The Baptism of Our Lord
Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 (NRSV)
The baptism of Jesus
As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, "I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire." ...
Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased."
DEVOTION
I love today’s scripture because it is a fabulous passage on evangelism!
My definition of evangelism is “to share--or bring--the good news message about Jesus to others.”
I love that although John could have received and accepted glory for himself, he did no such thing! Instead, he pointed the people to Jesus, the true Messiah and the only one capable of saving their souls.
This side of the cross, John’s words make more sense to us, than they would have to his followers. He said, “One…more powerful that I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire…”
Indeed, one day Jesus did come down to the Jordan River to be baptized by his cousin John. And as Jesus came up out of the water praying, the Holy Spirit descended, and a voice spoke from heaven saying, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
I love these words because it is not just a declaration for Jesus; but also for us! When we become baptized, making a public declaration of our faith in the good news message that Jesus lived, died, and rose again on the third day to save us from our sin and gift us with eternal life, God says to us also—“You are my Son/Daughter, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
When Jesus died on the cross, he made provision for us to be adopted into the family of God! As we put all of our faith in Jesus, we become the sons and daughters of Almighty God and joint heirs with Christ in the Kingdom of Love.
I don’t know about you, but it amazes me every single day that God loves me so much that God will willing to give JESUS to die in my place! It thrills me to no end to know that I am the daughter of the Most High King! It humbles me beyond my capacity to express it that my good God is well-pleased with me.
As I wrote this devotion, I heard the words to the song, “What Wondrous Love is This?” playing in my spirit. I have attached the song for you to hear.
Walk in joy my friends! You are the Son or Daughter of God! You are beloved and pleasing in God’s sight!
Hallelujah!
Let’s pray:
Thank you God for the great joy that comes from knowing and loving you. I thank you for my baptism and for the gift of being a part of your family! Thank you for giving Jesus to die for me. Thank you for forgiving all of my sin and making provision for my eternal life. I love you and I will share our love with others. I pray this in Jesus’ Name, Amen.
THE INVITATION
If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, “Come to Jesus” @
http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com/2009/03/come-to-jesus.html
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