The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
Mark 1:5-8 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/mrk.1.5-8.NIV
The message of repentance by John was an outlandish one. In those days, if anyone sinned, he would have to offer an animal as a sacrifice to atone for his sin. This is what the law stated. However here comes a man draped in camel skin who feeds on locusts. With a seemingly abrasive personality, he instructs people to repent of their sins and be baptized for forgiveness. Such an extraordinary message should have attracted a challenge from the teachers of the law yet even some of them came to be ministered to. John spoke not by his own might but under the conviction of the Spirit of God. Whatever he said sunk into the psyche of his listeners because the word of God never goes forth and comes back void. John’s posture seemed to suggest that he was a man given to solitude and seeking God earnestly. Certainly his ministry had impact because of this. This is true even today. Our service to God is only as effective as the time we spend in His presence. If we seek to touch lives we must be willing to encounter God in our privacy. We must seek Him through prayer and His word. But finally John announced the arrival of the Messiah in verse 7. Though he had been given a great ministry by God, he sought to point people to the source of his strength, Christ. The message of repentance he preached was a precursor to the forgiveness of sin through the blood of Christ on the cross. As people looked upto him, he pointed them to Christ. This is the calling we have: to point others to Christ. As people marvel at how well we live, our commitment and love for God, we ought to show them the source of our strength, Christ. It all starts and ends with Christ.
LIFE SCRIPTS 
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