#reading Zechariah 9 and knew I just had to do this

[queenlucythevaliant]

The Return of the King title page // Heading to Zechariah 9

The Song of the Eagles // The Holy Bible

Psalm 30:4; Isaiah 25:8a; Revelation 20:14a; Zechariah 9:9a; Psalm 130:6 & Hebrews 6:10; Psalm 107:16; Zechariah 9:9b; 1 Corinthians 15:54b & John 16:33b; Philippians 4:4; Hebrews 9:28a; John 1:14; Luke 1:75; Revelation 22:2b; Isaiah 2:2a; Deuteronomy 28:3a & Psalm 87:3; Psalm 149:1

[craigtowens]

The value of journaling

Do you keep a journal? I’m not talking about a diary of your daily events, but a journal of your ongoing dialogue with God. This is a discipline I began over 25 years ago, and it’s been immensely helpful to me.

Every time you read the history of Israel in the Old Testament, you are really reading a written history—a journal—of what God did for His people.

In Luke 1:46-55, we read Mary’s song about the soon-to-be-born Jesus that someone journaled to record for posterity. The same thing is true for Zechariah’s song about his son John in Luke 1:67-79. I am sure that many people found great comfort in reading and recalling these songs, perhaps even Jesus Himself and John the Baptist.

Even Jesus told His disciple John to journal the words He spoke to him about events still to come (Revelation 1:11, 19; 2:1, 8, 12, 18; 3:1, 7, 14; 14:13; 19:9; 21:5).

Journaling has helped me at so many crucial points in my life. Especially when I needed to look back to be reminded of something God had spoken to me. I shared one example of this in my book Shepherd Leadership: The Metrics That Really Matter—

      The board was making a major decision. They were considering a change in their leadership to one who had completely different credentials and training from all of their previous leaders. Because this change would be so momentous, the board interviewed me for more than four hours. When they finally felt they had deliberated long enough, they asked me to leave the room while they prayed and voted. I stepped out into the lobby for just a couple of minutes when the door opened again and they asked me to step back inside.

      “Well, Craig,” the spokesman began, “we prayed and we feel you are the one God has selected for this position.” I told them I would be happy to accept their offer. After they prayed over me, I began to pack up my things to head home.

      “Hold on a minute,” one of the board members said to me, “we’re about to discuss the budget, and we think it would be good for you to be a part of this discussion.” I agreed and resumed my seat at the table.

      I was handed both the year-to-date financial report and the projected income and expenses for the remaining quarter of the year. “As you can see,” the treasurer began, “we are projecting a $70,000 loss for this year.” Then he turned to me and asked, “What are you going to do about that?”

      I gulped, tried not to show that my stomach was doing flips, and said, “Honestly, I don’t know.” I paused, and since no one else said anything, I continued, “But I’ll let you know what we come up with.”

      All the way home, I kept thinking, “What have I gotten myself into? I’m walking away from a successful business to oversee an organization that’s going to go bankrupt before I even get started?!” But then I began to remind myself of something else: God chose me.

      When I returned home, I immediately went to my journal. I flipped to the page where I had written down all of the reasons why I had concluded that God chose me for this position. I looked at the way God had spoken to me and to my wife, and the way friends who knew nothing about this decision spoke a confirming word to me. I looked at the pages where I had written down the vision I believed God had given me for this new organization, and how the board chairman’s handwritten vision for the organization matched mine thought-for-thought. Looking at these words—at the specific dates and ways God had spoken, and confirmed, and re-confirmed His direction—gave me the confidence to step into this assignment, even when facing such a huge financial mountain. (excerpt from chapter 5 “A Humble Leader’s Attitude Adjustment”)

If you haven’t journaled in the past, I encourage you to begin this spiritual discipline today. I can tell you from both what I read in the Bible and my own personal experience how valuable this will be for you.

[orthodoxydaily]

Saints&Reading: Sun, Apr., 25, 2021

PALM SUNDAY IN  JERUSALEM, 2021

Orthodox Christians marked Palm Sunday in Jerusalem, the beginning of the Holy Week leading up to Orthodox Easter.

The Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III attended the vigil in Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the traditional site of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection.

Some faithful wore masks and held palm fronds to symbolise how worshippers greeted Jesus over 2,000 years ago as he triumphantly returned to Jerusalem.

HOMILY ON PALM SUNDAY BY ST. GREGORY PALAMAS

In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee, said God through Isaiah (Is. 49:8). It is good today to speak these words of the apostle to your charity: Behold, now is the accepted time; behold now is the day of salvation (2 Cor. 6:2). Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us work the works of light. Let us walk honestly as in the day (Rom. 13:12-13). The commemoration of Christ’s saving passion is at hand, and the new, great spiritual Passover, which is the reward for dispassion and the prelude of the world to come. Lazarus proclaims it in advance by coming back from the depths of Hades and rising from the dead on the fourth day just by the voice and command of God, who has power over life and death (Jn. 11:1-45). By the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, children and simple people sing praises in advance to the Redeemer from death, who brings souls up from Hades and gives souls and bodies eternal life.

What man is he that desireth life and to see good days? Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips that they speak no guile: depart from evil and do good (Ps. 34:12-14; compare 1 Pet. 3:10-11). Evil means gluttony, drunkenness and dissolute living. Evil means love of money, being greedy for gain, and injustice. Evil means vainglory, arrogance and pride. Let everyone turn aside from such vices and do those things which are good. What are they? Self-control, fasting, chastity, righteousness, almsgiving, forbearance, love, humility. That by so doing we may worthily partake of the Lamb of God Who was sacrificed for our sake, and so receive the earnest of incorruption, and keep it as an assurance of the inheritance promised to us in heaven. Is it hard to do what is good, and are the virtues more difficult than the vices? That is certainly not how I see it. The drunken, self-indulgent person subjects himself because of this to more sufferings than someone who restrains himself; the licentious person suffers more than someone chaste; someone striving to become rich more than someone who lives in contentment with what he has; the person seeking to surround himself with glory than someone who passes life in obscurity. Since, however, the virtues seem more difficult to us because of our love of comfort, let us force ourselves. The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, it says, and the violent take it by force (Mt. 11:12).

All of us, eminent and lowly, governors and governed, rich and poor, need diligence and attention to drive these evil passions away from our souls, and introduce the whole range of virtues in their stead. Farmers, shoemakers, builders, tailors, weavers, and in general all those who earn their living by their own effort and the work of their hands, provided they throw out of their souls the desire for riches, glory and pleasure, are truly blessed. These are the poor to whom the kingdom of heaven belongs. It was on their account that the Lord said, Blessed are the poor in spirit (Mt. 5:3). The poor in spirit are those whose spirits, or souls, are free from boasting, love of glory and fondness for pleasure, and therefore either choose to be poor in external things as well or else courageously bear involuntary poverty. Those who are rich and comfortable, and enjoy fleeting glory, and in general all who long to be like them, will yield to more harmful passions and fall into other worse traps of the devil, which are more difficult to deal with. When someone becomes rich, he does not lay aside his desire for riches, but increases it, grasping at more than he did before. In the same way, pleasure lovers, power seekers, the dissolute and the debauched increase their desires rather than renouncing them. Rulers and eminent men increase their power so as to commit greater injustices and sin.

That is why it is difficult for a ruler to be saved or for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. How can ye believe, it says, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only? (Jn. 5.44). But if any of you are well off, or eminent or rulers, do not be dismayed. You can, if you wish, seek the glory of God and exert force on yourselves to stop the impetus towards becoming worse, to practice great virtues and to drive away great evils, not just from yourselves, but from many other people, even against their will. Not only can you act honestly and chastely yourselves, but there are many ways in which you can prevent those who want to be unjust and licentious from doing so. Not only can you show yourselves obedient to Christ’s Gospel and His teachings, but you can also bring those who are minded to disobey into subjection to Christ’s Church and its leaders according to Christ. This you are able to do, not just by means of the power and authority allotted to you by God, but by becoming an example of all that is good to those below you. For subjects become like their rulers.

Everyone needs diligence, force and attention, but not to the same extent. Those exalted in honor, wealth and power, and those who concern themselves with words and the acquisition of wisdom by means of them, even if they wish to be saved, are in need of greater force and diligence, since they are less obedient by nature. Exactly this can be clearly seen in the reading from Christ’s Gospel yesterday and today. The miracle performed on Lazarus openly proved the one who did it to be God. But whereas the people were convinced and believed, the rulers at that time, that is to say, the scribes and Pharisees, were so far from being persuaded that they raged against Him even more, and resolved in their madness to hand Him over to death, although everything He had said and done plainly declared Him to be the Lord of life and death. No one can say that the fact that the Lord lifted up His eyes at that time and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me, was an obstacle to their regarding Him as equal to the Father, since He went on to say, I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they might believe that thou hast sent me (Jn. 11:41-42). So that they might know He was God and came from the Father, and also that He did not work miracles in opposition to God, but in accordance with God’s purpose, He lifted up His eyes to God in front of everybody and spoke to Him in words which make it clear that He who was speaking on earth was equal to the heavenly Father on high. In the beginning when man was to be formed, there was a Counsel beforehand. So now also, in the case of Lazarus, when a man was to be formed anew, there was a Counsel first. When man was to be created the Father said to the Son, Let us make man (Gen. 1:26), the Son listened to the Father, and man was brought into being. Now, by contrast, the Father listened to the Son speaking, and Lazarus was brought to life.

