Thought of the Day !!

In those days John the Baptist came to the Judean wilderness and began preaching. His message was, "Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.
Matthew 3:1-2 (NLT)

Many of us find it easy turning to God. We turn to God when we're in trouble. We turn to Him when we're depressed. We turn to Him when we're hurting. We turn to Him when we're scared. Yes, for many of us, it's not too difficult turning to God.

But what about that first part of the message that John was preaching? He didn't tell us to turn to God when we need His help. He said to "Repent of [our] sins and [then] turn to God." How many of us use God as a tool to fix things, and when they're fixed, put Him back in the shed? This is not what God is looking for. He's looking for people to turn their lives around (repent means to turn around). And in so doing we turn from our sinful selves to Him.

When we do this we turn to Him in times of trouble. We turn to Him in times of joy. We even turn to Him in times of disobedience. And in all the times, He shares, teaches, responds, but most importantly loves.

Repent of whatever it is in your life that you have not turned over to God. That could be your Christmas present to Him this year.

In the love of Christ,
greg