Podcasts about him luke

The War Is On: Are You Close Enough to Christ to Win Brother Larry's message centers on the biblical call to “draw near to God, and He will draw near to you” (James 4:8). He challenges believers to move beyond merely agreeing with Jesus to obeying Him (Luke 6:46). Drawing near requires willingness, truthfulness, sacrifice, and faith (Romans 12:1–2; Hebrews 10:22). He reminds us that although we may fail at times (1 John 1:8–9), God's grace is always available through our great High Priest Jesus Christ (Hebrews 4:14–16). However, we must not presume upon that grace by willfully sinning (Romans 6:1–2). Instead, as Isaiah did when he saw the holiness of God (Isaiah 6:1–5), we should humble ourselves and let God's presence reveal who we truly are. Drawing near means ongoing spiritual warfare, but victory is assured through Christ (Ephesians 6:10–12, 1 John 4:4).

Palm Sunday is one of the major events of Easter week which is celebrated by many millions of Christians all over the world. The moment, nearly 2000 years ago, when huge crowds lined the streets of Jerusalem to welcome Jesus continues to mark history.   All four gospels tell how the ancient city of David was packed for the great Jewish celebration of Passover. As Jesus came into Jerusalem riding on a donkey, no one could fail to know something very big was happening. It was a major public event (John 12:19). Matthew 21:10-11 says: ‘When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred' and asked, “Who is this?”  Who indeed? This is the question everyone needs to answer. Who was and who is Jesus? That there was an historical Jesus is clear. But who He was a cause of great dispute then, just as it is today. Some of the crowds who followed him were quick with their reply: ‘The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee”' (Matthew 21:11).  Others, including many of the cheering crowds, regarded him as not just a prophet but as someone far more; the very Son of God who He had so boldly claimed to be. The gospel writers give us a very clear picture of who Jesus is.  1. Jesus is the promised Messiah (Matthew 21:1-5; Mark 11:10; Luke 19:38; John 12:13; Zechariah 9:9) 2. Jesus is the humble King (Matthew 21:5; Matthew 11:28-30) 3. Jesus is the great divider (Luke 19:36-39; Psalm 96:2; Psalm 103:1-5; Luke 11:23,39-43; John 1:11-12). Apply  1. Jesus is the promised Messiah. The symbolism of the occasion and actions of the people shows He was the Messiah. Palm branches, for example, had a specific symbolic meaning. It was used to celebrate the Maccabean victory less than two centuries before, when the Jewish Maccabees militarily conquered and retook Jerusalem from pagans. Now Palm branches were waved to honour Jesus. All four gospel writers make clear this aspect of Jesus as King (Matthew 21:1-5; Mark 11:10; Luke 19:38; John 12:13). Matthew records specific quotations from Zechariah 9:9 from hundreds of years before shows that the gospel writers identified Jesus as the prophesied Messiah. What the gospel writers are united in saying is very significant, namely that the events they are describing of the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem were a fulfilment of what had long been promised in the Bible. God's word had come to pass right before their eyes. For centuries it was only God's Word that sustained the people of God as they looked forward to a day when God would personally intervene in their history. All through the Bible, we see that as God's people we must keep our focus on what God has promised in His word not on the circumstances all around you (Psalm 145:13). Today you are one day nearer than you were yesterday to seeing God's promises being fulfilled. And today may be the day, when what you have believed for and prayed for, for so long will come to pass. 2. Jesus is the humble King. Jesus did not enter Jerusalem with violence and great shows of power, as so many conquerors of the city have done over the centuries (Matthew 21:5). Jesus entered humbly on a baby donkey. The Jesus of the Gospels shows us that the Great God and creator of the heavens and earth sent His son to this world to be born to a very ordinary young lady in the poorest surroundings. Jesus lived most of His life in obscurity working as a carpenter. And in His ministry, He didn't try to shock and awe, to intimidate people and to force them to submit. Of course, Islamists demand submission by the power of the sword and urges a holy war against infidels. This, however, is not the way of Jesus, even though some like the Crusaders have tragically and blasphemously done this to Muslims and others in His name. Jesus Himself was very compassionate and gentle with people (Matthew 11:28-30). Some in Jerusalem had hoped that Jesus would come as King to overthrow the Roman oppressors. But Jesus renounced violence telling His disciples to love their enemies and when one disciple tried to defend Him in the Garden of Gethsemane, He told him to put away the sword. Yes, Jesus is King but He is the servant King who stoops to conquer, the Master who knelt down to wash His disciples' feet and told them to follow His example of service. And all through the ages He has won countless followers who once were proud and aggressive, because they have discovered that Jesus is both meek and majestic, humble and gentle. 3. Jesus is the great divider. The Gospel accounts of the Easter story show that many welcomed Jesus. People praised Jesus great energy and enthusiasm for they believed God Himself was among them (Luke 19:36-38). Praise is the natural overflow of appreciation of who God is and all He has done. That's why the Psalms are full of praises to God (Psalm 96:2; Psalm 103:1-5). Many of the crowd had come from Galilee and they were praising God for the many miracles they had witnessed: the blind receiving their sight, lepers being healed, demonised people delivered, and even the dead, like Lazarus, being raised to life. You might imagine that such wonderful developments would have resulted in an overwhelmingly grateful response. But it was just the opposite, for others wanted to kill Jesus. Religious people who are more focussed on themselves and their traditions don't like praise being given to God. And they get particularly upset when people praise God with great joy and shouting. At root we see in the gospels that both political and religious leaders regarded Jesus as a huge threat to their power and position. At the time of His birth, Herod tried to kill Him all the while pretending he wanted to worship Him. The more the ministry of Jesus progressed, the more the religious leaders were critical of Him (Luke 19:39). The religious leaders were jealous of His success. They were incensed by His claim to be God. They hated the way He exposed their double standards and unreality. And for sure Jesus didn't hold back on calling them hypocrites (Luke 11:39-43). After lots of private plotting against Jesus, His enemies finally made their move and carried out their plans to falsely accuse Jesus and have Him executed. And so, in such a short time after so many crowds had joyfully celebrated Him, another huge crowd gathered and this time it was a blood thirsty mob shouting and demanding that He must be crucified. Then and now, Jesus polarises people. Today Jesus Christ is honoured by Christians, yet these two words are commonly used as swear words in anger or frustration. When it comes down to it, each person is either for Jesus or against Jesus (Luke 11:23). So where do you stand in relation to Jesus? Do you reject Him, or will you welcome Him into your life as God who came to earth in human form, to live the perfect life, to die for your sins and to rise again to give new life? This is the challenge to us on this Palm Sunday. We have to make up our minds about Jesus and how we react to Him. Will we turn our backs on Him and reject Him? Or will we celebrate Him as the Promised King who can bring peace and power to our lives and who is worthy of our praise? ‭‭Today you can choose to joyfully welcome Jesus and become a child of God (John 1:11-12). 

Today, in Luke 13:22-30, we will hear Jesusgive us a call to the urgency of salvation.  AsJesus is teaching, someone, perhaps curious, skeptical, or admiring, asks aboutthe number that will be saved. The scribes often debated this, but Jesusreframes it: “Don't ask how many; ask if you will be one.” He says, “Striveto enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enterand will not be able” (v. 24). “Strive” here is athletic—agonize, like anOlympian racing for the prize (1 Corinthians 9:25). Salvation is free, but it'snot easy. The gate is narrow, demanding a changed heart, a new birth, and adisciplined life (Luke 9:23; Matthew 7:13-14). Most prefer the wide, easy roadto destruction. Thencomes a sobering picture: “When once the Master of the house has risen upand shut the door, you begin to knock, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,' andHe will say, ‘I do not know you, where you are from'” (v. 25). Theyprotest, “We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets”(v. 26), but He replies, “Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity”(v. 27). These are Jews of Jesus' day, privileged with His presence, eatingwith Him, hearing His words, yet uncommitted. They delayed, trusting theirheritage as “children of Abraham” or their proximity to Jesus. God was patient,but the door shut, picturing Israel's rejection and the Roman judgment of AD70. It's personal too: familiarity with Christ isn't faith. Many seek too late,when mercy's door closes. Theconsequence stings: “There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when yousee Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, andyourselves thrust out” (v. 28). Imagine the shock of hearing about the patriarchsand prophets feasting, while they're excluded, and gnashing their teeth inregret over wasted chances (Psalm 112:10). Pride blinded them; they thoughtthey were first, but Gentiles, the “unclean dogs” from east, west, north, andsouth come and take their place (v. 29). “The last will be first, and thefirst will be last” (v. 30). God's kingdom flips human rankings. The Jews'religious tradition couldn't save them; it takes more than reverence for thepast (Isaiah 64:4; Titus 1:16). Whydid they miss it? For the same reason we miss it!  A false sense of security, Jesus was amongthem, yet they didn't trust Him (Luke 10:13-16). Pride kept them from humblingthemselves. Worst, their wills resisted: “Ye would not” (Luke 13:34).Delay hardened their hearts, a warning echoed in Hebrews 4:7: “Today, if youhear His voice, do not harden your hearts.” Salvation demands effort, notto earn it, but to overcome sin, Satan, and self through repentance and faith. Forus, this is a wake-up call. The question isn't “How many?” but “Am I striving?”Many seek casually, liking holiness but not pursuing it, banking on religious churchties or past moments with God. Jesus knows His own; the rest He discards as“workers of iniquity,” despite their pleas. Yet, hope shines: people from allcorners of the earth will come, striving against obstacles, and will feast withthe saints. Salvation's door is open now! “And you will seek me and find mewhen you have searched for me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13). ClosingChallengeAreyou striving or coasting? This week, pinpoint one obstacle to your faith—pride,delay, or complacency. Take a deliberate step through the narrow gate: confessa sin, pray earnestly, or share Christ with someone. Don't wait until the doorshuts—agonize for salvation today. PrayerLordJesus, thank You for the narrow gate of grace, open now but not forever.Forgive us for trusting in privilege or procrastination instead of You. Stir usto strive—wrestling sin, seeking You with all we have. Help us enter beforeit's too late, and may we rejoice with the saints from every corner. Amen.

