RepentanceAnd in those days cometh John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, saying, Repent ye; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of through Isaiah the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make ye ready the way of the Lord, Make his paths straight. (Matthew 3:1-3) Bring forth therefore fruit worthy of repentance (Matthew 3:8) To repent is to do a "turn around" – to change ones ways – to turn from evil and turn to Christ. When we decide to turn from sin and turn to Christ it means we not only accept Christ as our Savior from penalty of sin, but also that we are making Him Lord of our lives. So when we repent, we need to change! With genuine repentance comes fruit of righteousness. If we say we have repented and have accepted Christ into our lives but then still live in sin and never change we are only kidding ourselves. Each one of us must bear fruit that others can see. Our lives need to be examples of God's love! That is why it is so important to allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives because He will teach us and remind us of the things of Christ. When we allow the Holy Spirit access in to our hearts, and we read God's Word and allow the Word to penetrate our hearts and then live out the Word then we will have more love, more holiness, more gentleness, more patience, more kindness, and all the other attributes of Christ. Some questions you might like to ask yourself today – do you want to "produce fruit" in your life? Why or why not? What are some things you need to change in your life? Why not pray the following prayer today ~ Father God today I come to you and I humble myself and say please forgive me for my lack of being like Christ. Father help me to choose You in my every day living ~ help me to grow in my relationship with You, help me to live for you 24/7, help me to be a living example of Your love that others will see Christ in me. In Your Precious Name I pray. |
