“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
Mark 1:15
Is it really the 20th of August? For whatever reason, this month has been crazy busy and long. I continue to think this is the last week of August instead of still having 11 days to walk through. I really don’t know how I would have fit in working this year. Who but YAH would have made provisions for this year way back in June?
Today, I got to watch, via internet, my eldest granddaughter receive her short white coat in her journey to achieve her PA degree. Then I got to look at the pictures of my son and the rest of his family as they stood beside her. Where did the years go? They seem to have flown by way too quickly.
Time is a funny perception. The seasons come and go. Thunderstorms and wind whip around us. Sunny days and the heat make us sweat and uncomfortable. We keep track and lose years all at the same time. But Our Heavenly Father sees time in a completely different way than we do.
Christians have been looking up since the time Christ ascended into the Heavens to join His Father. Always wondering – ‘Is this the day’? ‘Is He near?’ 2,000+ years is a blink to GOD who sees the beginning and the end at the same time……Who breathed life into those who would fall and built a path of salvation at the same time.
REPENTANCE
“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”
2 Peter 3:9
Rabbi Yeshua walked among all people. He did not discriminate with whom He shared His good news. Even the ones He called to walk with Him on a daily basis were not the role models of the community. After all, who among us are without sin – of rebellion – of throwing our free will in His face over and over again?
Yet – there were a couple necessary steps that He also told them, if they wanted to follow Him through the narrow gate. A lesson that seems to be lost in many of today’s teachings.
First – believe in Him. Seems easy enough on the surface.
Nicodemus did. The rich young ruler did. Many who heard him believed in His message. They heard. They believed. They went home and went on with life. Sometimes, we forget that sins are not always despicable actions or thoughts. Oft times, perhaps for many of us, sin is coveting the idols in our worldly lives. Wisdom, lots of likes on social media, friends to party with on the weekend, a good paying job, fitting in……….
It is this second part that often causes me/us to stumble. I/We have a choice. It is our free will. I/We believe in Jesus, but it is much harder to walk away from the idols that cause me/us to stumble. Can we repent of our sins as He asked the woman accused of adultery to do when she was thrown in front of Him?
Nicodemus could not renounce his own pride in being part of the Sanhedrin. The rich young ruler could not renounce his things that made his life comfortable. They had free will to believe, but could not repent of the world’s gifts that they enjoyed. It has always made me sad to read these stories in His WORD because I see so much of myself in them.
As I continue to notice the times we live in, I try my hardest to not let the idols consume my thoughts and time. I fall as often as I stand, Yet – I know He knows my struggles and continues to encourage me to strive harder – to repent and try again. He reaches out. He lifts me up and heals my bruised knees, so that I can walk forward once again. That is His grace in action.
Repentance is not easy, but it is necessary if we are “…to go and sin no more.” And if we do – we will find His grace as that woman did so long ago. If we do – like Nicodemus our tears will mix with His and wash us clean of those idols, and the Holy Spirit will strengthen us.
“I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.”
Luke 15:7
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