God's arrival changes everything!

New Guest: Like this one, most posts are devotional; those related to CAR BIZ can be found by searching for that title. You might start with 'Welcome,' the first post, dated November 12, 2008, in the archives, where I introduce myself and the blog.

Friday, July 10, 2009
Devotions: Ps 16, 17, 22; 1 Sam 17:17-30; Acts 10:34-48; Mk 1:1-13

Lord, preserve me; I have no good apart from You. I delight in Your saints, and will stay away from the ungodly. I have chosen YHWH, as He has chosen me, and I have a good heritage! I bless the Lord, Who gives me counsel; I keep Him always before me, and I will not be moved. Therefore, my heart is glad and my soul rejoices; God has given me eternal life and shown me the path to it. God is my life and my joy. YHWH, keep me as the apple of Your eye; defeat my enemies. I bow to You and to Your judgment. Jesus bore the pain for my sins—the Father turned from the sins Jesus carried, and God was mocked, mistreated, and killed for my sins and those of the entire human race. They gambled for His clothes, pierced His side and heart with their lance, and murdered Him with a Gentile brigand’s death on the cross. Yet, God has exalted Him, and all the proud of the earth with bow to Him; posterity will serve Him; and in His name, deliverance will be made known to every generation!

Day by day, Goliath defied the king and armies of Israel; after forty days, David arrived at the camp with gifts for his elder brothers and their officers, sent by David’s father Jesse. David came into earshot just as Goliath was again challenging the host of Israel. He was astounded, and asked what was going on: ‘Who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?’ Some of the soldiers gave David the story, and recounted what Saul had offered to anyone who would take up the giant’s challenge. Eliab, David’s eldest brother, heard David discussing these matters with other soldiers, and became furious. And Eliab scolded his youngest brother, accusing him of abandoning their father’s flocks in favor of sightseeing at the battlefield.

Speaking to Cornelius and his household, Peter said, ‘Truly I perceive that God shows no partiality; God accepts everyone, everywhere, who fears Him and does what is right. You know the gospel He sent to Israel: peace through Jesus the Messiah, Who is Lord of all. That message has spread throughout Judea, beginning when John started baptizing in the Galilee. God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power. He traveled around, doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. We are witnesses to all He did, in the countryside and in Jerusalem. There, they put Jesus to death by hanging Him on a tree; but God raised Him on the third day and made Him manifest. Not everyone saw Him, but only we who were chosen by God as witnesses. We ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that His is the One ordained by God to judge the living and the dead. All the prophets bear Him witness; and everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name.’ Even as Peter was preaching this, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard. The Jews among Peter’s companions were amazed, seeing the Holy Spirit given to Gentiles! They heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Peter declared, ‘Can any one forbid water for baptizing these who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?’ And they were baptized into the name of Jesus the Messiah. And they invited Peter to remain with them for some days.

John Mark, working with the help of Peter, wrote the beginning of the good news of Jesus the Messiah, God’s Son. He quoted Isaiah and Malachi: ‘Behold, I send My messenger before You, who will prepare Your way: the voice of one crying in the wilderness, “Prepare the way of the Lord, and make straight His ways.”’ John the Baptizer appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. To John streamed all the people of Judea and Jerusalem, and he baptized them in the Jordan river, as they confessed their sins. John was dressed like Elijah of old, clothed in camel hair, with a leather girdle around his waist, eating locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, ‘After me comes He Who is mightier than I; I am not worthy to stoop down and loosen the thong of His sandals. I have baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit [and, added Matthew, with fire].' In those same days, Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. As He came up from the water, immediately He saw the heavens opened and the Spirit descended upon Him like a dove; a voice came from heaven: ‘You are My beloved Son; with You I Am well pleased.’ Right away, the Spirit drove Him out into the wilderness. Jesus was in the wilderness forty days and nights, tempted by Satan; he was living with the wild beasts; and angels ministered to Him.