Defining Greatness ...

Has there ever been a greater paradox than assigning the idea of greatness to someone?  I recently watched the movie Midway that chronicles the point in World War II where the tide turned in America’s favor after many crushing defeats.  The movie outlines a tapestry of American heroes responsible for the critical success of this battle.  Not one, but many.  Yet none of these outstanding heroes were rich, nor was their money or financial situations a factor in their heroism.  None of these men were college dropout tech savvy millionaires who started innovative companies that grew to influence the world we live in today.  Most lived in obscurity, at least until this movie told their respective stories.  One could say they performed deeds of greatness and great bravery, but these deeds are not done by men without the fortitude and determination to carry them out.  The deed does not live without the man.  But it is not even the deed that makes the greatness.  It is rather the sacrifice for others that does.

We in the U.S.A. are not living in a feudalistic Japanese culture because we won the war, not lost it.  Those deeds of greatness, of sacrifice, determined the fate of millions of us.  They granted us the freedom to live in a society of our own making, not one imposed upon us as a conquered nation.  And but for the deeds of the greatest men who faced their own demise to see us live, our stories might be radically different.  And therein lies the paradox of greatness.  It does not come with fame.  It does not come with wealth beyond measure.  It comes only with the impact of the sacrifice someone great chose to make for others because they cared just that much.  No one forces them to sacrifice or become great, they choose it without reward for themselves.

The chief servant of us all, might then be the greatest of us all, even when we didn’t even know their names or understand just how much they did for us.  Look then at our God.  We know He created us; we know He loves us.  But have you ever stopped to consider just how much He does for us, nearly every second, without even our knowledge of what that is?  And our God does not look for our gratitude in order to continue His service to us.  He does not look for payment.  His service is a gift of love’s creation.  He protects us from dangers we will never know even existed.  He opens doors for us in our education and careers that might otherwise have been slammed shut.  He preserves love in relationships that due to sin might have grown ice cold and withered away.  And He changes the core of who we are, that He might remake us in harmony with the Law of Love that His Commandments represent only a foundation of.   He does this for us.  His greatness is not just found in His awesome power, but His awesome sacrifice He makes with no fanfare, just a steadfast love that will never let go.

If you consider then that greatness is not the vanity of fame and pride, but more anonymous selfless service, the greatest of mankind are likely those whose name may never be printed or known.  With this lens, let us examine what Jesus Christ said about His cousin John the Baptist – the greatest prophet who ever lived.  Luke writes about it in his gospel in the seventh chapter picking up in verse 24 saying … “And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to speak unto the people concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the wind? [verse 25] But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they which are gorgeously apparelled, and live delicately, are in kings' courts. [verse 26] But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet.”

Jesus begins by asking a profound question of his audience, namely, what did they go out to see in the wilderness concerning John the Baptist.  Did they expect John to cower and change his tune because those in church authority showed up to listen, like a reed shaking in the wind?  Or did they expect John to be one of great wealth and privilege descending from the courts of kings to talk to them about his own wisdom and experience?  No.  John was neither of these.  So did they go to see a prophet of God?  Yes, but much MORE than just a prophet.  The message of John was predicted in the footsteps of Elias the prophet who preceded him.  Jesus continues in verse 27 saying … “This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.”  This role of preparation for Israel to receive the Messiah was perhaps the most critical in prophetic ministry.  It was a role of service by John to the people of Israel.  Not for the sake of fame, but for the sake of results.

Jesus then comments upon the greatness of John saying in verse 28 … “For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”  An even greater paradox emerges.  Jesus begins by stating clearly that of all the prophets ever born John the Baptist is by far the greatest.  He has performed the greatest service for Israel, even at the cost of his own life.  But all that sacrifice by John is dwarfed by the “least of these” in the Kingdom of God.  It is not just the telling of the message that counts.  It is the accepting of it.  It is not just knowing I have the need to repent, but actually repenting and craving that change that only the Messiah could bring.  It is not just agreeing with my teacher in church that I need to become like a little child to enter into His kingdom.  It is finding the humility to become just like that little child.  Even one sinner like me who is greatly undeserving, might submit myself to Jesus, and find myself in the greatest of all kingdoms though I deserve it not.  Having committed no great deeds of sacrifice for my fellow man.  Yet because I enter His kingdom Jesus thinks of me as even greater than John the Baptist.  Jesus turns the ideas of greatness upon its head.

Accepting repentance, embracing submission, doing what is said – is more important than speaking it, even to the whole of a nation, even to the point of giving one’s life for it.  And so Jesus continues outlining how the message of John was received, picking up in verse 29 saying … “And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John. [verse 30] But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him.”  Here the publicans or the chief among sinners accept the message of John to humble themselves repent, and be baptized.  Yet the supposedly great religious leaders and teachers of the law refuse.  How scary.  The religious leadership rejects the counsel of God to them.  Enter pride, the destroyer of true greatness.  These men feel no need to listen to a backwater hippy, a fad that is sure to pass quickly from the minds of the people.  These leaders of the faith, do not hear the still small voice of the Holy Spirit in the sermons of John.  Instead they are certain they need hear only their own voices.  The doctors of the law are sure they are already saved through mechanisms of their own device.  So they reject the doctrine of John, reject its simplicity and purity.  They reject the need for humility because after all, “they” are the true teachers of all that is holy.  And who is John anyway?

Jesus continues in describing religious leaders like this.  He picks up in verse 31 saying … “And the Lord said, Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like? [verse 32] They are like unto children sitting in the marketplace, and calling one to another, and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not wept. [verse 33] For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a devil. [verse 34] The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners! [verse 35] But wisdom is justified of all her children.”  Jesus described two groups of believers, neither satisfied with the message of salvation.  First the liberals, who you would think would respond to a message of love and happiness.  Liberals that should be dancing because they have discovered the liberation of the freedom the transformation of Jesus brings to the soul.  But they do not.  Instead they are only liberal with their sense of morality, using it to excuse sin instead of be rid of it.  They call themselves liberals happy to party, but not the party of liberation.  They hold love close to the vest, because they have little and practice less.  Is it any different in our day?

