Luke 3:3-6
3 And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, 4 as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying:
"The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
'Prepare the way of the LORD,
Make His paths straight.
5 Every valley shall be filled
And every mountain and hill brought low;
The crooked places shall be made straight
And the rough ways smooth;
6 And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.' "
NKJV
Luke 3:3-6
And he went into all the country round about the Jordan preaching a baptism of repentance (of hearty amending of their ways, with abhorrence of past wrongdoing) unto the forgiveness of sin. 4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, the voice of one crying in the wilderness [shouting in the desert]; Prepare the way of the Lord, make His beaten paths straight. 5 Every valley and ravine shall be filled up, and every mountain and hill shall be leveled; and the crooked places shall be made straight, and the rough roads shall be made smooth; 6 And all mankind shall see (behold and understand and at last acknowledge) the salvation of God (the deliverance from eternal death decreed by God). [Isaiah 40:3-5] Amplified
Some of the saddest stories have come over the news in the past two weeks. Surely people have lost their lives in homes sliding down hillsides and vehicles overtaken by water. When there is a barrier like across a roadway, it is there for a "reason" and it is not the one that says" hey, let's try out that road, it is UNDER WATER right now!"
I know not what some people's thinking is at the time or if they have the concept that the brain is in the continual"ON Mode" position, but some of their thinking gave them ideas that they could drive through deep, deep and fast moving water that is filled with debris like broken bridges, downed fir trees or even other vehicles floating down river.
And I wonder in each case if they were saved! I wonder if they went to heaven or did they have time for Jesus at all!
And at this writing I think of all the young adults who strap bombs onto their being and blow themselves up to kill other people. What kind of hate that must reside in their hearts that they could blow others up so that "they" the bomb person can have some how many maidens waiting for them in paradise to give them pleasure???? What a lie! I thought of the young couple who killed what was it "nine" individuals and then end up dying in a shoot out and left behind a small infant. Terrible! I wonder how many demons were waiting their arrival in hell? Who told them to do that? We must know truth and that comes from pouring over the Gospels that Jesus taught to others who followed Him. He always gave glory to God His Father!
In going on in Luke 3 we find this when John the Baptist spoke:
7 So he said to the crowds who came out to be baptized by him, You offspring of vipers! Who secretly warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Bear fruits that are deserving and consistent with [your] repentance [that is conduct worthy of a heart changed, a heart abhorring sin]. And do not begin to say to yourselves, we have Abraham as our father, for I tell you that God is able from these stones to raise up descendants for Abraham. 9 Even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees, so that every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and cast into the fire.Amplified
And finishing on from verses 10-18........was about love. It was to share your tunics. If you have two, share with him who has none. And he who has food, do the same..........share (verse 11)
AND SO ....WITH MANY OTHER [VARIOUS] APPEALS AND ADMONITIONS HE PREACHED THE GOOD NEWS (THE GOSPEL) TO THE PEOPLE. (verse 18)
There is so much today on the news.......and of that which is suppose to be a faith, but not sure of what it is in..........as they dismember people and seek to destroy others with horrific acts. But my Jesus came to give life. Any other is of the devil.........for he (the devil ) came to steal, kill and destroy.
John 10:10
The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they might have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).
Jesus came to give us a life that is full of life and overflowing with life.
He came to give life everlasting.
John 6:46-51
46 No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. 47 I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. 50 But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."
NIV
For what do I worship?
I worship Jesus who was born of the virgin Mary!
Luke 1:26-29
26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. 28 And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!"
NKJV
I give thanks to the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth!
Genesis 1:1-5
1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 3 Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.
NKJV
I believe Jesus is coming again soon!
1 Thessalonians 4:14-18
14 We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15 According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage each other with these words.
NIV
All flesh are to see Jesus in us. Not under or in any other name. The testimony of Jesus points us to the realities that life today is to be in Him and through Him. Jesus did not come to badger, bully, to kill, to profane another, but to give life and give light to a dying world. Life has come through the miraculous virgin birth of Jesus. Not touched by man, no DNA of man but of only God. In Jesus we saw Him declare and demonstrate works of God for all to see.
He always directed His disciples back to the truth that He only did what He saw His Father doing. And He only spoke what He, Jesus, heard His Father speak.
Yes, it was this total agreement based entirely on what God told Him. Jesus obeyed!
As John the Baptist went about in the "wilderness" to declare the coming of Jesus, we too must proclaim His coming again. Our testimony is to remind others of what "love" looks like to a dying world. It is sharing what we have: not only in love, but in food and in clothing. It is our declarations that testify and yes, give demonstration to truth that God is love and He sees after our needs.
John the Baptist told those who (Luke 3:14) served as soldiers to "never demand or enforce by terrifying people or by accusing wrongfully and always be satisfied with your rations (supplies)and with your allowances (wages). I believe there is scripture that sums all this up:
1 Timothy 2:1-7
1 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men. 2 for kings and who who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. 3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus. 6 who gave Himself as a ransom for all, to be testified in due time 7 for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle-----I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying----a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. NKJV
There is One Mediator and His name is Jesus!( it is not Theudas, Judas, mohammed or ???).........Jesus is our God and our King) He is the Son of God! Matthew 3:16-17.....
16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." NKJV
We all are to have knowledge of truth. In study of the Gospels and all that Jesus taught on, those parables should be our mainstay diet. When they are our delight and our counselors, we will be those fulfilling God's plan for us.........and that is one-to-one-to-one.
In the previous blog: Water to Wine: Holding Him in our Hearts, we saw how Mary watched her Son grow and become that for which He was destined for and to accomplish. She knew the things which were spoken about her Son by those who had the prophetic voice. She saw within her home how He acted and behaved when no one was watching. In what we hold here in this teaching, we see the disciples "recognize" and continue to follow.
Luke 24:28-35
28 Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther. 29 But they constrained Him, saying, "Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent." And He went in to stay with them. 30 Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight. 32 And they said to one another, "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?" 33 So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, 34 saying, "The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!" 35 And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread.
NKJV
The Lord has indeed risen. And He is still standing true to the "breaking of the bread". He is still opening the Scriptures to us, to those who seek His face and revere His name!
Those who "really know" Jesus will act like Him. From the above Jesus was still speaking and acting on Himself being talked of in the scriptures. And when He had taken the bread and broke it........their eyes were open. They "recognized" their Rabbi, their Savior, the Holy One of God!
If we find something seems wrong on the news, take it to prayer. Take the "thing" to God and ask Him. Take it to church or whatever body of believer's you have fellowship with. And then bring it here...........write in the comment section. We, together here will help you pray about what you comment on. We are the powerhouse for Jesus.............for we have His Holy Spirit. The same Holy Spirit Who raised Jesus from the dead resides in us. Let us join forces........and stop the bullying through prayer and by extending love to our neighbors by feeding them and giving them something to keep warm. Our greatest days of seeing His power released on earth is right before us. Recognize Him, act on what He speaks........and......................keep looking up for our redemption draws near! (Luke 21:28)...............Our Redeemer has paid it in full and He is standing by to bring us in to that for which we believe to know as truth.
Keep walking, keep proclaiming and let us pray....individually and together in corporate prayer that.......peace be in earth as it is in heaven.
Our Father, which art in heaven,
Hallowed be Your Name.
Your kingdom come, Your will be done in earth (in me)
As it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not
into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom,
the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
You can also visit my Youtube channel The Voice of Prayer for more teaching at http://bit.ly/1tNyBhV
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