THE HOME DEVO

Reading:    Matthew 4 Could Jesus be tempted?   This question has been debated since it was written.   Men of equal academic stature disagree with one another on the matter.   Most who object to the idea that Jesus could be tempted to sin answer by pointing out that the word translated "tempted" can also be translated as "tried" or "tested," The writer of Hebrews said Jesus was "tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin" (Heb 4:15).   This statement implies He could have sinned but did not.   Why would the fact that He did not sin mean anything if He could not have sinned?   There can be no temptation to sin where there is no opportunity to yield to sin.   The statement has been made the Jesus' "temptation was as real as was his baptism." The problem may be resolved when we understand the nature of Christ.   Jesus, being like all other people on the earth the ever lived, had free will.   He could have sinned if He so ...

Reading:     Matthew 3 Text:           Matthew 3.13-17 The baptism of Jesus has been looked at as problematic by some.   If baptism is for the forgiveness of sins, why was Christ baptized?   This is often asked by those who do not believe in the necessity of baptism in salvation. Consider a very simple argument for the baptism of Christ.   If Christ had not been baptized there would surely have been people who would say, "Jesus wasn't baptized, so why should I?"   Christ was baptized to "fulfill all righteousness" (3:15).   Note that in Psalms 119:72 the Bible says, "all thy commandments are righteousness."   This means Jesus was baptized to fulfill the commandment of God.   We can draw the conclusion that Jesus was baptized because it was a commandment of God.   Not for Jesus specifically, but for all people.   Baptism is a command and Jesus felt He should be baptized to keep all the comma...

Reading:  Matthew 1-2 Text:        Matthew 1.18-21 There is another side to the story of Jesus.   Many want the baby, but not the Man.   They will celebrate the birth of the baby Jesus, but they reject Him as Lord and King (Acts 2:14-47). Two empty places are important all year long: the empty manger and the empty tomb.   Jesus did not stay in the manger.   He grew up and led a perfect, sinless life.   He conducted a ministry of teaching and healing.   Finally, He died on the cross as a sacrifice so that we may be forgiven of our sins.   Neither did Jesus remain in the tomb.   Because He was resurrected, His birth, life, and death mean something.   Though Jesus Christ may not be wanted by everyone in this world, He is desperately needed.   (Mark16:15) In this New Year, we need to accept Jesus in all His life and in all His roles.   The blessed and tender baby of Bethlehem, the thought-provoking...

BIBLE READING: Revelation 19-22 DISCUSSION                                                                                                               As we read the final chapters of our Bible for the year, I hope that we now have a better understanding of making “His Story, My Story”.  I feel it is very important for us to understand what we have learned.  Out of all the lessons that we could gather from our study, I find that there are two that stand out the most.  Fir...

Bible Reading: Revelation 12-18

BIBLE READING: Revelation 6-11 DISCUSSION                                                                                                     As we get to this part of Revelation 6-1, things may begin to get difficult to understand.  One thing that we must remember is that most of the book of Revelation contains a great deal of symbolism.  Although the book can be understood by us today, much of it was intended be understood by its original audience.  However, just like any other portion of Scripture, it was place...

BIBLE READING: Revelation 1-5 DISCUSSION                                                                                                       There was only ten seconds left on the clock in overtime and we were down by one.   After throwing the ball in the defenders jumped in overdrive forcing the young point guard to pass to his teammate.   The man takes one dribble in the lane and looks up at the clock, three….two…; with only a second to spare he gets his shot off.   As the buzzer sounds it seems like an e...