December 22: John 1:15-18
 
Key Verse: John 1:15
John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, ‘This is the one I spoke about when I said, “He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.”’
 
Devotion:
John was faithful to do what God asked of him and to continue doing God’s will even when people began to flock around him. I fear many of us may well give in to the publicity we gain and allow the notoriety to get to our heads, taking us away from the true calling God has asked of us. But John remained faithful to God’s calling, no matter what.
 
The people around him began to ask questions like these in this passage – questioning whether he was Elijah come back to teach people or even a prophet sent from God to continue bringing them God’s word. Instead, John simply told them the truth as God had given it to him and continued to persuade people to show outward signs of believing in the Messiah who was to come – one of those signs was to be baptised.
 
When God calls us into His work, we are often asked to do things showing our belief to others in an outward manner. If we are covert Christians, nobody else is going to hear the Gospel and nobody is going to be encouraged to try and find out who Jesus is and what He can do in our lives... instead we may only succeed in developing an underground church where people will be forced to lie about their relationships with Christ, just as Peter did before Jesus.
 
God calls us to be faithful servants and to promote glory to God. To do that we need to be outwardly confessing Jesus is our Saviour and has given us the grace we need to be set free from our sin debt. Don’t let your life take you away from God’s calling in your life.
 
Points to Ponder:
Do you listen to God?
 
Are you really listening or going along with the world?