“Unto you first God having raised up His Son Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities” (Acts 3:26).

Turning Away (Def): (Gr.): Apostrepho from Apo and Strepho: To turn away from or back

The earth turns continually on its axis, is constantly in motion as it turns in its orbit around the sun. Turning is an essential component of life. Our very existence depends on turning. This is true of the natural order of things and it is certainly more true in the arena of spiritual things.

The Apostle Peter in our Scripture text was speaking to the people after the miraculous healing of the lame man at the Temple Gate called Beautiful. Having the attention of all the people who gathered together to see the man who was healed, the Apostle glorifies Jesus and tells the people how blessed they are that God would first bear witness to them of His Glory by raising up Jesus, His Beloved Son, to bless them by drawing them to Himself and turning them away from their former lives in wickedness.

Many years ago I was with a group traveling on the Interstate. We had been going East on the Freeway when we suddenly realized we were going in the wrong direction. We should have been on the Westbound road. It would have been very foolish to continue going in the wrong direction; so, we turned around at the next exit and headed West. We lost several hours of time, but it was better to change course than to continue the wrong way.

Turning away from our sinful ways is a conviction, a sudden realization, an awakening to the fact we are on the wrong course, heading in the wrong direction and we desperately need to turn away from the direction we are going. When the realization hits us that we are going in the wrong direction, it is very humbling to acknowledge our mistake. Humbling ourselves in the face of our errors is actually a most blessed experience when we see it in the right light. The Apostle James said:

“He gives more grace, wherefore, He says, ‘God resists the proud, but gives gace to the humble'” (James 4:6).

When we humble ourselves and turn away from our sins, we are enabled to do so by receiving grace for just that purpose. We might say, “I cannot do it”, but the grace of God comes to our aid and enables us to do what we could not otherwise do in ourselves. That is why the Apostle Paul could say,

“By the grace of God I am what I am; and His grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain, but I labored more abundantly than they all; yet, not I but the grace of God which was with me” (I Corinthians 15:10).

To the Church at Ephesis, the Apostle wrote:

“Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints is this grace given that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ” (Ephesians 3:8).

Brother, Sister, are you ready to turn away from your present course? Are you ready to yield to the Grace of God and move in the right direction, move in the way you have been shown to proceed. Are you ready to humbly move in the flow of God’s will for your life? Stop being stubborn, stiff necked and self-willed. You are doing yourself no good continuing on the course you are currently going. You are heading East and you should be going West. You are going North and you should be going South. Turn around for goodness sake!

Are you ready for The Turning? Your turning? Your new course that will take you in the right direction toward God? Toward God, the One who “raised up His Son Jesus, and sent Him to bless you, in turning you away from your iniquities” (Acts 3:26).

You know this message was written just for you. Do not ignore it. Act upon it and be blessed with the love of God in His Beloved Son, Jesus, our Lord.

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