Devotional Thoughts

Matthew 4:1-2    "Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.  And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred."   The Bible tells us that Jesus was tempted in all the same ways we are tempted (Hebrews 4:15). We are, by our sin nature, prone to temptation and often likely to yield to the same. Jesus did not have our sin nature, so how was it that He was tempted? This is yet another sacrifice that He made for us so that our High Priest (Jesus) could be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. In the last verse of Matthew, chapter three, Jesus saw heaven opened. The Spirit of God descended upon Him in the form of a dove. The voice of God spoke on that occasion, declaring that Jesus was His beloved Son, and that He (the Father) was well pleased with Him (the Son). It appears that immediately following His baptism that the Spirit (perhaps still in the form of a dove) led Jesus up into the wil...

Ephesians 1:7-12   "In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;  (8)  Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;  (9)  Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:  (10)  That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:  (11)  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:  (12)  That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ." I am using several verses of Scripture because Paul wrote long sentences. A few days ago, we saw that 7 times in 11 verses, the spiritual blessings that are listed are in Christ. It's very important to...

Matthew 3:13-17    "Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.  But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?  And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.  And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:  And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."   To me, there is no more powerful phrase in the scripture than, “then cometh Jesus.” Every scene that Jesus ever walked into became something powerful and exceptional. When He came into this world, the angels of heaven sang and declared His birth. When He came to be baptized of John, the heavens were opened unto Him, and He saw the Spirit of God. When He came to...

Ephesians 1:3-7    "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:  (4)  According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:  (5)  Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,  (6)  To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.  (7)  In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;" I pray that as we look at these verses, we can find the peace and assurance that the Apostle Paul felt as he wrote these words. My thoughts concerning them will be brief, but I pray it will take each of us into a deeper appreciation of the work of our precious Lord in redeeming us "through His blood." Paul lis...