A poem posted at my other blog Step Ahead is inspired by the post “Regard for the Lord” that has thoughts on setting out in a new direction. If things are wrong in our life, we can seek solutions to getting back on track by following the Lord’s Way. Rather than trying to rationalize away His standards, trust and follow His Way.
The song Battle Belongs by Phil Wickham tells us that nothing can stand against the power of God. He wins every battle so all we need to do is lay all the bad things in life down at the foot of the cross. When the Lord is for us, no one can be against us.
Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him". – John 1:32
Noted in “Sail Away with Gusto”, John the Baptist gave his testimony, and we can too. We can help people with that first step so they can see the Light. Show them the problem we all have. Give them the solution in Christ so they will be moved to step ahead of the sinning and move on to new and improved beginning for the days ahead.
The world can be a dry place but there is hope. Like the song Build a Boat by Colton Dixon have faith that God will provide and with the Holy Spirit as the wind in your sails, you will prevail.
This day with God will be amazing because we will explore, dream, and discover more about God’s Word. We will get away from the comfort zone and sail away with gusto as we share today’s idea of winning by beginning.
Today, we sail on with the passage John 1:19-34 concerning John the Baptist who was questioned by the priests and Levites about who he was (v. 20). He said that he was not the Messiah but gave testimony that Jesus was the Lamb of God (v. 29) or Messiah who takes away the sins of the world.
Then the Pharisees questioned about his authority to baptize and John the Baptist explained that he baptized with water. The next day, he saw Jesus coming towards him (v. 29) and testified that Jesus is the one that will baptize with the Holy Spirit.
So John the Baptist explains about winning by beginning. That Jesus is the one that brings victory in life with a new beginning. Rather than offering sacrifices and following the Law of Moses for salvation, John the Baptist offered this better solution to salvation in the person of Jesus Christ.
We all know today that they didn’t believe John the Baptist even though Jesus was right before their eyes and performed miracles. This goes to show the challenges faced in sharing about Christ. That there is a miracle that can be received in simply believing in Christ and that there is absolute victory because grace wins all the time.
This raised the question: how can we bear witness to Christ? We have an opportunity each day with the people we interact with. There are days when things may not be going all that well. Those we interact with may be having a terrible day, but we can help them with a new beginning by simply offering encouragement. Then with this spark of encouragement, many will keep on going to this new and improved beginning as they then start to follow the Light until each day becomes brighter. So much brighter that they will encourage others to do the same.
This day with You Lord, we are thankful for those before us who explained about winning more to Your Way by beginning the process. By simply bearing witness to what we believe. Witnessing has challenges but we have faith that You will show up to help as we encourage, pray, worship, share, and serve others. We sometimes get distracted but You are the Light to shine during this time to keep us focused. The time is now … Today is the day and with the Holy Spirit, we feel the wind in our sails to push us along. In Your name we pray … Amen.
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. – John 1:14
As explained in “Word Became Flesh”, we live in a sometimes dark world, but if the Word of God is opened, we can see the Light and be set free. We can study, pray, and apply our faith by following Jesus who is the Light to freedom. Then we can help reveal this Light to the world by bearing witness to the freedom gained by following this light.
The book of John is a record of the earliest accounts of Jesus’ life. It provides eyewitness testimony of one of Jesus’ closest followers. The main theme is that the Word became human in Jesus also named the Son of God, Son of man, or the Messiah.
Reading the first passage John 1:1-18 as we journey through the book, we note that the Word was with God from the very beginning and made all things (v. 1-3). Jesus is the Word who came to earth in the flesh.
John the Baptist is the one who bears witness to the light which shines in darkness bringing grace and truth. Jesus is the Light of the world whose appearance in the flesh is to reveal God’s plan for us. We are to follow God’s life plan or Way, reflect His view, and shine the light for others so they know what to do.
I remember years ago when a bird got into the sanctuary at our church. After a while of trying to get the bird out of the sanctuary, someone thought of an idea. We would turn out the lights and open up the side door. The bird saw the light and escaped to freedom.
It’s the same with us as we live in a sometimes dark world. If the Word of God is opened, we can see the Light and be set free. We can study, pray, and apply our faith by following Jesus who is the Light to freedom. Then we can help reveal this Light to the world by bearing witness to the freedom gained by following the Light.
We may be going in the right direction at times, but the world gets us off track. There is one door that opens to heaven, to harmony, peace, and joy. The other door leads to the way of the world which leads to strife, war, hunger, and ultimate death. The key to heaven’s door is the Cross. Those of faith accept what Christ did on the Cross, receive grace, salvation, and eternal life.
Those of faith accept what Christ did on the Cross. Photo taken 06/04/2018 at Garvan Woodland Gardens near Hot Springs Arkansas.
This day with God, we are thankful for Jesus … Word in the Flesh to give us an example to follow. With the Word, the universe is illuminated with Light in the darkness. The spark of Light began when the Son of Man came down to earth. At that point in time, grace kept on giving and the Light kept on shining. There was no more worry which only brings darkness to diminish the growth of our faith. There is only the Good News of His Word which shines a Light to the clearing along the path. The Light shines to provide food that produces much success and fruitfulness for His glory. Amen.
This Day With God - A Spiritual Journey 