Month: January 2020

Our scripture this week is Matthew 3:13-17.

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
Matthew 3:13-17

The Jews had practiced baptism before Jesus came into the world, but it was only for those who converted to Judaism. Not until John the Baptist began to preach repentance did the Jews go to be baptized themselves. Many thought that because they were the children of Abraham and God’s chosen people they had no need for repentance or baptism.

Some however began to see that for an honest relationship with God and His Messiah a change in their lives was necessary. Jesus came among us to be one of us and so He too went to the Jordan to be baptized by John. He did this with a right heart in order to show that the symbolic act of baptism carries a spiritual gift. Some call it “an outward sign of an inward change”.

We are called to remember our baptism and the covenant we make through our profession of faith. It shows our commitment to God and a promise to live out the lessons Jesus taught. God reaches out to us with forgiveness, and through baptism we accept His love and mercy to guide our lives.

Loving Lord, we often live as if our baptism never happened, not loving You or our neighbors. Lead us back to Your path and let Your light show us the right way of living in accordance with the promise we have made. Amen.

Our scripture this week is Matthew 3:13-17.

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
Matthew 3:13-17

Jesus came as a human not to seek anyone’s approval, but to do what God had called Him to do. We on the other hand like to be liked and will often say or do things merely to be accepted. In order to follow Jesus, we need to give up our concern about what the world thinks of us and listen more closely to God’s desire for our lives.

When Jesus came to John to be baptized, it wasn’t because He needed people’s approval or forgiveness for sin. He says “it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness” (verse 15). This was His only concern, to do what God had asked of Him. We hear in this reading that God was pleased with Him.

How can we please God? Jesus gave us the three points to remember in all His lessons – love God, love neighbor, make disciples. We must be in touch with God to hear His call on our lives and receive His loving approval when we do His will. If we aren’t in touch with God we miss both of these essentials.

People often say “I wish I could hear God as clearly as Jesus did”. My first question is “Are you listening closely?”. Listening to God is the most important thing we do. We can’t ask God to speak to us if we continue to blunder through our lives doing only what we want. I’ve also heard it said “If God really wanted me to do something, He’d grab my attention”. God isn’t a “grabber”, He reaches out in love to us and waits for us to take His hand. Spend time listening today and hear God’s invitation.

Patient God, we know You are there waiting for us. Your grace is given long before we ever respond. Help us to listen and be aware of the needs in Your world that we are called to meet. Amen.

Our scripture this week is Matthew 3:13-17.

As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
Matthew 3:16-17

Jesus has come to John to show His dedication to God by being baptized. This could be another “angel visitation to the shepherds” moment. We hear that the spirit of God descended on Him and God spoke from heaven. The crowd would have been buzzing about what they saw and heard.

Matthew doesn’t tell us that, but surely he would have written about it if it happened. Verse 16 tells us Jesus saw the spirit of God and heard God’s voice – there’s no mention of anyone else being aware of it. Why wouldn’t God want everyone to know?

This was a private moment between Jesus and the Father. God wanted Jesus to know He was ready for His ministry on earth and that He needed to share God’s love with everyone. It was up to Jesus to show the world by His faith in God, His love to others and His actions that proved what He preached. God could give us all a miraculous sign at any time, but that is not how He chooses to reach us. We must hear His word, accept His love for ourselves and follow Jesus to bring the Good News to everyone.

Loving Lord, we are grateful for the gift of our Savior and the gentle way He taught us of Your love. Help us to be strong in our faith and go to bless others that all the world may know You. Amen.

Our scripture this week is Matthew 3:13-17.

Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.
Matthew 3:15

“Let it be so now” Jesus says. He is aware of what this means – that as our human role model He has been called to do the things we do and go through what we go through. There aren’t any special privileges. Yes, He is the Son of God, but while He was with us He was one of us.

Jesus came to earth to show us what we could be – God’s chosen ones, His children, and what that could mean in our lives now and in eternity. He taught that by loving God and each other, we could be blessed beyond anything we can imagine. He taught us that once we know this we are called to share that blessing with everyone.

Jesus said “Let it be so now” because it will be very different later. Matthew 25:31-32 tells us “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.” When He returns things will be much different and we must be ready.

Heavenly Father, we are sorry for the things we do for ourselves, not giving glory to You, forgetting that You have given us everything. Help us to follow the lessons Jesus taught us that at the last day we may be found worthy to enter Your kingdom. Amen.

Our scripture this week is Matthew 3:13-17.

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”
Matthew 3:13-14

John knows who Jesus is, and understands at least partially what He has come to do. When Jesus asks to be baptized, John is confused and objects. Why would the Son of God need to baptized by a human? Why would He need to be baptized at all?

Jesus hears the bewilderment in John’s question “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” (verse 14). He isn’t the kind of Messiah that John (or anyone else) expected. Jesus will deal with this during His whole ministry. John will ask Him “Are you the one to come or should we look for another?” (Matthew 11:3). Peter will object to having the Lord wash his feet (John 13:8).

