Tuesday February 7, 2017 Luke 3:14 Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what shall we do? And he said to them, “Do not exhort money from anyone by threats or false accusations and be content with your “wages”.

Nick-

 In this verse John the baptist seems to be trying to lead this guy into repentance. So this man has not received the Lord in his life yet and does not rely on Gods sovereign provision yet. This man, like me, has to make the decision to turn from his sin, to “prepare the way.” Once he has excepted Christ into his heart and believes in him he can then be a partaker in his promises. When I gave Jesus my life and committed everything to following him, I was telling him that I trust and rely on his sovereignty for my provision(wages) for the rest of my life. Whether it be be money, food, work, or even our call on our lives. I have to be ok with what ever god decides is best for me. Philippians 4:11-12 “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for i have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing hunger, abundance and need.” My life is not my own anymore, it belongs to Christ. Living in Gods will for my life, that he predestined before the foundations of the earth, will have lots of ups and downs, hunger and plenty, rich and poor. He for sure will be asking me to do things I never would have done before coming to him. Things uncomfortable and inconvenient. Things I never thought I was capable or deserving of. There will be times of prospering and times of suffering. Its not about what we think we need or want, its knowing that God knows what we need and when we need it. II Timothy 2:3-4 "Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in the civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him."

Julie-

John has come out of the wilderness like a beast preparing the way for Jesus.  The people thought they were already in good standing with God because they were children of Abraham, but like John says "Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees.".  The people thought they were saved by Abraham's blood, but in that settlement they casually did wrong and did not repent.  As many people gathered around John, they begin questioning.  A roman soldier recognizes his sin, which is significant, and he asks what he should do moving forward.  John answers him with this Luke 3:14.  Coming from someone whose household income was based off of the sales quota, this verse still makes me uneasy to hear.  I was no roman soldier slaying people and bribing them for money, but my was heart was distorted in my efforts to sell.  It's not have a lust for money but a desire for security.  And ironically, what I sold, was peace of mind or insurance.  I thought I was building security for myself and our family, but really we were in a dark pit with the lights off feeling around for whatever we could grab to feel secure.  This false sense of security or contentment didn't satisfy for long.  I say the roman soldier is significant because of who he was and his status and he still humbled himself down to recognize that he was a sinner in front of this crowd.  The Word doesn't mention this, but I can imagine that he repented of his sins, got baptized and changed his ways.  He was no longer content with throwing his weight around to steal from people.  God is continuing to strip me of this mindset that money equals contentment of security.  Slowly he is filling my valleys with hope and knocking down my mountains of self sufficency.  He is straightening out my crooked motives and leveling my heart.