John The Baptist, who prepares the way for Jesus

Luke 1:11-18,¹¹ Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. ¹² When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. ¹³ But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. ¹⁴ He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, ¹⁵ for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. ¹⁶ He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. ¹⁷ And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

¹⁸ Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”

The gospel of Mark begins with words of prophecy by Isaiah. John appeared preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. He baptized people in the river Jordan. John said, ⁸ I baptize you with water, but he (Jesus) will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” John the Baptist prepared the way for the Lord Jesus. John was put into prison. Jesus appeared on the scene soon after that.

Jesus performed many acts as was His work on earth and then returned back to be seated at the right hand of the Father. Prophets had prophesied before the coming of Jesus. Among the prophets the most important is prophet Isaiah. The Lord Jesus has spoken Himself about His second coming. His second coming is confirmed and will happen. The day or time is not known to anyone. Mathew 24:35-36, ³⁵ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. ³⁶ “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

Mark 13:33, ³³ Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come.

There is an end to every creation. There is an end to this world as well. In Genesis 6:13, we read, ¹³ So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. The result of the anger was the end of the world through the Great Flood. We should also take a moment to ponder and think what will be the end of this world???

Romans 3:10-13,  As it is written:

“There is no one righteous, not even one;
¹¹     there is no one who understands;
    there is no one who seeks God.
¹² All have turned away,
    they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
    not even one.”

Just look around yourself. The changes in the forces of nature and the widespread increase of evil and its net is a clear indication that the second coming of the Lord is near. If that happens, then what?? It is time to think dear brothers and sisters.

Dear children of God, the Lord gave us Hope before He wen to the Father. Confession/Penance is the way to forgiveness of sins. For eg: the prodigal son, the thief on the cross who received deliverance, the lost lamb, etc. Be alert. See the changes in nature around you and take them as warning for His second coming. Its time to prepare ourselves for Him. With His second coming, there will be coming together of man and God.

1 Thessalonians 4:14,17-18,¹⁴ For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.

¹⁷ After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.  ¹⁸ Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Saul who became apostle Paul used to persecute believers of Jesus before he found faith in Him. He was then ready to even give up his life for Jesus. He is the best example to see the transformation that happens when a person accepts Jesus in his/her life as their Savior.

Apostle Paul has said in, 2 Timothy 4:7, ⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. May each child of God be able to proclaim this. Yes we can. Say and ask this openly from the Lord Jesus. He will come and transform you.