Jesus said you cannot serve God and Money in his sermon on the mount just after illustating how the birds neither reap nor sow nor have barns full of feed and yet they don't starve in winter. God provides all they need, and he will do the same for us if we seek his kingdom first. This is a great and reassuring promise, but, what does it mean to seek His kingdom first? What does it mean to serve Money? Am I expected to quit my job and stand on a street corner proclaiming the good news until Jesus returns? How can I care for widows and orphans if I can't even support myself? The apostle Paul urges us no to be idle and to work that we may share our blessings with the saints in need. How do we both rely soley on God and provide for others?

The baptism Jesus offered overwhelmed the recipient with the Holy Spirit. What an awesome gift indeed! No longer would the recipient live for himself. Directly connected to the Most High God, the Spirit would move them to action to accomplish God's perfect will. So powerful was this baptism that the recipient would speak in foreign tongues and prophesize God's purposes.

As similar as the baptism of John is to Jesus's, there is a major difference. John's baptism is of water, an outward display of a repentant heart. Those whom received John's baptism were merely participants in a religious ceremony. The baptism Jesus brought was one of Spirit. It was an inward process that cleansed the soul creating in the recipient a new life. This was not merely a religious ceremony, but instilled in man true religion connecting the recipient directly to God the Father through the Holy Spirit. Empowering the recipient to conquer sin and death forever more!

John the Baptist ministry was similar to that of christ. Both preached the need for repentance. Both baptised those willing to turn to God from wickedness of their sin. Their missions were the same, to turn the hearts of the faithful to God the Father that they may have life, and life to the fullest.

It is hard to say why John's message of repentance was rejected by the religious leaders and Jewish scholars. You would think they would be the ones most familiar with their nation's history and the warnings of the prophets of old. How could they become so blinded by the corruption of the world below that they failed to recognize the call from the Father above? After all, they were the leaders of the people God himself selected as his own. Maybe it was this feeling of empowerment, pride and power that led them to this false hope in their own righteousness. Perhaps it was God's plan to use them as warning to us who are so richly blessed today.

The people that welcomed John's baptismal ministry were those in the Jewish community that believed the apacolyptic prophisies of the coming mesiah and the restoration of the Davidic rule of Israel. They were people that recognized the sin in their lives and feared the wrath of God.

How would John's baptism have offended a Jew's national pride?

According to Baptism—Pagan or Jewish? by Ceil Rosen the Jews in that period were very familiar with the act of baptism. Gentile converts to Judaism were required to be circumcised, baptized and bring a sacrifice to the temple. This baptism was considered a once for all baptism that cleansed the Gentile's soul of the sin of their worship of idols allowing them to be brought under the covenant of circumcision. The baptism John preached was also a once for all baptism to cleanse the Jewish soul of their sins. It is this idea that the chosen nation of God would need the same spiritual cleansing as a Gentile that would offend the Jews, especially the religious leaders.

Q2. (Matthew 3:5-10; Luke 7:30) How would John's baptism have
offended a Jew's national pride? Who welcomed John's baptism? Who
resisted it? Why?

I believe many "Christians" have unrepentant hearts. So many churches today focus on growing their membership and are afraid of scaring off seekers. Most of these seekers aren't familiar wth scripture and are ignorant to the reality of eternal damnation. All they hear is Jesus loves you and forgives your sins from some ear pleasing candy men that are afraid of the truth.

People avoid repentance because they don't want to admit their shortcomings and failures. Especially in American society repentance is seen as weakness. It basically comes down to a lack of faith and the fear of failure.

People that adopt Christianity with unrepentant hearts are like seed that falls on the path. It shoots up quickly, but when the trials of life come they wither, for they have no roots.

Q1. What happens when people adopt the Christian faith without
repent of their known sins? Why do people avoid repentance? What
percentage of Christians today do you think are unrepentant,
unprepared in heart?

Today I started on a journey...a spiritual journey. I have decided to walk and learn from my Master, our Lord Jesus Christ. For the next 10 weeks I will be using Discipleship Lessons on Jesus and the Kingdom of God http://www.jesuswalk.com/kingdom/ I pray the Holy Spirit may guide my journey!

Happy Late Year!

With the new year comes a new list of goals and priorities. First and foremost for 2010, Nancy and I will be celebrating 10 years of marriage. God willing we will be going someplace tropical...and without the kids! It will be good for the two of us to get away together and reconnect.

Second on the list is making sure the buggies are trail ready. The 5th annual Buggy Bash will once again be in our backyard at St. Joe state park in Park Hill, MO. That's just about an extra 20 minutes past Goose Creek Lake. With over 20 states represented and enthusiasts coming from as far as Florida and Washington state, how could I not go? The Yerf Dog needs a serious brake upgrade and the Tomberlin still needs the exhaust pipe fixed. With the bigger jets in the carb the muffler needs gutted too! And then there's the buggy hauler. I still need to fabricate the rear gate / ramp and to add the railing. Of course I'm going to need a place to do all this work. So, I guess it's time to clear out the garage and make a man cave!

As far as the lake goes, the roofing sealant failed to stop the leak in the closet of the Prowler. The Mobile Scout rehab is always on the list and someday I'll actually put up that shed.

Finally, at home there is lots of painting to be done, the driveway to seal and the deck to refinish...and let's not forget the hole I have to cut in the wall of the main bath to replace bathtub faucet.

I'm not even going to include the things I need to do for work. We'll see how many of these boxes get check marks before 2011! First on that list is the hovercraft!