| Yesterday Afternoon's Bible Study |
"Everyone needs God's grace. We may not always act like we need God, and sometimes we may not think we need God -- but we do. As long as we are sinful, we need a Savior. We can try to hide our weaknesses and act like we have it all together, but in doing so we miss the opportunity to experience God's power that allows us to move forward in grace.
Pride can keep us from readily admitting and confessing our sins, but this afternoon's verse in Acts tells us to repent and be converted. When we repent, we're acknowledging things we have done that are not pleasing to God; things that go against His nature and who He is. Repentance is the act of admitting and turning away from our wrongdoing so we can know God.
By confessing our sins, our lives can change in profound ways. Once we have repented, God removes our sin and refreshes our souls.
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Think of the various ways we use the word "refresh." We say an ice-cold drink after chores or a workout is refreshing. When we forget something, we may ask a friend to "refresh my memory." Even reloading a web browser is known as refreshing. If it freezes up and quits responding, we use the "refresh" command to make it reload and start working again.
Being refreshed by God also allows us to reload … but this time in His strength and power, so our hearts and minds are responding in the right way.
We must not allow pride to keep us from experiencing God's forgiveness and His "times of refreshing." These are wonderful gifts that our hearts and souls desire.
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