“Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,”
Acts 3:19 (NIV)
This verse hits hard because after Peter explains how the man is healed, he turns back to the crowd and explains what it means for the rest of them. He admits what his fellow Jews did to Jesus was in ignorance. They really didn’t know what they were doing. But God was fulfilling what all the prophets foretold about the Messiah, that Jesus would have to suffer. Jesus was the suffering servant.
Peter calls them to action. Repent of your sin, then turn to God. You’ve got to turn around, but first you’ve got to admit you’ve done wrong. If you’re willing to do this, your sins will be wiped out. In Greek, this is EXALEIPHO. This means obliterated or canceled.
When I think of obliterated, I can’t get away from 1 Kings 18, when Elijah competes with the prophets of Baal and God wins. When the fire of the Lord comes down, it burns up the offering and the wood, and it also burns up the stones. Can you imagine a fire so powerful that stones are burned up? That’s a picture of how Jesus Christ obliterated your sin, and will continue to obliterate your sin if you will repent and turn to God.
But God doesn’t just want your sins wiped out and gone. He does this so that times of refreshing may come from the Lord. This can be translated a cooling breeze, like Adam walking in the Garden with refreshment from the presence of God. Holy Spirit is how God is with us today, how His presence refreshes our lives with peace and comfort and strength and direction. So repent and turn to God, and receive that refreshment from His presence today.