Notice that the Father and the Son are of equal honor and have the same will. The words are in the form of a prayer for the sake of the crowd standing by, but they are not the words of prayer but of lordship and absolute authority. Lazarus come forth (Jn. 11.43). And at once the man who had been dead four days stood before Him alive. Did this come about by the command of the life-giver or His prayer? He cried with a loud voice, again on account of the bystanders, since He could have raised him not only by using His normal voice, but just by His will alone. In the same way, He could have done it from afar and with the stone in place. But instead He came to the grave and spoke to those present, who took away the stone and smelt the stench. Then He cried with a loud voice. He raised him in this manner so that by means of their sight (for they saw Him standing at the grave), their sense of smell (for they were aware of the stench of the man four days dead), their sense of touch (for they used their own hands to take away the stone beforehand from the grave, and afterwards to loose the grave-clothes from his body and the napkin from his face), and their hearing (for the Lord’s voice reached the ears of all), they all might understand and believe that it was He who called everything from non-being into being, who upheld all things by the word of His power, and who in the beginning by His word alone made everything that exists out of nothing.

The simple people believed Him in every respect, and did not keep their faith quiet, but began to preach His divinity by deeds and words. After the raising of Lazarus on the fourth day, the Lord found an ass, and, when His disciples had made it ready, as the evangelist Matthew tells us (Mt. 21:1-11), He sat upon it and entered Jerusalem, as had been foretold in Zechariah’s prophecy: Do not fear, O daughter of Zion: behold thy king cometh unto thee: he is just and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass (Zech. 9:9; Mt. 21:5). The prophet shows by these words that this king in the prophecy is the only true king of Zion. “Your king,” he says, “does not arouse fear in those who see him. Nor is he an oppressor or an evildoer accompanied by shield-bearers and spear men, trailing behind him a host of foot-soldiers and cavalry, passing his life in greed for gain, demanding taxes and tributes, and unpleasant and harmful labors and services. By contrast, His banner is humility, poverty and lowliness, and He enters mounted upon an ass, without any human pretensions at all. He is the only righteous King who righteously saves. He is meek, and meekness is His distinctive work.” The Lord said of Himself, Learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart (Mt. 11:29).

So the King who had raised Lazarus from the dead entered Jerusalem sitting upon an ass. Everyone, children, men, old people, immediately spread their garments in the way. They took palm-branches, which are symbols of victory, and went to meet Him as the life-giver and victor over death. They fell at His feet and escorted Him in procession, singing together, not just outside but also inside the precincts of the Temple, Hosanna to the Son of David, Hosanna in the highest (Mt. 21:9). “Hosanna” is a song of praise directed to God, which means, “Save us.” The additional words “in the highest” show that He is not only praised on earth, nor only by men, but also by the heavenly angels on high.

The people not only sang His praises and called Him God, but they subsequently opposed the scribes and Pharisees’ evil purpose against God and their murderous allegations. For the latter were mad enough to say of Him, “This man is not of God, and since he doeth many miracles, if we let him thus alone and do not put him to death, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation” (compare Jn. 9:16 and 11:47-48). But what did the people say? Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord: Blessed be the kingdom of our father David that cometh (Mk. 11:9-10). By saying, “Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord,” they showed that He was from God the Father and that He came in the name of the Father. As the Lord said of Himself, I came in the name of my Father (compare Jn. 5:43) and I proceeded forth and came from God (Jn. 8:42). On the other hand, by saying, “Blessed be the kingdom of our father David that cometh,” they showed that this was the kingdom in which, according to prophecy, the Gentiles too, and indeed the Romans, were to believe. For this king was not just Israel’s hope, but also the expectation of the Gentiles, according to Jacob’s prophecy: Binding his foal unto the vine, where “foal” refers to the Jewish people who were subject to Him, and his ass’s colt unto the branch of the vine (Gen. 49:11). The branch of the vine is the Lord’s disciples, for the Lord said to them, I am the vine, ye are the branches (Jn. 15.5). By this branch, the Lord binds to Himself His “ass’s colt,” namely the New Israel of the Gentiles, who become sons of Abraham by grace. If, asked the people, this kingdom in which we have put our faith is the hope of the Gentiles too, why should we fear the Romans?

Those who were childlike in innocence but not in intelligence were inspired by the Holy Spirit to offer up to the Lord a faultlessly perfect hymn, and bore witness that, as God, He had brought Lazarus back to life after he had been dead for four days. When the scribes and Pharisees, on the other hand, “saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the Temple and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David, they were sore displeased and said unto the Lord, Hearest thou what they say?” (Mt. 21:15-16). In fact, it would have been more appropriate for the Lord to put the same question to them, Can you not see, or hear or understand? To refute those who were complaining that He tolerated songs of praise that were fitting for God alone, He replied, Yes, I hear those who, invisibly enlightened by Myself, declare such things about me. But these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out. Have you never read the prophecy that, ‘Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise’? (Ps. 8:2; Mt. 21:16). This was another amazing fact, that simple, uneducated children should speak perfectly of the divinity of God made man for our sake, and that their voices should take up the angelic hymn. At the Lord’s birth the angels sang, Glory to God in the highest (Lk. 21:4), and now at the time of His entry into Jerusalem the children offered up the same hymn, Hosanna to the Son of David, Hosanna in the highest (Mt. 21:29).

Let us all, young and old, rulers and subjects, be childlike in innocence, that God may empower us to make a public show of the trophies, and carry aloft the symbols of victory, not just of victory over the evil passions, but over visible and invisible enemies, and may we find the grace of the word to help in time of need (compare Heb. 4:16). The young colt which the Lord deigned to ride for our sake prefigured, although it was only one, the Gentiles’ obedience to Him and we, governors and governed alike, are all Gentiles come from them.

In Christ Jesus there is neither male nor female, nor Greek, nor Jew, but all, according to the holy apostle, are one (Gal. 3:28). In the same way, in Him there is neither ruler nor subject, but by His grace we are all one in faith in Him, and belong to one body, His Church, whose head He is. By the grace of the all-holy Spirit we have all drunk of the one Spirit, and have all received on e baptism. We all have one hope and one God, who is above all, and through all, and in us all (Eph. 4:6). So let us love one another. Let us bear with one another, seeing that we are members one of another. As the Lord Himself said, the sign that we are His disciples is love. When He departed from this world, the fatherly inheritance He left us was love, and the last prayer He gave us when He ascended to His Father was about love for one another (Jn. 13:33-35).

Let us strive to attain to this fatherly prayer and let us not lose the inheritance He left us nor the sign He gave us, lest we should also lose our sonship, our blessing and our discipleship. If that happens, we shall fall away from the promised hope and be shut out of the spiritual bridechamber. Before His saving passion, when the Lord entered the earthly Jerusalem, not just the people, but also the true rulers of the Gentiles, the Lord’s apostles, spread their garments in His way. In the same manner, let us all, rulers as well as subjects, lay down our natural garments before Him, by making our flesh and its impulses subject to the spirit, that we may be made worthy not only to see and worship Christ’s saving passion and holy resurrection, but to enjoy communion with Him. For if, says the apostle, we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection (Rom. 6.5).

To which may we all attain by the grace and love towards mankind of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ, to whom belong all glory, honor and worship, together with His Father without beginning and the life-giving Spirit, now and for ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

St. Gregory Palamas

April12/April25

The Monk Isaac the Syrian (560)

     The Monk Isaac the Syrian lived during the mid-VI Century. He arrived in the Italian city of Spoleto from Syria. The monk asked permission of the church wardens to remain in the temple and he prayed in it for all of two and an half days. One of the church wardens began to reproach the monk with hypocrisy and struck him on the cheek. The punishment of God then befell the church warden. The devil threw him down at the feet of the saint and cried out: "Isaac, cast me out!" Just as the monk bent over the man, the unclean spirit fled.

News about the occurrence quickly spread throughout the city. People began to throng to the monk, offering him help and the means for building a monastery. But the humble monk refused all this. He left the city and settled in a desolate place, where he built himself a small cell. Around the ascetic gathered disciples, and thus was formed a monastery. When his disciples inquired of the elder, why he had shunned the gifts, he answered: "A monk in acquiring possessions is no longer a monk".

     The Monk Isaac was endowed with the gift of perspicacity. About this Saint Gregory Dialogus (Comm. 12 March) relates in his "Conversations about the Lives and Miracles of the Italian Fathers". One time the Monk Isaac bid the monks to leave behind their spades in the garden for the night, and in the morning he asked them to prepare food for the workers. It seems that robbers, as many as there were spades left behind, had come to rob the monastery. The power of God forced them to change their evil intent. They took in hand the spades and began ardently to work, such that at the arrival of the monks all the ground had been dug up. The monk greeted the toilers and invited them to refresh themselves with food. Then he gave them an admonition to quit their thievery, and gave them permission always to come openly and make use of the fruits of the monastery garden.      Another time there came to the monk wanderers, attired in rags, and they besought clothing of the saint. He bid them to wait a bit, and sent a monk into the forest, where in the hollow of a tree the wanderers had hidden their fine clothes, wanting to deceive the holy hegumen. The monk dispatched brought back the clothes, and the Monk Isaac gave them to the wanderers. Seeing, that their fraud was uncovered, the moochers fell into great distress and shame.      It happened likewise, that a certain man sent the monk his servant with two baskets of food. The servant hid one of these baskets along the way. The monk took the offered basket and quietly said: "I accept the gifts, but thou however ought not to touch the basket hidden by thee – into it has creeped a snake, and if thou reach out thy hand, it wilt bite thee". Thus wisely and without malice the saint unmasked the sins of people, desiring salvation for all.      The Monk Isaac died in the year 550. This saint mustneeds be distinguished from another ascetic, the Monk Isaac the Syrian, Bishop of Ninevah, who lived during the VII Century (Comm. 28 January).

© 1996-2001 by translator Fr. S. Janos.

John 12:1-18

1 Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead.2There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him.3Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.4 But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, who would betray Him, said,5Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it.7 But Jesus said, "Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial.8 For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always. 9 Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead.10But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also,

11 because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.12The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,13 took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out: Hosanna! 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!' The King of Israel!"14Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written: 15Fear not, daughter of Zion; Behold, your King is coming, Sitting on a donkey's colt."16 His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him.17 Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness.18 For this reason the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign.

Philippians 4:4-9

4Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. 6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy - meditate on these things .9The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.

