“The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news.” Mark 1:15
The word believe in this passage is preceded by the word repent. John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, preached repentance and the message was confirmed by Jesus Himself.
Our sin blocks our access to God. Because He is holy, we cannot enter His presence carrying our sin. But God will take care of our sin problem—if we will allow Him.
Our sin hinders our ability to believe God … or to even want to believe Him.
We want to hold onto our old ways, even if those ways are not good for us. They are familiar. And familiarity is comfortable.
That old pair of shoes may have holes, they may offer little protection from the elements, but they are familiar and that makes them comfortable.
The same is often true for our sin.
When conviction comes, we often hold on firmly with a toddler’s attitude that screams, “Mine!” But are we holding on when we should be/could be/need to be letting go?
What are you and I holding on to that God is asking us to let go? It could be the books and shows we call “entertainment.” It may be eating to unhealthy excess. Could it be unforgiveness? Greed? Laziness? Gossip? Something else? Do you have the courage to ask the Holy Spirit, “Show me … convict me … help me!” when it comes to that comfortable sin?
Could it be that what we grasp so tightly—the behavior or attitude or lifestyle that we think will keep us happy—is actually robbing us of true joy?
It’s time.
Let it go. Lay it down. Give it to God.
Allow Him to take it away and give you something better: Himself.
- Are you ready to put your faith in Him?
- Are you ready to repent from your sin—and believe Jesus?
- Are you ready to release the ordinary and embrace the extraordinary?
- Are you willing to repent from the flesh and believe in the divine?
- Are you ready to turn from the natural and toward Jesus, the supernatural?
Lay it down, my friend. Let it go. Let God take it from you.
Walk away from whatever that is and walk to Him.
The time has come! Repent. Believe.
Our Write the WORD bookmark for April is ideal for the weeks leading up to Easter. Each day’s verse includes the word, LIFE. We invite you to read, write, ponder, and pray as you celebrate the LIFE we have in Christ … and to listen as Laura offers reflections on one of the verses, Psalm 16:11..
Once you’ve listened to Laura’s introduction of the April Write the WORD. we hope you’ll visit our Downloads page for your own copy of the monthly bookmark.
