“‘The time has come,’ he said. ‘The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!'” – Mark 1:15

J. Edwin Orr, a professor of Church history has described the great outpouring of the Holy Spirit during the Welsh Revivals of the nineteenth century.

From the middle of the 18th century to the middle of the 19th, Wales experienced some 15 major revivals, resulting in its reputation as ‘the land of revivals’. The last great revival of this period was in 1859.

As people sought to be filled with the Spirit, they did all they could to confess their wrong doing and to make restitution. But it unexpectedly created serious problems for the shipyards along the coast of Wales. Over the years workers had stolen all kinds of things, from wheelbarrows to hammers. However, as people sought to be right with God they started to return what they had taken, with the result that soon the shipyards of Wales were overwhelmed with returned property.

There were such huge piles of returned tools that several of the yards put up signs that read, “If you have been led by God To return what you have stolen, Please know that the management forgives you and wishes you to keep what you have taken.”

Repentance turns you around from a highway of sin to the path of life. Today in prayer, confess any sin in your life and then “turn around” and follow the One who never strays, Jesus Christ.

“Moreover, true repentance never exists except in conjunction with faith, while on the other hand, wherever there is true faith, there is also real repentance. The two are but different aspects of the same turning–a turning away from sin in the direction of God…The two cannot be separated; they are simply complementary parts of the same process.” – Louis Berkhoff

God’s Word: “From that time on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.'” – Matthew 4:17

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2005, Devotional E-Mail DEVOTIONS IN MARK pkennedy6@yahoo.com