Mark 1:1-4

Mark 1:1-4  The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  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 desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’”  And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

Luke 3:4-6  As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: “A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.  Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low.  The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth.  And all mankind will see God’s salvation.’”   

God gave John the Baptist the special privilege of preparing the way for Jesus Christ.  Yet after speaking to John's messengers concerning his identity, Jesus told the crowd, I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.  (Luke 7:28)  John prepared the people for Jesus by preaching a baptism of repentance.  He asked them to repent of their sins, to turn from their carnal ways of living.  He was directing them to acknowledge God as Lord of their lives and commanding them to give their heavenly Father supreme authority in their lives.  By giving God absolute authority in their lives, they were giving him their lives for his purposes.  As was true for John, their eternal purpose was to become ambassadors for the Lord, bringing salvation to the people.  They were to make straight paths for the Lord Jesus that He might reach people's lives with God's mercy.  They were to fill in the valleys and take down the mountains the best they could in people lives so that they might find Christ.  As with John, the people who were listening to him were to prepare the way for the Lord.  All of this fulfilled the words of the prophet Isaiah: Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.  Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD’s hand double for all her sins.  The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.  Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:  And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.  (Isaiah 40:1-5 KJV)

The Holy Spirit revealed to John what remains true today: To be useful instruments in God's hands, we must turn from our self-centered lives and repent of our sins.  The first step to salvation is relinquishing our old ways of living.  By repenting we give God a freehand to fulfill his will.  If we fail to yield completely, we are merely adding God to our lifestyles, to our broken cisterns; and we will find a constant feeling of emptiness, the need for more.  We must choose to die to our old lives by letting Christ grow in us, by recognizing we have been born again into the family of God.  Jesus said, Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.  (Matthew 10:39)  And if we lose our lives for the sake of Christ and the gospel, we will gain a new life rich in mercy, grace, and peace.  We will find a new purpose and a family that loves us and prays for us and supports us in the body of Christ.  But we will also learn that the Christian walk is to live Christ's life not our own.  Jesus desires us to be one with him as He and the Father are one.  We are IN HIM and He is IN US.  When we realize our lives are to reflect him, then we begin to pray, read the Word, and spend time with the Lord.  When we learn of Jesus, we find we are to reflect his image to the world, for we are joint-heirs with him and members of HIS BODY.  If we hold onto our lives, the road of life will remain crooked, not straight.  We will be as the double-minded man we mentioned in an earlier breakfast, never knowing exactly what we should do, never able to accomplish what we want to do for God.  How can we please God or be one with him if we try to direct our lives instead of seeking first the kingdom of God?  How can we call him LORD under those circumstances?  Only one authority can sit on the throne of our lives: Jesus.  John asked the people to prepare the way for the Lord.  Our purpose in life is to prepare the way for the Lord, first for ourselves and then for others.  We have a wonderful message.  Christ has come to save sinners!  After Jesus taught his disciples to pray the Lord's Prayer, He told them to trust God for everything.  He said they could not serve two masters.  They had to be all in!  That's the gospel message too.  Jesus said that the pagans run after things, but we should trust God.  He said, But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.  (Matthew 6:33) 

The flesh wants everything and it wants to be in the driver's seat to maintain control, but our flesh, our carnal selves, will never produce anything that is spiritual, for the flesh cannot discern the things of the Spirit.  Our carnal person will always want himself or herself in the winning circle with others cheering for us.  Flesh wants recognition and promotion.  As the Bible says: Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.  For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.  And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.  (Galatians 6:7-9 NKJV)  The Holy Spirit asks us to be willing, dedicated, and patient servants.  The Spirit asks us to take the backseat in a room unless someone else tells us to go forward to a more prominent place.  We do not seek praise or an elevated position, but we are to contend for Christ to be elevated because we seek his praise.  We are to make the path smooth for the advancement of his kingdom.  We must all ask ourselves if we have the same humility as John who said that he must decrease that Jesus might increase.  Are we willing to make the paths straight, the mountains low, and the valleys high for Christ's purposes?  If we are, we will reap great eternal rewards.  We will discover our lives filled with the Spirit; our ears will become sensitive to his voice.  Integrity and honesty will remain integral parts of our lives as well as an abundant harvest of the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.  (Galatians 5:22-23)  We will add to our lives the blessing of the family of God with the affection and concern of many fathers, mothers, children, grandchildren, and so on.  And of course the greatest reward is to see Jesus lifted up and given all praise and glory, for we know He will draw all people to him.  Truly, we will see God’s salvation! 