[roman-catholic-mass-readings]

28th September >> Mass Readings (Europe, Africa, New Zealand, Australia & Canada)

Monday, Twenty Sixth Week in Ordinary Time 

    or 

Saint Wenceslaus, Martyr 

    or 

Saints Laurence Ruiz and his Companions, Martyrs.

Monday, Twenty Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

(Liturgical Colour: Green)

First Reading

Job 1:6-22

The Lord gave, the Lord has taken back: blessed be the name of the Lord

One day the Sons of God came to attend on the Lord, and among them was Satan. So the Lord said to Satan, ‘Where have you been?’ ‘Round the earth,’ he answered ‘roaming about.’ So the Lord asked him, ‘Did you notice my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth: a sound and honest man who fears God and shuns evil.’ ‘Yes,’ Satan said ‘but Job is not God-fearing for nothing, is he? Have you not put a wall round him and his house and all his domain? You have blessed all he undertakes, and his flocks throng the countryside. But stretch out your hand and lay a finger on his possessions: I warrant you, he will curse you to your face.’ ‘Very well,’ the Lord said to Satan ‘all he has is in your power. But keep your hands off his person.’ So Satan left the presence of the Lord.

On the day when Job’s sons and daughters were at their meal and drinking wine at their eldest brother’s house, a messenger came to Job. ‘Your oxen’ he said ‘were at the plough, with the donkeys grazing at their side, when the Sabaeans swept down on them and carried them off. Your servants they put to the sword: I alone escaped to tell you.’ He had not finished speaking when another messenger arrived. ‘The fire of God’ he said ‘has fallen from the heavens and burnt up all your sheep, and your shepherds too: I alone escaped to tell you.’ He had not finished speaking when another messenger arrived. ‘The Chaldaeans,’ he said ‘three bands of them, have raided your camels and made off with them. Your servants they put to the sword: I alone escaped to tell you.’ He had not finished speaking when another messenger arrived. ‘Your sons and daughters’ he said ‘were at their meal and drinking wine at their eldest brother’s house, when suddenly from the wilderness a gale sprang up, and it battered all four corners of the house which fell in on the young people. They are dead: I alone escaped to tell you.’

Job rose and tore his gown and shaved his head. Then falling to the ground he worshipped and said:

‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb,

naked I shall return.

The Lord gave, the Lord has taken back.

Blessed be the name of the Lord!’

In all this misfortune Job committed no sin nor offered any insult to God.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 16(17):1-3,6-7

R/ Turn your ear to me, O Lord; hear my words.

Lord, hear a cause that is just,

pay heed to my cry.

Turn your ear to my prayer:

no deceit is on my lips.

R/ Turn your ear to me, O Lord; hear my words.

From you may my judgement come forth.

Your eyes discern the truth.

You search my heart, you visit me by night.

You test me and you find in me no wrong.

R/ Turn your ear to me, O Lord; hear my words.

I am here and I call, you will hear me, O God.

Turn your ear to me; hear my words.

Display your great love, you whose right hand saves

your friends from those who rebel against them.

R/ Turn your ear to me, O Lord; hear my words.

Gospel Acclamation

John 14:6

Alleluia, alleluia!

I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, says the Lord;

No one can come to the Father except through me.

Alleluia!

Or:

Mark 10:45

Alleluia, alleluia!

The Son of Man came to serve

and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Luke 9:46-50

The least among you all is the greatest

An argument started between the disciples about which of them was the greatest. Jesus knew what thoughts were going through their minds, and he took a little child and set him by his side and then said to them, ‘Anyone who welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For the least among you all, that is the one who is great.’

John spoke up. ‘Master,’ he said ‘we saw a man casting out devils in your name, and because he is not with us we tried to stop him.’ But Jesus said to him, ‘You must not stop him: anyone who is not against you is for you.’

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

————————————

Saint Wenceslaus, Martyr 

(Liturgical Colour: Red)

(Readings for the memorial)

(There is a choice today between the readings for the ferial day (Monday) and those for the memorial. The ferial readings are recommended unless pastoral reasons suggest otherwise)

First Reading

1 Peter 3:14-17

If it is the will of God that you should suffer, it is better to suffer for doing right

If you have to suffer for being good, you will count it a blessing. There is no need to be afraid or to worry about persecutors. Simply reverence the Lord Christ in your hearts, and always have your answer ready for people who ask you the reason for the hope that you all have. But give it with courtesy and respect and with a clear conscience, so that those who slander you when you are living a good life in Christ may be proved wrong in the accusations that they bring. And if it is the will of God that you should suffer, it is better to suffer for doing right than for doing wrong.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 125(126):1-6

Those who are sowing in tears will sing when they reap.

When the Lord delivered Zion from bondage,

it seemed like a dream.

Then was our mouth filled with laughter,

on our lips there were songs.

Those who are sowing in tears will sing when they reap.

The heathens themselves said: ‘What marvels

the Lord worked for them!’

What marvels the Lord worked for us!

Indeed we were glad.

Those who are sowing in tears will sing when they reap.

Deliver us, O Lord, from our bondage

as streams in dry land.

Those who are sowing in tears

will sing when they reap.

Those who are sowing in tears will sing when they reap.

They go out, they go out, full of tears,

carrying seed for the sowing:

they come back, they come back, full of song,

carrying their sheaves.

Those who are sowing in tears will sing when they reap.

Gospel Acclamation

Mt5:10

Alleluia, alleluia!

Happy those who are persecuted

in the cause of right,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Matthew 10:34-39

It is not peace I have come to bring, but a sword

Jesus instructed the Twelve as follows: ‘Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth: it is not peace I have come to bring, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. A man’s enemies will be those of his own household.

‘Anyone who prefers father or mother to me is not worthy of me. Anyone who prefers son or daughter to me is not worthy of me. Anyone who does not take his cross and follow in my footsteps is not worthy of me. Anyone who finds his life will lose it; anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it.’

————————————

Saints Laurence Ruiz and his Companions, Martyrs 

(Liturgical Colour: Red)

(Readings for the memorial)

(There is a choice today between the readings for the ferial day (Monday) and those for the memorial. The ferial readings are recommended unless pastoral reasons suggest otherwise)

First Reading

2 Chronicles 24:18-22

'You have deserted the Lord: now he deserts you'

The Judaeans abandoned the Temple of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, for the worship of sacred poles and idols. Because of their guilt, God’s anger fell on Judah and Jerusalem. He sent them prophets to bring them back to the Lord, but when these gave their message, they would not listen. The spirit of God took possession of Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood up before the people and said, ‘God says this, “Why do you transgress the commandments of the Lord to no good purpose? You have deserted the Lord, now he deserts you.”’ They then plotted against him and by order of the king stoned him in the court of the Temple of the Lord. King Joash, forgetful of the kindness that Jehoiada, the father of Zechariah, had shown him, killed Jehoiada’s son who cried out as he died, ‘The Lord sees and he will avenge!’

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 30(31):3-4,6,8,16-17

Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.

Be a rock of refuge for me,

a mighty stronghold to save me,

for you are my rock, my stronghold.

For your name’s sake, lead me and guide me.

Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.

Into your hands I commend my spirit.

It is you who will redeem me, Lord.

As for me, I trust in the Lord:

let me be glad and rejoice in your love.

Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.

My life is in your hands, deliver me

from the hands of those who hate me.

Let your face shine on your servant.

Save me in your love.

Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.

Gospel Acclamation

Mt5:10

Alleluia, alleluia!

Happy those who are persecuted

in the cause of right,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Alleluia!

Or:

Jn17:19

Alleluia, alleluia!

For their sake I consecrate myself,

so that they too may be consecrated in the truth.

Alleluia!

Or:

2Co1:3-4

Alleluia, alleluia!

Blessed be God, a gentle Father

and the God of all consolation,

who comforts us in all our sorrows.

Alleluia!

Or:

Jm1:12

Alleluia, alleluia!

Happy the man who stands firm,

for he has proved himself,

and will win the crown of life.

Alleluia!

Or:

1P4:14

Alleluia, alleluia!

It is a blessing for you

when they insult you for bearing the name of Christ,

for the Spirit of God rests on you.

Alleluia!

Or:

cf.Te Deum

Alleluia, alleluia!

We praise you, O God,

we acknowledge you to be the Lord;

the noble army of martyrs praise you, O Lord.

Alleluia!

EITHER:

Gospel

Matthew 10:17-22

The Spirit of your Father will be speaking in you

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Beware of men: they will hand you over to sanhedrins and scourge you in their synagogues. You will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the pagans. But when they hand you over, do not worry about how to speak or what to say; what you are to say will be given to you when the time comes; because it is not you who will be speaking; the Spirit of your Father will be speaking in you.

‘Brother will betray brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise against their parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all men on account of my name; but the man who stands firm to the end will be saved.’

OR:

Gospel

Matthew 10:28-33

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body

Jesus said to his apostles: ‘Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; fear him rather who can destroy both body and soul in hell. Can you not buy two sparrows for a penny? And yet not one falls to the ground without your Father knowing. Why, every hair on your head has been counted. So there is no need to be afraid; you are worth more than hundreds of sparrows.

‘So if anyone declares himself for me in the presence of men, I will declare myself for him in the presence of my Father in heaven. But the one who disowns me in the presence of men, I will disown in the presence of my Father in heaven.’

OR:

Gospel

Matthew 10:34-39

It is not peace I have come to bring, but a sword

Jesus instructed the Twelve as follows: ‘Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth: it is not peace I have come to bring, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. A man’s enemies will be those of his own household.

‘Anyone who prefers father or mother to me is not worthy of me. Anyone who prefers son or daughter to me is not worthy of me. Anyone who does not take his cross and follow in my footsteps is not worthy of me. Anyone who finds his life will lose it; anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it.’

OR:

Gospel

Luke 9:23-26

The Son of Man is destined to suffer grievously

Jesus said:

‘If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross every day and follow me. For anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake, that man will save it. What gain, then, is it for a man to have won the whole world and to have lost or ruined his very self? For if anyone is ashamed of me and of my words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when he comes in his own glory and in the glory of the Father and the holy angels.’

