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Top billing in your life?

To hear this Morning Devotion, please click here

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With all the fame and fortune that Reba McEntire has gained, it’s easy to forget that she was once a no-name wannabe.

Back in the early 1980s, I saw Reba in concert in Gainesville, Florida. She only did six songs, however.

Why? Because she was the warm-up act for George Strait, who was the warm-up act for then-aging legend Conway Twitty.

Except for one song that had blasted to the top of the charts then — “How Blue” — relatively few people across the country had heard of Reba.

But that soon changed after her national tour alliance with Twitty put her in front of millions. Soon her unique, twangy voice was flooding the airwaves and buyers were flooding the record stores.

She was no longer a wannabe but instead the success so many others wanted to be.

As I read from John 3 this morning, I thought about Reba’s meteoric rise to fame and great wealth.

I thought about how exciting that must have been for her and for those who shared in the success.

And then I wondered if she would be just as excited if a close, male relative started a singing career and took most of her fans’ loyalty and dollars.

Would the words “He must become greater; I must become less” come from her mouth?

I don’t know. If pride were important to her, the last thing that she’d want to see is her loss of market share to a rival, particularly one from her extended family.

John 3 talks about somebody who not only was happy for a relative’s growing popularity, but who even was doing all that he could to help that relative to become MORE successful.

“He must become greater; I must become less” is what John the Baptist told his disciples when they complained about the growing ministry of John’s cousin, Jesus of Nazareth.

John had been Israel’s A-list country preacher for a couple of years perhaps when Jesus came to him to be baptized.

All sorts of big shots and little shots came to John in the riverside wilderness to hear sermons on repentance and forgiveness and to hear that they must be baptized if their sins were to be washed away. Many believed in God and had their sins washed away in the Jordan River (Mark 1:4).

And for perhaps more than a year after Jesus’ baptism, John had continued to draw crowds seeking peace with God.

But Christ’s ministry grew rapidly and John’s disciples could see their waning market share and pride kicked in.

They complained in John 3:26 that “everyone is going to him,” meaning Jesus Christ.

John told them that he — John — was never intended to be the bridegroom but instead the one who attends the bridegroom.

The joy is mine, and it is now complete,” John said of Christ’s #1 ranking among preachers/evangelists in Israel.

What a great example for us.

More of Jesus and less of us.

This is a powerful, guiding principle for all areas of our lives.

In our conversations with relatives, co-workers, friends, church members or wherever, the percentage of words crediting Christ for the good in our lives should be on the increase while the merit we claim based on our strength or brains or charm should be on the decrease.

In our thought time when nobody is around, the time spent thinking about how to build Christ’s Kingdom should be increasing while the time spent trying to build our own popularity and portfolios should be decreasing.

You get the point, I’m sure, so I’ll trust that you’ll pray for wisdom to give Jesus a larger slice of your thought pie, your speaking pie and your actions pie, your spending pie, etc..

Listen, the more that people see Jesus in your life, the more likely that you’ll begin see Jesus’ influence in their lives.

I absolutely believe this.

Why? Because I saw it in John’s life.

Thanks, John.

As always, I love you
Martin

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