Tuesday, September 19, 2017

Crossroads of Civilization

"The time promised by God has come at last!" he announced. "The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!" Mark 1:15 


Jesus announced this time…this promised time had come. He was walking in the Galilean region and then along by the Sea of Galilee. This was the beginning of His ministry. Why would He be calling people to “repent” and that “The Kingdom of God is near”? That was His main message—He was the Messiah—but people were not expecting a young carpenter and Rabbi to be their Messiah. They were expecting a political ruler that would save them from Roman oppression. Here was a Rabbi walking the dusty trails of Galilee calling people to repent. Jesus was with the people of Galilee. This was an area that was in the crossroads of civilization and most of the people there were literate. They knew the scripture. At this point in the Book of Mark, Jesus begins to call His disciples. Note that those fishermen that He called, James and John, didn’t hesitate—they immediately left their fishing boats and business and followed Him. You can be sure that they were repentant and followed Jesus with pure hearts. That is what Jesus expects—and requires of them and us—pure hearts that come with repenting. How’s your heart? Have you listened to Jesus—and repented as He asked?


Prayer ~ O God, Create in me a clean heart, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation And sustain me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners will be converted to You. Psalm 51:10-13 NASB.
Daily Bible Reading: Haggai
© 2017 Text and photos by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted.
Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm.

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