OR:

Gospel

John 12:24-26

If a grain of wheat falls on the ground and dies, it yields a rich harvest

Jesus said to his disciples:

‘I tell you, most solemnly,

unless a wheat grain falls on the ground and dies,

it remains only a single grain;

but if it dies,

it yields a rich harvest.

Anyone who loves his life loses it;

anyone who hates his life in this world

will keep it for the eternal life.

If a man serves me, he must follow me,

wherever I am, my servant will be there too.

If anyone serves me, my Father will honour him.’

OR:

Gospel

John 15:18-21

The world hated me before it hated you

Jesus said to his disciples:

‘If the world hates you,

remember that it hated me before you.

If you belonged to the world,

the world would love you as its own;

but because you do not belong to the world,

because my choice withdrew you from the world,

therefore the world hates you.

Remember the words I said to you: A servant is not greater than his master.

If they persecuted me, they will persecute you too;

if they kept my word, they will keep yours as well.

But it will be on my account that they will do all this,

because they do not know the one who sent me.’

OR:

Gospel

John 17:11-19

Father, keep those you have given me true to your name

Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said:

‘Holy Father,

keep those you have given me true to your name,

so that they may be one like us.

While I was with them,

I kept those you had given me true to your name.

I have watched over them

and not one is lost

except the one who chose to be lost,

and this was to fulfil the scriptures.

But now I am coming to you

and while still in the world I say these things

to share my joy with them to the full.

I passed your word on to them,

and the world hated them,

because they belong to the world

no more than I belong to the world.

I am not asking you to remove them from the world,

but to protect them from the evil one.

They do not belong to the world

any more than I belong to the world.

Consecrate them in the truth;

your word is truth.

As you sent me into the world,

I have sent them into the world,

and for their sake I consecrate myself

so that they too may be consecrated in truth.’

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

[dailyaudiobible]

12/28/2020 DAB Transcript

Zechariah 12:1-13:9, Revelation 19:1-21, Psalms 147:1-20, Proverbs 31:1-7

Today is the 28th day of December welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I’m Brian it's great to be here with you in that land in between Christmas and New Year's, that land, that week that we kinda go through and it’s a little bit disrupted but we’re moving beyond Christmas and thinking about New Year's and thinking about what we’re gonna do in the new year, what the New Year's gonna look like. So, welcome to the land in between as we move into these last few days and bring to a close our journey through the Scriptures this year. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Yes, land is in shore. Our voyage across the year and across the Bible, yeah, we’re gonna…we’re gonna dock but we can see land. We’re still out here, a few more days to go. And, so, let's press in and not only allow God's word to speak into our lives and the decisions we’re making about our futures, but also to find this safe oasis. It's always here for us around the Global Campfire. So, we’ve been reading from the book of Zechariah, which is what we will continue to do, well obviously until we complete it. We’re reading from the New Living Translation this week. Zechariah chapters 12 and 13.

Commentary:

Okay. We were talking at the very beginning today when we were just getting together about how we’re in this kind of in between time right now, this between Christmas and New Year's, this week in between where things aren’t…they’re just a little bit different and our hearts and minds turn away from Christmas, like we’re moving beyond Christmas and taking down all the lights and the tree and just…I mean some people keep them up for all the way through January, but I'm just saying generally speaking, we begin to move forward. And we begin to think about forward because we know that there's a line called New Year’s Day. And it's just another day. Indeed, it's just another day but it is the beginning of a new year. And, so, it's a line and…and we kind of live our lives in these 12-month spans when we think about things at this time of the year. What’s the next year gonna look like? And, so, we reflect on those things. We get contemplative about those things, the world over. We start to think about the changes that we need to make, the pounds that we need to lose, the strength that we need to gain, the spirituality that we need to dive deeper into, the story that we are living being more comprehensive or us just being simply more aware of what's actually happening in the present instead of the constant regret of the past and the worry for the future. We think about these things during this year…or doing…during this week before the new year, right? And this is the time…like the programs are out, like there’s different programs looking back at what happened in the year 2020. And what a year to reflect back on because it's been the weirdest one that I remember on a number of levels. It's been a disruptive year that has given us a vision. Maybe we thought we were gonna get a different kind of vision but we got vision of reality in a lot of ways that revealed our fragility as a culture as a society as a humanity, but also the fact that there is work yet to be done in this world in the ways that we interact with one another. And, so, maybe some of that is incorporated into some of the things we would like to…you know…to address, or to engage with or to contemplate in the new year, things that could change the way we live toward one another. And if we consider it, a lot of our resolutions have to do with how we would make changes that would make our life a better life. Like they are really of the self-focused resolutions, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Like if we need to honestly look in the mirror and examine ourselves and say, “okay, you know, here are the things that I would like to see happen physically. Here are the things that I would like to see happen spiritually”, then yeah we’re thinking about our own lives and that's fine. But if that's all there is, if we’re not thinking outwardly at all whatsoever well, then we may not be as comprehensive as we think we are. And, so, Psalms today, Psalms today gives us something to think about, “the Lord’s delight is in those who fear Him. Those who put their hope in His unfailing love.” It’s like that little sentence coming from thousands of years ago in a Psalm near the end of the Psalms bounces its way across history into our lap and then reorients us because we've been thing about losing 20 pounds, and now all the sudden we’re thinking about putting our hope in His unfailing love, which both of those things, both of those things are good things, probably, but one of those things is utterly essential. The Psalms says, “the Lord's delight is in those who fear Him,” The Lord's delight, that's…that's a New Year's resolution, becoming the Lord's delight? And that happens as we systematically, constantly be aware and in awe and in deep reverence at who He is as much as we can know because He is so far beyond us. But what if that was like the primary thing? Like, yeah what if we have this list of things, we want to accomplish this year, things that are resolutions, things that need to change, things that we just need to buckle down and see if we can make it past Valentine's Day on? But what if becoming the delight of the Lord lead the story, like led the way, was the primary thing? So, in the exercise, in the losing weight, in doing mental exercises or whatever, to have stronger mental abilities or mental health, what if becoming the delight of the Lord was the primary thing that we wanted more than anything else, and led the way into all of the other things? Maybe it would be worth just writing that down on the New Year's resolution list that we are…we are forming at the top of the list, like this is the thing that I want, to be the delight of the Lord. I want him to delight in me above all else. Let’s give that some thought as we continue our journey through this week of contemplation, of thinking about the fact that we’re going to exit a year that we will never forget. And yet we still don't exactly know what's out in front of us. But being the delight of the Lord, having the Lord delight in us, that can be an objective no matter what's happening.

Prayer:

Father, we invite You into that. It's coming from, Psalms, but it's landed itself in our laps today and in truth it really does explain what our hearts longing is about, that we would know You, that we would be known by You, and that You would look upon us with mercy and grace and love and patience and kindness, like You always have. And yet so often we thought we were estranged from You or You were angry at us. We would love to live into a new year in which we knew that You delighted in us every day, every moment because we were aware of Your presence, and we respect it and at awe for what You are at work doing transforming us personally but shifting things in the world. Father, we’ve prayed for eyes to see and ears to hear all year long and we’re still praying for that, eyes to see and ears to hear, how to be Your delight. We must put our hope completely in Your unfailing love, like all of our hope in You and in nothing else to get there. So, come Holy Spirit show us how to live in that direction we pray. In the mighty name of Jesus, we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website, home base, it’s where you find out what's going on around here. Welcome to everybody that is like coming around and checking in and going, “yeah, this is this gonna be the new year” and just kind of getting off to a good ending to the year as we get ready to begin a brand-new journey that will take us through the Bible. Welcome aboard. We’ve been taking this journey since January 1st of 2020 without any clue of what 2020 was gonna look like because it started like every other year, right? And then…yeah…then things began to shift and change, and we had an unusual and unforgettable year. And now we’re getting ready to go into a new year wondering what it will bring. And the good news is day by day step-by-step a rhythm gets established around here and we go through the Bible in community and it is striking, like stunning how often, how remarkably clear the Bible speaks into the things that we’re facing not only is people, but in our own hearts because it does really boil down to why we do what we do. And we get to explore so many stories over so many thousands of years that reveal the heart. And, so, looking forward to that. Welcome aboard. We’re getting ready for the journey of a lifetime. And then all of us who have been sailing through this year, gosh, weren’t there days we had to hold onto each other and hold on to the Scriptures for dear life? And were they not the life raft that we needed? Like, we’re here, we’re here. I keep saying that, but I keep saying that to myself. But it's like we did navigate we did make it we are here, and I'm just looking for to all that we will experience together in the coming year. So, anyway dailyaudiobible.com, that's the website, that's where you find what's going on around here.

And good place to know about is the Community section. This is where the different links to different social media channels that we are a part of are and this is how to get connected. And that's also where the Prayer Wall lives. And that's always happening, and there's always somebody praying, and there's always somebody asking for prayer…like it’s always on and always available to us. So, be aware of that.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible as we move into these last couple of days of the year, then thank you profoundly and humbly for your partnership. There is a link on the homepage. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner, or the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, of course, if you have a prayer request or encouragement, you can hit the Hotline button in the app and share from there no matter where you are in the world or you can dial 877-942-4253.

