Our First Love

And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him.

And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ.

And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law,

Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,

Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:

For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,

Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;

A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. 

                                                                                     (Luke 2:25-32 KJV)

Believe it or not there are people in this world whose greatest desire is to see Jesus; to be near to him. Both Simeon and the prophet Anna had waited for that day. When Jesus was brought to the temple for the purification rites, their greatest desire was fulfilled. Simeon was overjoyed. At long last, he had met the Savior face to face.

I know that for many people it may be hard to believe that Jesus really is the center of some of our lives. He is our hope and our salvation. We trust in none other than Jesus for our salvation; for life. We are able to trust others; because we trust him first. We are able to love others; because he first loved us. He is our life and our salvation. Because of him, we can live in peace.

For some of us, it is difficult (at times) to understand how anyone would not put Jesus first. Why anyone would not give thanks to God as often as possible for the precious gift of our beloved Jesus is impossible to fathom. Life just goes a whole lot better when Jesus is at the center of our lives.

In St. John's Revelation, he is told to write to the angel of Ephesus and warn the people that Jesus holds the fact that they have forgotten their first love against them. (Rev 2:1-7)  Our first love is (or should be) our Lord and Savior. You shall love the LORD your God above all things. In this you will know peace.

May God grant that we should all have the faith of Simeon as we wait for the day when we shall see Jesus with our own eyes.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Repent and Receive Forgiveness

Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.

And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;

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?

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.

And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not;

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:

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.

And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people.

But Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done,

Added yet this above all, that he shut up John in prison.

                                                                        (Luke 3:2-3, 7-8, 15-20 KJV)

Now John baptized people for the forgiveness of sins. According to Luke, he admonished people to repent of their sins. It does not appear that he was a light-hearted jokester. His words were not meant to please any one's itching ears. He appears to have been a pretty serious character and an unafraid character, as well. The people who came to him to be baptized, he called a "brood of vipers." He rebuked Herod Antipas for divorcing his wife and marrying his brother's wife. He was not afraid to be a truth teller. He was thrown into prison for it. He was eventually beheaded for it.

People flocked out to be baptized by John; yet, he was hated by many. And, so goes the way of the those who strive to speak the truth. The truth and the purveyors of truth will be accepted by some. Others will do all they can to destroy the truth sayers in hopes of destroying the truth with them.

Repent and receive forgiveness. Let your sins be washed away. Repentance is not as easy as some may think. Because, before we can repent of our sins, we must first acknowledge them. If we cannot recognize our sin, our brokenness, then what is it that we think we are going to repent of? How are we going to change if we refuse to acknowledge that maybe there is room for change in our lives?

John's words may sound harsh to our ears at times. “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? 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. 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.” (Luke 3:7-9)

Change and live life in Christ!

God's Peace - Pr. J