Hey folks,
Everyone loves a good second chance story. Today we're looking at one of the greatest examples in Scripture - not just of a second chance, but of real repentance. Let's dial in.
Jonah 3:5-8 "Then the people of Nineveh believed in God; and they called a fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of them... and every man turn from his wicked way and from the violence which is in his hands."
Picture this: You're given a 40-day warning before judgment hits. What do you do? The people of Nineveh didn't form a committee or wait until day 39. They responded immediately with genuine repentance that revolutionized their entire city.
Here's what's wild - the king of the most violent empire in the world gets off his throne, tears his robes, puts on sackcloth, and sits in ashes. This isn't just feeling bad about sin - this is a complete turning from it. No more violence. No more wickedness. No negotiating with God.
The king doesn't say, "Let's try to be better people." He doesn't say, "God owes us another chance." Instead, he says, "Who knows? God may turn and relent" (v.9). That's true repentance - no presumption, no bargaining, just complete brokenness and dependence on God's mercy.
Too often, we try to pace out our repentance. "I'll get serious about God when I'm older," we say. Or we make vague promises to "do better" while holding onto specific sins. But real repentance doesn't wait, and it doesn't deal in generalities. It's immediate, specific, and total.
What specific sins are you still trying to negotiate with rather than completely turning from?
How are you "pacing out the end" in your own life, putting off full surrender to God?
Stay dialed in,
Jonny Ardavanis
