For those who sincerely want to live up to their family name, or their job title, or their value in society, they may tend to stop and analyze what they might do to portray the best possible image in the eyes of their circle of family, friends and acquaintances. When our hearts are easily accessible to God, we may hear a sermon on certain Scripture that may challenge us to ask God for direction in what might need attention in our lives. Let’s open our hearts to God today as we allow His Word to be applied to us.
DATE POSTED Wednesday, 2022-10-26
WRITTEN AT: Leesburg, FL
BY: Ed Algreen
SCRIPTURE FROM: Luke 3:10-14
TRANSLATION: Contemporary English Version (CEV)
BIBLE TEXT: 10 The crowds asked John, “What should we do?” 11 John told them, “If you have two coats, give one to someone who doesn’t have any. If you have food, share it with someone else.” 12 When tax collectors came to be baptized, they asked John, “Teacher, what should we do?” 13 John told them, “Don’t make people pay more than they owe.” 14 Some soldiers asked him, “And what about us? What do we have to do?” John told them, “Don’t force people to pay money to make you leave them alone. Be satisfied with your pay.”
APPLICATION: Sometimes it’s the small insignificant things that catches our attention and causes us to look inward and try to see what God and/or others are seeing in us. However, I believe that the Holy Spirit is at work in us to cause us to think this way, because naturally we tend to think that we are on top of the world and hoping that everyone else will watch us to see how life is really done well! The individuals that the apostle John dealt with in the questions bolded, had come to hear what this strange fellow from the wilderness had to say. John was not complimentary at all, for he called them a bunch of venomous snakes. So, the people didn’t flock to hear this man preach and expecting to be lifted up or have their ears tickled. But still, the Holy Spirit dealt with them in such a way that it seems they all wanted to make major changes in their lives. In my working career, whenever I was rated less than the highest score on an area of my work, I always asked my supervisor to give me direction on improving my score. It seems like the Holy Spirit may have caused such a desire in the hearts of John’s hearers, for many asked how they might best portray the God that they accepted, with the power of the Holy Spirit who lives inside of them. Friends, it is a known fact that we much prefer praise than correction. But it is also a known fact that only God is perfect, no matter how hard we try personally. So for us to attain perfection, we must look to the One who is perfect. Let’s try to do like those hearers of John and ask God “What must we do”, or “What change must we make”, or “please show us what to do that will make us more like You, Lord”. I believe that the demands that God made through His servant John are still applicable to us today, for we tend to often drift into the world’s way of assimilating more than we could ever make use of personally, while still turning a blind eye to the needs of others. We tend to always want more and more profit on items or services we sell, thinking that it’s no one else’s business but ours. And although we may never blackmail people, we want their allegiance to us and/or our business and will incentivize to gain that allegiance. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, John gave great advice to his hearers, and I believe his advice is still on target for us today, dear readers and listeners.
BLESSING(S) NOTED: From a life that is uncontrolled or guided by any good principle, to a life guided by the only Perfect One, there is change that will occur. Praise God, He is all powerful and all wise – willing to teach us and show us the path that we must follow in our efforts to be like Him!
PRAYER: Lord, please teach us Your ways so that we may best represent You here on earth, in every phase of our lives, for people still need the Lord. May our light so shine that our Father in heaven will shine through, be lifted up, and accepted as the King of all kings by the lowliest and the richest of persons that we will make contact with. Be glorified in and through us Lord. You know the work that must be done to properly mold us into Your likeness, so I pray that You will continually work in us for Your kingdom’s sake. AMEN!