Refresh

One of my most favorite verses recently has been Acts 3:19.

"Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord."

And I am so thankful for those times of refreshing, but I am so tired of needing them so frequently. I am so tired of doing what I do not want to do and not doing what I want to do, as Paul says. Every day, I enter this constant battle. I literally feel pain in my heart when I sin and do not focus on what Christ has given me to do right now. But often, I still choose not to do it. Often my thoughts, heart and affections turn to all of the things I really want in my life, and if I'm not careful, they can consume me.

Romans 7:21-23
"So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.

So, this is the life of a lover of Christ. How do we ever do it? So many times, I try to live this life in my own strength, and I realize it more and more every day. Every day that the Lord reveals more of myself to me, I am forced to the same conclusion as Paul, "What a wretched man I am!" But today, as I take an escape from life, and from the world, and sit with Jesus, I am reminded.

Jesus=the one who saves, because Jesus was sent to save us from our sins. Because I was an enemy of God, and there was nothing I could do in my own power or strength to get to God.

What I noticed in Acts chapter 3 that I had never fully understood before was this:

In the beginning, John and Peter give a crippled beggar the gift of Jesus and the man is instantly healed. The bible says, "the man's feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk and jump and praise God." As they walked through the temple, called Beautiful, all of the people were astonished and came running to them. Peter addresses the crowd,

"Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see.

Why does it seem like the longer I walk with Christ, the more I try in my own strength to heal myself? I thought it was supposed to go the other way. When Jesus first found me, my faith was so simple and easy. Why now do I try to make it so complicated? But, I realize now that God doesn't want our faith to be simple and easy.

Nope, what He wants more than anything else in the world is for me to need Him, every day, in every thought, action or word. He wants me right there, with Him. And when I let Him, He is glorified. When God does the work, it's really not about me at all, although He is growing me in Christ-likeness and preparing me for His will.

And now, I have more of an appreciation for Acts 3:19 than I did before. Jesus words are clear....REPENT! Stop trying to be in control, stop seeking other lovers. Be deeply grieved when you do, for when I repent and turn to God, it is He that wipes away my sins. It is the Lord that brings the times of refreshing. I can't do any of it on my own, but the sweetness I find at the end of the road that Jesus' leads is like honey to my soul.

Only Jesus can bring complete healing.
Only Jesus can refresh my soul, and make me whole.
Only Jesus...

May this Easter be a time that we all reflect on Christ and who He is.