Just as John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus, we too prepare the way for Jesus to the hearts of our friends and neighbors. Are we preaching the gospel to them so that they can follow Christ, or are we sitting back and watching. We get distracted and lured away, but Jesus showed us how to fight this. When he was in the wilderness being tempted, he quoted Scripture. A life in tune with God is how we are truly blessed. Not by our circumstances, but by being the person we were created to be. Poor, hungry, weeping, hated, excluded, reviled, spurned… but rejoicing because we are blessed. We love our enemies, we don’t have to hate them, we pity them. It is not our place to judge anyone or to judge right or wrong, God has already done that in His word, we don’t get to decide what we will or will not heed. Judgment is out of our hands. To lead someone to believe they are ok, when they’re not ok, is sin. Results reveal someone’s roots. When we see rotten fruit, opposed to God’s settled word, we are obligated to speak up. We need enough faith to know God can change hearts. Just like the Centurion, we don’t need Jesus to “show up” because He already has authority over the situation. We should trust him. When we share the gospel, and we need to be doing this, we know that the seed is good, we don’t need to change it. Our job is to find the right soil. Don’t keep the message to yourself, hide it under a bushel? NO! I’m gonna to let it shine! Be on “team Jesus.” We each have the choice to be part of His family. May we each make the right choice.
Day 7: Mark 14 – Luke 2
Our plans to counteract what God is doing never workout how we designed. The one God honors is the one who gives our all to bring glory to Jesus. When we give him our best, we will never come up short. No one is able to be perfect, and we can’t force others to do what they should. Just look at Judas. He walked with Jesus, and yet he still walked away. The young man flees, and even Peter denied Him. Jesus wants us to remember Him. His body, His life, as a sacrifice and fulfillment of the institution of the New Covenant. Jesus is a fantastic example of how we are to communicate with the Father. He pours himself out in the garden, and his disciples couldn’t even stay awake, can’t we see ourselves in that situation? Pilate can’t find any wrong in Him, but he’s not willing to stand for what is right. Doing nothing is doing something. Jesus endured ridicule, torture, and death… and He did it for you and me. He also rose three days later so we might know his sacrifice was genuine and accepted by God. We can be saved if we will only trust in Jesus, and He has a job for us to do. We are to go into all the world and preach the gospel. As many good things as we should do, they all take a back seat to this task. Preaching the gospel is our commission. It all begins with Christmas, the birth of Jesus. This was not a random event, but foretold and prepared from eternity past. God is in the miracle business. He brings life out of impossible situations, and He still does that for each of us today. May we have the faith of Mary. May we have the boldness of the shepherds who told the message. May we have the focus of Jesus to be about our Father’s business and not our own.
Day 6: Mark 8 – 13
Jesus fed the masses. He caused the lame to walk and the blind to see, but that all pales in comparison to the resurrection that not only happened, but was foretold by Him. Jesus revealed His glory to His followers, He always does in one way or another, and yet we still struggle to follow Him, don’t we? We get wrapped-up in ourselves and our own agenda, we want to be great, and yet it’s only when we come as children that we sit at the feet of our Lord. Think about how Jesus came into Jerusalem, Triumphant! And then think of just a few days later “crucify!” We’re so fickle. Jesus will return, but no-one knows the day or the hour. We should always be ready, looking for that miracle, as little children, wide-eyed and optimistic.
Day 5: Mark 1 – 7
Jesus always sends people. Even before he came he sent John the Baptist. Jesus was baptized, not so that something would happen to him, but that we might see who he is. The Holy Spirit descended upon him to show that Jesus was living as a man empowered by the Holy Spirit and not simply as a God on the earth. What Jesus does in his life is what the man 100% led by the Spirit can do. Even this Spirit-filled “super man” calls for others to join him, Jesus called the 12. They are us, trying to follow the Lord, and generally failing miserably while at the same time accomplishing amazing things. Individually the disciples fall short, but together, they brought the gospel to the whole world. Jesus heals and cleanses all who come across his path, but he is telling them who he is, he is continuing the task begun by John the Baptist of preaching the gospel, Jesus is the gospel. We all sin, and that holds us back from being like Jesus, but all of these sins can be forgiven if we only ask. The only sin that can’t be forgiven is the one we don’t ask to be forgiven from. In other words, the only sin that will keep you out of heaven is the sin of not trusting in Jesus. The light of the gospel is meant to be shown forth for all to see. You don’t have to be a “super man” in order to become a Christian. It doesn’t take an enormous effort to follow Jesus, just the smallest simplest faith, the faith of a mustard seed, as long as it is genuine. Calming the storm, healing the lame, and even raising the dead, Jesus more than proved he is the way to life. But this way to life, sometimes means passing through death, like it did for John the Baptist. Jesus is our provider able to feed thousands of people at one time, and he is our supernatural miracle worker who can walk on water, but most importantly, he is our Lord who loves us beyond what we can do for him via our traditions and commandments, he seeks a relationship with us to save us from ourselves. Trust in Jesus.
Day 4: Matthew 24 – 28
The end is near! This life will not go on forever. Any one of us only has at most 100 years or so, likely less. Jesus knows the end from the beginning, and he wants us to be ready. Nobody knows the day or the hour when their life will end, whether individually at death or with the return of the Lord in glory, but we’re all called to be ready. We need to live today in light of that day, whenever it may be. We are responsible to use our resources and abilities towards that end, and not just for our own selfish ends. Jesus will return and simply saying that Jesus is your Lord doesn’t make it true. It matters how you live. All the plotting and all the conniving of Jesus’ enemies worked perfectly into his plan to save the world. What the Devil intended for evil, ended up being the greatest good act of love the world has ever seen. Even though Jesus was betrayed and denied, he still died for his enemies. The indifference of Pilot and the distain of the crowd authorities couldn’t persuade Jesus away from his mission to save the world. He died, not as a sign of weakness but as an act of love. Three days later, the proof of his victory, the resurrection. Vindication that he is Lord. If we trust in him, we too experience the resurrection. We need not fear death for we receive eternal life.
