1 Corinthians 13

1 Corinthians 13:13 “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

For those of you who don’t know I recently flew out to Germany to study for around 5 months or so. I always thought that it was going to be easy, I have taken German since 7th grade, have been here once before, haven’t ever been home sick. It was going to be great, I was going to fly over, get my luggage hop on a train and then to a hotel to stay when I woke up the next morning and got the keys to my apartment. . . And yet it wasn’t that easy. The whole chain of events up to this day were just terrible, the weekend was rough, thinking about it amongst MANY other things, the drive home was long, packing was alright, but stressful (hoping I didn’t leave anything), and once I got here I got my hotel, and woke up the next morning to find out that I couldn’t go to get my apartment keys because they were closed already. So now I have to wait yet another day. But that wasn’t the half of it. I struggled to sleep on the plane because when I said goodbye to my dad there was something in his voice that made me want to cry, I didn’t at that time but once at the hotel, realizing I couldn’t just pick up a phone and call ANY time, I didn’t know what to do. That night was so stressful, because sure everyone was speaking German, but it was like a foreign language to me, I couldn’t keep up, and I was just lost and alone. So I prayed. I prayed that God would show me direction, and keep me safe, and allow me to keep in contact with those I loved from back home (family and friends) and just that his will be done while I am here. And I prayed that the huge hole that had just formed in my heart would fill up.

So tonight when I got back to my hotel realizing I couldn’t do anything, because the TV didn’t work and I had already gotten lost in the city, I chose to open my Bible. Not to make the story part any longer, but I had a rough weekend and because of that I was looking for something comforting. I looked in my concordance and wound up here, Corinthians 13. The chapter was about love (something I didn’t want to think about at all because of all that has happened recently), and yet God seemed to place me there anyway. So I began reading. “Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not envy. It does not boast . . . It is not self seeking.” (v. 4).

Love is kind. This is something that I am still dealing with. Love being kind, sure God is great to me and he blesses me in so many different ways, but how is love kind. Losing a loved one isn’t kind. Loving someone who doesn’t love you back isn’t kind. And then it hit me. It wasn’t about loving earthly possessions and people; it was about loving and trusting in the Lord your God. Sure he wants us to love one another and find the person of our dreams to continue his kingdom with. It isn’t his love that changes it’s the earthly things that change, divorce, death, separation, loss, etc. Romans 12:9 says “Love must be sincere.” Too often than not, God’s love for us is sincere but ours towards our neighbors and even towards him isn’t. That is where we have to trust in his direction. He has told us that he loves us, and with that love we should have enough trust in him that he will show us the right direction, no matter how difficult or rocky it may be.
Wow! I never thought of it like that. Love being patient, well I guess that makes sense. I was watching a movie on the plane, called the Game Plan, and it made me remember this. The main character said this, “The only thing that you can do is tell her you love her and that nothing will change that. Then you wait. . .” Then you wait. How often do we do that? But are we really patient, or do we want an answer right away? Too often than not I find myself wanting to know an answer immediately, and if I don’t get the answer I want or cant find it, I get into this “I don’t care” or “it doesn’t matter” or even better, “that’s fine” type of mood. And that is not what this verse is talking about. Because of God’s love for us, and we have love in him we need to be patient. God is love. So I thought of it this way. God told us at birth that he loves us. Then he waits. He waits for us to get baptized and as we grow up to grow in the faith with him, and he continues to sit there and wait. . .until we tell him that we love him back. For many of us, the first time this happens is at baptism, but not for everyone. Some don’t realize until they are a teenager, or until they get married, and unfortunately, God shows so many people how much they love them and some never realize it. Do you have the faith to tell God that you love him? How often do you tell him? How often do you thank him for blessing you in so many different ways? How do you show your love for him? Not only is he patient for us to tell him that we love him back, but he is patiently waiting for us to show one another. The greatest commandment is love your neighbor as yourself. That is the basis for the entire world. Love God; love your neighbor, so on and so on. And a lot of times we have to be patient. I hear so many people tell their parents that they love them and they tell their family and some tell their friends as well that they love them. I was different, I always knew that my parents loved me and that I loved them, and I thought that that was enough. But this weekend, someone said something to me that made me realize that that wasn’t enough. So for the first time in a long, long time, probably years to be honest, I told my parents that I love them, and that I will miss them. So when is the last time you told God thank you for loving you so much and blessing you and then telling him that you love him to? Do your parents know that you love them? Is there someone out there that you know that you love but can’t tell them? Or is there someone who said it to you, but u didn’t know what to say? Think how patiently the Lord waited for you to tell him you love him, and then think about all these other people that you can tell how u feel for them. One difference though, God is always there, and people are only there for so long. The other, God always knows what to say. We, as humans, don’t so when someone tells you something, take it to heart, don’t respond to quickly, don’t forget what they said, but rather take it to God, and let him help you.

