Thursday; October 4

The Bible tells us that Jesus came into the world at just the right time and to prepare for His coming, God commissioned someone to lead the way for Him.  John the Baptist is referred to the forerunner of Jesus because he paved the way for Jesus’ message and ministry.  When John came on the scene, the Jewish religious community felt like they had a corner on the market of religion.  They were the “chosen” people of God whose heritage had been forged by appointed and inspired heroes.  Yet, John challenged their sense of entitlement by noting, “Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance; and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham.” (Matthew 3:8-9).  In essence, it wasn’t their heritage that would make them special, it would be their righteousness that would make or break them. 
Do we believe that we are special people?  Do we feel that because we were born in a particular nation, grew up in a certain church or have certain physical features that we are “special”?   It is great to be proud of our heritage, but that doesn’t impress God all that much.  Our spiritual journey won’t be judged by our pedigree or background, it will be determined by how we live.  If the First Century Jews had nothing to be arrogant about, we sure don’t either.
Let’s live our lives in a way that is pleasing to God.  We may have been fortunate  to start where we did, but let’s not bank on our past to ensure our future.
Think About It!

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