Jesus Is The Way - Humility To Glory (5)  (audio)  David Eells – 3/30/25  I'm going to continue with our study on Jesus is the Way – Humility to Glory and talk with you today about who and what is blessed of God and what it truly means to be blessed.   Father, in the Name of Jesus, we ask that You open our understanding. Help us, Lord, to retain the things that You say to us. We need the Holy Spirit to bring to our remembrance everything, Lord, to protect us, to guide us, and to give us wisdom in the days to come. We hold fast to that promise because we need so much, Lord, that Your Spirit will bring these things to our remembrance again. Thank You, Lord, for blessing our minds. We know that our minds were created to be much more useful than they have been under the curse. We also know that according to Galatians 3:13, Jesus bore the curse for us and, therefore, Lord, we know that You're working to restore our minds today. We thank You for that, Lord. Father, we want to understand what Jesus did for us. We want to be able to exercise faith in Your Will. And in order to know Your Will, we need to have knowledge, Lord, so we ask You to open our knowledge and give us understanding, in Jesus' Name. Thank You, Father! Praise You, God!   Now some people may be wondering, “David, what does that word ‘blessed' actually mean? What is it to be ‘blessed?'” So let's go first to Deuteronomy 28 because the first 14 verses speak of that, and we can translate these into what they mean for us in our day.   (Deu.28:1) And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God (“Hearken” there is the Hebrew shama meaning “to hear and obey.” Not just be hearers of the Word but be doers of the Word {James 1:22}.), to observe to do all his commandments which I command thee this day (We know that the Lord has given us commandments in our Covenant, too. We need to be diligent to study them and obey them, and we know that by faith, God's Grace gives us power to do just that.), that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all the nations of the earth. This not talking about our physical nation where we live; this is talking about our spiritual nation. We are the nation of Israel. We who have been born again and believe in the sacrifice of Christ, according to Romans 11, have been grafted into the olive tree called “all Israel.” So we are Israel, not physical Israel, but spiritual Israel.     (Deu.28:2) And all these blessings shall come upon thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God. (3) Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. (4) Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy beasts, the increase of thy cattle, and the young of thy flock. (5) Blessed shall be thy basket and thy kneading-trough. That was very important to them in those days, and this could translate into a few different things for us today, but basically, this was their livelihood and their food.    (Deu.28:6) Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out. (So whether you're coming or whether you're going, meaning just about everywhere you are, you're going to be blessed.) (7) The Lord will cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thee… Now, we know that our enemies are both natural and spiritual, and Paul tells us this in (Eph.6:12) For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual [hosts] of wickedness in the heavenly [places]. The Lord has promised us victory if we will “hearken” diligently unto His Voice, meaning if we will keep His commandments.     (Deu.28:7) The Lord will cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thee: they shall come out against thee one way, and shall flee before thee seven ways. In the midst of the trial, “hearken” unto the Word. Accept the good report, and the devil won't know what to do with you, and neither will your physical enemies (Numbers 13:30). Our physical enemies come against us as persecutions and a matter of crucifixion, so the best thing to do is lay down your life. Stop trying to save yourself by man's methods. Put your trust in the Lord and “hearken diligently” unto His Word.    (Deu.28:8) The Lord will command the blessing upon thee in thy barns, and in all that thou puttest thy hand unto; and he will bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. (9) The Lord will establish thee for a holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee; if thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways. (10) And all the peoples of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the Lord; and they shall be afraid of thee. Wow! That certainly doesn't sound anything like Psalm 2, where we are told all the nations are going to come against God and against His people. Let's look at that.     (Psa.2:1) Why do the nations rage, And the peoples meditate a vain thing? (2) The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the Lord, and against his anointed, [saying,] (3) Let us break their bonds asunder, And cast away their cords from us. And it's a far cry from what Jesus said in (Mat.24:9) Then shall they deliver you up unto tribulation, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all the nations for my name's sake. Instead, the Lord says the nations will fear you if you hearken unto His Voice.     (Deu.28:11) And the Lord will make thee plenteous for good, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers to give thee. (12) The Lord will open unto thee his good treasure the heavens, to give the rain of thy land in its season, and to bless all the work of thy hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow. That's certainly contrary to what a majority of people believe about the Will of the Lord nowadays: “thou shalt not borrow.” The Lord says you'll lend, but you won't borrow, and that's part of the blessing, saints. If you hearken unto His Voice and believe what He says, He will provide your needs.     (Deu.28:13) And the Lord will make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if thou shalt hearken unto the commandments of the Lord thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do [them,] (14) and shalt not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them. “Other gods” there is the word elohim, and many, many people today choose to follow another “Jesus” of their own making.  Paul complained about that even back in his day, didn't he? (2Co.11:3) But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve in his craftiness, your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity and the purity that is toward Christ. (4) For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we did not preach, [or] if ye receive a different spirit, which ye did not receive, or a different gospel, which ye did not accept, ye do well to bear with [him]. And if we follow after something other than the commands of God, He's not making any promises about blessing here. The blessing comes from our finding the Will of God in the Word and then walking in it through faith.    So who is it that receives the blessing of God? Let me remind you of the text we were studying last time in Matthew 5. (Mat.5:1) And seeing the multitudes, he went up into the mountain: and when he had sat down, his disciples came unto him: (2) and he opened his mouth and taught them, saying … (4) Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Evidently, the people who are obedient “to the Lord thy God,” who do His Will, and seek to be submissive to His commandments, are a people that mourn. Now how could that be? In what way is mourning righteous and just? The thought that comes to my mind is that the first thing we need to mourn about is our own life. As David said, “I will not be satisfied until I awake in thy likeness” (Psalm 17:15). The first thing we have to mourn about is not manifesting the Life of Christ.   James also speaks about this. (Jas.4:6) But he giveth more grace. Wherefore [the scripture] saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble. Grace is all we need to walk with the Lord. We've learned that grace is His favor in our life; His favor makes us able. He's putting in us the desires that we need and giving us the power that we need. Grace is all we need, and God says He gives it to the humble.     (Jas.4:7) Be subject therefore unto God; but resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (8) Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded. (9) Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. (10) Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall exalt you. In whatever ways the Lord reveals to us that we're walking contrary to His commandments, that we're not hearkening unto His Voice, that we're not representing Jesus Christ to the world as true Christians, we have something to mourn about. And it should be grievous to us to not walk in His Steps because that's what it is to “abide in Christ” (1 John 2:27- 28; 2 John 1:9; etc.). It should be grievous to us to be anything contrary to the Will of God.    Of course, repentance always precedes faith. Faith alone won't overcome our own lack of repentance, and repentance is what mourning is all about. However, after we mourn what the Lord shows us about ourselves, we need to be careful not to spend too much time in condemnation. We confess our sin to the Lord, He forgives us, and then He cleanses us from it. (1 John 1:9) We need to go from there to faith. We need to reckon ourselves to be dead unto sin but alive unto God (Romans 6:11). So you repent and you mourn because of what the Lord shows you in your life, but He doesn't reveal everything all at once, or He would overwhelm us with grief. Thank God, it's “line upon line; here a little, there a little” (Isaiah 28:10). Otherwise, we probably would never come to faith because we would be overcome with condemnation. So He's very merciful. He leads us through our promised land to conquer one enemy at a time.     This reminds me of a vision my wife received in which she and her sister were standing underneath an apple tree, and worms were hanging out of the apples, just eating away at them. So my sister-in-law got a can of pesticide spray and started broadcasting it over the whole tree, but my wife said, “No, that won't work.” She took the can from her sister and told her, “This is how you do it.” She sprayed each one of those worms in the mouth, and as she did that, she realized that they were all little serpents, not worms. And, of course, that's what we have to do. We attack these things one at a time as the Lord shows them to us, and the first thing we have to change is our mouth as we're told in (Rom.10:10) for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. We have to put that wickedness to death. We have to use the Sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Ephesians 6:17).    And what does God promise us if we humble ourselves in His sight, if we cleanse our hands and are afflicted and mourn concerning this problem, and turn our laughter into mourning? He says that He will exalt you. Humbling ourselves is the first step. Yes, we can be grieved over other people's sins, and there's a place for that, but first, we need to get the board out of our own eye, so we can see clearly to get the mote out of our brother's eye (Matthew 7:3-5; Luke 6:41-42). Certainly, we can cry out to the Lord to give us the grace to humble ourselves, because working in us to will and to do of His good pleasure is something that comes from Him, too (Philippians 2:13). It's not a case of picking ourselves up by our bootstraps. We're not deceiving God by mourning over something that we don't feel. He knows if our repentance is sincere or not. The Lord wants to give us a conviction of sin. He wants to put that mourning in our hearts concerning sin. He wants us to hate sin as He hates sin (Psalms 1:5,5:5-6; Romans 1:29- 32; etc.)     Needless to say, there is a place of mourning because of the persecutions and the tribulations that come upon us through the wicked people around us. Jesus told us in (Luk.6:21) Blessed [are] ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed [are] ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh. (22) Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you [from their company,] and reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. We don't see that as a blessing, but it's listed here as one of God's blessings because when we're hated of the world, that means we're loved of God. If we weep because of what we're giving up in the natural, because of persecutions that we're suffering and enduring for Christ's sake, persecutions that we endure because of the crucified life, this is good.  The Lord is going to bless us for this.   Going on, He says (Luk.6:23) Rejoice in that day, and leap [for joy]: for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for in the same manner did their fathers unto the prophets. (Luk.6:24) But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation. (25) Woe unto you, ye that are full now! for ye shall hunger. Woe [unto you,] ye that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep. It's better to weep and mourn now, while the world is rejoicing, while the world's been given the high hand, so to speak.     We're heading into a time when, other than the judgments that are falling upon them, the world is going to think they have everything going their way. They will be given authority over the saints to bring them to their crosses. You and I are going to be hated; we're going to be ostracized. They will cast out our names as evil, and God says we can certainly mourn over that, but He also says to rejoice because your names are written in the Lamb's book of life (Luke 10:20; Revelation 20:12,15; etc.) and your reward is great in the Kingdom of Heaven. Hallelujah!    (Luk.6:26) Woe [unto you,] when all men shall speak well of you! for in the same manner did their fathers to the false prophets. There is a time coming of much weeping and mourning, but He also commanded us in the midst of that to rejoice and leap for joy because, when the world hates you, that means God loves you. You're on His side, and you're on your way to His Kingdom. When we're loved of the world, and we love the world, then we're departing from God.     Let's look at another good example of what God considers to be righteous mourning. (2Pe.2:6) And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, having made them an example unto those that should live ungodly (God's judgment is coming upon the wicked, but, at the same time, He will save those who are His.); (7) and delivered righteous Lot, sore distressed by the lascivious life of the wicked… If we're not grieved by and mourning over the wicked life of the people around us, it's because we don't have the conviction of God in our hearts. The Lord Jesus wept over Jerusalem. (Luk.19:41) And when he drew nigh, he saw the city and wept over it, (42) saying, If thou hadst known in this day, even thou, the things which belong unto peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. He was grieved at the hardness of heart in the people to not receive His Words from the Father.     It's right for us to be grieved because of the people around us who won't listen, won't submit to God, and who won't be convicted of sin, just as Lot was “sore distressed by the lascivious life of the wicked.” “Lasciviousness” is their license to “unbridled sensuality and excess.” Basically, it's their license to do what they want to do, and even among Christians, this is common. Their doctrines that promote lasciviousness and permit a person to live any way they want to live while still thinking that they are a disciple of Christ and are going to heaven are common. This is a strong delusion among major portions of Christianity, and it's just not the Truth. It's a deception that comes to people who are living after their own lusts and being bribed by self-will to please their flesh. Lot was sore distressed seeing this in the people around him, and we should be grieved today over people who call themselves “Christians” yet who walk in this way with the Lord.    (2Pe.2:7) And delivered righteous Lot, sore distressed by the lascivious life of the wicked (8) (for that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed [his] righteous soul from day to day with [their] lawless deeds): (9) the Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment unto the day of judgment… That is so true! People wonder why they're living under a curse, and it's because they have turned the grace of God into lasciviousness (Jude 1:4).     They're living the way they want to live, and they're paying the penalty for their unrighteousness because the blessings come upon the people that “hearken to,” that “hear and obey,” the “voice of the Lord thy God.” The blessings come upon the people who are diligent to keep His commandments. This should be highly motivating for us to get into the Word to find out what the Will of God is and come out from under the curse. Yet, sadly, multitudes of people have insulated themselves with lascivious doctrines that permit them to live the way they want.    We know that Jesus wasn't talking about what we loosely call “Christians”; He was talking about “disciples,” which means “learners and followers.” We need to lead people into discipleship, but if they desire to live in the lusts of their flesh, they will believe and promote these flesh-pleasing doctrines. And I tell you, the “Lots” in this world will be grieved. They will mourn. They will be distressed over these kinds of things. The text says that it “vexed [his] righteous soul,” but the Greek basanizó translated as “vexed” is actually “tormented, tortured.” It tormented Lot's soul to see the “lascivious life of the wicked.”     The lasciviousness being spoken about here is not referring to the wicked because we know that's how the wicked live. It's talking about those who are promoting the lifestyle among Christians, and the rest of the text agrees with that. (2Pe.2:9) The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment unto the day of judgment; (10) but chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of defilement, and despise dominion… The Numeric Bible states the word here for “dominion” is “lordship.” These people “that walk after the flesh” despise anybody ruling over their lives. They just want to do what they want to do, which is why they despise dominion, whether it be the dominion of those whom God has sent to be leaders or the dominion of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. They would rather make up their own mind about what the Scripture says and their own “Jesus” that smiles upon their lifestyle.    (2Pe.2:10) But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of defilement, and despise dominion. Daring, self-willed, they tremble not to rail at dignities: (11) whereas angels, though greater in might and power, bring not a railing judgment against them before the Lord. These self-righteous people, here, are the ones that are going to persecute the saints. They're self-righteous in their religion, and they rail at people who are dignities. The Greek word dóksa, translated there as “dignities,” actually means “glories; majesties; brightness.”     And who are the glories being spoken of here? (2Co.3:18) But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit. As we manifest Christ to a greater and greater degree, we grow from glory to glory: from star glory to moon glory, to sun glory. Paul pointed out the three different bodies that are given to the people who manifest the different glories (1 Corinthians 15:35-49). We grow into these glories, and the closer you get to Christ and manifest His life, the more that religious people will rail at you and come against you. But remember this: the fact that some people hate you is a good sign, and the Lord says to “leap for joy.”     (2Pe.2:12) But these, as creatures without reason, born mere animals to be taken and destroyed, railing in matters whereof they are ignorant, shall in their destroying surely be destroyed, (13) suffering wrong as the hire of wrong-doing; [men] that count it pleasure to revel in the day-time, spots and blemishes, revelling in their deceivings while they feast with you… Some people are actually trying to deceive us. They're “pretend Christians.” They live in the world because they love the world, but they like to “talk the talk” when they're among Christians. They're sons of perdition hidden in the midst (John 17:12; 2 Thessalonians 2:3) whom the Lord is going to reveal for what they truly are.     And they love the hire of wrong-doing because they've been bribed by their flesh, which they love to please. (2Pe.2:13) Suffering wrong as the hire of wrong-doing; [men] that count it pleasure to revel in the day-time, spots and blemishes, revelling in their deceivings while they feast with you; (14) having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; enticing unstedfast souls; having a heart exercised in covetousness; children of cursing; (15) forsaking the right way (We can see here that he's talking about people who profess Christianity.), they went astray, having followed the way of Balaam the [son] of Beor, who loved the hire of wrong-doing… Yes, just as Balaam did, these people love the pay, love the advantage gained by wrong-doing.    So, whom did Jesus cry over? It was God's people because they wouldn't come to Him (Luke 19:41). He grieved over them, saying, (Luk.13:34) O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killeth the prophets, and stoneth them that are sent unto her! how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen [gathereth] her own brood under her wings, and ye would not! Much of our grief, too, is for Christians. It's for lost loved ones that we've prayed for to come into the Kingdom. It's like the grief that Lot felt about the people being led astray around him. If we have a holy heart and we are seeking to be pleasing unto the Lord, then we will be convicted by the Word of God, and we will feel the same thing.     (2Pe.2:15) Forsaking the right way they went astray, having followed the way of Balaam the [son] of Beor, who loved the hire of wrong-doing; (16) but he was rebuked for his own transgression: a dumb ass spake with man's voice and stayed the madness of the prophet. (17) These are springs without water, and mists driven by a storm; for whom the blackness of darkness hath been reserved. (18) For, uttering great swelling [words] of vanity, they entice in the lusts of the flesh, by lasciviousness, those who are just escaping from them that live in error… That's very true. Many so-called “pastors” preach wonderful words, but they're enticing people with lascivious doctrines. They're full of greed for tithes and offerings, but they're just filling churches with tares, as Peter says. (2Pe.2:3) And in covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose sentence now from of old lingereth not, and their destruction slumbereth not.    We've studied and taught a lot about sanctification. We've been given warnings that there is a great falling away coming for those who are enticed away by lasciviousness (2 Thessalonians 2:3; 1 Timothy 4:1). Nothing will be able to stand above the water in the flood that's coming except for those that are righteous. They are walking with the Lord, and they have grace and faith. Nothing else is going to preserve God's people in the days to come.    (2Pe.2:18) For, uttering great swelling [words] of vanity, they entice in the lusts of the flesh, by lasciviousness, those who are just escaping from them that live in error; (19) promising them liberty, while they themselves are bondservants of corruption; for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he also brought into bondage. Multitudes of Christians are in bondage in Babylon! They may think that, through their knowledge of Christ, they've come out of the world and they've escaped the corruption in the world, but in reality, they've just been brought into bondage again with something that is not Christianity.     (2Pe.2:20) For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein and overcome, the last state is become worse with them than the first. When people come back into bondage and they stay there, they become worse than the people in the world. They still walk in wickedness, yet they justify themselves because now they're self-righteous. They have knowledge but they're rejecting that knowledge. They're worse in God's eyes than the people in the world, and they're going to suffer greatly.     (2Pe.2:21) For it were better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after knowing it (So these people have knowledge.), to turn back from the holy commandment delivered unto them. When somebody has knowledge and yet they continue to do the things that are contrary to that knowledge, they're a deceiver. We just read, “their deceivings while they feast with you” (2 Peter 2:12). These people are deceivers, and the Bible says, (Jas.4:17) To him therefore that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.    (2Pe.2:22) It has happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog turning to his own vomit again, and the sow that had washed to wallowing in the mire. This is heartbreaking! Great judgments are coming to the nations soon, and it's going to take away multitudes of people who consider themselves to be Christian. And because they don't have the mark of God, multitudes of Christians are going to take the mark of the beast.     (Rev.13:16) And he causeth all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free and the bond, that there be given them a mark on their right hand, or upon their forehead; (17) and that no man should be able to buy or to sell, save he that hath the mark, [even] the name of the beast or the number of his name. (18) Here is wisdom. He that hath understanding, let him count the number of the beast; for it is the number of a man: and his number is Six hundred and sixty and six. However, we also see the people that have the mark of God in (Rev.14:1) And I saw, and behold, the Lamb standing on the mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty and four thousand, having his name, and the name of his Father, written on their foreheads.     Ezekiel also talks about God judging who is righteous and who is not righteous, based on whether they mourned and were grieved over the ungodliness that they saw around them. Let's look at that text first. (Eze.9:4) And the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry over all the abominations that are done in the midst thereof. Again, we see this is not talking about the sin in the world, but the sin in the church. And the people that are marked in the forehead because they “sigh and cry over all the abominations,” are the people that are going to escape the wrath of God, the judgment of God, that's coming.     Chapters 5, 6, 7, and 8 repeatedly mention the “abomination” and the “desolation,” all leading up to chapter 9 and the mark of God. In chapter 8, we even see the image of the beast. And notice, when we read these chapters, how we don't find the theology that we hear in Christianity nowadays. In every case, the “abomination of desolation” described is God's people walking in the flesh in the Temple. They are the flesh man, and they are the beast ruling in the Temple of God. This is what God calls an “abomination.” And what does He give them for that? Desolation. The holy people of God grieve for them; they grieve for these people who walk abominably before the Lord.    (Eze.8:1) And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth [month]… Notice that these chapters are leading up to a time that's identified with six-six, and in the next chapter, six men come with their slaughter weapons in hand. That's six-six-six. And what does this identify? It identifies the end time, the time of the beast, the time of the abomination of desolation (Daniel 9:27; Matthew 24:15; Mark 13:14). Now remember, in the New Testament there is no temple made with hands that God is interested in or concerned about being holy (Job 4:19; Matthew 26:61; Mark 14:58; etc.) It's the Temple “made without hands” that God requires and expects to be holy (Acts 7:48; 2 Corinthians 5:1; Hebrews 9:11; etc.), and this is the only temple that can have an abomination of desolation.   Only the Temple of the Body of Christ can have an abomination that “maketh desolate,” because every other temple out there is desolate. God has departed from them. He will never again dwell in temples made with hands, and so they are desolate (Acts 17:24). But we are the New Testament temple; we can become desolate, “twice dead, plucked up by the roots” (Jude 1:12). That's the temple we need to be concerned about.     Paul told us, (Php.2:12) So then, my beloved, even as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; (13) for it is God who worketh in you both to will and to work, for his good pleasure. And Peter exhorted, (2Pe.1:10) Wherefore, brethren, give the more diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never stumble: (11) for thus shall be richly supplied unto you the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. It should be the Lord Jesus Christ Who lives in us and Who manifests His holy Life in us.     Returning to our text in Ezekiel, God asks him (Eze.8:6) … Son of man, seest thou what they do? (All throughout these texts, it's always “what they do” and that's the abomination.) even the great abominations that the house of Israel do commit here (So the “beast” in the Temple is the corporate body of these people that walk in the flesh and are in rebellion against God.), that I should go far off from my sanctuary? (Or, in other words, “leave it desolate.”) but thou shalt again see yet other great abominations. (7) And he brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold, a hole in the wall.     (8) Then said he unto me, Son of man, dig now in the wall: and when I had digged in the wall, behold, a door. (9) And he said unto me, Go in, and see the wicked abominations that they do here. (10) So I went in and saw; and behold, every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts… This is just as Solomon said in (Ecc.3:18) … It is because of the sons of men, that God may prove them, and that they may see that they themselves are but as beasts.    Peter was given the same revelation. (Acts 10:11) And he (This is Peter.) beholdeth the heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending, as it were a great sheet, let down by four corners upon the earth: (12) wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts and creeping things of the earth and birds of the heaven. (13) And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill and eat. (14) But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common and unclean. (15) And a voice [came] unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, make not thou common. Then Peter was given the understanding that God was speaking to him of the Gentiles, because all lost people are beasts, and so he preached the Gospel to Cornelius and his family (Acts 10:34-48). So we can see clearly from these texts that the “abominable beasts” in the Temple of God are these people who walk in the flesh.    Back to (Eze.8:10) So I went in and saw; and behold, every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed upon the wall round about. (11) And there stood before them seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel; and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, every man with his censer in his hand… Those 70 men are the Sanhedrin. They were the corporate body of the false prophet that ruled over the people of God in Jesus' day, and God calls this the “abomination.” (12) Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in his chambers of imagery? (There's the image of the beast in the Temple.) for they say, the Lord seeth us not; the Lord hath forsaken the land. (13) He said also unto me, Thou shalt again see yet other great abominations which they do. Again, notice there is no individual man.     There is a corporate body committing these abominations that make desolate, and that body is not only the priests; it's also the people. (Eze.8:14) Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the Lord's house which was toward the north; and behold, there sat the women weeping for Tammuz. (Tammuz was a false “Jesus” worshiped by Babylon. God is saying that in the midst of the Temple are those who worship “another Jesus” {2 Corinthians 11:4; Galatians 1:6}.) (15) Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen [this,] O son of man? thou shalt again see yet greater abominations than these. Well, this chapter goes on to speak of abomination after abomination, all committed by the people of God in rebellion against the worship of the true God. In their idolatry, they were creating gods after their own liking and in their own image.    (Eze.9:1) Then he cried in mine ears with a loud voice, saying, Cause ye them that have charge over the city to draw near, every man with his destroying weapon in his hand. (2) And behold, six men… That's the third six. This represents the beast, and all throughout history, the Lord has given the beast charge over God's people when they were in rebellion. Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Media-Persia, Greece, and Rome each had authority over God's people in their day. Today we have a revival of Rome and, just as the Lord gave those earlier beasts authority over His people, He is going to do that again because the beast is in the Temple and there has to come a desolation.   In 70A.D. God brought the Roman armies into Jerusalem to slaughter those who hadn't already slaughtered each other. Multitudes of the Jews were so full of the beast that they were killing each other off, and when the Romans came into Jerusalem, they just finished the job. [Editor's Note: Referenced from The Works of Josephus, translated by William Whiston, Hendrickson Publishers, 1987.] But, once again, it was the corporate body of the wicked in the Temple that was an abomination to God, and so He destroyed both them and their Temple.    (Eze.9:2) And behold, six men came from the way of the upper gate, which lieth toward the north, every man with his slaughter weapon in his hand… The Hebrew word for “slaughter weapon” is also translated “battle-ax,” and who does God call His “battle-ax”? Let's look at that. (Isa.10:5) Ho Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, the staff in whose hand is mine indignation! (6) I will send him against a profane nation (This is Israel.), and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. (7) Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy, and to cut off nations not a few… (Well, the Assyrian beast thought this was their great idea to plunder Israel, but God says, “No, no, I put it in their hearts,” and He called these people His “ax.”) (15) Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith?… The Assyrians thought it was by their own might, but God says, “No, I gave you the strength to do this, and I sent you against these vain, abominable people, to judge them and bring them to their cross and, hopefully, to repentance.”     Truly, we're going to see a repetition of history come upon us in our day, although people with their lascivious doctrines teach that this is something which is only going to happen to little Israel far away from them. They refuse to understand that Christians are New Testament spiritual Israel. They are blind to the corporate beast body coming upon Christianity.     (Eze.9:2) And behold, six men; and one man in the midst of them clothed in linen… I believe this is Jesus in the Man-child. Revelation 12 tells us the man-child ministry is coming in the end times, and it's coming again like Moses, like Jesus, to show God's people the correct way. What the Man-child teaches is going to separate the sheep from the goats. It's going to define who is going to be judged and who is not going to be judged.     (Eze.9:2) And behold, six men; and one man in the midst of them clothed in linen, with a writer's inkhorn by his side. And they went in, and stood beside the brazen altar. (3) And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon it was, to the threshold of the house: and he called to the man clothed in linen, who had the writer's inkhorn by his side. (4) And the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem (So notice that He is not bringing judgment upon the world. He's bringing judgment upon God's house, upon those who profess to be His people.), and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry over all the abominations that are done in the midst thereof. Does it grieve you that God's people have been so led astray, so deceived by their leadership, and so lured into sin by their own self-will? Now listen, nobody can be deceived by another man if they don't first have a lust to live in that way and accept these false and lascivious doctrines.    People are going to be self-deluded and self-deceived because, just like Balaam, they love the hire of wrong-doing. They love to please their old flesh. And they're being bribed by the flesh to accept a doctrine, a teaching, a lifestyle that is permitting the old man to live. Saints, we're here to live the crucified life (Matthew 10:38; Mark 8:34; Luke 14:27; Hebrews 13:13), and if we don't lose our life, we won't gain our life (Matthew 16:26; Luke 9:25).    (Eze.9:5) And to the others he said in my hearing, Go ye through the city after him, and smite… He is speaking to the beast here, the six men. Six is the number of the beast, and six is the number of man. In fact, the sixth chapter of the sixth verse of the sixth book in the New Testament talks about the old man. (Rom.6:6) Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with [him,] that the body of sin might be done away, that so we should no longer be in bondage to sin.    (Eze.9:5) And to the others he said in my hearing, Go ye through the city after him, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity; (6) slay utterly the old man, the young man and the virgin, and little children and women; but come not near any man upon whom is the mark … Now the mark being spoken of here is the mark of the Lord, and it identifies those who are members of the body of Christ, just as the mark of the Beast identifies those who are members of the body of the Beast. Jesus said there are only two men in the earth, Christ and anti-Christ (Matthew 24:40; Luke 17:36). The truth is that people love to identify themselves as “Christian”, but these marks will prove in the coming days who really are Christians and who are not.     (Eze.9:6) Slay utterly the old man, the young man and the virgin, and little children and women; but come not near any man upon whom is the mark: and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the old men that were before the house. (In other words, they've lived longer, and they know more, so they're more guilty than anyone else.) (Eze.9:7) And he said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth. Great destruction is coming against Christianity because it doesn't reflect what was given to us through Jesus Christ. We are to (Jud.1:3) … contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered unto the saints. The faith of our day won't count because religion has turned people away, through their own lustful desires, from true discipleship. (1Jn.2:6) He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also to walk even as he walked. “Discipleship” is walking in the Master's Steps, and that means a disciple studies their Master to walk as He walked.    (Eze.9:7) And he said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth, and smote in the city. (Eze.9:8) And it came to pass, while they were smiting, and I was left, that I fell upon my face, and cried, and said, Ah Lord God! wilt thou destroy all the residue of Israel in thy pouring out of thy wrath upon Jerusalem? Well, we know this is coming again because it says in (Ecc.1:9) That which hath been is that which shall be; and that which hath been done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. The Israelites were types and shadows of the end time, and a great falling away will happen just as the Bible says (2 Thessalonians 2). And notice this is old Jerusalem receiving judgment. This is the old city and the people that belonged to it. This is not born-again Jerusalem.    Then in (Eze.10:2) And he spake unto the man clothed in linen, and said, Go in between the whirling [wheels], even under the cherub, and fill both thy hands with coals of fire from between the cherubim, and scatter them over the city… In other words, he brings judgment. The Man-child ministry is coming to bring judgment upon the city of God. These judgments are going to cleanse it of the goats and cleanse it of the tares. The Lord Jesus Himself spoke words that separated the goats from the sheep, separated the wheat from the tares. His Words brought judgment in His day, and the ministry of the Manchild will do the same in these days, but the people that will escape are the people who have been, and are going to mourn. They are the ones that are blessed, according to Jesus. While the world is rejoicing, they will mourn because of the great wrath and the judgment of God upon the people that call themselves “Christians.” They will mourn because of the great falling away of the people who had no faith.     We need to see and understand that the judgment that's coming is going to prove who has faith and who does not have faith. The judgment that's coming is going to prove who is a believer and who is not a believer. The wilderness tribulation for Israel was to prove whether they had faith or not. And, of course, Joshua and Caleb, who had faith, went to the Promised Land (Numbers 32:12). They didn't have to die in the wilderness because they had faith. They believed in the Lord. They spoke His Word, and they didn't die like the men who spoke the bad report, they spoke against the Lord and died in the wilderness (Numbers 26:65). Once again, today we are coming to a “wilderness” that God is going to use to prove who is truly of Him and who is not. The Word of God is going to separate the sheep from the goats. We need to put the Word in our hearts so that we have the conviction of Jesus Christ, so that sin is sinful to us, so that the rebellion of rebellious people grieves us.     Father, in the Name of Jesus, we're asking You, Lord, that You convict those “Christians” who have created a religion and a doctrine that pleases them because they don't have to give up anything. They don't believe they have to live a sacrificial life; they don't have to deny themselves; they don't have to take up their cross. Lord, we ask that You convict them mightily and that You bring them to You, Father, in the Name of Jesus. Thank You so much, Lord. Amen.  Now, I'd like to share some other scriptures about the blessings that will come from the Lord for those who have mourned, as we've been discussing. When the Man-child ministry begins, Jesus is coming with His reward!  Zion, the Bride, has gone through their time of mourning and warfare to get rid of their sins and their enemies within. To get rid of the leaven. Jer.9:17 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, Consider ye, and call for the mourning women, that they may come; and send for the skilful women, that they may come: 18 and let them make haste, and take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids gush out with waters. 19 For a voice of wailing is heard out of Zion, How are we ruined! we are greatly confounded, because we have forsaken the land, because they have cast down our dwellings. 20 Yet hear the word of Jehovah, O ye women, and let your ear receive the word of his mouth; and teach your daughters wailing, and every one her neighbor lamentation. 21 For death is come up into our windows, it is entered into our palaces; to cut off the children from without, and the young men from the streets. 22 Speak, Thus saith Jehovah, The dead bodies of men shall fall as dung upon the open field, and as the handful after the harvestman; and none shall gather them.     23 Thus saith Jehovah, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches; 24 but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he hath understanding, and knoweth me, that I am Jehovah who exerciseth lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith Jehovah. 25 Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will punish all them that are circumcised in their uncircumcision: 26 Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, (All of the faction) and all that have the corners of their hair cut off, that dwell in the wilderness; for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart.    Zec.12:10-11 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication; and they shall look unto me whom they have pierced; and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his first-born. 11 In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon.  Psa.35:11-17 Unrighteous witnesses rise up; They ask me of things that I know not. 12 They reward me evil for good, To the bereaving of my soul. 13 But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I afflicted my soul with fasting; And my prayer returned into mine own bosom. 14 I behaved myself as though it had been my friend or my brother: I bowed down mourning, as one that bewaileth his mother. 15 But in mine adversity they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together: The abjects gathered themselves together against me, and I knew it not; They did tear me, and ceased not: 16 Like the profane mockers in feasts, They gnashed upon me with their teeth. 17 Lord, how long wilt thou look on? Rescue my soul from their destructions, My darling from the lions.  The sorrow of persecution and crucifixion is now turning into joy for those of the remnant Bride. Est.4:1-3 Now when Mordecai knew all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and a bitter cry; 2 and he came even before the king's gate: for none might enter within the king's gate clothed with sackcloth. 3 And in every province, whithersoever the king's commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.   Est.9:20 And Mordecai wrote these things, and sent letters unto all the Jews that were in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, both nigh and far, 21 to enjoin them that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same, yearly, 22 as the days wherein the Jews had rest from their enemies, and the month which was turned unto them from sorrow to gladness, and from mourning into a good day; that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor. (Down goes the DS and religious factions.) Isa.40:1 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. 2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem; and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she hath received of Jehovah's hand double for all her sins.    Psa 30:2 O Jehovah my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me. 3 O Jehovah, thou hast brought up my soul from Sheol; Thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. (Like Joseph, who came out of prison to the lies that were told about him by the harlot, to rule and preserve the people through the tribulation famine.)    4 Sing praise unto Jehovah, O ye saints of his, And give thanks to his holy memorial name. 5 For his anger is but for a moment; His favor is for a life-time: Weeping may tarry for the night, But joy cometh in the morning. (Here is the joyful saints again) 6 As for me, I said in my prosperity, I shall never be moved. (But through much tribulation shall we enter the Kingdom) 7 Thou, Jehovah, of thy favor hadst made my mountain to stand strong: Thou didst hide thy face (As in the crucifixion of Jesus the Man-child type.); I was troubled. 8 I cried to thee, O Jehovah; And unto Jehovah I made supplication: 9 What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth? 10 Hear, O Jehovah, and have mercy upon me: Jehovah, be thou my helper. (Been there)    11 Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing; Thou hast loosed my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness; 12 To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O Jehovah my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever. (Joy of the David's and the Bride.)    Joh.16:20-24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that ye shall weep and lament (Because Jesus was crucified), but the world shall rejoice: ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. (Because He is coming again in the Man-child reformers.) 21 A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow (This is the Woman Church in Revelation 12 in our day.), because her hour is come: but when she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for the joy that a man is born into the world. 22 And ye therefore now have sorrow: but I will see you again (in the Man-child reformers of Rev.12), and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no one taketh away from you. 23 And in that day ye shall ask me no question. Verily, verily, I say unto you, if ye shall ask anything of the Father, he will give it you in my name. 24 Hitherto (Meaning until this time) have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be made full.    Psa.30:1-12 A Psalm; a Song at the Dedication of the House. (Representing the true house of God, not that of Babylonish captivity) A Psalm of David. I will extol thee, O Jehovah; for thou hast raised me up, And hast not made my foes to rejoice over me. (This is the David Man-child but also Joseph the Man-child was resurrected from prison, like Jesus the Man-child was, to rule those who lied about him.)  Isa.61:1 The Spirit of the Lord Jehovah is upon me; because Jehovah hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; 2 to proclaim the year of Jehovah's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; 3 to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them a garland for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of Jehovah, that he may be glorified…  6 But ye shall be named the priests of Jehovah; men shall call you the ministers of our God: ye shall eat the wealth of the nations, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves. 7 Instead of your shame ye shall have double; and instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess double; everlasting joy shall be unto them. 8 For I, Jehovah, love justice, I hate robbery with iniquity; and I will give them their recompense in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. 9 And their seed shall be known among the nations, and their offspring among the peoples; all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which Jehovah hath blessed.  10 I will greatly rejoice in Jehovah, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with a garland, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels. 11 For as the earth bringeth forth its bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord Jehovah will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.     Isa.51:3 For Jehovah hath comforted Zion; he hath comforted all her waste places, and hath made her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of Jehovah; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.  Isa 51:11 And the ransomed of Jehovah shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. 12 I, even I, am he that comforteth you: …    Isa.57:15-18 For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite. 16 For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth; for the spirit would faint before me, and the souls that I have made. 17 For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and smote him; I hid my face and was wroth; and he went on backsliding in the way of his heart. 18 I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners.      Isa.66:10-14 Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn over her; 11 that ye may suck and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations; that ye may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory. 12 For thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream: and ye shall suck thereof; ye shall be borne upon the side, and shall be dandled upon the knees. 13 As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem. 14 And ye shall see it, and your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like the tender grass: and the hand of Jehovah shall be known toward his servants; and he will have indignation against his enemies.    Isa.12:1-6 And in that day thou shalt say, I will give thanks unto thee, O Jehovah; for though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away and thou comfortest me. 2 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for Jehovah, even Jehovah, is my strength and song; and he is become my salvation. 3 Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. 4 And in that day shall ye say, Give thanks unto Jehovah, call upon his name, declare his doings among the peoples, make mention that his name is exalted. 5 Sing unto Jehovah; for he hath done excellent things: let this be known in all the earth. 6 Cry aloud and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion; for great in the midst of thee is the Holy One of Israel.    Rev.21:2-4 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a great voice out of the throne saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he shall dwell with them, and they shall be his peoples, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God: 4 and he shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more; neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more: the first things are passed away. 

