Daily Bread 2010 - Luke 3
Daily Bread 2010 – Luke 3
7John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 9The axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire."
John was obviously not that concerned with the public opinion polls. I guess what he might have been trying to do was to wake the people up from their spiritual stupor of going through the motions of religious activity. He was challenging them on the thought that because they had a certain “lineage” ie. they were children of Abraham, that they were right with God.
But John challenged them that it was not about where they came from, but that they repented of their self-reliance and self-centeredness. Later when they asked what this meant, John clarified it by saying things like, “the man who has tunics/coats, should share one.” Or, “The tax collectors should stop overcharging and not cheat people out of their hard earned money.”
The people were so convicted of their sins that they thought John was the Messiah, But John clarified by saying he was not worthy to untie the Messiah’s (Jesus) shoes and that he baptized with water but He would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. In this way John prepared the way for Jesus.
As preachers today, we try to prepare the way for Jesus, but often we try to make Jesus sound nice and don’t challenge people to make the way ready through repentance. We don’t often challenge people enough to the change of life that accompanies preparing for Jesus. Of course Jesus is the only one that can transform our hearts, but part of preparing for Jesus to come into our hearts is to have a change of mind allowing Him to run our lives, not us. As Jesus’ presence in the power of the Holy Spirit comes into our hearts and lives, we begin to think and act differently. Ie. We don’t cheat or we give to those truly in need.
Prayer: Jesus as we prepare for the upcoming Easter and Your resurrection prepare our hearts by leading us to repent of self-centered ways. Help us to produce the fruit of repentance in ways that are unique to each of our situations. Remind us that it is not our lineage or church background that prepares us, but a change of heart, mind and action. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
7John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 9The axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire."
John was obviously not that concerned with the public opinion polls. I guess what he might have been trying to do was to wake the people up from their spiritual stupor of going through the motions of religious activity. He was challenging them on the thought that because they had a certain “lineage” ie. they were children of Abraham, that they were right with God.
But John challenged them that it was not about where they came from, but that they repented of their self-reliance and self-centeredness. Later when they asked what this meant, John clarified it by saying things like, “the man who has tunics/coats, should share one.” Or, “The tax collectors should stop overcharging and not cheat people out of their hard earned money.”
The people were so convicted of their sins that they thought John was the Messiah, But John clarified by saying he was not worthy to untie the Messiah’s (Jesus) shoes and that he baptized with water but He would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. In this way John prepared the way for Jesus.
As preachers today, we try to prepare the way for Jesus, but often we try to make Jesus sound nice and don’t challenge people to make the way ready through repentance. We don’t often challenge people enough to the change of life that accompanies preparing for Jesus. Of course Jesus is the only one that can transform our hearts, but part of preparing for Jesus to come into our hearts is to have a change of mind allowing Him to run our lives, not us. As Jesus’ presence in the power of the Holy Spirit comes into our hearts and lives, we begin to think and act differently. Ie. We don’t cheat or we give to those truly in need.
Prayer: Jesus as we prepare for the upcoming Easter and Your resurrection prepare our hearts by leading us to repent of self-centered ways. Help us to produce the fruit of repentance in ways that are unique to each of our situations. Remind us that it is not our lineage or church background that prepares us, but a change of heart, mind and action. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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