2020 for JESUS - Day 321: JESUS is THE LORD... GOD... JESUS... RIGHTEOUSNESS... MY BELOVED SON...

 

Matthew 3

”In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 

² ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’

 ³ For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said,

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of THE LORD;
    make HIS paths straight.’”

⁴ Now John wore a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. 

⁵ Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, 

⁶ and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

⁷ But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, 

‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 

⁸ Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. 

⁹ And do not presume to say to yourselves, 

‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, GOD is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 

¹⁰ Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

¹¹ ‘I baptize you with water for repentance, but HE who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. HE will baptize you with THE HOLY SPIRIT and fire. 

¹² HIS winnowing fork is in HIS hand, and HE will clear HIS threshing floor and gather HIS wheat into the barn, but the chaff HE will burn with unquenchable fire.’

The Baptism of Jesus

¹³ Then JESUS came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. 

¹⁴ John would have prevented HIM, saying,

‘I need to be baptized by YOU, and do YOU come to me?’

 ¹⁵ But JESUS answered him, ‘

‘Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all RIGHTEOUSNESS.’ Then he consented. 

¹⁶ And when JESUS was baptized, immediately HE went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to HIM,  and HE saw THE SPIRIT OF GOD descending like a dove and coming to rest on HIM; 

¹⁷ and behold, a voice from heaven said, 

‘This is MY BELOVED SON with WHOM I am well pleased.’”

2020 for JESUS - Day 320: JESUS is KING OF THE JEWS... THE CHRIST... A RULER... SHEPHERD... THE CHILD... THE LORD... MY SON... A NAZARENE...

  

Matthew 2

The Visit of the Wise Men

“Now after JESUS was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, 

² saying, ‘Where is HE WHO has been born KING OF THE JEWS? For we saw HIS star when it rose and have come to worship HIM.’

 ³ When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 

⁴ and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where THE CHRIST was to be born. 

⁵ They told him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:

⁶ ‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
    are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come A RULER
    who will SHEPHERD my people Israel.’

⁷ Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. 

⁸ And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, ‘Go and search diligently for THE CHILD, and when you have found HIM, bring me word, that I too may come and worship HIM.’

 ⁹ After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where THE CHILD was. 

¹⁰ When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 

¹¹ And going into the house, they saw THE CHILD with Mary HIS mother, and they fell down and worshiped HIM. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. 

¹² And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

The Flight to Egypt

¹³ Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of THE LORD appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Rise, take THE CHILD and HIS mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for THE CHILD, to destroy HIM.’

 ¹⁴ And HE rose and took THE CHILD and HIS mother by night and departed to Egypt 

¹⁵ and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what THE LORD had spoken by the prophet, ‘Out of Egypt I called MY SON.

Herod Kills the Children

¹⁶ Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. 

¹⁷ Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:

¹⁸ ‘A voice was heard in Ramah,
    weeping and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children;
    she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.’

The Return to Nazareth

¹⁹ But when Herod died, behold, an angel of THE LORD appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 

²⁰ saying, ‘Rise, take THE CHILD and HIS mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought THE CHILD's life are dead.’

 ²¹ And he rose and took THE CHILD and HIS mother and went to the land of Israel. 

²² But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. 

²³ And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that HE would be called A NAZARENE.”

2020 for JESUS - Day 319: JESUS is JESUS CHRIST, THE SON OF DAVID, THE SON OF ABRAHAM... THE CHRIST... JESUS CHRIST... THE LORD... A SON... JESUS... IMMANUEL... GOD WITH US...

The New Testament begins with 4 books called "The Gospels".  

They are the account of JESUS' life on earth, 

as told by 4 different men.  

This year, on 2020 for JESUS, 

we have already looked at 2 of those books - 

Luke and John.  

Let's plan to finish out the year 2020 with 

the other two  gospel books - Matthew and Mark.  

Today, we begin with Matthew.

Matthew 1

 

"The book of the genealogy of JESUS CHRIST, THE SON OF DAVID, THE SON OF ABRAHAM.

² Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 

³ and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram,

 ⁴ and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 

⁵ and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 

⁶ and Jesse the father of David the king.

And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, 

⁷ and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph,

 ⁸ and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, 

⁹ and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, 

¹⁰ and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, 

¹¹ and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.

¹² And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel,^[d] and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, 

¹³ and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, 

¹⁴ and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, 

¹⁵ and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, 

¹⁶ and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.

¹⁷ So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to THE CHRIST fourteen generations.

¹⁸ Now the birth of JESUS CHRIST took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from THE HOLY SPIRIT. 

¹⁹ And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 

²⁰ But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of THE LORD appeared to him in a dream, saying,

“Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from THE HOLY SPIRIT. 

²¹ She will bear A SON, and you shall call HIS name JESUS, for HE will save HIS people from their sins.’ 

