Posted on Thursday, April 19, 2018 at 09:55 a.m. (EST) & 08:25 p.m. (IST), APRIL 2018 Edition
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“Repentance
Everyday Pursues Emmanuel's Nurturing Truth!" (R.E.P.E.N.T)”
Ramesh C. Reddy
SCRIPTURE:
Observations:
Actions
of Jesus:
I asked myself what were the sayings of Jesus?
Sayings
of Jesus:
Interpretations:
It is also interesting to realize
that Jesus does not say, 'The Kingdom of
God has come near; believe in
the good news.' but says
'REPENT' and believe in the good news'.
(To be continued....)
SCRIPTURE:
Observations:
Actions
of Jesus:
I asked myself what were the sayings of Jesus?
Sayings
of Jesus:
Interpretations:
We need to remember that
John, the Baptist was the one who was proclaiming the Good News and preparing the way
of the Lord. John also lets people know that there is more to the
concept of baptism than being 'baptized in water'.
John realizes that he is just a messenger and there would come One who
baptizes with the Holy Spirit. John was preparing the people for a
transition. He did not want people to regard him highly as opposed to
the One who was to come. God allowed John to prepare the way and when
John's time would come to an end, the people could be prepared for the
transition. (Mark 1:1-8)
When John was arrested, there was a
vacancy in the ministry area pertaining to
'proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins'
and 'baptizing those that repented with water' (Mk 1:4-5).
Jesus finally came to preach in
Galilee after John's arrest. Jesus said, 'the time
is fulfilled'. This could refer to what John was proclaiming
especially about the 'One who would come'. Jesus came to accomplish all
that John was proclaiming. Jesus knows the perfect timing when things
need to be done.
I asked myself, what do you think is the most important saying
of Jesus and why?
It is also interesting to realize
that Jesus does not say, 'The Kingdom of God has come near:, believe in
the good news.' but says
'repent and believe in the good news'.
(To be continued....)
Implications:
What was so interesting though is that when I wanted Jesus in my
heart, my loving mommy
explained to me
about sin, confession, repentance, etc then asked me if I would pray
the prayer that she wrote for me on a cardboard square acknowledging
my sin and confessing it before the Lord in repentance. It was
called the sinner's prayer. My mommy could have just said pray: 'I
believe in you Jesus' but my mommy wanted me to understand why I
should be believing in Jesus and not just for what He could do for
me.
I prayed the prayer my mommy wrote for me which went something
like this:
At that moment after praying, I knew I was a child of God and my
asthma was healed too. I could do things that I could never do
before. At the time, I did not even know it was Valentine's Day, a
day of love until later.
I share this with you because before believing in the Good News
of Christ for the miracle I can receive, my mommy wanted me to
understand the concept of sin, confession, and repentance because
the Good News of Christ is deliverance from sin and reconciliation
to God because of what Christ would do. So it is so appropriate for
me when Jesus started to begin His ministry, Jesus does not start
out with 'believe in the Good News'
but
'repent and believe in the Good News'
I ask you now dear friend, what role
does the word R.E.P.E.N.T play in your life?
Sadly, there is some preaching out there that says, 'Believe
in Jesus and everything will be alright in your life'. This is akin
to the prosperity gospel which is not the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In
that statement, it is "what you can get out of Jesus" rather than
"why you should believe in Jesus". Yes, Jesus has to power to make
everything all right in His timing but when we come to Jesus just
expecting our life to be peachy from the day we accept Him, we will
be sorely disappointed. Jesus addressed this situation even in John
6 very well when the people were coming to Jesus for what they can
get out of Him instead of for who He is and why He came. To that
Jesus responds that we should not be so concerned about food,
clothing, etc but more concerned about our spiritual well being.
Jesus said, "I AM the Bread of Life. He
who comes to be will never be hungry again and He who believes in me
will never thirst" Later on,
Jesus also says 'living water will flow out of him in life'
I am so glad when my mommy led me to Christ, she did not just ask
me to pray to Jesus asking for a prayer of healing for my asthma but
focused on why I should believe in Jesus alone and what He alone did
for me and can do for me. In my prayer there was nothing about
asthma but everything about believing in the Good News of Christ in
my life.
What is so cool is that one night I dreamed about leading a
group of students to Christ. When I led them to Christ after giving
a teaching to which they were moved, the prayer I asked them to pray
with me was identical to the prayer my mommy prayed with me. It
focused on our sinfulness, confessing and repenting of our sin,
asking for forgiveness of our sin, believing that Jesus died on the
cross shedding His precious blood, came back to life to save, and
then asking Jesus to come into our heart and make our heart His home
so we can have Jesus live with us forever.
