Baptism of the Lord: Friday, January 13, 2006

Old Testament Lesson

Genesis 6:1-8

There does come times when its seems like evil is that we see.  That's how it was for Noah's time.  All around was evil and sin, and the Lord decided to start over, if you will.  But even in all the sin, there was still one that was righteousness, Noah, and his family.  And they were saved from the flood.  Sometimes, we are more tempted to focus on the evil all around than we are to be focused on the good that we can, the holy lives that we can lead.  The only person in this life I can control is myself.  I can't control my family, my church, my friends.  I can only control myself.  While we should fight against evil in this world, we must not get so focused on what is wrong that we forget to pay attention to how we are living.  We should fight not only against the sin in this world, but the sin that is in each of us. 

New Testament Lesson

Hebrews 3:12-19

So much of sin comes from a hardened heart, a heart that has turned away from God. And it is a circle, because sin hardens our heart.  So, the more we sin, the more our heart becomes hard, and the more our heart becomes hard, the more we sin.  One of the temptations that the devil uses is that "no one will know."  Well, first God will.  And second, our heart will.  No one may know that we are sinning, but our heart grows hard.  No one may know that we have turned away from God, but our heart does.  That is what sin does.  It is not be be played with.  Seek the Lord today, and do not let you hearts grow hard, lest you forget how great His love is. 

Gospel Lesson

John 2:1-12

So often we are tempted to say, the Lord doesn't care about this concern, it is so minor, so I won't pray about it.  In the grand scheme of things, how important is a inconvenience at a wedding?  Now, the to bride and groom, and their families, ti was a really big deal. But, no one was starving or dieing or anything as tragic.  To to world, not a huge deal.  To the family,  a very big deal.  And this is where Jesus performed His first miracle, taking care of a problem.  He solved the problem for this family, made it better than it should have been.  No concern is too small for Jesus.  No worry is too small for Jesus.  No problem is too small for Jesus.  Don't wait until you are sick or grieving to pray.  Give your life and concerned to him daily.  Nothing is too small to take to Him in prayer.  Don't wait.  He turned the water into wine and saved the wedding.  What concern in your life can He not work on because you refuse to give it to Him in prayer.  In the Gospels, it says that there were some towns where He could no miracles because of their lack of faith.  We should not our lack of Faith or pray be the things that stops God from working in our lives.