Ancestors

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.” “But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water? And besides, do you think you’re greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?””
John 4:10-12 NLT

The dialogue between the woman and Jesus continued, with the woman bringing in the importance of ancestry. But the content of the exchange is interesting – Jesus is talking about the “living water”, the Holy Spirit, and the woman still has the pool of water at the bottom of a well in her head. So superficially they might have been talking about water, but the two scenarios were totally different. The woman’s sceptical thoughts burst out into the accusation that because Jesus didn’t have the necessary accoutrements to bring the water to the surface, he therefore couldn’t access it. And anyway, she accused Him of making a claim to be greater than the man, Jacob, who found the well in the first place, many years before. 

Such misunderstandings in a conversation are common. The act of being able to articulate our thoughts to another person is a skill we acquire from childhood, but knowing the other person is an important factor in a conversation, because over time both people get to know what the other person thinks about, particularly when they talk about subjects that are familiar to them. This can be observed between a married couple who have been together for many years, for example. Amusingly to an observer, they will even finish each other’s sentences. Up to this point in the conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan woman the connection between physical water and spiritual water had not been made.

How do we pilgrims communicate the Good News about Jesus, and all that He did for mankind? At Jacob’s well, Jesus used a common commodity important to the people in that culture to start a conversation. He could have sat by the well ignoring the woman, which would have been her expectation because of the hostile relationship between Jews and Samaritans. But the poor woman had to carry water in a heavy pot daily some distance back to the village of Sychar. If there was anything that would have grabbed her attention it was the possibility that she could be relieved of that burden. 

So we pilgrims pray that God will reveal something about who we are speaking with to form a relational bridge over which the Gospel can be delivered. Something to grab their attention and open up the conversation. I find that dog walkers are always ready to talk about their pets. Someone tending a planter outside our community centre will often respond to a question or comment about the plants or shrubs. But sometimes God will reveal something supernaturally about the person – but more of that in a future blog.

Paul wrote in Colossians 4:3, “Pray for us, too, that God will give us many opportunities to speak about his mysterious plan concerning Christ. That is why I am here in chains”. Paul didn’t hold back at all, and ended up in all sorts of trouble because of his zeal to share the Gospel with whoever he met. In the UK at the moment, street preachers are being arrested for sharing the Word of God on our streets, wrongly as it turns out but there is increasing hostility to the Gospel in our secular society. It won’t be long until this becomes a crime, along with other demonstrations about the Kingdom of God. We have a window of opportunity to start a conversation with a stranger at a modern equivalent of Jacob’s well. In a coffee bar or restaurant. In a supermarket. At the petrol station. In the office or classroom. And we pray for the communication skills that will transform the ordinary into the supernatural.

Father God. We pray that through Your Spirit we will have the words we need to say at just the right time. and we pray for the people we meet, that Your Spirit will go before us, opening hearts and minds. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

He Who Comes From Above

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“He who comes from [heaven] above is above all others; he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks [about things] of the earth [his viewpoint and experience are earthly]. He who comes from heaven is above all. What He has [actually] seen and heard, of that He testifies; and yet no one accepts His testimony [as true].”
John 3:31-32 AMP

‭‭There are some potentially difficult thoughts in these verses. John the Baptist was setting out the differences between the inhabitants of Heaven and the inhabitants of earth. And, sadly, he pointed out that no one accepted what the Man from Heaven had to say about what He had seen and heard. Of course, we see the difficulty straight away because we look at these verses from a human perspective. We imagine in our minds a human being from Heaven and an earthly human, but of course this is not the case. Heaven is populated by spiritual beings and earth by natural beings. And the Man that John the Baptist was talking about had left Heaven as a Spirit and had taken on the form of a human being.

The Apostle John started his Gospel with the statement that “In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). And a few verses on we read, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Paul wrote an explanation in Romans 8:3, “The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins“. 

