MyLeslieNotebook

John was almost too good at his job. His message-- repent! --was not one most people wanted to hear. It usually meant pointing out sins in others and encouraging them to stop.  We don't really like the message today, either. When your friend calls you out on something you know you shouldn't be doing  your first response is usually to think, "How dare she tell me what to do?" Even if you eventually see she was right, you really don't want to hear someone else point out your sins . Yet somehow John delivered the message and not only managed to get people to listen but even got somewhat popular and had some followers. He had called the normal people to repent. He had called the Pharisees to repent.  Then he called Herod to repent. And that's when the trouble started: "But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of Herodias, his brother's wife, and all the other evil things he had done, Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in pri...

God's timing is so perfect.  My kids and I read some stories out of their kids' Bible every morning. Wouldn't you know it; today's story was one about John the Baptist. In it he was wearing this hilarious hairy coat and a leather belt. There was a picture of some honey comb and insects, referring to the honey and locusts. And though Jesus is always drawn clean-shaven in this Bible, John the Baptist had a scraggly beard. (I guess they figured that a guy who lives off the land and makes coats out of camel hair wouldn't take the time to shave :) Anyway, today we look hard at John's disciples. John knew his calling and lived it every single day. He prepared people for the Lord  by calling them to repent. But there was a little gap between when John began his public ministry and when Jesus appeared on the scene. In that time, John had become quite popular with a group of men who wanted to know what he had to say and watch how he lived. They were his disciples. ...

John the Baptist is the one I point to when I want people to understand that living the Christian life isn't all church and Bible and love and rainbows. It also means hardship, isolation, heartbreak, and, often, an untimely or brutal death. Sorry if that bursts your bubble. But for as much as Scripture talks about the love and peace and guidance of Jesus, it also talks about the difficulty you'll face because of Him, as well. We talked last week that John knew his calling. (If you didn't read it, you can here .) His identity was found in the calling that began hundreds of years before his birth in the Old Testament prophets, carried through the voice of Gabriel to his father Zechariah:  Prepare people for the Messiah. Sounds like a good gig. A nice assignment. Blow a few trumpets, preach a few sermons, and tell them to get ready: the big guy is on his way. And that's just what he did:  "And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a bapt...

John the Baptist is one of the most amazing figures in all of Scripture. He's also one of our family's favorite Bible characters. My husband likes him because he's a real man's man. I like him because he's weird. (You should be, too. If you can't remember why, read here .) We'll dig deeply into his manliness and weirdness in the next post, but for right now consider this:  John knew what his life goal was before he was even born. Some of you were thinking, "Man, I'd give anything to know what I'm supposed to do with my life." (You'd give anything to know what you're supposed to do this weekend!) But it was much more than just having a life plan . He had a calling from God Himself! The angel Gabriel said this to John's father, Zechariah: "Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great...

Who do you trust? It's a pretty easy question. As soon as you saw it, you knew the answer. It's not something you have to ponder. I could list all the people in your life and you could tell me--instantly--if you trust that person. Or not. Because here's the case: we usually trust a person until we realize we can't. Most of us are pretty trusting in general, but we know better than to put our trust in someone that has proven to be un-trustworthy in the past. A few weeks ago, my husband went for a hike to a creek near our house. He got to the water and saw a log that had fallen over the creek, connecting the bank he was on to the other side. He walked across it, no problem. A few days later, he decided to take our kids to that same spot. Just like he had done a few days earlier, they walked to the log. He walked out on it, no problem. He held out his hand for our 6-year old son to follow him.  Problem.  The minute he stepped on with all of his 40 pounds of w...