Daily Devotion for March 21 - Acts 3:19

Verse

Acts 3:19 – “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out.”

Meditation

Repentance is not merely a change of behavior but a turning of the heart toward God. Peter calls his hearers to repent and turn back—not to their own righteousness, not to empty ritual, but to the Lord Himself. Sin stains the soul, but God, in His mercy, blots it out completely. Through Christ’s atoning work, sin is erased, not merely covered, and the repentant heart is restored. The call to repentance is urgent, for God’s grace is at hand. To delay is to remain in darkness; to turn to Him is to walk in the light of His forgiveness.

Old Testament

Isaiah 1:18 – “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.”

The Lord Himself promises to cleanse the repentant sinner, completely removing the stain of sin.

Collect

O God of mercy, who calls sinners to repentance and forgives all who turn to You, grant us true contrition of heart, that we may turn from sin and cling to Christ, who alone blots out our transgressions, that we may walk in newness of life; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Hymn Verse

"Jesus sinners doth receive;
Oh, may all this saying ponder
Who in sin’s delusions live
And from God and heaven wander!
Here is hope for all who grieve—
Jesus sinners doth receive." (LSB 609:1)