"LET THEM FLY!!"
The Baptism of Jesus. (Matthew 3: 13-17)
"At that time Jesus arrived from Galilee and came to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. But John tried to make him change his mind. "I ought to be baptized by you," John said, "and yet you have come to me!"
But Jesus answered him, "Let it be so for now. For in this way we shall do all that God requires." So John agreed. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he came up out of the water. Then Heaven was opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God coming down like a dove and alighting on him. Then a voice said from Heaven, "This is my own dear Son, with whom I am pleased."
Although Jesus had not yet begun His ministry, we know that He was considered to be "The Teacher" to his His disciples. Throughout his subsequent ministry He became known as a healer, a lover of children, and even a Rabbi, which means "Master" to some. Jesus became everything to His followers, and when He was taken away from them, imprisoned, and then finally crucified, it was a crushing blow to their faith.
Throughout studies in the Parenting field, it has been found to learn how to allow or permit your children to "grow-up." I mean, we´re not Jesus. But there are many mothers that just do about everything for their children. Taking the lesson from those earlier days with the disciples being so crushed by the loss of someone so important in their lives,...don´t you think it behooves us -as parents- to take a step back and allow or permit our children to grow up a little while we´re still here??...
One of my favorite illustration with regards to allowing our children to grow up is a study I did of eagles. I tell you the story... When baby eagles get to a certain age, the parent eagles know that it is time to give their little ones a nudge straight down. You see, the eagle´s nest is usually lodged in an extremely high area, and when it comes time for Eagle Jr. to leave the nest, the mama eagle pushes her baby eagle out of the nest. It´s a natural instinct to do so. The eagle´s predatory hunting skills rely almost solely on their flying power. If they couldn´t fly, they couldn´t eat, and they would die. So mama eagle shoves them one by one out of the nest, and daddy eagle follows them as they fall. They don´t just take off flying, so daddy eagle gently flies beneath them and lifts them a bit higher, then letting them go again. The process repeats several times until the baby eagle can fly on his own.
As humans, we don´t have that natural instinct to push our children out of the nest, and let them fall. Often, we can lift them up and help them soar. So we tend to help and overprotect them, never letting them realize their full potential. In effect, we retard their natural given potential for growth by our Parenting nature.
Well, what does this have to do with today´s text? Everything! As much as God likes us to come to Him and tell Him how much we love Him, and how much we need Him in our lives.
Have you ever stopped thinking what He needs?...
Every day God tries to nudge us from the nest, our comfort zone, and teach us to fly. Every day we hold on for dear life to what we know is "safe" and what we know as "the way we think it should be". It is our opinion, and it´s not entirely our fault, since we have been spiritually parented in the same way that we were naturally parented, believing that we are to "let God do for us". He is our Provider, our Comforter, our Hope, but what are we to Him?
What does He need?...
I am sure that God never intended for us to be a collection of babies sitting somewhere on the shelf waiting to be auctioned off at the highest bid. He doesn´t want a group of people who "look pretty", but have never been tried or touched by the infirmities of the world around us. He is looking for some people who when nudged will say,
"Here am I Lord. Send me to fulfill Your plan for me."
John had been given a ministry to perform in the Name of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. The article of baptism is one of the greatest of all articles of faith. It is the symbolism of the death and resurrection of Christ and our association with it.
Here we have Jesus coming to John to be Baptized. He had no need of Baptism for He had nothing to repent of. Yet He associates Himself with what was to come by His submission to it. So He comes to him who was called to Baptize in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He surrendered himself to the ministry for which John had been called; it might be fulfilled that Jesus, publicly would show in that moment, that He surrendered himself as a man to take on the element of death, submission into the water; the coming up out of the water, being his resurrection and ascension; and the dove ascending upon Him being the promise of the Comforter, God´s Holy Spirit.
Jesus has "called us all" to a brotherhood of mankind to help each other, to minister to one another. One of the greatest healing services I´ve had the fortune to be a part of, it was the body of the Church, meeting at the altar -praying for one another, just a group of believers ministering to one another in the Spirit of love and fellowship.
Now friend, that is what He needs, and that´s what He wants.
He is calling you today. Can you hear Him??...
The Baptism of Jesus. (Matthew 3: 13-17)
"At that time Jesus arrived from Galilee and came to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. But John tried to make him change his mind. "I ought to be baptized by you," John said, "and yet you have come to me!"
