It should be done

Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. But John tried to talk him out of it. “I am the one who needs to be baptized by you,” he said, “so why are you coming to me?” But Jesus said, “It should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires. ” So John agreed to baptize him.

Matthew 3:13‭-‬15 NLT

It’s hard to carry out a command from God. Sometimes, if we can be honest, the things God tells us to do we dont do. Sometimes the things we hear and the things we are told to do is really out of our mind to do. It’s hard but it must be done. Do we do it all the time? No. Are we obedient to his word all the time? No. We all dont carry out the words that God has instructed us to do. The fact of the matter is that “it should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires”. Let me share this with you also. If you dont do it, someone else will. God is not going to stop because you decided to be disobedient. The bible clearly states that he will make the rocks cry out if we dont. It also says that he will make children from stones if we dont follow him.

HERE IT IS…

Jesus said, “It should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires”. John tried to stop Jesus from being baptized by him because of who he is. John didnt feel worthy. John didnt feel he was the right one for the job. John didnt feel he was anointed enough to baptize Jesus. If you just follow his commands and do what God tells you to do. He will place you and put you in positions that you may not feel your qualified for, where in fact it’s not you but the one who lives in you that qualified you. It should be done. You may not think so, but it should. Why? Because God said it should. Why? Because he has the plan to bless you? Why because you are chosen by him why? Because God requires it. Stop trying to figure it out and just do it.

Denounce

But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to watch him baptize, he denounced them. “You brood of snakes!” he exclaimed. “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.

Matthew 3:7‭-‬9 NLT

I am aware as many of you are of people who actually want to be close to you just to see you fail. Believe it or not, their are people who want to be able to witness you fail. They want to be involved in, connected to, and d the same things you are just to see you fail. Even though it may seem that they’re intentions are good at first, you have to realize that some people are there to see and watch you fall uncontrollably into a catastrophic demise. People will come to be apart of your life as a witness, not of greatness, but of failure.

HERE IT IS…

Dont be afraid of calling those things as they are. Its those people that that have attached themselves and say they are going to be there just to hurt you in the end. As John did, we have to be able to tell those people to leave. We have to tell those people to move. We also have to tell them to show who they really are through Christ. John told them to leave and remove themselves, but he also told them to prove themselves by the way they live. That is why the bible says you have to watch and pray so that you dont fall into temptation. God will protect you and show you exactly who they are.

The road

The prophet Isaiah was speaking about 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!’”

Matthew 3:3 NLT

When I was in the military we had a exercise where they took all of us out to the woods and w had to use everything that they taught us through our training. We had to use the skills that they showed us, from reading maps, to preparing for an ambush, to surviving with limited resources. Before we went out to the woods the Drll Sgts. cleared away for us. Their were paths, and they’re were check points we had to advance to. And even ways of escape from ambushes. While we were there, even though it was a training of survival of what could happen, we still had away made for us. As best as they could they tried to make it seem like a real experience.

HERE IT IS…

John was that for Jesus, and Jesus is that for you. You may feel like life is hard. You may feel like there is no way out. You may feel like your being ambushed. It may feel like your in the woods. Thanks be unto God who sent us someone who went to the wilderness and cleared a path for us. Thanks be unto God who sent someone who died for us. Thanks be unto God that he thought of you and I so much that he sent someone and gave us a model of what we are to do. Jesus came so that we can have life and have it more abundantly. Your path may not be the prettiest. Your path may not be the smoothest. Your path may not be how you thought it would be. God has already cleared a path for you. And has already created away for you to get through it.

Traveling

And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. He took with him Mary, to whom he was engaged, who was now expecting a child.

Luke 2:4‭-‬5 NLT

90 miles! 90 miles on foot and/or on donkey. Having to travel 90 miles to go and report to a census. Would you be able to travel 90 miles on foot, while 9 months PREGNANT? This is the way Mary and Joseph had to travel while Mary was pregnant with Jesus. Most of us dont want to travel 90 miles in a car. Just to take the registration for a census, they traveled 90 miles. No room to stay in. No family. Nothing but what you were able to carry with them. 90 miles one way.

HERE IT IS…

Joseph and Mary traveled 90 miles and while it may ha e seemed that it was all for nothing. All though it may seem that the road your on is leading you no where. Even when you know you have no family there. You have no help. You ha e no one to depend on when you get there. The road your on leads you to his glory. The road your on leads you to peace, joy, love, and his mercy. They traveled 90 miles on foot. How far are you willing to go to get to what God has for you?

What time is it?

“For the time is coming,” says the Lord , “when I will raise up a righteous descendant from King David’s line. He will be a King who rules with wisdom. He will do what is just and right throughout the land.

Jeremiah 23:5 NLT

What time is it? A question we often ask for a plethora different reasons. What time is it? A very simple question that is jam packed with information, concern, doubt, understanding and control. What time is it? Something we ask either just to know or with meaning. Why do we ask? Why do we need to know? Is it important? The places and time allotted that we have to attend require that we know and what time it is?

HERE IT IS…

“For a time is coming…”, is what the Lord says in this verse of scripture. With implications of what’s about to happen. We ask what time is it, and God says a time is coming. We want to try and put God in a box and a time constraint that creates a misconception of time. God said that a time is coming that he will raise up a righteous king. I just believe that within that statement of raising up a king that we are in that statement. The Lord says a time is coming, when I will raise up a righteous king. Which tells me that when that time comes he will raise me up. Out of the brokenness. Out of the hurt. Out of the pain. Out of the issues. Out of the people. Out of the things that try to hold me down. Just know that in your life your timing is not his, BUT, for a time is coming…

Regrowth

Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot— yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root.

