Translations:DEV 15FN Studying the Bible/7/en

'Read Luke 3:21-23. We often struggle with a sense of worth and value and feel insecure in who we are. This is no less for leaders, in fact sometimes with the added expectations upon the same insecurities are magnified. At the very beginning of Jesus public ministry, before he had made any disciples or performed any miracles and before he was known, he was baptized. It was a simple act of obedience to his Heavenly Father’s prompting. How powerful was what followed that simple act. Luke records that Jesus was praying and as he prayed “heaven opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form” as a visible sign to others and the Father spoke. This is before any public ministry. What did the Father say? It is a powerful affirmation of identity and security in relationship with Him. “You are my son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” Being secure in knowing who we are all flows from understanding who’s we are. The love and pleasure of the Father are not based upon what we do and how we perform or what results we show but wholly and solely on our identity as his child. He knows us. He loves us unconditionally. He wants us to remember who’s we are.'