"WHO?!?"

"In the 15th year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness."

(Luke 3:1-2)

They're the movers and shakers. The power play people. Those "large and in-charge." Every time and period has them... and the Bible is no different. Luke 3 starts by listing those folks: Emperors, governors, rulers, and high priests. They're all there. They're all named. And God skips right over them to empower some unknown guy named John, living in the wilderness.

This John was John the Baptist. Cousin to Jesus, yes. But more importantly, the "set up man" for the Messiah. God-ordained. He made sure people were ready for the coming Savior. He was a nobody in the eyes of just about everyone, except God. And yet, through his witness, amazing changes took place in the lives of people.

That's an exciting intro to chapter 3. It tells me that God can work through anyone. But it's also a bit humbling. If a list of people in power today was made, from political to spiritual leaders, as a pastor I'd be on the list somewhere (all pastors would be). But this passage reminds me I'm not the end-all and be-all of God's voice - not even here at Palmdale UMC where I'm the "senior pastor." God can choose to communicate through ANYBODY.

So I need to keep my eyes, ears, and heart open to how God might be speaking through others around me. Anyone around me! And that's a good thing. I'm not the "spiritual monopoly" when it comes to connecting to God. Not by a longshot.