Love does not envy. Yet again something that is difficult to put a grasp on. Envy, I wanted to get a better grasp of what exactly envy was so I looked up some synonyms. Jealousy, greed, and desire were the first three to come up. So I thought sure I’m jealous of others in relationships when I am not. Sure I’m jealous of someone who is working at a job that they love when mine I am only semi-happy with. Sure I am greedy and want someone to love me. Sure I desire to find and love the girl of my dreams. And yet, it isn’t even close to what the verse is saying. The verse is saying that love does not envy. We have love for God and that is enough. We don’t have to desire what others have, we don’t have to be jealous, we don’t have to be greedy, and all we have to do is love him. “We live by faith not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). God shows us the way, we don’t pick it. As long as we have faith and love in him, we don’t have to look at what others have. We don’t have to see that they are in a relationship that we would like to have. We don’t have to see that they have the job that we want. We don’t have to desire. We have to love and trust in God and he will keep our love from being envious, because HE is all we need.
Love is not self-seeking. This is something that I have learned a lot about recently. We do not choose who we love, or why we love them, or when we will. God does. I had someone admit something to me this weekend that I never thought anyone would ever do, and yet it happened anyway. I didn’t choose when the event occurred or what was said, God did. And it still baffles me. God puts the feeling in us, and then we have to let it out. He placed in us a love at birth that we express to him at some point in time. We know that he loves us, He seeks us. He has found us, now we return the favor by finding him, sharing the affection that he has for us. He puts the idea in our heads to love someone or something, and until we see his idea in our head, we can’t do anything, but once that idea is there, we go out and find it. We often times don’t know what will happen, but God does, and yet again we have to use that love we have to trust in him.

So back to that first verse, verse 13 “three remain, faith hope and love, but the greatest is love.” We have faith and hope and love in God. And it’s true; the greatest of these is love. He loved us so much “that he gave his one and only Son that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” There is no love greater than that. For us on earth with one another the same applies. We can have a faith in one another that we trust in them, or that they give us assurance, reliance or dedication. We can have a hope with one another that we have optimism in them, which we are expectant of them, that we can dream, and plan and chance. And yet, nothing is as important as love. We are all part of God’s kingdom and in that kingdom we are said to love one another. Let me elaborate on that. We are supposed to care for, be fond of, like, have a weakness for, be devoted to, have a passion for, or even to find someone irresistible. There is love on so many different levels, and God simply wants us to love one another on any of the levels. It is the most important, without this love for one another, how can there be trust? How can there be hope? How can someone give us assurance? The simple answer, you cant.

Love surrounds it all. Love is the biggest part of life. I never did want to believe that, but now, sitting in a hotel room thousands of miles away from everyone that I know, I realize it. I always say that I don’t want hugs because I don’t like them, I say I don’t like pictures because I don’t like them. I say that I don’t like to be close to people, well I don’t know why I say that but I do. And I now know that I need all those things. Well the pictures I don’t need, but I need that ability to show affection for someone. I need that closeness to someone. And right now that someone is the Lord. I am trying my best to build a stronger relationship with him. I have never wanted to admit it or realize it, but I seem to be looking for a relationship, and am not sure why. But I realize now, that I just need to sit back and wait. If God does put that love in me for someone I need to tell them and then keep my faith in God hope for the best. I have never more wanted to tell someone that I love them. So I did. And now I’m back to that first part, you know, the one that says love is patient. You simply wait for them to see if God put that same feeling in them. You sit there and realize that “Love never fails” (v.8). God’s love never fails, and as soon as we admit that love to him, our lives can be so much better, because it is the most important aspect.

Galations 5:22 -26 “But the fruit of the Spirit is LOVE, joy peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.”

