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John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our ancestor”; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.’ And the crowds asked him, ‘What then should we do?’ In reply he said to them, ‘Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.’ Even tax-collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, ‘Teacher, what should we do?’ He said to them, ‘Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.’ Soldiers also asked him, ‘And we, what should we do?’ He said to them, ‘Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.’ As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, ‘I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’ So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people. (Luke 3: 7-18)
Happy Monday, yes Monday, dear Friend! I pray that the joys of the weekend blessed you and the last of your weekend worries ended this morning at 12:01! We should carry over only the positive and good, trusting God is handling the rest.
John the Baptist's Good News about Jesus involved some responsibility on our part as well. John did not hold back anything and shared plainly and boldly that which God laid on his heart, and that included the attention-getting "brood of vipers" which some today would have taken as an insult and walked out. After all, who wants to be included in a phrase that means "family of snakes"? Poisonous snakes. There is nothing positive about what John called all who gathered to be baptized; it was an honest indictment of past behavior and thoughts on the part of all who were present. And he follows that by saying, "You can't hide by what your grandparents did!" God's work continues and if necessary, God can raise up new workers from rocks. Gulp. God is at work cutting down trees, dead, non-producing trees, and finding great uses for them as firewood! Many realized that he was indeed talking about them and their sinfulness and once dead, they were to be the firewood of hell. Yikes! These cried out asking, "What then should we do? We don't want to be firewood here on in the 'other place.'!" John then lays out the conditions for being saved: Share with those who don't have basic items like coats. At this writing here in our town, it is 35 degrees (F). That's cold! To open the back door to let out the dogs one can feel the bite of cold. I give thanks to God that a small thrift and clothing store downtown Seguin has a coat rack with a sign that says, "Need a Coat? Take One! Have a Coat? Leave One" and in this weather those who know about free coats can easily find one.
John also said, "If you have food, share food." Again, basic necessities; what do we gain by having a closet full of coats that we will never wear, or a pantry full of expiring food? Sharing these items is to share life with those in need. Even tax collectors heard John's urgency and asked, "What about us?" John knew their practices and says, "Collect only the money due the government and you," for the usual, known practice was to double what the government wanted from each individual and then the tax collector could keep the rest. Remember Zacchaeus? He gave back a lot of money thanks to his wickedness before he met Jesus. Soldiers, Roman soldiers no less, of Pax Romana fame, stepped up too and asked, "What about us?" John said, "Do not extort money from anyone by threat or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages." Again, common practice was to abuse power at citizen's expense, and personally profit from that. All of this made people watching question if John was the Messiah, the expected, anointed one of God. As if he read their thoughts, John replied, "I am baptizing you with water; but the one coming after me is powerful, and He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire; I'm not worthy to untie his sandals; He is already at work, taking care of God's business including burning the unneeded weeds and chaff with unquenchable fire." John also added the good news about what God is doing for those who seek to be made right with Him.
Many think Advent is only about getting the house and the tree and the presents ready for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Advent is about taking personal inventory about where we stand in our walk with the Lord. I like to ask during those times that I lead the pastoral prayer, "Do we find that we are closer to God today than we were yesterday? If not, now is the time to get closer with hopes that tomorrow we will be even closer than we were today." That's inventory. That's reflection. That's Advent prep. Turn over to God that which God needs to remove right now; it'll be one less worry, one less burden to carry. The next step is to enjoy the freedom that comes from a life lived in the Lord Jesus; life in abundance.
PRAYER: Loving Father, remove from me that which is listed above in John's words. I want to be accountable to You in an honest way, and I trust that You will take from me that which has kept me from freely obeying you. Open my heart and my closets and fridge, to share as I should. Yes, even open my pocketbook and purse to give as I know that I should. Let me be fair and righteous with all people; in Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Share a smile and share the rest God requires to bless others with life!
Eradio Valverde
Dear friends, my Bible study ministry online has started. Please include that in your prayers. I feel an urgency in sharing what little I know with those who may know nothing. I started with the first Gospel written, the Gospel of Mark, and in less than 30 minutes we cover chapter one. Chapter two takes only 17 minutes. In under one hour, someone can learn about God's love through that small, but powerful, gospel. The link to the first video is below. View it, pray for those viewing it, and pass it on to those who might be blessed by it! Thank you for your prayers and support of this ministry!