The second group of people are conservatives.  You would think the sullen group of believers would respond with an appreciation of one who strictly follows all the rules invented to the find salvation.  After all conservative’s love rules and lists.  They love them more than the people they may impact by them.  You would think they would respond to a sullen message of the need for repentance, a message of mourning regarding the state of the church and of the sinful nation around it.  You would think they would weep with such a sullen somber message like this.  But they weep not.  For they do not care about people.  They only care about the performance of rules.  They have little love in them, and practice even less.  They deride the liberals for their lack of understanding of the need of strict rule adherence, yet practice no such level of adherence themselves, unable to ever perform at such a high level of expectations on their own.  And worst of all, unwilling to put aside pride, and humble themselves to seek a salvation outside of themselves.  Is it any different in our day?

And what of greatness?  Wisdom is justified of all her children.  Children, those young and old, who are willing to put aside pride and become like little children to see the wisdom of our God’s salvation.  To love like little children, freely and without proscribed limits.  To trust God like little children, KNOWING that our God is saving us, even when we cannot see it ourselves, or ever figure out how.  Submitting to our God, because we do trust in His unfailing love, and have seen it in our lives.  The wisdom of God is that He wants to save us, and is the only One who can save us.  We cannot save ourselves.  Only Jesus can do this for us.  Only Jesus can change us from the inside out, remaking us in harmony with His Laws.  Freeing us from the chains of our sins, that we would never be able to free ourselves from.  This is where His wisdom justifies our lives.  It does not justify us to keep sinning and hurting ourselves and others, instead His recreation of us, transforms us in harmony with His laws, and keeps us from sinning or wanting to sin, in the first place.  It is a journey.  But it is the journey of salvation.  It is the journey towards perfection.  Not of ourselves.  But of His gift to us.  Wisdom, justified of all her children.

And in our submission, in our lack of pride, emerges one like you or I, who entering into the Kingdom of God in the here and now, becomes greater even than John the Baptist, the greatest prophet who has ever lived.  And our history of sin does not prevent us from seeing this happen.  For it is not our history that matters, it is our present, and our future.  And Jesus intends to address all three.  Our history He forgives.  Our present He intends to change.  And Our future He promises to be something greater than we could ever imagine.  And looking more closely we discover, it was never “our” greatness involved at all.  But again, it is the greatness of our God.  Not because of His awesome power which He will always have.  But because of His awesome love for one like you and I which no one could ever deny us of.  It is our God who is great.  And the salvation of Jesus in us, that defines greatness forevermore.

 

Following a Road Map of Bad Assumptions ...

Back in my day, traveling across the country, required a road map, a physical one printed on paper.  I realize that today this practice has been completely outmoded by Siri and the GPS in general.  But not so long ago, paper road maps were a thing.  In fact, one of the key benefit services AAA provided for you was a spiral bound vacation map that started at your house, and ended wherever you told them was your final destination.  As you progressed across the countryside you simply flipped the pages of your map moving from one page to the next.  And the maps told you not only distance, but what cities were on the horizon and their relative size and perhaps key points of interest.  A significant undertaking for a personalized map of your particular journey.  The other approach to maps was a Rand McNally map book, which was quite large and resembled more of a magazine you would put on your coffee table than perhaps what you envisioned a map to look like.  Rand however included the entire 50 states in a single map collection, one on each page, and was updated each year to include new road changes.  Also included in the map magazine were breakout pages with large cities to give you better details should you require them.  The final map option was a simple large map you bought at a gas station or picked up in a hotel, that showed where you were and the surrounding areas.  It folded itself up nicely into about a 5x8 pamphlet for easy storage or portability.

The key thing about paper maps, is that you needed the right ones, covering the right areas you were interested in, and of course, that they were correct (at least as good as the last couple years).  Today, we trust the automated lady’s voice on our phones, or in our cars, that tells us to turn left in 500 ft, or to take a particular exit on the freeway and then bear right.  GPS and the automation that goes with it, requires more faith on our part, than traveling with old paper maps did, because we are completely unable to see the entire journey should it fail.  At that point, it is back to paper maps again, if they still exist.  But GPS rarely fails, so most younger folks have no idea what it is like to ever have need of a paper map.  And outside of the few oddities, everyone is comfortable trusting the GPS when it says to turn left, it has at least some idea of what it is doing.  But if ever there were an A.I. based GPS, that developed a “sense of humor” along the way, watching the humans do stupid things just because they told us to, might prove frustrating for the humans in the story, even if funny to the A.I..  It would be the same way for me in the back of the car, when my mother backtracked 100 miles on vacation, having misinterpreted North and South on her AAA vacation map.  Talked about wasted time, and a frustrated kid, who now spent 200 miles extra in his car just to get back to even from where the mistake occurred.  Somehow, I can envision an A.I. based GPS who will one day run me amok, just for the fun of it.

Another way to surely mess up your destinations is to make bad assumptions about what path or which road you intend to follow to get there.  Take for example, getting maps of Texas for your journey, when Texas is nowhere near where you intend to go, Montana is.  Or say, planning to depend on GPS to route you through a National park on foot only to discover your carrier has excellent city coverage, and nearly NONE when you get 20 miles off road.  Either way, you’re in a pickle.  It is not much different when we make assumptions first about what scripture should say, and then set about attempting to prove it by finding and googling the specific texts that “might” prove out what we believed before we opened the book (or the online page) to begin reading.  And sometimes bad assumptions are not just made by us.  Sometimes they are made by many of the readers of the age, or perhaps even a writer or too.  Take Luke as a case in point.  The gospel of Luke (a letter to his Greek friend), ends chapter 3 with a snippet about Jesus being baptized, and then an entire section on the “as was supposed” genealogy of Jesus.  The road map to His ancestry.