Isaiah 11:1 NLT

Have you ever seen a tree cut down? I remember witnessing a tree being cut down and it was amazing. I am like a kid that when I see big machinery I can watch it all day to try and figure it out before they use it. As I watched I noticed they didnt just go in and start cutting at the trunk. They had to dismantle the tree branch by branch. Well that was some years ago and when I drove past that place again I realized that flowers and another tree was growing from where that tree was cut down. The owner didnt grind the stump out which made a great place for seeds to grow and mature. It provided safety and everything it needed to feed off of.

HERE IT IS…

The scripture is making reference to the coming of christ. That even though God did have to get rid of somethings from that line of family tree. The stump and the roots provided a place where the new seeds can grow and be nurtured. Just because people try to knock you down. People try to cut you off, out, and down. Know that they are only providing a place that will expose the good ground where you can be planted in God. Nurtured and be safe from the worldly elements. So that when you grow, and by the time they see you again, you will be stronger, better, more confident, peaceful and wiser than before. You may have felt cut down, off, out, but the God I serve always places you in place where you will be safe and secure from all alarm.

What’s your name

For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6 NLT

I can remember when my children was born and how much I marveled in the moment. To be able to hold them and kiss them and to love the way they fit in my arms. They way they looked sleeping. They’re cry. They’re giggle when playing with them. When they were born so many people had called them different things. Beautiful, cute, adorable. Even nicknames and thinking of what they were going to call them. So many names were going around I cant remember them all. As much as I love my babies I know that out of all the things they are going to be and do in the world that the names they were given wouldn’t match up.

HERE IT IS…

You were given a name when you were born. You were given a nickname as well from someone in your family. But the name of Jesus surpasses all those names. All of those names you were given wouldn’t match up to who you are. At the name of Jesus you have been given a name that matches up to what he has given you. Because he is called a wonderful counselor, you can be called understood. Because he is called prince of peace, you can be called royalty. Because he is called savior, you can be called delivered. Your name or nickname may not mean much, but because of who HE is, your name has so much more meaning. Now walk in it…

Future is here

I see him, but not here and now. I perceive him, but far in the distant future. A star will rise from Jacob; a scepter will emerge from Israel. It will crush the heads of Moab’s people, cracking the skulls of the people of Sheth.

Numbers 24:17 NLT

Can you see it yet? Can you see what’s to come? I like those old commercials about Ms. Cleo being a mind reader and telli g you your future because of the gimmick they played on. An older black woman dressed in gypsy clothes, sitting behind a table and having an accent as if she is from the islands. People thinking she is the person she would talk to. People were in such a rush and wonder that they would go through the lengths they did to know the future. Yet, there is only one who knows your future. Just like this verse we see that there was no woman behind a table with a crystal ball telling you about the future. Its God telling us that a man is to come and save us.

HERE IT IS…

Dont base your future off of what someone else tells you. Find out for yourself. A child was predicted to come generations before he appeared. But it wasnt through a guess, it wasnt through a gimmick. It was through Gods word. His presence was felt before he arrived. His love was given before he showed up. His joy was placed here before he was presented. His peace was here before he was crucified. Your future is here. Your joy is here. Your love is here. Your peace is here. It’s all wrapped up in gods word. It’s all in his name. It’s all wrapped up in his hands. Dont use a 1800 number, instead use the phone that’s built in your heart.

Not just a pot of water

Jesus told the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” When the jars had been filled, he said, “Now dip some out, and take it to the master of ceremonies.” So the servants followed his instructions. When the master of ceremonies tasted the water that was now wine, not knowing where it had come from (though, of course, the servants knew), he called the bridegroom over. “A host always serves the best wine first,” he said. “Then, when everyone has had a lot to drink, he brings out the less expensive wine. But you have kept the best until now!”

John 2:7‭-‬10 NLT

Have you ever felt depleted? Have you ever felt that what you had on the inside of you was worth more than what you were doing? Have you ever felt like you had alot to offer but no one would listen? No one would take you serious? That because of your past, your present, or your future, that you would not be able to pour out what you have on the inside of you. What if I told you that we are just like those pots? What if I told you that you are a pot full of something, but because everyone has dip there hands, thoughts, or ideas in it that now your feeling and looking murky.

HERE IT IS…

“But the master of the sea…”. We may feel, act, look, and have even embodied all those negative things, but when Jesus arrives at your party he will sanitize, and use his divine cleaning to make you able to be the best you, you could ever be. We get caught up in just being satisfied with being a pot that people can come and use and get ideas and thoughts from, that we dont even realize just how precious what’s inside of us is. To you it may just be water. To you it may not be important. To you it may not have a flavor or a taste to it. But, the bible says that jesus will present you faultless before the Lord. Just like those water pots filled with water, he will bless you and present you to the master as a sweet tasting wine like no other. Just as he had planned you to be…

Invitation

The next day there was a wedding celebration in the village of Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the celebration.

John 2:1‭-‬2 NLT

My brother in law just got married not to long ago and had a awesome wedding. The ceremony was great. The reception was great. There was fun, food, music, dancing. It was a all around beautiful wedding. My family and I all had a great time celebrating with them. The reason why it was so great was because before the wedding, while it was still in the planning stages, they had to come up with a guest list. The list was they’re family and closes friends. We were all on the list. We were all able to see and enjoy the celebration with them because of the invitation that was sent out prior to the wedding.

HERE IT IS…

The reception here in the scripture says that Jesus was invited to the wedding. Just like now I believe that the bride and groom were sitting and making a guest list and before any of it was done, they invited Jesus. They didnt see jesus walking by and said come in. Instead they invited him in the planning stages. It is my opportunity to encourage you and myself to invite Jesus into your situation, your day, your week, your event, while your still planning. Matter of fact, your planning should start and end with him. Because while Jesus was invited he didnt leave the party without giving a gift. Invite him into whatever your doing now and see how it changes the way things happen.