eMeditation on the Bible
 
Question: What did God promise to give us through Jesus?
 
The Story (Luke 3:1-19)
Long before Jesus, God had promised through the prophets (God’s messengers) to send a man to prepare the way for Jesus as God’s agent to end our separation from God. A man named John fulfilled this promise. John lived in the desert by a river. People from the surrounding region went to the river to hear his speeches and be baptized by him. (Baptism is a public pouring of water on a person to symbolize the decision to turn away from a life of separation from God to live in a relationship with God.) John told them to prepare for the coming of Jesus by removing anything that displeased God from their lives and obtaining God’s forgiveness. Many people were baptized by John to prepare for the arrival of Jesus. John also announced that Jesus was going to “baptize” those who followed Jesus with “God’s Spirit and fire.”
 
General Principles
John’s statement that Jesus was going to baptize people with “God’s Spirit and fire” provided important information about what Jesus was going to accomplish. “Baptism with God’s Spirit” means that Jesus offers us a personal relationship with God through a deep connection with God’s Spirit. “Baptism with fire” means that God will:
(1) purify those who enter a relationship with God from everything that displeases God.
(2) enable them to live a life that pleases and honors God.
 
Personal Application
Although Jesus is no longer on earth as the human presence of God, God will be present in our lives by God’s Spirit when we end our separation from God and begin a relationship with our heavenly father. God’s Spirit will empower us to grow spiritually and become the mature person with strong character that pleases and brings honor to our heavenly father.
 
Respond by Growing
Knowing that, as a follower of Jesus, God is present in your life through God’s Spirit living within you, trust God for the strength and wisdom to face the challenges of your life each day, relying on the power of God’s Spirit deep within to honor and please your heavenly father.
 
Responsive Prayer
How amazing to know that I can have an deep connection with you, dear heavenly father, through the presence of your Spirit within me. Thank you for the opportunity to have a relationship with you when I follow Jesus as your authority over my life.