In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." … Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father,' for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Matthew 3: 1-2, 5-10John recognized the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and Sadducees that were coming to him for baptism. John’s message was one of repentance… turning away from familiar, sinful, and harmful patterns and intentionally changing direction towards God. These leaders of religion felt that they were entitled to God’s blessings and favor based on their heritage and position. John knew that they were not sincerely searching for God. He admonished them to prove by the way they lived that they had repented of their sins and turned to God.
This season gives us opportunity to examine the “fruit” of our lives. Do we feel that we are entitled to God’s blessing and favor simply because of who we are, or because of what family or group we may belong to? The first step in receiving Jesus is recognizing how desperately we need Him!
Lord, help me to see the areas of my life where I still need to turn from my ways to Your Ways, from my agenda to Your Plans, from my preferences to Your Purposes. Thank you for having a better way for my life. Amen
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