Author: coachdkeith

John the Baptist had purpose. He was driven by that God given purpose…

John 1:19-28
19 Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20 He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”

21 They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”

He said, “I am not.”

“Are you the Prophet?”

He answered, “No.”

22 Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”

24 Now the Pharisees who had been sent 25 questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

26 “I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. 27 He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”

28 This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

Each of us is given a purpose by God, the day we are made in your mother’s womb. God has a specific purpose for each of us. He knows exactly what we will do every single day of our lives with that purpose. Some will walk the Earth never asking for that God given purpose to revealed. Some will think they lnow, having never asked the Father what their purpose is, and get it wrong. They will press too much of themselves into their avtion, never having pressed into God, and not find truth.

John knew his purpose. There was doubt, no wavering, no second guessing, there was only purpose. A purpose revealed to him because he asked for that revelation from God. He asked what his purpose is. Through this, John found out who he was by how he acted. It is God’s wish and hope for us that we find out who we are, because just like John was preparing the way for Jesus’ teturn, that is our purpose as well.

We cannot compare ourselves to Jesus. We all fall short of that perfect example. But the beauty of it is, is that we don’t have to because He already did. He lived the blameless life for us so we would love and live. What a gift. What a beautiful gift. How should we respond to that gift?

It’s time to get down on your knees and not ask the Father for what you want, but ask the Father, ask God what He wants from you today. Ask Him to reveal the reason, the purpose, for your life. Then go and prepare the way, the way that John the Baptist did. Openly, lovinglu, and Always On Call. There are so many that need you to share Jesus with them. It’s never too late. God is good all the time… #JesusSaves

Amen
DK

He walked among us. He gave us the way, the truth, and the life…

John 1:6-18
6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.

9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

15 (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”) 16 Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and[b] is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.

Grace. This one word sums up so much of what He did for us. There is such power in grace. It is the all-encompassing idea that regardless of what I have done, God has and will always love me and forgive me. My Heavenly Father loves me.

Jesus came to Earth, and through His blood we have become Sons of God. It was through no earthly manner or human decision that I was made His son. It was grace that came to get me, to save me, to redeem me.

He brought with Him the truth of all things, seen and not seen. He came to lift the weight from our shoulders and replace it with the outpouring of love. His mercy took my burden and carried it away forever. Grace and truth came to us and freed us. In the mighty name of Jesus Christ we are free and saved. #JesusSaves

Amen
DK

Today I begin reading and studying the final Gospel of Jesus Christ written by John. I have been waiting patiently for this book for some time. If these words do not stir your soul, then perhaps your heart is no longer beating. In the Bible, you will see the living word…

John 1:1-5
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

The words are so full of life. They encapsulate all of what Jesus came to earth to show us. He is telling us that He has always been with us, and that He will never leave us. That He is in all of us

To have the God of all, love us the way that He does, blows my mind. I have done nothing to deserve it. Nothing to earn it. As a matter of fact, I step on His love for me every day. Yet, His love never fails and it never gives up on me. So I run to Him. I run to Him in my happiness. I run to Him in my sorrow. I run to Him always and in every instance.

He watches me fall. He picks me up and brushes off the dirt from my hands and knees, tells me He loves me, and sends me out again. He is my Heavenly Father, my Savior, my most loyal and loving Friend, my Creator, my Shepard, and He has me always in His hands.

The last line of the verse 5 says, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” The beauty in this line is that darkness never will never overcome light. Ever. The light of God is in us all, and shines brighter than the sun. Today, walk in His light and in His authority. #JesusSaves

Amen
DK

There is more…

Mark 16:9-20
9 When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. 10 She went and told those who had been with him and who were mourning and weeping. 11 When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it.

12 Afterward Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in the country. 13 These returned and reported it to the rest; but they did not believe them either.

14 Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen.

15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”

19 After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. 20 Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.

As Christians, our message and our ministry is given to us by Jesus Himself! The message is the Gospel, which is the good news of Salvation through Jesus Christ. Our ministry is to share the news with the whole world throughout our entire lives.

In these final scenes from the Gospel written by Mark, we see the doubters. We see those that require proof, and many of those that needed proof were those that loved Jesus so much. They were blinded by their ability to see with their eyes. So many walking in this world lost, waiting for you to speak to them about Jesus.

There is a spot in this verse that emphasizes the importance of baptism. It is an intrigal part of a person’s walk in faith. It is an outward and visible demonstration of that faith. But, there is so much more to the act of baptism. You must believe in Jesus. If you don’t believe and are baptized, then you missed the point. Salvation is not a box that you can just check off yhrough being submerged in eater and then move on. You must truly believe in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! There is no way around it.

Seek God’s will, don’t go your own way. An example for you…I did something today that I had someone ask why I don’t do more of. My answer was, “Because God hasn’t told me to.” My intentions, should be His intentions. My acting should come from the will of God. You see, David Keith can mess things up. God is always perfect. His plan never fails.

Don’t be confused by the snakes that are all around you. There are so many different people out there that don’t know their own hearts and where they stand in God’s eyes. Understanding God’s will in our lives takes time and patience, which are two amazingly powerful commodities that this world easily forces us to forget.

How do you find Him? Seek Him daily. In prayer, through reading, and through loving others, you will find Him. It is complex simplicity. In other words, to know who He is is one thing, but to truly know Him is where the magic happens. Seek Him and you will find Him. It is where eternity is real. #JesusSaves

Amen
DK

Jesus had said He would rise again. They had not truly understood the message. He is Risen…

Mark 16:1-8
16 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. 2 Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb 3 and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”

4 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. 5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

6 “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”

8 Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

So much has happened leading up to this point. Each is of the accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John all specify that Jesus was not present in the tomb. He had risen, just as He said that He would. No doubt now right. Well, not quite.

The women were on their way to finish the annointing of the body of Jesus, but He was was not there. An angel was there, and he specifically said that Jesus would meet them in Galilee. Go there he said. Jesus is waiting for you. They ran to tell the others.

Remember that Peter had denied Jesus three times. Well, Jesus mentions Peter specifically. Wow! How He loves us. He knew Peter’s heart. Recall that it was Peter that stepped out of the boat on the waters and walked toward Jesus only to fall into the water. It was Peter that attacked the guards as they sought to arrest Jesus. Peter loved Jesus so.

What does this mean for us? Try as you may to push Him away. Try as you will to do it your way. Jesus will come get you. You may not “know” how to ask Him, but however you ask Him, He will come for you. You are His beloved creation. With all of your weaknesses. With all of your shortcomings. With all of your sin, you are His.

Lift up your eyes to the undefeated one. Seated on high, mountains bow down to Him. There is no other name than the name of Jesus. He did it. Game over. The win of all wins. The Championship of the Universe that defeated sin. Holy is the name of Jesus. The King has come. Light of the world reaching out for us. There is no other name! #JesusSaves

Amen
DK