Repentance & Baptism, Part 1

Special note: Look for my monthly blogs adapted from my yet-to-be-published book, Misfits on a Journey With Jesus (h ttps://www.debbieewald.com/books), a devotional book for teens. No matter your age or spiritual path, I pray the Lord will bless you through my humble attempts of communicating His truth.

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Do you ever think about Jesus' family life when He lived on earth? It looked much like most families. Maybe you've heard of His parents, Mary and Joseph. He also had brothers and sisters. And cousins. The Gospels introduce us to Cousin John, also known as John the Baptist (not because he was a member of First Baptist). God sent him to prepare people for Jesus' earthly ministry.

Similar to Jesus' birth, John's entry into the world was miraculous. You can read about it in Luke 1. His parents didn't have any children and were past child-bearing age. Yet God chose them to parent His special messenger. When John became an adult, he preached a life-changing message.

In those days John the Baptist came, preaching . . ., "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near." (Matthew 3:1-2, NIV, emphasis added)

Repent is an action verb meaning to turn away from sin and turn to Jesus.

There was a time that I let sin rule my life. The sad consequences of drugs, teen pregnancy and divorce made me understand that the things I chased after to make me happy, eventually hurt me. Finally, I stopped looking for happiness in the wrong places, repented of my sin, and followed Jesus. Now I experience true joy because He is in my life and I am a citizen of His kingdom. I'm not perfect but I follow the Perfect One.

Confession and Baptism

People went out to [John] from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. (Matthew 3:5-6, NIV, emphasis added)

People responded to John's message by confessing their sins. What does it mean to confess our sins? Think about a thief who confesses to the police that he stole jewelry from a store. He's agreeing with the system that he broke a law, stealing. Spiritually speaking, confession means that we agree with God that our sin is against His purpose and plan for our lives. But I have great news: First John 1:9 tells us that when we confess our sins, God is faithful to forgive us. Notice that it doesn't say "maybe" or "possibly"; He will forgive us! This is an awesome truth: the great God of the universe hears us when we confess our sins.

Evil Recognized

One group of people who came to see John angered him: the religious leaders known as Pharisees and Sadducees.

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?" (Matthew 3:7, NIV)

John insulted the religious leaders by calling them snakes. Yikes! John was angry at these men because he saw through their fake interest in his message. They were curious about this strange man, but they had no desire to turn away from their greed and pride.

A Choice to Make

Maybe your behavior is squeaky clean and unlike me, you have not chased after all the wrong things to make you happy. Or unlike the religious leaders, maybe you don't have a problem with greed. However, the Bible says that we have all sinned.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23, NIV)

We all have a choice to make; no one can make it for us. What are the choices?

• Repent and follow Jesus.

• Reject Jesus by doing nothing. No confession. No repentance. No following the One who came to save us from the grip of sin.

Maybe you've already made that choice to follow Jesus. Praise God! Thank Him for the awesome truth that Jesus made it possible for you to have a forever home with Him.

However, if you have not yet made that choice, will you choose Jesus today? Just come to Him with a simple prayer; something like this: Dear Jesus, I confess that I have sinned. Please help me to repent and follow You. Thank You for loving me so much that You made a way for me to have joy and peace in this life, and a forever home with You when I pass from this life. Amen.

There is no magic in these words. The miracle is in what happens when we humbly confess that we have sinned; made a conscious decision to repent; and now follow Jesus.

Friends, if you just made this decision to follow Jesus, I'd love to hear from you. Even if you didn't and have questions or just want to chat, contact me through my website: www.debbieewald.com.

This blog post is adapted from my book, Misfits on a Journey With Jesus: a 30-Day Exploration. Follow me on Facebook and Instagram for release updates.

#gospelofmatthew #goodnews #repent #choicetomake #miracle

The Broken Year

Would you agree with me that 2020 was broken? This time last year we were excited about a new year and a new decade. January 2020 was filled with new beginnings for my husband and I as we moved into our new home after relocating from Washington to Texas. We looked forward to opportunities to serve in our new church home and in our community. In February I was offered a job. We were beginning to feel secure, until COVID and lock down hit our world. Soon after came social unrest and financial distress. The hopes, dreams, and security for many people were crushed as 2020 shattered into a broken mess.

Along with the brokenness came uncertainty. My job offer, gone. Our routine of attending services at our new church home, gone. Our opportunity to visit family in Washington, gone. Where do we find hope when we face the unknown? We find hope when we trust God.

I am not spouting some idealistic fantasy. My confidence in God is rooted in scripture and personal experience. The Bible reveals the truth of God's character and His work in a broken world; broken by sin, sickness, and death. Here's two truths that help me work through uncertainty, and I hope encourages you.

