Matthew 4:17 WEB tells us, "From that time, Jesus began to preach, and to say, 'Repent! For the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.' In other words, Jesus was telling people to turn from their sins and towards God because Heaven - or God in this case - is near. Matthew used the word Heaven in place of God, because as a Jew, he would have been taught to not speak the name of God.
John the Baptist, who used these words in his ministry to introduce the world to the Messiah, had just been thrown into prison at this point. And Jesus was delighted with these words, so He used them Himself when He started His own ministry in Galilee. Jesus, as God, was near. And He remains near in our hearts and as the Holy Spirit Who lives inside us Believers and Followers of Christ.
Image courtesy of Zulmaury Saavedra via Unsplash
As Christians, we have been called to mimic Jesus. So, when we tell people that Christ will return soon to take us to live in Heaven with him, we can use similar words to win over the hearts of new Believers. Because many may not know what "repent" means, speak words they will understand. You can say something like, "If you're tired of sin dragging you down, ask God to forgive you and remove that weight of sin. Release it all to Jesus. He loves you. He died for you; he purchased you with His blood."
Or if you're reading this post today, looking for that new life in Christ that you've heard about, let me just tell you that sin is a burden and keeps you chained to it. What freedom there is in knowing Christ! Hallelujah! Once you accept Christ as your Savior, you are no longer sin's slave. You become God's servant instead. Jesus paid the ransom for you when He suffered and died on the cross. You'll never find a greater love than that. With Jesus, you're no longer lost, but you're found. He wants to take away the pains caused by sin. You never have to go far to find God. He's always near. Won't you come to Him today? Because only those who have repented and accept Christ as Savior will be allowed in Heaven. All others will be turned away into the fiery lake to live out eternity. Repent. It really is a better life.
#jesussaid
#lifeistooshort
Zach Williams sings a song called Chain Breaker that I have included with this Red Letter post today. I hope you like it.
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