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)

Repent!  This was the message that they came to hear.  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.”  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 does begin 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 (repentance).  This change must be something that is dramatically different from the world in which we live.  Otherwise we need to question if we’re really in this Kingdom or not. 

Let me share my own story about the ministry that I am a part of on Tuesday nights where we go downtown to feed and clothe the homeless population.  Before I lived for the kingdom I would’ve been scared to death to go downtown at night.  I didn’t even like parking in garages and going out to eat during the daytime.  The change in me is not that I did anything special on my own.  It’s that God has changed me and filled me with His Holy Spirit so that I am not afraid anymore.  It’s not me.  It’s all Him.  All I did was be willing to submit to His power. 

You might not be called to go to the streets where the homeless live.  But if you’re willing to submit yourself to living for the Kingdom of Heaven then God can change you too.  And when He changes you, He will also empower you.

Let’s all take time out today to go to God, confessing, asking for forgiveness, and changing our lives so that we might live for the Kingdom of Heaven.  It’s not only near.  It’s here.

In the love of Christ,

greg