Today, I’m thinking about making some changes in my life, like cutting down on reading the news. Not much good news out there. But I’ve got some good news for you today.
Would you like to see some changes in your life? People are spending lots of money to see changes in their health, wealth or happiness. Yet, for the most part, these attempts end in failure.
God wants you to live the joyful life He created you to live. God has created a way to transform your life, not in decades or years, but in an instant. It begins with understanding an ancient Greek word that we translate today as repentance.
Repentance is one of the most important words in the Bible. Why is repentance so important? Without repentance a person cannot be saved. Hell is populated with people who have not repented.
Repentance is not just something that you do once is life. Repentance is meant to be practiced daily, that’s what believers do.
So, what does repentance mean? In the Greek language, the word for repent is metanoew, which means to change one’s thinking, to turn around. John the Baptist’s ministry was a call to repentance. Jesus’ ministry is summarized in …
Mark 1:15 (ESV) and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
So, in Jesus’ call, one must repent, turn away from sin and believe in the gospel of Jesus. Let’s look more closely at what it means to repent. The Bible teaches that everyone worships something or someone. There are no exceptions. God’s Word tells us that God has revealed Himself to everyone on the planet.
Romans 1:21-23 (ESV) For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
You see, there are only two options to worship. You can worship the one and only true God, the creator. Or you can worship created things, images, people, pleasure, power, money, etc. The Bible calls anything you worship other than God an idol and all idols are empowered by demons.