2 Thessalonians 3:16-18

2 Thessalonians 3:16-18  Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way.  The Lord be with all of you.   I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand, which is the distinguishing mark in all my letters.  This is how I write.  The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

2 Thessalonians 1:1-2  Paul, Silas and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:  Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  

Paul begins and ends his second letter to the Thessalonians emphasizing grace and peace with loving words for his Christians brethren.  His salutations often include the words grace and peace.  He wanted Christians to understand their position IN CHRIST by acknowledging the works of Jesus at the cross when He ushered in a new birth, a new reality for every person who would claim Jesus as Savior, making us sons and daughters of the Most High.  After saying, Grace and peace to you, to the Ephesians, Paul goes on to explain what he means by that: Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.  For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.  In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.  In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.  (Ephesians 1:3-8)  With the knowledge of such a glorious grace and the price Christ paid to lavish this grace upon his beloved children, God's peace should abide continually in our hearts.  But as is often true, we sometimes find ourselves caught up with the cares of life, lacking peace and living beneath our privileges as  inheritors of God's gifts.  The Bible says, Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.  (Philippians 4:6-8)  This peace comes because we have found favor with God; by faith we follow his ways and think on him.  We are no longer his enemies; we no longer want to replace him with our self-directed lives.  Instead, we place him on the throne, serve him and not ourselves.  By acknowledging him as our Lord, we pass from death to life, from uncertainty to clarity, from chaos to peace.  His grace places us in heavenly places, at rest with God our Father.  

The peace that Paul speaks of in his letters to the churches is the peace within the soul of the believer because of God's grace--his freely given unmerited favor.  But in one Bible passage, we also hear Jesus say, Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth.  I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.  In this instance Jesus is telling his followers He must be first.  They cannot put anything or anyone ahead of him.  This will cause turmoil when they face friends and family members who do not accept the Lord and reject the good news.  In this society, the faith of the head of the family was the faith of the household.  There were no exceptions.  Christ's message separated son from father, brother from brother, sister from sister, daughter from mother, and so on.  Jesus went on to say, Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.  Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.  (Matthew 10:34 & 37-39  The Word of God is a sword of separation to the world.  Those who believe will be at odds with the unbelieving.  The word of God may cause upheaval even in the most intimate relationships.  You are either onboard as a believer on a daily basis or you will find yourself at odds with God and aligning yourself with his enemies.  Where does this lead you?  There is no compromise in the salvation message.  By faith we are saved, and we live by faith.  Understanding grace and peace leads to a sure faith.  Paul told the Galatians: I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.  (Galatians 2:20)  Saving faith is believing in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and then serving him in everything we do by the power of the Holy Spirit within us.  Under no other name can we be saved.  Neither our good names or our good works will gain us spiritual authority or right standing with the Father.  Only Jesus is completely acceptable to God.  Outside of the shed blood of Jesus and his victory over sin, we are hopeless.  Therefore, we must hide ourselves in him.  He is acceptable, the Lamb for sinners slain, not us.  Through faith in Christ, we find favor with God.

Paul tells the Thessalonians, Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way.  The Lord be with all of you.  This is grace; this is mercy and love from our Father God.  The Lord himself gives us his peace all the time in every situation if we look to him and seek him.  If we are experiencing anything other than inner peace in our lives because of the vicissitudes of life, we need to seek the face of the Lord by standing on his promises, praying, and placing our trust in him.  We are free from sin and death; we are his beloved sons and daughters; we have eternal life; we have an eternal home waiting for us; we have the Spirit of God resident in us; we are not alone without a Comforter or Advocate; we are the apple of God's eye; we have been chosen by the blood of Jesus Christ; we are made in HIS IMAGE.  Today, God will edify our souls if we speak faith instead of unbelief.  Grace and peace will once again be our inheritance if we turn from the thoughts that bring us into darkness and away from the light of his countenance.  When we speak doubt and unbelief, fear takes hold of our minds and we forget who we are in Christ.  We will receive nothing from the Lord because we are not listening for his voice or seeking his will or reading his Word.  A double minded man is unstable, lacking the precious peace of the Lord.  The peace that passes all understanding comes from believing the Word, knowing Christ will never leave you, and stepping forward with him.  Faith pleases God; faith brings God to our ears and at our mouths.  Then as Paul says, the Lord will be with us.  Trust in Jesus who said: My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.  (John 10:27-28) Amen.  Love, Dad and Mom

2 Thessalonian 3:11-15

2 Thessalonian 3:11-15  We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies.  Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat.  And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right.  If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of him.  Do not associate with him, in order that he may feel ashamed.  Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.

