving you. Just as confession is more than lip service to God, salvation is more than forgiveness of your sins. It is a lifestyle in which you choose to become God’s own possession. The only way you can ever enter into His covenant and stay in that covenant is to love Him with all your heart and to have no idols before Him.
If God is not first in everything, you need to change your mind about God and toward God. Then and only then will your heart be free to abandon itself to loving Him. He is a jealous God and will allow no other gods in your life. Destroy all of your idols and live totally for God.
Lord, I repent of my past sins and idols.
I turn away from the ways of the world
and seek to live solely for You. Forgive
me, cleanse me, and make me new
through the blood of Christ. Amen.
