“God made my life complete when I placed all the pieces before him. When I got my act together, he gave me a fresh start.” ~King David

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Jesus, King David, Life, Psalm 18, Repent, Wise Sayings

God made my life complete
    when I placed all the pieces before him.
When I got my act together,
    he gave me a fresh start.

Source: Psalm 18:20-24 (The Message)

What is my role in all this? God doesn’t invade my body and make me change my mind. That isn’t how it works. I have to change my mind (aka repent). I have to give up and give him all the pieces. I have humble myself and admit that I have missed God’s goal (aka sinned). Many days I am reluctant. God is patient.

What’s wrong with a half-way job? God’s goal is that I have a complete life. I can hear my dad now. In his mind, there was nothing worse than a half-way job. And … he would let me know it if I hadn’t done it well. Not perfect but well. God wants me to have it all and live a complete life. God is God. He can do it. I can’t.

What will God do? God will make my life complete in the work of Jesus, the Messiah. Jesus has paid the price with his glorious sacrifice on the cross. Jesus is raised to a new life and sits in power at God’s right hand. I have life in that work. I am a new creation. I  have a fresh start. God is in a good mood.

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“The goal is to bring out the best in others in a conversation, not put them down, not cut them out.” ~Apostle Paul

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Apostle Paul Sayings, Colossians 4, God's Goal, Jesus, Repent, Wisdom

The Apostle Paul, full of the wisdom of Jesus the Messiah, has given us insight into God’s goal for us.

• Do I need to change my mind?  I am to use my head. I should think things through. I should change my mind (aka repent).
• Whose country am I a citizen of? I should recognize that i am a citizen of God’s country (aka the Kingdom of God). I live and work among outsiders.
• What about wisdom? I shouldn’t miss a trick. God will give me wisdom. I should us it for God’s advantage.
• What is God’s goal? God is going to give me opportunities. God is in a good mood. I should focus on bringing out the best in others. I should never put them down. God’s goal is for me to love. Love is kind and thoughtful.

“Use your heads as you live and work among outsiders. Don’t miss a trick. Make the most of every opportunity. Be gracious in your speech. The goal is to bring out the best in others in a conversation, not put them down, not cut them out.” ~Apostle Paul

Source: Colossians 4:5-6

“It’s not possible for a person to succeed—I’m talking about eternal success—without heaven’s help.” ~John the Baptizer

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Jesus, John 3, John the Baptist, Messiah, Repent, Sin, Success

I like to think I can do it all myself and that I don’t need any help.

I need to change my mind (repent) because that has me missing God’s goal for my life (sin).

I can’t succeed without the help of Jesus, the Messiah. That is reality and I need to get on board with that. It is all about Jesus and nothing about me. 

“John the Baptizer appeared in the wild, preaching a baptism of life-change that leads to forgiveness of missing God’s goal for us.” ~Mark

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Jesus, John the Baptist, Life-change, Mark 1, Repent

“John the Baptizer appeared in the wild, preaching a baptism of life-change that leads to forgiveness of missing God’s goal for us. People thronged to him from Judea and Jerusalem and, as they confessed their knowledge of missing God’s goal, were baptized by him in the Jordan River into a changed life. John wore a camel-hair habit, tied at the waist with a leather belt. He ate locusts and wild field honey.” | Mark 1:4-6

John paved the way for Jesus. He set the stage. It is all about life-change. I need to change my mind (repent) about the kind of life I can live. That leads me to life. Now that is some good news.

I know I have missed the goal that God is mind for me. God wants to forgive me. So much so, God sent His Son Jesus to die for me.

"One’s mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions." ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes

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Ideas, Jesus, Mind, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Repent

Jesus challenges us to change our minds (repent).

There is the promise that by seeing the world the way Jesus does, we will never be the same again.

One’s mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions.” ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes

“Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.” ~~Eleanor Roosevelt

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Eleanor Roosevelt, Ideas, Jesus, Mind, Repent

Jesus challenges us to change our minds, to think differently. That is the essence of repenting.

“Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.” ~~Eleanor Roosevelt

"Positive thinking will let you do everything better than negative thinking will." ~~Zig Ziglar

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Jesus, Positive Thinking, Repent, Zig Ziglar

I get to make a choice. While it isn’t either/or my attitude is my choice.

Jesus challenges me to change my mind (repent).

Now would be a good day to do that.

Positive thinking will let you do everything better than negative thinking will.” ~~Zig Ziglar

A bad attitude is like a flat tire, you won’t get very far unless you change it!

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Attitude, Change Mind, Repent

A bad attitude is like a flat tire, you won’t get very far unless you change it!

My attitude about Jesus and who is in charge makes a huge difference. Jesus challenges me to change my mind (repent). It all starts there. It doesn’t end there though.

Every day is a new day, a new opportunity to love. May I change my attitude.

"Time’s up! God’s kingdom is here. Change your mind (repent) and believe the Message." ~~Jesus

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Change, Jesus, Jesus Sayings, Mark 1, Mind Change, Repent

Time

Do I have enough time? Jesus demands that I understand that time is up. Now is the time.

I can’t delay understanding who is in charge. I need to change my mind. I must believe.

God’s world (Kingdom) is one where He is in total control. This requires that I change how I think and how I live.

