By Pastor Andrew Farland
Many people think that living a Christian life means not doing anything wrong, but it means so much more than that. Living a victorious Christian life is about turning towards what’s right and good!
When John the Baptist was preaching in the wilderness as a forerunner to the coming of Jesus he proclaimed, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
The first thing out of John the Baptist’s mouth as written in scripture was him “preaching and saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” Repentance was such an important message that Jesus himself, not too long after, started echoing those very words:
“Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
[Matthew 4:17]
How important that we take note of the first words declared by John, and the words repeated by Jesus Christ himself.
So what is Repentance?
Repentance isn’t a one-time action; it’s something we do continually.
Repentance also happens in two steps:
First, we turn away from evil. Then, we turn to God and pursue what’s good!
Repentance, in simple terms, is letting go of evil and reaching for Jesus (grabbing onto what’s good).
So I have two questions for you:
What, in your life do you need to let go of today?
What do you need to grab onto instead?
When you can answer these two questions, you can begin living a repentant Christian life.
Repentance isn’t a word we should be scared of. It’s an open invitation into a new level of freedom, a level of the freedom Christ died to give us.
Matthew 4:17
“From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Be encouraged today because God is with you.
