(Our new weekly devotional, updated each weekend.)
Give God Time.
- Prayer and Praise.
Jesus said, “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” Matthew 26:40.
We start our journey of giving God time to work in us, by praying this hymn…
PRAISE HIM, PRAISE HIM, JESUS OUR BLESSED REDEEMER
A Word in your ear.
John 1:19-28 John is a witness that Jesus is the Messiah.
Complete Jewish Bible.
19 Here is Yochanan’s (John’s) testimony: when the Judeans (Judean Jews) sent cohanim (priests) and L’vi’im (Levites) from Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 he was very straightforward and stated clearly, “I am not the Messiah.”
Even before Jesus started His ministry, the religious leaders were watching John. In fact, they knew the Messiah was expected. They asked John who he thought he was, as he was immersing people. Immediately, John the Baptist denied he was the Messiah.
21 “Then who are you?” they asked him. “Are you Eliyahu? (Elijah?)”
So they moved on to the next question on their mind… which was almost as significant because a prophecy also said that an Elijah figure would come before the Messiah.
“No, I am not,” he said.
Again John denied that too. He hadn’t even been thinking that way.
“Are you ‘the prophet,’ the one we’re expecting?”
“No!” he replied.
Again John denied it. He didn’t think of himself like that. Jesus did rate him as the prophet who would precede Him and point people to Him.
This question proves the point that they were expecting a much-prophecied prophet to come to them!
22 So they said to him, “Who are you? — so that we can give an answer to the people who sent us. What do you have to say about yourself?”
Frustrated from getting nowhere, they asked him to say exactly who he was then, as their religious bosses wanted an answer.
23 He answered in the words of Yesha‘yahu (Isaiah) the prophet;
“I am the voice of someone crying out: ‘In the desert make the way of Adonai straight!’”
The quote is found in Isaiah 40:3. That was quite clever as the spies could not denounce him for quoting a prophet.
24 Some of those who had been sent were P’rushim (Pharisees). 25 They asked him, “If you are neither the Messiah nor Eliyahu nor ‘the prophet,’ then why are you immersing people?”
John wants us to know that it was the Pharisees who were the spies.
Again they come back at him asking who he thinks he is…
26 To them Yochanan (John) replied, “I am immersing people in water, but among you is standing someone whom you don’t know.
John the Baptist minimized himself as a baptizer – which was a symbol of repentance.
27 He is the one coming after me — I’m not good enough even to untie his sandal!”
28 All this took place in Beit-Anyah (Bethany), east of the Yarden (Jordan), where Yochanan (John) was immersing (baptizing). (Complete Jewish Bible.)
Summary:-
John the Baptist emphasized how lowly he was. It was not about him – but all about the One coming after him.
John the Baptist quotes Isaiah to prove God was sending His Messiah. John says he is preparing the way for the Messiah of God.
– Worship and Prayer.
“… He went up on a mountainside by himself to pray.” Matthew 14:23.
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
—
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we forgive our debtors.
—
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
forever; Amen.
Suggestions;-
- The world, (ie. maybe Myanmar…& for ‘those in authority.’)
- The ‘suffering church.’ https://barnabasfund.org/nz/pray/daily-prayer/#previous-dates
- Your own situation. (Suggest ‘needs’ rather than ‘wants’.)
- Today’s Verse… Who is Jesus?
John 1:26-27 ‘To them, Yochanan (John) replied, “… among you is standing someone whom you don’t know. He is the one coming after me — I’m not good enough even to untie his sandal!”
- Today’s Challenge
If you have repented of your sin, have you followed the example set by John, of being immersed in water?
John 1:26 To them Yochanan (John) replied, “I am immersing people in water…”
For more…
i). Click this link to a challenging and stunning testimony … https://found.rest/restored/
ii). Click this link to see how many were murdered by the church for getting immersed as believers, because this is a spiritual battle… ‘We will remember them’… https://www.homecomers.org/mirror/index-anabaptists.htm
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