"'Do I have any pleasure in the death of the wicked,' declares the Lord GOD, 'rather than that he should turn from his ways and live?' ... 'For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies,' declares the Lord GOD. 'Therefore, repent and live'" Ezekiel 18:23,32.

The skewed view many have of our heavenly Father should be squared with the truth of these verses in Ezekiel. He too often is mistaken as an angry, vengeful God, ready to mete out vindictive wrath at the slightest misstep. As a holy God, punishment for wickedness is necessitated, but He is patiently loving and merciful prior to judgment. His greatest desire is that we change our minds and lives, and pursue the better path that He sets before us.

To "repent and live" is ultimately to respond to the call of God's Son, our Lord Jesus. He would have us change our minds and reorient our lives around God's great purpose, the kingdom of God.

"Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel'" (Mark 1:14-15).

The appearance of the king initiated the kingdom project. He announced that it is near, but not yet fully here. To change our mind is to reorient our thinking around the both "now" and "not yet" reality of the kingdom. We begin to discover that the future kingdom breaks through into the present, with incredible power for daily living. This is in harmony with the considered intent of the words of Jesus' model prayer: give us today the bread of tomorrow ("give us this day our daily bread" Matthew 6:11). Nourish us today with the life of the coming kingdom.

A holy God has indeed reserved a day of judgment for the wicked, but prior to that day He offers a gracious invitation to "repent and live." His true desire is that He is not "wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance" 2 Peter 3:9.

This day offers us the opportunity to reorient our thinking about our Father's intentions and heart, as well as concerning the now and not yet kingdom that Jesus announced. Gracious opportunities abound for us today, and for the lives of those we share this good news with.

Be sure to also visit http://thetruthrevolution.wordpress.com/ & https://kingdomdreamer.blogspot.com/

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