Our home has a well-stocked, overflowing bookshelf. I have a weakness for beautiful books, especially nice hardcovers, and over the years more and more have been added to the collection. Unfortunately, I haven’t had the time and energy to actually read nearly as many of the volumes as I’ve collected. They remain pristine, beautiful, and—sadly—unread. There’s a danger that our Bibles can become a bit like that. Essayist John Updike, speaking of the American classic Walden, commented that it risked being as “revered and unread as the Bible.” The difficulty of understanding ancient Scriptures written in different cultures than our own can tempt us to leave our Bibles on the shelf—beautiful, beloved, but unread. It doesn’t have to be that way. As the psalmist does in Psalm 119, we can turn to God, asking Him to “open [our] eyes” to see Scripture’s riches (v. 18). We can find trustworthy teachers to help us “understand what [we’re] reading” (Acts 8:30-31). And believers have Christ’s Spirit to guide our hearts to see how it all points to Him (Luke 24:27; John 14:26). Through Scripture, God can give us strength in times of sorrow (Psalm 119:28), protect us from deception (v. 29), and broaden our understanding of how to joyfully live (vv. 32, 35). The Bible is a priceless gift. May it be both revered and read.

The Nerve of Him | Luke 4:1-13 The temptation of Jesus in the wilderness reveals the incredible arrogance of the devil. He dares to tempt God Himself—thinking, somehow, that he can claim victory over the very Word made flesh. His audacity is both appalling and foolish. But in this confrontation, we also witness the unwavering resolve of Jesus. Even after fasting for forty days, He stands firm, wielding the Word of God against the tempter. Unlike Adam and Eve, who fell into sin in the garden, Jesus remains steadfast. He does not waver. He does not stumble. Instead, He conquers the enemy with the truth of Scripture. As the hymnwriter proclaims: "You strove with Satan, and You won; Your faithfulness endured." (LSB #418 v. 2) Join us as we reflect on Christ's victory over temptation and what it means for us today.

The Nerve of Him | Luke 4:1-13 The temptation of Jesus in the wilderness reveals the incredible arrogance of the devil. He dares to tempt God Himself—thinking, somehow, that he can claim victory over the very Word made flesh. His audacity is both appalling and foolish. But in this confrontation, we also witness the unwavering resolve of Jesus. Even after fasting for forty days, He stands firm, wielding the Word of God against the tempter. Unlike Adam and Eve, who fell into sin in the garden, Jesus remains steadfast. He does not waver. He does not stumble. Instead, He conquers the enemy with the truth of Scripture. As the hymnwriter proclaims: "You strove with Satan, and You won; Your faithfulness endured." (LSB #418 v. 2) Join us as we reflect on Christ's victory over temptation and what it means for us today.

Jesus is the ultimate healer—He came to restore the broken, free the oppressed, and bring new life to those who surrender to Him (Luke 4:18-19). True healing isn't just about changing habits; it's about a transformed heart and lasting freedom in Christ (John 8:36). Once we experience His healing, we're called to share that hope with others (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). Are you ready to let Jesus heal every part of your life?

The Nerve of Him | Luke 4:1-13 The temptation of Jesus in the wilderness reveals the incredible arrogance of the devil. He dares to tempt God Himself—thinking, somehow, that he can claim victory over the very Word made flesh. His audacity is both appalling and foolish. But in this confrontation, we also witness the unwavering resolve of Jesus. Even after fasting for forty days, He stands firm, wielding the Word of God against the tempter. Unlike Adam and Eve, who fell into sin in the garden, Jesus remains steadfast. He does not waver. He does not stumble. Instead, He conquers the enemy with the truth of Scripture. As the hymnwriter proclaims: "You strove with Satan, and You won; Your faithfulness endured." (LSB #418 v. 2) Join us as we reflect on Christ's victory over temptation and what it means for us today.

We can't talk enough about the importance of prayer, the priorityof prayer, the power of prayer, the purpose of prayer, the place of prayer andthe pattern of prayer. Volumes of books have been written on the subject ofprayer. For sure, preaching or teaching about prayer is one of my favorite topics.This is what we have been looking at here in Luke 11:1-13. The greatest teacherthat ever lived is teaching His disciples about prayer by giving them a patternto guide them in their praying. Especially, on how to pray and what to pray for. Jesus first teaches them, and us, to begin our prayers byremembering and meditating on the Father's purity. In the Old Testament theholiness and purity of God is revealed by His name. In the second of the TenCommandments we are warned not to “take the name of the LORD our God in vain”.Which means we are never to use His name in an empty way. James teaches us thatour hearts must be pure as we enter God's presence: “Draw near to God and Hewill draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts,you double-minded” (James 4:8).  After we occupy our hearts and minds with our Father'spurity, we then can focus on our Father's purposes. “Your kingdom come, Yourwill be done…”. It has always been God's purpose to establish a glorious,righteous kingdom here on earth. Our prayers to our Father are used by God toaccomplish this great purpose! Jesus made it very clear that He Himself wassent to only do the will of His Father (John 5:30). In John 6:38, Jesus said, “ForI have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him whosent Me.”  Just before Jesus ascended back into heaven after His resurrection,He told His disciples in John 20:21, “As the Father has sent Me, I also sendyou.”  We are included in thissending! We are here to do the Father's will on earth and fulfill the purposes ofHis kingdom rule on earth just as it is in heaven. Today we are looking at the first personal petition in thispattern of prayer that concerns our Father's provision for our daily needs! Oncewe are secure in our relationship with God and His will, then we can bring ourrequests to Him (Luke 11:3-4). We can ask Him to provide our needs (not ourgreeds!) for today, to forgive us for what we have done yesterday, and to leadus in the future. All of our needs may be included in these three requests:material and physical provision, moral and spiritual perfection, and divineprotection and direction. “Give us day by day our daily bread"(Luke 11:3). Three important truths are tucked in this part of the prayer aboutthe resources of God. First, our Father's favor. "Give." Ourblessings come from God, not by merit but by mercy. God must "give,"for we do not earn. The very nature of God is to give. Remember John 3:16, “ForGod so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son….”. Our FatherGod delights to give good gifts to His children. “Every good gift and everyperfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whomthere is no variation or shadow of turning” (James 1:17).  Second, our faith is involved because we are to ask, "dayby day." Our request is not for a week's, a month's, or a year's supply,but a daily supply. This requires faith each day. Jesus also taught this truthin His “Mount of Beatitude's” message in Matthew 6:30-34:  Third, our request involves food. “Bread”. Rememberthe manna in the wilderness that fell daily for the people of Israel in thewilderness? But we are not only to pray and trust the Lord for our dailyphysical needs but also for our daily spiritual food! We desperately need ourFather's Holy Spirit to feed our soul and our spirit with the “Bread of Life”,the Word of God, Jesus Christ, to be able to be strong for each day's journeyand all the challenges that come with it!  Are you trusting the Lord today for your physical and spiritualneeds? God bless!

God abounds in mercy because of His compassion for us and our eternal destiny. Mercy flows from the throne of grace. “Let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb 4:16). Mercy is His grace in action, generated by His love and compassion. “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in mercy” (Ps 103:8). A spiritually maturing Christian acquires the attribute of compassion and demonstrates it by reaching those who are lost and giving them the Gospel. God extends His mercy upon generation after generation to those who love and obey Him (Luke 1:50). Download Transcript: https://rhem.pub/god-mercy-9dcbf1

So far in Luke 6 Jesus is dealing with the criticism and questions from the Pharisees. They were convinced that He had allowed His disciples to “work” on the Sabbath when the rubbed some grains of wheat together in their hand and eat it (vs. 1-5). Secondly, they were enraged and sought to do Him harm after He healed the man with the withered hand. Jesus threatened their control over the people by exposing their hypocrisy and lack of compassion for hungry and hurting people.   The next thing the Savior does is a very important lesson for us today! Before He continues His ministry Jesus goes to “the mountain” and spends an entire night in prayer and communion with His Father. We need to remember that Jesus is indeed the Son of God, God in the flesh, but at the same time Jesus is the Son of Man, and entirely human!   I like how the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, affirmed that Jesus: (1) is fully God; (2) is fully human; (3) is one person; and (4) possesses two distinct natures. The Chalcedon document, one of the most important in church history, says in part: “Following the holy fathers, we confess with one voice that the One and only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, is perfect in Godhead and perfect in manhood, truly God and truly man, that He is of one substance with the Father as God, He is also of one substance with us as man. He is like us in all things without sin. This One and the Same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten is made known in two natures (which exist) without confusion, without change, without division, without separation. The distinction of the natures is in no way taken away by their union, but rather the distinctive properties of each nature are preserved.”   My friend, if Jesus needed to spend time in prayer with His Father, how much more do we need to do the same before we make major decisions in our life. Or when we are dealing with tremendous stress of pressure from opposition from others or from evil spiritual forces.   Why did Jesus pray all night? For one thing, He knew that opposition against Him was growing and would finally result in His crucifixion; so He prayed for strength as He faced the path ahead. Also, He wanted the Father's guidance as He selected His 12 Apostles, for the future of the church rested with them. Keep in mind that one of the Twelve would betray Him, and Jesus knew who he was from the beginning (John 6:64). Our Lord had real human emotions (Luke 22:41-44; Heb. 5:7-8), and it was through prayer that He made this difficult choice.   Years ago, I heard someone say something that really stayed with me. “You can minister to the multitudes, but you can only disciple a few”. In some way, all of us as followers of Jesus Christ can minister to the hungry, broken, and hurting people all around us with both physical and spiritual help. And we should always be doing this, but the real work and calling of our Christian life is to disciple others.   Basically Jesus called His disciples to “follow Him” (Luke 5:27), to “be with Him” (Mark 3:14), and to “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen (Matthew 28:19-20).   Before we can make disciples of others, we must first be following Jesus, and spending time with Him in His Word and in prayer! May the Lord help us to do this today!   God bless! Link to Special Notes on the 12 Disciples of Jesus https://www.pmiministries.org/post/special-notes-on-the-disciples-of-jesus

The Christian Starter Pack, 2 of 6 from October 6th, 2024 Psalm 1 by Ben Russell (@neighborhoodpastor93) SUMMARY This sermon explores the importance of the Bible as a fundamental component of the Christian faith. It emphasizes that the Bible is a unified story leading to Jesus, inspired by God but written through human creativity. Pastor Ben encourages believers to engage with Scripture regularly, highlighting its role in spiritual growth and blessing. He also provides practical advice on how to approach Bible reading and study. REFLECTION & DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

