January 2: John 1:19-28
Key Verse: John 1:23
John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, ‘I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, “Make straight the way for the Lord.”’
Devotion:
One of the things we should never be afraid of is telling people who we are – we are believers in Christ who want to be able to share the gospel of Christ wherever we go! When my dad was alive and we were out visiting, if he ever heard someone had any sort of issue in their lives he would always volunteer to pray for them should they wish. Many people said yes, and there began his witness!
We don’t have to be like John the baptist staying out in the desert near the river Jordan, teaching people about baptism. He gave up all of his time to do this because that is what God had asked of him. He did not shy away from it and when faced with Pharisees or other teachers of the law, he freely answered whatever questions they had.
They wanted to try and get him to stop baptising because people were beginning to see a truth the Pharisees could not see. They then wanted to know if he was connected to the Messiah, Elijah or any other prophet. Anything like that and they would try everything to disprove him and what he was saying. Instead he told them the truth, he had come to prepare the way for one who was much more important than him!
When God asks something of us, we should not build it up into anything more than it is. We should open up about the truth and tell it to people as plainly as we can. Jesus just wants us to spread the truth...
Points to Ponder:
Do you get defensive when people ask you about your life?
Have you tried simplifying things and telling the truth?