Luke 3 Devotions by Stephen Taylor

Luke 3:2

During the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, son of Zechariah in the wilderness.

 

We have to stop trying to rush through our wildernesses and be patient and wait upon the Lord! The Holy Spirit pointed out to me this morning that John was in the wilderness when he got his marching orders! He wasn’t in a pleasant, comfortable place when the word came to him, but rather he was in a scary, deserted, desolate place – yet the Lord still spoke!

 

I believe that sometimes, we have to be in those lonely, quiet places so that the Lord's voice is the only thing we will hear or pay attention to! Think about it like this: do you talk to and seek the Lord more when things are going great (on the mountaintop) or when things get rough (the wilderness)? And when I say seek Him, I mean truly with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength? The kind of seeking that says, “I don’t care what it costs; I want more of You, Lord!” The kind of seeking that leads you to pick up your Cross and follow Jesus!

 

These spiritual wildernesses are not meant to destroy us but refine us and draw us closer to the Lord. The terrain may be different throughout your walk, but the One who walks with you will never change. I encourage you, when you find yourselves in these wildernesses, say, “Here I am Lord” instead of “Why me?” Don’t let your surroundings determine who you are, but rather let Christ tell you who you are!!!!!!!

 

Surrender is a lifestyle, not an event! In one verse, the Lord takes John from isolation to the proclamation of the Kingdom of God and the coming Messiah!

 

Luke 3:3 - He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

 

God bless! I love you all!!! Glory, Honor, and Praise forever to God Almighty, our Risen King, and the Holy Spirit! 

 

 

Luke 3:2,3

Annas and Caiaphas were the high priests. At this time a message from God came to John son of Zechariah, who was living in the wilderness. Then John went from place to place on both sides of the Jordan River, preaching that people should be baptized to show that they had repented of their sins and turned to God to be forgiven.

Don’t rush out of the wilderness without a word from God! There are going to be times we find ourselves in the wildernesses of life. Our instincts yell at us to get out of there as fast as possible, but we have to remember that we are there for a reason and not by accident. I’m sure John was probably tired of living in the wilderness and eating locusts, yet he did not move on from that until the Lord sent him a word! He did not take it upon himself to decide when he should leave the wilderness but waited humbly, reverently, and completely upon God and His timing! Do we?

The wilderness can be lonely, but we are never alone. God never left John or Jesus when they were out in the wilderness, and He won’t leave us either. Think about the Israelites and their wandering through the wilderness; who led them by day and by night? God did! Although they had sinned against Him, which brought about this wandering in the wilderness, He did not leave them nor forsake them, He did not destroy them but refined them, and He did not leave them in the wilderness for all time.

Our God is faithful and trustworthy. He is mighty to save and glorious to serve! Our God is not afraid to lead us through the wilderness if it means we end up living in His Presence! So let us remember that the wilderness is not meant to destroy us or drive us from His Presence but to refine us, prepare us, and draw us into His powerful arms!

Deuteronomy 29:5,6- Yet the LORD says, “During the forty years that I led you through the wilderness, your clothes did not wear out, nor did the sandals on your feet. You ate no bread and drank no wine or other fermented drink. I did this so that you might know that I am the LORD your God.”

God bless! I love you all, but His love leads us through the wilderness! Glory, honor, and praise now and forever to Papa God, Jesus Christ our King, and the Holy Spirit!

 

Luke 3:8-10

“Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones, God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” “What should we do then?” the crowd asked.

 

That’s a million-dollar question with a very simple answer. John doesn’t tell them to go out and win a bunch of converts. He doesn’t tell them to plant and open churches. He doesn’t tell them to hold big revival meetings or do anything that’s outside of their own sphere of influence. These are all great things and vitally important, but what John’s telling them (and us) here isn’t to change the world but to change our hearts, and how we express that is how we treat those around us. Look at John’s response to the above question:

 

Luke 3:11 - John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”

 

It’s so beautifully simplistic and realistic that it’s almost too good to be true. Imagine that God takes all the pressure off and tells us to love one another, and through that, we honor and glorify His Name! Loving God and loving people! I think sometimes we can make this a whole lot harder than it needs to be. We have to revere, love, and obey the Lord (which all go hand in hand), walk in His commands, and show His love to those around us.

 

Mark 12:29-31 - “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

 

John 13:34,35 - “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.”

 

God bless! I love you all, but He loves you so much more! Glory, honor, and praise now and forever to Papa God, Jesus Christ our Risen King, and the Holy Spirit!