Or, was it only John the Baptist? “From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” – Matthew 4:17. Do you believe that it is possible to have eternal life without repentance? “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” – Acts 2:38. What about now? “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent.” – Acts 17:30. Do I have your attention?

I have a dear brother who has just begun a website where he has given us a profound understanding of what repentance truly means. Go read his homepage and what the Lord revealed to him, come back here, and then we can continue. Hopefully, you are now reading the difference between the world’s view of repentance and the Lord’s view of repentance.

When considering repentance, we literally feel guilt, change our mind, line up with the will of God, and only after we have a full understanding of what we did. It is only after we accept these Biblical facts, fully believe and commit to them, that we have access to the gift of the Holy Spirit. Just as Abraham, our belief is accounted unto us as righteousness. And he and I both can attest to having the gift of the Holy Spirit. Would you like to read and understand the Bible when opening the covers? Do you want to dig daily for treasure, or find green pasture upon entry?

The digging nuance I can liken as such. A certain man grew in age and wisdom, always considering spending time with the Word. As his understanding grew, and his knowledge increased, he finally regained his sight. In doing so, he let go of everything else in this world, and spent all of his time with the Lord. The flowers now readily bloom. The fruit is easily plucked. “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”

Consider the Prodigal Son. “And he said, A certain man had two sons: And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.”

What if you were to find out, at even in an instant, that the parable of the prodigal son wasn’t a parable, but the truth? Would you want to know even a portion of what this parable means? Where did the prodigal son come from? Where did he go? What was the portion of goods that he took? How did he come to himself? In the natural world, we can easily conclude the answers with our own thoughts and misconceptions. It is a parable remember? Yet, it isn’t. Have I now sparked your interest?

The Lord in His infinite wisdom and mercy is patient. He wants all of us to come to the knowledge of understanding. He wants all of us to desire Him more than we desire what is in this world. He wants all of us to bear fruit. Yet, He cautions us throughout the Gospels about the unripe grapes, and the fig tree, bearing no figs. If your desire is to know the Lord as I do, even as others, if your desire is to find that which was lost, if your desire is to find the straight and narrow path, and find the answers to the parable of the prodigal son, then read the last post, The Gospel Of Repentance. Simply click on the link.

Within the pages of Lift Up A Banner is fundamentally all that we need to know to be converted, or to be born again. But, you need to seek it out for yourselves. The Bible is presented in a way that only the Lord could instruct me, and it isn’t me trying to convince you. It is only His Word, His ways, His life. “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” There are so many people out there committing themselves to teaching the Bible instead of just showing it. It’s that simple. Jesus just said it, “the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” I simply show the Bible, scripture with scripture, spiritual with spiritual. And interject things for you to consider while you are reading what’s on the pages and hearing what is being spoken within the videos. Some videos have a little additional information. Although, better to not see the depths of Satan, so to speak. I have been through the religions. I went through the LDS Church. I understand the Freemasons and their depths. I fully see the evil that is within this world. I have shut my eyes to it all.

I don’t need to convince you of anything. You will either believe what it says, or you won’t. The desire of my heart is that you do believe it. That is all that it takes. That is faith; belief, and turning from self. If Abraham was willing to sacrifice his only son to the very point of the altar, are we willing to do the same? Are we willing to listen to that still small voice inside of us, whispering, telling us, “this is the way.” Are we willing to let go and trust God, more than trusting our egos? Will we leave pride at the curb? Will we humble ourselves before the Lord and allow His Spirit to teach us? Read the free eBooks. Click on the Bible Study here, or on the homepage. Read all of the lessons through the “recent posts” tab. Watch all of the videos. There are even more on the YT Channel.

I will be the very first to tell you, I am no one. I will never claim to be anything. I know what we did. I am as a piece of grass. And I would say, more like a speck of dust. I know the pain that I caused the Lord. I’ve felt what it was like to pierce His side. I wept while seeing stones being thrown. I sobbed when considering our transgressions and iniquities. I grieved the crucifixion. May all that I know, may all that I have been blessed to understand, and may all that the Lord has shown me, be a blessing unto you, at these final moments, here at the in between. One final thing to consider. Since the Lord is the Beginning and the End, how does one expect to gain access to either, without changing who we are… Repentance.

Jonathan Heller – Lift Up A Banner