And that's it for today I’m Brian I love you and I'll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Hi this is Radiant Rachel I’m gonn continue praying for husbands. If you would pray with me. Lord I pray that You will give my husband Andrew and added measure of faith today. Enlarge his ability to believe in You, Your word, Your promises, Your ways and Your power. Put a longing in his heart to talk with You and to hear Your voice. Give him an understanding of what it means to bask in Your presence and not just ask for things. May he seek You, rely totally upon You, be led by You, put You first and acknowledge You in everything he does. Lord, You’ve said that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God, Romans 10:17. Hit his soul with Your word so that his faith grows big enough to believe that with You all things are possible, Matthew 19:26. Give him unfailing certainty that what You’ve promised to do You will do, Romans 4:21. Make his faith a shield of protection. Put it into action to move the mountains in his life. Your word says just…the just shall live by faith, Romans 1:17. I pray that he will live the kind of faithful life You’ve called us all to experience. May he know with complete certainty how great is Your goodness which You have laid up for those who fear You, which You’ve prepared for those who trust in You, Psalm 31:19. In Jesus’ name…

When upon life’s fellows you are tempest us when you are discouraged thinking all is lost count your many blessings name them one by one and it will surprise you what the Lord has done. James, Alan, Austin, Alex, Ariana, Alyssa, Shirley, Toby, Trixie, Peppers, and me. These are my blessings after my house burned down last Sunday. It was considered a total loss. Our house of 24 years is no more. All of our memories, all of our Christmas presents, everything gone; however, this childhood song has gotten me through the week. Anytime I start to feel sad or discouraged or overly emotional I just start singing this song in praising God that we all got out safe, everybody is okay. We do lose one of our childhood pets but other than that, praise God we are okay, but we would covet your prayers during this difficult time. We are the Newell family. We live south of Atlanta.

Good morning family Soaring on Eagles Wings and from Canada on Monday December 21st. This morning when I look through my window early my car was just covered with this white beautiful snow and I love to see the snow before there are footsteps or anything on it. Then the sun came through brilliant shining on the snow like a sprinkling of diamonds. And then I heard Dorothy the teacher from California called in and O your voice I love it. It’s so filled with animation and joy and I just needed to hear that voice. And I want to say Dorothy after we beat ourselves up for things we have said, left undone. But you know what, as we acknowledge them to our heavenly Father, he forgives us and I’ve had to do that many, many times. As you have requested, He is already sending new appointments your way as you care for and help guide your students. Being a teacher is an awesome responsibility especially in this Covid time with remote learning etc. etc. And I take my hat’s off to all the teachers. You now have to guide your students and influence them for good. So, I pray for you as you continue. Thank you all the teachers out there. I’m praying for you. I love…

Good morning DAB family this is Nadine from East to Midwest and today’s December the 21st. I’m calling just first to say thank you dear God for our ministry Daily Audio Bible. Also, I just wanted to share with everybody __ that we think that we found Daily Audio Bible? It’s not random. God certainly has wanted to place this into our lives because I was listening to Walta the Burning Bush and, you know, I listened to her talk about how she’s been a member for 13 years and all that she had gone through. And my goodness I’m 59 and I sure wish I had found something like this, you know, but God had not…but I was ready for it I suppose. So, just know if we are…if you are part of it it is an honor a blessing and a gift to you. So, be strong in knowing that you’re part of a special kingdom here on earth. I wanted to pray for Nick who’s tired in his ministry. Stay strong my brother. We are at war. You can rest but don’t get up…I mean don’t give up. Long-term listeners who had stepped away for a minute. __ you said you came back and it’s like O what a new world. Yeah, that’s how it goes when you’re part of the kingdom. It’s like…it’s the difference between night and day as far as East to West. And you said you just loved us. It might sound silly. No. That’s how it goes for us. Victoria Soldier thank you. You remind me of my mom. Thank you for your wisdom and God bless everyone. Merry Christmas and I can’t look…I can’t wait to move into 2021 with you.

Hey this is Jerry calling from Duluth Minnesota it’s 330 in the morning on day 606 of my journey renewed journey with the DAB where God wakes me up in the middle of the night to spend as much time as he wants with me and with and I with him. I was listening to the holiday greeting and the first 30 minutes with Brian and Jill. Thank you so much for sharing your heart and sharing your word that God has put on your radar for 2021, the word Mend. And I couldn’t help but think of Ecclesiastes chapter 3 and in the Amplified Bible in verse seven it says, “a time to tear apart and a time to sew together”. In the Good News Translation it says, “the time for tearing, the time for mending”. In the Living Bible it says, “a time to tear, a time to repair”. In The Message it says, “a time to rip out and another to mend”. In The Voice it says, “a time to tear apart and a time to bind together”. We’ve had a year of 2020 of tearing apart, and a lot of ripping and yet it’s exciting to see what God is gonna do in 2021 in mending us back together. God bless you all. Jerry from Duluth Minnesota.

Hello this is Shakira my name is…sorry. I just wanted to say that this has been a really good journey. I’ve been here since December 1st, 2020. I want to say that am thankful for this family and Brian. I will always push for this because I feel like this is a path that everyone needs to follow. I’m really, really, really, happy you have chosen God and dedicated my life to him again because I did fall off a little bit. I started to lose faith and I had to catch on. I just wanted to thank everyone who’s been pushing me without even knowing me. God bless you all. Have a great day and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. 

[lennart11412]

Where in the Bible did God give Satan domain over the Earth? Posted on

10/22/2014

|

14 Comments

WHERE IN THE BIBLE DID GOD GIVE SATAN DOMAIN OVER THE EARTH?

by Shawn Brasseaux

Thank you for this question. If our answer is to be one of faith, we need to look at pertinent verses in the Holy Bible, and then we need to believe those verses.

On the sixth day of creation, after God created terrestrial (Earth-based) animal life, Genesis 1:26-28 says: “[26] And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. [27] So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. [28] And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”

Please pay special attention to the above bolded phrases that demonstrate God’s purpose for man. Why did God place man (Adam) on the Earth? The Bible says that the human race was to be God’s chief creation in the Earth. In other words, God appointed Adam (the first man) to be king of the Earth, and Eve his wife was to be queen of the Earth. Adam and Eve were to be God’s representatives, His rulers, in the Earth; as the angels carried out God’s will in heaven, Adam and Eve were to “have dominion” over the earth, to “subdue [earth],” to “have dominion over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”

Sometime before God created mankind on Earth, He created spirit creatures (angels) to function in the heavenly places. One of these angelic-like creatures—which is actually called a “cherub” (Ezekiel 28:14,16)—was named “Lucifer” (Isaiah 14:12), and Lucifer wanted to glorify himself instead of the Lord Jesus Christ. Lucifer wanted to be “like the most High” (Isaiah 14:14): he wanted to be “possessor of heaven and earth” (Genesis 14:19,22), and he desired the praise that the Lord, the Creator, alone deserved. This creature fell into sin, and was re-named “Satan” (Hebrew for “adversary”): Satan became God’s chief enemy (Ezekiel 28:11-19). Once Satan polluted heaven with sin, he moved toward infiltrating the Earth with sin, rebellion against God.

Satan knew that, in order to control the Earth, he would first have to take that power from God’s human race. We read in Genesis chapter 3 how Satan deceived the first woman (with Adam voluntarily following his wife into the trap) into believing and following his lie program first begun in the heavens:

“[1] Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? [2] And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: [3] But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. [4] And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: [5] For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. [6] And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. [7] And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.”

It was in Genesis chapter 3 that Adam relinquished his crown to Satan; Satan gladly assumed dominion over the Earth in Genesis chapter 3. Romans 5:12 continues, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned….” Satan’s policy of evil succeeded in involving Earth: Adam willfully gave up his divinely-ordained earthly dominion. So, God gave man the dominion over the Earth; when man willfully sided with Satan, man became controlled by Satan and sin, and through fallen man, Satan gained power over the Earth. Consequently, Satan dominates the world’s political, religious, social, economic, and educational systems. Hence, the Bible talks about “this present evil world” (Galatians 1:4). Satan is called “the god [or ruler] of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4). The Bible says in 1 John 5:19, “And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.” Ephesians 2:2 speaks of the evil “course of this world.”

We need to notice what Satan told Jesus during His temptations. The Bible relays the narrative in Matthew 4:8-9: “[8] Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; [9] And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.” Luke 4:5-7 is the comparative passage: “[5] And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. [6] And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. [7] If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.”

Did you notice how Satan offered to give the world’s kingdoms to Jesus? The Lord Jesus, knowing full well that Satan had dominion over the Earth, never argued with him. He knew that Satan was controlling this world system, and that the only way to restore the world system to God was, not to bow down to and worship Satan, but to die for man’s sins. In hindsight, we see how the shed blood of Jesus Christ on Calvary is now the means whereby God will restore heaven and earth to Himself (more on this later).

Satan is currently usurping God’s authority in the Earth. Hence, Jesus Christ said in John 18:36: “Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.” Jesus’ kingdom was “not of this world” in the sense that His kingdom was one from God rather than one from Satan. The Lord Jesus’ kingdom would not originate from the evil world system that is presently operating on Earth and in the heavens.

The book of Job describes Satan’s activity in the Earth. We read in Job 1:6-7: “[6] Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. [7] And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.” And again, we read in Job 2:1-2: “[1] Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD. [2] And the LORD said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.” Walking denotes ownership; Satan admits to God that he is active on planet Earth, “going to and fro in the earth… walking up and down in it… going to and fro in the earth… walking up and down in it” (notice we read that expression twice, indicating a prolonged action, not just a one-time motion). This is significant, since we read in 1 Peter 5:8, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour….” Satan is active on planet Earth, and he will especially be doing this in the future—when he is banned from outer space and confined to Earth (Revelation 12:7-10)!

Colossians 1:16-20 tells us the good news: “[16] For by him [the Lord Jesus Christ] were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: [17] And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. [18] And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. [19] For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; [20] And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.” (God will give the heavens to us, the Church the Body of Christ [2 Corinthians 5:1; Ephesians 1:3,20-23; Ephesians 2:6-7; Colossians 3:1-2; 2 Timothy 4:18]—currently, Satan has polluted the heavens [Job 15:15; Ephesians 2:2; Ephesians 6:12]. He will give the earth over to redeemed Israel [Psalm 37:11; Matthew 5:5; Revelation 5:10]—remember, currently, Satan has polluted Earth).

