“It was now the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius, the Roman emperor. Pontius Pilate was governor over Judea; Herod Antipas was ruler over Galilee; his brother Philip was ruler over Iturea and Traconitis; Lysanias was ruler over Abilene. Annas and Caiaphas were the high priests. At this time a message from God came to John son of Zechariah, who was living in the wilderness. Then John went from place to place on both sides of the Jordan River, preaching that people should be baptized to show that they had repented of their sins and turned to God to be forgiven. Isaiah had spoken of John when he said, “He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming! Clear the road for him! The valleys will be filled, and the mountains and hills made level. The curves will be straightened, and the rough places made smooth. And then all people will see the salvation sent from God.'” When the crowds came to John for baptism, he said, “You brood of snakes! Who warned you to flee the coming wrath? Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones. Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.” The crowds asked, “What should we do?” John replied, “If you have two shirts, give one to the poor. If you have food, share it with those who are hungry.” Even corrupt tax collectors came to be baptized and asked, “Teacher, what should we do?” He replied, “Collect no more taxes than the government requires.” “What should we do?” asked some soldiers. John replied, “Don’t extort money or make false accusations. And be content with your pay.” Everyone was expecting the Messiah to come soon, and they were eager to know whether John might be the Messiah. John answered their questions by saying, “I baptize you with water; but someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not even worthy to be his slave and untie the straps of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. He is ready to separate the chaff from the wheat with his winnowing fork. Then he will clean up the threshing area, gathering the wheat into his barn but burning the chaff with never-ending fire.” John used many such warnings as he announced the Good News to the people. John also publicly criticized Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee, for marrying Herodias, his brother’s wife, and for many other wrongs he had done. So Herod put John in prison, adding this sin to his many others. One day when the crowds were being baptized, Jesus himself was baptized. As he was praying, the heavens opened, and the Holy Spirit, in bodily form, descended on him like a dove. And a voice from heaven said, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.” – Luke 3:1-22
“For the Scriptures say, “If you want to enjoy life and see many happy days, keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it. The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right, and his ears are open to their prayers. But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil.” – 1 Peter 3:10-12
There is always a preparation that precedes a work of God.
Areas of our lives sometimes must go through a massive restructuring or they sometimes go through small precise remodels. In either way, there is a preparation that comes before hand.
Take the time to ask yourself: How can I continue to prepare for the work that the Lord wants to do in this time? How am I preparing the way for the Lord in my life?
When we prepare ourselves, we position ourselves to receive what God has for us.
One of the biggest things God wants to give us and surround us with is peace. Peace is something that we all desire and need. Lack of peace is evident in our lives. It can lead to disturbance in our sleep, varied thought patterns, wavering emotions, inability to focus just to name a few.
This is stress.
Stress in our lives is the exact opposite of what God’s peace. It’s important for us in our relationships with Christ to recognize when we have a lack of peace. The sooner we recognize the lack of peace the quicker we can come back the the peace of the Lord. The quicker we can come back to the fullness of what God has for us. Just as the lack of peace is evident in our lives so the is the peace of the Lord in our lives.
1 Peter 3 tells us to “seek peace and pursue it.” It is part of our lives in Christ to pursue the glorious peace that He has for us. It’s easy for us to become distracted, for our focus to be on something else, for us to be fooled by schemes of the enemy. The beauty in it all is that we have victory over all distractions and deviations. We have full and permanent access to our King who gives us “peace that surpasses all understanding” Philippians 4:7. Philippians also tells us that this peace “will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”
When we pursue peace we receive the blessing of God protecting us from the distractions and deviations that would try to trouble our minds and our hearts.
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