Re:Verse Reading–Matthew 3 (day one). “Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. . .And a voice from Heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love, with Him I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:13,17) No one knows HOW the Lord reached his decision. The scripture never tells us His mental process. Perhaps He gives a clue years later when He says “the baptism of John, was it from God or from men?” (Matthew 21:25) The fact, however, is that Jesus DID MAKE A DECISION! Should I be baptized? Yes, came the Lord’s answer! Perhaps we should all remember that following Christ is not one decision but many. It is a demanding, time-consuming, conscience-testing pursuit that searches and obeys the will of God, again and again, sometimes even facing the opposition of trusted friends. It pleases the Father to see this discernment/courage in Christ. It pleases Him to see it in us. “I have decided to follow Jesus. . .”
Glad to see you back Pastor Don and hope you are feeling ok and have a good week.
Even though I did enjoy the guest bloggers, I am so glad to have you back. Hope you are progressing well. When I was reading the blog today, it occurred to me that our year with The Lord’s Prayer and the Everyday Prayer blog is almost up. One of my decisions has been to start each day with the Prayer , the Bible, and the blog. I felt it connected me to God through His Book and reaching out to Him in prayer and to our church through the blog. The blog helped me in understanding and directed me to things to ponder. I realize the daily blog just adds to your long list of responsibilities, but I wanted you to know how much it has helped me and to ask if there is any way you can continue something like this in the future. Thank you for being our pastor. Even though we watch and connect from home, Gary and I feel very much a part of First Baptist. He is undergoing some major physical problems now and is facing 2 major surgeries. Please keep us in your prayers.
Eileen
Me too!!… as he gives me Grace.
I was praying my frequent prayer of “Lord, do not leave me here” again yesterday. I want to follow Him more, obey Him more, seek/find Him more, “hear” Him more, watch Him do His work in the world through my/others lives more, see more LIFE in those around me.
It was made clear to me that the way forward for me is to keep my eyes on Him ALONE…. follow Him ALONE.
Father, may it be so. May you give us Grace that we would keep our eyes on You and follow You alone. Amen.
(Glad you are back Pastor Guthrie. God Bless You!)