Mark 1:7
Has the unique nature of the message of John the Baptist ever struck you? If not, you have not understood the nature of gospel preaching. As John, gospel preachers even today are still holding high the Name of Christ and pointing to Him as the Savior and Lord. This is not a common message. Adherents are not kept this way if you are following man’s methods. This way of humility about your message is not the way to garner personal followers. Indeed, John was intentionally pointing his listeners elsewhere. He was admitting openly that he was nothing great, but that he was only the servant of that Great and Mighty One. Even today the true teachers of the gospel will not hold men to their teachings with anything more that the preeminence of the Sovereign Christ. There is no force to coerce men to their faithfulness to Him except for His character. The true ministers of the cross ask for a voluntary and heart-felt allegiance that is neither bought nor paid for. No organization holds it, nor does any government contain it. The church of the Lord Jesus Christ is an organic entity held together by our allegiance to one overarching idea — Jesus is Lord! Where you find not this humble finger pointing the way to the Man on the Cross, you have not a true message from Almighty God. Where Christ is not the central focus, there is nothing but the ministry of demonic pretenders. If our allegiance be not held by the Person of Christ and that alone, we are a league of mind-washed idiots. We must all, in submitted humility, fall down to worship at His feet.
Bible Reading: Ezekiel 17:1-19:14
Scripture Memory: James 4:15 “For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.”
Prayer: Pray for a man waiting for test results. Pray for a man in ICU who is trying to recover from a serious injury. Pray for a man who just had a stroke.
Prayer Requests: Heavenly Father, we live in awe of Christ! He is the subject of our thoughts, the focus of our art, the theme of our song. I may not escape His wonderful goodness. The hope He gives to me by His work on Calvary is the driving force in my life. I cannot understand this world without Him. It is nonsensical outside of His Sovereign Power. Father, Your Will and Work in this world is what shows me why and how it all works. Without Your truth I would try to make my own destiny and end with no hope but pure survival, and that only temporary. You drive me on. You show me that there is One greater than myself, and thus, something better than this present mankind. You hold before me the way of humility in contrast to the deception of pride. You call us to do all for the sake of Christ. That is the goal of our lives. To serve Him is to embrace a greater motive. To live for Him is to live for eternity. Because of Jesus we may have a perpetual existence with a limitless horizon, and the wisdom to know how to use it. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.
Journal Entry #14334