Today's scripture reading is Luke chapter 3. In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod, tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip, tetrarch of Iteria, and Trachonitis, and Lysanias, tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, son of Zechariah, in the wilderness. He went into all that region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, a voice of one calling in the wilderness, prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked ways shall be made straight and the rough ways smooth, and all humanity will see God's salvation. Then John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, you brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit then, in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, we have Abraham as our father, for I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax lies ready at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. The crowds asked him, what then should we do? John replied, whoever has two tunics should share with him who has none, and whoever has food should do the same. Even tax collectors came to be baptized. Teacher, they asked, what should we do? Collect no more than you are authorized, he answered. Then some soldiers asked him, and what should we do? Do not take money by force or false accusation, he said. Be content with your wages. The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John could be the Christ. John answered all of them, I baptize you with water, but one more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. With these and many other exhortations, John proclaimed the good news to the people. But when he rebuked Herod the Tetrarch regarding his brother's wife Herodias and all the evils he had done, Herod added this to them all. He locked John up in prison. When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened. And the Holy Spirit descended on him in a bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, Jesus himself was about 30 years old when he began his ministry. He was regarded as the son of Joseph, the son of Heli, the son of Mathat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jani, the son of Joseph, the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Nagai, the son of Math, the son of Mattathias, the son of Simeon, the son of Joseph, the son of Jodah, the son of Joannan, the son of Risa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Nuri. the son of Melchi, the son of Adi, the son of Qasim, the son of Elmadam, the son of Ur, the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Joram, the son of Methet, the son of Levi, the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, the son of Meliah, the son of Menah, the son of Metathah, the son of Nathan, the son of David, the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salah, the son of Nahashon, the son of Aminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Ammi, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, the son of Sirug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, The son of Canaan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalalel, the son of Canaan, the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God. And this is God's Word. Luke chapter 3 begins with some historical context. It told us that John the Baptist began his ministry during the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, according to verse 1. Then it goes on to list some other leaders. These leaders can be classified this way. When John's ministry began, there was one world leader, Tiberius Caesar, according to verse 1. There were four regional leaders who were Pontius Pilate of Judea, Herod of Galilee, Philip, Lysanias, and there were two religious leaders, Annas and Caiaphas. Luke's purpose in listing these men was to establish the life and ministry of John, and then of course Jesus, within human history. But Luke may have had another purpose in mind when he listed these leaders. Despite the many layers of government and religious authorities over God's people, God's Word did not come to any of them. Instead, verse 2 says, the Word of God came to John, the son of Zechariah, in the wilderness. And that message was to get ready because, according to verse 4, the Lord is coming. When God began his kingdom program, he did not give his word to the politically powerful or even the religiously significant. Instead, he began speaking to a man out in the desert. Through him and through Jesus Christ, who did most of his preaching away from Jerusalem in small towns and far away from Rome, the capital city, but through Jesus in those small towns, God began to send his salvation, according to verse six. Does God need a president of the United States? Does he need a majority in the two houses of Congress? Is his will subject to which legal ideology controls the court system? No. In fact, God's ways and will are done outside of human politics and inside of human hearts, according to verses seven and eight, through the power of his word, according to verse two. There is value in voting and in using politics to communicate what is righteous and what is sinful, and to preserve whatever freedoms we can. But government cannot make people love God. It can't make people find God's love, it can't make people righteous, and it can't get them forgiveness in Jesus Christ. Only the gospel by the power of the Holy Spirit can do that. Put your faith there, not in politicians. Put more energy into the spread of God's word than in the election of a candidate or in getting legislation passed. God works through his word in human hearts and he does so in small towns and in large cities too. So let's focus our efforts there and let's watch God work just as he did in John and Jesus and so many others throughout the Bible. If you like these devotionals, consider signing up to receive them in your email every day. Go to dailypbj.com slash subscribe for that. All you gotta do is give me your email address and you can subscribe at any time. 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