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John the Baptist introduced Jesus as the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirt and fire. This is mentioned in all the 4 gospels. Introducing someone the right way is very important, let alone the Son of God. John didn’t call Him the messiah or anything else. He called Him the Baptizer of the Spirit and Fire. But my question to you is, how many people did Jesus baptize with the Holy Spirit when He was on the earth? How many got baptized in the 3 years of His ministry? No one! None! Zero! Then which era was John talking about? Who was He referring to that would get baptized? He was referencing the day of Pentecost! He was referencing what is happening in the world since. “Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear.” - Acts 2:33 - Word of the Lord on February 21, 2018, the day Billy Graham went Home

“And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, saying, “Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!””

‭‭Mark‬ ‭1‬:‭22‬-‭24‬ ‭

He taught as one having authority. Not as the scribes. There was a clear distinction. So much so that even demons acknowledged Him. There is a level in the spirit where your authority is visible to the seen and the unseen!

You telling Him that you love Him doesn’t change you. Finding out how much you are loved, is what changes you. He gave up His son for you. If you only knew your worth.

Truth always invokes a violent behavior in people. Nailed someone to a cross for it!

#truth

Presence vs Absence

Absence creates a wanting. Absence creates desire. Presence is misused most of the time. It’s taken for granted. Everyone talks about it but no one goes after Him in the absence. When absence is the barometer of how much you will pursue Him. So absence is everything.

Jesus said He would return. But He’s been absent for the last 2000 years. Maybe we haven’t desired Him enough for Him to be present again.

Why did Mary approach Jesus when the wine finished at the wedding? Why not her other sons? She wasn’t the host so why would she care? Had Jesus done similar things at their home? Did she see things He did while growing up that were hard to explain. She knew His birth was supernatural. But were there more? There had to have been. I don’t see any reason for her to approach Him unless she saw Him doing supernatural things before. Look at her instructions to the servants- “Do whatever He tells you.” It is obvious she had been a witness to some of His glory. The key is in what Jesus told her- “My time hasn’t come.” In other words, Mom, I know you know and have seen a lot already. But it’s not time yet to reveal who I AM.

#whowasHE

“When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, "they have no more wine.” Jesus’ response is classic- “Woman, why do you involve me?”- NIV “Dear woman, that’s not our problem”- NLT “Woman, what does that have to do with us?”- NASB :)

Nothing glamorous about a Prophet. It is painful, it means isolation. It is controversial with a lot of persecution. -DP

The Jews waited for a King to deliver them from their enemies. Yet He came as a lowly man, a carpenter’s son, a young Galilean man and the Jews failed to recognize their King. The church does the same mistake because to many of us He is still the simple man from the gospels. He is still the man who had fishermen as friends and rode a donkey in to Jerusalem. Not anymore. He is our King of kings, the Lord of all Glory. Let’s approach Him as who He is now. Not as who He was.

What is your reward?

Prosperity comes when we start seeing Him as our reward, not what He can offer us as reward for obeying Him. In Genesis 14, Abram had said that he has lifted his hand to the Lord God most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth. That is in fact true because possessor is spelled with a capital P to emphasize that God does possesses everything. But a few verses later in chapter 15 it says-

“After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”” - Gen 15:1

Is He truly our reward? Are we pursuing things from Him or are we pursuing Him? Are we obeying Him for blessings or are we interested in Him? The old covenant has 613 laws. The new covenant has 1- Follow Him. God was letting Abram know that HE was his reward. Even a a few verses later when Abram asked for a child, the Lord cut a covenant with Him to prove that He was his shield and reward. That was a symbol of God cutting a covenant with us, not with the blood of animals but with the blood of His son to prove what? He cut the second covenant to prove to us again that He is our reward. When our journey on earth ends, we eagerly wait to see Him because He is our crown. He is all we need. Follow Him.

The question shouldn’t be what is your reward, rather, who is your reward?

Jesus is God explained! People say you cannot explain God. That is only partially true. A lot about God is explained in the person and life of Jesus.

What is a woman? We live in a culture that won’t clearly define womanhood. Porn changed the way one looked at women. And the only way to revert it back is to view women the way God views them.

“But He needed to go through Samaria.” -John‬ ‭4‬:‭4‬

Why did He need to? He wanted to meet the Samaritan woman ‭at the well. This is HIS need of the hour. Her broken life caused Him to go through a town that wasn’t on his journey back to Galilee. As society disintegrates, will we be sensitive to the brokenness around us and go where we traditionally won’t go?

The beauty of Grace is that it shifts the focus back to Him. Away from the sinner. Back to the Shepherd who lost a sheep. Back to the Father with 2 sons. Less of me, more of you Lord!

The story of the rich, young, ruler is really about what had him. Not what he had. The Lord wasn’t after his money. He wanted the young man. All he had to do was to sincerely follow Him and he would have got everything he gave away. How do we know that? Later in that chapter when Peter says we gave up a lot for you, Jesus responded, you will get everything you gave up 100 fold in this life and and in the life to come. What has you? Will you give it up to follow Christ?

When you believe a lie, you strengthen the liar. When you believe the truth, you free yourself.

“…command that these stones become bread.”

“…throw yourself down.”

“…fall down and worship me.”

Jesus was tempted in 3 areas. Satan used 3 specific areas to tempt him. Areas of provision, protection and purpose which are 3 areas every human lives for. It would be wise to see how Jesus responded because it is not just a response to satan. It is a template to measure our lives too. #matthew4

What is the cost of a Human soul? How much are we really worth? Invaluable! God gave Heaven's most precious asset to purchase us from the Justice of God. That asset was the blood of His own Son. That's why the cost of a human soul is invaluable because the blood of Jesus is invaluable!

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