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.”

People from Jerusalem and from all of Judea and all over the Jordan Valley went out to see and hear John. And when they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River. – Matthew 3:1-2; 5-6 (NLT)

The word "repent" means to change.  John was teaching not an outward change, but an inward change.  It’s a complete change of one’s self; mind, heart and life.

John taught repentance for a specific reason...“for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”  This is a kingdom not ruled by earthly kings.  Jesus spoke of this kingdom when he told Pilate that His kingdom was not of this world.  Though it is not of this world, it is entered in to while in this world.  The Kingdom of Heaven is not limited by time or space.  It has no boundaries.  It is the spiritual kingdom that lives within every person who accepts Jesus, places his or her faith in Him, and falls in love with Him.  We do this during our time on this earth.  But that is only the starting point.  It is an everlasting Kingdom of being with Christ from here on out.

Living for this Kingdom means living with Christ in us, which means that we change (continual repentance).  This change in us must create people who are dramatically different from the world in which we live.  Otherwise we need to question if we’re really in this kingdom or not. 

After the people heard the message of repentance, they confessed their sins and were baptized.  Confession and repentance shows our dependence on God.  In confession, we essentially say, "Lord, I’ve sinned. I sin every day, and I sin much. Sometimes I sin openly and sometimes secretly.  Sometimes I sin with my words.  At other times I sin through my actions or even my thoughts. Sometimes I commit sin when I forget to do the things I ought to do.  And sometimes I’m simply a not so loving person."

As we prepare for the arrival of Christ both as a celebration of the first time and with the expectancy of the next time He comes, may we continue to come closer to God through our repentance and confession. 

In the love of Christ,

greg