Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news” (Mark 1:14-15).

The first response Jesus expects of his listeners is “repent.” He is rather tactless by modern standards–after all, only insensitive “fundamentalists” stand on street corners demanding that people repent! But Jesus assumes that everyone has something seriously wrong with their lives, something that needs to be repudiated.

What is an area of your life than you should turn away from? Why is it difficult to do that? Why do you suppose that such repentance is part and parcel of “good news”?

–Mark Galli
This is part of Mark Galli’s guided journal, “Discovering the Untamable God,” a 12-week journey through the Gospel of Mark. Twice a week, you’ll receive a new journaling prompt encouraging you encounter the wild, untamable Jesus of the Gospel of Mark and let his radical sayings and actions transform your life. Use these prompts in your own journal or in group discussion. If you’re joining this journal mid-way through, you can start journaling at any time, and stay subscribed at the end, when the journal will restart and you can receive the prompts that you missed.