Month: October 2023

Posted on

The Witnesses

John 1:15-51, Matt 4, Luke 4-5 John the Baptist has been called by God to be the voice of the Messiah who is now in their midst. He answered their questions: I am not the Christ, I am not Elijah, I am not the prophesied Prophet, BUT I am the voice in the wilderness. I am preparing the way of the Lord by baptizing you to meet the Lamb of God. He is now in your midst, but you do not recognize Him, and I am unworthy to untie his sandal straps.

How do I know it is He? John replies, “I was witness to the Spirit descending upon him from heaven and it rested upon him. “ That was the sign that God gave me. This is he of whom the prophets spoke.

How often do we face questions about the Messiah? We can echo John and tell the world that He is the one of whom God prophesied and one who has the Spirit of God upon Him.

But what about us? We have not witnessed John, nor have we been baptized by him. We have, however, met the Messiah somewhere along our life’s path, and we have been the recipients of the Spirit of God upon us. Have you met Him?

Posted on

The Way, The Truth, & The Life

Mark 1; Luke 3; Matthew 3 Fast Forward

Once John the Baptist opened the hearts of men, people revealed the depths of their longing for the Messiah and His power. God does not disappoint, and Jesus comes onto the scene, proving he is the long-awaited Messiah. John was the voice; Jesus, the messenger prophesied long ago by Isaiah and Malachi. But, before Jesus could begin his ministry, he came to be baptized as a picture of what believing men/women are to do once they accept God’s eternal plan for their lives.

Jesus then began choosing and forming his disciples that would one day turn the world upside down with the message that the kingdom is not only to be looked forward to, but it is here presently. John prepared the way, and Jesus demonstrated His compassionate heart to the hurting.

Are you still an onlooker wondering what this is all about, or are you a seeker of the Messiah? God has prepared the way, Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Come unto Me, he said, will you do that today? 

Posted on

Enter the Wilderness…

Luke 3 Are you in the wilderness? What is it like? It is a quiet place apart from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. It may be a place for wild animals to hunt and be hunted. But it is also a place where God comes to speak to our hearts as He did with Hagar. It was there that God gave her the assurance that He had heard and He would provide. It was there that she met God and called Him: “The God who sees me.” Centuries later, the gospel writer Luke speaks of another person, a child born to the unbelieving muted Zacharias and his wife Elizabeth, and they would call him John. At his birth, Zacharias’ tongue was loosed, and he prophesied about him “you will go on before the Lord to prepare his way,” thus fulfilling the words of Isaiah the prophet: [Is 40:3]

Years later, it was in the wilderness that the word of God came to John so that he would fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah to be the voice in the wilderness to prepare the way for Jesus. [Is 40:3-5, Mal 3:1, John 1:23]

Do you want the Lord to speak to you? Could it be that God is using your wilderness to speak to your heart? Although the wilderness is a stark place, it is there that God speaks, and the distractions of life are pushed to the background. It is there that He will reveal His plans just as He did to Hagar and John. Are you ready to step into his wilderness?  

Posted on

Decisions, Decisions

Matthew 1 How would you respond if you had heard the news of your fiancee’s pregnancy and you knew it was not from you? Joseph was obviously very distressed as he was a man of integrity. Matthew records these words about him: “a righteous man,..he did not want to disgrace her,” He took these words to heart but did not act unrighteously as that would be against his character. We can learn much from Joseph, just as his namesake in the book of Genesis. Both men reveal that time spent pondering leads to righteous decision-making, and Joseph did just that. Matthew records that he contemplated what to do so as not to disgrace Mary. Do we model our thinking and actions after Joseph? Do we take time to stop and consider the other person, or do we hastily decide? Joseph did the right thing. It was during his time of contemplation that God spoke to him about how to respond righteously and the understanding he should take. It was after that, and only after that, Joseph took Mary as his betrothed to be his wife.

I cannot imagine being in the position of either Mary or Joseph. God’s ways are not our ways, so says Isaiah. [Is 55:8-9] Take time today to consider and to contemplate your decisions.

Optimized by Optimole