Thankfully, one day, God will remove Satan from the Earth. The Bible says when Jesus Christ will return at His Second Coming, He will bind all evil spirits (Zechariah 13:1-2). He will then usher in His 1000-year reign on the planet, Israel’s earthly kingdom, the kingdom He originally wanted to establish with Adam (when God Himself, Jesus Christ, dwells with man on the Earth). According to Revelation 20:1-10, Satan will be bound in the bottomless pit during that millennium, and then released to tempt the new generations of people born. Once that is accomplished, God will rain fire down from heaven to consume Satan and his minions, confining them forever in the lake of fire and brimstone!

“And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever” (Revelation 11:15)—the best is yet to come, and, in the end, Jesus Christ will not have to worship Satan to get Earth’s kingdoms!

https://forwhatsaiththescriptures.org/2014/10/22/satan-domain-over-earth/

[discoveringthebible]

Written Easter 2020 Sermon: Luke 24:13-35

Easter 2020 Sermon Luke 24:13-35

Before I get started today, I wanted to pray for all of us. And I want to reassure those who are unsure, that God does hear our prayers and that God is grieved with what is happening in the world right now.

         Lord, God, Elohim, we thank you for this day and for the resurrection of your Son, Jesus Christ. We thank you for the opportunity for salvation and for the love that you have for each one of us. Heal this world, Father God. Take this disease that has ravaged communities all around the world and make it disappear. Heal the wounds of those who have lost loved ones, and heal those who are fighting everyday to save many more. The Bible tells us that when we don’t have the words to pray, that your Holy Spirit interprets for us. Interpret the hurt that we are experiencing as humanity. Hold us all close to You. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

Imagine this: your Boss, one whom you had only known for about three years, but you worked, traveled and spent most of that time with, had been on the radar of some very jealous, older and feared elders in the business. Your Boss is working hard toward revolutionizing the career, with your help and the help of your eleven coworkers. Your Boss wants to redeem and restore the good reputation of the occupation.

         The elders, however, did everything they could to sabotage the work that you, your coworkers and your Boss are trying to do.

         The jealousy became so bad that they began spreading lies to the government about you, so the Government put all of you on their “watch list”.

         All of your clients had nothing but praises for your Boss, you and your coworkers and your honest and trustworthy work. However, a few elders paid off some of your clients to say bad things about you and to give you terrible reviews.

         What’s worse was that some of those elders also offered a large sum of money to you and to anyone willing to turn your Boss in. No way! You say, but one of your coworkers takes the bribe and sets your Boss up. And the set up comes when you least expected it—in the middle of the night. Your Boss knew it, but didn’t run away from it.

         The government police came to arrest your Boss, you and your coworkers who were still with you. In a panic, you and your coworkers scatter and run into the darkness, leaving your Boss behind, and as a result He is arrested.

         You go back into town early in the morning to find out what has happened to Him—feeling guilty about leaving Him behind the night before. Fighting to see through the crowds that have appeared, you realize He was beaten and mocked. He was still wearing his blood-stained clothes, which now looked like rags, barely hanging on Him.

         The Governor, who presides over the population where you live and work doesn’t want to persecute your Boss—he doesn’t deem it necessary, but the elders do. They persuade the crowd at the Governor’s house that your Boss deserves the highest form of punishment that can be carried out by the government—death. You couldn’t believe it. Even the Governor couldn’t understand it. He heard testimony from several people and found the entire thing ridiculous.

         Once a year, the government released a criminal back to the public. In an attempt to set your Boss free, the Governor presents a choice to the crowd: Your Boss, or a murderer. As you begin shouting your Boss’ name, the elders begin chanting the murderer’s name and motions the crowd to do the same. As hard as you try, hardly anyone is chanting your Boss’ name.

         Dismayed, the Governor lets the murderer go. He then addresses the crowd, wanting to know what punishment he should carry out. The elders begin chanting “Crucify Him!” And the crowd follows and does the same. Bound by the law and afraid that this matter will go above his head, the Governor does what the crowd commands. Jesus is taken away, only to reemerge hours later, with more bruises and covered in more blood. He was beaten again, so severely, He could barely walk. Then He was paraded through the streets, forced to carry the cross He will die on.

         You watch in horror as they drive nails into His body—first with his right hand, then his left. Then they place one foot over the other and drive an even larger nail through both feet, into the wooden cross, currently laying on the ground. And each time He screams in pain. Another crowd has gathered, some are horrified, some are overjoyed and others don’t know what to make of the situation. Government officials stand the cross up and put it into the hole they dug so it would stand up. Your Boss cried out in pain again. And slowly, H begins to suffocate along with two other criminals who were already hanging on their crosses.

         After He dies, He is buried. And then it’s the hard reality of What are we going to do now? Between you and your ten coworkers. Some of them go back to what they did before they were recruited by your Boss: fishing. As this was how they knew they could earn income. As for the one who betrayed your Boss, He was filled with so much remorse and regret that He killed himself.

         As you prepare to head back to your hometown of Emmaus, some women, who also worked with you had this remarkable story a couple of days later. They went to go mourn him, but His body was gone! It vanished! What could it mean? You wondered…

This story just happened to the two men we see in Luke 24:13-35. Their world had turned upside town and they were just trying to pick up the pieces.

The Gospel of Luke gives us a unique account of these two on their way to Emmaus. This story takes place after Mary, Jesus’ mother, Mary Magdalene, and Peter saw Jesus’ empty tomb first hand.

Verse 13: That same day two of Jesus’ followers were walking to the village of Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem. 14: As they walked along, they were talking about everything that had happened. 15: As they talked and discussed these things, Jesus himself suddenly came and began walking with them.

16: But God kept them from recognizing him.

17: He asked them, “What are you discussing so intently as you walk along?” They stopped short; sadness written across their faces.

18: Then one of them, Cleopas, replied, “You must be the only person in Jerusalem who hasn’t heard about all the things that have happened there in the last few days.”

19: “What things?”

Let’s stop here a minute and let this sink in. These two guys must have thought that this traveler came from under a rock. Jesus’ death had occurred during Passover Week.

Passover has been celebrated from the time when the Jewish people were enslaved in Egypt. Moses was trying to free the Jewish people, who were slaves, from Ramses II. But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, which was why God sent the Ten Plagues to cover the entire land of Egypt. And the last one was a doozy: It claimed the firstborn male of every Egyptian household.

The Jewish Community was spared because they spread lamb or goat blood across their door frames to keep the death angel from taking their firstborn males. The death angel passed over them.

This Passover Celebration was the reason why Jews from all over the Empire (no, I’m not making a Star Wars pun), the Roman Empire were there in Jerusalem. Everyone knew what had happened to Jesus—all it seemed except for this unknown traveler. Plus, all of this was fresh on Christ’s mind—having gone through all the torture, suffering, death and resurrection.

Back to verse 19:

19: “What things?” Jesus asked. “The things that happened to Jesus, the man from Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet who did powerful miracles, and he was a mighty teacher in the eyes of God and all the people. 20: But our leading priests and other religious leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and they crucified him. 21: We had hoped he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel. All this happened three days ago.”

Another pause here.

The Jewish community was under Roman government control and they were persecuted because they were Jewish. They had high taxes, and they were treated terribly. Many people thought that the Messiah was going to free them from the Roman government and become their King, like they had in the Old Testament—a King, like David or Solomon. However, they misunderstood the purpose of the Messiah and didn’t realize that Jesus came and His purpose was much bigger than just freeing them from the Romans. He had come to save their souls.

Verse 22: Then some women from our group of his followers were all at the tomb early this morning, and they came back with an amazing report. 23: They said his body was missing, and they had seen angels who told them Jesus is alive!

24: Some of our men ran out to see and sure enough, his body was gone, just as the women had said.”

25: Then Jesus said to them, “You foolish people! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures. 26: Wasn’t it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his glory?”

During this time, every man had a basic religious education—they grew up reading, memorizing and saying Scripture aloud. (Imagine for a moment, if we did this as a society. What would our neighborhoods, schools, jobs and lives look like if we actually studied the Scriptures on a daily basis?)

As Jesus points out, it shouldn’t have been a surprise that He was killed. His death was fulfilled in Scripture that was written several hundred years before Jesus was even born. (If you want to check out some of those passages, take a look at Daniel 9:24-27; Haggai 2:6-9; Isaiah 7:14; 8:14; 53:3-6; Jeremiah 31:15; Psalm 22; and Zechariah 9:9.) I will also post this list in the comments of this video. Psalm 22 is a great example. Christ even quoted part of the first verse while hanging on the cross! “My God, my God. Why have you abandoned me?” To those who heard Him, they would have known the entire psalm, including verses 16-18:

16: My enemies surround me like a pack of dogs, an evil gang closes in on me. They have pierced my hands and feet. 17: I can count all of my bones. My enemies stare at me and gloat. 18: They divide my garments among themselves and throw dice for my clothing.

Another great example is Isaiah 53:3-6: 3: He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care. 4: Yet it was our weakness he carried, it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment from his own sins! 5: But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. 6: All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.

Let this sink in for a moment.

“Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.”

Isaiah lived approximately 700 years before Christ. Isaiah didn’t write these words about himself. This was the prophecy.

It was all laid out, but many people in Jesus’ time, had missed the true purpose of His coming. And even the ones who knew Jesus was the Messiah, they had misunderstood His real purpose, which was to set people free from their sins—not to restore Israel as a powerful military nation, as it was believed He would.

Back to Luke 24 Verse 27: Then Jesus took them through the writing of Moses and all the prophets, explaining the things concerning himself.

28: By this time, they were nearing Emmaus and the end of their journey. Jesus acted as if he were going on, 29: but they begged him, “Stay the night with us, since it is getting late.” So he went home with them.

30: As they sat down to eat, he took the bread and blessed it. Then it broke it and gave it to them. 31: Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. At that moment he disappeared!

32: They said to each other, “Did our hearts not burn within us as he talked with us?”

33: And within the hour they were on their way back to Jerusalem. There they found the eleven disciples and the others who had gathered with them, 34: who said, “The Lord has really risen! He appeared to Peter!”

