MORNING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/24/2026
9:37 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
“PT-3 “John’s Doubt”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Luke 7:18-20”
Message
of the verses: 18The disciples of
John also reported to him
about all these things. 19And after summoning two of his
disciples, John sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are You the
Coming One, or are we to look for another?” 20When the men came to Him,
they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to You, to ask, ‘Are
You the Coming One, or are we to look for another?’”
I desire to continue looking at these verses, praying
that what I write will bring glory to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, as I begin
by looking at the third reason for doubt in the life of John the Baptist.
“Third, John’s doubt stemmed from
incomplete revelation. Lack of
information breeds doubt (cf. Matt. 22:29), and John was missing one crucial
piece of information not clearly revealed in the Old Testament.”
(cf. Matt. 22:29)
“29 But Jesus answered them, "You are wrong,
because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God.”
“It is
true that the Old Testament implies two advents for Messiah, one as the
suffering servant, and the other as the conquering king. But the Old Testament does not explicitly
reveal the already 2,000-year gap between those two advents. During that time the Lord would turn from
disobedient, rejecting Israel (Matt. 23:37-39) to the Gentiles and establish
the church, which is made up of both Jews and Gentiles.”
(Matt. 23:37-39)
“37 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that
kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have
gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and
you were not willing! 38 See, your house
is left to you desolate. 39 For I tell
you, you will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the
name of the Lord.’"
“Not until
that period ends and all Israel is saved (Rom 11:26) will Jesus return,
establish His glorious kingdom, and fulfill all the promises of the Abrahamic
and Davidic covenants.”
(Rom 11:26)
“26 And in this way all Israel will be saved, as
it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness
from Jacob”;”
“It was
their failure to understand that truth that prompted the apostles’
post-resurrection question to the Lord about establishing His kingdom noted
above.
“The cure for such doubt is to read,
study understand, and meditate on God’s revelation in Scripture, as the opening
words of the book of Psalms reveal:
1 ¶ Blessed is the man who walks not in the
counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat
of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the
law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that
he does, he prospers.”
“To keep
Joshua from doubting his ability to lead Israel in the conquest of Cannan, God
commanded him, ‘This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you
shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according
to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and
then you will have success’ (Josh. 1:8).
It was Nathanael’s understanding of the Old Testament that removed any
doubt in his mind that Jesus was the Messiah (John 1:49; cf. 5:39).”
(John 1:49; cf. 5:39)
“49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the
Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”
“39 You search the Scriptures because you think
that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me,”
“As
mentioned earlier, the Bereans turned to the Scriptures to verify the teaching
they received. Since it contains the
mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16) and reveals ‘everything pertaining to life and
godliness (2 Peter 1:3; cf. 3:18), Scripture provides the cure for doubt.”
(1 Cor. 2:16)
16 “For who has understood the mind of the Lord
so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.”
(2 Peter 1:3; cf. 3:18)
“3 His divine power hath has granted to us all
things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who
called us to his own glory and excellence,”
“18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of
eternity. Amen.”
“The final and perhaps most
significant reason for John’s doubt was his wrong expectation. John was a fiery preacher, warning of God’s
impending judgment and calling for repentance (cf. Luke 3:3-17).”
(cf. Luke 3:3-17)
“3 And he went into all the region around the
Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 4 As it is written in the book of the words of
Isaiah the prophet, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare
the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. 5
Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made
low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough places shall become
level ways, 6 and all flesh shall see
the salvation of God.’" 7 He said
therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, "You brood of
vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruits in keeping
with
repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our
father.’ For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for
Abraham. 9 Even now the axe is laid to
the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is
cut down and thrown into the fire." 10
And the crowds asked him, “What then shall we do?” 11 And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics
is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.”
12 Tax collectors also came to be
baptized and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” 13 And he said to them, “Collect no more than
you are authorized to do.” 14 Soldiers also
asked him, “And we, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not extort
money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your
wages.” 15 ¶ As the people were in expectation, and all
were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the
Christ, 16 John answered them all,
saying, "I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming,
the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with
the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His
winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the
wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’”
“His
warning of judgment picked up where the Old Testament ended (Mal. 4:1), and
John expected the Messiah to execute that judgment on the wicked when He
arrived.”
(Mal. 4:1)
“1 ¶ "For behold, the day is coming, burning
like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day
that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the LORD of hosts, so that it will
leave them neither root nor branch.”
“But Jesus, instead of bringing
destruction and judgment upon unbelievers, brought to them healing and
compassion. The ax was not laid at the
root of the trees, nor did the winnowing fork toss the chaff into the fire
(Luke 3:9, 17).”
(Luke 3:9, 17)
“9 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the
trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and
thrown into the fire."
“17 His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear
his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he
will burn with unquenchable fire.’’
“The Day
of the Lord with all its fury and judgment of the wicked, had not arrived. That did not make sense to John, who had
called for sinners to repent in order to avoid Messiah’s soon and sudden
judgment.”
Spiritual
meaning for my life today: It has been almost two thousand years since
John the Baptist was a preacher in Israel, and we are seeing things in our
world that to me, speak of things which will bring on those last seven years of
history as we know it. Things like all
the earthquakes that have happened this year, and not small ones but ones above
7.0, and even one over 8.0. Other things
like how the world’s countries are lining up as spoken of in prophecy. The longer I live the closer the rapture is,
and my prayer has always been that I would be alive when the rapture happens.
My
Steps of Faith for Today:
Trust the Lord to come in the rapture exactly when He chooses to come for His
bride, but pray it will be soon. 8/24/2026
10:12 AM
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