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Jesus Begins His Ministry

12 Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. 13 And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

15  “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,

the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—

16  the people dwelling in darkness

have seen a great light,

and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death,

on them a light has dawned.”

17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Mt 4:12–17.

Abba,

Repentance is a message of hope. Repentance is about deliverance from death, from judgment. Repentance is a message of grace and mercy. Repentance is Your call for us to come to You and find life. Repentance is a call to leave fear; the fear of judgement and death that comes when we truly repent and find rest in You. You do not wish for man to fear. You wish for us to find our security and our hope in You. This is the reason for the gospel message.

The message of the gospel is this, “Turn back, Turn back! Turn back to Me. Find freedom from depending on your own works and rest in My Son’s. Turn back from your sin and evil and find freedom and joy in My Righteousness and grace! No more do you need to fear, ‘Have I done enough?’ No, you haven’t. No, you can’t. But it is ok. I have. I have provided the means. I have provided the payment. All you must do is accept it. Once you do, no more do you need to fear death, judgement, or even the enslaving power of the evil one. Once you embrace repentance, you will find deliverance and life. You will find hope and joy. Fear no longer has a reason to cling to you. Repentance brings the power to live fear free from the remainder of your days. Repentance will bring you to Me.. Repentance brings you into intimate fellowship with me. And I will leverage the fullness of my being for you.”

Abba, how glorious is this! Before repentance, we OUGHT to fear. We ought to live in sheer terror of sin, its power and its consequences. But after repentance, fear is removed. The reason for fear is removed. No longer do we face judgement.

But there is more. Not only does repentance remove the fear of judgement but repentance promises a life (or the potential for a life) of intimacy with You. When we repent and commit to pressing DAILY, moment by moment, into You, we no longer face loneliness, powerlessness, hopelessness, ignorance, purposelessness, or identitylessness. Repentance not only brings freedom from the fear of judgement but because it also initiates us into relationship with You, it also supplies all the benefits of what a relationship with You brings. And our ongoing lifestyle of repentance after the point of initial salvation ensures that our intimacy remains and fear has no reason for a resurgence.

Thank You for inviting us to repent. Thank You for enabling us to do so. Thank You for providing the means of our repentance to be acceptable. Thank You for the freedom it supplies.

We love You.

Amen