35: Then the two from Emmaus told their story of how Jesus had appeared to them as they were walking along the road, and how they had recognized him as he was breaking bread.

This is a pretty incredible story.

Growing up, I had never paid much attention to the Resurrection story in Luke’s gospel. The small Southern Baptist church I was raised in tended to preach the Resurrection story from Matthew, Mark and John.

And if it wasn’t for Emmaus Church Community, a Nazarene church I started attending when I was seventeen, I still might not be paying that much attention to it. The other three gospels do not even mention Emmaus. One of the lessons that, as a Christian, I take away from this story is that sometimes, I miss it. And that isn’t always a great feeling—I don’t like to think of the things that I’ve goofed up, or things that I have missed or even messed up, but without that reflection, we don’t strive to be better. I don’t strive to be better.

Most who know me know I have felt a call into ministry—Deaf ministry to be exact. I was called back in August of 2002 when I was just thirteen years old. And this was during a time when a devastating life experience caused me to walk away from God. What I was taught about God didn’t match up with what I had witnessed and experienced and I couldn’t understand why, so out of extreme frustration, I took a break from God. There actually was no intention of returning to God, but I am grateful that God never left me. And about a year and a half later, I recommitted my life to Christ.

On August 9th 2002, I heard God’s voice. He said to me, “Cody, I want you to minister to those who cannot hear.”

I told my youth pastor about it. He was excited for the God encounter I had, probably because I needed it, but a part of him was excited because he was sitting next to me when it happened. After we returned from our week at summer camp, with all the other kids in youth group, my youth pastor thought it would be a great idea to share this call into ministry with the elders in the church. After explaining what had happened, they suggested that I look for ways to become a missionary. (At the time, I didn’t understand the difference between ‘minister’ and ‘missionary.’ Plus, in that church’s denomination, they do not believe women should preach from the pulpit.)

Over the course of the next ten years, and changing churches, every time I tried to sign up for a missionary trip, whether near or abroad, there would always be something that prevented me from going. And I had started to become frustrated. After much reflection and council, and a group trip with the college concert band I was a part of, God pointed out I had missed the mark.

I had misunderstood His call.

That’s a pretty big thing to miss.

God had called me to be a minister.

The dictionary defines ‘minister’ as “a person authorized to conduct religious worship, a member of the clergy, pastor.” It defines ‘missionary’ as “a person sent by a church into an area to carry on evangelism or other activities, as education or hospital work.”

Don’t get me wrong, both are wonderful calls from God, and quite frankly, we need more people to accept God’s calls, whether that is being a missionary, pastor, or something else.

Some of you might think I missed the mark because I was led to believe a different call. At first, I thought so too—but I don’t think so anymore. This call was mine. It didn’t belong to the church elders. A part of me thought that this call might include preaching, which was something I was against. I disliked public speaking. I despised it. Nope. I hate it. Part of it had to do with a speech impediment I had as a child. (And yet, somehow, I now hold a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Science, and I took Advanced Public Speaking voluntarily.)

I couldn’t pronounce two letters of the alphabet: L’s and R’s.

But, do you know what the problem really was? Why I didn’t really own my call?

I was full of excuses. Just like Moses in Exodus 3 and 4.

However, I want to tell you that this passage in Luke 24 is about forgiveness of our shortcomings. It’s about love. It’s about a God who loved us so much that He would send His Son to suffer and die on a cross for us—including our excuses and reasons why we didn’t and sometimes just don’t get it. For the times that we missed the mark. Asking God to forgive us for our shortcomings and for the times we missed it is important. It’s also about forgiving ourselves and forgiving others. God’s forgiveness of our sin isn’t a direct result of us forgiving others, but it is about us realizing what forgiveness means.

Ephesians 4:32 says, 32: “Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.” As Christians, we are forgiven by God when we ask for it.

But what about those who don’t consider themselves Christian?

Right now, we are living in a pretty scary time, with a lot of uncertainty ahead. As we watch or read the news, we are reminded of our mortality as humanity when we see people succumbing to COVID-19.

I am here to tell you that through this difficult time: God loves you. God sent Jesus to live as human, to die on the cross for our sins and to be raised again.

John 3:16-17 says, 16: For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17: God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

I encourage you to make peace with God. Salvation is a process, while the commitment is immediate, salvation is a lifelong process which includes a relationship with Jesus Christ, as well as a church family in which you can continue to learn and grow from. If you want to become a Christian, the first step is to pray. Ask God for forgiveness. Ask Him to forgive you for your shortcomings and sins. (This is a process that will continue also as a Christian, or at least, it should.) Ask Jesus to become your Savior and make a commitment to follow in Jesus’ footsteps. And then thank God for His Saving Grace.

Romans 10:13 says, 13: “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Also see Joel 2:32).

If you prayed this prayer for the first time, or if you are recommitting yourself to God, please let me know in the comments below, or in a private message. I want to celebrate with you and help you find a Bible preaching church in which you can continue in this journey.

If you are not ready, that is okay too. If you have questions, or would like more information, also, please feel free to comment below, or to message me. I am willing to help you.

For my Christian brothers and sisters, we need to remember to pray for those who are not yet Christian. We need to be reaching out to those who are especially lost and confused as this Coronavirus ravages the world.

I want everyone to know that you are loved. You are valued. You matter.

Let’s pray:

Father God, we thank you for this message of grace and salvation. Open the hearts and ears of those who need this message, Lord. Let us remember, that You love us unconditionally. And that Your death on the cross and Your resurrection was for us. You did that, so that we wouldn’t have to die a sinner’s death. We love you Lord. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

I wanted to leave you all with a benediction, or blessing. It comes from 1 Corinthians.

“My love to all of you in Christ Jesus. Amen.” (1 Corinthians 16:24)

[pastorcowboy]

Scattering the seeds of the Christ

Matthew series: Ministry of Jesus

Matthew 13 The religious atmosphere part 3

I’m going to call this chapter the scattered seed chapter. To this point, we have instruction, prophecy, and revelation. All three of these things are wrapped together in the Christ. Who is he? The Old testament talks of this man but the Israelite nation did not know for sure what this Christ would look like. What would he do? Where would he come from? If you re-read Matthews first 12 chapters we see the authorities confused over where this Christ should come from. From Harrod to the Magi they all were searching, dissecting, and interpreting the scriptures, traditions, and rumors. The scattered seeds are all these hints of Jesus first coming. What have you heard in the past about Jesus?

Matthew 13:9 “Whoever has ears, let them hear.”

Matthew 11:9 “Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.”

I wondered if I should call this lesson the religious atmosphere. This is about kingdom talk, parables, and sowing seed. Yet, that is the atmosphere of the day. The people meant to read this book were Jewish. They knew the Old Testament well. Possibly too well. It had become bla bla to them because of poor religious observance and teaching. It is by no mistake that Matthew quotes Isaiah, Daniel, Jerimiah, and others. They were all warning of the same thing. They see but don’t see. They hear but don’t hear. Matthew 13 is a final warning to the readers. Listen or perish. I think why Matthew quotes so many prophets is to prove they did not listen to these men they idolized. I am sure you have heard good phrases or words in the past. Did you listen to them?

Matthew 13:14 “In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.”

Jerimiah 5:21 “Hear this, you foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear.”

This whole chapter is about listening. It’s about believing. Matthew wants people to believe in Jesus. Yet, he knows the religious climate. They were blind and tone deaf. The wheat, weeds, and seed represent the words of God spoken through the prophets of old. This word was scattered all over Israel. Yet, the fruit, crops, and harvest of this seed was minimal. In many ways the bad religion was the weeds and thorns choking the harvest. Also, the hearts of the people had gone hard. I wonder if the occupation of Babylonia and then Rome had crushed the hearts of the nation. They were captives. God said he would be their God. Where was God? I think Jesus came at exactly the right time. People needed hope, faith, and renewed belief in their God. I think that’s exactly why Jesus made the illustration of the mustard seed. Israel was small, but meant for greater things. Jesus came to till the soil and shake the leaves. It was time for the return of the Kingdom.

Matthew 13:24 “Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.”

Deuteronomy 32:9 “For the LORD's portion is his people, Jacob his allotted inheritance.”

Read Matthew 13. Check out Matthew 4. Jesus is tempted with food, power, and safety. Matthew quotes another piece of Isaiah in verse 16. In some ways Matthew 13 takes chapter 4 farther. Extra reading, try Isaiah 19, Deuteronomy 29:4, Ezekiel 17:23, and Dan 4:12

1.                   (Matthew 13:1-17) Revelation 3:6 says “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Throughout the Last book of the Bible is this statement. Theoretically the writer of that book had not read Matthew. Matthew at that time was a group of stories. Matthew supposedly pulled these stories together to tell his version of the Jesus story.  Yet, this saying must mean something. In the Old Testament it is said several times in Isaiah, Deuteronomy, Jerimiah, and more.

Matthew uses this chapter as a gateway to the rest of the book. It says that the disciples could see and hear what Jesus was saying. Paul, a writer of other Bible books talked about a mystery to be revealed. The Greek word for mystery can be parable. Hard understandings. What is the mystery? Paul explains it is the revealing of the Christ. Matthew has been meticulously revealing the Christ from page one.

 Matthew 13:10 “Then the disciples came and asked him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?”

Exodus 3:14 “od said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'"

 2.       (Matthew 13:18-43) This is the theme of the farm. On a farm are the worker, harvester, sower of seed, and others. Also on a farm are crops and weeds. Verse 30 is controversial to me. Jesus says let the weeds and wheat grow together. I preached at a church where a man told us that we should avoid the weeds. I believe Jesus. Yet, it makes no sense to live with the dregs of this world. They presumably hate God. I can see Jesus is more concerned about the good soil, the good crops, and good intentions of his workers on the farm. I don’t think Jesus is weary of the weeds.

