May 21

     John did not fully understand the nature of the Messiah's kingdom. He looked for Israel to be delivered from her national foes; but the coming of a King in righteousness, and the establishment of Israel as a holy nation, was the great object of his hope. Thus he believed would be accomplished the prophecy given at his birth,--

"To remember His holy covenant; . . .
That we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies
Might serve Him without fear,
In holiness and righteousness before Him, all the days of our
life."

He saw his people deceived, self-satisfied, and asleep in their sins. He longed to rouse them to a holier life. The message that God had given him to bear was designed to startle them from their lethargy, and cause them to tremble because of their great wickedness. Before the seed of the gospel could find lodgment, the soil of the heart must be broken up. Before they would seek healing from Jesus, they must be awakened to their danger from the wounds of sin.

          Desire of Ages, page 104 from the chapter, 'The voice in the wilderness'

     Years ago, a lady took it upon herself to offer me long phone calls. I was a relatively new Pastor and the lady had experience. I was offered advice that appeared to come in the form of criticism. I sought to be patient, and was. Eventually patience, I realised, was actually doing little good. We had a meeting of minds. The lady informed me that she was really trying to help me become a better Pastor.

     John the Baptist may have had an alarming series of messages rather on the lines of, ‘the end of the world is nigh’, but his study of the word of God, his knowledge of people and his relationship with God helped him realise that he could not see change in the people of God unless they saw the reality of their own situation.

     True, John didn’t have all the truth, but he did have the true heart of a man led by the Holy Spirit, perhaps the reason why God chose him all those years before. Have you been similarly chosen? Are you then similarly equipped and open to do God’s bidding?

Our song, “No place to hide” is by Lloyd Snow.  I like the song, I like the instrumentation, and I like the way this song reflects John the Baptist’s message – no place to hide. Thank you for your choice Bryn.  Click on the picture to see the video and hear the excellent song.