Sunday, September 25, 2016

Sun.’s Devo - Jesus Starts his Ministry

Read: Matthew 2-3:12; Mark 1:1b-11; Luke 3:1-22
When you read it I hope you saw how many times it mentioned prophecy and dreams. Jesus fulfilled all the prophesies about his first coming to earth and he was preserved and protected through dreams. Dreams are very important in our lives if we will take hold of them and meditate on them. Some times they can be a short snippet that gives clarity to your life.
I had one of those last night. I dreamed that I was in on a building project and we had the best carpenter. That was such a blessing to me because I have been pouring into a family member and am watching as God transforms her and her husband. God is building a new temple for the Holy Spirit to dwell in their hearts and Jesus is the best carpenter. The result will be perfect!
I used to have a children’s book that showed the star as a huge star that lit up the sky. I wondered why only the wise men saw it. Now I realize that these wise men were astronomers and they spent their nights watching the sky. When a star fell, they knew that a great man had died. When a new star appeared, they could tell what kind of man was born by the nature of the star. This star must have been extraordinary because it made them travel two years to find whose it was.
I also wonder if John the Baptist knew Jesus as his cousin or if this was the first time he had seen him in his life. Either way, something about today showed him that Jesus was the one he had been preaching about would come. He only came to baptize the people to cleanse them of sin so that their heart would be ready to receive the Messiah when he came. That is what the Holy Spirit does today. He cleans out a path in the hearts of men so that they can see Jesus when he comes to them and accept him.
Lord, may your Holy Spirit keep our hearts open to receive Jesus and his baptism of fire.

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