Meaning Of Repentance

And many of those who practiced magic brought their books together and began burning them in the sight of everyone; and they counted up the price of them and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver.  Acts 19:19

This verse gives us a clear description of what it means to repent. Repentance is not saying “I’m sorry” in order to remove the guilt feelings and it is not being open to picking back up what we were doing before we repented. Rather it is the intense desire to please God to the point that we sacrifice, even the sacrifice of the most expensive items that keep us from pleasing God, in order to please Him.

That is the reason the Ephesians sacrificed those things that cost them a combined total of a few million dollars so that they would get right with God. They even went as far as burning the bridge to the option of going back to these practices at a later date by publicly confessing their spells (v. 18-It was the belief that when a spell was disclosed its powers were totally removed).

Are there obsessions, hobbies, superstitions, habits, relationships in your life that hinder you from totally giving your life to Jesus? Take a lesson from the Ephesians and repent. This might even entail letting a trusted individual know so that he/she would keep you accountable. Regardless of the cost, the heightened fellowship with Christ is worth it.