²² All this took place to fulfill what THE LORD had spoken by the prophet:

²³ ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear A SON,
    and they shall call HIS name IMMANUEL

(which means, GOD WITH US). 

²⁴ When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of THE LORD commanded him: he took his wife, 

²⁵ but knew her not until she had given birth to A SON. And he called HIS name JESUS.”

2020 for JESUS - Day 318: JESUS is THE LORD... CHRIST... GOD... HE WHO IS BOTH THEIR MASTER AND YOURS IS IN HEAVEN... THERE IS NO FAVORITISM WITH HIM... HIS MIGHTY POWER... THE FULL ARMOR OF GOD... THE BELT OF TRUTH... THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS... THE GOSPEL OF PEACE... THE SHIELD OF FAITH... THE HELMET OF SALVATION... THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT... THE WORD OF GOD...THE MYSTERY OF THE GOSPEL... PEACE... LOVE WITH FAITH... GRACE... OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST...

 

Ephesians 6

6 “Children, obey your parents in THE LORD, for this is right. 

² ‘Honor your father and mother’—which is the first commandment with a promise— 

³ ‘so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.’

⁴ Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of THE LORD.

⁵ Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey CHRIST. 

⁶ Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of CHRIST, doing the will of GOD from your heart. 

⁷ Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving THE LORD not people, 

⁸ because you know that THE LORD will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free.

⁹ And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that HE WHO IS BOTH THEIR MASTER AND YOURS IS IN HEAVEN, and THERE IS NO FAVORITISM WITH HIM.

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in THE LORD and in HIS MIGHTY POWER. 

¹¹ Put on THE FULL ARMOR OF GOD, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 

¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 

¹³ Therefore put on THE FULL ARMOR OF GOD, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 

¹⁴ Stand firm then, with THE BELT OF TRUTH buckled around your waist, with THE BREASTPLACE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS in place, 

¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from THE GOSPEL OF PEACE.

 ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up THE SHIELD OF FAITH, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 

¹⁷ Take THE HELMET OF SALVATION and THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT, which is THE WORD OF GOD.

¹⁸ And pray in THE SPIRIT on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all THE LORD’s people. 

¹⁹ Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known THE MYSTERY OF THE GOSPEL, 

²⁰ for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

²¹ Tychicus, the dear brother and faithful servant in THE LORD, will tell you everything, so that you also may know how I am and what I am doing. 

²² I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage you.

²³ PEACE to the brothers and sisters,  and LOVE WITH FAITH    from GOD THE FATHER and THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. 

²⁴ GRACE to all who love OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST with an undying love.^”

2020 for JESUS - Day 317: JESUS is GOD... THE WAY OF LOVE... CHRIST... A FRAGRANT OFFERING AND SACRIFICE TO GOD... THE LORD... LIGHT... THE LIGHT... GOODNESS... RIGHTEOUSNESS... TRUTH... WISE... THE SPIRIT... OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST... THE HEAD OF THE CHURCH... THE SAVIOR... THE WORD...

Ephesians 5

^“Follow GOD’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children 

² and walk in THE WAY OF LOVE, just as CHRIST loved us and gave HIMSELF up for us as A FRAGRANT OFFERING AND SACRIFICE TO GOD.

³ But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for GOD’s holy people. 

⁴ Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. 

⁵ For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of CHRIST and of GOD.

 ⁶ Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things GOD’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. 

⁷ Therefore do not be partners with them.

⁸ For you were once darkness, but now you are light in THE LORD. Live as children of LIGHT

⁹ (for the fruit of THE LIGHT consists in all GOODNESS, RIGHTEOUSNESS, and TRUTH) 

¹⁰ and find out what pleases THE LORD. 

¹¹ Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 

¹² It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 

¹³ But everything exposed by THE LIGHT becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. 

¹⁴ This is why it is said:

“Wake up, sleeper,
    rise from the dead,
    and CHRIST will shine on you.”

¹⁵ Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as WISE, 

¹⁶ making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 

¹⁷ Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the LORD’s will is. 

¹⁸ Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with THE SPIRIT, 

¹⁹ speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from THE SPIRIT. Sing and make music from your heart to THE LORD, 

²⁰ always giving thanks to GOD THE FATHER for everything, in the name of OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST.

²¹ Submit to one another out of reverence for CHRIST.

²² Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the LORD. 

²³ For the husband is the head of the wife as CHRIST is THE HEAD OF THE CHURCH, HIS body, of which HE is THE SAVIOR. 

²⁴ Now as the church submits to CHRIST, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

²⁵ Husbands, love your wives, just as CHRIST loved the church and gave HIMSELF up for her 

²⁶ to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through THE WORD, 

²⁷ and to present her to HIMSELF as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 

²⁸ In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 

²⁹ After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as CHRIST does the church— 

³⁰ for we are members of his body. 

³¹ “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”

 ³² This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about CHRIST and the church. 

³³ However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.”