God had a charge to bring against his people long ago. Sadly, he could bring the same charge against us and our nation today. He said, “Hear the word of the Lord, you Israelites, because the Lord has a charge to bring against you who live in the land: There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land. There is only cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed” (Hosea 4:1-2). Sound familiar? No faithfulness? No love? No acknowledgement of God? Murder and adultery and bloodshed? That’s us. What’s the verdict? Guilty!
So here’s what Peter told people when they recognized their sin and guilt: “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord” (Acts 3:19). Every sickness, every murder, every heartbreak, every sin is a call to repent of our sins and turn to the Lord. Because Jesus does something amazing: He washes our sins away with his blood. He refreshes our hearts and souls with his forgiveness and love and promises. We and our nation need the same call to repentance that the Israelites received so long ago, so that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.
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