But Jesus answered him, "Let it be so for now. For in this way we shall do all that God requires." So John agreed. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he came up out of the water. Then Heaven was opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God coming down like a dove and alighting on him. Then a voice said from Heaven, "This is my own dear Son, with whom I am pleased."
Although Jesus had not yet begun His ministry, we know that He was considered to be "The Teacher" to his His disciples. Throughout his subsequent ministry He became known as a healer, a lover of children, and even a Rabbi, which means "Master" to some. Jesus became everything to His followers, and when He was taken away from them, imprisoned, and then finally crucified, it was a crushing blow to their faith.
Throughout studies in the Parenting field, it has been found to learn how to allow or permit your children to "grow-up." I mean, we´re not Jesus. But there are many mothers that just do about everything for their children. Taking the lesson from those earlier days with the disciples being so crushed by the loss of someone so important in their lives,...don´t you think it behooves us -as parents- to take a step back and allow or permit our children to grow up a little while we´re still here??...
One of my favorite illustration with regards to allowing our children to grow up is a study I did of eagles. I tell you the story... When baby eagles get to a certain age, the parent eagles know that it is time to give their little ones a nudge straight down. You see, the eagle´s nest is usually lodged in an extremely high area, and when it comes time for Eagle Jr. to leave the nest, the mama eagle pushes her baby eagle out of the nest. It´s a natural instinct to do so. The eagle´s predatory hunting skills rely almost solely on their flying power. If they couldn´t fly, they couldn´t eat, and they would die. So mama eagle shoves them one by one out of the nest, and daddy eagle follows them as they fall. They don´t just take off flying, so daddy eagle gently flies beneath them and lifts them a bit higher, then letting them go again. The process repeats several times until the baby eagle can fly on his own.
As humans, we don´t have that natural instinct to push our children out of the nest, and let them fall. Often, we can lift them up and help them soar. So we tend to help and overprotect them, never letting them realize their full potential. In effect, we retard their natural given potential for growth by our Parenting nature.
Well, what does this have to do with today´s text? Everything! As much as God likes us to come to Him and tell Him how much we love Him, and how much we need Him in our lives.
Have you ever stopped thinking what He needs?...
Every day God tries to nudge us from the nest, our comfort zone, and teach us to fly. Every day we hold on for dear life to what we know is "safe" and what we know as "the way we think it should be". It is our opinion, and it´s not entirely our fault, since we have been spiritually parented in the same way that we were naturally parented, believing that we are to "let God do for us". He is our Provider, our Comforter, our Hope, but what are we to Him?
What does He need?...
I am sure that God never intended for us to be a collection of babies sitting somewhere on the shelf waiting to be auctioned off at the highest bid. He doesn´t want a group of people who "look pretty", but have never been tried or touched by the infirmities of the world around us. He is looking for some people who when nudged will say,
"Here am I Lord. Send me to fulfill Your plan for me."
John had been given a ministry to perform in the Name of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. The article of baptism is one of the greatest of all articles of faith. It is the symbolism of the death and resurrection of Christ and our association with it.
Here we have Jesus coming to John to be Baptized. He had no need of Baptism for He had nothing to repent of. Yet He associates Himself with what was to come by His submission to it. So He comes to him who was called to Baptize in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He surrendered himself to the ministry for which John had been called; it might be fulfilled that Jesus, publicly would show in that moment, that He surrendered himself as a man to take on the element of death, submission into the water; the coming up out of the water, being his resurrection and ascension; and the dove ascending upon Him being the promise of the Comforter, God´s Holy Spirit.
Jesus has "called us all" to a brotherhood of mankind to help each other, to minister to one another. One of the greatest healing services I´ve had the fortune to be a part of, it was the body of the Church, meeting at the altar -praying for one another, just a group of believers ministering to one another in the Spirit of love and fellowship.
Now friend, that is what He needs, and that´s what He wants.
He is calling you today. Can you hear Him??...
Let us pray,
Father, we thank You for those men and women around the world who rise up amidst the political injustices worldwide. Oh that we would find more Christians who would be nudged from their "nesting in the pew, and step forward and become a true believer." One who loves and gives of themselves to their own fellowship of believers. Lord, we will never flow in the Spirit and soar like an eagle until we put faith to work. Lord, nudge us loose from our perches of complacency today and teach us how to not just fly, but soar above the clouds of despondency and despair that seems to plague every corner of our planet Earth.
We ask these things in the Name of Jesus. AMEN.
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