I never thought I would quote a rap song in a prayer but here is goes, the quoted part is from Chris Brown “With you”- Lord, I thank you for allowing me to come to a consensus that no earthly love is as important as the love that I have with you. “If I got you (Lord) I don’t need money, I don’t need cars, and you are my whole.” Lord I ask that you help me and others to love one another no matter what form of love that may be. I ask that you help me to continually tell you how much I love you and to do the same with my parents and family and friends. And finally Lord if it is your will, I pray that someday when you put that love in me, you put that same love in another person also, so that we may not be seeking it, but realize Lord, that it is from you. We pray in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen

Philippians 2:5-11

This is one of my favorite passages in the entire Bible. I won’t include any one part of it because it flows so beautifully in one piece, but you need to go read it right now.

Seeing as you have now done that, please take some time to reflect upon it. There are so many wonderful truths and insights I always gain from reading this passage of Philippians. First God commands us to have the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus. It immediately explains what it is to be like Jesus. Here is where I draw the first great insight.

The passage tells us to humble ourselves before God and men. Jesus did not consider equality with God something to be grasped (even though he was God himself) but rather made himself nothing (verse 7)! The Supreme Ruler of the Universe made himself a nothing, a humble servant. A servant so obedient and lowly he gave himself up for an innocent death on the cross. This is where I draw my second great insight from this passage.

Christ was obedient to death. Not just an ordinary death, but an innocent death on the cross. What an amazing sacrifice this is to us. For some reason the way the Spirit inspires Paul to phrase that, it always makes me realize a little more the true extent of Christ sacrifice, more so than most other passages of the Bible. He truly gave up everything, and he gave it up for us!

This leads me into the next truth that is revealed to me in this passage, that we too must have this obedience. If our attitude must be the same as Christ, then we must be as obedient as him. This means obedience to God, even to the death, even death on a cross! Sure you’re probably not going to see too many people by the wayside hanging from a cross for Jesus in today’s day and age. What is our cross now though? Jesus tells us in the gospels that anyone who would follow him must “deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matt. 16:24). What is your cross? Is it where you will have to live? Is it how much money you will make? Is it the job you must do? Is it being too shy?

Finally, the last big insight I gain is how Christ is exalted above all others. That at his name every knee should bow. I always begin to think of the majesty and wonder that is the Kingdom of Heaven. How I long for that day when I shall enter into heaven to dwell there forever and ever. For that day when I will one day feel as if I actually belong as I am surrounded by the millions of saints shouting “HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is the Lord God Almighty!” and know that I am truly home. For that day when love finally prevails and evil is vanquished forever!

Until that day… God Bless.

Thy Will be Done

I’m not going to look at any specific Bible passage this week, but rather one phrase, “Thy will be done.” What does that really mean? It’s rather simple, we say Thy will be done asking God to provide for us the way that He wants to and not the way we want to. So then why so often do we pray for this or for that? Or going one step further why do we pray all these things and at the very end, before we say Amen, we say Lord if it is your will let these things be done? Do we really mean it when we say, Lord if it is your will? Or are we just saying that to please God? I have really been struggling recently, trying to get things squared away for Germany, and I haven’t been lifting well or running well, and have even been struggling at work and within my social life. I find more and more that I am asking God to show me a path and that I just want His will to be done, but what really is His will?

Well let’s look at it in the most common context, the Lord’s Prayer.

1 Tim. 2:4 says “[God] wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” That sounds rather simple, right? God wants all men to be saved. We believe and therefore are saved as long as we continue to believe.

Deuteronomy 4:2 says “Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you.” This is where it becomes more difficult for me. Do not add or subtract from the Lord’s commands. I so often ask God when I pray to help me with a test, to help me lift better, to help work go more smoothly, to help me work less, to relieve some of my stress, and on and on it goes. Every aspect of my life I feel like I could better, but that isn’t what God’s will is. I am slowly but surely not going through the actions anymore but am rather looking more in depth at what I am saying and doing: especially when I pray. I find that I am still asking for things, but am really doing my best to say, “Lord it’s not my will that I want done, but it is your will that I want done.” After looking at these couple of verses, I realize that my life on earth really isn’t about me, but rather it is about Him. Without Him, His will cannot be done. If He is not here, how can we believe and come to a knowledge of the truth? It’s simple, we can’t! Our life can be as smooth or as rocky as God wants it to be, but what really matters, is that we love the Lord with all our heart, and soul and strength.

So again, I found I had another problem. If all we have to do is love and follow God, how come we have these rocky paths in our lives? How come things can be so difficult that we want to change our lives completely? So here are a couple of verses that I found that helped a little with this.