Let’s take a second look at these passages and see what else they might reveal, particularly about bad assumptions on our part.  Luke picks up in verse 21 saying … “Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, [verse 22] And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.”  Luke presents only 2 verses to cover a much larger event with a lot more dialog than is presented here.  First Luke omits how John the Baptist did not feel he was fit to baptize Jesus (perhaps He knew Jesus did not need baptism to begin with, as there was nothing to repent for).  Luke also omits how the first two disciples of Jesus were previously disciples of John, who John tasked to follow Jesus instead of himself.  When Jesus gets back from the wilderness it these two who go to find their brothers and bring them to Christ as well.  But enough about what Luke omits, what Luke does present is a simple clear picture of one thing – that the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon Jesus as He came up from the waters of the Jordon.  And a voice from heaven itself thundered saying – Thou art my beloved Son; in Thee I am well pleased.

If you were a bystander on the banks of the river and saw these events you could conclude but one thing; you are watching the Son of God be recognized by the Godhead and affirmed verbally as to who He is.  Jesus is the beloved son of God, the only son as John would write of in his gospel.  Why is that important to Luke (aside from affirming it to his Greek friend)?  I believe it is because of what follows.  Luke continues in verse 23 saying … “And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli,”  Before we enumerate the road map, catch the subtle statement of the bad assumptions of this road map.  Who was Jesus the son of?  In the immediately preceding verses Luke states plainly that Jesus has been claimed by the Holy Spirit and by God the Father as His Son in whom He is well pleased.  So Luke states plainly the genealogy of Joseph, the road map tracing back the lines of “His” fatherhood are only a supposition.  If you really wanted to be accurate you would need to trace back the lineage of His mother Mary who was indeed human.  The Father of Jesus was God the Father.  The road map then that Luke lays out is about nothing more than the adopted father of Jesus, the man charged with raising Him, not with siring Him.

As for raising Jesus, the genealogy traces back as …

“[verse 23] the son of Joseph,                (Joseph is 41 generations from David)
which was the son of Heli,
[verse 24] Which was the son of Matthat,
which was the son of Levi,
which was the son of Melchi,
which was the son of Janna,
which was the son of Joseph,
[verse 25] Which was the son of Mattathias,
which was the son of Amos,
which was the son of Naum,
which was the son of Esli,
which was the son of Nagge,
[verse 26] Which was the son of Maath,
which was the son of Mattathias,
which was the son of Semei,
which was the son of Joseph,
which was the son of Juda,
[verse 27] Which was the son of Joanna,
which was the son of Rhesa,
which was the son of Zorobabel,
which was the son of Salathiel,
which was the son of Neri,
[verse 28] Which was the son of Melchi,
which was the son of Addi,
which was the son of Cosam,
which was the son of Elmodam,
which was the son of Er,
[verse 29] Which was the son of Jose,
which was the son of Eliezer,
which was the son of Jorim,
which was the son of Matthat,
which was the son of Levi,
[verse 30] Which was the son of Simeon,
which was the son of Juda,
which was the son of Joseph,
which was the son of Jonan,
which was the son of Eliakim,
[verse 31] Which was the son of Melea,
which was the son of Menan,
which was the son of Mattatha,
which was the son of Nathan,
which was the son of David,                  (David is thirteen generations from Abraham)
[verse 32] Which was the son of Jesse,
which was the son of Obed,
which was the son of Booz,
which was the son of Salmon,
which was the son of Naasson,
[verse 33] Which was the son of Aminadab,
which was the son of Aram,
which was the son of Esrom,
which was the son of Phares,
which was the son of Juda,
[verse 34] Which was the son of Jacob,
which was the son of Isaac,
which was the son of Abraham,             (Abraham is eleven generations from Noah)
which was the son of Thara,
which was the son of Nachor,
[verse 35] Which was the son of Saruch,
which was the son of Ragau,
which was the son of Phalec,
which was the son of Heber,
which was the son of Sala,
[verse 36] Which was the son of Cainan,
which was the son of Arphaxad,
which was the son of Sem,
which was the son of Noe,                    (Noah is ten generations from Adam)
which was the son of Lamech,
[verse 37] Which was the son of Mathusala,
which was the son of Enoch,
which was the son of Jared,
which was the son of Maleleel,
which was the son of Cainan,
[verse 38] Which was the son of Enos,
which was the son of Seth,
which was the son of Adam,                  (Jesus will be 74 generations from Adam)
which was the son of God.”

You will notice how often the names repeat the in genealogies, as tradition dictates.  You will also notice Nathan is the son of David where they trace Jesus from instead of Solomon in this map.  You will notice there is no mention of Ruth (married to Boaz) in the lineage of David.  Nor is there mention of Rahab from the wall of Jericho mentioned either.  In fact the entire road map is devoid of women entirely – and traces the wrong parentage in the first place as Luke eludes to in the “as was supposed” comment he makes before He dictates it.  How this lines up against Mary’s ancestry might be nicer to know.  And the first clue we are using the wrong road map to trace back to God is in two easy to see places – it begins with God the Father claiming Jesus at His baptism.  And it is devoid of women entirely throughout the entire map.  Jewish traditions at the time, assuming males to be the only thing that counts, results in a wrong road map that only gives us an inkling of a bloodline that is shared through adoption.

The Bible and the Gospels are full of the stories of the impacts of women.  Indeed the story of Mary and of Elizabeth begin this gospel itself.  I believe Luke knows the importance of women to the gospel story.  And perhaps has placed this genealogy here to satisfy the legalistic requirements of the Israelites of his day, who want to see a bloodline traced back to the beginning to know “where” Jesus comes from.  But Luke preceded all this by offering a direct commentary on where Jesus comes from.  For those that prefer to see a bloodline, they miss the point.  Jesus is the Son of God.  It is this position that makes Him the Messiah, it is not the road map based on bad assumptions.  Jesus is at the heart of any map of salvation.  We are not saved because of what Adam and Eve did, nor of Abraham, nor of David.  We are saved because of what God did for us.  To send us His only begotten Son, that whoever of us should believe upon Him would be saved.  That is the gospel.  That is the road map.  We do not need to believe in David, but we do need to believe in the promise of God to send us Jesus.  It is the life of Jesus that matters.  Not that failings of Abraham, Adam, or David – the perfection of Jesus is the road map we should follow.

