Mark 1: 1-5 In the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, As it is written in the Prophets.
“Behold, I send My messenger before Your face. Who will prepare Your way before You.” The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord, Make His paths straight’.”
John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.”
I want to share today a little something that has been on my heart. I’d like to write about John the Baptist and how the five verses above fit into our lives today.
First, John the Baptist was not a mistake. He was born with purpose. He was born to proclaim the truth. The wilderness he baptized in and preached in was a place of loneliness. There weren’t many hanging out with him. It wasn’t the popular place. It wasn’t the comfortable place.
He was regarded as a freak, as an anomaly. He did not fear man, for he would not have preached repentance. He knew his job and he didn’t let circumstances, lack of money, lack of talent or any other excuse keep him from accomplishing his purpose.
He knew his place. He was in the limelight but a short while and didn’t let the attention go to his head. He never thought of himself more than he ought. His sole purpose was to glorify the Son.
He did not have to chase people down; they went out to him. They knew him and they heard his message.
What do we have in common with John the Baptist?
Well, we are supposed to be preparing the way for the second coming of Christ. The question is, are we?
Each one of us has purpose. We are all supposed to be proclaiming the truth. If we choose to accept our mission, it will be a lonely place, for it is not popular to preach repentance. We will have those that tolerate us, those who disassociate and those who out and out attack us for taking a stand for Christ.
We will be freaks, anomalies. If we choose to fear God instead of man, we will preach the forgiveness of sins, which leads to salvation. Love will have its part in our messages, but it will not be the entire message. We will not know the definition of, nor care about, being politically correct. If we choose to accept our mission, we will do so through every circumstance the enemy is allowed to throw our way. We will face forward, not looking to the left or the right. We especially will not look behind. We will put one foot in front of the other, walking in the direction of our purpose and not let anything sway us or distract us.
We will know our place. We are here to bring Glory to the Father. Period. We only have worth through the blood of Jesus Christ.
The Holy Spirit will direct those with ears to hear to stand in the path of our message.
So, I’ll ask the question again. What do we have in common with John the Baptist?
Everything. Or nothing. It’s up to you.
In this New Year of new beginnings, will you accept the challenge? Will you go out and prepare the way of the Lord?
