Latest / Beliefs, Ballots, And BullDawgs / Thursday July 9, 2026
Transcript
- Greg: Hey there. It is Thursday, July 9th. I'm your host, Greg Miller, and welcome back to Beliefs, Balance, and Bulldogs. ⁓ we're gonna do a slightly abbreviated rendition today. ⁓ no particular reason why. I just ⁓ want to make sure I get the the solid message out there. ⁓ that's the core part of what what this day bull daily Bible study is all about. But today we're gonna ⁓ we want to start with a question. And the question is, have you ever realized that you were heading in the wrong direction? ⁓ maybe you took a wrong exit off the interstate, maybe you accepted the wrong job. ⁓ maybe you trusted the wrong person. Maybe you made a decision you wish that you could take back. We've all been there. The problem isn't that we occasionally head in the wrong direction. The real question for most of us is, what do you do when you realize you're going the wrong way? The the internal pride in all of us is put our head down and keep going. Don't admit the mistake. Wisdom says, turn around, go the right way. Today I want to look at a verse that may be one of the most hope-filled invitations in the entire of the entirety of the New Testament. It's it's the book of Acts, chapter three, verse nineteen. Repent then and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord. It repent. Repent therefore and turn back that your sins may be wiped out and that refreshing may come from the Lord. It's it's a it's a beautiful promise, and it's not just ⁓ forgiveness in this repentance. It is it is a refreshing. ⁓ it is I I think we've misunderstood ⁓ repentance, and and perhaps it has been it has been taught to us and preached in the wrong way. ⁓ for many ⁓ you know. Repentance sounds like such a harsh religious word. It brings to mind this element of shame and embarrassment and condemnation. But I don't think that's the biblical picture, especially not as as we're as we're told here. The the Greek word literally carries the idea of changing your mind, changing your direction, turning back towards God. Repentance isn't simply about a feeling of guilt or remorse. It's it's choosing a different route. It's choosing a different path. Im imagine driving towards a a bridge that's out. If someone warns you that the bridge ahead is out, they are not trying to ruin your trip. They're trying to save your life. That's sometimes that's what God does. If repentance isn't a punishment, it's an invitation. Peter doesn't stop here with with just forgiveness. He he says that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord. Think about that. That's God's not merely re removing the guilt of the sin. He's renewing your weary heart. He's restoring broken people every day. God, he breathes life into those who've been carrying burdens for far too long. And our culture sometimes offers temporary escapes. And you know, God offers what is a lasting and permanent renewal. It's, you know, the temporary escapes are are often just a distraction from the root problem. And unfortunately, when those distractions get in the way, the root problem continues to grow. letting letting God's lasting renewal take place is is that's gonna transform you from the inside out and be a permanent and lasting change. Look all around our nation. We talk about it on here every day. People, people are exhausted, they're they're angry, they're anxious, suspicious. Nobody trusts anybody. Everybody's connected but yet lonely. We keep searching for something refreshing in in in the political scene and or in money in the financial world or in entertainment or in personal success. We try to spend our way to happiness. Maybe the next purchase will make me happy. The next vacation will be the one that that really recenters me and gets me where I want to be. None of these things in and of themselves are wrong, but none of them can do what only God can do for you. We weren't created to find ultimate peace in these temporary things. We were created for presence with God. Maybe you've been carrying something for years. Maybe, maybe it's just a simple mistake. It's it's a regret. It's a broken relationship. It's a habit that you can't seem to break. It's a secret that nobody else knows. The enemy, Satan, is going to whisper to you, you've gone too far. But the gospel says, no, you haven't. Turn around. Notice what Peter doesn't say here. He doesn't say clean yourself up first. He says turn. Turn around. God meets people who are willing to turn towards him, no matter where they make that turn. This this is a message that we need to relay. This this matters in our homes as well. You know, sometimes repentance means apologizing to your spouse. Sometimes it means asking your child to forgive you. Sometimes it just means admitting you were wrong. Our culture has has put this emphasis on repentance and apology as some symbol of weakness. The Bible presents this as a strength. Pride will keep you stuck, but humility will open the door to healing. It the the The scripture here uses the word refreshing. God's the Lord's will will refresh you. Refreshing doesn't mean it's going to be a life without problems. Refreshing means that you're going to have peace, knowing that you're walking with God again. It's it's sleeping at night without carrying yesterday's guilt. It's it's waking up with a sense of hope instead of a sense of shame. And it's knowing that your past no longer has the final word because God's grace does. That's the promise of of Acts 319 here. It's it's not perfection, but it's a restoration. So so let me leave you with three questions here. It's you know, where in your life have you been resisting God's invitation to turn around? You know, I have I have been blessed in and some professional opportunities to to work with some people who are who are trying to go down career paths and and figure out what they want to do and how to grow professionally. And you know, one of the first things I tell them and it sometimes it's the cold hard truth, but The moment you realize that the path you're on is not taking you to the destination you want to go to, you gotta get off that path. You gotta try something different. There's no reason to continue down a path that you know is not taking you where you want to go. And sometimes that's hard, but sometimes you just gotta rip the band-aid off and make that hard decision and try a different direction. Pray about it first. Get in the word, listen to God. God will open doors for you most likely. But sometimes you gotta make a move when you know he's calling you to make a move. The second question is, what are you holding on to that that God's asking you to release? How many burdens do you continue to carry around? How many times have you prayed about something only to then take it back and worry about it after you've turned it over to God? Quit doing that. If you're if you're going to give something to God, give it to him fully. He can handle it. And then the third would be, what would your life look like if you truly believed that God desires restoration more than condemnation? You know, maybe today's breakthrough doesn't begin with some sort of dramatic miracle. Maybe it just begins with one honest step back towards God, one prayer, one confession, one decision to stop running, stop pretending, and start returning to him. No matter where you've been, no matter what you've done, no matter how far you've wandered off of his path, God's invitation still stands. Turn back, not because he wants to shame you. But because he wants to restore you. The world says your worst mistakes are what define you. Jesus says his grace can redeem you no matter what. That's the hope of the gospel. That's that's the beauty of repentance. Is it it's a clean start. And that's the promise that's that's waiting on the other side of the obedience that we're called to. It's not always easy, but it will always work. So as we always close out of here, get in your Bibles, say your prayers, love one another, and tell the truth. God bless.