A Change of Mind

Mark 1:15 - "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!"

Repent. Ouch! This word scares us. Thanks to history, anyway. For 1400 years, the bible translated this word in Latin, penatentia, which is where we get the word "penitentiary!" Jail! Pain! Pay for your sins! Scary pictures of dungeons!

In the 1800's, they switched back to its Greek meaning, "to change your mind." How often do we change our minds? When we are lost, we want someone to change our mind! When we don't have an answer, we want someone to change our mind. When we feel confused and life seems empty, what do we want? A change of mind!

Jesus starts out his ministry with this message--you can change your mind! Anything you want to change, you can! You can repent! You can see everything differently. 1 Corinthians 2:16 says we have the mind of Christ. There could be nothing more true. I seem to have two minds lately--one tells me the right thing to do, and the other encourages me to do the wrong thing. I have the mind of Christ, but my own mind is still with me.

Do you want a better marriage? You have to change your mind. Do you want to be closer to God? You have to change your mind. Do you want to be more effective as a Christian? You have to change your mind. Are any of those things a burden? Does it feel like jail and punishment to have a better marriage? No, in fact it feels like prison to be stuck in a marriage that is not changing!

It is so like Satan to take a word that can bring us hope, and turn it into a word that scares us. How about we repent, and change our mind about repentance! And how does Jesus want us to change our minds? He commands us to believe in the good news. Believe the message, put our wholehearted trust in it, put our trust in Him! That must mean our trust is currently in someone else. Guess who? Ourselves!

There could not be a more inspiring message. Change your mind, stop putting all your trust in yourself, put your trust in the good news--the miracle the world has been waiting for, for centuries! Trust me! I will never let you down!

Pray for Lyon, France

Lyon is the second-largest metropolitan area in France. The population of the city is approximately 472,000, and the metropolitan area contains almost 1,750,000 people. It is a major center of business, with many pharmaceutical and software companies based in Lyon. Historically, Lyon has also been a centre of gastronomy, cinema and was even the silk capital of the world!

Here are some prayer requests from the church in Lyon:

• Unity between leaders is growing but still needs to improve.
• One couple of former christians is coming back slowly--pray that they can see their need to get more involved in the church. Another couple is coming regularly to church but they want to study the bible on their own--pray that their study helps them to see their need to be helped. Finally, a single professional is seriously studying the bible--pray for his soul.
• We have a 3 week "Daniel fast" begining April 12th to get nearer to God--pray for it to bear fruit.
• We have an older married couple who have health problems which can be a hindrance for their presence at church and in the fellowship--pray that they can feel loved by the church.
• We have a couple whose mariage is in great danger. Pray for their repentance and their personal relationship with God to get better.
• Pray for the disciples who are married to non-christians. Pray that the atheistic and materialist European spirit do not contaminate the church. Finally, you can also pray to thank the Lord that there is a church of 30 disciples in Lyon!