John Prepares the Way
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius
Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea and Annas and Caiaphas had
been named to the high priesthood, John, son of Zechariah, became convicted
with a calling from God. He was the “voice calling in the desert to prepare the
way for the Lord…” (Isaiah 40:3) His clothes were made of camel’s hair, held
with a leather belt.
He
ate locusts and wild honey and traveled the country around the Jordan River
preaching that all needed to repent, for merely being children of Abraham was
not enough to ensure salvation. God could raise any number of children from the
stones. (In the Old Testament, God made a pact with Abraham that his descendants
would be His chosen people. John warned them not to rely solely on their
heritage.)
People
came from Jerusalem and all Judea to confess their sins and be baptized with water
as a sign of repentance. John said to them, “Repent, for there is one still to
come whose sandals I am unworthy to untie. He will baptize with the Holy Spirit
and with fire (a sign of purification and forgiveness). You must be like trees
that produce good fruit so as not to be cut down and thrown into the fire
(here, purification in the sense of destroying the unrighteous).
The
crowd asked how they should do this. John answered, “Share with those who have
less than you—clothes, food, whatever you have. Tax collectors, do not take
more than the law requires, and you soldiers, don’t accuse people falsely. Be content
with your pay.” The people wondered if John might be the Christ.
Writing
Status
I’ve
started sending out queries (letters giving a brief idea of what your book or
whatever you’re writing is about) to agents to see if any are interested in
representing me and my novel The Devoted
of Imshalel. Wish me luck or better yet, maybe send up a prayer or two.
Monday—Angry:
to be or not to be. In the spirit of full disclosure, I’m perimenopausal,
hormonal, and seem to be angry an awful lot of the time, quite often for no
apparent reason. Bet plenty of you ladies and you husbands can relate.
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