Jesus can do that for you too friend if you have never given your
life to the Lord. Now is the time of Salvation. Don't wait until
some other time when the Lord Jesus wants to rescue you now. Yes,
friend Jesus loves you so much and wants to rescue you from
everything that plagues you. Come as you are and repent of your sin
and receive what Jesus offers to you, His forgiveness and grace.
God knew the people needed a Shepherd and sent
Jesus Christ in His perfect timing after John prepared the way. The Lord
wants to be your Good Shepherd too! Knowing Jesus as our Lord and
Personal Savior is the best thing we all can do.
Jesus' coming is the best thing that happened to the disciples of John
too. Jesus is the
best person to intervene in your life because He can be your Lord and
Personal Savior and help you through as He is helping in our lives for
He knows the right timing for everything.
For Jesus alone can give us the power and transform our lives when we
turn to Him in repentance asking Him to take control of our lives for He
is the Good News. This means we need
to be willing to surrender our lives to Jesus knowing He alone can
rescue us from the bondage of sin and death.
Jesus came to proclaim the Good News so each of us can reach the
Father. The Good News is Jesus Christ and His intervention in this world
to save this world. Jesus also knew the perfect timing to die for all of
our sins that are past, present, and future nailing them to the cross.
Jesus shed His precious cleansing blood for you and me so when we turn
to Him, His blood can be the antidote for the deadly virus known as sin.
That is exciting to know friend. I know it is exciting to me that Jesus
knew the exact timing when I would turn to Him. Jesus chose humanity first when Jesus paid the price on the cross and gives humanity the
opportunity to come to Him.
So come to Jesus as you are in repentance! Instead of following your own
way to do things, start relying on the Lord Jesus Christ for His help to
do things, quietly trusting yourself to Him. You will not be
disappointed when you rest in Him and believe He has the right timing
for everything. Thank you Jesus!
I have done that friend and pray that you will do the same repenting
of your sin and believing in the Good News of Christ. Thank you Jesus.
"Let Him have
all your worries and cares, for He is always thinking about you and
watching everything that concerns you." (1 Peter 5:7)
"Now repent of your sins and turn to God,
so that your sins may be wiped away. Then times of refreshment will come
from the presence of the Lord.." (Acts 3:19-20, NLT)
"Repentance Everyday Pursues Emmanuel's
Nurturing Truth!" (R.E.P.E.N.T)/"What role does the word R.E.P.E.N.T
play in your life?"
Prayer:
Lord Jesus,
You are my all in all. You are my Prince of Peace,
Rock, Savior, and Friend. You are my Holy Father guiding me through to live a
life of righteousness, holy righteousness. Oh God, I need you more than ever. I
need to feel your hands around me holding me tight. I need your love to surround
me so that you can glow in my life. Help me please Jesus. I desire in your
presence. Thank you for guiding me to live a life of righteousness. Oh God you
love me more than ever. You hear my voice when I cry out to you. When I seek
your face, you fill me up. You are my all in all. Thank you Jesus so much for
your help no matter what I face, your grace is available and you take my case.
Thank you for hearing us and answering us. In Your Name I Pray Jesus! AMEN!
(Most of the prayer is from a vineyard song called “All in All”)
No matter what you feel in your heart, know that Jesus has come in
and resides with you! You are not alone! To make your walk strong with
the Lord, spend time in prayer talking to Him as you would to a friend.
You don’t need special words to talk to the Lord. Spend time in His Word
reading Psalms and turning them into prayer. Next allow God to heal you
and speak to you through the Gospel of John or Gospel of Mark before
moving on to other Books of the Bible! Slowly, let the Lord show you to
which Scriptures He wants you to go to next. It is also important to be
part of a body of believers to help you grow in the faith. Find a Bible
believing church that preaches the Word of God from Genesis to
Revelation proclaiming Jesus Christ our crucified and risen Lord who
brings us hope, healing, and help!
May the Lord's presence and peace fill you with His love now and
forever! Amen!
Feel free to email
me at
reddy4hisglory@gmail.com
if you want to meet to study the Bible, pray with,
talk about Spiritual issues or whatever is on your mind! My number is
412-641-9426
"This is my
work and I can do it only because Christ's mighty energy is at work
within me." (Colossians 1:29, TLB) |