Everlasting November 25, 2025 Devotional

ACTS 2:38a | ^38a Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you.”

MARK 1:14 | ¹⁴ Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”

Pride is the greatest obstacle to spiritual renewal and repentance is the cure.

Jesus’ preaching is summarized, in the three synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, as a call to repent so people could enter His kingdom. Peter at Pentecost, insisted that a relationship with God hinged on repentance too. The ability to receive God’s forgiveness and the Spirit depend on setting aside our pride and self-sufficiency. Repentance, or in Greek metanoia, means turning away from a chosen path and moving in a new direction. This requires us to see the problems with our current, self-chosen roads and to understand they lead toward diminished lives and death. There is no cure for our ills spiritual, emotional, and mortal apart from God. Embracing this reality is the gateway to the kingdom.

How do you define repentance? How do you practice it?

Gracious God,

Put us in touch with reality. Show us the ways that lead to life and the paths that point toward darkness. Grant us the courage to repent of pride and self-sufficiency.

Amen.