Repent and believe

Wednesday July 21, 2021

Repent and believe

So repent and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out. Acts of the Apostles 3:19

Jesus said : Repent and believe the good news (Mark 1:15). Repent refers to a reawakening of our moral conscience accompanied by deep sorrow for having done wrong. It is the pain of our sin that pierces our souls and plunges our hearts into sincere regret.

Repentance is a time of withdrawal, of honest self-examination, of confessing your wrongs to God. Then we seek his forgiveness, peace with him. And we want to act differently from this moment...

Believe in the good news describes faith in the promises of Jesus Christ. It is believing it with your heart. It is to embrace the salvation he obtained for us, paying with his life the debt of our faults on the cross.

Ordinarily, “repent and believe” is a simultaneous dual experience. We then speak of conversion to God ! Since "to sin" literally means "to miss the mark," "convert" describes a call to internally change direction, to aim for the center, the source of all things and all life, which is God. It corresponds for the believer to a U-turn in his life. You can see a first quarter turn turning away from one's sin, followed by a second quarter turn turning to God. "Repent and believe" are always united in the gospel message...

Dominique Moreau

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Proposed reading : Gospel according to Mark, chapter 1, verses 9 to 15.

1.9 At that time Jesus came to Nazareth in Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan.

1.10 As he came out of the water, he saw the heavens open, and the Spirit descending upon him like a dove.

1.11 And a voice uttered these words from heaven : Thou art my beloved Son ; in you have I set my affection.

1.12 Immediately the Spirit moved Jesus into the wilderness,

1.13 where he spent forty days, tempted by Satan. He was with the wild beasts, and the angels served him.

1.14 After John had been delivered. Jesus went to Galilee, preaching the gospel of God.

1.15 He said : The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe the good news.

Source (Live Today)