     For Christians, there is blessing through submission to God. This blessing comes from operating within the sphere of God's love and laws, which establish boundaries for us to thrive and survive.[1] This is because “a man's way is not in himself, nor is it in a man who walks to direct his steps” (Jer 10:23); rather, “The steps of a man are established by the LORD, and He delights in his way” (Psa 37:23). As God's children, we are instructed, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight” (Prov 3:5-6).      Living in submission to God means putting His will above our own, trusting in His plan, and following His directives. It entails aligning our thoughts, words, and actions with God's will and commandments. This submission is characterized by humility, trust, and obedience to follow God's directives over personal desires.      In the Old Testament, Abraham exemplified submission when God called him to leave his homeland and go to a land that He would show him. Moses wrote, “Now the LORD said to Abram, ‘Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father's house, to the land which I will show you…So Abram went forth as the LORD had spoken to him” (Gen 12:1, 4). Abraham's obedience to the Lord made him “the friend of God” (Jam 2:23; cf., 2 Ch 20:7; Isa 41:8). When God said to Isaiah, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us? (Isa 6:8a), Isaiah responded, “Here am I. Send me!” (Isa 6:8b). And when it was revealed to Mary that she would conceive in her womb and bear the humanity of Christ, she said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). Jesus, the Perfect Example of Submission      Jesus Christ provides the perfect example of submission to God. He's the perfect example because He is perfect and never disobeyed the Lord. Jesus said, “I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me” (John 5:30), and “I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me” (John 6:38). In the Garden of Gethsemane before His crucifixion, Jesus prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will” (Matt 26:39; cf., Matt 26:42, 44). Paul tells us that Jesus “humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Phil 2:8). Jesus' willingness to submit to the Father's will, even to the point of death, is the ultimate example of submission. Jesus never deviated from the Father's course for Him.      Jesus' submission to the Father started when He was very young. By age twelve, Jesus knew God was His Father and what the Father's mission was for Him (Luke 2:40-47).[2] Isaiah wrote, “The Lord GOD has given Me the tongue of disciples, that I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple” (Isa 50:4). This passage refers to Jesus' humanity, where God the Father would educate Jesus as His disciple. This education enabled Him to minister to others, as He says, “that I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word” (Isa 50:4b). To those who are weary in their souls, a divinely spoken word can lift the spirit and revive the heart (see Matt 11:28). And Jesus' discipleship training took place in the early morning hours, as Messiah states, “He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple” (Isa 50:4c). According to Arnold Fruchtenbaum, “During His boyhood in Nazareth, every morning, Jesus was awakened by His Father in the early hours of the morning to receive instruction. In this way Jesus learned who He was, what His mission was, and how to act and react accordingly.”[3] As a human boy, Jesus had to be educated, which meant the discipline of acquiring knowledge over time. Because of His daily discipline, Jesus was fluent in the Scriptures by age 12. Fruchtenbaum states: "The New Testament gives us an account of a 12 year old Jesus visiting the Temple in Jerusalem for the first time (Luke 2:41–50). By the age of 12 Jesus was fully conversant with the Hebrew Scriptures and able to debate deep spiritual matters with the leading theologians of the day. Furthermore, when Jesus is later rebuked by His mother for remaining in the Temple, He replies, “Did you not know I would be in My Father's house?” This one statement shows that by the age of 12 Jesus knew that Joseph was not His father, knew that God was His Father, and therefore understood that He was the Messiah of Israel."[4]      Jesus was fully submissive to the Father, saying, “The Lord GOD has opened My ear; and I was not disobedient nor did I turn back” (Isa 50:5). Another translation reads, “The sovereign LORD has spoken to me clearly; I have not rebelled, I have not turned back” (Isa 50:5 NET). The word “disobedient” translates the Hebrew verb marah (מָרָה), which, according to HALOT, means “to be recalcitrant, rebellious.”[5] Jesus was not hardhearted nor defiant to the Lord in any way. When God spoke to Messiah, His Servant, He was in total submission to God in everything. Throughout Scripture we observe where other servants of the Lord tried to escape His call to service. When Moses was called by the Lord (Ex 4:1-12), he replied, “Please, Lord, send someone else” (Ex 4:13 CSB). When God called Jonah, we're informed His prophet rebelled, and “Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD” (Jon 1:3a). But Messiah never rebelled against the Lord. He was in total submission to Him. And such submission required a mind that was saturated with divine viewpoint, and a will that was totally surrendered to God. Warren Wiersbe states: "His mind was submitted to the Lord God so that He could learn His Word and His will (Isa 50:4). Everything Jesus said and did was taught to Him by His Father (John 5:19, 30; 6:38; 8:28). He prayed to the Father for guidance (John 11:42; Mark 1:35) and meditated on the Word. What God taught the Servant, the Servant shared with those who needed encouragement and help. The Servant sets a good example here for all who know the importance of a daily “quiet time” with the Lord. The Servant's will was also yielded to the Lord God. An “opened ear” is one that hears and obeys the voice of the master. The people to whom Isaiah ministered were neither “willing” nor “obedient” (Isa 1:19), but the Servant did gladly the will of the Lord God. This was not easy, for it meant yielding His body to wicked men who mocked Him, whipped Him, spat on Him, and then nailed Him to a cross (Matt 26:67; 27:26, 30)."[6]      Later, Jewish scholars would marvel at Jesus' wisdom (Matt 13:54; John 7:15); yet, they were unwilling to submit to Him as Messiah. This is an amazing thing, for though “the Light has come into the world” (John 3:19a), and that Light was bright and clear, we are informed that “men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil” (John 3:19b). Here, we are reminded that at the heart of every problem is the problem of the heart, and the human heart is very corrupt and in great need of life and light. King David: An OT Example of Submission      David provides a good example of an OT believer who lived in regular submission to God. The Bible describes David as a man after God's own heart (1 Sam 13:14; cf. Acts 13:22). David walked faithfully with the Lord and surrendered to His will. David was an obedient king, for the most part, and subsequent kings were measured by him (1 Ki 3:14; 9:4-5; 11:4-6, 31-34, 38; 14:7-8; 15:1-5; 11-15; 2 Ki 14:1-4; 16:1-3; 18:1-3; 22:1-2). David set the bar for what it meant to be a good king, and this allowed others to have a standard to guide them. However, we should not conclude that David was perfectly obedient and kept the Lord's will in all matters in his life. He did not. No believer ever does, for there are none who are sinless (Eccl 7:20; 1 John 1:8, 10), except the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Cor 5:21; Heb 4:15; 1 John 3:5).      David personally acknowledged his sins, saying “my iniquities are gone over my head; as a heavy burden they weigh too much for me” (Ps 38:4). He also wrote, “My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to see; they are more numerous than the hairs of my head, and my heart has failed me” (Ps 40:12). Among David's recorded sins, the most offensive was his adulterous affair with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband, Uriah (2 Sam 11:1-17). Scripture tells us that David had slept with Bathsheba and had her husband, Uriah, killed; and “the thing that David had done was evil in the sight of the LORD” (2 Sam 11:27). What is commendable about David is that he handled his sin in a biblical manner by confessing it and seeking the Lord's forgiveness. Concerning Uriah and Bathsheba, David said, “I have sinned against the LORD” (2 Sam 12:13; read Psalm 51 for the longer version of David's confession). And upon his confession, the prophet Nathan said to David, “The LORD also has taken away your sin; you shall not die” (2 Sam 12:13). Here we see God's grace and government at work; for though David was forgiven and restored to fellowship with God, there were still consequences for his actions and the Lord dispensed judgment upon David and Bathsheba (2 Sam 12:14-18).      On another occasion, David followed Satan's temptation and “sinned greatly” by taking a census in Israel (1 Ch 21:1, 8), presumably because he was trusting in his military strength rather than the Lord. When God judged David for this, David confessed his sin and declared, “I have sinned greatly, in that I have done this thing” (1 Ch 21:8a). Not only did he confess his sin, but he also sought the Lord's forgiveness, saying, “Please take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly” (1 Ch 21:8b), and “I am in great distress; please let me fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercies are very great” (1 Ch 21:13). It is a hallmark of mature believers to humble themselves before the Lord through confession.      Furthermore, David practiced the sin of polygamy contrary to the Law of Moses, which specifically commanded the king of Israel, that “he shall not multiply wives for himself” (Deut 17:17). From Scripture we know the names of eight of David's wives: Michal (1 Sam 18:27), Abigail (1 Sam 25:39-42), Ahinoam (1 Sam 25:43), Bathsheba (2 Sam 12:24), Maacah, Haggith, Abital, and Eglah (2 Sam 3:2-5). And he had other wives and concubines that are not named, as Scripture reveals, “David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem, after he came from Hebron” (2 Sam 5:13a). Interestingly, the Bible says nothing about David's practice of polygamy, and though it is a sin according to Scripture, it was apparently tolerated in David's life, perhaps because it never resulted in his wives leading him into idolatry as it had with his son, Solomon (see 1 Ki 11:1-11).       Despite David's imperfections and sins, he was still regarded as a man after God's own heart (1 Sam 13:14; Acts 13:22). His life demonstrates several key areas of faithfulness that are instructive for Christians. David exhibited a deep love and devotion to God, as reflected in his heartfelt expressions throughout the 75 Psalms he wrote (see Psa 3:1; 4:1; 5:1; 6:1; 8:1; 9:1; 11:1; 12:1; 13:1; 14:1; 15:1; 18:1; etc.).[7] Many of the Psalms reveal David's heart of worship to the Lord. His repentance and humility are evident after his sin with Bathsheba, where he sincerely sought God's mercy and forgiveness (Psa 51:1-2). David's trust in God's sovereignty was unwavering, as witnessed in his confrontation with Goliath and his reliance on God (1 Sam 17:37). His obedience to God's commands is seen in his refusal to harm King Saul, respecting God's anointed king (1 Sam 24:1-6). His commitment to justice and righteousness was evident in his reign, where he sought to administer justice and equity for all his people, for “David reigned over all Israel; and David administered justice and righteousness for all his people” (2 Sam 8:15). Even in difficult times, David depended on God for guidance, protection, and comfort, as beautifully expressed in Psalm 23. Lastly, his desire to build a house for God, although fulfilled by his son Solomon, demonstrated his dedication to honoring and prioritizing the Lord (2 Sam 7:1-2). These aspects of David's life highlight the important areas of faithfulness: devotion to God, humility, trust in God's sovereignty, obedience to God's commands, a heart for worship, commitment to justice and righteousness, dependence on God in difficult times, and a desire to honor and prioritize the Lord. The life of David demonstrates that believers can have a healthy walk with the Lord and be in submission to Him and doing His will in the major areas of their lives. Dr. Steven R. Cook   [1] This truth can be compared to the relationship between a loving and wise parent and their child. Just as a parent establishes boundaries and rules to protect and guide their child, God provides His commandments for our well-being, and this because there is much evil in the world. A loving parent sets these boundaries to ensure the child's safety from evil and help them thrive. They know that without guidance, a child might make harmful decisions because they lack the wisdom and experience to navigate life's complexities on their own. Similarly, God's laws create a framework within which we can experience true freedom and blessing. By submitting to God's guidance, we avoid the pitfalls and dangers that come from relying solely on our own understanding. When we trust in the Lord and acknowledge Him in all our ways, He directs our paths, leading us to a life of purpose and fulfillment. [2] Jesus, in His humanity, was not omniscient, and needed to develop and grow in His understanding. Luke tells us that Jesus “continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him” (Luke 2:40). When Jesus was twelve, He traveled with Joseph and Mary to Jerusalem (Luke 2:41-42), but after they left, we're informed “Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem” (Luke 2:43b). Joeseph and Mary were not aware that Jesus had stayed behind (Luke 2:43-44), but when they looked for Him and could not find Him, “they returned to Jerusalem looking for Him” (Luk 2:45b). Luke tells us, “Then, after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers” (Luke 2:46-47). Jesus, in His humanity, had great biblical wisdom, but not because He learned from the Rabbinic scholars of the day. The Jewish leadership understood this. John wrote,  “The Jews then were astonished, saying, ‘How has this man become learned, having never been educated?'” (John 7:15). Jesus replied to them, saying, “My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me” (John 7:16). [3] Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, Messianic Christology: A Study of Old Testament Prophecy Concerning the First Coming of the Messiah (Tustin, CA: Ariel Ministries, 1998), 51. [4] Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, Messianic Christology: A Study of Old Testament Prophecy Concerning the First Coming of the Messiah (Tustin, CA: Ariel Ministries, 1998), 51. [5] Ludwig Koehler et al., The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1994–2000), 632. [6] Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Comforted, “Be” Commentary Series (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 126. [7] King David is traditionally attributed with writing 73 of the 150 Psalms in the Book of Psalms. These Psalms often bear his name in their superscriptions, indicating his authorship. Additionally, the New Testament ascribes two other Psalms to David (Psalm 2 in Acts 4:25 and Psalm 95 in Hebrews 4:7), bringing the total traditionally attributed to David to 75.

God's Word for Today14 Aug, 2024Mark 14:32-42 ESV MY SOUL IS VERY SORROWFULIn the garden of Gethsemane[meaning oil press], Jesus brought His disciples for the last time. He went there to pray. While He let the others sit, he brought along with Him Peter, James and John a little further to be with Him. They were His intimate disciples. Why? He was greatly distressed and troubled. His soul is sorrowful. Did He feel a weakness that He needed company? Yes, but He did not commit any sin.[Heb 4:15] The word "sorrowful" is from the Greek root word ‘perilupos' and is also translated "deeply grieved" and "overwhelmed with sorrow." Is it not true the Jesus has suffered the worse hardship than anyone else experienced in the world? He received the wrath of God. Like Jesus, we have to acknowledge our most agonizing feelings while obeying God who placed us on this path. Let us not deny our pain but not as one without hope. Jesus was so distraught. He was not overreacting to His suffering, was He? In fact, He sweats so profusely the sweat drops are like drops of blood (Luke 22:44). As He prays, an angel comes to comfort Him (Luke 22:43). He knows He would experience the abandonment from His Father and he felt the gravity of God's wrath. Are we going to minimize the agony He feels bearing the weight of our sins and watching His Father turn away from Him? How did he demonstrate His agony? He fell to the ground, and prayed that if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.[v.35]He knew the implications of the ‘cup' from God. Firstly, one's "cup" is referring to one's lot in life, whether good or bad. When Jesus gives the cup to the disciples at the Lord's Supper, they are taking on the life His blood provides, both the persecution that comes to His followers (Mark 10:38–39) and everlasting life in paradise (Mark 14:23–24).One more concept of "the cup" is that it is a spiritual symbol for God's wrath. In Rev 14:10, there is a description depicting the fate of those who take on the mark of the beast. That is, "he also will drink the wine of God's wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger…" This is the "cup" that Jesus takes on the cross for believers. It's only logical that He would want to avoid it, but He finishes His prayer submitting to the wishes of His Father.Today, we relish to the reality that God is able to understand our pains. Jesus has been there. As Psa 34:18 says,“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”Watch in YouTube: https://youtu.be/lPuuvKVODmgListen and FOLLOW us on our podcastSpotify: http://bit.ly/glccfil_spotify Apple Podcast: http://bit.ly/glccfil-applepcast Google Podcast: http://bit.ly/glccfil-googlepcastAudible Podcast: http://bit.ly/glccfil-audibleFollow us on various media platforms: https://gospellightfilipino.contactin.bio#gospellightfilipino#godswordfortoday#bookofMark

Britain has become a great spiritual battleground where the Christian identity of this nation is under attack on many fronts. This is no time for churches across this land to be divided and distracted by worldly cares and ambitions. This is a time to fight the good fight of faith and love, and in Sir Winston Churchill's words, to be determined that ‘we will never surrender' our spiritual freedoms and Christian heritage.     For all the challenges we face, we should never be discouraged. For as both the Bible and revival history shows us, it is in times of great darkness and desperation that God so often turns everything around.   We see how this can happen by looking at the story of man who lived all his life in darkness. He was a blind man, a desperate man, a man for whom it seemed impossible that anything could change. But in just one moment in time everything changed for him. The power of God was released on him and multitudes marvelled at what had happened so quickly.     This man was called Bartimaeus, and his story is in Luke 18:35-43. Matthew's gospel records that there were two blind men begging but Mark and Luke's gospels singled out the most vocal of the two. Mark tells us his name was Bartimaeus and that he not only knew the name of Jesus, but he also recognised Him as the Son of David, the Promised Messiah.    We see some simple lessons from this story of how the church can be revitalised as agents of great and sudden change in the UK. We must:   1. Focus on people in great need (Luke 18:35; Luke 4:18) 2. Cry out to God for mercy (Luke 18:36-39; Exodus 2:23-25; Judges 6:2-6; Psalms 18:6; 34:17) 3. Have big dreams (Luke 18:40-41) 4. Expect to experience miracles (Luke 18:42-43) 5. Let the new followers of Jesus influence many others (Luke 18:43; John 4:39)  Apply    1. Focus on people in great need (Luke 18:35). Bartimaeus was in a desperate condition as a blind man who had to beg to get any money. He couldn't see anything, and crowds of people just passed him by. He was, like so many in our world, left behind to look after himself, just trying to get a few coins to keep him going. But Jesus built His ministry on people like Bartimaeus: the blind, the deaf, the dumb, the grieving widow, the sick and suffering. This is why the anointing of the Holy Spirit had come on Him (Luke 4:18). We should focus on the hurting, the poor, the despised, the lonely, overlooked, and grieving. People everywhere are in pain, including the rich and famous and outwardly happy. And we need eyes to see who is struggling by the roadside of life and not just be part of the crowd that rushes on past. To turn this nation around, we will need Christians and churches that truly love people no matter who they are or from what background they come.    2. Cry out to God for mercy (Luke 18:36-39). When Bartimaeus heard Jesus was coming near, he recognised this was his moment that everything could change if he could somehow connect with Him. So amidst all the noise of the crowd he shouted out “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” This wasn't a polite, quiet prayer; it was an urgent call for help. His shouting was so loud that many people told him to shut up. But we read this caused him to “shout all the more. Son of David, have mercy on me!” This was a man who really knew how much he needed the mercy of God. He was desperate to seize the moment to connect with Jesus. So often God permits individuals, families, church and even nations to come to a place of desperation where we realise our only hope is to ask God to show us His mercy. That was the case in 1940 when literally millions of Britons answered the King's call to prayer that this nation would be saved from tyranny. With no other hope of help, they cried to God for mercy. This was what happened with the Israelites (Exodus 2:23-25; Judges 6:2-6). This was the tipping point when God raised up Gideon and his 300 dedicated men who overcame a vast army. King David knew how to effectively call for the mercy of God (Psalms 18:6, 34:17). Real prayer is when we are desperate enough to truly cry out to God for mercy knowing that we have no other options. Today in the UK we are being brought to a point where we need to cry out to God for our own answers, to cry out to God for our families, for greater purity, power and fruitfulness in our churches. And for sure we need His intervention in our nation. Without doubt we deserve judgement for so many reasons, in a nation and former empire that has been in such rebellion towards God and for breaking firm promises to the Jewish people and Israel. But we can still cry out to the great God of mercy for our generation and those to come that the fires of God in this nation will never go out.     3. Have big dreams (Luke 18:40-41). Bartimaeus knew exactly what he wanted; it was a big miracle to receive his sight but he was clear what he wanted. Everything would change when he could see. We too should ask God to give us clear vision to see what we have not seen before, to have the scales removed from our eyes so that we can visualise changes in our lives, in our self-perception, and in families and churches. When the Lord touches our eyes, we will perceive that we can and will minister to multitudes.  4. Expect to experience miracles (Luke 18:42-43). Healing is central to the gospel. Healing miracles are part and parcel of New Testament Christianity and commonly seen in Christian revivals. Healings are signs that the kingdom of God has come on earth and are connected to faith. Jesus told Bartimaeus ‘your faith has healed you.' Bartimaeus had lived all his life as a blind man. He could have been resigned to his fate but when he knew that Jesus was nearby, he had faith for healing. He called Jesus ‘the son of David' because he believed He was the promised Messiah and that when he connected with Him nothing was impossible. And that remains true today. For Jesus Christ is indeed the same yesterday, today and forever. He's still the healer and the Lord over every disease and sickness. He is still the miracle worker. We need to put our faith in Jesus. ‘Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we don't see.' Today we need a new dimension of supernatural ministry to move forward in the face of so much satanic opposition and confusion. Let's believe that all things are possible with God, and to pray for and heal the sick.   5. Let the new followers of Jesus influence many others (Luke 18:43). When new believers share their testimonies, many people can come to Christ (John 4:39). Billy Graham's ministry took off not just because of his anointed evangelistic preaching but because of the conversions of a well-known gang boss and famous radio personality in his 1949 Los Angeles campaign. Whenever people come to Christ, be quick to let them spread the good news and you will be amazed at the great harvest of their families and friends. Let's go forward together with new faith and focus and see a great spiritual turnaround throughout our nation. Let's cry out to God for His mercy in our lives, in our families and churches and in this nation. 

Britain has become a great spiritual battleground where the Christian identity of this nation is under attack on many fronts. This is no time for churches across this land to be divided and distracted by worldly cares and ambitions. This is a time to fight the good fight of faith and love, and in Sir Winston Churchill's words, to be determined that ‘we will never surrender' our spiritual freedoms and Christian heritage.     For all the challenges we face, we should never be discouraged. For as both the Bible and revival history shows us, it is in times of great darkness and desperation that God so often turns everything around.   We see how this can happen by looking at the story of man who lived all his life in darkness. He was a blind man, a desperate man, a man for whom it seemed impossible that anything could change. But in just one moment in time everything changed for him. The power of God was released on him and multitudes marvelled at what had happened so quickly.     This man was called Bartimaeus, and his story is in Luke 18:35-43. Matthew's gospel records that there were two blind men begging but Mark and Luke's gospels singled out the most vocal of the two. Mark tells us his name was Bartimaeus and that he not only knew the name of Jesus, but he also recognised Him as the Son of David, the Promised Messiah.    We see some simple lessons from this story of how the church can be revitalised as agents of great and sudden change in the UK. We must:   1. Focus on people in great need (Luke 18:35; Luke 4:18) 2. Cry out to God for mercy (Luke 18:36-39; Exodus 2:23-25; Judges 6:2-6; Psalms 18:6; 34:17) 3. Have big dreams (Luke 18:40-41) 4. Expect to experience miracles (Luke 18:42-43) 5. Let the new followers of Jesus influence many others (Luke 18:43; John 4:39)  Apply    1. Focus on people in great need (Luke 18:35). Bartimaeus was in a desperate condition as a blind man who had to beg to get any money. He couldn't see anything, and crowds of people just passed him by. He was, like so many in our world, left behind to look after himself, just trying to get a few coins to keep him going. But Jesus built His ministry on people like Bartimaeus: the blind, the deaf, the dumb, the grieving widow, the sick and suffering. This is why the anointing of the Holy Spirit had come on Him (Luke 4:18). We should focus on the hurting, the poor, the despised, the lonely, overlooked, and grieving. People everywhere are in pain, including the rich and famous and outwardly happy. And we need eyes to see who is struggling by the roadside of life and not just be part of the crowd that rushes on past. To turn this nation around, we will need Christians and churches that truly love people no matter who they are or from what background they come.    2. Cry out to God for mercy (Luke 18:36-39). When Bartimaeus heard Jesus was coming near, he recognised this was his moment that everything could change if he could somehow connect with Him. So amidst all the noise of the crowd he shouted out “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” This wasn't a polite, quiet prayer; it was an urgent call for help. His shouting was so loud that many people told him to shut up. But we read this caused him to “shout all the more. Son of David, have mercy on me!” This was a man who really knew how much he needed the mercy of God. He was desperate to seize the moment to connect with Jesus. So often God permits individuals, families, church and even nations to come to a place of desperation where we realise our only hope is to ask God to show us His mercy. That was the case in 1940 when literally millions of Britons answered the King's call to prayer that this nation would be saved from tyranny. With no other hope of help, they cried to God for mercy. This was what happened with the Israelites (Exodus 2:23-25; Judges 6:2-6). This was the tipping point when God raised up Gideon and his 300 dedicated men who overcame a vast army. King David knew how to effectively call for the mercy of God (Psalms 18:6, 34:17). Real prayer is when we are desperate enough to truly cry out to God for mercy knowing that we have no other options. Today in the UK we are being brought to a point where we need to cry out to God for our own answers, to cry out to God for our families, for greater purity, power and fruitfulness in our churches. And for sure we need His intervention in our nation. Without doubt we deserve judgement for so many reasons, in a nation and former empire that has been in such rebellion towards God and for breaking firm promises to the Jewish people and Israel. But we can still cry out to the great God of mercy for our generation and those to come that the fires of God in this nation will never go out.     3. Have big dreams (Luke 18:40-41). Bartimaeus knew exactly what he wanted; it was a big miracle to receive his sight but he was clear what he wanted. Everything would change when he could see. We too should ask God to give us clear vision to see what we have not seen before, to have the scales removed from our eyes so that we can visualise changes in our lives, in our self-perception, and in families and churches. When the Lord touches our eyes, we will perceive that we can and will minister to multitudes.  4. Expect to experience miracles (Luke 18:42-43). Healing is central to the gospel. Healing miracles are part and parcel of New Testament Christianity and commonly seen in Christian revivals. Healings are signs that the kingdom of God has come on earth and are connected to faith. Jesus told Bartimaeus ‘your faith has healed you.' Bartimaeus had lived all his life as a blind man. He could have been resigned to his fate but when he knew that Jesus was nearby, he had faith for healing. He called Jesus ‘the son of David' because he believed He was the promised Messiah and that when he connected with Him nothing was impossible. And that remains true today. For Jesus Christ is indeed the same yesterday, today and forever. He's still the healer and the Lord over every disease and sickness. He is still the miracle worker. We need to put our faith in Jesus. ‘Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we don't see.' Today we need a new dimension of supernatural ministry to move forward in the face of so much satanic opposition and confusion. Let's believe that all things are possible with God, and to pray for and heal the sick.   5. Let the new followers of Jesus influence many others (Luke 18:43). When new believers share their testimonies, many people can come to Christ (John 4:39). Billy Graham's ministry took off not just because of his anointed evangelistic preaching but because of the conversions of a well-known gang boss and famous radio personality in his 1949 Los Angeles campaign. Whenever people come to Christ, be quick to let them spread the good news and you will be amazed at the great harvest of their families and friends. Let's go forward together with new faith and focus and see a great spiritual turnaround throughout our nation. Let's cry out to God for His mercy in our lives, in our families and churches and in this nation. 

