Later on, after John was arrested, Jesus went into Galilee, where he preached God's Good News. "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 1:14-15.
Meditate. Consider repentance.
Lent
has begun—as of Ash Wednesday, yesterday. It is a season of repentance
and fasting that commemorates Jesus forty days of fasting in the desert before
He began His public ministry. These forty days lead up to Good Friday and
Easter, observing His death and resurrection. After Jesus left the desert, He
went to Nazareth, as recorded in Matthew 4:13, and then moved to Capernaum. There,
He preached and taught, beginning His message with “Repent,” which is the
same message for all people today. Repent. It is just as vital now as it was
two thousand years ago to turn from our sins. That is what repenting is all
about. Agreeing with God that we have sinned and then making a 180-degree turn
to go into a forgiven and holy life. 
Remains of the synagogue at Capernaum.
How many people repented there...
after hearing Jesus preach?
Would you repent?
We are made right with God by
placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes,
no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's
glorious standard. Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares us righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty
for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made
right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his
blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did
not punish those who sinned in times past, for he was looking ahead and
including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to
demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he declares
sinners to be right in his sight when they believe in Jesus. Romans 3:22-26
Jesus
continued to proclaim His message of repentance throughout His ministry.
About this time Jesus was informed that Pilate ha..
murdered some people from Galilee as they were offering
sacrifices at the Temple. "Do you think those Galileans were worse sinners
than all the other people from Galilee?" Jesus asked. "Is that why
they suffered? Not at all! And you will perish, too, unless you repent of your
sins and turn to God. And what about the eighteen people who died when the
tower in Siloam fell on them? Were they the worst sinners in Jerusalem? No, and
I tell you again that unless you repent, you will perish, too." Luke 13:1-5
Will
people two thousand years later perish at the end of their lives if they have
not sought forgiveness? Yup! It looks that way. Things haven’t changed. To
become right with God—to be forgiven of our sins—we must believe that Jesus
died for our very sins when His blood was shed on the cross. Then pray. Repent.
Prayer
– Lord Jesus, thank You! Please forgive me for the mistakes I’ve made—the inadvertently
cruel ways I’ve treated others, for times that I didn’t stand up for You, and
other things—You know what I’ve thought, done, and said. I repent! I know that You
are the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Thank You for Your obedience to the
Father…and for loving me enough to die for me. I want to live to please You,
God, and I look forward to seeing and serving You in heaven one day!
Verse
of Salvation ~ Now after John [the Baptist] was arrested and taken into
custody, Jesus went to Galilee, preaching the good news of [the kingdom of]
God, and saying, "The [appointed period of] time is fulfilled, and the
kingdom of God is at hand; repent [change your inner self—your old way of
thinking, regret past sins, live your life in a way that proves repentance;
seek God's purpose for your life] and believe [with a deep, abiding trust] in
the good news [regarding salvation]." Mark 1:14-15 AMP
© 2026 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All
rights reserved.
All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless
otherwise noted.
New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale
House Foundation.
Used
by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.
All rights reserved.
Scripture
quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible (AMP),
Copyright ©2015 by
The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. lockman.org
Biblical
search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm.
Books by Mickey M.
Hunacek
Available as e-books or paperbacks at Amazon.com
Parenting Day By Day - Daily Devotional for Building Character
Coins in the Bible: New Testament Stories
No comments:
Post a Comment