Mark 1:14-15
We all know what we need to do when we are driving in the wrong direction. We need to turn around. I did it only yesterday! I was carefully following the instructions of my satnav but ended up taking the wrong turning off a large roundabout. The road I took led, very swiftly, to a dead end. I felt very silly but there was no point in me arguing with the road or the satnav. I just needed to turn around and find my way to the right road. That’s repentance. Turning from the wrong direction to the right one.
Just like John the Baptist, Jesus preached a message of repentance, because he knew that it was the only way for people to discover the good news of God’s forgiveness. Repentance is much more than merely regret or remorse. Repentance is being sorry enough to stop and walk in a new direction.


On the day of Pentecost, the punch line of Peter’s sermon was that the people needed to repent. That day saw the birth of the Church, as people turned to God in repentance and were baptised. And, as they did so, Peter told them that they would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. When we turn our backs on the way that we have been living, we will need enormous encouragement and strength to head in a new direction - and that is not something we can possibly do by ourselves. No amount of human effort will be enough. We are completely reliant upon God’s Holy Spirit to fill us each day and to help us walk in a new way.



QUESTION
What has repentance meant for you personally?
PRAYER
Lord God, I repent of the fact that I have so often gone my own selfish way. I ask you to forgive my sins and, in the power of your Holy Spirit, enable me to live a new life in your strength. Amen

Released on 13 Feb 2023