March 18th

Luke 3

I remember a service a few years ago where we watched a clip from an old Bob Newhart series. Patients would come into his office with various problems, issues and situations and often be in a panic and he would look at them with a straight face and shout "STOP IT!"  I couldn't help but think of that as I was reading John's answers to the tax collectors, soldiers, and other self centered people when they came to be baptized. John had just finished telling them that their lineage of Abraham which they were counting on to save them wasn't the way to go. I can imagine their shock and bewilderment which was probably what led them to ask "so now what do we do?" STOP IT! answers John. Stop ripping people off, stop being selfish, share your clothes, and play nicely with the other kids on the playground. The time has come to learn how to live by true Kingdom principles which will be taught to you by The Messiah Himself.  Remember, John's role was to pave the way for The Messiah, so here we see him laying down an important foundation to the Pharisees - everything you have been taught you have misinterpreted and because of that, your deeds don't match your word. Your intentions are all wrong, so repent of your sin because The Messiah is coming. What an incredible message. As disciples living in between the resurrection and the second coming of Christ, we too are like John the Baptist. We live as servants who now carry the responsibility of engaging people in conversation so that we can point the people around us to Jesus and His gospel. For such a time as this I believe the body of Christ is being called to rise up cry out "Stop it".  When people turn to worry, we pray to God for peace. When doctors don't know what to do, we pray for wisdom. When supplies appear to be running low, we ask God for provision. I pray we recognize each conversation we have as divine appointments and learn to "lean in" and "lean out", engaging people in conversation, staying focused on God's Word, and pointing to Jesus and His gospel.

Randi