We pilgrims all understand that within our human bodies is a spirit, and this spirit connects with our Father in Heaven through Jesus. But this isn’t the case for everyone. Those who don’t know God still have something within them that yearns for a spiritual connection with something or someone. So they try and satisfy that yearning by exploring other avenues. There are of course the other spiritual outlets emanating from the devil – he will always try and counterfeit the things of God. Then there are drugs like alcohol that seem to offer some sort of relief from the emptiness inside, but this is only a temporary solution. Some will try sex in all its deviancies, but find a downward path to oblivion. But John the Baptist knew the answer, and he pointed out that the Man with the solution to the spiritual yearnings, the Man who came down from Heaven, the Word of God Himself, but sadly He was not believed by the people of His day.

So what can we pilgrims learn from this? We too have seen and heard amazing things in the Spirit. We have glimpsed God Himself through Jesus. We have felt His loving arms around us. We have a testimony to tell others, a testimony about our amazing Heavenly Father. But we find that as we share our testimony with those around we are mostly greeted by scorn and derision, by ridicule and rejection. But, like Jesus, we never give up. In the background God works in the hearts of those around us, and we will find receptivity from those open to the truth.

Dear Father God. You have graciously given us a glimpse of Your heart, and have given us the privilege of sharing that with those around us. Please lead and guide us to those You have chosen for Your kingdom. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

God Gives

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“John replied, “No one can receive anything unless God gives it from heaven. You yourselves know how plainly I told you, ‘I am not the Messiah. I am only here to prepare the way for him.’ It is the bridegroom who marries the bride, and the bridegroom’s friend is simply glad to stand with him and hear his vows. Therefore, I am filled with joy at his success. He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.”
John 3:27-30 NLT

John the Baptist’s statement to his disciples “No one can receive anything unless God gives it from heaven” was in the context of their concern that someone seemed to be taking away their ministry. After all, John had started  the practice of baptising people and now someone else seemed to be copying him. And from the previous verse, (John 3:26), it seemed that Jesus was being more successful, with people going directly to Him instead of John. But John’s humility prevailed and his statement applies to anyone in a ministry, or thinking about starting one, then and now. Unless God is in the plan, then it is pointless even starting it because it will fail. 

We Christians often talk about a “calling”, where someone hears a call from God, often to a difficult situation, in the role of a missionary, or nurse, or something similar. The Apostle Paul was called by God, as we read in Romans 1:1, “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God“. An example of a modern day calling would be that of Jackie Pullinger, called to work amongst drug addicts in Hong Kong. God provides a “call” in our lives, seeing within us the potential to achieve His will and purposes, to complete His plans at this stage in the history of this planet. 

What calling have we pilgrims responded to? Perhaps we think that we don’t have one. But that deficiency can soon be remedied, because we only have to ask God. Of course, we might be disappointed if we were expecting a high profile ministry. But while we wait for something tangible, we might have to realise that being a Christian involved a lifetime of training. We, over the years, become more and more sensitive to the voice of God as we spend time with Him. We read about Moses, who was 80 years old when he started to speak to Pharaoh about letting the slaves leave Egypt. “Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord commanded them. Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh” (Exodus 7:6-7). Moses spent 40 years in training looking after sheep (Acts 7:30) before he was able to carry out God’s calling.

But whatever we pilgrims do, there are two important “callings” that we must recognise. There is the Great Commission – Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). And there is the reminder from Jesus in Matthew 5:13-16, “‘You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. ‘You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven”. Wherever we are, we remind those around us about our faith. 2 Corinthians 2:15, “Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing“.

Dear Father God. We truly are a witness to You wherever we find ourselves. Please help us shine like a beacon in the community where You have place us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Rivalry

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“A debate broke out between John’s disciples and a certain Jew over ceremonial cleansing. So John’s disciples came to him and said, “Rabbi, the man you met on the other side of the Jordan River, the one you identified as the Messiah, is also baptizing people. And everybody is going to him instead of coming to us.””
John 3:25-26 NLT

People like to be a part of a group, or club, or church or … They often either form a group or join one, because there is something within them that wants to meet up with like-minded people. A typical example is football, a sport much followed by many in our societies, and rivalry between opposing fan clubs can become extreme in some cases. So a combined love of their local team will draw people together on match days, and afterwards in various pubs or clubs to celebrate a win, or otherwise. The game is picked over and the good bits and bad bits exposed, dissected and talked about. In general, people can become fiercely protective of their local club, even resorting to violence when they perceive a threat. 

There are many such examples in society today, and Christians are not any different. So within a church we have the choir meeting, or the Women’s Guild. The musicians get together on a regular basis. The mums and toddlers have their own time together. We have House Groups meeting regularly. People are social beings and need others around them, people who think the same as they do. 

But we see in today’s verses that there were some disciples of John who were disturbed because other people were doing what they thought they should be. Perhaps these disciples were thinking that they had an exclusive right to be the local baptisers, and a tribal sense of indignation emerged when they found out that there was another group doing the same thing. Worse, they discovered that this rival group, under the leadership of someone John the Baptist called the Messiah, were beating them in the numbers game. How dare they, was perhaps their thoughts.

Jesus’ disciples had the same issue as John the Baptist’s disciples, as we read in Mark 9:38-40, “John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone using your name to cast out demons, but we told him to stop because he wasn’t in our group.” “Don’t stop him!” Jesus said. “No one who performs a miracle in my name will soon be able to speak evil of me. Anyone who is not against us is for us“. Isn’t it strange how people will become fiercely protective of their own and their leader’s positions?

We pilgrims have a job to do. There is nothing wrong in joining a group or club, but we must never be distracted away from our key mission. It is easy to fill our lives with irrelevancies, which get in the way of what we should be doing. So in a church setting, committed believers can easily become overloaded with jobs to do. The 90/10 rule (where 90% of the work is done by 10% of the congregation) can be observed in many churches. John’s disciples had perhaps taken their focus off their purpose in that season of their lives, which was to baptise the repentant among them, and instead they started to count the baptisms that were taking place elsewhere.

When tempted to take on extra responsibilities, or join a club, we must hold before us the question – is this group or task going to draw me away into error or waste my time, or will it further the work and presence of the Kingdom of God. Jesus was always a good example. In John 14:31 we read what Jesus said about His mission, “but I will do what the Father requires of me, so that the world will know that I love the Father …“. Jesus could have done so much more, but He remained focused on the work His Father had asked Him to do. We must never fret about others doing a job we think we can do better – they may just be doing only what God has asked them to do. 

Dear Father God. You have specific tasks that You want us to do. Please help us to remain focused on these, and not look to what other people are doing. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

People Kept Coming

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“Then Jesus and his disciples left Jerusalem and went into the Judean countryside. Jesus spent some time with them there, baptizing people. At this time John the Baptist was baptizing at Aenon, near Salim, because there was plenty of water there; and people kept coming to him for baptism.”
John 3:22-23 NLT

Jesus was baptising. John the Baptist was baptising, and the people kept coming for baptism. If that was happening today, then we would draw the conclusion that revival had broken out. The people of that day were perhaps conscious that the constant rituals of animal sacrifices for sins did not ease their guilty consciences. They still felt the weight of their sins and felt they had to do something about it. To them the public act of baptism was a declaration that they had repented of their sins and the guilt was washed away into the waters of the Jordan river. 

If there is anything needed today it is a new wave of the Holy Spirit, bringing a new awakening and revival in our churches. I had the privilege of being in a church in the 1990’s at the same time as the revival in Toronto, and the impact of that visitation of God spilled over into my church. Those were exciting times. The congregation swelled from two hundred or so to close on a thousand. There were as many chairs put out as possible within the space available, and still people kept coming. Standing around the walls, sitting on the floor. The fire doors were opened and groups gathered around outside. The 6pm service kept going until 1 or 2am the next morning, but the passage of time didn’t seem to matter. But most importantly, God visited His people. The Holy Spirit did some amazing things with miracles of healing and transformed lives. But as I look around our world today, conditions are ripe for another move of God. We keep praying.

We pilgrims are central to God’s purposes here on earth. We are the salt and light that allows God to touch the lives of the otherwise untouchable. We pray and do practical things for our friends, families and neighbours. We pray for them and perhaps even dare to see a revival again. 

O Lord. We pray, “may Your Kingdom come, may Your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven”. Make it happen, Lord, we pray. Amen. 

Judgement

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.”
John 3:18-21 NLT

Jesus said to Nicodemus in John 3:17 that He didn’t come to judge the world but to save it. He then continued this theme, by saying that if anyone believes in Him then they are not subject to judgement, which, He said, was reserved for those “not believing in God’s one and only Son”. 

In our natural world, if anyone commits a crime, then judgement will follow only if the person is caught and brought before a court of law. So a speeding motorist will escape justice if he isn’t apprehended by a police officer, or clocked by a speed camera. But in God’s Kingdom, no-one escapes justice because God sees all. In fact, more than this, He sees what is in every person’s heart, their every thought. So God knows whether or not someone believes in Him and His Son Jesus. And if they don’t then judgement is inevitable and unstoppable.

Again, in our natural world, someone brought before a judge for a misdemeanour can try and claim mitigating circumstances so that perhaps they can get a lighter sentence. So perhaps they could try and claim that their speeding was as a result of a medical emergency or perhaps a shoplifter said that they had no money and had to feed their children. And in many circumstances, such pleas might be valid and result in a more lenient or compassionate response from the judge. But in God’s Kingdom, not believing in His Son Jesus is a far more serious situation. There will be no mitigating circumstances. There is only one verdict and only one sentence possible. Of course, there are many who justify their rebellion against God by claiming that a loving and compassionate God would never send anyone to hell. That God is loving and compassionate is a correct conclusion, but He can do nothing to save someone who has rejected Him and His Son. As John wrote, “anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son”.

Thankfully, not believing in Jesus need not be terminal – as long as the person concerned realises their mistake and turns to God while they still have time. So the thief on the cross next to Jesus turned to Him in repentance just in time, and Jesus was able to assure him that he would soon be with His Lord in paradise. After a lifetime spent in criminality, that thief suddenly came to realise the enormity of his future without God and turned to Jesus while he had time.

The message for us pilgrims is that we must never give up praying for our loved ones, for our friends and neighbours. We must continually encourage them at every opportunity to do as we read in Isaiah 55:6-7, “Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near. Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong. Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously.“‭‭ We live in a season of grace that mustn’t be ignored.

Dear God. That You for Your grace and mercy. We worship You today. Amen.

The Fig Tree

Posted on by Adrian Clark

““How do you know about me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus replied, “I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you.” Then Nathanael exclaimed, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God—the King of Israel!” Jesus asked him, “Do you believe this just because I told you I had seen you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.” Then he said, “I tell you the truth, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God going up and down on the Son of Man, the one who is the stairway between heaven and earth.”“
John 1:48-51 NLT

In the Bible there are many occasions when fig trees are mentioned. We read in Genesis 3:7, ”At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves”. The only tree mentioned in the Garden was of the fig variety. The Promised Land contained riches including fig trees. Deuteronomy 8:8, “It is a land of wheat and barley; of grapevines, fig trees, and pomegranates; of olive oil and honey”. So, the fig tree came to be associated with God’s blessing and security for the Jewish people. But the fig tree also became associated with it being a symbol of Israel itself and its peace and prosperity. 1 Kings 4:25, “And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, each man under his vine and his fig tree, from Dan as far as Beersheba, all the days of Solomon”. 

Perhaps there was something symbolic in the association of Nathanael and the fig tree under which he was taking cover from the heat of the sun. Jesus used it as a reference point in a subsequent conversation, and from that Nathanael drew the conclusion that Jesus was the Messiah they had been waiting for. 

So we pilgrims can draw several conclusions from this. Firstly, Jesus sees us wherever we are. It may be in a mundane place like standing under a tree, or at an office desk, or in a church pew. Jesus will see what is within us, as he saw the character of Nathanael. But we have to ask ourselves the question – does Jesus see someone who is a person of integrity, of potential, who will be of use to His Kingdom mission? Secondly, Nathanael was taking cover under a fig tree, a symbol of national identity. But here in the UK at least, the national identity is a secular mish-mash of chaotic confusion, where even morality and our Christian roots are being challenged and disregarded. So another question – what identity are we displaying to those around us? Too many church denominations are adopting the secular ways, committing themselves to even more uncertainty and turmoil when they should be Kingdom fig trees in their witness. Thirdly, Nathanael’s response to Jesus was one of recognition about who He was. Our response to Jesus’ call is crucial to our future with Him. Have we heard that call, and responded in praise and worship with a “Yes Lord”?

Dear Lord Jesus. We worship You today, the Messiah, the Saviour of the world. Amen.

Disciples (2)

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“As Jesus walked by, John looked at him and declared, “Look! There is the Lamb of God!” When John’s two disciples heard this, they followed Jesus.”
John 1:36-37 NLT

‭‭I wonder if John’s two disciples knew what they were getting into when they decided to follow Jesus. Before them was three years with the Master, the “Lamb of God“, Himself, followed by a demanding but mostly rewarding life punctuated by times of extreme danger, personal discomfort, beatings and, finally, a violent and painful death. That time spent with Jesus was life changing for those two disciples but they never turned their backs on the “Lamb of God”. 

But for anyone today there is this dichotomy of choice – we either follow Jesus or we follow the devil, the latter being the default position. If we don’t want to spend eternity with God in Heaven, then we have no need to do anything. No need of going to church, or reading the Bible, or praying to our wonderful Creator. But the choice to follow Jesus will inevitably set us apart from the majority of people in the world, and at times we will feel as though we are swimming against a tide. Here in the West, we will not suffer beatings and a violent death – not yet anyway – but we may experience ridicule and be ostracised, excluded by those who have chosen the common path.

But it is a privilege to be able to follow the Lord. Choosing to be a follower of Jesus means setting ourselves apart from the world. We aspire to grow in our faith, aspiring to be more like Jesus, seeking to please Him at every opportunity. Though we diligently sit in the pews, listening to, and taking part in, the services, what really matters is putting into practice what we are hearing. James 1:22, “But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves“. And as a follower of Jesus, we strive to share the Gospel with those around us, making disciples of the Master wherever and whenever we have the opportunity. Being a Christian means a life of joy, as we share in the wonders of the Kingdom of God.

Dear Lord Jesus. As the old hymn says, “I have decided to follow Jesus”. We sing it together today. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Jesus is God

Posted on by Adrian Clark

”No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.”
John 1:18 NLT

I have never seen a famous historical person such as Shakespeare or John Wesley, because they were dead before I was born. But I know about them from their writings and biographies, and have seen artist’s impressions through paintings and drawings. But God is different. Even though He has always existed, no-one has ever seen Him, for one simple reason – He is Spirit. Human beings are natural and physical. There are occasions in the Old Testament when the greats of old such as Moses, Elijah and others apparently came close to seeing God, but not in any coherent and tangible way. But back to, for example, John Wesley. Although I have never seen him in the flesh, I can find out many details about him. His life has been picked apart by others who knew him to the extent that I can almost imagine that I have met him in person. 

When Jesus came, He revealed God to us. In the same way a son can tell us much about his father, through his memories, his mannerisms, his looks, Jesus told us much about His Father. We read in John 14:8-10, ”Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me“”. In his Colossians letter, Paul wrote, “For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body” (Colossians 2:9). 

So we pilgrims, by following Christ, follow God, and in Him we will find a complete diet for our souls. In our natural world, there is much fretting and fussing over the food we eat, or don’t eat, or can’t eat. I know someone who is almost paranoid about the perceived harm done to their body by ultra processed foods. There are many diet sheets loudly proclaimed by their adherents. But there is only one diet for our spiritual lives and that can only be found in the Bible. Nothing ultra processed there! In this Book we will find out all that we need to know about our Trinitarian God. Fellow pilgrims – are we reading it? As often as we can? Through it God feeds our spirits. 

Two thousand years ago a baby was born, of peasant parents in humble surroundings, but that Child started a life dedicated to His Father that ended on a Roman Cross in the greatest sacrifice, and consequent moment in history, that this world has ever seen. Many, if not most, have discounted it as being irrelevant to them and their lives. But we need to proclaim this wonderful Son to all regardless. At every opportunity. How else will people know the wonderful God, the Creator of this Universe?

Dear Father God. Thank You for Jesus and all You have done for us. Amen.

John Testified

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“John testified about him when he shouted to the crowds, “This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘Someone is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’”“
John 1:15 NLT

John knew who Jesus was, that day on the banks of the River Jordan. And it wasn’t just his knowledge that Jesus was his cousin. It was the reality that God had sent His Son to this world, and John recognised Him as its Creator. He exists eternally, and for a brief few years He walked amongst His people embodying “grace and truth”, discarding eternity for time, a throne for humanity. John testified about “Him“, Jesus the Son of God, the Messiah they had all been waiting for. Did anyone else at that time know who Jesus really was? Or was it only John? There was certainly much in the way of expectation, going back hundreds of years, but no Messiah had emerged onto the Israel landscape. Had there been false messiahs and false prophets in the years before Jesus? He Himself warned about such a phenomenon, as we read in Matthew 24:24, “For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones“. Whatever the people were expecting, however, a baby in a manger would not have even occurred to them. And a man like themselves would have been difficult for them to accept, as Jesus found out when He was teaching in the Nazareth synagogue. “When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures. … Everyone spoke well of him and was amazed by the gracious words that came from his lips. “How can this be?” they asked. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”” (Luke 4:16,22). But Jesus knew how difficult it would be for the people to accept Him as Messiah. Jesus said to them, “But I tell you the truth, no prophet is accepted in his own hometown” (Luke 4:24). If Jesus had burst into the Middle East, leading a huge army, then they would have accepted Him as their Messiah, but an itinerant preacher and teacher who could do a few miracles would not have been on their radar.

“John testified about him”, we read. But how did John know that Jesus was the Son of God, the Messiah? Later on John had doubts, because after he had been imprisoned by Herod, he sent his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?” (Matthew 11:3). But on the banks of the Jordan, John had no doubts. The Holy Spirit within him left no room for any other possibility. The crowds there heard his message, his testimony about Jesus. 

In the world around us, in our communities and societies, there are many who could possibly relate to John and his message. In those days, people went to the Jordan, perhaps encouraged by their friends, who told them about this wild prophetic character with his Messianic message. Today, in the frantic information glut that surrounds us, the message of a Messiah quickly gets drowned out. But we pilgrims have a message about the Son of God and what He has done for us. There was that time when we were re-born into God’s family. And since then there have been occasions where the Holy Spirit has helped us sort out the life problems that we call sin. Like John we have a testimony. We experienced a life-changing event that put us on the road to eternal life with God Himself. The world around us is desperate for good news. We have it, and lots of it. We pray for opportunities when we can share what God has done for us. We won’t necessarily find crowds like John. But we will find opportunities to tell our stories of a Messiah, Jesus Himself. And what a wonderful story it is!

Dear Lord Jesus. As we follow You, day by day, please lead us to those who are waiting for Your message of Good News. In Jesus’ name. Amen.