They were not expecting a serving savior, one is willing to get down in the very pit of human existence with us. However, Jesus doesn’t see any human thing as being beneath His dignity. He comes among us and lives as we do, ready to show that anything we go through He is willing to go through with us, even death. Jesus loves and saves us because He knows what it’s like to be us. Don’t let human things get in your way of a relationship with Him.

Loving Lord, we stumble and fall and we resist Your efforts to pick us back up because we are ashamed. Help us to see that You are willing to forgive us even before we turn to You. Amen.

Our scripture this week is Matthew 3:13-17.

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
Matthew 3:13-17

John the Baptist preached repentance and baptism for forgiveness of sin. Why then would Jesus go to him? Jesus was perfect and sinless, He had no need to be washed clean.

When Jesus came to live among us, He came as one of us. Although He was the Son of God, He was the human model for our lives, an example of what we were intended to be, and still could be if we followed Him. Jesus was willing to do human things in order to show us what we were to do.

He didn’t consider Himself above being baptized because He wanted us to see that the repentance it symbolizes was necessary to be forgiven and live a new life. The forgiveness God sends changes our relationship with Him, with others and with ourselves. No longer burdened by the guilt of sin, we are free to be as God created us.

Gracious God, we are not worthy of Your forgiveness but You forgive us anyway. Help us to see the joy of a life in You, able to stand in Your light as beloved children. Amen.

Our scripture this week is John 1:1-18.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God — children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”) Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.
John 1:1-18

God sent His Son to be with us, to show us how to connect to Him and to live as we were created to be. Jesus was more connected to God than anyone, but through His lessons and life, we were taught that we could have that relationship too if we only accepted and followed Him. It is amazing to think that God would call us to be His children, the brothers and sisters of Christ.

It is so amazing that we often have an issue believing it could be true. We want another sign, another proof. Like Philip we ask “show us the Father and that will be enough for us” (John 14:8), but will it? We have already heard “No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known” (John 1:18). Jesus is the only proof we need!

We must accept the living sign that is Christ Himself as the truth of God’s love for us and His desire to be in relationship with us. God owes us nothing, we owe everything to Him! Even so, God continues to reach out to us with His grace, telling us every day how much He cares for us.

Gracious God, we are humbled by the fact You want to connect with us. Help us to see that no matter what situation we find ourselves in, You are there for us, ready to support us in all that we face. Amen.

Our scripture this week is John 1:1-18.

For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known. John 1:17-18

The law was a guide, a set of instructions to help teach the children of Israel how to honor God and live in community. Jesus came as a person, much different than the law, one able to teach and explain and interact, a living model for us. Whenever He was asked He told them He had “not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17).

The problem was not with the law but in our understanding and use of it. During Jesus time on earth a group known as the Pharisees enforced the law according to their understanding – with certain loopholes to get around parts they found hard to obey. Does this sound like the way we sometimes think, that the law should be applied fairly – unless it is going to affect us?

Jesus came to show us the true meaning of the law and how it was God’s love for us in action. It was intended to teach a rag-tag group of freed slaves wandering in the desert what life as a community of God-fearing people could be, but it is still applicable to how we worship and treat each other today.

Loving Lord, we are amazed at the beauty of Your Word for us and the lessons it teaches. May we keep Your Word in our hearts today and always, to share the love You send to us. Amen.

Our scripture this week is John 1:1-18.

(John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”) Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given.
John 1:15-16

John the Baptist speaks of Christ’s eternal nature and that through Him we can know God’s grace, which has always been there for us. John Wesley called this prevenient grace, God reaching out to us before we even know and accept His love. Jesus came to show us just how much God was willing to give in order for us to be saved.

We are called to follow Him, to give to the world as He first gave for us, and there is no promise that it will be easy. Many Christians in history and even today endure hardship for their faith. While we may not be facing such trials, we are told to take up our cross and follow Him (Matthew 16:24-26), ready to do what is necessary to spread the Good News of salvation.

God’s grace is given to us and it is up to us to share it with all the world. We may stumble but He is there to steady us, we may fear the reaction of the world, but He is there to strengthen us. We go out in His light to show the world that He reigns in peace, not conquering through force but bringing our brothers and sisters into His love.

Gracious God, make us Your agents here on earth. Help us to tell everyone what You have done for us and make disciples of all people. Amen.

Our scripture this week is John 1:1-18.

He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God — children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:11-14

There is a lot of truth packed in a few verses here. We are told that “to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God”. What a wonderful blessing! Yes, He created us all but to those who believe He offers a special relationship, to be His children.

Jesus came to be with us that we might see what a life in God looks like. He also called us to the responsibility that goes with that connection, to share the love He gives us with all the world. We are each given special gifts to accomplish this.

I encourage you to try this as we begin a new year: think about one or two of the talents you have been given. Be open to what you are capable of, don’t let modesty prevent you from honestly assessing your gifts. Then ask a friend or relative or your pastor what gifts they see in you. Finally, ask yourself if you are using those gifts earnestly in His service. We have been blessed to be a blessing to each other, share the joy of what God has given you with others.

Gracious God, we are often afraid to share what You give us for fear of rejection or not having enough later on. Help us to see the abundance of Your blessings to us and the way to use them to share Your love with everyone. Amen.