Given this, if we could allow ourselves the freedom of abandoning preconceived ideas and assumptions, and make Jesus the heart of our Bible study – what scripture reveals could be so much more than it does today.  We have the advantage of knowing the gospel story from end-to-end.  We have the life of Jesus fully documented.  We have His words directly.  We know His admonitions, His promises, and His deeds.  We have His example of His own full submission of His will to the will of His Father.  If He needed to do that, how could we ever deny our own need to do the same exact thing.  Where we allow doctrine to separate us from our common sense, and from the example of Jesus, we allow it a disservice which makes the work of God for us ten times harder.  Where we are able to submit, to follow, and to be humble, we make it ten times easier.  Let us follow the road map of peace.  It begins with the recognition of the Father God Himself, as He tells us, “This” is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.

 

The Fish Rots from the Head [part 2 of 2] ...

At some point, when the fish has died, if you are part of it, you begin to look around and realize the fish is rotting and so are you.  When our leaders fail us, but we seem to be walking in lock step with them, that leaves us failing as well.  It is not a great prospect, and not something we ever really want to think about.  Most of us fancy ourselves as independents, you know Mavericks, like John McCain used to say.  We believe that no matter what our leaders are up to, that does not mean we are doing the same things too.  And in specific examples we would be right.  But in trends, I am afraid the picture is more grim.  Take Donald Trump as an example.  There have been more accusations about our President telling us lies than any other President in history.  And with respect to Donald, most of us believe we don’t emulate that behavior.  But we do tolerate it.  Because Donald did not invent the “art of the lie”.  His predecessor was no less guilty.  As was his predecessor, and so on, and so on.  And we the public, have learned to simply tolerate lying.  When “our guy” does it, we rationalize it.  When “that guy” does it, we throw stones.  But through all the passage of time, we become more and more desensitized to it, until saying that a politician “tells lies” becomes a truism in our society that we the voters have learned to ignore while we vote for them again and again.

The fish keeps rotting, and it turns out I am the rotting tail in this catastrophe.  But lying seems harmless and “everyone” does it, so is it possible to get all worked up about lying?  Most of us do not intend to stop the practice when asked.  Just imagine those two famous questions… does this dress make me look fat?  Or, am I the best lover you ever had?  Wrong answers to either of those get you stoned much faster than telling the person what they want to hear does.  We call those “white lies” as if rendering them “white” makes them “OK” because society says so, and again “everyone” does it.  The fish of our nation just continues to rot, though all of us claim we are not on par with Donald Trump in this regard.  Perhaps we are not on par with him where it comes to lying, but we are still in the same game, just with a lower score.  And you would hope it would be different in the church right?  Our pastors know the rules.  They know the Bible.  Or at least we hope they do.  So they know that lying is a big no-no.  But do you think they answer that dress makes me look fat question with the truth (no it is not the dress, it is the daily trips to the donut counter that make you look fat dear) or with a carefully crafted answer that achieves the same effect as a lie.  For example, (no dear, I know many women that will never look as good as you do) – dodges the answer, so no lie, but leaves truth off the table as well, at least the truth she was asking about.  And in case you are wondering what I would say – honey we have different definitions about “fat” just look at me, I am not qualified to answer that question dear.

So if our pastors are not immune to this disease of the lie.  Is there any hope left?  Imagine how the children of Israel felt in the days of John the Baptist as he calls their entire church leadership a generation of vipers.  Now these are the guys, the leaders, all of Israel are supposed to look up to.  They are supposed to be the standard of righteousness to which to aspire being yourself.  And here is where we both share getting it wrong.  No human will ever be that standard.  For every human fails (see lying as an example).  If all you aim to do is be as righteous as your pastor, your bar is WAY too low.  He may be a great guy, but he is no Jesus.  And Jesus alone is the standard to which we are supposed to aspire.  Israel was taught to look at the Sanhedrin as the holy men of God.  We are taught to look at pope’s and guru’s and evangelists, and moms, or grandpa’s.  The net effect: We are taught to look too low, for our standards, at targets sure to fail us.  Israel, and us, needed to look up to God alone for their standard and ours.  And spoiler alert, God never fails us either, and is the only One capable of fixing our lying problem, as well as every other sin problem, we still contend with.

In his gospel letter, Luke continues telling the story of the world’s greatest evangelist.  And he provides an answer to the aching question the people asked when the leaders went away in shame.  What should we do?  Those people were looking for a simple definition of what right-doing looks like.  John was ready with an answer.  He provides it picking up in chapter three in verse 11 saying … “He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.”  John’s answer cuts right to the heart of the matter.  Do you trust in God to provide you with what you need?  If that answer is yes, then parting with what you have now, is really no big deal.  It was God that gave it to you in the first place.  When you have need, God will send it to you again.  “Knowing” your needs are already taken care of gives you the freedom to give. 

Then it is a matter of “seeing” the needs all around you.  But again, back to cutting right to the heart of the matter.  Seeing need requires you to be looking for it.  When all you see, or rather all you focus on, is the guy in the mirror, you are completely oblivious to the folks all around you.  Perhaps including your wife who may need a little attention from you to chase away fears and insecurities about her self-perceptions of being overweight.  Or perhaps your husband who lives in fear that he is not adequate to meet your intimate needs and perhaps you yearn for fulfillment somewhere else.  But those are the easy ones.  Family is close to you.  There with you all the time.  Easier to see when something is wrong, or perhaps when something could be made better by you with a little more love their way.  Looking for need outside your door means taking an interest in perhaps co-workers, or members of your church who sit right down the row from you.  People have needs all over the place.  It’s not that hard to find the need if you look, but it may be more “costly” to you to try to meet it than you predetermined you planned to spend.

