Walks like a Duck...

We are studying the Gospel of John in my small group and this week we looked at John the Baptist. His job was to prepare the way for the Lord.

Beth Moore in her "Beloved Disciple Study" says this about preparation:
Preparation reminds me of a wonderful verse in Joshua, "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you: (3:5). God can perform a miracle in any one of us at anytime, but amazing things happen when He prepares us for His mighty work. Included in that mighty work will most assuredly be what we need most- whether a fresh work, a repair from a tear, or a full-scale restoration.

Our job as Christians is also to prepare the way for the Lord...on a daily basis. Our lives, our actions, our words should be 'making the path straight', a highway to the Heavenly Father. John said this to the priests who came to question him, "Produce fruit in keeping with repentance!"(Luke 3:8, Matthew 3:8).

What a strong statement! The Bible is filled with warnings, encouragements, and statements to make sure our faith and our lives match. John 15 talks about the vine and branches and fruit, and James also challenges us to not live by faith alone. The whole concept of walks like a duck, sounds like a duck, looks like a duck...so is a duck takes on a new meaning!

Walk like a Christ Follower:
My fruit is better than fine gold; what I yield surpasses choice silver. I walk in the way of righteousness, along the paths of justice. (Proverbs 8:19-20)
Sound like a Person Following Christ:
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. Ephesians 4:29; But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people. 4Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving Ephesians 5:3-4
Looks like a Christ Follower:
God's power has given us everything we need to lead a godly life. All of that has come to us because we know the One who chose us. He chose us because of his own glory and goodness. He has also given us his very great and valuable promises. He did it so you could share in his nature. He also did it so you could escape from the evil in the world. That evil is caused by sinful longings. So you should try very hard to add goodness to your faith. To goodness, add knowledge. To knowledge, add the ability to control yourselves. To the ability to control yourselves, add the strength to keep going. To the strength to keep going, add godliness. To godliness, add kindness to believers. And to kindness to believers, add love. You should possess more and more of those good points. They will make you useful and fruitful as you get to know our Lord Jesus Christ better 2 Peter 1:3-8

Then you will be a new creation in Christ- Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:17-21.

Do you see? We are to be Christ's ambassadors- preparing the way for His presence in people's lives.

So...are you producing fruit in keeping with repentance?