TODAY’S SCRIPTURE Acts 26:20
Repent is a verb. That means it requires action.
My high school football coach had a lot of great sayings that he would use to motivate our team into “action.” One of his favorites and one that has stuck with me for years is “Talk is cheap.” He wanted us to produce on the field, not just talk about it on the sidelines.
It was very simple, and we all knew what he meant. Similar statements like “Walk the talk” or “Actions speak louder than words” basically all mean the same thing: Don’t just talk about it; show me the action.
The same is true with repentance. God wants us to do the action. He wants us to repent. To turn away from the sin and to work hard not to continue doing that for which we have repented.
As in football and other sports, you have to practice and know your game plan. In life the same is true. We have to know what God expects us to do to live a righteous life.
Mistakes will happen. We will sin, and then we need to know, just as Paul says “…that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance” (Acts 26:20).
Performing deeds is the action required for our repentance. That means we acknowledge what we have done and commit to change our way and strive not to do it again. It is not an easy road. It is often easier to talk about it than to do it.
We have to remember that “talk is cheap.”
Today, I will…develop a plan to hold myself accountable and help make the changes that I need to make in my daily journey so that I will stand firm in my repentance.