| Photo by Aarón Blanco Tejedor on Unsplash
In Hosea 6; we see a “Call to Repentance”, for the people of God. This is a call to the church today as well.
“Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces; now He will heal us. He has injured us; now he will bandage our wounds.
In just a short time, He will restore us, so that we may live in His presence. Oh, that we might know the Lord! Let us press on to know Him, He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn or the coming of rains in early spring.” Hosea 6: 1-3
What does a call of repentance mean?
- It is a call to RETURN to the Lord! Repentance begins when we return to the Lord with all of our hearts! Repentance is a return to our first love for the Lord! Repentance is a turnaround from going in the wrong direction to going in the right direction. God is calling His people to return to Him! Revelation 3:20 clearly states: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with Me.”
- It is a call to God to RESTORE us! Restoration is a process, and we are asking the Lord to change us, work on us, cleanse us, and restore us! Restoring something is a process, and we say, ‘Lord, I am in this with You!’ I will allow You, to restore me starting today!
- It is a call to God for Him to RESPOND TO US! Repentance leads to Revival, and that is because God is responding to us! But we must respond to Him. “Draw near to Me and I will draw near to You.”
The Call today is to RETURN, RESTORE AND RESPOND! Lord, revive us again!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Pastor Ronald Squibb has been the International Christian Center (ICC) Lead Senior Pastor at Staten Island, New York, since 2011. He draws many experiences from his over 40 years as a pastor and significant emotional life experiences.
His new book, Following the Journey with Jesus, which he co-authored with Daniel McNaughton, was recently published and is receiving rave reviews. His daily devotional appears in this publication.
