Scripture:
Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.
– Matthew 3:8
“Repent” means turning from our current bearing to take the opposite direction. It is the recognition that we need to change course to follow God or risk putting distance between us. Fruit is the product that results in the course of living our lives. It seems the author of Matthew is insisting that we continually make changes to our relationship with God in order to live a life that is useful to God. Examine your heart today. What areas is God stirring you to repentance: relationships, thoughts, indulgences, anger, vengeance, complacency…. Take time to ask forgiveness and repent, then your life will bear the fruit for which God longs.
Prayer Time: Examine the areas where God desires repentance in your life. If none comes to mind, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal them to you. Begin with your behavior in the relationships closest to you. Confess them and ask forgiveness.
Petition: That we will repent of the idolatry of “church” as we have known it and begin practicing listening to God. That as we turn away from our own ideas of what we want, we will bear the fruit of change and be more aware of God’s vision for His church.