As the year draws to an end many of us are looking for some rest and refreshment before the New Year kicks in. Whether it be some time away on holidays, reading a book, watching the cricket or just spending time with family and friends away from the routines and responsibilities of life for a while, the world offers us a plethora of options to stop and recharge. The apostle Peter, on the other hand, knows that times of refreshing come not from the world, nor from a relaxing holiday, but from the Lord himself.
In Acts 3, Peter exhorts his hearers to, "Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord." As we gather on the eve of a new year, it will be good and right for us to reflect on the past year, and to look forward to year ahead. But most of all, it will be appropriate to turn away from anything sinful and selfish, and to turn to the Lord in repentance and faith so that we might step into the New Year confident, clean and truly refreshed in the Lord, with whom there is full forgiveness. |
