JOHN THE BAPTIST PREPARES THE WAY

THE LAST OLD TESTAMENT PROPHET

Read: Luke 3:1–20

     Finally they said, "Who are you? . . . "John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, "I am the voice of one calling in the desert, 'Make straight the way for the Lord."  John 1:22–23 NIV (Isaiah 40:3)

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    John the Baptist was the last prophet preceding the coming of Messiah. He knew from the time he was a child that God had special plans for his life. No doubt, his parents prepared him as they told him of Gabriel's message to Zechariah, "And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous-to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." (Luke 1:17)

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     We, like John, have a special purpose for living. As believers, our primary purpose is to glorify God with our lives. John was a special called-out prophet, but we believers are also called to be conformed to the image of Christ. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son… (Romans 8:29 NKJV)

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     Lord, may our lives be more and more like Yours as we look into the mirror of Your Word.

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     John answered, saying to all, "I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose." Luke 3:16 NKJV

THE BOY JESUS

A MOTHER'S HEART

Read Luke 2:39–52

     After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. Luke 2:46-47 NIV

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    Mary and Joseph were busily talking with their friends on the way to Nazareth, knowing that they didn't have to check on their son, Jesus. But when they could not find him a day's journey out, they were understandably concerned.

     When they finally found him, Mary was distraught and she said to him, "Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously." And He said to them,
     "Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business?" But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them. (Luke 2:48–50 NKJV)

     This exchange between mother and Son was, at least in part, a fulfillment of Simeon's words to Mary, "And a sword will pierce your own soul too." (Luke 2:35) Mary spoke of "your father and I", and Jesus spoke of "My Father," and they didn't understand.

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     Lord, help me to see the eternal significance of Your plan for my family, even when I don't understand. Give us a sensitivity to Your leading in our lives and the lives of our children.

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    Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. Luke 2:51 NIV