"Fear God, Love God, Serve God": "Turn Around"

"But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that

he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do

that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he

shall not die. All his transgressions that he hath

committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him:

in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live."

(Ezekiel 18:21-22)

We were all born in sin and shapen in iniquity (Psalm 51:5), and every soul needs a Savior, needs to repent, needs to be redeemed by the blood of the Lamb; every soul must "Turn Around."

To "turn around" simply means to turn from sin and walk in a new, clean, and different direction. No person in earth is exempt from repentance, that is, if he/she wants to be saved, forgiven, and resurrected to new life in the Lord Jesus Christ. It starts with turning around and leaving the past behind; sometimes that means relationships, until we become strong enough to go back and witness to them. When we have been forgiven, and we feel free and delivered; the first thing we want to do is tell our old friends about it, because there is nothing in the world like it! The joy of coming up out of baptismal waters in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ is so wonderful! The guilt is gone; the shame is gone; the sin is gone; the heavy burden of iniquity is gone ... you feel free as a bird; the sky is clearer; the trees are greener; the air is fresher; the world is brighter ... Those things didn't change, but we did!

"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray,

and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven,

and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."
(2 Chronicles 7:14)

This is not just a personal thing; it's a National, a world, a global thing. The world must repent and fall on its knees before the One who created all things, and is coming back to judge all things. The earth must awake and realize Bible scripture is matching News headlines; prophesies in the Word of God are shockingly accurate and are coming to pass before our very eyes. What the Bible says will happen, WILL happen, and every kindred, Nation, and tongue must prepare for the Rapture, or the catching away of the Church, the Bride of Christ, and the coming of the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings, Jesus Christ. His Spirit upon all flesh is happening; 580 million people worldwide, and it's growing moment by moment, have received the Holy Ghost and spoken with tongues as the Spirit of God gives the utterance. Why is this happening? The Lord is coming!

Repentance is not a "Now I lay me down to sleep prayer," respectfully. It must be deep, sincere, and even tearful, sorrow over doing evil; it must be from an honest heart and a determined desire to "turn around" and live, walk, think, and operate our lives in a manner pleasing to the Lord and His Word. We must know, then, that when Jesus Christ forgives us, and He does when we pray this kind of prayer, that our sins are remembered no more by the Lord; those sins are cast as far as from the east to the west; it's as though they never happened. That's why we feel so clean, pure, and innocent after repentance; it's so beautiful.

He that the Son sets FREE is FREE indeed! That's the song of the delivered, and the song heaven longs to hear. And, they hear it a lot, or they should, because repentance is a daily thing; it should be a continual habit for all of us. We are not "once saved always saved." The Apostle Paul said that he feared to keep his body under subjection, lest that after having preached to others that he would become a castaway. As long as we have flesh in earth, we must live a repentant life. And, it's a holy life, because SIN is heavy, burdensome, weighty, taunting, and it robs our peace, our joy, our serenity. A HOLY God will never abide with a SIN; He comes to us initially, because He loves us with an everlasting love, but He expects us to "turn around" and walk holy, live holy, talk holy, be holy, think holy, and be the image of Him, which is HOLY.

Thank you, Lord, for forgiveness, for Your blood shed for us on the cross, for grace, and for Your love. We serve You with gladness; fill us with Your Spirit, and we will be baptized in Your name. Hear our cries, O Lord; heal us, and heal our land, we pray. Direct our way, deliver us from all evil, lead us in the paths of righteousness for Your name's sake, guide us into all truth. Please give us honest and pure hearts; we will be witnesses for You and take the gospel to everyone we meet. Make us holy, O Lord, teach us Your ways; we will obey Your Word and seek Your face. Amen.

We now know what makes us a precious bloom in Your Garden, Lord, a sweet aroma to Your nostrils, delicate and precious in Your sight ... it's those two little words ... "Turn Around."