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As I sit here gazing from the 18th floor a few days before Christmas, I have an expansive view. There are only a handful of people out walking along the beach in the cool, brisk morning air.  Amidst the crashing waves, there is a small boat in the middle of the ocean.  I’m trying to determine the purpose of this little boat out there.   I can see the lights flashing and it carrying something on each side.  Is it a tug boat? Oh, those are nets, its a fishing boat.  How timely, considering I’m reading the book of Luke.  Jesus was not a fisherman, but He was a fisher of men.  Like the fishing boat wading calmly in the middle of the crashing waves with lights blinking and nets on each side, Jesus got in the middle of it all for us with nets full of grace and mercy.

Reading about John and his teachings, you realize quickly that John doesn’t pull any punches.  He goes straight for the jugular of sin.  He tells us that God doesn’t want us to just go through religious and ritualistic motions, He wants us to live changed, fruitful lives.  Then Jesus came on the scene shining brightly, going out into the seas of life full of grace and mercy, showing us exactly how we can live a godly life.  John started his teachings in the wilderness, which is where we all find ourselves at some point … in some type of wilderness experience.  Some days are easier than others.  And then there are some days when we start our morning with reading and prayer, then it seems that almost immediately after we close the Bible something comes out of the blue and takes us into a “wilderness.”  It can be traffic, it can be work, it can be someone close to you … or you could be sitting at your laptop feeling very inspired and writing your blog, and then all of a sudden your computer just shuts off and you lose the entire entry you’ve been working on for more than an hour.  That’s what happened to me this morning while writing this entry.  Go figure, I’m sitting here attempting to tell you how to let your light shine, how to live a changed life and how to be fruitful during your wilderness experience, when my computer screen comes crashing down on me.

Here are a few of the questions the people asked John:  “What should we do then?”  John’s response was, “Anyone who has 2 shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.” When the tax collectors asked, his reply was “Don’t collect any more than you are required to;” then the solders asked, “What should we do?” John replied, “Don’t extort one and don’t accuse people falsely – be content with your pay.”

I believe we can all read and ponder on this, then conclude on ways that we could become more fruitful by changing the way we think about things.  So for me today, it started with me not throwing my laptop off of the balcony.  I had to shift my mindset to the belief that God will inspire me to write this blog even better than what I lost. When God restores, it is better than before.  First there was Adam, then God restored humanity through the birth and ministry of Jesus.  So much better than before.

So lets commit during this holiday season and into 2020 to live a fruitful life.  Lets share with those who are less fortunate and lets be honest and above board in all our dealings.