Fri.’s Devo - Jesus’ Baptism

Read: 2 Samuel 20:14-21:22; Acts 1:1-26; Psalm 121:1-8; Proverbs 16:18 Sheba led a revolt against King David and fled to gain the support of the Israelite tribes. Joab caught up with him at the town of Abel-beth-maacah which means “mourning of the house of oppression.” Joab and his men started building a seize ramp to tear down the wall. One of the woman in the town called Joab over to her and asked why they were attacking their own people. When Joab told her that all they wanted was Sheba, she told him she would throw his head over the wall to him. She went to the leaders of the town and told them how to save their town and lives. They killed Sheba and threw his head over the wall. Joab took his men back to Jerusalem. There was a famine in Israel so David asked the Lord why. He told him it was because of how Saul had killed the Gibeonites with whom Israel had a covenant of peace. David went to their leader and asked how he could make things right. They asked for seven of Saul’s sons. David spared the crippled Mephibosheth but gave them seven others. They killed them and left their bodies unburied. Two of the sons were from the same mother who guarded the bodies of her sons so that animals could not eat them. When David found out he made sure their bodies and the bones of Saul and Jonathan were buried. When they had tied up all their loose ends, God ended the famine. We are given the accounts of four giants that were killed by David’s warriors. Acts was written by Luke to Theophilus. Luke refers to his first book, Luke, in which he told about the life of Jesus and the forty days after Jesus’ death. During that time Jesus had came back to talk to the disciples about the Kingdom of God. Jesus told his disciples not to leave Jerusalem till they had this gift to give them. John had baptized them with water but they would be baptized by him with the Holy Spirit. They kept asking Jesus when he was going to free Israel and restore their earthly kingdom and Jesus kept telling them that they were about to receive power to be his witnesses. Then they would go all over Judea, in Samaria and to the ends of the earth telling people about him. They wanted an earthly kingdom, Jesus wanted a spiritual kingdom. He was taken up to heaven in a cloud as his followers all watched. Then two angels told them that he would return the same way. They returned to Jerusalem where they were staying in an upper room. There about 120 of them met and prayed together. Peter stood and gave the news of what happened to Judas Iscariot. He had bought a field with the money he received from betraying Jesus. He had thrown himself over a wall where his head hit a stone and he died. They needed to chose someone to take his place. Two men were nominated but after prayer and lots, Matthias was selected to be the twelfth apostle. Matthais means “a gift”. Lord, you really care about the details as you showed us in today’s reading. Help us to examine our lives and be sure we have obeyed every detail you have told us to do. Thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit. May we be baptized in him daily.