Matthew 3:1-3 AMPC
In those days there appeared John the Baptist, preaching in the Wilderness (Desert) of Judea [2] And saying, Repent (think differently; change your mind, regretting your sins and changing your conduct), for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. [3] This is he who was mentioned by the prophet Isaiah when he said, The voice of one crying in the wilderness (shouting in the desert), Prepare the road for the Lord, make His highways straight (level, direct).

To repent is to have regrets or remorse over sin or change one’s mind and purpose resulting from the knowledge of wrong.
Repentance is recognizing one’s guilt and sinfulness that calls for a change in a person’s attitude toward God that affects one’s actions and life choices, aspiring to walk with a holy God.
Repentance is essentially turning away from the wrong path. Repentance precedes forgiveness! Our good works cannot save us. God says in 1 John 1:9 that we must first acknowledge our sin by confession and then receive forgiveness.
The Lord is righteous and just but would not want to condemn any, which is why He appeals to us to turn from wickedness and return to Him according to Ezekiel 33:10-16.
“If we say we have no sin” we lie, declares 1 John 1:8-if you don’t see a need to repent, you will not repent and according to Luke 13:1-8, from Jesus’ teaching, we face judgment if we don’t repent.
Everyone has something to confess and repent of as Romans 3:23 puts it, we’ve all sinned and fallen short of God’s standard; this alone calls for repentance, for the Lord is holy and requires us to be holy according to Leviticus 20:26.
When you take the wrong path, you could turn back onto the right path, you could keep going until you find your way out or you may choose to remain static and enjoy whatever catches your attention where you are.
To repent means to turn from sin, from whatever is unrighteous, unholy and impure to a new way, to serve the Lord earnestly and righteously because we are sorry for the wrongs we’ve done and to seek to change our behaviours and attitudes.
We see Zacchaeus in Luke 19:8 repent and be willing to change the way He does things to the way approved by the Master.
Repent! The kingdom of God is at hand.
The present generation is determined not to acknowledge the existence of God as stated in Psalm 14:1, there has steadily been a moral decline in the last decade that has brought people to the point where there is little or no call for repentance, change of ways, and heart or the confession of sin because most people do not see sin as sin anymore but Paul says in Acts 17:30 that God overlooked the times of ignorance (times when people didn’t know or hear the gospel), even so, God is calling people everywhere to come to repentance. Repent!
Turn from the wicked ways!
Turn from the wrong path!
Turn from unrighteousness!
Turn to God!
Insincere repentance does not bring a lasting change. Repentance must be genuine and sincere for a change of heart.
Pharaoh, again and again, changed his heart about releasing the Israelites in Exodus 9, he changed his mind several times, stubbornly refusing to do as he had promised.
When we change our minds or ways, that is repent, the way we do things changes, we begin to express the characters of a repentant heart, as Matthew 3:8 put it, we should bear fruits in keeping with repentance.
When we repent and turn to God, we receive the Holy Ghost as seen in Acts 2:38 to stay on track.
God is always calling us back to Him in Jeremiah 3:22. Repent!
Shalom