As Paul continues his instructions on dealing with idleness in the church body, he restates his belief that those who lose focus and do not carry their part of the workload will head into troubles.  If they are not busy, he claims, they will be busybodies.  We read in the last breakfast how he told Timothy the same thing about the young widows.  He thought they should remarry so they would not get into the habit of going about from house to house.  He feared they would not merely become idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying things they ought not to.  This situation was grievous to Paul because it gave the enemy opportunity for slander.  (see 1 Timothy 5:13-14)  With our modern communications systems, we have developed the ability to send messages quickly and often.  We text and post hundreds of thoughts and ideas, often without giving much thought to what we say before we push the send button.  How often are we passing on gossip or unbelief or a half-truth or a discouraging word.  We know of people who try to post only positive messages on Facebook, but they find it hard not to react to the negativity of so many posts.  We sometimes wonder how folks have so much time to spend on the Internet, and why they would choose to spend that time posting angry even malicious information.  Paul tells the church: And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right.  That should be our full-time occupation for our Lord.  Some of us need new eyes to take a look at ourselves and to see where we are and what we are doing and just how we are using our time.  Are we producing bread for the hungry and new wine for the thirsty?  

Paul emphatically sealed his words: If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of him.  Do not associate with him, in order that he may feel ashamed.  As any good parent, Paul, the spiritual father to the Thessalonians, says, you have people who are disobeying and straying from the truth.  Just as a parent would ignore an unruly child, having a temper tantrum, I want you to ignore the non-workers.  Give them a time out--time to think about their actions, time to reconsider and change their behavior, time to repent.  Lest they misunderstand his attitude and treat the wayward brethren too harshly, Paul adds instructions that make it clear he is not permanently excluding these idlers or casting them from the body.  He is discipling them.  He expects them to see the errors of their way and return to the fold.  So he softens his words with, Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.  Without this statement, Paul could have caused real damage in the church.  Those who were working hard could have looked down on the non-workers and rejected them as fallen believers rather than brothers in need of warning and prayer.  Those who had lost their way could have felt permanently shunned and without hope of returning to the church and to fellowship with their Lord.  This scripture has been used by churches to hurt many people and to cause severe pain in the lives of people who needed grace and love rather than stern judgment.  We must be very sure when we look to the weaknesses in someone else, remembering the words of Jesus: “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.  For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?  How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?  You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye."  (Matthew 7:1-5)

In our day, criticism has become an art form.  The media thrives on the attack mode.  We love controversy and revelations of people's indiscretions.  We heard on the TV yesterday that recently 85 percent of President Obama's ads and 99 percent of Romney's ads have been negative.  They have learned what works.  Also this week the press learned that one of the leading ads of the campaign was a lie, a cut and paste where words were left out to make the President say something he never said.  Now the President knew he had not said what the ad implied; but finally at this late date, a credible person  admitted the fraud.  How different the elections would be if the candidates would mention only what they believe in and their strengths to govern.  Maybe we are sometimes too involved in helping to promote the wrong work, the work of the enemy, the work of the world, instead of the work of the kingdom.  Sometimes we would do well to stick to a higher calling, a superior purpose.  God's Word is our compass, our guide.  In our daily reading through the Bible, we are in Jeremiah and Ephesians right now--quite a combination.  Paul exhorted the church: Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.  But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.  Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.  For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person — such a man is an idolater — has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.  For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord.  (Ephesians 5:1-5 & 8-10)  How do we fulfill these words?  We sit at the feet of Jesus: praying, meditating, reading his Word, reaching out to others in the spirit of Christian love and kindness.  We rejoice in our salvation and reflect the inner peace of one who LIVES IN THE LIGHT!