For example, parting with half your food supply (i.e. the man that has meat shares it with someone who does not) seems a little intense for those of us who prefer to give “something” but not necessarily “everything” someone else needs.  It gets back to both beliefs.  Will God take care of you no matter what you give?  And do you care enough about someone else to part with your “stuff” in the first place?  If you lack love and trust – you tend to offer prayers and “good thoughts” instead of the tangible.  Because John did not ask you to give what you did not have at all, he only asked you to give of your extra.  And for some of us, we fear giving our extra, because we may never get it back again.  Our income changes, our location changes, the sales in the store are no more – we can think of a hundred reasons to hold on to our stuff – only one to part with it – because we see a need we can no longer ignore.  Because we care too much to ignore it any longer.  The heart of the matter.  The love that stops the rot.

Luke continues in verse 12 saying … “Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do? [verse 13] And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you.”  The next folks asking for the baptism of remission are tax collectors, and while they are hated, they are usually not too poor.  It would have been easy for them to part with an extra coat, or an extra steak.  They could simply ask for it back the next day from the taxpayers.  So John asks them to act rightly in their work, to effectively be honest, and take no extra tax ever again.  These tax collectors will be paid by Rome or one of the Herod’s, but that salary is nothing next to what they are used to making.  John is asking them to be honest, even if that honest, makes them poor.  John is asking them not to lie anymore, not to cheat anymore.  John is asking them to repent of what they have done, and learn to be someone else now.  If you were asked not to lie anymore, could you even try it?erods

Luke continues in verse 14 saying … “And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages.”  Again John asks the military men not to lie either.  He asks them not to accuse falsely, to be content with their wages and cheat no more, or lie no more.  These were hardened men of Roman descent, as well as temple guards, and Herod’s men. 

They were hired to kill or enforce the law.  Yet John tells them to do no more violence in their work.  They could be firm, and exert force, but turn from killing as the first response, or maiming as the second.  John is telling them to think differently.  John is telling them and us to divorce ourselves from the fish that rots from the head and leads the rest of it with it.  No matter what our circumstances are, we are not bound by circumstance.  No matter what our genetics are, we are not bound by genetic predisposition.  We are free to surrender to Jesus, and find a real change in the heart of who we are.  In truth, the entire fish rots, and Jesus is the only way out.

The people continued the mistake of looking down.  They misinterpreted the Holy Spirit’s power with the words of John, as perhaps being the sign of the Messiah.  John wanted no credit.  John knew his role.  And John turned their eyes to the coming Messiah, to Jesus his cousin, who would be the One.  Though they had not met yet in person, John knew He was coming.  Luke continues in verse 15 saying … “And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not; [verse 16] John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire: [verse 17] Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.”  Jesus was so much higher than John, and John knew it.  John baptized with water, Jesus would baptize with the fire of the Holy Spirit.  The followers of Jesus would be His wheat, His church.  Those who refused to accept the love of Jesus would find themselves rotting, the chaff, the fuel for a final fire that will one day expunge evil from existence.  Without the salvation of Jesus, our decay, our rot, consumes us, long before the fires will.  It is Jesus we must seek to change this natural condition.

Luke foretells the end of John’s story concluding this snippet in verse 18 saying … “And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people. [verse 19] But Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done, [verse 20] Added yet this above all, that he shut up John in prison.”  The deeds of evil Herod Antipas were many, but none so bad as his treatment of John.  Though it was through this harsh treatment that God reached out to Herod to change his heart.  And while it seemed to work, it was far less successful in reaching the women who surrounded Herod and manipulated him into even greater sin.  The fish rots from the head.  But that need not be our fate.  Through Jesus, perhaps what “everyone” does can become a thing of the past for us.  Where hearts are melted and changed and focused on others, there is room for the truth, and lies would only corrupt the love that is needed.  Living love is so much better than rotting self-obsession.

 

The Fish Rots from the Head [part 1 of 2] ...

 “Self” is an enemy we should never underestimate.  To assume that “right” will always win out over “evil” is to assume that “self” will be subjugated to the will of God.  And “Self” is not inclined to be subjugated to anything.  Sometimes we think all that is needed is to “hear” the word of God, and that upon hearing it, we will be changed.  There is a temptation of those in the clergy, and of those in evangelism, that simply spreading the Word of God is what is required to change our world, to bring people to salvation.  And it is true that without hearing the Word, it is hard to imagine anyone finding out where to seek change.  But the “how” to seek change is another matter entirely.  Often the lives of those who attempt to spread His Word are no paradigm of aspiration in “how” they live their own lives.  They look just like we do.  Sometimes they get caught doing things worse than we do.  So if the lives of even the preachers and the evangelists are not much different than our own, what Word exactly are they offering us?  It would appear the Word has not been able to subjugate “self” in their own lives as yet.

Luke writes the story of one the world’s most powerful evangelists ever known.  A preacher whose life matches his oral offerings.  A servant in whom “self” and “self interests” were fully subjugated to the will of God.  A servant that clean before God is sure to have an easy life right?  Wouldn’t you expect the blessings and protections of our God to be upon one of His clearly most righteous servants; particularly when there appear to be no other alternatives to turn to, to continue preaching the message he was inspired to give?  But that is not the happy story Luke was destined to offer, nor the truth of the life of even one of the greatest evangelists this world would ever know.  Instead to us, the outsiders, the story of John the Baptist looks like a sad one, a persecuted one, that ends in losing his life, and being restrained from offering his message.  How did it get there?  More importantly “why” did it get there.

