Acts 3:19-26
“Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began. For Moses truly said to the fathers, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you. And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’ Yes, and all the prophets, from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have also foretold these days. You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities.”

The Dead Sea is amazing to swim in, but it is not amazing to get out of. After a hike around Masada, it is common to take the trip to the Dead Sea next since it is a short drive. Our tour in Masada was convicting and intriguing, but it also made us filthy with the dirt and dust whipping around us during our unusual cool and breezy day. (Usually it is miserably hot according to our Jewish guide.) Anyway, we were very excited to swim in the Dead Sea and to experience the unusual floating phenomena. When we were done with our float and tasted by accident too much salt, we got out. Yuck. We were sticky and crusty at the same time. It was not what you would call the most refreshing swim we have ever taken. Thankfully, we had a wonderful private room and shower to wash away all the salt.

With the miracle of the lame man walking and Peter preaching to Jerusalem about Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross, Peter now makes a call to action. Repent! Be Converted! And what are the results of one’s repentance and turning to Christ? Sins are blotted out and refreshing times will come as one spends time with the Lord.

Salvation and the Christian life truly are very simple, but it is our human tendency to complicate things that makes it difficult. We are to repent of our sin and turn to Christ. Yes, we do have the Holy Spirit within us, but the Spirit wars against our flesh and when we let our flesh win, we are to repent and turn to Christ. We are to not cover our sin, nor are we to rationalize our sin. Those ways do not bring refreshment to our soul. The Spirit is quenched and we cannot be clean.

Are you feeling spiritually sticky and crusty from hiding from repentance? Repent. Turn away from your sin of _____. Only then can your experience the blessings you are promised from your Heavenly Father.

Written by Kaye Dee Richards. Kaye Dee lives with her husband Colin in Morrison, CO. They have 4 children, Joshua, Amelia, Victoria, and Julia.

To contact Kaye Dee, leave a comment, message us on Facebook, or email comments@thebeautifulspirit.org.