Verse of the Day 4/15

Through the Bible - 1 Samuel 18-19, Luke 16:1-13

 

Good morning,

In Luke's gospel there is a continuing theme which is described in more detail in the gospel of Mark.  Luke often uses a warning to repent, a warning about the use of money, and pointing to Jesus.  We saw this in yesterday's parable of the prodigal son, where instead of pointing directly to Jesus, the son was shown the love of the Father.

 

For today's verse we'll go back to Luke chapter 3 where John the Baptist, the forerunner, preaches the same message.  Read the passage and look for the same points.

 Luke 3:8 Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. 9 And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."   NKJV

Wansbrough writes that "John's warning is that it is not enough simply to be members of that people, children of Abraham.  Some of the trees may be dead wood which needs to be cut out.  In the final harvest there will be chaff fit only for burning, as well as good fruit.  For the chaff it will be a day of disaster.  This warning against complacency is still relevant for Christians today."

 

The same applies today.  Complacency in our faith should not be an option for us.  We are not saved to take our inheritance, to go off and live our lives, for ourselves.  It's not a matter of what church we belong to as much as it is a matter of our relationship to Christ or the Father as depicted in yesterday's parable.  If we've wandered, the Father is waiting for us to return with the same type of heart as the prodigal son.

 

Another thing that you see in Luke and in the gospels in general, is that of serving in humble obedience.  It's turning to Christ with the attitude of the son yesterday who turned back to the father willing to be considered as a servant but received back as a son.  From that point on his desire would be to bring glory to the father.

John shows the proper attitude of the heart in John 3:30 " He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less."  NLT
It should be the attitude of any Christian preacher, teacher, parent or mentor.

Blessings,
Mike

mikevw@bellsouth.net
mikesvotd.blogspot.com

Luke 3:7-17

When crowds of people came out for baptism because it was the popular thing to do, John exploded: "Brood of snakes! What do you think you're doing slithering down here to the river? Do you think a little water on your snakeskins is going to deflect God's judgment? It's your life that must change, not your skin. And don't think you can pull rank by claiming Abraham as 'father.' Being a child of Abraham is neither here nor there — children of Abraham are a dime a dozen. God can make children from stones if he wants. What counts is your life. Is it green and blossoming? Because if it's deadwood, it goes on the fire."

The crowd asked him, "Then what are we supposed to do?"

"If you have two coats, give one away," he said. "Do the same with your food."

Tax men also came to be baptized and said, "Teacher, what should we do?"

He told them, "No more extortion — collect only what is required by law."

Soldiers asked him, "And what should we do?"

He told them, "No shakedowns, no blackmail — and be content with your rations."

The interest of the people by now was building. They were all beginning to wonder, "Could this John be the Messiah?"

But John intervened: "I'm baptizing you here in the river. The main character in this drama, to whom I'm a mere stagehand, will ignite the kingdom life, a fire, the Holy Spirit within you, changing you from the inside out. He's going to clean house — make a clean sweep of your lives. He'll place everything true in its proper place before God; everything false he'll put out with the trash to be burned."
(from THE MESSAGE)