Romans 8:28 “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”- Just think all we have to do is love God. Sure the path may seem rocky at times but it’s just a small portion of your life. If you compare all the good and bad times in your life, the good will always outweigh the bad, as long as you love God. It may not feel like the good outweigh the bad, but they really do.

Psalms 119:35 “Direct me in the path of Your commands, for there I find delight.”- Yet another thing that I look at. I find that when times are bad, I am not trusting God completely. It is the easiest and yet the hardest thing to do. Trust someone that is. Most of the time it takes a while to find someone whom you trust, even if it is a good friend that you see all the time, but we have to trust someone who we never see. Trust is such an easy thing. God says if we believe in Him, we will be saved. That is all the motivation we could ever need, and yet we still don’t put complete faith in Him. Next time you are having a hard time or are on that rocky road, look and see how much faith you are putting in your Father. Eventually, you will put all your trust in Him, and you will come out of your valley, and have yet another prosperous time in your life.

One final verse I leave you with. It is from the book of Psalms chapter 23 the fourth verse. Most of you probably know it, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”
Even though we have all these ups and downs in our lives, we have nothing to fear, because the Lord is with us. So put your trust in Him. When you feel down, He lifts you up. When you feel great thank Him. Everything we do here on earth is for the Lord, so that we can live eternally with Him forever.

I pray that each and every one of you trusts the Lord all the time, and realize that no matter what path you are on it is all for Him. No matter how rocky or smooth it is, everything we do is for Him. God blesses us with so many things, things that we entirely too often overlook. I want to leave you with 2 questions: When is the last time you thanked God for the simple things in your life? And is it your will you want, or is it His will?

Hope

I would like to extend my apologies before hand. This particular post does not come from any particular section of the Bible. Rather it is just a few things that I feel like the Spirit is asking me to share with whoever it may be that reads this.

As can be seen, it has been a while since Dan and I have posted. We hope to get back to a weekly basis here shortly. One of the reasons for the delay has simply been life itself. I can't speak for Dan, but I know that I personally have been having a few problems, and have had a lot on my plate recently. That, and it just seems like there are a lot of people right now that are going through some struggles, myself included.

For all of these people, here is the message we all need to hear. There is hope. This hope was born to us in a manger in Bethlehem around 2000 years ago. This hope lived a perfect live for us completely fulfilling the law and undergoing every temptation that we have to face. That hope was crucified and killed for each and everyone of us. That hope was then raised from the dead on the third day by God the Father Almighty, so that we too may one day rise with him and live with him for all eternity! That hope was Jesus the Christ of God!

It is true, many among us suffer. Many of us at times seem to have no hope at all. At times it seems that we are losing our faith or that our life is going down the drain. Romans 5 tells us that "we rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." Jesus promises to take our burdens from us if we would only just caste it upon him, for his yoke is easy and his burden is light. He calls us to come to him all who are weary and burdened. (Matt. 11:30).

For all of us out there with any sort of pain, or trouble, or hardship, we need to lay it at the foot of the cross. We must preach Christ crucified to our fellow brothers and sisters who are suffering in this world. Christ died for our sins on that cross so many years. He took the fears, sorrows, sins, and weight of all the world with him onto that cross. Each and every one of yours. In this we can truly take comfort, and in this we can truly have hope, even when life itself seems hopeless.

Going through the actions

I just wanted to pass on a portion of the sermon from this morning. I didn't think to much of it at first, but have done nothing but think about it all day. Today's service was all about Immanuel, meaning God with us. The pastor took the song, O Come, O Come, Immanuel, and asked, how often do you just go through the actions? He specified with the verse with the phrase "ransom captive Israel." From this he asked again, have you really ever thought about that, or do you just go through the actions of reading the words and singing them.

I realized that I do this entirely too often. I just go through the actions! Rather than sitting back and doing what I've been doing for years, I need to think and meditate on what I am doing.

I just want to challenge you to not go through the actions, but to really dig deep and get as much out of every part of the service that you can.

