Repent

And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. "Yet now, brethren, I know that you did it in ignorance, as did also your rulers. But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,  - Acts 3.16-19

Peter continues on from the section about the lame man walking here. Speaking of Jesus Peter says 'through faith in His name this man is made whole...the faith which comes through Christ has made him completely sound before your very eyes.'

He sad this to the very came group who he had just said killed Jesus! 

'I know you and the rest of your leaders did this out of your ignorance, but Christ has fulfilled all the prophecies of the Messiah. Jesus has born the suffering that Messiah had to bear.' Peter continued.

The Jews knew all about the reigning and victorious Messiah, but they had missed the passages like Isaiah that told of a suffering Messiah.

'But now is the time. Now Is your chance. Repent and be converted so that your sins may be wiped out and you can enjoy the refreshment that comes in the presence of the Lord.'

This is an amazing picture of the grace of God and His immeasurable love even for His enemies. Peter just said that this was he lot who had killed Jesus, then He tells them that if the repent and be converted they can share in the blessings of the presence of Christ.

What a great God we serve. He loved us when we were still the enemies of God. That gives me great hope even for the most hardened enemies of God today. The invitation is still open – repent and be converted and enjoy the blessings of refreshment that come from being in Jesus’ presence.