The examination and questioning of Jesus has begun as they will look to find a way to bring Him to death. There are no credible witnesses against Jesus because He is the spotless, unblemished Lamb of God who is without sin. As Jesus stands before the high priest for questioning, what the high priest does not realize is that the One who they are questioning is God in flesh, the true eternal High Priest who intercedes for His people forever. He was perfect and innocent and God sovereignly hardened their hearts and blinded their eyes for if they understood they would not have not crucified the Lord of glory (1 Cor 2:8) and we would have no hope of salvation. We see Peter denied Christ three times even after walking with Him closely, see countless miracles, hearing His teaching, and professing He would never deny Him. So let us pray for boldness and courage in the time of testing and witnessing around friends, family, co-workers, etc so that at no time we deny Christ by our actions or words and hear the rooster crow. However, Peter would be restored because Jesus had prayed for Him (Luke 22:31-32). Beloved take heart, if you are numbered among the elect, He prays for you as well.

26 ¶ "But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. Number one, we witness as individual members of the body, number two we are to witness as a total body. No individual member is excused from being a witness, did you know that? I had people say, "Well I don't think the Lord has called me to be a witness." No, that isn't so. Every one of us is a witness. Every individual member of the body is a member for witness. Acts 1:8: "You shall receive power", said Jesus, "after the holy power has come upon you, and you shall be my witnesses." There's no option there, none at all. The Apostle Paul so carefully points this out in 2 Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore if any man be in Christ he's a new creation. Old things are passed away, behold all things are become new. And all things are of God who hath reconciled us to himself, and hath given us the ministry of reconciliation". There's nobody excused from that - anybody who has been reconciled has the ministry of communicating reconciliation to others. To wit, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself. 2Corinthians 5:20: "Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ as though God did beseech you by us, we beg you in Christ's stead, be reconciled of God". Every believer whose been born again, everyone who has been reconciled has been given the ministry of reconciliation. No believer is excused from being a witness. Every Christian is a witness of Christ, to bring others to Christ. Nobody is off the hook on that. We are a body for edifying that we might be a body for witness. We are individual members to be edified that we might be individual members for effective witness. See, the ultimate goal of the body folks is witness. Witness. Witness. Why do we want to be one? That the world might know that God sent Christ, that's why, not so that we can say "we're one, ". The word witness is a very interesting word. It's used there in verse 27. Witness is a legal term. It takes us into a law court. We see a judge on the bench, and we see a prisoner on trial. We hear the case argued by lawyers, first the prosecution and then the defense, and both of them call witnesses to substantiate their case. And we as individual members of the body are individual witnesses in a trial. You say who's on trial? Jesus Christ is on trial. Who's the judge? The world is the judge. Who's the defense attorney? The Holy Spirit. Who's the prosecution? Satan with his lies and accusations Notice it says in verse 26 when the comforter is come; the word comforter is paraclete. It came to mean "the counsel for the defense". It's one called alongside to help. It refers to the Holy Spirit who is the counsel for defense - he is defending Christ and calling you and I as individual members of the body to witness and confirm the testimony of Christ. Sad to say, much of our witnessing does not confirm the testimony of Christ. Some Christian witnesses do greater harm than if they weren't Christians, you know that. Others have effective witness all over the world defending him and commending Christ, and substantiating his claims by their lies.   Proceeds from the Father and the Son, shows that Jesus is God and is equal with the Father    27 "And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.(NKJV) The Spirit is sent from the Father (cf. 14:26), just as the Son was sent from the Father. Yet this mysterious work of the Spirit is not done in isolation from the church. The apostles were to bear witness to the facts that they came to know: You also must testify. As the apostles witnessed, the Holy Spirit persuaded, and people were saved. The same combination of human obedience to the divine command (Acts 1:8) coupled with the witness of the Spirit is needed in every generation.     John 16:1 "These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble. Jesus did not want His disciples to stumble (Gr. skandalethron, be caught unaware) in their discipleship after His departure because the events that would follow took them completely by surprise (cf. Matt. 5:10-12). Even though they did not understand everything Jesus told them immediately, they would remember them and understand them more fully later (cf. 14:20, 25-26). "The greatest danger the disciples will confront from the opposition of the world is not death but apostasy.  Jesus gave this present teaching so His believing disciples would not depart from Him and what He had taught them when persecution assailed them following His departure from them (cf. Matt. 10:33; Mark 8:38; 2 Tim. 2:12; Rev. 3:8).  2 "They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. 16:1-2. The disciples may have wondered why Jesus was telling them about the world's hatred and persecution. Jesus, anticipating this question, indicated that expecting trouble beforehand would help them remain in the path of God's will. (He gave a second reason in v. 4.) The disciples would face excommunication and even death. Persecution unto death occurred in the case of Stephen (Acts 7:59), James (Acts 12:2), and others (Acts 9:1-4). Some people throughout church history have been motivated to persecute believers because of a misguided zeal for God. They think they are offering a service to God Romans 10:2 2 For I bear them witness that bthey have a zeal for God, cbut not according to knowledge. Jesus was always very open and direct about the cost of discipleship with those who wished to follow Him: Luke 9:23-26 Then he said to them all, “If anyone wants to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. 25 For what does it benefit a person if he gains the whole world but loses or forfeits himself? 26 For whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man be will ashamed of this one when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels (see also verses 57-62). Jesus does not want His disciples to be taken by surprise, and so He tells them about the difficulties which lie ahead for them as His disciples. These men will be rejected by their fellow-Jews, put out of the synagogue, and even put to death. And the irony of all this is that when their opponents do such things, they will actually suppose that they are serving God by their opposition to Christ and His disciples.[1] Whether in the first century or in the twentieth, Christians have often discovered that the most dangerous oppression comes not from careless pagans but from zealous adherents to religious faith, and from other beliefs. A sermon was preached when Cranmer was burned at the stake. Christians have faced severe persecution performed in the name of Yahweh, in the name of Allah, in the name of Marx—and in the name of Jesus.” Who better illustrates this than Saul, before his conversion? Acts 22:4 “I persecuted this Way even to the point of death, tying up both men and women and putting them in prison”. Acts 26:9-11 “Of course, I myself was convinced that it was necessary to do many things hostile to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10 And that is what I did in Jerusalem: not only did I lock up many of the saints in prisons by the authority I received from the chief priests, but I also cast my vote against them when they were sentenced to death. 11 I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to force them to blaspheme. Because I was so furiously enraged at them, I went to persecute them even in foreign cities” (see also 1Timothy 1:12-16).  3 "And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me. The opponents of the disciples would do these things because they had not come to know the Father or the Son. Theirs would be a sin of responsible ignorance.  4 "But these things I have told you, that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them. And these things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you. The disciples appear to be in a state of emotional shock. They are overwhelmed with sadness. There seems to be nothing to say. Think of it. Jesus is going to leave them, and when He does, they are not only going to be forsaken by their own people, they are going to hunted down by them as though they were criminals.        Mark 8:36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?              John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.               “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32             Our mission is to spread the gospel and to go to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten.              hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en His Love Ministries on Itunes Don't go for all the gusto you can get, go for all the God (Jesus Christ) you can get. The gusto will get you, Jesus can save you. https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F             The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions

The essence of discipleship is a love relationship with the Lord Jesus (Matt 22:37-38, Mark 12:30, Luke 10:27). A true disciple loves the Lord and seeks to express that in his life by pleasing and glorifying Him. This is not a legalism, but the obedience of love. The keeping of commandments is an expression of love (John 14:15). Without the motivation of love our Christian life just becomes outward performance, and loses its meaning and excitement, but when we live in an overflow of love, it is all joy. The motivation of a true disciple is loving the Lord, so the heart must first be converted to Christ through the Gospel. The purpose and effect of the Gospel is to win our hearts to Christ, bringing us into a love relationship with Him, in which we receive His love, causing us to give our love (heart) to Him (Rev 2:2-5). Mary demonstrated this love, manifested in worship, when she anointed Jesus (Mark 14:3-6, John 12:3-5). He connected her act of extravagant love with the preaching of the Gospel (Mark 14:9), as it demonstrated its purpose - the total conversion of our heart, so that we give Him our heart, love, devotion, worship, surrender, and life. God's love for us is extravagant, excessive and uninhibited, so our only appropriate response is to return that same kind of love to Him, giving Him our whole heart. That is the response the Divine Lover desires from His Bride. His love for us is prodigal (over the top, excessive, plenty too much) - Luke 15:20. The joy to which Jesus looked forward, that sustained Him through the Cross, was to have our heart, so we would be united with Him forever (Hebrews 12:2). True discipleship (obedience to Christ and His Word) follows on and flows out from a converted heart of love for the Lord, the fruit of the Gospel. Its essence is loving the Lord. It is the outworking of our love relationship with Christ, in the details of our life. Once we love Him, we want to please Him, to be like Him and do what He says. A disciple is a dedicated follower of Christ and learner of His Word, which teaches us how to live a life that glorifies Him. All true believers are His disciples, which is why Christians were originally called Disciples. It is not an optional extra. You can't receive Christ without your life changing and starting on the life of discipleship. If you are not a disciple, your heart is unconverted, and you are unsaved. Without true conversion, there can be no true life of discipleship. The 2 STAGES of (1) the personal conversion of our heart to Christ, through the Gospel, followed by (2) a lifestyle of discipleship correspond to the 2 PARTS of the Great Commission: (1) preaching the Gospel (the Good News of His love) unto salvation (Mark 16:15-16), and (2) making disciples by teaching His Word (Matthew 28:19-20). (1) The Gospel is designed to convert hearts to the Person of Jesus, not to a religion. Conversion is sealed by water baptism, the first ordained response of a convert, by which he publicly declares his faith, love and commitment to Christ. (2) This initial act of obedience also officially marks him out as one who has entered into a new life as a disciple, who follows Christ, learning and obeying His Word. The 2 parts of the Great Commission are connected by baptism. Part 1 results in baptism, and baptism is the initial official act of part 2. The heart of the Gospel is the declaration, revealing God's amazing unconditional LOVE for us (John 3:16), designed to convert our heart to loving God: “We LOVE Him, because He first LOVED us” (1John 4:19, Rom 5:8). The more we realise how much He has forgiven us, the more we will love Him (Luke 7:47). Trusting in His saving love, results in us giving (surrendering) our hearts to Him, receiving Him as our Lord and committing our lives to Him. We are His beloved Bride (2Cor 11:2-3). This devotion is created by Christ declaring His wonderful saving love for us in the Gospel. When we believe in His love for us, it produces love in our hearts for Him, so that we want to be with Him, be like Him, serve Him, glorify Him, and be united with Him forever. FAITH in Christ begets LOVE for Him, both of which together produce HOPE, the vision of a glorious future with Him (1Cor 13:13, 1Thess 1:9-10). This love of God in Christ for us began in eternity past, when God chose (foreknew, set His love on us, Jer 31:3, John 15:16). He loved us from eternity and will love us forever. In His love, He predestined us to glory, and then effectually called us to Himself by the Gospel, so that when we received Christ, He justified us (forgave us, put us into right-standing with Himself, and declared us righteous, based on the imputed righteousness of Christ). Justification then put us on the path of sanctification, where His Spirit changes us to become more like Jesus, through His imparted righteousness and life, as we trust in Him and obey Him, which will result in our glorification, when we are fully united with God (Romans 8:29-30).

The essence of discipleship is a love relationship with the Lord Jesus (Matt 22:37-38, Mark 12:30, Luke 10:27). A true disciple loves the Lord and seeks to express that in his life by pleasing and glorifying Him. This is not a legalism, but the obedience of love. The keeping of commandments is an expression of love (John 14:15). Without the motivation of love our Christian life just becomes outward performance, and loses its meaning and excitement, but when we live in an overflow of love, it is all joy. The motivation of a true disciple is loving the Lord, so the heart must first be converted to Christ through the Gospel. The purpose and effect of the Gospel is to win our hearts to Christ, bringing us into a love relationship with Him, in which we receive His love, causing us to give our love (heart) to Him (Rev 2:2-5). Mary demonstrated this love, manifested in worship, when she anointed Jesus (Mark 14:3-6, John 12:3-5). He connected her act of extravagant love with the preaching of the Gospel (Mark 14:9), as it demonstrated its purpose - the total conversion of our heart, so that we give Him our heart, love, devotion, worship, surrender, and life. God's love for us is extravagant, excessive and uninhibited, so our only appropriate response is to return that same kind of love to Him, giving Him our whole heart. That is the response the Divine Lover desires from His Bride. His love for us is prodigal (over the top, excessive, plenty too much) - Luke 15:20. The joy to which Jesus looked forward, that sustained Him through the Cross, was to have our heart, so we would be united with Him forever (Hebrews 12:2). True discipleship (obedience to Christ and His Word) follows on and flows out from a converted heart of love for the Lord, the fruit of the Gospel. Its essence is loving the Lord. It is the outworking of our love relationship with Christ, in the details of our life. Once we love Him, we want to please Him, to be like Him and do what He says. A disciple is a dedicated follower of Christ and learner of His Word, which teaches us how to live a life that glorifies Him. All true believers are His disciples, which is why Christians were originally called Disciples. It is not an optional extra. You can't receive Christ without your life changing and starting on the life of discipleship. If you are not a disciple, your heart is unconverted, and you are unsaved. Without true conversion, there can be no true life of discipleship. The 2 STAGES of (1) the personal conversion of our heart to Christ, through the Gospel, followed by (2) a lifestyle of discipleship correspond to the 2 PARTS of the Great Commission: (1) preaching the Gospel (the Good News of His love) unto salvation (Mark 16:15-16), and (2) making disciples by teaching His Word (Matthew 28:19-20). (1) The Gospel is designed to convert hearts to the Person of Jesus, not to a religion. Conversion is sealed by water baptism, the first ordained response of a convert, by which he publicly declares his faith, love and commitment to Christ. (2) This initial act of obedience also officially marks him out as one who has entered into a new life as a disciple, who follows Christ, learning and obeying His Word. The 2 parts of the Great Commission are connected by baptism. Part 1 results in baptism, and baptism is the initial official act of part 2. The heart of the Gospel is the declaration, revealing God's amazing unconditional LOVE for us (John 3:16), designed to convert our heart to loving God: “We LOVE Him, because He first LOVED us” (1John 4:19, Rom 5:8). The more we realise how much He has forgiven us, the more we will love Him (Luke 7:47). Trusting in His saving love, results in us giving (surrendering) our hearts to Him, receiving Him as our Lord and committing our lives to Him. We are His beloved Bride (2Cor 11:2-3). This devotion is created by Christ declaring His wonderful saving love for us in the Gospel. When we believe in His love for us, it produces love in our hearts for Him, so that we want to be with Him, be like Him, serve Him, glorify Him, and be united with Him forever. FAITH in Christ begets LOVE for Him, both of which together produce HOPE, the vision of a glorious future with Him (1Cor 13:13, 1Thess 1:9-10). This love of God in Christ for us began in eternity past, when God chose (foreknew, set His love on us, Jer 31:3, John 15:16). He loved us from eternity and will love us forever. In His love, He predestined us to glory, and then effectually called us to Himself by the Gospel, so that when we received Christ, He justified us (forgave us, put us into right-standing with Himself, and declared us righteous, based on the imputed righteousness of Christ). Justification then put us on the path of sanctification, where His Spirit changes us to become more like Jesus, through His imparted righteousness and life, as we trust in Him and obey Him, which will result in our glorification, when we are fully united with God (Romans 8:29-30).

On October 7 this year, the peace of small communities in Southern Israel was suddenly shattered when invading Hamas terrorists killed 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals in their homes and quiet neighbourhoods. Men, women, children and babies were butchered in the worst atrocities against Jewish people since the Holocaust.    Since then, a brutal war has raged with great devastation, resulting in great upheaval in Israel, thousands of deaths in Gaza and protests around the world. At the same time the brutal war in the Ukraine grinds on relentlessly having already claimed many thousands of lives.   Peace, without doubt, is one of the greatest needs of our world today. We need peace between nations and within nations. We need peace in communities, families and in countless individuals.   So many people are stressed and agitated today. You see it on the roads. You see it in shopping centres. You see it in schools. You see it in the workplace.   Bestselling author and pastor Rick Warren said: “I talk to thousands of people. I meet people who are active, who are busy, who are stressed, who are tired, who are ambitious and have great dreams, …I rarely meet people who are totally at peace... people who at peace with themselves, at peace with the world, ...people who are literally walking in peace. It's a rare quality.”  Are one of those rare people who are walking in peace or whether you are in serious need of peace. Is your mind overloaded right now? Can you ever switch off from thinking about problems and responsibilities? Is there stillness or a storm on the inside of you? Do you need God's Christmas gift of peace?  The good news is that that through Jesus you can have peace in all situations. 700 years before He was born, Jesus was described by the prophet Isaiah as ‘the Prince of Peace, Prince of Peace, of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end' (Isaiah 9:6-7).   When Jesus was born, the angels praised the Saviour who would bring peace to all who received Him (Luke 2:13). One of the central messages of Christmas and of Christianity is that Jesus Christ is the ultimate source of all true peace. Only He can bring real peace on earth. Because of the Prince of Peace:  1. You can know peace with yourself (John 14:27; Colossians 3:15; Philippians 4:6-7) 2. You can know peace with others (Hebrews 12:14; Galatians 3:26,28) 3. You can know peace with God (Romans 5:1, 6-9)  Apply  1. You can know peace with yourself. The peace of God is a peace that is strong and enduring. It stops our hearts being troubled and removes our fears (John 14:27). The Jewish word for peace is ‘shalom'. Shalom means well-being, harmony and serenity. The apostle Paul, who himself survived shipwreck and many other negative experiences, discovered how to have inner peace in all circumstances (Colossians 3:15; Philippians 4:6-7). How is this possible? Well the peace of God is not like a temporary and fragile human peace. It is a supernatural peace which defies logic and circumstances. It's a peace that literally stands guard like a soldier and it is interesting what it guards: your hearts and your minds. When our minds are attacked and our hearts are wounded we must learn to be quick to come to the Lord and receive His peace that steadies us and protects us. The Prince of Peace stands ready to give us peace within ourselves. Today whatever it is that is bringing unrest to your heart and mind, you need to know too that you can have peace with yourself.  2. You can know peace with others. You can know peace in every relationship (Hebrews 12:14).  - You can know peace in your marriage: A study has shown that January 8th is the busiest day of the year for divorce lawyers when up to one in five couples will enquire about divorce after the pressures of Christmas. But it doesn't have to be this way. When the Prince of peace come into your marriage, His presence will cause anger and bitterness to melt away. Instead of rows and tensions, you will come closer together with a new gentleness and love towards each other.  - You can know peace in your home: Sadly, today the home, instead of being a haven of peace, is more like a battle ground with visible or hidden conflict between children, parents and partners. Some families are so used to shouting, arguing and backchat that they think this is normal life. But this isn't God's plan for your home. You can all learn to appreciate each other. You can know new joy and peace in your family. You can laugh together and cry together and be there for one another. If your family is struggling right now, don't give up. God's peace can come to any home and it takes just one member of the home to have the peace and to speak peacefully for that peace to spread. - You can know peace with all people: The nearer we come to God the closer we can come to one another. All division and discrimination can be broken down when we have the peace and love of Christ hearts. As Christians we are called to live differently in a world of agitation, sexism, racism, and anti-Semitism and social, economic and political divisions. We are to have love and respect for all people. Everyone matters. Everyone is loved by God even though they may not walk with God (Galatians 3:26,28). So this is all very good news: when we discover the Prince of Peace, we ourselves can personally experience new peace.  3. You can know peace with God. Peace with God is the foundation for peace in every area of life. When you don't have peace with God it affects everything else. When your relationship with God is right everything else can line up right. When you get your relationship with God in order, all other relationships fall into place. One man who led a very wild and immoral life later became one of the great leaders and thinkers of the Christian church after turning from his sin and committing to follow Jesus. His name was Augustine and he told how he had hungered for inner peace. He finally concluded that: “our heart is restless until it rests in You." You too may have a God sized gap in your life. Maybe you never realised it or maybe you did and ran away from it. But either way making your peace with God is the biggest and best decision you will ever make in your life. The Bible teaches that not only that there is a God but also that Jesus alone can bring us into fellowship with God. Jesus came to restore peace between us and God. When He died the heavy curtain in the Temple in Jerusalem which separated unholy people from a holy God was torn in two from top to bottom. We have peace with God because of what Jesus has done for us (Romans 5:1). We can't make peace. He is the ultimate peacemaker. Jesus came to give his life to pay the price of our sins that separate us from God (Romans 5:6-9). Today is a moment for you to discover the Prince of Peace. Make your peace with God and enjoy the peace of God in your heart and mind and in every experience in life.  How much peace is there in your life? Do you need to have peace with yourself? Do you need to be more peaceful towards your husband, wife, family and others? Do you need to make your peace with God? You can when you ask the Prince of Peace to still every storm in your life and let His peace rule your heart and mind. Today receive the greatest gift of peace.  