Genesis 3:1-10

“1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”…

The very first words that Satan speaks in the Bible are not “you should do this,” or “God is bad,” or “just be evil,” or anything so blatant as that. Instead he tries to put doubt in the mind of man. “Did God really say,” the first words from Satan. Casting doubt, the master of lies. Our God however is a God of truth. Satan is constantly working on us, and it is our job to fight him. It is a fight we will lose though. Martin Luther used to spend hours alone in prayer and meditation, pleading with God to save him, and yelling and arguing with Satan. When his spiritual father heard of this he told him to stop arguing with the devil. He has had thousands of years of practice and experience. We would surely lose such a fight. Luther finally came to the understanding though, that our God is a God of love and truth. God loves us. He fought the fight for us already and won! The devil has already lost.

And yet the devil keeps trying. He tries to bring as many souls with him into the fiery pit as he can. The devil tries to caste doubt on the truths that God has revealed to us. In doing so he also tries to break the trust that we have in God. Evidence of this effectiveness is found in the first two verses of chapter three. Satan asks Eve a question trying to caste doubt on her. His question tries to point out some sort of flaw with God, and yet it is not even true, because God had not commanded them to eat from any tree. Eve being the good little girl that she is responds that it is but one tree that they can’t eat of, nor touch. That is where the first consequences of the lie become present. Eve adds to God’s command that they are not allowed to touch the fruit. This was never part of God’s original command. Already she is confused by Satan’s lies. This is exactly what he wants. Suddenly, after the sin, Adam and Eve realized they were naked. They started to bring lies and imperfections into God's perfect creation. Satan does not create, he does not perfect, he does not speak truths, and this is how he drags man down.

We must always always focus on the truths that God reveals to us, on his commands, and on his promises. The devil is still always out there though. That is why for this particular post, as well as writing your thoughts and general questions, I was hoping that you could also answer one of my questions.

What are your methods for dealing with the devil and temptation?

Personally I find surrounding myself with God fearing people and talking about something positive or the Word helps me a lot to resist the devil. What about you?

Exodus 3

v. 11 “But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

Who am I? How often do you consider who you really are, and when you do what do you think about? For me I used to think along the lines of Christian, athletic, smart, and sarcastic. But is that really how we should be thinking. We’ll take a look at what Moses thinks of this question in a minute, but first I would like you to look at something. I’m not really sure what to call it, but I first saw it on my brother’s facebook page. Take a minute to look aver it, and see what the Bible has to say about who YOU are. . .

I KNOW WHO I AM
I am God's child (John 1:12)
I am Christ's friend (John 15:15)
I am united with the Lord(1 Cor. 6:17)
I am bought with a price(1 Cor. 6:19-20)
I am a saint (set apart for God). (Eph. 1:1)
I am a personal witness of Christ (Acts 1:8)
I am the salt & light of the earth (Matt.5:13-14)
I am a member of the body of Christ(1 Cor 12:27)
I am free forever from condemnation ( Rom. 8: 1-2)
I am a citizen of Heaven. I am significant (Phil.3:20)
I am free from any charge against me (Rom. 8:31-34)
I am a minister of reconciliation for God(2 Cor.5:17-21)
I have access to God through the Holy Spirit (Eph. 2:18)
I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realms (Eph. 2:6)
I cannot be separated from the love of God(Rom.8:35-39)
I am established, anointed, sealed by God (2 Cor.1:21-22)
I am assured all things work together for good (Rom. 8: 28)
I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit (John 15:16)
I may approach God with freedom and confidence (Eph. 3: 12)
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil. 4:13)
I am the branch of the true vine, a channel of His life (John 15: 1-5)
I am God's temple (1 Cor. 3: 16).
I am complete in Christ (Col. 2: 10)
I am hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3).
I have been justified (Romans 5:1)
I am God's co-worker (1 Cor. 3:9; 2 Cor 6:1).
I am God's workmanship(Eph. 2:10)
I am confident that the good works God has begun in me will be perfected (Phil 1: 5)
I have been redeemed and forgiven (Col. 1:14).
I have been adopted as God's child(Eph 1:5)
I belong to God (1 peter 2:9)

So now what do you think? Do you know who you are? I know that after reading this I certainly look at the question in an entirely different way. Sure I am Christian, and athletic, and sarcastic, but that isn’t what is important. What is important is that I am one of God’s children, and am united with Him! We are so blessed, look at all the various Bible passages to help show us who we really are, and what God has given us.

