Devo Luke 3

Chapter 3
7John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers!
Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8Produce 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. 9The axe 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.” 10”What should
we do then?” the crowd asked. 11John answered, “The man with two tunics should
share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same.”
12Tax collectors also came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we
do?” 13”Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them. 14Then
some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?” He replied, “Don’t extort
money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.” 15The people
were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might
possibly be the Messiah.

Meditation:
1. John was not a smooth, comfortable preacher. He was blunt and
confrontational. He preached the message of coming wrath of God and
“a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins”. This wasn’t an easy
message to take, but people kept coming to hear him and even wondering if
John might be the Christ (v15).
2. Perhaps when we hear messages such as John’s, our masks and pretenses are
stripped away, and we are forced not only to face our need – but are given
hope in God’s word. And only when we face guilt do we seek forgiveness, and
find the new life in our Saviour Jesus.
3. Am I in the habit of “direction change” (repentance) in my daily life? What
has the Holy Spirit been speaking to me lately on certain wrong “directions”?
4. Take a moment to think about it. Then pray for God’s forgiveness. Pray also
for the Holy Spirit to “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the
evil one.”(Matt 6:13)

Personal Note:
Whoever does not bear fruit will be put into the fire.  Th main theme of this devotion is repentance.  The practical ways of repentance is to share our belongings to others, not to cheat other people, and be content with what we have.  Repentance is shown by how we live our lives.

I feel that even though God has provided pretty much our needs, I feel that I do not trust God enough and still worry at the same time.  I am convicted that I can only produce fruits through God's power.