Loving God of new and old things; bless and protect the days of this new year in the life of this dear reader; in Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
CORRECTION: The Prayer Request from last night said surgery for Mrs. Leifeste is tomorrow Wednesday at 7:30 a.m., not today. My apologies for the wrong day! Keep praying!
Our text for today comes from Mark 1: 4 John the Baptizer appeared in the wild, preaching a baptism of life-change that leads to forgiveness of sins. 5 People thronged to him from Judea and Jerusalem and, as they confessed their sins, were baptized by him in the Jordan River into a changed life. 6 John wore a camel-hair habit, tied at the waist with a leather belt. He ate locusts and wild field honey. 7 As he preached he said, "The real action comes next: The star in this drama, to whom I'm a mere stagehand, will change your life. 8 I'm baptizing you here in the river, turning your old life in for a kingdom life. His baptism - a holy baptism by the Holy Spirit - will change you from the inside out." 9 At this time, Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 The moment he came out of the water, he saw the sky split open and God's Spirit, looking like a dove, come down on him. 11 Along with the Spirit, a voice: "You are my Son, chosen and marked by my love, pride of my life." (The Message)
This is the time of year many of us resolve to change our lives. We have made a list of "resolutions" of things that we will do, for at least two weeks, then with the right invitation or temptation, go right back to what we were doing in 2011. Probably the number one resolution is that to lose weight. Sales of exercise equipment is high during this time of year and new gadgets and appliances appear in homes and for a few days the clinging and clanging of iron and steel may be heard in our own homes. Then one long, tiring day at work will cause us to place our blouse or shirt on the exercise equipment and before we know it, we have a thousand dollar wardrobe holder. So much for the resolution. Please know this has happened to me and I am not criticizing nor pointing fingers. Life-change is what is required. And so it was that on that day that this wild man from the desert came to the Jordan River with his loud message of life-change, many came to hear him. John would not have gotten very far in yelling, "All ye must lose weight!" His message was a deeper and more profound one. His message had something to do with the personal side of our lives, the spiritual, where we know we have deep-rooted sins, especially the kind we hope will never resurface nor brought to light so that others will know just how bad we are. John's message said, "You don't have to live that way! Come to God and have that sin removed once and for all!" That got the attention of the fat and skinny, the energetic and the lazy. This was a message that hit home in the hearts of all who truly heard it. The passage said that people began to confess their sins and received changed lives.
A changed life is still available to us. This morning's Upper Room devotional is by a former drunk, who gives God complete credit and glory for having changed his life. He went from facing a life on the streets to being a respected and loved husband, father and now grandfather. He also was able to be with his mother as she died some years ago, something he knows he would not have done had he stayed under the grip of alcohol. John the Baptist offered this to all, setting the stage for the power of Christ to change our life into a "kingdom life." I love the way it says, His baptism-a holy baptism by the Holy Spirit-will change your life from the inside out."
How's your inside? Want it changed? Leave it to God.
PRAYER: Loving God, may our voices join those whose lives have been set free from the clutches of sin. May I be among those who can say that God changed even me, from the inside out. I pray this in Christ Jesus' precious and powerful name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
