Daily D – John 1:20

by | Aug 28, 2021 | Daily D | 0 comments

He didn’t deny it but confessed, “I am not the Messiah.”
JOHN 1:20 (CSB)

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“I’m kind of a big deal.” 

Mark Driscoll made this statement to his coworkers as detailed in The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill, a podcast by Mike Cosper of Christianity Today. Driscoll is not alone. There are a lot of people who think they are kind of a big deal. 

I uttered these words facetiously in a conversation with leaders from across the country Tuesday morning. We all laughed, but it felt terrible deep in my gut. I am not a big deal. 

Turn to Matthew 11:7-15 and read what Jesus said about John the Baptizer. In verse 11 he says, “Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one greater than John the Baptist has appeared.” That’s pretty high praise. That sounds like someone who is kind of a big deal. 

What did John say about himself in relation to Jesus? “He must increase, but I must decrease,” (John 3:30). 

“He must become greater; I must become less,” (New International Version).

“He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less,” (New Living Translation).

“This is the assigned moment for him to move into the center, while I slip off to the sidelines,” (The Message).

As inflation diminishes the value of a dollar, so does an inflated ego diminish the value of our contribution to the world. 

Preachers and politicians and podcasters need these two memory verses to guide them day by day and moment by moment:

“I am not the Messiah.”

“He must increase, but I must decrease.” 

So let it be written. So let it be done.

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I will become less and less so that people can see more and more of Jesus.

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Our Father, more Jesus, please. Much less of me. Amen.

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Daily D – Isaiah 65:1-2

Isaiah 65:1, 2
The Lord says, “I was ready to respond, but no one asked for help.
I was ready to be found, but no one was looking for me.
I said, ‘Here I am, here I am!’
to a nation that did not call on my name.
All day long I opened my arms to a rebellious people.
But they follow their own evil paths
and their own crooked schemes.”

Daily D – Psalm 131

Psalm 131
Lord, my heart is not proud;
my eyes are not haughty.
I don’t concern myself with matters too great
or too awesome for me to grasp.
Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself,
like a weaned child who no longer cries for its mother’s milk.
Yes, like a weaned child is my soul within me.
O Israel, put your hope in the Lord—
now and always.

Daily D – Isaiah 55:8-13

Isaiah 55:8-13
“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the LORD.
“And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so my ways are higher than your ways
and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

“The rain and snow come down from the heavens
and stay on the ground to water the earth.
They cause the grain to grow,
producing seed for the farmer
and bread for the hungry.
It is the same with my word.
I send it out, and it always produces fruit.
It will accomplish all I want it to,
and it will prosper everywhere I send it.
You will live in joy and peace.
The mountains and hills will burst into song,
and the trees of the field will clap their hands!
Where once there were thorns, cypress trees will grow.
Where nettles grew, myrtles will sprout up.
These events will bring great honor to the LORD’s name;
they will be an everlasting sign of his power and love.”

Daily D – Isaiah 50:4-5

Isaiah 50:4, 5 “The Sovereign Lord has given me his words of wisdom,
so that I know how to comfort the weary.
Morning by morning he wakens me
and opens my understanding to his will.
The Sovereign Lord has spoken to me,
and I have listened.
I have not rebelled or turned away.”

Daily D – Isaiah 48:17-18

Isaiah 48:17, 18 This is what the Lord says—
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“I am the LORD your God,
who teaches you what is good for you
and leads you along the paths you should follow.
Oh, that you had listened to my commands!
Then you would have had peace flowing like a gentle river
and righteousness rolling over you like waves in the sea.”