Repent For The Kingdom Of God Has Come

Can you believe it? The 3^rd week of Advent has begun. Time is flying by so fast. It seems that we just began Advent. That is one of the problems of our lives. Time goes by in a flash. I remember when I was a kid and the adults told me to be happy being a kid because there would be a time when the days would go by very fast. I always thought they were crazy but I guess they were not.

Today I want to encourage you to slow down and take some time to reflect on our lives. I know in the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season it may be hard, but we have to do it.

In Matthew 3 we read these words:

“Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the kingdom of Heaven is near.” Matthew 3:1 NLT (The phrase near is translated - the Kingdom of heaven has come.

As we begin to reflect upon this the first thing I think that we must look at is “repent of your sins.” Now you may say I am already born again. I have already done this. But are there any areas of your life that are not being controlled by the Kingdom of God? The writer of Hebrews says that we are to lay aside every weight that ensnares us. What are the things that we fight in our lives? Is it anger, unforgiveness, pornography, or some other thing that entangles you and it seems like you can’t get free of it? Take a few moments of quiet time and ask God to show you what you need to repent of.

The second thing to reflect upon is that repentance is not just asking forgiveness of something but to turn away from it. We need to make the decision to walk away from the stuff that ensnares us. How do we do this? The first thing is desire. You have to desire to change and make the decision to do it. The next thing is you may need someone to help hold you accountable. You may need to go and ask a mature Christ-follower to help you. But one of the most important things you can do is go to confession. GO TO CONFESSION! I can already hear someone screaming this and turning red faced. But yes, I did say go to confession. You see, as you go to confession and confess your sin to God in the presence of a priest, the priest is announcing what God has done in heaven is done on earth. So, maybe you need to go to confession and walk away knowing that God has forgiven you. Not because the priest said so, but because God says so and is using the priest to speak to you.

Take time today for some reflection.