Light Day 23: Matthew 4:10-17

Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.
Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee;
And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:
That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,
The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles;
The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.
From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of every word of God!

Even where Jesus chose to live was a fulfillment of God’s word through Isaiah. The beginning of the dawning of the great light came upon God’s people in His time, in His place, and by His methods as Jesus began to bring the words and person of Light to Capernaum:

Repent; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

This is the light and the good news! At first glance, it might not sound so appealing. Repent? Doesn’t that mean I’m wrong? Why would that be good news?

It’s good news for several reasons. First, whether you knew it or not (whether you choose to accept and believe it or not), you are wrong. In our flesh dwells no good thing. The entire fleshly mindset is contrary to the fundamental structure of how God set up the world to work. In a sense, we can’t even help being wrong – not in ourselves.

But here’s where the good news comes in. Think of the life you live for yourself in your own fleshly way. Is it satisfying? Do you truly think you’re good enough? Is there no lack in that self-focused life? Is there nothing within you that yearns for more?

The answer is, of course, that we can never satisfy ourselves with our own lifestyle. And the good news is that we don’t have to! We aren’t even supposed to! So repent – change your mind, turn around, think a new way, go a new direction. Why? Because the kingdom of heaven is at hand. God’s kingdom is here – now! Jesus Christ has appeared on earth to live INSIDE US, taking away our fleshly heart and giving us His own whole, pure, living heart. He has taken our selfish mind and given us the mind of Christ.

So receive it – use what has been so generously and wonderfully given to you! Change your mind – don’t get stuck thinking according to worldly patterns; bring every thought into captivity to listening to Christ and His mind. Live in accordance with who you are – a citizen of the kingdom of heaven – and you’ll be amazed at the glorious light that will spring up in every part of your life!