Focus:
kjv@Revelation:14:12 @ Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
(
FaithOfJesus thread begun by r
RandyP )
Today's Verse:
kjv@Mark:1:1-8
kjv@Mark:1:1 @ The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;
kjv@Mark:1:2 @ As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
kjv@Mark:1:3 @ The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
kjv@Mark:1:4 @ John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.
kjv@Mark:1:5 @ And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins.
kjv@Mark:1:6 @ And John was clothed with camel's hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey;
kjv@Mark:1:7 @ And preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose.
kjv@Mark:1:8 @ I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.
Today's notes: Make Straight His Path
Context:
Key Concepts:
slide:kjv@repentance slide:kjv@remission
What is God's righteousness observed doing?:
- Preparing the pathway for the promised Messiah to enter.
- having taken considerable time to come to the point where it now could be performed.
- having established certain prophets to pre-announce what HE was planning to do to fulfill HIS covenant with Abraham and back to Eve.
- putting the people of all Judea now to remembrance of their sin by an initial baptism of repentance.
- Intending through the Messiah to baptize the believer with the Holy Ghost
What does this tell us about God's righteousness?:
- It is manifold being long established, far ranging and substantial enough for the long term, targeted toward a much different outcome than man is presently on. As such, centuries of establishing man's depravity and inability under numerous variables, centuries of using individual points of prophecy strung together to form a cohesive fabric of revelation that only HE by virtue of time and strength of establishment and accuracy could of revealed, in consideration the length of time to follow that this revelation would be depended upon for the salvation of all future believers.
- Each stage of the plan so far has been largely implemented and performed by HIM through individual men and women empowered only by HIS strength against all human odds and opposition and attempt to corrupt.
- The immediate goal at this point of HIS dispensation is to get the human heart by belief/dependence in the righteousness performed between HIM and Son Jesus to receieve the in dwelling of HIS Holy Spirit for further development and separation.
How is man reacting?:
- In large number favorably to the initial call.
- John with tremendous humility and perspective.
Notes:
God had placed a spiritual gauge in the nation's psyche of blessing for obedience and cursing for disobedience. There are purposely numerous examples given of this gauge being reluctantly seen and reacted to in the nation's past. There would be no one who could intelligently look at the conditions that Israel was being held under by Rome and ascertain that this was anything but that gauge pointing full throttled toward curse.
Key Messages:
What does this say about our present condition?
- In order to get past the need for the Messiah, one has to get past all of the preparations made and all of the conditions present and the objective future; one has to either disregard them all together or stretch them further towards more distant/impersonal mark.
- In order to distance themselves from God's righteousness, one must put their present righteousness over and above HIS well stated and established long term.
Further Resources:
Comment Board:Mark:1:1-8
index:FAITHOFJESUSDEVOTION - Devotional Index
strkjv@Mark:1:1-8 rwp@Mark:1:1-8 mhcc@Mark:1:1-8
FaithOfJesus2 - Devotion Index