Matthew 3
John the Baptist Prepares the Way
1In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea 2and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." 3This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.' "[a] 4John's clothes were made of camel's hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 5People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 6Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. 9And do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
11"I baptize you with[b] water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 12His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire."
The Baptism of Jesus 13Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" 15Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then John consented.
16As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. 17And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."
Our Daily Bread reading and devotional:
Ephesians 5:25-33
25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26to make her holy, cleansing[a] her by the washing with water through the word, 27and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church— 30for we are members of his body. 31"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh."[b] 32This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
February 12, 2008
Dwell With Understanding
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READ: Ephesians 5:25-33
Husbands . . . dwell with [your wives] with understanding . . . that your prayers may not be hindered. —1 Peter 3:7 About this cover My wife, Marlene, and I have been married for some 30 years, and have learned to appreciate each other and enjoy each other’s unique qualities. But even after all these years she still surprises me from time to time. Recently, she reacted to a news report in a way that was opposite to what I expected. I told her, “Wow, that shocks me. I never would have thought you would land there on this issue.” Her response? “Your job is to figure me out, and my job is to keep you guessing!” The responsibility to understand your spouse is what keeps married life interesting and stretching.
This is an ancient challenge. Peter wrote: “Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered” (1 Peter 3:7). He saw it as a priority for the husband to become a student of his wife—to know and understand her. Without that commitment to understanding his spouse, a husband is not capable of doing what comes next—honoring her.
As a husband, if I am to love my wife as Christ loves the church (Eph. 5:25), it will begin with the intentional effort to grow in my understanding of her. —Bill Crowder
FOR FURTHER STUDYFor practical biblical advice on how to improve your marriage, check out Building Blocks To A Strong Marriage at www.discoveryseries.org/q0801
Marriage thrives in a climate of love and respect.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
February 12, 2008
Are You Listening to God?LISTEN: READ:
They said to Moses, ’You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die’ ` —Exodus 20:19 About this cover We don’t consciously and deliberately disobey God— we simply don’t listen to Him. God has given His commands to us, but we pay no attention to them— not because of willful disobedience, but because we do not truly love and respect Him. "If you love Me, keep My commandments" (John 14:15). Once we realize we have constantly been showing disrespect to God, we will be filled with shame and humiliation for ignoring Him.
"You speak with us, . . . but let not God speak with us . . . ." We show how little love we have for God by preferring to listen to His servants rather than to Him. We like to listen to personal testimonies, but we don’t want God Himself to speak to us. Why are we so terrified for God to speak to us? It is because we know that when God speaks we must either do what He asks or tell Him we will not obey. But if it is simply one of God’s servants speaking to us, we feel obedience is optional, not imperative. We respond by saying, "Well, that’s only your own idea, even though I don’t deny that what you said is probably God’s truth."
Am I constantly humiliating God by ignoring Him, while He lovingly continues to treat me as His child? Once I finally do hear Him, the humiliation I have heaped on Him returns to me. My response then becomes, "Lord, why was I so insensitive and obstinate?" This is always the result once we hear God. But our real delight in finally hearing Him is tempered with the shame we feel for having taken so long to do so.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft:
The Coach Who Knows What He's Doing - #5502 Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Our sons had always dreamed of playing high school football, and when they finally got to realize that dream, they got to play for one of the winningest coaches in our area. He turned what was once a team known for losing into a team that was usually in the championship series. And because I worked with the team for several years as sort of a spiritual coach, I had an opportunity to observe one of the great secrets of his success. He was a genius at knowing what position each player could play best. Many times they disagreed with the coach; they saw themselves as being a star at some position they really wanted. But he could size up their capabilities like no coach I had ever seen. And invariably, the guys who thought he was wrong about the position he gave them, well, they would end up being all-conference and all-county in that spot.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Coach Who Knows What He's Doing."
I know a Coach like that. So do you, if you belong to Jesus Christ. He knows exactly where every one of His players can play best, even if they think they should be playing somewhere else.
That's actually what Jesus is trying to tell us in our word for today from the Word of God in 1 Corinthians 12, beginning with verse 7. "To each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good." In other words, if you know Jesus, He has gifted you for a position you're supposed to play - no exceptions. "Even as the body is one," it says, "and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ." He goes on to point out that every part of the body, every function, is needed or the rest of the body suffers. Then this bottom line in 1 Corinthians 12:18. I like this. Listen carefully, "But God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired."
Or, God, the Head Coach, has placed each player just exactly where He wants them on His team, playing the position He created them for and gifted them for. And you're one of those team members. God has gifted you, He's prepared you, He's destined you, assigned you to play the position He knows is best for you and for His Church, and for a hurting and dying world. Maybe it's time you stopped trying to get Him to play you somewhere else. He knows what He's doing.
It's actually an insult to your Lord to covet a position that someone else has, or to compare yourself to another player on His team, or to denigrate your position as being less important than others, or to tell Him you can't play that position, or to sit on the sidelines or leave the game because you don't like your position; you refuse to play your position. You are depriving Team Jesus of a contribution that they need and a contribution that only you can make.
I know that, not because of who you are but because of who Jesus is. Ephesians 2:10 says, "We are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works He prepared in advance for us to do." He produces spiritual champions because He knows where each player should play, including you. And remember, it's not the crowd you're playing for, or even your other teammates. You are playing for your Coach. So put on your gear, take your position on the field, and play your God-given position with all your heart!