You will recall Luke spent quite a bit of time at the writing about the great joy of John the Baptist’s birth.  John was a miracle baby.  Announced by heaven itself, named by God himself, messaged by the angel Gabriel himself.  John was born of parents way too old to have a child, and who had been barren throughout their entire lives.  They were righteous, but not blessed with children of any kind, until John.  The song of Zacharias was just offered a few short verses ago upon the birth of John.  And the prophecy of the power of Elijah predicted to follow his work.  If ever there were high expectations regarding the life of a child, they were set here.  Jesus was to be greater, but that is because Jesus was God Himself in the form of the Son of God, shielded in the cloak of humanity.  John was only human.  John broke with the tradition of following his father into the formal priesthood in Jerusalem.  Instead of being educated in the finest religious schools, he was educated in solitude in the desert.  He read.  He grew.  He waited, until He was finally called.

Luke tells his story in overview beginning in chapter three of his letter of the gospel, picking up in verse 1 saying … “Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene, [verse 2] Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. [verse 3] And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;”  The fish rots from the head.  The Roman empire does not degrade over night, but it does degrade because it centralized its power in the form of a single ruler who pushed down the power of the senate (of democracy), and pushed up the power of a single dictator (autocracy).  Sound familiar?  How many presidents going back long before the current one, have advocated policies, and made executive decisions by fiat that in effect do the very same things.  At this point in the history of Rome it was now Tiberius Caesar in charge.

And in the land of Galilea or Judaea, things were no better.  Pilate was governor.  Herod the great was dead.  His three sons were put in charge of three different sections of the Judean kingdom.  There were no kings exactly anymore, only the word tetrarchs.  Three vicious children out to kill their siblings and take over their section of the former kingdom, but restrained by Rome in doing so.  Corruption takes root, feeding the animal of “self” who lusts for wealth and power.  People who have been subjugated by the sword offer plenty of both (whether they want to or not).  So you would think in times of such political turmoil and persecution, the people would turn to religion to offer them relief, they would turn to God right?  But alas, Annas and Caiaphas have been installed by Rome to head the priesthood as high priests.  Without Roman approval the priests would have been normally selected by God, but not now.  Since Rome was in charge, Rome wanted leverage within the religion of these combative Jews to keep them in line.  Ergo Annas and Caiaphas, to keep the lid on things under Roman scrutiny.

The fish rots from the head.  Rome disintegrates as power continues to be centralized into the corrupt form of just one man, each lessor than his predecessor.  The faith disintegrates as power is centralized into puppets of Rome.  The countryside disintegrates as each of Herod’s sons thinks not of greatness and great new construction projects, but instead of licentiousness and how they could conspire to kill their siblings without being caught and punished by Rome.  The animal of “self” is taught that quest for power and wealth are all that are important in Israel.  All of its leaders mimic these attributes.  And none of them are looking to be subjugated to anyone or anything, even if it is a God doing the asking.  And before we move on with their story – have we adopted our own nation’s mantras and religious leader’s teachings that appear very much like what Israel of old experienced?  Today’s world praises fame, power, wealth, and ease – and today’s world is less concerned about “how” you get there, only how you might behave once you do.  But the journey to these goals is itself a journey into the dark abyss of self-interest with no interest at all in subjugation of any kind.  Hearing a message like that is bound to fall on deaf ears if left to our own devices.

It is within this environment of enemies that the Word of God falls upon John the Baptist while he is in isolation in the desert.  His message is to be one of repentance for the remission of sins.  The symbol he will utilize will be baptism in the Jordan river.  Those who would hear and accept what John will offer must wade into the waters of the Jordan, ignore the cold water, or fear of not being able to swim, and be submerged under the waters completely, trusting that John will not let them go or let them perish.  They will in symbolic form die under those waters, die to their former self.  They will be for a moment unable to even breath the air of their former sins.  But through the power of God, they will be reborn, resurrected into a new life, made free from the old by God alone.  They will emerge spiritually new creatures who must depend upon God alone to keep them from the former versions of themselves.  For if God does not do this for us, who ever will.  We will not.  Our versions of “self” are all too happy to take us over.  It must be God who keeps us from self, and focuses us on others.  In our subjugation to God, we find relief from the evil self must always accompany, for self is the source of all evil.  It was so in Lucifer, who because of self, became Satan.  It is so in us.  Self must be eradicated, killed, in order that who we become will never give rise to sin again in the eons of time we are to live through.

Luke continues in verse 4 saying … “As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. [verse 5] Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; [verse 6] And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”  The prophecy of Isaiah fulfilled with the power of Elijah to all of Israel from one crying in the wilderness.  John was not acting in his own self-interest.  To do that might have been to keep silent and let the fallen remain fallen.  But John was moved by the Holy Spirit to see the fallen redeemed, and so allowed himself to be used of God regardless of what it might cost him personally.  Imagine that.  Redemption so important to an evangelist he is willing to confront the entire power of the world to see just you redeemed.  Notice the message of John, and Jesus, was not condemnation, it was redemption, that is “how” to think differently.  How to divorce yourself from the fish rotting from the head, and embrace a new way of thinking, a new way of loving, that turns wicked men into righteous men, that is men who do rightly. 

It is love for others that motivates right actions.  It is ONLY love for others that can do this.  And it is ONLY Jesus who can change your heart in order for you to see it firsthand in your own life.  As you offer Jesus your will, it is your heart that is changed first.  The message is no different today, or rather it should not be different.  Repentance does not come because you will it to be so.  Repentance comes because as you look at what you “could” have done for others, you begin to regret “not” doing it for others, because of your love for them.  While you are just fine, not doing for others, you have not found repentance at all, you have found only words without meaning.  The leadership of the church in the days of John fell into this category hard.  They knew all the words, all the texts, but little of the love for anyone other than perhaps their own families.  They had no love for those who had none, or had little.  As far as they were concerned, if you had little, that was God making a statement about your level of sin.  Poverty accompanied sinners, wealth accompanied saints.  When truth was far from this thinking in any way.  In fact, it might well be the opposite entirely.

