20.1.25 Luke 3:7-14

20 January

Prepare

Father God, here I am, I open myself to you. Please reveal yourself to me today, grab my attention by your spirit. Amplify your word and supernaturally highlight the places you want me to find you. Take these moments, pockets of my day and help me grow in new levels of faith. 

Take a moment to be still. 

Read – Luke 3:7-14

“John said to the crowds coming out to be baptised by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’

For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

“What should we do then?” the crowd asked.

John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.” Even tax collectors came to be baptised.

“Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?”

“Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them. Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?”

He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.”” 

Reflect

John the Baptist’s very life was a miracle. He was also a locust-eating wanderer. Yet, he was the man God chose to make the way for the Son. John could have said many things to usher in Jesus’ ministry but Luke chooses to record these commands: repent, care for the poor, be honest and fair in your dealings with others.

To me this is a picture of loving your neighbour as yourself. 

N.T. Wright explained repentance as a “serious turning away from patterns of life which deface and distort our genuine humanness.”

Repentance is not just an abstract idea or a feeling. Repentance is turning from one thing to another. John points us in the right direction to turn. True repentance means we open the bad in our lives to God.

We invite him to come right in and look at our sin with us.

We don’t hide behind being good moral people or something we are not.

We tell it like it is to the only person who will love us unconditionally.

And out of the love and forgiveness we receive from God, we can love our neighbour as ourselves.  

Be 

 Jesus, I have so much to be grateful to You for. 

Take a moment to express to Jesus your gratitude.  

Become 

Jesus, there are times I get things wrong, I think of my own needs, wants and desires and I keep you at arms length or try to hide my failings.

Help me to make room for you. I choose to turn from gratifying my own loves and longings and choose to surrender.

Not my will but Yours.  

Do

Holy Spirit, show me today how I can be generous in my love and actions to those around me.

Let me be like John and prepare the way to you for someone in my world.

Practice:

End each day this coming week by practicing gratitude.

Thank God for one thing at the end of each day and tell him what that one thing meant for you.