Scripture Folios
Come, Let Us Return to the Lord
Hosea 6:1 Come, let us return to the Lord . For He has torn us to pieces, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bind up our wounds. Chapter Related Joel 2:12–13 “Yet even now,” declares the Lord , “return to Me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning.” So rend your hearts and not your garments, and return to the Lord your God. For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion. And He relents from sending disaster. Chapter Related Zechariah 1:3 So tell the people that this is what the Lord of Hosts says: ‘Return to Me, declares the Lord of Hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of Hosts.’ Chapter Related Isaiah 55:6–7 Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him while He is near. Let the wicked man forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord , that He may have compassion, and to our God, for He will freely pardon. Chapter Related Jeremiah 3:22 “Return, O faithless children, and I will heal your faithlessness.” “Here we are. We come to You, for You are the Lord our God.” Chapter Related Isaiah 44:22 I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud, and your sins like a mist. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you. Chapter Related
I Have Sinned
2 Samuel 12:13 Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord .” “The Lord has taken away your sin,” Nathan replied. “You will not die.” Chapter Related Psalm 32:5 Then I acknowledged my sin to You and did not hide my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord ,” and You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah Chapter Related Psalm 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Chapter Related Psalm 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise. Chapter Related Proverbs 28:13 He who conceals his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them will find mercy. Chapter Related Luke 15:21–24 The son declared, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let us feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again! He was lost and is found!’ So they began to celebrate. Chapter Related
God May Turn and Relent
Jonah 3:5 And the Ninevites believed God. They proclaimed a fast and dressed in sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least. Chapter Related Jonah 3:9–10 “Who knows? God may turn and relent; He may turn from His fierce anger, so that we will not perish.” When God saw their actions—that they had turned from their evil ways—He relented from the disaster He had threatened to bring upon them. Chapter Related Ezekiel 18:23 Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Lord God . Wouldn’t I prefer that he turn from his ways and live? Chapter Related Ezekiel 18:31–32 Cast away from yourselves all the transgressions you have committed, and fashion for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why should you die, O house of Israel? For I take no pleasure in anyone’s death, declares the Lord God . So repent and live! Chapter Related Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, let us reason together,” says the Lord . “Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are as red as crimson, they will become like wool.” Chapter Related
Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven Is Near
Matthew 3:1–2 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” Chapter Related Matthew 3:8 Produce fruit, then, in keeping with repentance. Chapter Related Luke 5:31–32 Jesus answered, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” Chapter Related Luke 15:7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous ones who do not need to repent. Chapter Related Luke 19:8–10 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, half of my possessions I give to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone, I will repay it fourfold.” Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Chapter Related Luke 22:61–62 And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word that the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly. Chapter Related
Times of Refreshing
Acts 3:19–20 Repent, then, and turn back, so that your sins may be wiped away, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus, the Christ, who has been appointed for you. Chapter Related Acts 17:30 Although God overlooked the ignorance of earlier times, He now commands all people everywhere to repent. Chapter Related Acts 11:18 When they heard this, they had no further objections, and they glorified God, saying, “So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.” Chapter Related 2 Corinthians 7:10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation without regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. Chapter Related 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Chapter Related Revelation 3:19 Those I love I rebuke and discipline. Therefore be earnest and repent. Chapter Related
The prophets keep saying one word: return. “Come, let us return to the Lord,” says Hosea, for he has torn us and he will heal us. Joel asks for torn hearts rather than torn clothes, because God is gracious and compassionate and relents from sending disaster. Zechariah makes it a promise both ways: return to me, and I will return to you. Turning back starts with saying it plainly. David tells Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord,” and hears at once that the Lord has taken away his sin. The psalmist stops hiding his guilt and is forgiven, and asks for a clean heart, knowing God will not despise a broken one. The son in the far country says, “Father, I have sinned,” and the father answers by calling for the best robe. Nineveh puts on sackcloth on the chance that God may turn and relent, and he does. Ezekiel hears why: God takes no pleasure in anyone’s death. “So repent and live!” John the Baptist and Jesus begin with the same word, and Jesus says he came to call sinners, not the righteous. Zacchaeus gives half his goods to the poor; Peter, when the Lord turns and looks at him, goes out and weeps. Godly sorrow leads somewhere: to sins wiped away and “times of refreshing” from the presence of the Lord. God now commands all people everywhere to repent, and he grants it, even to the Gentiles, as the way into life.