Mark 1: 4-11 "John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him; and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins." (vv. 4-5; NRSV).
Now in those days, baptism was a means of signifying conversion to Judaism of folks of non-Jewish ethnicity. So the radical concept of similarly baptizing one who was already Jewish as a symbol of their resolve not to continue in some wrongdoing, was a real departure from custom. There's that CHANGE idea again, trying to get me off auto-pilot and eject me out of my time-honored comfort zone! Who needs New Year's Resolutions, I'm delighting in Rev. Marlayna's question of: " what am I being called to leave behind, as we hit refresh on the calendar?"
Are you hearing me on this note, i.e. does anything come to mind or heart that you would rather not drag too far into 2021? I'm confident I've got enough of this fodder for both of us. For starters, I'm working on 'procrastination', one of the things I know should be changed. I do know that seeing several unfinished issues completed will foster having the clear conscience before God that: 1 Peter 3:21 promises. Hmmm..., having said that, I wonder if [IT] is at all related to my erratic sleeping pattern these days? A second arena is an employer relationship I have where I go back and forth on turning the other cheek and the idea that being Christian doesn't mean being a doormat. What's my part in this dynamic? Are your boundary setting parameters usually crystal clear? I fall back on the adage that s/he should know; the truth is they don't necessarily know and I'd lessen my angst about it by waiting (without anxiety) or admitting my lackadaisical limit-setting. Yet a third thing to leave back there in the grips of 2020 is my treatment of a relationship whereby I presume "they" act or speak in such and such a way due to whom they were reared by. In that case, I am so unimpressed that I easily dismiss them without giving them a chance; but we are all, God's children and deserve dignity and respect - - a lot like the grace He grants me! A bottom line (not to be confused with THE Bottom line) is that God isn't finished with me, that transformation is possible and I'd be wise not to bring the 'old' me along.
We can take, as Jesus did this sinful world as it is, not as we'd have it, trusting all will be well if we surrender to His will. Blessings, Kevin T.