Do I live like God is in charge or like I am in charge?

Do I ask God what he wants to do or do I tell God what I want to do and ask him to bless it?

Time is up. It is clearly up. Jesus has been put in charge of God’s world and I must change my mind.

After John was arrested, Jesus went to Galilee preaching the Message of God: “Time’s up! God’s kingdom is here. Change your life and believe the Message.”

~~Jesus (Mark 1:15)

“There’s no longer room for doubt—God made him Master and Messiah.” ~Apostle Peter

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Apostle Peter Sayings, Baptize, Jesus, Master, Messiah, Repent

Jesus Messiah

It is clear. There is no room for doubt. We have to accept the facts.

Jesus is Master. Jesus died, was buried, was raised from the dead, ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, completely in control. Jesus is in charge of God’s government.

Jesus is the Messiah, the one anointed from God to be in charge. Jesus is King and our high Priest.

There is no room for doubt. It is clear. The facts are in.

So what should we do?

• Change our mind and life
• Turn to God
• Be baptized
• Be forgiven
• Receive the Holy Spirit

“All Israel, then, know this: There’s no longer room for doubt—God made him Master and Messiah, this Jesus whom you killed on a cross.”

Cut to the quick, those who were there listening asked Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers! Brothers! So now what do we do?”

Peter said, “Change your mind and life. Turn to God and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus the Messiah, so your missing God’s goal (sins) are forgiven. Receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is targeted to you and your children, but also to all who are far away—whomever, in fact, our Master God invites.” Acts 2:36-39

“Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” ~George Bernard Shaw

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Change, George Bernard Shaw, Jesus, Master, Repent

Jesus challenges us to change our minds (repent) about who is in control. Jesus is in charge of God’s country and government. Jesus is our Master. I can make no progress without starting there.

Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.

~~George Bernard Shaw

Source: Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot… – George Bernard Shaw at BrainyQuote

“Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart.” ~Corrie Ten Boom

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Corrie Ten Boom, Forgive, Jesus, Repent

Forgiveness

Forgiveness is not about how we feel. Forgiveness is about what we say, what we think and what we do. We need to change how we think about forgiveness. God chooses to forgive us in spite of how we act. God chose to send his son Jesus show us how forgiveness and love work. God is in a good mood.

Jesus challenges us to know that “there is a connection between what God does and what you do. You can’t get forgiveness from God, for instance, without also forgiving others. If you refuse to do your part, you cut yourself off from God’s part.” (Matthew 6:15)

Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart.

~Corrie Ten Boom

“Change your thoughts and you change your world.” ~Norman Vincent Peale

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Change, Norman Vincent Peale, Quote, Repent

Jesus challenges us to repent (change our minds) and live in God’s government (Kingdom). God is in control.

Changing our thinking, knowing who is in control and why they are in charge changes our world.

Change your thoughts and you change your world. ~Norman Vincent Peale

“Change your mind (repent). God’s kingdom is here.” ~John the Baptizer

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John the Baptist, Matthew 3, Mind Change, Repent

Changing our minds (Repent)

John, the Baptizer, came to pave the way for his cousin Jesus, the Messiah and our Master. John was very focused. He lived a simple life. He had an essential message.

John, like Jesus after him, challenges us to change our mind. In traditional translations the word used is repent. I think that has lost its meaning. Changing your mind is the literal meaning in the Greek word. I think that captures the challenge of John and Jesus.

John, couples the need to change our minds with the fact that God’s Kingdom is here. We don’t live in kingdom any longer. We are a republic with elected officials. Jesus has been crowned King by God, his Father. Jesus is in complete control. There is this world and God’s world. In God’s world, Jesus is completely and absolutely in charge of everything. What he wants, at any given moment, is all that matters. We need to change our mind about who is in control. It is not us. It is Jesus.

The way we are thinking misses God’s goal for our life. To understand God’s plan, we need to change the way we think.  Here are some key ideas:

1. God is in control.
2. Jesus is the Messiah and our Master.
3. God is God.
4. God is in a good mood and loves us as our Heavenly Father.
5. God can do anything he wants to without our permission.

While Jesus was living in the Galilean hills, John, called “the Baptizer,” was preaching in the desert country of Judea. His message was simple and austere, like his desert surroundings: “Change your mind (Repent). God’s kingdom is here.”

John and his message were authorized by Isaiah’s prophecy:

Thunder in the desert!
Prepare for God’s arrival!
Make the road smooth and straight!

Matthew 3:1-3

"If Tyre and Sidon had been given half the chances given you, they’d have been on their knees long ago, changing their mind and crying for mercy." ~Jesus

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Change Mind, Jesus Sayings, Luke 10, Mercy, Repent

Tyre and Sidon – Repent and ask for mercy

What if Jesus said this to Dallas? What if he said this to New York City? I can imagine it. Jesus is in our midst. He is performing great and mighty acts of God right now. Do we see it? Do we change our minds and ask for mercy?

We should. Jesus us to do so. God is God. We may not fully understand His ways but we must understand in our heart and act accordingly. He is merciful. He has forgiven us.

“If Tyre and Sidon had been given half the chances given you, they’d have been on their knees long ago, changing their mind (repent) and crying for mercy.” ~Jesus Luke 10:13-14