But there was a commotion in Israel.  The power of the Holy Spirit could not be denied (He too is God after all).  And the words of John rang in the ears of those who came to hear him as nothing else and no one else had ever done before.  He spoke sermons in the wilderness you just could not shake or forget.  His words pierced your very heart and made you want to change in a way you never felt before.  For it was not just John opening the Word, it was God through John, reaching into the hearts of men as only God can do.  This power could not be denied.  It was popular beyond all measure and all reason.  The leadership of the church could not deny it either.  They must come bear witness of it, to see if John could be controlled.  John was the son of a priest after all.  Perhaps John could be made to see, how things were done in Israel at this time.

Luke continues in verse 7 saying … “Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? [verse 8] Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. [verse 9] And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.”  This was NOT the reception men of breeding and refinement expected from this son of a priest.  This was a rebuke that stung for a reason they could none of them explain.  For the weight of these words tugged hard at the hearts of hard men.  The Holy Spirit broke through the carefully erected barriers of selfish men, to tug directly at their hearts.  They knew these sayings, just never expected to have them applied to themselves.  You see “they” were supposed to be in charge of their own spiritual lives.  And by their standard, they were doing very well at it.  Who was this hippy to cast generations of traditions into the fire and call them out for their corruption?  They were part of the rotting fish.  And they did not want to see themselves this way.  But then, who does?

They fled from that scene in haste.  They had no words for John.  Only recoil.  They sped back to the safety of their temple, to debate how to shut up this man.  But they lived in fear he was right about them.  The Holy Spirit is nothing or no one to be trifled with.  That ache in them, was an ache no human could ever console.  And it was at war with “self”.  These men were the fish that rots.  They were the self-imposed example for all of Israel to aspire being.  John had just called them vipers.  John had just enumerated their sins.  He had broken down their defense as if any could be offered.  And now John was outlining their future if this road of self was the one they chose to cling to, instead of the road God would offer in its place.  The people witnessed this tearing down of the beacons of their aspiration.  And it left the common people scratching their heads wondering, if these men who were supposed to be holy were not good enough, what on earth could they ever do?

This is a well thought out question.  Perhaps it is something we should be asking.  This study will continue in part two …

 

The Second Ever Gospel Country Music Song ...

Just a quick review from our last study; in order to be a “Gospel” song, it must contain a story element about the “Good News” of Jesus Christ.  Perhaps of His coming, or our Salvation, or our return to the home He has built for us.  In order for it to be a “Country” song, it must be an original.  Not something cooked up by analytics from a supercomputer, or voice corrected by a fancy studio mic.  Originals are not always in tune (sometimes by design), they may not be played exactly perfectly, but they do come from inspiration, that is from God.  The “Country” part happens because the artist is either from, or still lives in, a place long away from the beaten path.  Perhaps in the mountains, or just a long way away from big cities, where time seems to move slower, and priorities are centered around enjoying every minute of it, not trying to rush through a day in fear of the lack of finishing everything we were assigned.  It was in these conditions that Mary, the mother of Jesus, gave a song of praise, that would surely qualify as the first ever Gospel Country Music Song.  And for every beginning, there must be a continuation.

Now to set the backstory.  Zacharias was a priest by trade.  He was an old man.  He and his wife Elisabeth had been barren throughout their lives and well into their old age.  They were obedient to God, but their barrenness remained.  Those around them looked at this as a curse from God, designed to punish a secret sin.  It was a reproach to Elisabeth.  It was something she had to endure.  The gossips had a field day speculating what either she or her husband had done in secret to warrant this open curse of God in response.  It did not help, that both she and her husband prayed for a child since they realized a child was not coming their way.  They sought divine help, believing and hoping divine help would come.  But alas they grew old, and well past the age of childbearing years, then well past the age of interest or ability in sex altogether.  And still no child.  But what others saw as punishment, God saw as preparation.

In their obedience, God selected them to be the parents of John the Baptist.  And to insure his birth would be a miracle, He selected obedient servants who longed for a child, and kept faithful to Him even when prayers went unanswered.  An angel, rather the angel Gabriel who stands in the presence of God, was dispatched to carry the excellent news to Zacharias.  But Zacharias was overwhelmed, and doubt crept into his mind.  He asked for a “sign”, forgetting that he was talking with Gabriel in the first place.  And so he was given his sign, in that he would not be able to speak, until all the things the angel had told him would come to pass.  Zacharias then was unable to speak for a little over nine months.  He had to rely on a writing tablet to communicate (picture a hand-held antique chalk board of sorts).  This was the state of him as Luke picks up the story in chapter one of his letter of the gospel.

Picking up in verse 59 is says … “And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father.”  The place where they lived was up in the hill country of Judea.  A place so small it carries no name.  You can imagine in a place like that, everybody knows everybody.  And the entire region likely knew that Elisabeth and Zacharias were old, way too old for a baby, and had been barren their whole lives.  Having Elisabeth give birth, and Zacharias be mute throughout, were definitely signs from God, even the most remote hillbilly could understand.  And so with good intentions, people do what people always do, they try to help out.  Since Zacharias could not speak for himself, the town’s people just decided to do him a favor, and call the new baby boy also Zacharias, after his father’s name.  It was kind of a tradition to keep names in the family.  Kin liked recognizing kin by this tradition.  But tradition was not in line with obedience and Elisabeth knew it.

Luke continues in verse 60 saying … “And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John. [verse 61] And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name.”  Elisabeth was intent on obeying God.  The Angel had told them what to name the baby way back when he prophesied to Zacharias what would happen.  So Elisabeth would obey God, no matter what tradition said to do.  Are we different?  Do we follow tradition even when it conflicts with what we know to be right?  It is easy to say we follow all the Christian doctrines we know.  But are we able then, to love a sinner, even though that sinner does not deserve our love?  Jesus said to love our enemies.  Jesus loves His enemies (sometimes we are those enemies).  But we are too quick to judge our enemies rather than love them.  When the homosexual appears in our pews, we move away.  We do not want to be too closely associated with someone who is clearly “in sin”.  But that is not the definition of loving someone.  That is the definition of fearing someone.  And what is the basis for this fear?  Do we fear their judgment will rub off on us?  So my gay brother sits next to me, perhaps he should move away, because I am a secret sinner, maybe a theif, or liar, or gossip.  Perhaps the magnitude of my sins, far outweigh his.  If we are to compare “abominations”, is not my lying, and my gluttony, and my apathy for others – worse than his only one major sin.

