Skip to main content

Matthew 3-4


Were you surprised by John the Baptist calling the Pharisees and Sadducees a brood of vipers? In today’s vernacular you might say he called them a bunch of scumbags. These religious leaders had the power to make trouble for John, but he didn’t hold back. John was the forerunner of the Messiah and he didn’t compromise on the message that people needed to hear…that they needed to repent for the kingdom of heaven was near.

John knew the Pharisees and Sadducees were strict about keeping the law of Moses and observing their traditions. He also knew they were hypocrites who hadn’t come with repentance in their hearts. John boldly threw in their faces that he wouldn’t baptize them.

Additionally, he let them know it wouldn’t do them any good to claim their relationship with Abraham to save them from the coming judgement. Salvation is not given as a birthright to anyone, not even the Jews who are God’s chosen people.

Salvation comes only through faith in God’s son, Jesus Christ, who died to take the punishment for our sins on himself. Romans 6:23 tells us, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  This message is just as true today as it was when John preached in the Desert of Judea calling people to repentance and baptizing them.

Please God, may we have John’s boldness to share the message of salvation with all who will listen.
~Elsie Shepherd

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

God Has a Plan

Have you ever traced your family ancestry back into the past? What about 42 generations in the past? In the beginning of Matthew we see the genealogy of Jesus. But you know what else we see? We see that God has a plan . God ’s plan extends beyond generations, beyond lifetimes, beyond what we can see and understand.  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,     neither are your ways my ways, declares the  Lord .   For as the heavens are higher than the earth,   so are my ways higher than your ways   and my thoughts than your thoughts. ” (English Standard Version, Isaiah 55:8-9). The people mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus were not perfect people. Remember the story of Jacob, who deceived his father Isaac into blessing him instead of his brother? Or what about Rahab who was a prostitute…David and Bathsheba? People are not perfect, we often make mistakes but our God can take those mistakes and somehow bring good out of them for HIS glor...
1 comment
Read more

Psalm 134

Psalm 134 Come, bless the  Lord , all you servants of the  Lord ,     who stand by night in the house of the Lord! Lift up your hands to the holy place     and bless the Lord! May the  Lord  bless you from Zion,     he who made heaven and earth!   What do we do when uncertainty and difficultly surround us? Lift your hands and bless the Lord! What do you have to be thankful for today? Such a simple, yet complex thought. We have so much to be thankful for, even when times are difficult. What are you thankful for? Leave a comment to encourage others below and list what you are thankful for.   I am thankful for… Let us know!    
1 comment
Read more

Mark 5-6

Skepticism is easy.   I confess that I am not one of those people who naturally sees the positive or potential in any given situation. As much as I enjoy fairy tales, real life experience has conditioned me to not expect the happy ending.  I doubt I’m the only one. I think the root of skepticism is fear… fear of losing control, fear of disappointment, or fear of the unknown.  The Gerasenes were so afraid of the unknown that they begged Jesus to leave them after he healed the demon-possessed man.  The citizens of Jesus’ hometown were skeptical of his claims and demonstrations of power.  They couldn’t see past the known, the comfortable, and familiar.  The same was true of the mourners at Jairus’ house.  They laughed at Jesus’ claim that the daughter would yet live.  They doubted his power.  The disciples, even after participating in the miraculous feeding of the 5,000, didn’t look for a miracle to save them from the stormy sea. ...
Post a Comment
Read more