John, called “the Baptizer,” was preaching in the desert country of Judea… “Change your life. God’s kingdom is here.”
This is the message of John the Baptist, the Lord Himself, and the rest of us trying to follow Jesus. The biblical word is “repent,” which comes from the Greek word μετανοἐω.
If you were to break this down into its constituent parts (always dangerous, and potentially misleading, but can still be helpful to give you a flavor for the word) you sees this term means something like a “change of your mind.”
“Repent” in this context however, means more than just changing your mind. In the preaching of John, it is closer to “feel remorse… to be converted.” It is changing your mind, but allowing that change to work its way into your heart, your hands, and feet. It’s not just what you think, but it’s how you live.
Is Jesus your Lord? Do you follow Him? Have you come to the point where you regret your sin? That’s a good thing. We all have to get there before we can be saved. Some people will tell you “don’t worry, your sins aren’t all that bad” and that’s not true. Our sins are what nailed Jesus to the cross. We need to change, but we also need Jesus to change us (we can’t do it ourselves).
We must change our direction and turn around. Change our mind, change our actions, change the person we are following. No longer ourselves, we need to follow Jesus as Lord.
John was a pretty abrasive guy, and I’m sure if we saw him today, he’d be pretty shocking, but his message is still true.
If you turn to Jesus, he’ll forgive you, really forgive you. If you haven’t, do it today!!!
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