On October 7 this year, the peace of small communities in Southern Israel was suddenly shattered when invading Hamas terrorists killed 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals in their homes and quiet neighbourhoods. Men, women, children and babies were butchered in the worst atrocities against Jewish people since the Holocaust.    Since then, a brutal war has raged with great devastation, resulting in great upheaval in Israel, thousands of deaths in Gaza and protests around the world. At the same time the brutal war in the Ukraine grinds on relentlessly having already claimed many thousands of lives.   Peace, without doubt, is one of the greatest needs of our world today. We need peace between nations and within nations. We need peace in communities, families and in countless individuals.   So many people are stressed and agitated today. You see it on the roads. You see it in shopping centres. You see it in schools. You see it in the workplace.   Bestselling author and pastor Rick Warren said: “I talk to thousands of people. I meet people who are active, who are busy, who are stressed, who are tired, who are ambitious and have great dreams, …I rarely meet people who are totally at peace... people who at peace with themselves, at peace with the world, ...people who are literally walking in peace. It's a rare quality.”  Are one of those rare people who are walking in peace or whether you are in serious need of peace. Is your mind overloaded right now? Can you ever switch off from thinking about problems and responsibilities? Is there stillness or a storm on the inside of you? Do you need God's Christmas gift of peace?  The good news is that that through Jesus you can have peace in all situations. 700 years before He was born, Jesus was described by the prophet Isaiah as ‘the Prince of Peace, Prince of Peace, of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end' (Isaiah 9:6-7).   When Jesus was born, the angels praised the Saviour who would bring peace to all who received Him (Luke 2:13). One of the central messages of Christmas and of Christianity is that Jesus Christ is the ultimate source of all true peace. Only He can bring real peace on earth. Because of the Prince of Peace:  1. You can know peace with yourself (John 14:27; Colossians 3:15; Philippians 4:6-7) 2. You can know peace with others (Hebrews 12:14; Galatians 3:26,28) 3. You can know peace with God (Romans 5:1, 6-9)  Apply  1. You can know peace with yourself. The peace of God is a peace that is strong and enduring. It stops our hearts being troubled and removes our fears (John 14:27). The Jewish word for peace is ‘shalom'. Shalom means well-being, harmony and serenity. The apostle Paul, who himself survived shipwreck and many other negative experiences, discovered how to have inner peace in all circumstances (Colossians 3:15; Philippians 4:6-7). How is this possible? Well the peace of God is not like a temporary and fragile human peace. It is a supernatural peace which defies logic and circumstances. It's a peace that literally stands guard like a soldier and it is interesting what it guards: your hearts and your minds. When our minds are attacked and our hearts are wounded we must learn to be quick to come to the Lord and receive His peace that steadies us and protects us. The Prince of Peace stands ready to give us peace within ourselves. Today whatever it is that is bringing unrest to your heart and mind, you need to know too that you can have peace with yourself.  2. You can know peace with others. You can know peace in every relationship (Hebrews 12:14).  - You can know peace in your marriage: A study has shown that January 8th is the busiest day of the year for divorce lawyers when up to one in five couples will enquire about divorce after the pressures of Christmas. But it doesn't have to be this way. When the Prince of peace come into your marriage, His presence will cause anger and bitterness to melt away. Instead of rows and tensions, you will come closer together with a new gentleness and love towards each other.  - You can know peace in your home: Sadly, today the home, instead of being a haven of peace, is more like a battle ground with visible or hidden conflict between children, parents and partners. Some families are so used to shouting, arguing and backchat that they think this is normal life. But this isn't God's plan for your home. You can all learn to appreciate each other. You can know new joy and peace in your family. You can laugh together and cry together and be there for one another. If your family is struggling right now, don't give up. God's peace can come to any home and it takes just one member of the home to have the peace and to speak peacefully for that peace to spread. - You can know peace with all people: The nearer we come to God the closer we can come to one another. All division and discrimination can be broken down when we have the peace and love of Christ hearts. As Christians we are called to live differently in a world of agitation, sexism, racism, and anti-Semitism and social, economic and political divisions. We are to have love and respect for all people. Everyone matters. Everyone is loved by God even though they may not walk with God (Galatians 3:26,28). So this is all very good news: when we discover the Prince of Peace, we ourselves can personally experience new peace.  3. You can know peace with God. Peace with God is the foundation for peace in every area of life. When you don't have peace with God it affects everything else. When your relationship with God is right everything else can line up right. When you get your relationship with God in order, all other relationships fall into place. One man who led a very wild and immoral life later became one of the great leaders and thinkers of the Christian church after turning from his sin and committing to follow Jesus. His name was Augustine and he told how he had hungered for inner peace. He finally concluded that: “our heart is restless until it rests in You." You too may have a God sized gap in your life. Maybe you never realised it or maybe you did and ran away from it. But either way making your peace with God is the biggest and best decision you will ever make in your life. The Bible teaches that not only that there is a God but also that Jesus alone can bring us into fellowship with God. Jesus came to restore peace between us and God. When He died the heavy curtain in the Temple in Jerusalem which separated unholy people from a holy God was torn in two from top to bottom. We have peace with God because of what Jesus has done for us (Romans 5:1). We can't make peace. He is the ultimate peacemaker. Jesus came to give his life to pay the price of our sins that separate us from God (Romans 5:6-9). Today is a moment for you to discover the Prince of Peace. Make your peace with God and enjoy the peace of God in your heart and mind and in every experience in life.  How much peace is there in your life? Do you need to have peace with yourself? Do you need to be more peaceful towards your husband, wife, family and others? Do you need to make your peace with God? You can when you ask the Prince of Peace to still every storm in your life and let His peace rule your heart and mind. Today receive the greatest gift of peace.  

One of the greatest lessons that we can learn from the Christmas story is that God wants you to live without fear and to go through life with faith and confidence. Overcoming fear is one of the major themes of the Bible. The Scriptures teach us that God wants us to trust in Him and receive His peace and comfort even in the most uncertain of times.    Fear is a universal human experience. We may have fears about our health, our families, our finances and our future. We may fear failure, we may fear what others think of us. And of course, we may fear many things that we see happening in the world around us whether it is increasing antisemitism, the rise of artificial intelligence, or wars such as we are witnessing in Ukraine and in Israel and Gaza.    It is no wonder that in 2020, as the world faced into the fears, lockdowns and hardships of the global Covid-19 pandemic, that the most shared, bookmarked, and highlighted verse on the YouVersion Bible App was Isaiah 41:10. In this verse God encourages us, “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”   As we reread the familiar Christmas story, we can see different individuals who are told not to fear. One of the very first scenes of the Christmas story found in Luke chapter 1 is about the dramatic encounter a priest named Zechariah had with the angel Gabriel in the temple in Jerusalem.    Zechariah was a religious and observant man. He was a priest who served regularly in the temple in Jerusalem. He was also from a respectable family line. Luke 1:6 says that Zechariah and Elizabeth, “Were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commands and decrees blamelessly. 7 But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.”      Zechariah was routinely performing his regular priestly duties inside the temple when he had a supernatural encounter that resulted in him moving from being very fearful to living a life of faith. Can you imagine what a shock he had when the angel Gabriel suddenly appeared and announced that late in life he's about to start a family?   Luke 1:12-13 tells us, “When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son.”   Well, maybe you too are gripped with fears in life. But through this teaching, God wants to break all fear off you and speak his words of promise and hope to you. Zechariah's experience teaches us that we can encounter God in unexpected ways and when we least expect it! So, what can we learn from Zechariah's encounter?:  1. You can live without fear even when you don't understand everything that is going on in life  2. You can live without fear even when you feel you are too old  3. You can live without fear because God hears your prayers  4. You can live without fear because you have a greater future than you have imagined  Apply  1. You can live without fear even when you don't understand everything that is going on in life. Zechariah found himself in a disorientating situation and he immediately tried to make sense of what was going on (Luke 1:18). Instead of immediately being excited, he responds with a question focussed on His circumstances. This shows how strong our fears and doubts can be when we are challenged to live our lives with faith. Notice also, his language. He manages to make it about himself and not God, saying “How can I?”, “I am old.” His religious confidence had drained, and he had been reduced to the bare bones human reality of his doubts. If we're honest, this is a question we ask a lot in life: How can I be sure of this? We ask a lot of questions that are often fear driven: Why is my life like this? How can I keep going? How can I see things change in my life? If you want to leave your fears behind you need to silence your doubts and be more comfortable in the uncomfortable life of faith. God's promises and plans are bigger and more powerful than your questions (Isaiah 55:8-9). Zechariah had to learn this lesson quickly to see the promise come to fruition. For Zechariah to see the miracle he had to stop speaking out his doubts and know God had already answered his prayers and start believing God's promise (Luke 1:19-20). Think about your life and your words. How quick are you to voice your questions and doubts? Questions are part of the journey of faith but if we want to move in faith and see the miracles, we need to stop speaking out our doubts and start trusting the Word of God. Once Zechariah stopped voicing his doubts and became obedient to the promise, the miracle happened (Luke 1:23-24). This Christmas is time to silence the doubts and live without fear even when you don't understand everything that is going on in your life. Zechariah had to be patient to see the miracle. He had to be still and trust God. Often it is in the time of waiting where we truly learn to trust God, it's where we come to a new level of humility and learn to rest in Him, His ways and His timing (Luke 1:57-58). Zechariah learned his lesson about the power of coming into agreement with God. Previously, when he had received God's word, he responded with questions. Now he responded with faith and lined up with the promise he had received (Luke 1:59-64). When we come into agreement with God, we come into a new season of freedom where we can witness God's miracles and can testify to the great things God can do and has done in our lives. So this is one very big lesson to learn that you can live without fear even when you don't need to understand everything in life. Just learn to trust God, believe His promise and see how God will move powerfully in your life.    2. You can live without fear even when you feel you are too old. Zechariah and Elizabeth were old. Actually, not just old, they were very old (Luke 1:6-7). Things in life hadn't worked out as they'd planned but God still wanted them to live by faith and not fear. Are you old or do you feel old? As David Cameron said in his final Prime Minister's questions “I was the future once.” Maybe that's how you feel! Well in today's youth culture, people can feel old even in their 20s and 30s. Life goes by very quickly. But you are not too old. However old or young you are, God has a purpose for your life and every day is a gift to live and not fear (Psalms 92:14-15). Sometimes we set very clear expectations of what should happen when in life and when it doesn't work like that we get discouraged and think life has passed us by. But we cannot let circumstance or age be our cage. We need to live with faith and not fear! You may be just going about your business, going through the motions, feeling like things have passed you by but God still wants to do great miracles in your life. This Christmas whatever your age or stage of life, be encouraged by Zechariah's story and live a life of faith and not fear.    3. You can live without fear because God hears your prayers. This was the case with Zechariah. The Bible describes him as a righteous man and encourages him that God has heard his prayers (James 5:16). God hears us when we are broken, He hears us when we are lost in our sin and crying for help and He hears when we are doing our best trying to follow Him (Luke 1:13). Maybe you need to hear these same words this Christmas: “Do not be afraid; your prayer has been heard.” This story speaks to us about God's faithfulness and how when God is with us, we do not to be full of fear and can rest in the knowledge that He hears and answers our prayers. This Christmas be encouraged that prayer is powerful. You may feel lost, intimidated or alone but when you open your heart to God and share from your heart, He hears you (Psalm 145:18; John 14:13-14). Make time to pray this Christmas. Spend time with God. Learn to cherish your prayer time and nourish yourself in the Word of God. Trust Him. He is with you, He is working. Rest in Him and know God is faithful. Be confident in God's promise. Be confident that He is listening to you when you prayerfully seek Him.   4. You can live without fear because you have a greater future than you have imagined. Zechariah never imagined what was coming when he stepped inside the temple (Luke 1 :11-13). He had no idea that not only was he going to have a son, but his son was going to be John the Baptist anointed to prepare the way for Jesus the promised Messiah. The account parallels and sets the stage for the subsequent announcement of Jesus' birth to Mary, also by the angel Gabriel. We then see how Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and a spirit of praise and thanksgiving (Luke 1:68-79). He thanks God that He is with them (v68); he thanks God for salvation (v69-71); he thanks God for HIs faithfulness (v72-73); he thanks God for protection (v74-75); he starts to look at his future with faith and realises great things are ahead (v76-79). God also wants you to experience his goodness, so you too can live full of praise and thanks in your life, your family, your finances, your health! You can live without fear because it is true you can have a greater future than you have imagined! Today is your day to be free from fear and come into every blessing God has for you. 

Ronit came from a religious but non-Christian family. Their discussions about spiritual matters were dry and academic. “I kept praying all the prayers,” she said, “but I wasn’t hearing [from God].” She began to study the Bible. Slowly, steadily, she inched toward faith in Jesus as the Messiah. Ronit describes the defining moment: “I heard a clear voice in my heart saying, ‘You’ve heard enough. You’ve seen enough. It’s time to just believe.’ ” But Ronit faced a problem: her father. “My dad was like Mount Vesuvius erupted,” she recalls. When Jesus walked this earth, crowds followed Him (Luke 14:25). We don’t’ know exactly what they were looking for, but He was looking for disciples. And that comes with a cost. “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple,” He said (v. 26). He told a story about building a tower. “Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost?” He asked (v. 28). Jesus’ point wasn’t that we’re to literally hate family; rather, it’s that we must choose Him over everything else. He said, “You who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples” (v. 33). Ronit loves her family deeply, yet she concluded, “Whatever the cost, I figured it’s worth it.” What might you need to give up to follow Jesus as He guides You?

We have learned so much from the life of this enigmatic saviour, Samson. Now we hit the one story for which he seems most famous. Why is that? Why are we so intrigued by the love and manipulation of this mighty man? And is this just a bit of a forbidden titillation that snuck into our Bibles, or does it have something to teach us about Jesus Christ? After all, didn't Jesus Himself say that all the Scriptures were pointing to Him (Luke 24:27)?

Anchored in the Word Morning Reflection- Season 2 Episode 189- A Properly Ordered Prayer Life- Dependent on Him- Luke 11-1-4 -anchordintheword -morningreflections -prayer

Divine Love: Exploring the Parable of the Prodigal SonPicture yourself at the end of a long journey, walking on a road you've known your whole life. You left home a long time ago, and you've experienced much in the world, but nothing seems to satisfy the longing for home. So, you decide to return. How would your father greet you? With a stern face and a long list of chores to compensate for your absence? Or with open arms and a feast to celebrate your return? Our scripture today is Luke 15:20 (NIV), "But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him."The parable of the Prodigal Son is a story Jesus told to illustrate God's love for us, but its depth and significance are often overlooked. **1. Love That Allows Freedom:** In the beginning, the younger son asked for his share of the estate and left home. The father didn't stop him but allowed him to exercise his free will (Luke 15:12). The father's love was not controlling, just like God does not force us to love Him but allows us to choose.**2. Love That Waits and Watches:** Despite his son's poor choices, the father never stopped waiting for his return (Luke 15:20). The father's heart mirrored God's heart for us. Even when we stray, He is constantly watching for our return.**3. Love That Restores:** When the son returned, the father restored him fully as a son and celebrated his return. This signifies God's forgiveness and restoration despite our past mistakes (Luke 15:22-24).**4. Love That Is Inclusive:** The father's love was not only for the prodigal son but also for the older son who was always with him. God's love is inclusive, not exclusive, extending to all who come to Him (Luke 15:28-32).The French novelist Victor Hugo once wrote, "The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved; loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves." Let's pray:"Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your unfathomable love towards us. You are a good, good Father, who is patient, forgiving, and just. Lord, thank You for waiting for us, even when we stray, and for celebrating our return. Help us to understand the depth of Your love, to accept it, and to show it to others. We ask this in Jesus' name, Amen."As you leave this place, may you be enveloped in the profound love of the Father, who sees you, knows you, and loves you unconditionally. May this understanding transform you, and may you extend this same love to those you meet. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Definition of Salvation in the Old Testament      The most common word for salvation in the Hebrew OT is yasha (sometimes as yeshuah) which means “deliverance, rescue, salvation, also safety, [and] welfare.”[1] God is said to deliver His people from military attacks (2 Sam 22:3-4; 1 Ch 16:35; Psa 3:6-8), fear (Psa 34:4), troubles (Psa 34:17), or physical death (Psa 56:13).[2] Earl Radmacher notes, “Often the words save and salvation refer to physical not spiritual deliverance. This is especially true in the Old Testament. People were ‘saved' (rescued or delivered) from enemies on the battlefield (Deut 20:4), from the lion's mouth (Dan 6:20), and from the wicked (Psa 59:2).”[3] According to Charles Ryrie: "The most important Hebrew root word related to salvation in the Old Testament is yasha. Originally it meant to be roomy or broad in contrast to narrowness or oppression. Thus it signifies freedom from what binds or restricts, and it came to mean deliverance, liberation, or giving width and breadth to something. Sometimes this deliverance came through the agency of man (e.g., through judges, Judg 2:18; 6:14; 8:22; or kings, 1 Sam 23:2), and sometimes through the agency of Yahweh (Pss 20:6; 34:6; Isa 61:10; Ezek 37:23). Sometimes salvation is individual (Psa 86:1–2) and sometimes corporate, that is, of the nation (Isa 12:2, though all the world will share in it, Isa 45:22; 49:6)."[4]      Yahweh is repeatedly referred to as the “the God of my salvation” (Psa 18:46; cf., Psa 25:5; 27:9; 51:14; 88:1; Isa 12:2; 17:10; Mic 7:7; Hab 3:18), and Jonah said, “Salvation is from the LORD” (Jon 2:9). In helpless situations, only God could save His people (Isa 43:11; cf., Isa 45:5-7, 22), and He saved them primarily for His own glory and reputation, as the psalmist states, “He saved them for the sake of His name, that He might make His power known” (Psa 106:8).      When delivering His people from a military threat, there were times when God called His people to do nothing, but watch Him fight their battles (2 Ch 20:17; Hos 1:7). When Israel left Egypt and Pharaoh's army pursued them, Moses told the people, “Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation [yeshuah] of the LORD which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever. The LORD will fight for you while you keep silent” (Ex 14:13-14). Here, the Lord fought alone, killing the Egyptian soldiers who were pursuing His people for the purpose of killing them (see Ex 14:22-31). However, there were times when God required His people to take up arms and engage their enemy, and in those moments He would fight with them, ensuring their victory. For example, when Israel was to enter the land of Canaan, Moses told the people, “the LORD your God is the one who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save [yasha] you” (Deut 20:4). As Israel's army fought the wicked Canaanites, God would be with them to secure their victory. And David, when standing against Goliath, said, “the battle is the LORD'S and He will give you into our hands” (1 Sam 17:47), and then he picked up his sling and a stone and struck his enemy with a mortal blow (1 Sam 17:48-49). God brought salvation through David, His servant. Liefeld states, “Although military leaders and others bring salvation in specific circumstances, ultimately it is God alone who is the true Savior. Israel had to learn not to trust human wisdom or military strength but to recognize God as the only source of deliverance.”[5] Solomon states the matter well, saying, “The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but victory belongs to the LORD” (Prov 21:31). Today, we might say, the soldier is to train well and keep his weapons clean, ready for action, but always realize it is ultimately God who gives the victory.      When God rescued His people from danger, it was often followed with a natural expression of worship to Him. According to Hartley: "Singing gives expression to the joy attending God's salvation. Joy is frequently mentioned as man's inner response to God's victory (e.g., Psa 13:5). Further those who have received Yahweh's help feel compelled to share it with others; “I have not hid thy saving help within my heart, I have spoken of thy faithfulness and thy salvation” (Psa 40:10). Thus God's salvation fills life with meaning and joy."[6]      There was also a spiritual and eternal salvation for individuals who placed their faith in God. For example, in Genesis 15:6, we're informed that Abram “believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness” (Gen 15:6). Henry Morris states, “Here is the great principle of true salvation, set forth for the first time in the Bible. Not by works do men attain or manifest righteousness, but by faith. Because they believe in the Word of God, He credits them with perfect righteousness and therefore enables sinful men to be made fit for the fellowship of a holy God.”[7] And Ryrie adds, “Faith was the necessary condition for salvation in the Old Testament as well as in the New. Abraham believed in the Lord, and the Lord counted it to him for righteousness (Gen 15:6). The Hebrew prefix beth indicates that Abraham confidently rested his faith on God (cf. Ex 14:31; Jon 3:5).”[8] Definition of Salvation in the New Testament      The concept of salvation in the NT derives from three words. First is the word sozo (verb), which refers to the act of physical deliverance in some biblical passages (Matt 8:25; 14:30; Mark 13:20; Luke 6:9; John 11:12; Acts 27:20, 31), and spiritual deliverance in others (Luke 7:50; 19:10; John 12:47; 1 Cor 1:21; Tit 3:5). As to our spiritual deliverance, we are saved from the penalty of sin (Rom 8:1, 33-34; Eph 2:8-9), the power of sin (Rom 6:11; Col 3:5), and ultimately the presence of sin (Phil 3:20-21; 1 John 3:2, 5). Second is the word soter (noun), which means Savior, and refers to the agent of salvation, the one who rescues or delivers another from harm or danger (Luke 2:11; John 4:42; Acts 5:31; 13:23; Eph 5:23; Phil 3:20). Third is soteria (noun), which refers to the provision of salvation, rescue, or deliverance brought by another (Luke 1:69; 19:9; John 4:22; Acts 7:25; 13:26, 47; Rom 1:16; 2 Cor 1:6; 6:2; Eph 1:13; Phil 1:28; 2:12; 2 Tim 2:10; Heb 1:14; 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5, 9; 2 Pet 3:15).      The Greek words in the NT communicate the basic meaning of yasha in the Hebrew OT. Radmacher notes, “In the New Testament the verb sōzō (“to save”) and the nouns sōtēr (“Savior”) and sōtēria (“salvation”) parallel the Hebrew word and its derivatives. Thus the Old Testament concept of deliverance is carried over to the New Testament.”[9] Ryrie agrees, saying: "In both the Septuagint and the New Testament the Greek verb sōzō and its cognates sōtēr and sōtēria usually translate yasha˒ and its respective nouns. However, a number of times the sōzō group translates shalom, peace or wholeness, and its cognates. Thus salvation can mean cure, recovery, remedy, rescue, redemption, or welfare. This can be related to preservation from danger, disease, or death (Matt 9:22; Acts 27:20, 31, 34; Heb 5:7)."[10] Earl Radmacher adds: "A number of times, however, sōtēria translates síālôm (“peace” or “wholeness”), which broadens the idea of rescue or deliverance to include recovery, safety, and preservation. There is a progression in these concepts: (a) rescue from imminent and life-threatening danger to (b) a place of safety and security and (c) a position of wholeness and soundness. The narrowness and restriction created by danger is replaced by the “breadth” of liberation in salvation. Visualize a person on the Titanic facing the imminent expectation of drowning and death, but then being placed in a lifeboat. That is rescue. Then picture the person now in the lifeboat removed from danger and death. That is safety. Now picture an ocean liner coming alongside the lifeboat and hoisting it and its passengers aboard ship. Now they enjoy security and soundness of mind. All three ideas are included in the biblical concept of salvation."[11]      The majority of usages of salvation in the NT refer to physical healing or deliverance from what injures, restricts, or threatens harm. For example, when Jesus was traveling between Samaria and Galilee, He healed ten men of leprosy (Luke 17:11-14), and when one of them returned to thank Him (Luke 17:15-16), He told the man, “your faith has made you well [sozo]” (Luke 17:19). In this context, the Greek verb sozo refers to physical deliverance from an infirmity. On another occasion, when Jesus was approaching the city of Jericho, a blind man called out for Jesus to have mercy on him (Luke 18:35-41), and Jesus healed the man, saying, “Receive your sight; your faith has made you well [sozo]” (Luke 18:42). Again, this refers to physical healing. An example of deliverance from physical danger is observed when Jesus came to His disciples when they were on a stormy sea (Matt 14:22-27). When Peter saw Jesus walking on the water, he called out to the Lord and asked to come to Him (Matt 14:28-29). However, as Peter was walking on the water, He took his eyes off Jesus and began looking at the stormy wind, and “he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, ‘Lord, save me! [sozo]'” (Matt 14:30). Peter was not asking for forgiveness of sins and the gift of eternal life; rather, he was asking Jesus to save him from physical harm as he sinking into the sea. Earl Radmacher states: "When the New Testament uses save and salvation to refer to physical deliverance, those instances are more individual than national. Also the New Testament occurrences suggest not only rescue but also remedy and recovery. A graphic example of rescue from imminent death is God's sparing Paul's life in the shipwreck on his way to Rome (Acts 27:20, 31, 34). This case is of special interest in that God promised deliverance in advance (Acts 27:23–24), and Paul confidently moved ahead on those promises (Acts 27:25, 34). In a physical sense salvation refers to being taken from danger to safety (Phil 1:19), from disease to health (Jam 5:15), and from death to life (Jam 5:20)."[12]      Often, as Christians, we think of salvation in the spiritual sense, in which we are delivered from our sins and made right with God because of the finished work of Christ on the cross. As believers, we have been “reconciled to God through the death of His Son” (Rom 5:10). We have been made spiritually alive, and “born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Pet 1:3). We should realize our salvation appears in three tenses. Chafer states: "In its broadest significance, the doctrine of salvation includes every divine undertaking for the believer from his deliverance out of the lost estate to his final presentation in glory conformed to the image of Christ. Since the divine objective is thus all-inclusive, the theme is divided naturally into three tenses: (a) The Christian was saved when he believed (Luke 7:50; Acts 16:30–31; 1 Cor 1:18; 2 Cor 2:15; Eph 2:8; 2 Tim 1:9). This past-tense aspect of it is the essential and unchanging fact of salvation. At the moment of believing, the saved one is completely delivered from his lost estate, cleansed, forgiven, justified, born of God, clothed in the merit of Christ, freed from all condemnation, and safe for evermore. (b) The believer is being saved from the dominion of sin (Rom 6:1–14; 8:2; 2 Cor 3:18; Gal 2:20; 4:19; Phil 1:19; 2:12; 2 Th 2:13). In this second tense of salvation the believer is being divinely preserved and sanctified. (c) The believer is yet to be saved from the presence of sin when presented faultless in glory (Rom 13:11; 1 Th 5:8; Heb 1:14; 9:28; 1 Pet 1:3–5; 1 John 3:1–3). To this may be added other passages which, each in turn, present all three tenses or aspects of salvation—1 Corinthians 1:30; Philippians 1:6; Ephesians 5:25–27; 1 Thessalonians 1:9–10; Titus 2:11–13."[13]      Our salvation is entirely the work of God through Christ (John 3:16), who took our sin upon Himself on the cross and paid the penalty for it, having been judged in our place; “For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God” (1 Pet 3:18). And this salvation is found exclusively in Christ, for “there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). One needs only Christ to be saved. Concerning the word salvation, Ryrie notes, “the word usage does not begin to fathom all that the biblical revelation declares about salvation. Other concepts like sacrifice, redemption, reconciliation, propitiation, and justification are vital to a full understanding of the doctrine.”[14] Dr. Steven R. Cook ----------------------------------   [1] Francis Brown, Samuel Rolles Driver and Charles Augustus Briggs, Enhanced Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon, electronic ed. (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, 2000), 447. [2] For other Hebrew words, see W. L. Liefeld, “Salvation,” The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised, vol. 4, (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1979–1988), p. 289. [3] Earl Radmacher, eds. Charles R. Swindoll and Roy B. Zuck, “Salvation”, Understanding Christian Theology (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2003), 806. [4] Charles Caldwell Ryrie, Basic Theology: A Popular Systematic Guide to Understanding Biblical Truth (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1999), 321. [5] W. L. Liefeld, “Salvation,” ed. Geoffrey W. Bromiley, The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised, vol. 4 (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1979–1988), 289. [6] John E. Hartley, “929 יָשַׁע,” ed. R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (Chicago: Moody Press, 1999), 416. [7] Henry M. Morris, The Genesis Record: A Scientific and Devotional Commentary on the Book of Beginnings (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1976), 325. [8] Charles Caldwell Ryrie, Basic Theology, 321. [9] Earl Radmacher, eds. Charles R. Swindoll and Roy B. Zuck, “Salvation” Understanding Christian Theology (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2003), 805. [10] Charles Caldwell Ryrie, Basic Theology, 321–322. [11] Earl Radmacher, eds. Charles R. Swindoll and Roy B. Zuck, “Salvation”, Understanding Christian Theology, 805–806. [12] Earl Radmacher, eds. Charles R. Swindoll and Roy B. Zuck, “Salvation”, Understanding Christian Theology, 806. [13] Lewis Sperry Chafer, Systematic Theology, vol. 3 (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1993), 6. [14] Charles Caldwell Ryrie, Basic Theology, 321–322.

