Peter’s words give us the recipe for Spirit-filled, extraordinary, and effervescent living. And, first on the list is repentance...
"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." Acts 3:19
I was truly amazed a few years ago when I studied this word, repentance:
"Metanoeo" Greek, meaning: From Meta a change of place or condition; and Noeo to exercise the mind, think, comprehend. To think differently. To undergo a moral change of direction.
Repentance is a paradigm shift in the way I think and not so much about what I do. Trying to break my own sin-bondages – the stuff that messes me up – by trying to change my actions, is pointless. Has it ever worked for you? When my mind is transformed – seeking God’s viewpoint first, not the world’s way or my own skewed thinking – then and only then, am I transformed. Hmm...didn’t Paul say this in Romans 12:1-2?
To know His thoughts, I need to know His Word and His vocabulary: love, mercy, grace, freedom, abundance, goodness, truth, life – the list goes on and on. When I let the Spirit do a total thought over-haul in me, then the rivers of living water from God’s presence flood in; refreshing, restoring, rejuvenating, and revealing His life in me. Ahhh, yes!
