Thursday, January 7, 2010

1/7 - Matthew 3:13-17

Matthew 3:13-17

What powerful words of affirmation for Jesus, "This is my Son, whom I love, with him I am well pleased." I don't know if Jesus needed to hear those words as he began his ministry, but they are a wonderful gift from God. When we hear such words, generally we hear them from people not God, they help shape our lives.

What I want you to consider is not what others might say to you but what you have the opportunity to say to others. You will have the opportunity to speak words today that can help build others up. Words that encourage and strengthen their lives. The question is whether or not we will take that opportunity?

2 comments:

  1. John had the amazing opportunity to baptize the son of God. How unreal is that? For years he had been teaching that the son of God would come to baptize with the fire of the Holy Spirit-now that was kind of being turned upside down and Jesus was asking John to baptize Him. I wonder if John had feelings of inadequacy, that He was not good enough? How often do I have those feelings and miss opportunities to reach out to people?

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  2. I'm not sure that I "really" want to know this, but it goes through my mind when I read this Scripture. - What would God say to me today if this was not the beginning but the end of my ministry/time here on Earth?

    In response to Jenni's question, I believe that we DO miss lots of opportunities in life because of our feelings of inadequacy. I know that is true for many in the Bible - beginning with Moses. What a joy it would be to have the freedom and peace to "let go and let God" work in and through us according to His will!

    In regard to the words we say to others to encourage, I will never forget hearing about the "classic encourager" in our church -- Dr. Floyd Diehm! After realizing this about him at his service, I vowed to become an encourager but know I have already failed the test! This passage reminds me again of the impact of words on the lives of others!

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