It’s Tuesday, August 8, 2023. We are holding a Leadership Practicum this week in Eugene, Oregon, where many pastors and their staff will attend. We are excited about serving the people of God. In these Last Days, alliances will be the key to winning the battle for the souls of men and women. In the end, it will be those who have been saved that Jesus will celebrate … not necessarily celebrities and comic book heroes. Read on …
Today's Reading:
Jeremiah 1,2; John 10
Scripture
“Then, Jesus went back across the Jordan where John was baptizing… They said, ‘Though John never performed a sign, all that John said about this man was true.’ And in that place, many believed in Jesus.” (John 10:41-42)
Observation
John the Baptist never performed a sign or did a miracle. He probably never spoke in tongues or healed a blind person. He was a desert dweller – maybe a shepherd of sheep and goats. He was an average Joe … with a twist. He wore camel hair jackets and could sometimes be seen chewing on a honey-soaked grasshopper (see Matthew 3:4). Yup. He was a bit different. Yet, his words rang true, and his life perfectly reflected what he believed. He stayed faithful to his family and continued his humble ministry of baptizing people. Not much money there … but even though no headlines were printed about him in the Jerusalem Post, “many believed in Jesus” because of him. And Jesus would say, “There is no one born among women greater than John” (see Matthew 11:11).
Application
Sometimes we might wrestle with the fact that we are not comic-book heroes when it comes to spiritual things. We are not making headlines, and no one is crowding the box office to buy tickets for our concert. But maybe those aren’t the ones who catch God’s attention. Jesus went out of His way to hang out with John, not Herod. He traveled across the Jordan to spend time with the Baptizer, not Ananias, the high priest.
I must take heart in the fact that even today, Jesus performs the miracles, and I support Him. Of course, He may use us through whom He does His work, but then again, He may choose someone else. But in either case, the bottom line is that I must remain faithful in my corner of the vineyard. And in doing so, my joy will be not that I receive headlines, but in the end, many will believe in Christ.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank you for putting this in the Bible so I can keep my balance in a world that worships celebrities and comic book heroes. Help me to keep my head about me and stay faithful in what You have asked me to do.
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