Eye Opening II

As I promised yesterday...more of the revelation I received during my intense One on one with the Lord about Matthew 3.
Verse 1-3..."In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.' This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: ''A voice of one calling in the wilderness,‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him.''”
John was a crazy guy, by the world's standards, but he simply would not back down! He was determined to usher in the New Covenant with an amazingly bold introduction! We should be the same way in bringing release to those in bondage! "...the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners" (Isaiah 61:1) We need to call the world to repentance, but this does not mean getting in people's faces and pointing out their sin like John did! We are under the covenant of love! “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40) If we live our lives completely engulfed in the love Jesus described, people will witness and experience it. This gives the Holy Spirit the "in" to bring personal repentance. Repentance simply meaning to turn and go the other way. This can be a very simple and painless process. If our focus remains on Him, then it can't be on ourselves. If it's not on ourselves, then it's a natural process. (By process, I do not mean a long extended period of time! It can be quite fast! Take it from a 7 month old in the Lord!)
The Lord also brought my attention to a very interesting detail, "preaching in the wilderness". By definition, wilderness is a wild, uncultivated, uninhabited region. Interesting! So what the Lord showed me here, is that upon Jesus' arrival, paths were made straight. This has amazing application! Jesus says in Matthew 17:20,"...Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” John was not only proclaiming the coming of the Lord to mankind, but to ALL of creation, just as Jesus instructs us to do with the gospel in Matthew 16:15. That may seem silly to some, but if we look at Genesis 3:17, we find that the curse affected the land as well as mankind. All of creation is groaning in expectation for it's liberation from the bondage to decay. There was no death and decay in the garden, and there sure isn't any in the kingdom! Every mountain has been brought low and every valley has been brought high...straight paths. Likewise in the Christian walk there are no excuses for highs and lows! We move from glory to glory!(2 Corinthians 3:18) If we, as born again Christians, are experiencing highs and lows, we need to question what our beliefs are, and where our faith lies! Even in the midst of trial, my hope comes from the Lord! No one and nothing can ever take that away from us! We can proclaim that freedom to ALL of creation, and watch in awe as our surroundings completely change! Run with me church!
*purusamor.com*