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Day 6 Luke 3:1-18 Luke 3:1 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene, 2 Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. 3 And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins; 4 As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. 5 Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; 6 And all flesh shall see the salvation of God. 7 Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. 9 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which brings not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 10 And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then? 11 He answered and said unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise. 12 Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do? 13 And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you. 14 And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages. 15 And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not; 16 John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I comes, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire: 17 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable. 18 And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people. Today you can watch any number of televangelists on television, listen to them on the radio, or go to see them in person. One of the more famous evangelists was the late Billy Graham, who preached to millions of people around the world. John the Baptist was a messenger, whose only message concerned the coming of the Messiah. While he preached, he baptized the people. He told people how to live peacefully with their neighbors. Isaiah 40:3 The voice of him that cries in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: 5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. As Christians, you have a ministry, just as John the Baptist did. You are called to go into the highways, byways, and into the whole world teaching and preaching the good news of the kingdom of God. How do you do that? What does teaching and preaching the Word of God look like? Just as John the Baptist was commissioned from his mother’s womb to preach to the people, preparing them for the day when their Messiah would make himself known, Jesus commissioned you to go to the nations. The nations, could be the people next door, across the street, or around the world. Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and spoke unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. You don’t need an official commission to preach and teach the gospel. You need a heart for lost souls, and a willingness to do what Jesus commanded you to do. Your commission came from Jesus. Jeremiah 1:5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou came forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. Just as God gave John the Baptist his ministry before he was born, announcing it by the angel to his father, Zacharias, Jesus gave you your ministry before he left earth to go back to heaven. How are you presenting the gospel to those around you? 2 Corinthians 3:1 Do we begin again to commend ourselves? Or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you? 2 Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: 3 Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart. 4 And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward: 5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; 6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter kills, but the spirit gives life. Everything you say and do is a message to those around you. Just as John the Baptist was seen and heard by all the people in and around Jerusalem, so everything you say and do is seen and heard by those you work with, socialize with, and live with. They see the real you. Make certain the real you is what you present to everyone, and people will know you are a Christian, because your life will shout it, more than your words, and because your life will shout it, they will listen to your words and the message you have regarding the kingdom of God, and Jesus Christ your Savior and Lord. John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. 35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. (KJV) Jesus said all men would know you are his disciples by the way you love people. When you love people, you want the best for them. You give them God’s best when you tell people about the love of Jesus Christ, and what he came to do for them. If you haven’t started the ministry Jesus commissioned in you, start today. Be a living, walking, talking, emissary of the gospel of Jesus Christ, teaching everyone what Jesus did for you, and that he will do the same for them. Let’s pray: Father, help me be a living witness of your love. Give me the words to say when I encounter anyone, even those in my family who don’t know you. Let your will be done in my life. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen. Copyright © 28 August 2018 by Valerie Routhieaux Image courtesy of Pixabay