Our tradition is to condemn my gay brother, in order that he knows he is “doing wrong”.  And then what?  Is this what you call love?  If I came to you, and under the influence of the Spirit, I condemned you for the 2 or 3 sins you did not know anyone else knew about.  And having condemned you, I walk away, and never offer care for you again.  Does my behavior constitute love in your eyes?  And what if you were struggling with those very sins I condemned you for.  Is your struggling made easier by my condemnation?  Is your misery made any better?  No.  All that I have accomplished is pouring salt in your wounds.  Then offering no comfort to you afterwards, no love of any kind, no reason to change that which I have condemned you for in the first place.  If my message to you is nothing better than “get perfect, then we can socialize”, I will have zero friends ever, in or out of the church, and of gay or straight audiences.  I should be able to truly love you without condemning you, and without encouraging your pain, but instead pointing you to Jesus every time (through my reflection of His love).  I should be able to truly be your brother no matter what you struggle with.  I should be there for you, and hope you are there for me as well.  We should lift each other up to Jesus in prayer.  This is what we are called to do, though our church traditions would have us judge and avoid, rather than love and encourage.

Luke continues in verse 62 saying … “And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called. [verse 63] And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marvelled all.”  So the well meaning crowd decides Elisabeth must be a little bit tetched.  You know, from being so old, and just having a baby.  Perhaps she was getting a visit from the hormone fairy and was not in a right state to make a decision this important.  No one in the well-meaning crowd ever imagined she was simply obeying the will of God.  They did not ask that.  They did not assume that.  They just decided to overrule her crazy by asking the dad what he would want to do.  And here the devil tempts Zacharias with ego, to name his miracle baby after himself, rather than John.  Who ever heard of John anyway?  Zacharias is a much more elegant name, one on long tradition and family roots.  What is in a name before God either?  Couldn’t God be with this baby no matter what we call him?  It’s not like the presence of the Holy Spirit depends on what name you carry.  And Zacharias would have known that.  But instead, against ego, and against tradition, Zacharias sides with his obviously tetched wife and writes - call him John.  Zacharias too was determined to be obedient to God, no matter what the well-meaning crowd thinks.  And his response in chalk shocks everyone there.  This was an answer nobody expected.

Luke continues in verse 64 saying … “And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake, and praised God. [verse 65] And fear came on all that dwelt round about them: and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judaea. [verse 66] And all they that heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, What manner of child shall this be! And the hand of the Lord was with him.”  It was at this precise moment that the mute condition disappears.  Zacharias is restored to his normal speaking condition.  And the first words that leave his tongue are a praise to the Lord.  He did not have to say that.  No one forced him.  But obedience has led him to an overwhelmed heart, full of joy, and gladness, and thanksgiving.  Catering to his ego would not have led here.  He might have carried silent pride in a son of his own name, but obedience has led him instead to an exuberance nothing else can match.  And he is beyond grateful.  It is this state of beyond grateful, that should constitute our moments we call “worship”.  When our tongues can no longer be silent for the praise and thanks we long to give, that is worship.  It is not the repetition of our songs, or an appointment we hold on a weekly basis.  It is when our obedience leads us to the joy God would have us experience.  And the miracles of this exuberance lead all the local country folk to hold these events in their hearts around the life of John.

Then the second Gospel Country Music Song was ready, and this one with the addition of prophecy as well baked into the poetry.  Luke says it begins with verse 67 … “And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,”

[verse 68] Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people,

[verse 69] And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David;

[verse 70] As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:

[verse 71] That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;

[verse 72] To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;

[verse 73] The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,

[verse 74] That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear,

[verse 75] In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.

[verse 76] And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;

[verse 77] To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins,

[verse 78] Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,

[Verse 79] To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Again I wonder if there was music with this, what it was like.  I wonder if Zacharias belted out an acappella hymn such as the world had never seen to that point.  After all it was the Holy Spirit behind his praise, his prophecy, and his music if it was there.  Once again this did not take place in some famous theatre filled with patrons of the arts.  Nor did it occur in Jerusalem at the Temple of God in front of worshippers there to be close to God.  Instead it occurred in the hill country.  It occurred up in the mountains, with country folk there to hear it.  It occurred where the Holy Spirit overflowed.  This was the beginning of the life of John the Baptist.  And though we do not know much about his childhood, Luke gives us a glimpse of what John did to prepare for his ministry in verse 80 saying … “And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.”

I wonder, does it take us to be in a literal desert, to escape the traditions of men, in order to hear the voice of God.  The normal training for a “holy man” was not offered to John.  He was not schooled in the best schools Israel had to offer.  He did not follow the traditions of following in his own father’s footsteps and becoming a priest in the Temple at Jerusalem.  He broke both those traditions.  Instead, he spent his time eating locusts and honey.  His clothing was hand made of skins from animals he probably hunted or encountered already dead at the edges of the desert.  He likely lived in caves to shelter him from the sun’s burning heat.  And all the while he prepared.  He prayed.  He conversed.  He was filled with the Holy Ghost, and when he was finally introduced to Israel, his ministry came with the power of Elijah and moved the hearts of the people such as they had never been moved before.  The Holy Spirit had found a venue that was prepared to be led by Him, rather than to assume he already had the answers, as priests and leaders in the faith often do.  Tradition was not to be his teacher, God was.

A second ever Gospel Country Music Song, to predict and prophesy, the intensity of a ministry that would lead to repentance, even if it came only out of the desert and isolation.