Tuesday: Matthew 3:3b

"A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'"

Good morning, my dear brothers and sisters. Welcome to day two of Salvation week on Carry The Light Ministries prayer and message line. Today, Tuesday, is the day we set aside to pray for our schools and all those who go through the doors at the schools.

Yesterday, we prayed for forgiveness of our sins, for God to put us clean again, and I want to repeat that short prayer right now ... for this lesson, we should get a clean start. Join me in this prayer that no one else can pray for you ...

Dear God forgive me of my sins and sinful ways ... clean me like a new fallen snow cleans the ground it falls upon. Thanks Jesus, I ask this in your name. Amen.

My opening line this morning comes from Matthew 3: 3b, and it is John the Baptist telling all that Jesus is coming, and to make straight paths for Him. How do we make straight paths in our lives according to the Bible? WE REPENT. Yesterday, I talked about getting paid to be a sinner, and who needs salvation. Well let me repeat, the only people who need salvation are those who want to get into heaven. No Salvation, No Heaven. Today, I just want to talk to you about repenting from your sins. Folks, let me tell you what it means to repent. It means to turn and walk away from your sins. Just yesterday, another baseball player went before the cameras and confessed to doing drugs that enhance playing. He said he was under pressure to play better. Why, so he could make millions of dollars a year!! I am saying this for as I am just relaying what is in the Bible that we need to repent, I will tell you that each day we Christians are under great pressure to sin.

And when we do, we do not need to go before the cameras of earth to confess. We just need to go to Jesus ... however Jesus expects us to repent.

John called it this way in Matthew 3: 3b "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'"

Now, let's look at the words of our Lord Jesus on this subject. Matthew 4: 17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." (NIV)

Jesus teaches us all along that we need to repent. Yes, Jesus will forgive us. Let me ask you this ... parents, do you ever get tired of correcting a child? Son, you just cannot do this. Daughter, you just cannot do this. Stop it right now. I need you to behave. What do you think God is telling us, His very own children? Yes, we are children of God (even those who do not believe in Him, are His children.) Can't you just picture Jesus looking down on us and saying ... I just want you to behave ... I want you to stop this sinning, I am getting sick of this. REPENT ... Gosh, if we were sitting where God is, and we are not ... We might be yelling REPENT DUMMY, I TOLD YOU TO REPENT! I know a lot of people who do not want to believe this, but we need to fear God, we really do. I had a very loving mother and father, I really did. They loved me enough to punish me when I went wrong, and if I did that same thing again, the punishment was worse. Oh yeah, it got worse. And my friends, I learned to love my parents, love them more each day, and I also learned to have a fear of doing wrong, knowing that my dad would hand out justice. So who needs to repent?

Who needs to repent? I do, for sure ... how about you? The Bible tells me you are like me, you are a sinner. We looked at that yesterday. So who needs to repent? All of us ...

Matthew 9: 13 "But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but the sinners." (NIV) Jesus died for us sinners. He was sent here to earth, via a virgin mother by God The Father in Heaven. A way of cleaning up the sins of the world without again destroying His wonderful work. He sent Jesus to die for sinners, for all sinners ... and we are those sinners. He did not come to heal the righteous but us sinners, and according to the Bible that would be all of us. So today, starting clean, I want to repeat what John and Jesus both said - today I will say it - REPENT, for the Kingdom of God is coming again. John said repent for Jesus is coming, Jesus said repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is coming and I am saying REPENT FOR JESUS IS COMING AGAIN! And to that we all should say ... PRAISE GOD!

Go forth sharing your blessings and repenting from your sins, doing good to all people, of all colors and all races and all religions. Share your love of Jesus, and brothers and sisters, show your respect for Jesus by repenting. love ya, dan.