9 October 2013, CMA
(Disclaimer/Warning: The following has been prepared in informal english/style. Also they are not entirely original. You may see word-by-word cut-and-paste from other sources, without even proper credit/reference. Also some of the presented thoughts could be wrong - so use your own judgement)
A question to ponder about:- How has JB been living his life, such that he will be thrown into prison soon? What is the parallel today? (hint: “Church persecution”?). In what ways/scenarios/circumstances, can a Christian today be thrown into prison? (remember, JB was not a people pleaser.)
How should we receive Jesus?
Job of JB was to introduce Jesus to the world, as the Savior / Lamb of God. He also showed how we should receive Jesus in our lives - That is, he let Jesus take over his ministry, which was his life. Do we just ‘believe” in Jesus or are we letting Him take over our life too?
Jesus is wanting to take control of our whole life (for our own good). Are we willing to yield like JB? JB sets the tone for how we should respond. This is how the Book of John starts - with JB setting the tone for how Jesus is supposed to be received by the world, and me as an individual: Let Jesus take over. JB sets a great example: with humility & SUBMISSION.
What JB’s life reminds of?
We must always remember that it is not about us but Him. Just like JB’s, our job too is to exalt Christ everywhere/where-ever we go/are. How we act and behave will show if Christ is increasing or decreasing in our lives. Will people see more Him or more of us? Our attitude towards people, His blessings, our callings and ministries will indicate whether we are decreasing and He is increasing or the other way round. Some people became concerned that John was loosing his position to Jesus. To that, JB’s response was: John 3:30-“He MUST increase”. It was not He should increase or may increase but "HE MUST". He made sure the “MUST” was in effect.
What happens when you live (I mean a very dedicated Christian life, by God’s grace), as JB lived?
(1) What the world does to you: There is risk of persecution (JB was thrown into prison and latter beheaded). Remember, Jesus said “If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also”. So, you can expect persecution from this broken, fallen, sinful world when you try to live out The Book. But do not be discouraged at all - in-fact be encouraged - as God is still in control and redeems.
(2) What does God do to you? JB lost his life quite abruptly. It was very tragic. One can say he could have lived longer and done more good works. It is not how many years one lives, as we see in the case of John - even though he died abruptly - God continues to use him to encourage people even till this day. So, when one lives a Godly life by God’s grace, God uses it to bless others.