October 21 Giving Joy

John 3:22-24 After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized. 23 Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were constantly coming to be baptized. 24 (This was before John was put in prison.)
 
LET’S begin with Psalms 19:6-8 The sun rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is hidden from its heat. 7 The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.  making wise the simple. 8 The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. 
   Do you see how this passage relates to today’s Scripture? When John writes, “Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized.” he expresses the Son of God is on the move as the sun of the heavens. Jesus is not a king who sits on a throne and sends messengers to his people. He is the King who personally came heaven to teach, preach and witness God’s glory to his creation.
   His laws, precepts (teachings, principles), are trustworthy, reviving and joyful (See the joy again?). The Lord gives example for the gospel messengers who will follow his pathway some three years later as they go from Jerusalem, to Judea, to Samaria and to the ends of the earth. Jesus walked his earth to minister his grace, mercy and love. Indeed, The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. 
   Note, too, how Jesus and John the Baptist are both at work. John will soon depart. The transition has begun. Yet, John keeps working because this is his anointing. The Lord’s presence increases the urgency of the Jews’ baptism of repentance. John is urgent to do all he can to prepare the Jews for their Messiah. He continues to be a good model for our Christian life.
 
Prayer: Thank you, Jesus, for walking into the hills, valleys, farmland and streams of your earth. You are a personal Savior. Your truth radiates from heaven into my soul. Amen.