Day 1- Mark 1:1-8

Mark’s writing style is very succinct. When he begins his gospel, he doesn’t waste any time. His readers were probably Christians who already knew the basics of the story, so he starts off very directly: If we are truly going to encounter Jesus Christ, we must be a repentant people. Just as John the Baptist was sent to ‘prepare the way’ for Christ, so must we also prepare the way for the work that God wants to do in our lives. We prepare by repenting.

Repentance is simply defined as ‘changing your mind’. Its goal is that as a result of a changed mind, every bit of us would be changed. We need a change of direction in our lives. That involves our hearts, our minds, and our whole being. Yet emptying ourselves is not enough. In Mark, we see people who repent, but still don’t figure it out. Throughout the gospel they continue to miss the point of the life of Jesus. While we can certainly identify with these folks, I’d suggest to you that Mark would want us to notice something different. He says, “I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit” (1:8). Since we are followers of Christ, we have been filled with the Holy Spirit. He empowers us to live the life that we were previously unable to live because of our sinfulness.

The Holy Spirit works in many ways in our lives. One way is that he convicts us of sin. As we go through this Lenten season, my guess is that the Holy Spirit will convict you of some sins that you’ve never thought twice about before, and maybe some others that you’ve been holding onto with a white-knuckled grip. My advice: let him do his work. It is painful at first, but it will result in you being the person that God has created you to be.