Mark 1:12-15 (The Message)
12 At once, this same Spirit pushed Jesus out into the wild. 13 For forty wilderness days and nights he was tested by Satan. Wild animals were his companions, and angels took care of him. 14 After John was arrested, Jesus went to Galilee preaching the Message of God: 15 "Time's up! God's kingdom is here. Change your life (REPENT) and believe the Message.”
The word repent is a pivotal word between us and the Kingdom of God. It means to turn around; to change one’s mind, to let go of something so something better can come. It may be stimulated by something negative or positive, yet it is the first positive step towards the Kingdom of God.
What we believe is in need of repentance as much as what we don’t believe. For our beliefs can keep us from seeing the Kingdom of God in our midst as much as our disbelief. Jesus had more difficulty with the religious than with any other group. What they believed kept them from seeing what he called them to believe.
To repent and believe the good news is to let go of what ever it is that keeps us from living in the Kingdom now. Not just with our heads, but more deeply with our hearts. For true repentance leads to “understanding hearts”, which opens us to walking in love and making the changes needed “in our hearts” so something of God’s kingdom can happen here and now.
“Every change of mind is first
of all a change of heart, and
if the heart does not change,
new ideas do not last long.”
Richard Roar
Prayer thought for the week: “Lord, help me to repent of that which keeps me from seeing and believing with all my heart that your Kingdom can come on earth even through me. We can have peace and unity!”
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