Shownotes
Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy
Welcome to Day 784 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.
This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom
God’s Good News Always Begins with a Servant – Meditation Monday
Thank you for joining us for our five days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 784 of our trek, and it is time for Meditation Monday. Taking time to relax, refocus, and reprioritize our lives is crucial in order to create a living legacy.
For some, it may just be a time alone for quiet reflection. Some may utilize structured meditation practices. In my life meditation includes reading and reflecting on God’s Word and praying. It is a time to renew my mind, refocus on what is most important, and make sure that I am nurturing my soul, mind, and body. As you come along with me on our trek each Meditation Monday, it is my hope and prayer that you too will experience a time for reflection and renewing of your mind.
We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. It has been an extremely busy month of traveling, Christmas celebrations, and client work. Just when we thought we would be able to remain in Marietta for a few weeks, we found out that Paula’s Aunt Pauline has had a downturn in her health, so we are heading back to Fort Myers this week to help Aunt Pauline move from her senior apartment to an assisted living facility.
We visited her the last week of December and celebrated her 90th birthday with her but did not anticipate that we would have to return so quickly. We are thankful that we can serve in this manner. Service to others should be what drives us on each day. It helps to get our mind off ourselves and on what is truly important in life. Today let us reflect on a person whose entire life’s trek or purpose for life was to prepare the world to receive the Messiah…
God’s Good News Always Begins with a Servant
I love the way Mark begins his good news story about Jesus Christ in Mark 1:1-4.
The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:
“I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way”
“a voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’”
And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
This introduction is Mark’s way of saying that Jesus’s ministry, Jesus’s whole story, begins with a servant — and this servant’s name is John the Baptizer. There are no birth stories about Jesus in Mark. Nothing about His childhood is written in Mark. There are no genealogies that tell about Jesus’s ancestry. Mark is clear, purposeful, and to the point: for people to hear and believe the good news about Jesus, God most frequently uses those who offer themselves to Him to be servants so others can believe. That’s why in God’s Kingdom, the greatest is always a servant. As He said during His earthly ministry in Matthew 23:11-12, “The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Just as John the Baptizer was a servant who prepared the hearts of others to know Jesus, please know that you are to have that same role in the lives of your friends and family. For the good news about Jesus to reach the hearts of your friends, associates, and family, they must know that you do what you do for them because of your love for Jesus as well as for them.
Let’s back up and reread Mark 1:1-4 and continue through verse 8.
· John the Baptist Prepares the Way
The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:
“I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way”
“a voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’”
And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
John’s life was a preparation for Jesus’s life. Just as John the Baptizer was a servant of Jesus, we need to have the same mind as Jesus, which He described in Mark [10:42]-45.
Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Next week we will continue our trek on Meditation Monday as we take time to reflect on what is most important in creating our living legacy. On tomorrow’s trek, we will explore another wisdom quote. This 3-minute wisdom supplement will assist you in becoming healthy, wealthy and wise each day. Thank you for joining me on this trek called life. Encourage your friends and family to join us and then come along tomorrow for another day of Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.
If you would like to listen to any of the past 783 daily treks or read the daily journal, they are available at Wisdom-Trek.com. You can also subscribe to iTunes and Google Play so that each day’s trek will be downloaded automatically.
Thank you so much for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal.
As we take this trek together, let us always:
- Live Abundantly (Fully)
- Love Unconditionally
- Listen Intentionally
- Learn Continuously
- Lend to others Generously
- Lead with Integrity
- Leave a Living Legacy Each Day
This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Every Day! See you tomorrow!