Truth #1: God's Sovereignty

God was not shocked by the events of 2020. He remains in control even when chaos surrounds us.

The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours; the world and all that is in it, you have founded them (Psalm 89:11, ESV).

The Maker of heaven and earth has not loosened His grip on creation, especially His most precious creation: people.

Truth #2: Jesus' Warning and Promise

Jesus gave a warning and a promise in John 16:33: In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.

If we believe these words of Jesus, then we can face the world's calamity by focusing on the Savior. He overcame sin and death through the cross and His resurrection. Jesus gives us power to overcome the world's trouble.

This is not to say that we ignore the grief and frustration caused by the events of 2020. However, when we turn our focus from the circumstances to the One who has "overcome the world", then we unleash His power to work in our lives.

Our Response: Faith and Priorities

We respond to God's sovereignty and Christ's power through faith that aligns our priorities. Abraham is our role model for living a life of faith.

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise (Hebrews 11:8-9, ESV).

Abraham's journey required a fierce faith so that he could face the uncertainty of his destination. For many people, that's the key word that describes their circumstances: uncertain of their next paycheck, uncertain if they will survive the virus, uncertain of when school will resume . . . Faith guards against worry when life's destination is unknown.

Jesus had something to say about worry. And priorities.

Seek first [God's] kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow. Each day has enough trouble of its own (Matthew 6:33-34, NIV).

Notice Jesus was realistic about hard times. He didn't deny the reality of trouble, however He gave us a way to exercise our faith: focus on the things of God and allow Him to work on our behalf.

Personal Experience

In recent months we've had opportunities to apply these faith lessons. In July I listed my losses due to the pandemic and I grieved. I know! Seems morbid but stay with me! Then I gave these losses to the Lord. Next, I listed my blessings that came into my life because of COVID. My blessing list was greater than my loss list! I praised God for His faithfulness during this broken year. Hopefully, you have similar faith stories of how God blessed you in 2020.

Focus for the New Year

As we enter a new year, may we be encouraged to focus on the One who remains faithful to His people. May we walk confidently into 2021 with our great God!

Friends, I want to hear from you. Here's some questions that will give us an opportunity to encourage and pray for one another. Either respond on the blog page or through the contact page.

What was your greatest loss in 2020?

What was your greatest blessing in 2020?

What are you looking forward to in 2021?

How can I pray for you?

#Godssovereignty #losses #blessings #broken #goodbye2020 #hello2021

Worth the Journey

Say hello to Jesus the toddler, probably a two-year-old. He had an exciting life, including His own fan club, the magi, also known as wise men. These intelligent men traveled a great distance to worship the child, Jesus.

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem, during the time of King Herod, magi from the east

came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?

We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him." (Matthew 2:1-2)

Wise Men Prepare

Why did the magi travel so far to worship Jesus? They learned about God's promise of sending His Son into the world by reading the writings of God's Old Testament messengers, the prophets. No doubt they studied the book of Isaiah and pondered the meaning of Isaiah 7:14: The virgin will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

In Matthew 1:23 we discover the meaning of "Immanuel": God with us. Imagine Jesus coming as a baby to dwell among sinful man as "God with us." Now imagine that you are one of the magi and that you have studied these scriptures about Immanuel. Can you further imagine that a star appears, and you know it's the one that will lead you to the baby born of a virgin? Now you are in the place of the magi; longing to worship Jesus so much that you will travel great distance and at great cost.

It took great effort for the magi to worship Jesus. A lot of preparation was required for the long journey and traveling through the desert was hard. Jesus is worthy of worship that costs something, whether it be our time, or energy, or our money. Too many times we want to worship Him only if it's convenient and easy. But Jesus deserves our best, which the magi willingly gave.

Are you plugged into worship? This Christmas week think about what keeps you from connecting with God. Do any changes need to be made?

Wise Men Worship

The magi continued their journey, following a bright star that led them to Jesus in Bethlehem.

After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen

when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child

was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house,

they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped

him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold,

frankincense and myrrh. (Matthew 2:9-11, emphasis added)

Did you catch that? The magi were "overjoyed" as they came to worship Jesus. I ask myself, "Am I overjoyed to worship Jesus?" Are you?

Just as the magi gave gifts as part of their worship, we can also give gifts to Jesus. Our gifts

might include our talent, our time or our material possessions. What gifts will you give Jesus this Christmas week? If you have not placed your faith in Him for salvation, it could start with giving yourself to Him through repentance and faith.

Present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice . . . which is your spiritual service

of worship. (Romans 12:1, NASB)

#misfitsonajourneywithjesus

This blog post is adapted from my book, Misfits on a Journey with Jesus: a 30-Day Exploration. Look for it in 2021.