Moses on the other hand didn’t have the whole Bible to reference when he asked this question. Exodus 3 begins with the story of the burning bush. Here is a quick recap of the story. Moses sees a bush that continues to burn, but never burns up. He approaches it and the angel of the Lord appeared within the flames and spoke to him. Can you imagine that? You are up on a mountain and you see a bush on fire, and as you take a closer look, not only is it not burning up, but an angel of the Lord speaks to you with direction. Moses was called to lead God’s people out of Egypt. This is where he asks the question in verse 11, “Who am I. . .that I should lead the people out of Egypt?” God answers Moses with a very simple answer that we all need to keep in mind. God says, “I will be with you.” Yet again we bring up trust. This can be real difficult to trust anyone if that is all they tell us, and it seems as though Moses feels the same way. He was still skeptical of how this was all going to work out. But at the same time, he begins to see who he really is, and what he is called to do. Look back to that list of Bible verses. Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” This is where Moses needs to start to believe that with God anything is possible. And yet he is still doubtful.

Let’s look on. He asks God what he should tell the people if they ask what his (speaking about God) name is. God replies with “I AM WHO I AM.” He is the God of your fathers. This goes right back to the list above again. 1 Peter 2:9 “I belong to God” we are all descendant of God, we belong to Him. Since we belong to Him he desires our full trust because we are His people. So what are we to do, but to be His co-worker?

I will bring the people to a “land flowing with milk and honey.” To the Egyptians who had been in slavery, this must have sounded like paradise. Exodus 4 gets into the signs that God gives Moses to help him become even more confident with his trust in the Lord and who he really is. But that is for another discussion, I want to leave with one more note from that list at the beginning. Philippians 3:20 says,” I am a citizen of Heaven. I am significant.” No matter what anyone tells you, you are significant. You are a child of God, you are His workmanship. He made you for a reason. Don’t ever forget that. No matter what the challenges you are facing, just remember who you are. And we owe everything that we are to HIM!

Matthew 3

Nearly a week away from Christmas, I can’t help but remember the story of John the Baptist. The book of Matthew begins with the genealogy of Jesus and His birth. Chapter three has a heading, “John the Baptist Prepares the Way.” I want to take a look at a couple of verses out of this chapter that really help me to put a perspective on the time of the season.

Let’s start at the end of the chapter and work backwards, Matthew 3:13-14 says, “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?’” What an honor! John baptizes Jesus so that righteousness can be fulfilled. According to Luther’s Small Catechism, Baptism is not just plain water, but it is the water included in God’s command and combined with God’s word. We need baptism so that the “old Adam or old Eve” in us can be drowned and die with the rest of our sins. Jesus, even though perfect had to do the same. He was born, and was baptized and died for our sins. With baptism we need not fear death, or the devil, also through it we receive eternal salvation. Like Joe was talking about in his last post, this too allows us to be one big family. Everyone is baptized in the exact same way, “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” We are all members of one body, and that is the body of Christ. One last comment on this is that Jesus died and rose from the dead for our sins, and baptism allows us to “live a new life” (Romans 6:4). Yet again it shows us how we truly are part of the body of Christ.

Now let’s go back to the beginning. Verse 2 says, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near.” To be honest I was a little confused when this first statement was made, but after reading the footnotes it makes a lot more sense. Matthew uses the phrase kingdom of heaven, whereas Mark and Luke use the phrase kingdom of God. They are used in the same way and are both present and future. Without Jesus’, death, and resurrection we would have no hope. We often trust in our hope. A comment was made about how trusting in God can be difficult at times, and I have to agree. But like so many of the stories we have read in the Bible, we find that God does so many miraculous things, that we simply have no other choice. Who wouldn’t trust in a God who parted a sea so that people could cross into safety? Who wouldn’t trust in a God who fed 5,000 people? Who wouldn’t trust in a God who died on the cross for each and every one of our sins? I know it may be difficult, but when I find that I am struggling to trust in Him, all I have to do is go back and look at all he has done for me, past and present, then look forward to how he will continue to look after me in the future. Because of the trust that I have in Him, I know that I will eventually spend eternity in heaven with Him. What a future to look forward to!

One last verse, Matthew3:3b, “Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him.” This is a quote from Isaiah 40. Jesus’ birth was foretold in the Old Testament, and is shown again that it was in this verse in Matthew (as well as in Mark and Luke). We are to prepare the way for the Lord. So, how are you preparing for the Lord this holiday season?

Today and everyday I hope that you can remember how important your baptism really is, and that we can find peace in the Lord even when we are finding it difficult to trust in Him. Rejoice and give thanks the Christmas season!