Raj had trusted Jesus as Savior in his youth, but soon afterward, he drifted from the faith and led a life apart from God. Then one day, he made the decision to renew his faith in Jesus and go back to church—only to be scolded by a woman who berated him for being absent for all these years. The scolding added to Raj’s sense of shame and guilt for his years of drifting. Am I beyond hope? he wondered. Then he recalled how Jesus had restored Simon Peter even though he had denied Him (Luke 22:34, 60–61). Whatever scolding Peter might have expected, all he received was forgiveness and restoration. Jesus didn’t even mention Peter’s denial but instead gave him a chance to reaffirm his love and take care of His followers (John 21:15–17). Jesus’ words before Peter disowned Him were being fulfilled: “When you have turned back, strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:32). Raj asked God for that same forgiveness and restoration, and today he is not only walking closely with Jesus but serving in a church and supporting other believers as well. No matter how far we’ve strayed from God, He’s always ready not only to forgive us and welcome us back but also to restore us so we can love, serve, and glorify Him. We’re never too far from God: His loving arms are wide open.

This sermon was preached at New Testament Christian Fellowship in Claremont, NC on February 5, 2023. The focus of this message is the LAST PROMISE found in the Holy Scriptures, the very last of more than 3,500 Bible promises. These last words of promise are also the last red letter words of the New Testament, and they hearken to the substance of the Bible's very first promise found in Genesis 3:15. The Bible's first promise affirms the seed of the woman is coming. in the Bible's last promise, the seed of the women affirms, “Surely, I come quickly.” The last promise of the Bible shouts loudly that God hasn't forgotten the very first promise of the Bible. How then should we respond in these dark days when it seems the Lord bears long with us? Cry out to Him (Luke 18:7-8). Watch (Mark 13:31-37). Occupy (Luke 19:11-13). Stand in the gap for the land (Ezekiel 22:30-31). Be willing to stand alone (2 Samuel 23:8-12). Anchor yourself (Hebrews 6:13-20). God's promises, first and last and everything in between, are truly an anchor for the soul.

The Lord's Prayer: Give Us This Day our Daily BreadGary Sager THEME – “Give us this day our daily bread.” Matthew 6:11TEXT - Matthew 6:5-13FOCUS: Our Heavenly Father 1. Pray to the Father about His Name “Hallowed be your name” 2. Pray to the Father about His Kingdom “Your kingdom come” 3. Pray to the Father about His Will “Your will be done” FOCUS: ‘Us' and ‘Our' 1. Pray for Provision “Give us this day our daily bread” (Present)2. Pray for Pardon “Forgive us our debts” (Past)3. Pray for Protection “Lead us not into temptation” (Future)FOUR THINGS that this prayer/petition will do for us: 1. Acknowledge Our Dependence - “Give” 2. Deepen Our Compassion - “Us & Our” 3. Affirm God's Faithfulness for Today - “This Day”  * Therefore, I tell you do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink nor about your body, what you will put on. Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet, your Heavenly Father feeds them (Matt 6:25-26).4. Grow Our Gratitude - “Daily Bread” HEART OF THE MATTER (Bread of Life) Like so many other things in the Bible, the physical is just a shadow of the real John 6:32-35 - Jesus is the bread of life, the true manna sent from heaven, God's ultimate provision for our lives. We need bread daily to live, but we need Christ daily to truly live.  We need His life in us. We need to pick our crosses daily and follow Him (Luke 9:23) Jesus is our true “daily bread.” Support the show________________________________FACEBOOK @cedarhillscommunitychurchINSTAGRAM @cedarhillscrTWITTER @cedarhillscrWEB www.cedarhillscr.org

The Lord's Prayer: Give Us This Day our Daily Bread Gary Sager THEME – “Give us this day our daily bread.” Matthew 6:11 TEXT - Matthew 6:5-13FOCUS: Our Heavenly Father 1. Pray to the Father about His Name “Hallowed be your name” 2. Pray to the Father about His Kingdom “Your kingdom come” 3. Pray to the Father about His Will “Your will be done” FOCUS: ‘Us' and ‘Our' 1. Pray for Provision “Give us this day our daily bread” (Present)2. Pray for Pardon “Forgive us our debts” (Past)3. Pray for Protection “Lead us not into temptation” (Future)FOUR THINGS that this prayer/petition will do for us: 1. Acknowledge Our Dependence - “Give” 2. Deepen Our Compassion - “Us & Our” 3. Affirm God's Faithfulness for Today - “This Day” * Therefore, I tell you do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink nor about your body, what you will put on. Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet, your Heavenly Father feeds them (Matt 6:25-26).4. Grow Our Gratitude - “Daily Bread” HEART OF THE MATTER (Bread of Life) * Like so many other things in the Bible, the physical is just a shadow of the real * John 6:32-35 - Jesus is the bread of life, the true manna sent from heaven, God's ultimate provision for our lives. We need bread daily to live, but we need Christ daily to truly live. * We need His life in us. We need to pick our crosses daily and follow Him (Luke 9:23) * Jesus is our true “daily bread.”

Wednesday, 11 January 2023   “He was seen for many days by those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are His witnesses to the people. Acts 13:31   The last verse contained the most wonderful words ever recorded. Paul had told those in the synagogue, “But God raised Him from the dead.” Wonderful words of victory, indeed! Now, he continues with what occurred after that, saying, “He was seen for many days.”   Paul bears conviction in his words. Even though he did not personally share in the events he now conveys to those in the synagogue, he had seen the risen Lord and knew that what he had been told by those who saw Jesus after the resurrection was true. The “many days” Paul refers to is explicitly stated by Luke as he opened the book of Acts –   “The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, 2 until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, 3 to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.” Acts 1:1-3   Paul next states who those were who were blessed to share in these post-resurrection events, saying that it was “by those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem.”   Paul's words focus on the apostles. It is true that the women saw Him immediately after the resurrection and many others did as well. In fact, Paul expands on these events in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 –   “For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. 6 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. 7 After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. 8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.”   As these things are stated as a fact in 1 Corinthians, one might wonder why he focuses on “those who came up with Him from Galilee.” The answer is found in this same paragraph –   “Men and brethren, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to you the word of this salvation has been sent. 27 For those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they did not know Him, nor even the voices of the Prophets which are read every Sabbath, have fulfilled them in condemning Him. 28 And though they found no cause for death in Him, they asked Pilate that He should be put to death. 29 Now when they had fulfilled all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb.”  Acts 13:26-29   The events that occurred in the rejection and crucifixion were led by those in Jerusalem and by the rulers of the nation. But they were the stewards of the law. As they chose to reject the One who had fulfilled their law and enacted a New Covenant, Christ revealed Himself after the resurrection to those who had been appointed to administer this New Covenant. It is the same theme found throughout Scripture: Law vs. Grace.   Jerusalem, emblematic of the law, was now to be replaced by a new form of worship –   “The woman said to Him, ‘Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.' 21 Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.'” John 4:19-24   This new form of worship was to enter not merely as a physical location (meaning at a temple in Jerusalem), and yet it was to include a kingdom, nonetheless. In Luke 22, Jesus participated in the Passover. There it notes that His twelve apostles were with Him (Luke 22:14). Later in the chapter, it says –   “But you are those who have continued with Me in My trials. 29 And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me, 30 that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” Luke 22:28-30   It is these (minus Judas who hung himself) that Paul focuses on in his words to those in the synagogue. The apostles had a message to convey. As for the audience now, they were of Israel, and they had a choice to make, just as those in Jerusalem and their rules had. It is these who were appointed to herald this New Covenant, and “who are His witnesses to the people.”   Someone had to tell what Christ Jesus had done. Those in Jerusalem rejected Him, but those who continued with Him in His trials did not. They would be the ones to judge Israel. As for the direction Paul and those with him were set to take, that will be referred to later in this chapter, specifically in verse 13:47.   Life application: There is no contradiction in the idea of those who come to Jesus, worshipping in spirit and truth while at the same time a kingdom that will be judged by the twelve apostles will also be set up. The nation of Israel is not the entirety of what God is doing. The New Covenant allows for the inclusion of Gentiles, but the nation of Israel still has messianic prophecies that are to be fulfilled in the millennium.   As such, there is one New Covenant that is based upon a single gospel. How God structures things within that New Covenant is entirely different than what existed under the Law of Moses. Just because Israel will be at the head of the nations someday, that has no bearing on how the gospel is now received. Any who come to Christ, Jew or Gentile, must do so through faith in what He has done, as is revealed in the gospel mentioned in 1st Corinthians 15 above. As Paul says in that same chapter while speaking of Peter and the others, “Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed” (1 Corinthians 15:11).   Hear the gospel! Accept what it says through faith! Believe and be saved! Call on Jesus today!   Glorious Heavenly Father, how good it is that You have opened the door for the whole world to be saved through the work of Jesus Christ. Those who were never under law are brought into the commonwealth of Israel. And those of Israel who believe are brought out from under the law. All are saved by Your grace through faith in the finished, final, and forever work of Jesus Christ our Lord. Thank You for the gospel, O God! Amen.   

The Barker family Christmas video was perfect. Three robe-clad shepherds (the family’s young sons) huddled around a fire in a grassy field. Suddenly an angel descended from the hilltop—their big sister, looking resplendent, except for the pink high-top sneakers. As the soundtrack swelled, the shepherds stared skyward in amazement. A trek across a field led them to a real baby—their infant brother in a modern barn. Big sister now played the role of Mary. Then came the “bonus features,” when their dad let us peek behind the scenes. Whiny kids complained, “I’m cold.” “I have to go to the bathroom right now!” “Can we go home?” “Guys, pay attention,” said their mom more than once. Reality was far from Christmas-card perfect. It’s easy to view the original Christmas story through the lens of a well-edited final cut. But from start to finish, Jesus’ life was anything but smooth. A jealous Herod tried to kill Him in infancy (Matthew 2:13). Mary and Joseph misunderstood Him (Luke 2:41–50). The world hated Him (John 7:7). For a time, even His brothers didn’t believe in Him (7:5). His mission led to a grisly death. He did it all to honor His Father and rescue us. The Barkers’ Christmas video ended with these words of Jesus: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). That’s a reality we can live with—forever.

Nothing From Nothing Leaves NothingIn 1974, Billy Preston, affectionally known as the fifth Beatle, had one of his major hits with the song “Nothing from Nothing,” which reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for one week in October of that year. There was not much substance to the lyrics of his song, just a catchy phrase and an upbeat melody, but the overriding message of the title still rings true today. If you put nothing in, you'll get nothing out. There is no free ride, no free lunch. Success doesn't just happen, it's the result of hard work. Nothing is ever truly free, it always costs someone, something. Same is true in our spiritual lives. Even the free gift of salvation cost Christ His life. Jesus said we must deny ourselves, pick up our cross daily, in order to follow Him (Luke 9:23). Likewise, in the wilderness where God provided manna to feed His children for forty years, He still required them to get off their backsides and go out each morning and pick it up. God didn't employ Door Dash to foster their laziness. We see God's admonitions against the lazy and slothful throughout the Proverbs. Let's take this passage, for example. The soul of a lazy man desires and has nothing; but the soul of the diligent shall be made rich – Proverbs 13:4. And, as usual, we need to understand what the verse says before we can determine what it means. The soul (nep̱eš – the inner being with its thoughts and emotions, breath, the entire person, the seat of one's personality, their mind, will, passions, and volition, everything that makes them who they are) of a lazy man (ʿāṣēl – sluggish, slothful, useless, someone who will always fail because of laziness that becomes moral failure, a person who is undisciplined to work or exert himself) desires (ʾāwāh – to want strongly, to long for, to crave) and has nothing (ʾayin – none, no, not, nothing, nonexistence, without. Note: “he hates the process by which results are to be obtained”); but (conjunction, contrast) the soul (nep̱eš – the inner being with its thoughts and emotions, breath, the entire person, the seat of one's personality, their mind, will, passions, and volition, everything that makes them who they are) of the diligent (ḥārûṣ – sharp, industrious, a person who is characterized by care and perseverance in carrying out tasks. Note: diligence is not satisfied with desire, but with possession) shall be made rich (dāšēn – to be satisfied, to grow fat, having an abundance, thrive, to be made prosperous, to be richly supplied). So what is this passage saying? And what lessons can we take home from the life of a lazy, slothful, sluggard? What Can We Learn from a Lazy Man?Looking elsewhere in Proverbs, we find the lazy man will begin nothing. He is content to live in whatever squalor his apathy and laziness provide. He has no internal motivation to better himself other than the growl in his belly and will work only long enough to silence it for one day. What a sad state of a human being, especially a Christian. How long will you slumber, O sluggard? (No answer) When will you rise from your sleep? (Again, he doesn't know) A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep— so shall your poverty come on you like a prowler, and your need like an armed man – Proverbs 6:9-11. We also discover that, if on a wild whim, the lazy man actually begins something, he will never finish it. Just beginning zaps all his energy and drive and whatever impulse prompted him to start, it is never enough to see the task to completion. The lazy man does not roast what he took in hunting, but diligence is man's precious possession – Proverbs 12:27. He works to accomplish something and then lets it spoil because he is too tired or too lazy to finish what he began. A lazy man buries his hand in the bowl, and...

To live for earthly things “is vanity and a striving after wind,” and work that is driven by such vanity “is an unhappy business” (Ecclesiastes 1:13–14). The man who lives like that has nothing to show for “all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun … all his days are full of sorrow” (Ecclesiastes 2:22–23). So, too, your “covetousness, which is idolatry” (Colossians 3:5), makes a god out of that which cannot give you life or happiness. For “one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15). But “Christ who is your life” (Colossians 3:4), in giving you Himself, gives you all the wealth of heaven. Instead of striving to lay up treasures for yourself, be “rich toward God” in Him (Luke 12:21).

