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About-Him.Com Devotional 01-24-2004
119: The Death of John the Baptist Mt. 14:1-2, 6-12; Mk. 6:14-16, 21-29; Lu. 9:7-9
Mk 6;14 ¶ And king Herod heard of him; (for his name was spread abroad:) and he said, That John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him.
15 Others said, That it is Elias. And others said, That it is a prophet, or as one of the prophets.
16 But when Herod heard thereof, he said, It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead.
17 For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife: for he had married her.
18 For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife.
As the fame of Jesus increased, word of His mighty exploits reached the ears of King Herod, who was suffering from a stricken conscience. He had recently executed John the Baptist . Herod was a Saduccee, who did not believe in the resurrection, Obvious tormented, he stated that John had raised from the dead.
Herod had often talked with John and had great respect for his holiness and piety. John wasn’t swayed by the favor of the king. He confronted Herod and denounced his marriage to his brother’s wife, who was also his neice. John simply said, "It is not lawful."
Herod held a banquet to celebrate his birthday, and his wife’s daughter, whom tradition says was named Solome, performed a sensuous dance that is often referred to as The Dance of the Seven Veils. This dance aroused Herod and caused him to make a very rash promise. He offered to give the girl anything up to half of his kingdom. She consulted with her mother Herodias who was still stinging from John’s rebuke. The mother saw her chance for revenge.
At her urging, the girl asked for the head of John the Baptist on a platter. For the sake of his oath, Herod reluctantly complied and sent an executioner to kill John. John’s disciples buried the body of John and told Jesus what had happened.
Today's Fresh Oil
John 15:19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
It is not lawful. These words sealed the doom of John the Baptist. When we as Christians confront evil and take a stand for the word of God, the world takes notice. When we take a stand against abortion we are considered as the so-called Christian right. When we say that homosexuality is not lawful, the opposition tries to shout us down.
The question of civil unions and gay marriage is going to be a big factor in our coming elections. Most politicians are continually checking the political winds and they change their opinions accordingly. Quite a number who were once pro-life are now pro-choice. Now we see a trend endorsing civil union. If the votes are there, these same politicians will readily endorse gay marriage.
It's time to make your voice heard. We can keep our mouth shut and hopes that everybody loves us, or we can take a stand for the word of God.
Jesus said that if they had hated Him, they would hate us also. If we have been covered by the blood of Jesus, the world knows there is something different about us, and wants nothing to do with us. We might as well act the part.
Luke 6:26 Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.
In About-Him
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Humor
The junior executive had been complaining to his wife of aches and pains. Neither one could account for his trouble. Arriving home from work one night, he informed her, "I finally discovered why I've been feeling so miserable. We got some ultra-modern office furniture two weeks ago and I just learned today that I've been sitting in the wastebasket."
Keep Looking Up!
Don & Marie Spooner
About Him! Ministries
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