Every Day Is a Gift
Blessed brothers and sisters. Today we are going to speak about one of God’s greatest gifts, which can be ours at every sunset. It is none other than the opportunity to begin again! I said “at sunset” because the day does not actually begin at midnight, but at sunset, as is still customary in the Middle East.
Paul refers to this when he teaches us about anger:
“Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,” (Ephesians 4:26)
In short, we could describe this as settling everything with God and with people on that same day, so that we do not carry any sin over into the next day.
So here is this message: the opportunity for a new beginning, when we can leave the old things behind and begin the day with new possibilities.
Yet this is only an opportunity, because first we must do our part. We must leave our sins behind! And the way to do this is not by simply ignoring them, but by properly settling them with God. But prayer alone is not enough! It is a well-established practice in Christian circles that when we commit a sin, we “only” need to go to Jesus and ask for forgiveness. There are even some who take the whole matter so lightly that they deliberately plan sins in advance, thinking that afterward they will simply ask God for forgiveness in prayer. As though God could be deceived...
Of course, prayer is the path on which we must begin our journey toward forgiveness of sins, but we still need to take certain things with us on that path if we are to reach its destination. First and foremost is repentance! We can see in the Word of God what true repentance looked like and how those involved practiced repentance. They did not eat, they dressed in sackcloth, they sprinkled dust on their heads, they sat in the dust, reminding themselves that they were only made from dust; they wept, they tore their hearts, they denied themselves bodily pleasures, in other words, they practiced true repentance. Compare this with the repentance of Christianity today. The contrast is great, is it not?
True repentance is essential for the forgiveness of sins. And even then, the matter is not finished. We must also do everything we can to make things right with other people. As an example, let us read the following passage:
“If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and kills it or sells it, he shall repay five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep.” (Exodus 22:1)
We can see that alongside prayer and repentance there was also restitution for the sin committed, for example, four sheep had to be given in return for one sheep. We can see the same thing in the New Testament writings:
“He entered Jericho and was passing through. And there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small of stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today." So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, "He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner." And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold." And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost."” (Luke 19:1–10)
This is true repentance! Not merely words, but actions as well! Zacchaeus moved toward making restitution in accordance with the Law of Moses. It was in response to this that Jesus said:
“Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham.”
From the words of Jesus we also know that the children of Abraham are not simply those who were physically descended from him, but those who do the works that Abraham did.
“They answered him, "Abraham is our father." Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did.” (John 8:39–40)
There is another very important matter that must be mentioned. Although there may be repentance and forgiveness following that repentance, we may still have to reap everything that we have sown. As an example, let us read one of the accounts from David’s life:
“And the LORD sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said to him, "There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. The rich man had very many flocks and herds, but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him. Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come to him, but he took the poor man's lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him." Then David's anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, "As the LORD lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity." Nathan said to David, "You are the man! Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. And I gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more. Why have you despised the word of the LORD, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.' Thus says the LORD, 'Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house. And I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.'" David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." And Nathan said to David, "The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die. Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the LORD, the child who is born to you shall die."” (2 Samuel 12:1–14)
We can see that the Lord forgave David, yet he still had to reap what he had sown. Therefore, let us understand that although there can be forgiveness for committing sin, there will still be a harvest. What, then, about those who pile sin upon sin and seek forgiveness without proper repentance? Or those who deliberately plan sins in advance, saying, “I will pray afterward anyway and ask God for forgiveness”? It is no coincidence that certain things are present in the lives of such people...
Every day is a new day, a new opportunity. Let us live in the way that God requires of us:
“I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:1–3)
Following God must not be delayed. It cannot be postponed until another day. Therefore, the present day is always the day in which we are to live according to the will of God. As Scripture says:
“Oh come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, when your fathers put me to the test and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work. For forty years I loathed that generation and said, "They are a people who go astray in their heart, and they have not known my ways." Therefore I swore in my wrath, "They shall not enter my rest."” (Psalm 95:1–11)
Every day we can hear the voice of the Lord. He speaks to us, and He has clearly revealed His will through His Word. Let us seek it, search it, and do it! Let us not be empty believers who reject the commandments of God, but let us strive to know God, do what He says, and only then will our declaration that we love Him truly become genuine.
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (John 14:15)
Antal Farkas
(October 31, 2026)