To live for earthly things “is vanity and a striving after wind,” and work that is driven by such vanity “is an unhappy business” (Eccl. 1:13–14). The man who lives like that has nothing to show for “all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun … all his days are full of sorrow” (Eccl. 2:22–23). So, too, your “covetousness, which is idolatry” (Col. 3:5), makes a god out of that which cannot give you life or happiness. For “one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15). But “Christ who is your life” (Col. 3:4), in giving you Himself, gives you all the wealth of heaven. Instead of striving to lay up treasures for yourself, be “rich toward God” in Him (Luke 12:21).---- Visit our website: https://www.trinitysheboygan.org/​​​​Trinity Lutheran Church, School and Child Care have been "Making Known the Love of Christ" in Sheboygan, Wisconsin and throughout the world since 1853 as a congregation gathering around God's Word and Sacraments to receive forgiveness and life everlasting. Trinity is located in downtown Sheboygan, only one block from the Mead Public Library and the Weill Center for the Performing Arts. We invite you to visit us in person!Trinity Lutheran Sheboygan is a proud member of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Visit their website: https://www.lcms.org/​​​​Music for this production was obtained through a licensing agreement with One License, LLC. The copyright permission to reprint, podcast, and record hymns and songs is acquired through ID Number: 730195-ASupport the show

Do you ever have those days when you try to pray, but it seems like God just isn't listening? What can we do when those moments come? We might be tempted to give up in despair, or we can choose to push through and keep seeking. I encourage you: be a seeker! God's Word has plenty to say about seeking—and for good reason. We all go through times when it seems like God is closing His ears to our cries. I think we need to be reminded to keep seeking Him—instead of just focusing on our feelings or our circumstances. In Psalm 105, the psalmist urges us to praise the Lord and tell others what He has done. When we glory in His name, our hearts can let go of the things that trouble us. We can rejoice as we seek Him, no matter what surrounds us. This psalm reminds us to “look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always” (verse 4). Psalm 119 urges us to keep God's commands and seek Him with all our hearts. We may not always feel God's presence, but we can still choose to seek Him and obey Him regardless of how we feel. One of the main ways God reveals Himself to us is through the Bible. He invites us to hide His Word in our hearts and meditate on His ways. When we open His Word, we can pray along with the psalmist, “Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law” (verse 18). God loves to answer this prayer, and He longs for us to come close to Him (Luke 13:34). Many people like to quote Jeremiah 29:11, when God speaks to His people exiled in Babylon, saying, “For I know the plans I have for you...plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” However, the following verses are also powerful: “Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you” (verses 12-14). God promises that, when we come to Him, He will listen to us. When we seek Him, we will find Him. Jesus echoes this amazing promise in Luke 11 when He says, “Seek and you will find” (verse 9). And then, only four chapters later in Luke 15, Jesus tells three parables about how God seeks us. When you feel like you just can't seek anymore, think about how God seeks after you and pursues you. He never gives up. He is always waiting for you with open arms. • Savannah Coleman • How might reflecting on God's passion for you give you the courage to seek after Him? “For the Son of Man [Jesus] came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:10 (NIV)

Luke's gospel contains a unique resurrection account. Two disciples saw and talked with the risen Savior on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35). Their testimony is the centerpiece of Luke's resurrection story! Jesus first appears to these disciples as a total stranger. This is because they were “prevented” in some way from recognizing Him (Luke […]

So America bills June as a "Pride" month. I am not sure when it started. I do not pay attention it at all. But as time passes, its activities are becoming more and more visible. You can't go to a bank or a coffee shop without bumping into some proud weirdo gawping at you. In it, everyone is supposed to accept and celebrate one sin. A sin of fornication. You see rainbow flags flying all over the place. Even American embassies around the world are ordered to fly the thing. People go to work in bizarre outfits and hair dos. Schools promote "drug queen" reading hour to small children (I call that a drag queen grooming hour). It is a dark month in America. once June is over, what a relief to see July? But this year's June has forever changed that dark month into light. I am talking about the overturning of Roe vs Wade. The overruling of Roe V. Wade is a product of persistent prayer. That is an encouragement I would like to bring home today. Often we pray and we see no results when we want to see them. We think God is not hearing or will simply not answer this. The truth is God's timing is not our timing. And seeing answered prayers in real life is so motivating. We are blessed to see this decision by 6 justices come to pass after 49 year of prayers. Think about it for a minute. It took 49 years to get this wicked law sent back to states. This monumental ruling appropriately relate to the parable of the unjust judge. Take the parable of the unjust judge, also known as the parable of the persistent widow, in Luke 18:1–8. The unjust judge is a character that Jesus invents in order to develop a comparison that stresses the Lord's willingness to hear and respond to the prayers of His people. This judge was not at all concerned to execute justice for widows, finally gives in to the widow's demands because she refuses to leave him alone until he does. He finally acts justly, not out of a concern to do what is right but simply so that he can have some peace. If evil judges will act justly in such circumstances, how much more will God, who never tires of hearing the pleas of His people, do what is right? The Lord, who can do no injustice, will move quickly to help when His children cry out to Him (Luke 18:7). In closing, when the devil stole a whole month of June to pervert it with fornication, God took back one day from it and shone His light that will forever change the month of June in America. Moving forward, evil will look more and more pathetic and people will be turning away from it. Satan may have small victories here and there but God holds the key. He is winning. One day He will judge and bring every evil deeds to an end. That is the ultimate Victory we all eagerly await. Always pray and never lose heart.

When the prophet Elijah became discouraged and despaired of his life, “the word of the LORD came to him” (1 Kings 19:9b) and stood him “on the mount before the LORD” (1 Kings 19:11). The Lord made Himself known to the prophet — not in the impressive power of gale force winds, or in an earthquake, or in the fire, but in “the sound of a low whisper” (1 Kings 19:12). Today God reveals Himself to us through the frail preaching of the Gospel. The Son of Man sends “messengers ahead of Him ... to make preparations for Him” (Luke 9:52). Putting their hand to that plow of preaching, they “go and proclaim the kingdom of God,” and they do not look back (Luke 9:60, 62). What they preach is not the power of the Law with its “yoke of slavery,” but the power of God unto salvation through the Gospel of forgiveness, by which “Christ has set us free” (Galatians 5:1).

Text:  Mark 11:1-11   The Savior-King's Providential Plan (11:1-7) The divine fulfillment of Scripture The divine authority of the Messiah   The Savior-King's Dramatic Entrance (11:8-10; Luke 19:39-40) Jesus receives the praise of the people who do not fully grasp His identity. Jesus receives criticism from the Pharisees who are bent on destroying Him (Luke 19:39-40).   The Savior-King's Temple Visit and Tears For the People (11:11; Luke 19:41-44) A silent survey of the temple A present cry of compassion A future scene of judgment

Sermon Overview Scripture Passage: Luke 24:13-26 The resurrection of Jesus Christ is a known fact that we fully believe as Christians. However, in the days following this miracle, some of the disciples were struggling to believe it. Luke 24 tells of two disciples on the road to Emmaus, who came face-to-face with Jesus Christ Himself, the week after Easter. This passage first describes the discouragement of their confused hearts. In verses Luke 24:19-24, we learn these disciples had heard the accounts of Jesus' resurrection, yet they believed it to have been a misunderstanding. They were confused because they were looking for a political Messiah, and hoped Jesus would come and redeem Israel; yet Jesus had been crucified. Their misunderstanding led to disappointment; this led to doubt and discouragement. They did not yet understand that Calvary would lead to Easter, and Easter to Pentecost—when the Holy Spirit came and carried out what Jesus began. Second, this passage reveals the discovery of a challenged heart. “So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him” (Luke 24:15-16). These disciples were already believers, though they were backslidden and discouraged. Jesus sought them to claim and comfort them. Likewise, we love Jesus, because He first loved us. Adrian Rogers says, “If Jesus would seek us when we were just out-and-out sinners, surely He will seek us when we're saved and away from Him.” Jesus caught up with them on the road to Emmaus and taught them the Word of God (v. 27). He challenged them because He wanted them to learn to depend upon Scripture and continue growing after His ascent to Heaven. He opened them to the Scriptures, and as a result, He opened their eyes. Only after He taught them God's Word did they recognize Him. They saw Him in the fulfilled prophecies of Scripture; they also now recognized Him bodily in front of them. This moment led to the declaration of their convinced hearts. Their encounter with Jesus sealed their belief in His resurrection; they immediately went back to Jerusalem with the news, telling everyone about their risen Savior. Apply it to your life Are your eyes opened to the Bible, and to the risen Savior? Is your convinced heart set aflame? Pray and ask God to challenge you as you read Scripture today.

Today, it's my honor to invite you to join us for an incredibly unique and fascinating conversation with Dr. Amy-Jill Levine. Dr. Levine is an academic, an educator, and an author who is invested in Christians finding the Jewish context of their own story and helping them see where anti-Jewish messages exist in the world. Then, with her fellow Jews she desires to help them see that the New Testament is a Jewish story and that it fills in some of the gaps of Jewish history. Ultimately, her hope in all of this work is for Jews and Christians to stop bearing false witness against one another and treat each other as fellow children of God.  From a very young age, Dr. Levine began asking questions about how two groups of people that share so many similar beliefs about God, customs, etc, can villainize the other. We talk about those questions in our culture, within the Biblical and historical context, as well as why some believe there is a need to extract Jesus from His Jewishness, and how that truly takes away from the Biblical narrative and the gift of Christ on so many levels.  AJ calls Christians to own their faith in an incredibly powerful way. Her latest work Witnesses at the Cross examines the four Gospel accounts of the crucifixion of Christ and she offers many powerful statements about what we can learn from all of the various witnesses there. She not only weaves her vast wisdom of sacred texts and historical context into the accounts, but she also provides beautiful insights from her own experience. For example, while teaching a Divinity School class at Vanderbilt, she taught that class “on the inside” with inmates on death row. Their observations of Calvary implored her to consider the thieves on the cross from a lens she offers to us. She also challenges the readers to consider how we can find ourselves in the bystanders and scoffers as well as reminding us that even though many parts of this moment in time display many people at their worst, those people are made in the image of God. If Jesus is who He says He is, He was crucified for them too.  I hope that you find this conversation fascinating and thought provoking, friends. As we are about to walk into the days of Holy Week, with Palm Sunday here in just a couple of days, I hope you this conversation breathes fresh life into your Lenten journey. I hope it brings some questions to consider as we make our way to the Cross. As my friend Katie says “we are a Saturday people.” We long to see how the story ends. God is faithful to the end, for all of us. Jesus' offering of His life is a gift that can never be taken, and is available to all who seek it. The Spirit dwells among us, and constantly reminds us of who God has always been and who He will always be. I pray we seek Him with fresh praise and gratitude and with open hands and hearts. You matter. Your story matters. He will complete the work He began in you.  Today's episode sponsor: Tony Crabtree Homes with Exit Realty Home buyer guide: http://bit.ly/buyersguidecrabtreehomes Seller guide: http://bit.ly/sellerguidecrabtreehomes Facebook Instagram Website YouTube   Connecting with Dr. AJ Levine: Class that she mentioned!  Facebook  Hartford International University Webpage Vanderbilt Webpage    References: -Prophecies of Jesus in the Old Testament  -Anti-semitic art -The Torah -Book of Genesis -Book of Isaiah -Book of Deuteronomy -Book of Leviticus -circumcision becoming unnecessary  -Dr. AJ's children's books -Sandy Eisenberg Sasso-Co-author of the children's books -The seven last words of Jesus  -Where is Cyrene? modern day Libya  -Paul and Jesus' followers continue to observe Jewish traditions by attending synagogue and observing festivals etc, -Riverbend Maximum Security Institution -Vanderbilt Divinity School  -Men of Valor-”Shawshank Redemption” -Short Stories by Jesus- by Dr. AJ Levine -Historical context of Jesus' day between the Jewish leaders and Rome -The revolt doesn't come until 30 years post resurrection  -”client ruler”- Herod Antiapas (kills JTB) -Herod the Great (kills the babies bc of his fear of losing the throne) -Archelaus (Herod's son who gets part of his inheritance, in Judea) -Pontious Pilate  -Tyberius is on the throne in Jesus' time -Claudius -Caligula -Nero  -The Pharisees  -The back story of Jews and Samaritans, modern day issues  -Herod the Great had a Maccabean Princess  Scripture References: John 3:16-He is the only begotten son of God and He died for our sins -Exodus 3:7-10, The book of Esther, Jeremiah 29:11- His faithfulness to His covenant with the children of Abraham (to name a few) Romans 7:12- the Law is holy, just and good Galatians 3- don't follow the Law, it can't save you, you can't do it  Acts 9:15,Acts 26:17-20, Galatians 1:15-16, Ephesians 3:7-8, -Paul is the apostle to Gentiles  Acts 13-Paul says in Acts to worship in the synagogue Matthew 27:32,Mark 15:21,Luke 14:27,Luke 23:26-Simon of Cyrene Matthew 27:57-60, Mark 15:42-47, Luke 23:50-26-Joseph of Arimathea Mark 15:41-the women who followed Jesus and ministered to Him Luke 8:1-3-Joanna and Susanna Luke 8:2, John 20:11-18-Mary Magdalene Luke 23:32-55-the two thieves on the cross  Luke 23:39-43-The “good” thief is the only one who seems to realize Jesus has a Kingdom Matthew 13:45-46-the parable of the pearl of great price Deuteronomy 6:5-9, Joshua 1:8, -the call to remember in the Old Testament, write it on your door posts, and seal it in  2 Kings 22-Josiah found the scrolls of the Law and their revival  -Luke 1:1-25, 1:57-80 - Zechariah John the Baptist's father, his response is him remembering the Lord and his faith to see what would happen next  Matthew 27:42-The bystanders who demanded him to do a miracle to bring Himself off the cross  Mark 1-8- allllll the miracles Mark 7:36, 10:45-Jesus doesn't want to be known as the miracle worker, but the One who died as a ransom for many John 2:19, Matthew 27:40-You said you were going to destroy this Temple  Mark 6:14-29-”client ruler”- Herod Antiapas (kills JTB) Matthew 2:16-18-Herod the Great (kills the babies bc of his fear of losing the throne) Luke 10:1-23-Jesus told them to go out without a sword or staff Matthew 5:20-Sermon on the Mount, talks about the righteousness of the scribes and pharisees John 3:1-21, Acts 9:1-19 -Some Pharisees begin to follow Jesus: Saul of Tarsus (Paul), Nicodemus Acts 15 -mentions other Pharisees who follow Jesus' teaching as well Exodus 20:8-11-How do you follow the Sabbath and keep it holy  Mark 12:28-34- Jesus is teaching in the Temple, scribe approaches and asks about the greatest commandment  Matthew 22:34-40- retells that story with a different tone  John 8:42-44 Luke 10:25-37- The “good” samaritan story John 4- The woman at the well  Matthew 1- Jesus' lineage with women  Luke 10:38-42- Mary and Martha Mark 15:40-41- women who traveled from afar that followed Jesus Matthew 14:13-21- Feeding of the 5,000 Mark 14- He's already been anointed Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24: 6-7 (this is the actual quotation) don't you remember what He told you (the angel says to the women) Mark 14:12-26- the last supper when Jesus spoke to them about going back to Galilee Luke 1:39-56-Elizabeth proclaims over Mary that she is carrying Christ  John 19:25-women were at the cross Luke 23:55, Luke 24:1-12-women were at the tomb Acts 2-women were at Pentecost and receive the tongues of fire  Book of Ruth Book of Esther Judges 4-Deborah  Exodus 2:1-10, Exodus 15:2-21, Micah 6:4-Miriam, a prophetess, worship leader  Matthew 18:20-Where are two or three are gathered  James 2:14-26- faith without works is dead Genesis 1:27 - everybody is in the image and likeness of God  Esther 4:14- For such a time as this Ecclesiastes 1:9-There is nothing new under the sun  Matthew 16:24-Pick up the cross and follow Him  Romans 3:10-12,Psalm 14:1-3,Psalm 53:1-3-There is no one righteous, not one Revelation 5:9; Revelation 5:12; Revelation 13:8; Isaiah 53:7; John 1:29; John 1:36; 1 Peter 1:19 Jesus is the Lamb of God Hebrews 8:1-4-Jesus is the High Priest Jeremiah 29:13- Seek Him and you will find Him Philippians 1:6- He will complete the work He began  Connecting with Emily and Simply Stories Podcast:Instagram (Em life // Podcast Life)FacebookTwitterBlog  *Intro and Outro music is from audionautix.com

In the book of Genesis, Joseph was the favorite son of Israel, also known as Jacob. And his brothers hated him because of it. One day, they did an evil thing to Joseph and threw him into a cistern. Joseph pleaded for his life (Genesis 42:21), but they cruelly sold him as a slave to some Midianite traders. Joseph was then sold to an Egyptian official named Potiphar, and God gave Joseph success as he served in this household. Then Joseph was wrongly accused and imprisoned, but with a sudden turn of events, he was put in charge of the whole land of Egypt, and God helped him prepare for a famine that was coming. When famine came into the land of Joseph's family, his father, Jacob, sent his other sons to Egypt to buy grain. When Joseph met them, they didn't recognize him, and he spoke harshly to them. After he had tested them, Joseph revealed his true identity and wept. He did not reject or resent his brothers. There was no bitterness in his heart. Instead of repaying them for the wrong they had done to him, Joseph accepted them. He treated them well. He forgave them. He willingly made peace with them. Joseph was at peace with God, and he was able to give that same peace to his brothers, even providing for their needs. Joseph's forgiveness foreshadows the great forgiveness Jesus would bring to the whole world. Jesus paid for all our wrongdoing by dying on the cross and raising from the dead. If we've put our trust in Jesus, we have peace with God (Romans 5:1). And He calls us to love others as He loves us, not taking revenge but doing good to our enemies (Romans 12:17-21). When someone wrongs you, God empowers you to forgive. Through Jesus, you can walk in the way of peace. Following Him is the path that brings healing, love, and joy. When Jesus was hanging on the cross, He chose to forgive the people who crucified Him (Luke 23:34). He paved the way for peace. As you follow the way of Jesus, you—like Joseph—can live at peace with others. • Golda Dilema • When do you find it challenging to live at peace with others? • Remember, forgiving someone does not always mean being in close relationship with them. If you have questions about how to have loving boundaries after someone has hurt you, who is a trusted adult you can talk to? “And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me [Joseph] here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.” Genesis 45:5 (NIV)

March 22 2022 Tuesday Week 40 In Him Scripture Study  He Loves Us Ephesians 1:15-23 NLT  'Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God's people everywhere, I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God's power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God's right hand in the heavenly realms. Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come. God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.'  Ephesians 3:14-21 NLT 'When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.' This In Him Scripture Study Started On June 21 2021 Go Back And Listen From The Beginning…  Matthew 11:28  Find Rest In Jesus Christ Your Lord and Savior… Mark 10:29-30  100 Fold Return…  Romans 8:6  To be carnally minded is death but to be spiritually minded is Life and Peace… Millions of people live in chains not knowing that they have the key to break those chains… Biblical Hope Is A Confident Expectation… 1 John 4:10  It's not because we loved Him… Luke 15:11-24  The Prodigal Son… Romans 10:9-10 KJV/NLT/AMPC  Salvation… Romans 10:13  Call On The Name Of Jesus And Make Him Lord today… The Biblical Definition Of Grace Is God's Unmerited Favor… Matthew 18:19-20  I will agree with you about your prayer request… Acts 10:34  God is not a respecter of persons. He loves and cares for us all the same… Romans 12:3  God has given us His Faith… Biblical Hope Is A Confident Expectation… Romans 5:5  God has given us His Love… 2 Corinthians 5:17  We are new creatures in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior… 2 Corinthians 5:21  We are the Righteousness of God in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior… God's Word Is True Above All Opinions…  Romans 12:2  Renew your mind to what God's Word says… Believe God's Word Above All Opinion… Philippians 4:13  We can do all things through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior… Philippians 4:19  God will provide all your needs… Romans 10:13  Call on Jesus' Name and be Saved… 1 John 1:9  Confess your sins God Will Cleanse You…  John 3:3  You Must Be Born Again… Luke 15:10  Heaven Rejoices Over One Person That Repents And Is Born Again… John 3:16  Believe On The Lord Jesus Christ Your Lord And Savior… 1 Peter 2:24  Healing… Mark 10:29-30  100 Fold Return… Luke 6:38  Give and it will be given unto you… Share This Podcast On Your Social Media Website https://the-prodigalson.com What God's Word Can Do In Your Life https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJWTZG_x2vE&t=3s Email tstacyhayes@gmail.com YouVersion Bible App  https://my.bible.comi iOS App https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/prodigal-son/id1450529518?mt=8 …  Android App https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=tv.wizzard.android.prodical  Social Media https://www.facebook.com/The-Prodigal-SON-209069136315959/ https://www.facebook.com/noreligion1511/ https://twitter.com/noreligion1511 https://www.instagram.com/noreligion1511/ https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCPx4s1CLkSYef6mp4dSuU4w/featured

Episode 48 is a look at how 1 John 4:19, Luke 10:25-27, John 14:15, & Matthew 5:8 form the "Love Cycle." That is, that when we receive the love of God we are compelled to love Him in return (1 John 4:19); when we love Him we obey Him (Luke 10:25-27 & John 14:15), and we obey Him with a pure heart, we see Him (Matthew 5:8). And what do we see when we see Him? We see how much He loves us! And that perpetuates this blissful cycle upward for eternity. Connect with me at Mick@MickRMurray.com // Like what you found here? Feel free to rate, subscribe, comment, and/or share. Background tracks (licensed via Musicbed): - Arrival by Katharine Petkovski - Close to Me (Instrumental) by CHPTRS - For You by Chris Coleman

Three main points that we make in this our third podcast on Psalm 35.1. Jesus experienced the pain and suffering David spoke of on a level deeper than he ever didSee vs. 7, 11, 12, 15 especially2. Jesus did not curse because of this suffering but He called for a blessing insteadThis is not to criticize imprecatory prayers, but it is to say that is not what Jesus engaged in.Jesus took the curse upon Himself- Galatians 3:13/ Deuteronomy 21:22-23Jesus called for mercy for those who tormented Him- Luke 23:343. Jesus fulfills Psalm 35 via HIs death and resurrection35:13 Jesus humbled Himself- Philippians 2:835:9, 27 rejoicing at His deliverance- The words in the Greek translation of the OT are used in Acts 2:26 to speak of rejoicing at Jesus' resurrection.35:25 In His deliverance, HIs resurrection, Jesus swallowed up death- I Corinthians 15:54; II Corinthians 5:4.

Why is it easier for most of us to think of the things we are not thankful for? Do the people closest to us think we are grateful people? Terry Kirkindoll gives some wonderful insight on the importance of giving thanks in all circumstances. In this wisdom-packed message Terry references Jesus' healing of the ten lepers - where only one comes back to thank Him (Luke 17:11-19). We are to be like to one who expressed gratitude!