Today’s reading is Matthew 3.
When John rebuked the Pharisees and Sadducees for trying to get baptized without repenting, he anticipated an objection: “But we are children of Abraham!” John’s response?
God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.
Just think about that. Meditate upon it. Let it roll around in every crevice of your heart and mind. As you do, something will begin to dawn on you. If God can raise up children for Abraham from the stones of the Jordan, He can raise you up as a son or daughter of Abraham.
Do not think God cannot save you. Do not think God cannot use you. Do not think God cannot bring glory to Himself through you. He can do that with stones in a river bed; He can do that with you.
And, lest we miss this, for many of us, this idea of “Father Abraham” and being children of Abraham goes all the way back to songs we learned as children. We’ve heard it for years. But in the context of Matthew, the only thing that has been said so far about being a child of Abraham was in Matthew 1:1. Do you remember? Jesus is the Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. In other words, God is able to make little Christs out of you and me both.
If you want that, may I encourage you to repent and be baptized? Not in John’s baptism, of course, but in Jesus’s? (See Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 2:38, et al). If we can help you with that, leave a comment below.
Tomorrow’s reading is Matthew 3.
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Discuss the Following Questions with Your Family
- What are your initial reactions to the chapter and the written devo above?
- What do you know about Abraham?
- Why would anyone want to be a “child” of Abraham?
- How does it comfort you to know God can make a child of Abraham out of stones and out of you?
- What do you think we should pray for and about in light of this chapter and today’s post?
Read the Bible 