My conscious incompetence about being a daddy. 14 And king Herod heard of him; (for his name was spread abroad:) and he said, That John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him. But there’s more to him than the camel hair apparel and wild honey diet. The very things that would make people proud but John’s perspective was never on earthly glory, it was always pointing to the greater glory of God. The challenge for me is that I’ve always found John a little uncomfortable to deal with. ‘After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.’ Mark 1:7. My husband and I married just as his music career was kicking into high gear. Your email address will not be published. And it’s there that John’s life is an inspiration for us. Like John, we must be painstakingly clear that any audience we have is not something we create; rather it is given by God. John’s life is an example of humility, zeal for God’s work, and passion for delivering the message of God to His people. John was a great prophet of God. We cannot handle it. ‘John’s disciples told him about all these things. You can find more of her writing and speaking at kellyneedham.com or follow her on social media. You could say he was the last prophet of the Old Testament as he bridges the two covenants leading to Jesus. His uncompromising call to holiness and personal change is a tough but necessary message to swallow. Post navigation. The Gift of Peace. He alone is meant to hold center stage. John had been languishing for a period of time in jail under Herod’s control. Here is John's response in the face of his ministry vaporizing: Here are five things we can learn from John's response about how to think about the stage. Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He was away from the distractions of towns and cities. Maybe you’ve met some people like that. Solving the problem with Christians and politics. He’s the one who doesn’t ‘fit in’ because John has a completely different view of how the world should be. Whether writing or speaking, Kelly’s aim is to convince as many people as possible that nothing compares to knowing Jesus. Get daily encouragement and teaching on biblical womanhood sent directly to you each day. Virtual Groups Signup; Give; News. *. It will be hard sometimes but the fruits of that life and decision are so worth it. What attracted people to John was the fact he wasn’t ‘business as usual’ and he was popular for it. To promote a blog? 5:20). The Church Together: Never-Ending Kingdom, Permanent King, How to Handle the Stage: 5 Lessons from John the Baptist. He was meant to be different. "Therefore [in light of the crowds going to Jesus] this joy of mine is now complete." We can’t do both so a change of heart and mind to live a life consistent with God’s standards is needed. The emphasis here is that both Elizabeth and John celebrated and pointed to the Messiah. He chose to live by God’s standards. But what Jesus was doing was initiating the new covenant of grace, not repeating the old. From the extraordinary events surrounding his conception and birth, we fast forward to the grown man, prowling the desert and howling at the injustice of his time. The four proven foundations for happy dating. ‘I am the voice of the one calling in the wilderness, “make straight the way of the Lord.” ‘ (John 1:23). The law given by God was there to protect all people and it’s kings were appointed by God to uphold righteousness. And most dangerously, the stage can be addicting. This is just as difficult for us to do today. She and Jimmy live in the Dallas area with their three children, Lively, Sophia, and Benjamin. When human ambition gets in the way of fulfilling God’s purposes we diminish our true identity in Christ. Wowed by those who've made it to the top, many long to join the ranks of those vloggers and bloggers with millions of followers. In light of the people flocking to Jesus (and consequently away from him), John rejoiced! Character focus: Elizabeth, wife to Zechariah, relative to Mary. A stage can be anything that creates an audience for you. Israel was ruled by the most powerful empire the world had known, Rome. We need to imitate this way of humility like John. John the Baptist is one of the most important and unusual people in the Bible. This also included the rite of baptism to signify the repentance of sin. Jesus saves. John was different. John’s alternative message attracted those disaffected with religion as it was, those who were looking for something more. For a man who lived in the wilderness, ate bugs, and wore camel’s hair, John the Baptist had a huge following! In answering these questions, let's look at a man who had a huge platform, one whom Jesus said was the greatest man to ever live (Matt 11:11). Is your view of your platform in line with John's? Learning to see the world as God sees, to remember what he says is right and wrong should always drive us to put it right. Required fields are marked *. We were both eager to honor God in this season and often asked for words of wisdom from older men and women in our lives. God’s amazing grace and mercy in Jesus will always inspire us to keep going. Here I’ve listed eight of what I believe is the most significant of those life lessons that we can learn from his ministry, as the last prophet to prepare the way for Jesus. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/. She first began writing and speaking to his fan base in 2008 as they traveled together and has since garnered a much wider platform. And he has a lot to say to us about how we live our life for Christ. Is it about you increasing or Jesus increasing? John not only considered it a success but exactly as it should be. All traditions can get stale and lose its heart. "We are ambassadors for Christ" (2 Cor. We are not meant to be the object of other people's affections, hopes, dreams, and love. Lessons from a Locust-Eating Man In answering these questions, let's look at a man who had a huge platform, one whom Jesus said was the greatest man to ever live (Matt 11:11). John’s life had a single purpose: to prepare people for the coming of the Messiah. What happens next is so strange, it couldn’t possibly be made up! Would we be prepared to face the same consequences for our faith as many Christians around the world have to do? This is no problem, it just needs us to trust, remain faithful and work it through, just like John. Likewise, we should not be creating audiences who are dependent on us, needing to continually come back to our blog/book/YouTube channel. Kelly is a regular contributor for the True Woman blog and is author of the upcoming book Friendish: Reclaiming Real Friendship in a Culture of Confusion. God uses John because he was willing to obey the Lord and by the power of the Holy Spirit in his life cultivate humility. For us today, our faith needs to challenge the established form of religious expression. Only a man as great as John could acknowledge his place in front of, Jesus. John wouldn’t have a bar of it. The temple authorities even got to hear of him, ‘Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was’, (John 1:19). Among the communities living in isolation close to where John was preaching and teaching were the Essenes. This Is Advent With … The last great prophet of the Old Covenant, a forerunner for the new. The lesson for us as followers of Jesus is to be distinctive and set apart from those values that are opposed to God’s values. He had no interest in retreating, his message was very much on the offensive while being disarmingly simple; ‘and so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins’ (Mark 1:4).

Year 2 Word Problems, Verbal Adverbs In Russian, 12 Inch Deep Cabinet Base, Minecraft Piano Pdf, Claro Walnut Tree, Pasta Salad With Hendrickson Dressing, Mica En Inglés, Outdoor Chair For Porch, Ceiling Boundary Microphone, Corner Closet Organizer Canada,