Today’s Podcast
Today’s Bible reading plan:
Read it in a year – Ruth
see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)
Today’s Devotional
Matthew 11:7-15
John’s disciples left, and Jesus began to speak to a crowd about John.
Jesus: What did you go into the desert to see? Did you expect to see a reed blowing around in the wind? No? Were you expecting to see a man dressed in the finest silks? No, of course not—you find silk in the sitting rooms of palaces and mansions, not in the middle of the wilderness. So what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes. Yes, a prophet and more than a prophet. When you saw John, you saw the one whom the prophet Malachi envisioned when he said,
I will send My messenger ahead of You,
and he will prepare the way for You.
This is the truth: no one who has ever been born to a woman is greater than John the Baptist. And yet the most insignificant person in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. All of the prophets of old, all of the law—that was all prophecy leading up to the coming of John. Now, that sort of prepares us for this very point, right here and now. When John the Baptist came, the kingdom of heaven began to break in upon us, and those in power are trying to clamp down on it—why do you think John is in jail? If only you could see it—John is the Elijah, the prophet we were promised would come and prepare the way. He who has ears for the truth, let him hear.
What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?
Who do you look for to learn about spiritual things? Jesus pointed to John the Baptist and asked the crowd following Him what they thought of John. What were they looking for? Someone soft that would bend in the political wind of the time? That wasn’t John. He was in prison for speaking out against Herod’s marriage. John saw Herod, who proclaimed to have a Jewish heritage, do something well outside the bounds of the moral code of the Jewish faith. The priests wouldn’t say anything about it for fear of reprisal from the king, but John had no such fear. When he saw wrongs that needed righting, he jumped in with both feet and let them be known whether the perpetrator lived in a hovel or sat on the king’s throne.
That’s the kind of person I want as a spiritual teacher and leader. Someone unafraid of the politically correct. Someone who stands for what is right regardless the consequences of that stand. John was such a person. I’m afraid many that we see in our pulpits today, may bend with the political climates instead of standing firm on God’s word.
Jesus next asked, “What about his comfort level?” Did you think John would live in a big house, drive a big car, wear $1500 suits as he talked to people about repentance? Not John. He just needed a place to lay his head and clothes to wear. Just any clothes. He wasn’t about creature comfort. He was about getting the message out. He was about telling as many people as he could as fast as he could that the Messiah was breaking in on the scene. It was time to change their ways because God touched His feet onto the earth and His kingdom had arrived.
That’s the kind of person I want as a spiritual teacher and leader. Someone more interested in sharing Christ and getting His message out than climbing the church ladder or making a name for himself. More interested in seeing lives changed by the power of God’s word than his eloquence from a fashionable pulpit in a high-styled church. See, God doesn’t care about any of those external trappings. None of those things go with us when we die. He sees past all that to our heart. So I want someone to teach me that will challenge my heart. Someone that digs into the deepest parts of my soul and makes me look inside myself because he shines God’s light on me.
Who do you want to hear? Who do you want to teach you the ways of God? Jesus pointed to John and shared with the crowd he was more than just a prophet. He was the prophet foretold by Malachi who would herald the coming Messiah. That’s the kind of teacher and spiritual leader I want. Someone who will declare the truth in a world that doesn’t want to hear it. Someone who understands the events of time as they relate to the scriptures God gives us. Someone who is not afraid to declare God’s word with boldness and authority. Someone who will serve as a prophet in a time we sorely need prophets.
Are there any around today? I think so. I think there are some really godly men and women who listen to God and break open His word with boldness and power and grace and compassion. But always with the truth of His word. I think there are men and women who preach and teach without frills and fancy footwork to make their congregations feel good, but to convict and convince them of their need for a Savior. That’s the kind of teacher I want to sit under. I want to be reminded I’m a sinner whose only hope is through believing in Jesus, the Son of God, who died on the cross for my sins, who defeated death and hell and the grave. I want to grow in my knowledge and understanding of my Savior under the teaching of a solid disciple of His making.
Who do you want to hear? Someone to tickle your ears, or someone like John?
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