John the Baptist came to prepare the way for Jesus.
How did John go about accomplishing this? One of the first things he did in his ministry was to preach the Good News.
What was his message? “Turn from your sins and turn to God because the kingdom of Heaven
What did God say about John in the book of Isaiah? ”Look I am sending my messenger before you and he will prepare your way. He is a voice shouting in the wilderness prepare a pathway for the Lord’s coming. Make a straight road for Him.”
What was John’s appearance like? His clothes were woven from camels hair, and he wore a leather belt. What did John eat? locusts and wild honey.
What else did John do? He baptized people that had repented of their sins and turned to God. In Mark 1: verses 7, 8 John said, “Someone is coming soon that is far greater than I am, so much greater that I am not even worthy to be His slave. I baptize you with water but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” These verses are from the New Living Translation Bible.
John the Baptist may have looked and acted very strange in his day, not the kind of person you might think that God would use in this ministry. Remember God does not look on the outside as man does, no, He looks at the heart.
John not only preached and baptized but he was a light shining in the darkness. John was a true witness for Jesus standing for holiness and righteousness in his time. John was doing what God had called him to do to further God’s kingdom.
Question: what about you, how are you preparing a way for Jesus in this day and age?
Are you letting your light shine in the lost and dying world we live in? Are you being the salt that heals and preserves or have you become stagnate and stale?
What about the light that is in you, does it shine bright for the world to see or has it become dull and tarnished like an old flashlight with dying batteries in it?
There is nothing worse, it seems, than when you need a light and not having any when you need it. When was the last time you were excited about your salvation or something that the Lord had done in your life and you shared it with someone?
Maybe you tried to witness to some people and they rejected you and you are discouraged. Remember this, you are not the only one in this battle there are many fighting with you.
Think of a chain, it has many cogs in it depending on how long it is. Now think of yourself as one of these cogs and think about the millions of other believers in the world. You witness and get rejected but you have planted a seed. Another believer comes along and shares with that same person and gets a little better result. Then the Lord sends another believer along and that believer speaks to the same person about the Lord and the person repents and prays the sinner’s prayer and is born again. Praise God! Does that me that you had nothing to do with that person’s salvation? No, you planted the seed, the next person watered the seed and the next person reaped the harvest with God’s help. You all take part in the end results. There may be people in Heaven that you helped to get there and you won’t even know it. Think about a brick building, many people may apply the bricks before the building is complete but all of them made it happen. So don’t be discouraged, let your light shine and be the salt and light the Lord has called you to be.
Paul spoke about this subject in the 3rd chapter of the book of 1 Corinthians verses 5–9 when Paul said this, “Who is Apollos, and who is Paul, that we should be the cause of such quarrels? Why we are only servants. Through us God caused you to believe. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us. My job was to plant the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it. The ones that do the planting and the watering aren’t important, but God is important because He is the one who makes the seed grow. The one who plants and the one who waters work as a team with the same purpose. Yet they will be rewarded individually according to their own hard work. We work together as partners who belong to God. You are God’s building, God’s field not ours.”
I want to encourage you to hang in there and accomplish what the Lord has called you to do in your life. If you haven’t started preparing the way for Jesus to be enthroned in other people’s lives as their Savior and Lord, start now. Let your light shine bright and be the healing and preserving salt you have been called to be.
Don’t let the enemy get you down and discouraged, rise up in victory and go forth tearing down the enemy’s strongholds in people’s lives by introducing them to the Lord. Be a living testimony for the Lord and bring glory to Him and Praise Him. Have a great day and may God bless you!
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