Thought of the Day !!

The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:

"I will send my messenger ahead of you, 

who will prepare your way"

"a voice of one calling in the wilderness, 
      

'Prepare the way for the Lord, 
      

make straight paths for him.' "

And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. – Mark 1:1-4 (TNIV)

Once upon a time a man by the name of John, who lived in the desert and devoted his life to fulfilling God's purpose for him, came to the forefront and made a proclamation.  He told the people that the Messiah was soon to be among them and that they must repent and be forgiven.  The people were the Jews, the people of God.  Were they not already among the elect?  Were they not already God's chosen people?  Why did they need to repent (change)?  

As it turns out, we're all called to be part of the elect of God.  We're all chosen to come to Him through His Son Jesus.  But we must make our paths straight for him.  This means turning from our selfish ways of living our lives, renounce our sins and seek God's ways for us.  

As Christians, this is what we proclaim.  Which leads to the question, "Are we living out the proclamation?"  How much of our lives are still selfishly lived by our own will without regards to what God would have for us?  How often do we renounce God by our actions, even if not by our words?  How often do we truly seek God's will in our lives when we know it will mean change?

John the Baptist came to show the way to the people of his time.  But his message still lives on.  Let us "Prepare the way for the Lord, (making) straight paths for him."

In the love of Christ,

 greg