"How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth."

~Psalm 119:103



Sunday, June 24, 2012

"Repent Ye"
(Matthew 3:1-2)

In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea.

And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

The Greek word translated as repent denotes a change of heart or mind. In other words, the result of repentance is conversion.

At the conclusion of his final address to his people, King Benjamin acknowledged the "mighty change in [them], or in [their] hearts, that [they had] no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually" (Mosiah 5:2). He described the change this way:

And now, because of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be called the children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters; for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you; for ye say that your hearts are changed through faith on his name; therefore, ye are born of him and have become his sons and his daughters (Mosiah 5:7).

People sometimes assert that a leopard can't change its spots, meaning that one cannot change his or her essential nature. This is true. In our efforts to change who we are, willpower and self-discipline are effective only up to a point. A leopard can't change its spots. But Jesus Christ can change a leopard's spots - and He can change us!
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new (2 Corinthians 5:17).

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