Faithbase

Good morning friends or sorry it's morning for me right now. I'm not sure what time you'll be watching this but it is morning for me right now so I'll say good morning. And I'm sitting here in my little quiet time and had some stuff kind of jump out at me that I thought I'd just share this morning. I am in seminary right now. I'm also a TA in seminary and right now I am grading a ton of their biblically focused books or I'm sorry essays and papers that students are writing but it is all very academically focused. I being in seminary am also reading a ton of the Bible and reading a ton of different amazing resources but again it is all very academically focused and a personal issue that I really struggle with during this time of a semester is getting the heart to move I'm sorry getting the head to move to the heart. All of this new knowledge that I'm gaining I know it logically but I'm struggling to feel it apply it to my real life today all of that sort of stuff and so today I'm just trying to refocus refocus and a word repent leapt off the page at me. I'm reading in Mark chapter 1 verses 14 and 15 I'll just read that real quick it says after John John the Baptist after he had baptized Jesus and was arrested Jesus went to Galilee very beginning of his earthly ministry proclaiming the good news of God. This good news is the time is fulfilled the kingdom of God has come near repent and believe the good news. Now when we think about that in our initial calling to the faith repenting from a life that we struggled in our own sin trying to do life our own way all of that stuff turning to Jesus that makes a lot of sense and sometimes I am guilty of reading and being like yep I have repented yep I already believe the good news check check I'm gonna keep going. I can come back to this verse every single day not just because we sin every day we all know that we know that we're gonna be continue to be flawed human beings on this earth and oftentimes repent carries a much heavier meaning to us today than what it can and should in a really good way. You know I think about repent and I think about the big stuff the big things that I did in life before I knew Jesus or like you know really really knew Jesus and when I do that a lot of times like some guilt and shame comes back up so it's just easier for me to read stuff like that and say I did that on whatever date whatever check check I believe let's keep going but what God is calling us to it Jesus is calling us to here is so simple repent really carries a definition this is like Christine definition so don't quote me on or you can quote me but this is not biblical what I'm trying to say but repent really means turn from in order to turn to turn from to turn to turn from whatever it is in the world that you are using for any sort of purpose that you should be turning to Jesus from I right now in this dry season I will read a ton of essays I'll do whatever I'll go about my day you know my husband is actually traveling for work a lot right now so I'm doing the single mom thing I just have a lot of just life going on and for me it is so easy to say okay I'm just gonna spend five minutes on social media to just clear my head I'm gonna just watch Netflix to clear my head I'm just gonna whatever and what I'm missing and what Jesus was simply calling me to is not that those things are bad not that like I can't scroll social media or I should feel guilty about watching a Netflix show but that that piece I'm craving that just true rest true rejuvenation I'm not gonna find that there I'm gonna find a timeout but as soon as I close my put my phone down or cut the TV off all that weights gonna just come right back if I want the weight lifted if I want the overwhelm conquered if I want this guilt cast out if I want the overwhelming peace that surpasses understanding I've got a turn from my world and my life and my control and turn to him in order to find that peace and the beautiful thing it's at our hands it's at our disposal it's in our heart and in our mind that like I'm struggling to get it from the head to the heart it's already there all we have to do is just pray refocus on Jesus ask him to lay the truth on our heart that we are desperate for and he will and that is just such a beautiful thing that we carry as Christians and so I hope that that is an encouragement to you today