Repent

 If we have any upbringing at all, we will act differently when we come into the presence of a very important person. We will be very respectful, and we will make sure that our actions are not offensive to them. This is especially true when we come into the presence of a person like a pastor. I have found that people speak and act differently around me than they do around others.

When Jesus started His ministry and began preaching to the people, He picked up the message that John the Baptist had been preaching, and He added an important new fact. (Matthew 4:17) Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near." This is still a true statement for us today, so we need to understand it and heed it.

When Jesus came to earth, He brought the kingdom of God or the kingdom of heaven down to us. As the Bible says, He was called "Emmanuel" which means "God with us." Jesus is God who became man, so He could walk among us and sacrifice His life for our sins. Then, we could be saved from our sins. He had this authority from the Father to bring us into the kingdom.

Therefore, we need to speak and act differently, don't we? We need to know that as citizens of the kingdom right now, our words and actions need to be pleasing to our Lord. That is why Jesus preached for people to repent. When we repent, we change from doing the wrong things, and we do the right things, instead. That gets us ready to enter Jesus' presence any time. It makes us fit to be good representatives of God's kingdom. 

#NHBaptistdotorg

Tomorrow, I intend to read Matthew 5-8.