Brighter and Whiter Shine
I go to the dentist twice a year. During the initial phase of the checkup, the dentist x-rays my mouth, looking for things like periodontal disease and other potential troubling issues that are not easily seen simply by looking in my mouth. He then uses a pick tool to scrape below my gum line to remove plaque and tartar that can cause gum disease and cavities. After that, he cleans and flosses my teeth. Throughout the checkup, he is checking the current condition of my mouth, teeth, and gums.
My teeth have yellowed over the years but having them regularly cleaned does help with keeping my teeth with some whiteness while also maintaining oral health. I am fortunate that in my lifetime I have only had five cavities. Those cavities all occurred when I was a teenager during the initial appointment with a new dentist, so I question the validity of those cavities, but nonetheless, I have good teeth. Just as my five cavities and yellowing teeth do not determine the overall condition of my mouth, our sins do not have to determine our present or future condition. Despite our sins, we can have a “brighter and whiter” future!
The Bible is clear that if we repent of our sins, God both forgives and refreshes us. Note, God’s forgiveness does not mean, however, that there will not still possibly be consequences. Acts 3:19-20 tells us – “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus.”We see three events in that sentence – repentance and the blotting out of sins, seasons of refreshing, and the (second) coming of Jesus. I believe Peter is making clear in v.21 that this “send the Christ” refers to the return of Jesus, his second coming.
There is much to understand and unpack in vv.19-21, but without losing the power and meaning of what Peter is saying, I want us to focus on the idea that turning from our sins (repentance) and turning to God (faith) leads to both those sins being wiped out (forgiven) and, ultimately, a season of spiritual refreshing and the coming of Jesus.
You might have really blown it in the past, maybe even repeatedly, and you think that you are “too damaged” to be restored and refreshed by God. It is sometimes hard to accept God’s forgiveness because we struggle to forgive ourselves, but God wants us to walk in the freedom that comes with His forgiveness. We read this in Micah 7:19 – “Once again you will have compassion on us. You will trample our sins under your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean!”“For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”
Those “you are too damaged” thoughts come from Satan; they never come from God. He wants us to resist dwelling on the yesterday, and, instead, focus on today. Don’t just take my word for it. Here is what we find in Isaiah 43:18 – “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?”
God not only forgives and refreshes, he also forgets, never holding our past against us. Hebrews 8:12 tells us – “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”
God wants to restore your teeth to a brighter and whiter shine! Will you open wide and let Him do so?
Note from Dave: Since my stroke six months ago, it has been challenging for me to regularly come up with new content. It is not my desire to simply re-package old content, so in order to put my neurological and physical energies into my continuing recovery and also into my new job, for the foreseeable future, I will be decreasing the number of blog posts. As I am inspired by God with new material, I will happily write and post what comes to mind. I want to thank you for your continued support of my writings.