10-5-2014

         Good Morning All,

        Mark 1: 15; “and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

     It is always fascinating to watch how we measure time.  Sometimes, time can move so slowly that we question if it moves at all.  Think of those times when you had to wait; like a 5 year old waits for Christmas to arrive.  There are times in our life when time just seems to vanish.  Think of an evening with old friends.  I noticed this yesterday as we were at a soccer match.  The score ended 1-0.  As the fans watched the game they would look at the clock.  The team that was ahead kept wondering if they were shutting the clock off because it seemed that no time was coming off the clock.  The fans of the team which was behind couldn’t believe how quickly the time went.  They were sure that they didn’t put enough time on to start with. 

    So the Apostle Mark has Jesus telling the world that the time is fulfilled.  What does he mean?  He means that this is the exact right time for the events which are occurring to happen.  Everything is in place.  The players who are of any importance are present; the people are ready to go. The time is right.

   The kingdom of God is at hand.  Whenever you see the phrase “the kingdom of God” or “the kingdom of heaven”, don’t think in terms of a thing or a place.  The kingdom of God is an action taking place.  The kingdom of God is a verb and not a noun.  The kingdom of God is Jesus entering this world and taking back the broken and hurt creation and restoring it to its proper place.  The kingdom of God is the reconciliation of man back to God.  It is about God coming into your life and changing your life so that you now have hope for life.  The kingdom of God is about changing you into the redeemed child of God who can be confident of your salvation and live with hope for tomorrow.  The kingdom of God is alive and active in this broken world bringing peace and comfort where none exists.

   So what do we do? The answer is “repent.”  Repent means to change or to alter.  Repent means to turn around.  So rather than look away from God and only at ourselves, we are to turn toward God and seek after him.   Repent means to grab hold of God’s reconciliation and to trust fully in him.  To repent is a response to the active work of the kingdom of God.  It is the response to God’s invitation to be free from sin.  It is the invitation, at just the right time, for you to be part of God’s holy family.  It is the response to God’s grace that gives to us the opportunity to live in his loving presence holding onto his mercy.  Repentance is having all the time to grasp God’s steadfast goodness and to cling mightily to his love.

Father of all mercy, in you we have hope.  Father we ask that you bring about change in our lives.  Bring us to the knowledge and understanding of your great mercy.  Strengthen our faith for those times when nothing makes sense.  Cling to us Father so that we may cling back to you.  Guard and protect us and give us peace as only you can.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret