Deuteronomy 28:20-68; Psalm 119:25-48; Isaiah 55; Matthew 3

 As the rain and the snow
   come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
   without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
   so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
 so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
   It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
   and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:10-11

Have you ever wondered if anyone listens to you when you talk with them about your faith or ask them questions to open a discussion about their beliefs?   Have you attempted to share the gospel with a friend only to find your confidence waning, or you suddenly find yourself fearful of any questions that might arise?  In the verses of Isaiah, God tells us that “the words will go out of his mouth”, through us His word is spread, he has a purpose and that it will be accomplished, therefore we should find confidence in that He has prepared our words and has blessed that time so that seeds will be planted.  We might not ever see the fruit from the seed but we can take joy in knowing that we were part of His purpose.

“In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea ² and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” Matthew 3:1-2

I look at John the Baptist and see that his obedience and faith send him out into the wilderness, preaching and warning people to repent.

People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan.  Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. Matthew 3:5-6

Just as God had promised; John the Baptist saw that God word would not return empty results. We should not concern ourselves with what others will think of us but instead concern ourselves with sharing God’s word with others so that they might have the opportunity to experience God grace and know Christ.

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?  Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. Matthew 3:7-9

Salvation is indeed a gift, but one to be shared, not to be hidden away in your closet or to sit on a shelf and admire from time to time.  It should be worn and displayed in every aspect of ones life.  In fact I pray often that my faith would ooze from me as if overflowing onto others around me…what some might call contagious faith.  There was a time that I was  guilty of thinking that I was safe from God’s wrath because I had repented, accepted Christ, taken hold of God’s grace and taken comfort in His promise, but was I producing fruit?  Did I look at certain people and think they didn’t need to hear about God? or that they wouldn’t listen because they preferred to live out their fleshly desires? or maybe they already professed a faith, but it wasn’t following Christ.

I believed the lies;  “They won’t listen” “…They will laugh at me” “…They already have a faith, not following Christ but they seem happy”…or this one; “they’re too far gone”.

God forgive me.

I have seen and read that God has used and will continue to use any to glorify His name and if I was too proud in my salvation then perhaps I would miss out on the biggest gift of all…growing God’s kingdom.

My prayer would be as written in Psalms;

Teach me, LORD, the way of your decrees,
that I may follow it to the end.
                            Give me understanding, so that I may keep your law and obey it with all my heart.

Direct me in the path of your commands,
   for there I find delight.
 Turn my heart toward your statutes
   and not toward selfish gain.
 Turn my eyes away from worthless things;
   preserve my life according to your word.
 Fulfill your promise to your servant,
   so that you may be feared.
 Take away the disgrace I dread,
   for your laws are good.
How I long for your precepts!
                            In your righteousness preserve my life.                            

May your unfailing love come to me, LORD,
   your salvation, according to your promise;
then I can answer anyone who taunts me,
   for I trust in your word.
 Never take your word of truth from my mouth,
   for I have put my hope in your laws. Psalm 119:33-43

Cindi

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Genesis 21; Matthew 20; Nehemiah 10; Acts 20

Some days before I even set my feet on the ground; I am overwhelmed with the day that lies before me.  Meetings, errands, deadlines, bills, appointments, cooking, cleaning….I pull my blanket up over my head and ask God to prepare me for my day.

Coffee in hand I really do try to read my Bible before the day begins, because I know that the words will fortify me for the day. Prepare me for the battles. Smooth the rough waters.  All that said there is one thing I have to bring to the table with me to receive my daily dose of sustenance.   Faith.  I have to faithfully believe that I can do all things through Christ, not just read it…I have to know that I can.

Paul…Now there is a person filled with the Spirit of faith.  How did his day begin?

I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me – the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.  Acts 21: 23-24

Wow…am I ever so glad that he was faithful and dedicated to finish the race.  Bet he never pulled the blanket back over his head.  Even though he knew what was before him.  Prison. Hardship. Plots to kill him. Trials.

Let’s see…where does he preach the gospel?  Um yeah.  Everywhere. Publicly. Homes….and later we will see him preaching on the way to prison and even while in prison. And he wasn’t shy about it either.  Never hesitating.  Not to a select groups but to both Jews and Gentiles.

Suddenly my list of things to do don’t look so daunting.

I can almost hear Paul talking to the Elders in the verses 13 – 37 of Acts.  Preparing them for what was to come.  What tasks lay before them?   Warning them to be on their guard.  But that was not what burdened them the most.  Their grief was from knowing that they would never see him again.  I am not only in awe of Paul’s faith, tenacity and humility…but for that respect that he gained by preaching the whole will of God.  Acts 20:27

Not making God seem fun and entertaining. Just telling the truth. Teaching and preaching about God’s sovereignty.

Paul can say with complete confidence that he had run the race without hesitation and without any thought for himself, he was focused on the finish; he knew that he had faithfully proclaimed the whole will of God everywhere he went.  He was confident that he was innocent of the blood of all men because of his urgency to preach the will of God.   He didn’t hold back.  He wasn’t worried that he would offend someone, or seem intolerant, close minded…He was only worried about getting the word to all the people.

Urgency to preach the will of God.

Where is that on my list?

Father…maybe I would not dread my days if the first and only thing on my list is to “preach your will”, then everything else would fall right into place because sharing you and your will with others should be my top priority everyday.  Here I am again surrendering my day and my list of tasks to you.  Prepare me for this day Lord.  Prepare me do your will with Paul’s humility and faith. In Jesus name. Amen

Cindi