Hosea 9-11, Revelation 3 • Key Verse: Revelation 3:19

About the time we start to think that repentance is only an Old Testament idea, along come verses like this one from the New Testament: “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent’” (v. 19). There is an interesting blend of two contrasting actions—love and rebuke.
We may not understand how love and rebuke go together, but they do, It is vital to our understanding of God and the development of our spiritual lives to understand that both are a part of our relationship with Him.

God loves us. That is a comforting thought. We do not typically draw as much comfort from the thought that God rebukes us—until we realize that His rebuke is an act of love. He cares for us enough to correct us, and His desire is to help us change.

Several times in these letters to the churches the message of Jesus includes a call to repentance. It is a message that we must not miss nor misunderstand. Do not misunderstand it as being anything but an expression of God’s love for us. And do not miss the need for change, removing from your life those things that God says are wrong. We are saved from the penalty and power of sin. God desires that we turn from those sins and determine to do that which is right in His sight. Repent truly is a word for us today.

Do you need to change something in your life? Repent is still a word for today!

Woodrow Kroll & Tony beckett
www.backtothebible.in