S. O. A. P.

Here’s Your 90 second AM Devotional!

S-cripture:

Mark 1:14

After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God.

O-bservation:

Up until this time, John the Baptist was the most well-known prophet for repentance and change in this region of the world. He had prepared the way for Jesus to come on the scene. Jesus had just finished forty days and nights in the wilderness fasting and being tempted by the devil. It was time for Jesus to begin His work and for John to step back.

A-pplication:

This passage comes down to a person’s calling. Some are called for a reason, others are called for a season, and others are called for a lifetime. God had raised up John for a specific reason and a very short season. Even John had said, “Jesus must increase and I must decrease” (Jn. 3:30). But this is perhaps the most challenging thing a man or woman of God will ever be asked to do. In John’s case, the Lord made it easy for him. He was put in prison for calling out the King’s sin and then beheaded. It sounds hard, and it was,  but maybe it was easier for John to go out that way than it would have been for him to leave the limelight on his own so Jesus could INCREASE. Even today, there comes a point when a person’s ministry must move from the front page to the back page. I call it “The Need To Step Back.”

P-rayer:

Dear Jesus,

I can’t imagine what it was like for John to step back. When it’s my time to step back, help me do so with Grace. Amen