Don’t you find it interesting that Jesus is talking about the kingdom and not the earth. Jesus focus is on what will be rather than what is. Again, Jesus is asked after all his teaching to explain himself. Again, he uses the verses pertaining to let the people see and hear. I think this is the frustrated God and Jesus. The word was given in the Old testament. The way to heaven was there. Yet, clearly, the people were not getting it. Their soil was hard. They were blind, deaf, and hard in heart. It’s the same message spoken to Pharaoh as it was to the religious of Jesus day. Those who could hear (wheat) and those how could not (weeds).

 Matthew 13:30 “Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’”

Exodus 11:9 “The LORD had said to Moses, "Pharaoh will refuse to listen to you--so that my wonders may be multiplied in Egypt."

 3.       (Matthew 13:44-58) The last verse ends with “because of their unbelief.” In the churches, towns, cities, countryside, and even Jesus own home town there was unbelief. After all the Israelites had been through over thousands of years, they never grew. Their ground was still hard and un-tilled. Jesus goes into a set of small explanations describing the kingdom. They are not even deep parables. They are more like analogies. The Kingdom is… It’s should have been so easy to recognize the treasure and keep it. Gather the fish and throw out the bad. Later on, a man refuses to see his treasure to gain heaven (Matthew 19). A woman talks about scattering pearls to pigs (Matthew 7). Judas receives money to betray Jesus. The rulers take the coins and buy a field of blood (Matthew 27). Matthew is a smart writer. I believe he saw Jesus in the words and actions. He could see and hear.  Again, this is Matthew asking the people to see and hear what they missed the first time. The kingdom is heard in Jesus the Christ.

 Matthew 13: 58 “And he did not do many deeds of power there, because of their unbelief.”

Zephaniah 3:8 “"Therefore wait for Me," declares the LORD, "For the day when I rise up as a witness Indeed, my decision is to gather nations, to assemble kingdoms, to pour out on them My indignation, All My burning anger; For all the earth will be devoured by the fire of My zeal.”

 4.       (Matthew 13) I have always lived by a saying that “work is the sustainer for what we were really meant to do.” You could alter that and substitute God for work. Look at Matthew 13 closely. It’s about crops. It’s about kingdom. It’s about community, understanding, and the truth. All these things have been the fabric of the lives we lead. We were born in community. We are given food, shelter, and work to do. Nothing has changed for thousands of years. People today say God is dead. That has been said many times before. If Jesus was God, then he died on a cross.

If he is resurrected then that changes everything. The kingdom just might still be heard. The word just might still mean something. They knew verses like Zechariah 7:8-14. Those verses plead with the people to listen before it’s too late. Matthew 13 talks at great length about two scenarios. One is collecting treasure. That treasure could be God’s word, blessings, or people. The other side is pulling up weeds, ignoring warnings (God’s word), and casting people aside. Jesus hometown ignored 30 years of God growing up among them. Surely Jesus gave hints from time to time. Mary hinted of that at Jesus first miracle. What is scary is those closest to God not believing. How tragic is that.

Matthew 13:42-43 “and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!”

Jerimiah 6:10 “To whom shall I speak and give warning That they may hear? Behold, their ears are closed and they cannot listen Behold, the word of the LORD has become a reproach to them; They have no delight in it.”

What it all means?

If I met you on the street and told you about a complete stranger, you should understand perfectly without even meeting him, right? Of course not, that is pure nonsense. Christians for two thousand years have been telling people to trust, obey, and follow a man named Jesus without even meeting him. In the Gospels we have story after story of someone telling others about Jesus. Several times Jesus himself tells people not to talk about him. Why? It’s because what the Christ does in a heart will tell way more.

I know of many people who saw the good actions of Jesus followers and wanted to join. Unbelief is changed because a heart is changed. Matthew also repeats many times that people were surprised or impressed with what they heard about Jesus. To be a real Christian is to do rather than open our mouths. It’s not that we can’t explain or tell the truth about Jesus. It’s just that seeing is believing. Seeing a life changed is powerful.

What Matthew 13 means is that we are to go and tell. We are to go and preform good deeds. The same way Jesus did for us. We are to tell the stories of Gods good news. That the kingdom is near. Those that experienced Jesus told about Jesus. They did things that God would want done. People see that. They are curious. The wheat and weeds are a final warning. What will you be in religion. What will your knowledge of Christianity look like to others. Will you just boast about a man they do not know? Will you boast about a man you experienced? Jesus sells himself. Sell to others that we have been sold for a price on a cross. Let them see the hands and feet of Jesus in your life.

Matthew 13:54 “Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked.”

Exodus 14:31 “And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.”

[dfroza]

A chapter of just 8 verses

though of course when John wrote it, just as with the rest of Scripture, it wasn’t yet separated by chapter & verse as reference points. although the reference points have become of significance as well.

and the current chapter from the book of Revelation takes a look at a future scene in Heaven:

Revelation 15

[The Song of Moses, the Song of the Lamb]

I saw another Sign in Heaven, huge and breathtaking: seven Angels with seven disasters. These are the final disasters, the wrap-up of God’s wrath.

I saw something like a sea made of glass, the glass all shot through with fire. Carrying harps of God, triumphant over the Beast, its image, and the number of its name, the saved ones stood on the sea of glass. They sang the Song of Moses, servant of God; they sang the Song of the Lamb:

Mighty your acts and marvelous,

O God, the Sovereign-Strong!

Righteous your ways and true,

King of the nations!

Who can fail to fear you, God,

give glory to your Name?

Because you and you only are holy,

all nations will come and worship you,

because they see your judgments are right.

Then I saw the doors of the Temple, the Tent of Witness in Heaven, open wide. The Seven Angels carrying the seven disasters came out of the Temple. They were dressed in clean, bright linen and wore gold vests. One of the Four Animals handed the Seven Angels seven gold bowls, brimming with the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever. Smoke from God’s glory and power poured out of the Temple. No one was permitted to enter the Temple until the seven disasters of the Seven Angels were finished.

The Book of Revelation, Chapter 15 (The Message)

Today’s paired chapter of the Testaments is the 26th chapter of 2nd Chronicles that documents the life & times of King Uzziah:

[King Uzziah]

The people of Judah then took Uzziah, who was only sixteen years old, and made him king in place of his father Amaziah. The first thing he did after his father was dead and buried was to recover Elath for Judah and rebuild it.

Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king and reigned for fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother was Jecoliah from Jerusalem. He behaved well in the eyes of God, following in the footsteps of his father Amaziah. He was a loyal seeker of God. He was well trained by his pastor and teacher Zechariah to live in reverent obedience before God, and for as long as Zechariah lived, Uzziah lived a godly life. And God prospered him.

He ventured out and fought the Philistines, breaking into the fortress cities of Gath, Jabneh, and Ashdod. He also built settlements around Ashdod and other Philistine areas. God helped him in his wars with the Philistines, the Arabs in Gur Baal, and the Meunites. The Ammonites also paid tribute. Uzziah became famous, his reputation extending all the way to Egypt. He became quite powerful.

Uzziah constructed defense towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, the Valley Gate, and at the corner of the wall. He also built towers and dug cisterns out in the country. He had herds of cattle down in the foothills and out on the plains, had farmers and vinedressers at work in the hills and fields—he loved growing things.

On the military side, Uzziah had a well-prepared army ready to fight. They were organized by companies under the direction of Jeiel the secretary, Maaseiah the field captain, and Hananiah of the general staff. The roster of family leaders over the fighting men accounted for 2,600. Under them were reinforcement troops numbering 307,000, with 500 of them on constant alert—a strong royal defense against any attack. Uzziah had them well-armed with shields, spears, helmets, armor, bows, and slingshots. He also installed the latest in military technology on the towers and corners of Jerusalem for shooting arrows and hurling stones. He became well known for all this—a famous king. Everything seemed to go his way.

But then the strength and success went to his head. Arrogant and proud, he fell. One day, contemptuous of God, he walked into The Temple of God like he owned it and took over, burning incense on the Incense Altar. The priest Azariah, backed up by eighty brave priests of God, tried to prevent him. They confronted Uzziah: “You must not, you cannot do this, Uzziah—only the Aaronite priests, especially consecrated for the work, are permitted to burn incense. Get out of God’s Temple; you are unfaithful and a disgrace!”

But Uzziah, censer in hand, was already in the middle of doing it and angrily rebuffed the priests. He lost his temper; angry words were exchanged—and then, even as they quarreled, a skin disease appeared on his forehead. As soon as they saw it, the chief priest Azariah and the other priests got him out of there as fast as they could. He hurried out—he knew that God then and there had given him the disease. Uzziah had his skin disease for the rest of his life and had to live in quarantine; he was not permitted to set foot in The Temple of God. His son Jotham, who managed the royal palace, took over the government of the country.

The rest of the history of Uzziah, from start to finish, was written by the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. When Uzziah died, they buried him with his ancestors in a field next to the royal cemetery. His skin disease disqualified him from burial in the royal cemetery. His son Jotham became the next king.

The Book of 2nd Chronicles, Chapter 26 (The Message)

my personal reading of the Scriptures for Tuesday, february 23 of 2021 with a paired chapter from each Testament of the Bible, along with Today’s Psalms and Proverbs

A post by John Parsons about the upcoming Hebraic holiday of Purim and its eternal significance:

The festival of Purim begins Thursday, Feb. 25th at sundown this year... The Scriptures state that the holiday of Purim “should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city; and that these days of Purim should not fail from among the Jews, nor the memorial of them perish from their seed” (Esther 9:28). According to Jewish tradition, we remember the miracles of Purim by means of four mitzvot (i.e., blessings): 1) Honoring the appointed time as directed by the Scriptures (Esther 9:26-28); 2) Performing acts of tzedakah and kindness (Esther 9:22; i.e., misloach manot: מִשְׁלוֹחַ מָנוֹת); 3) Hearing the Megillah of Esther read; and 4) Enjoying a special Purim meal together. The Midrash Esther says that Purim, unlike many of the other holidays, will be celebrated even after the final redemption after the End of Days. Maimonides says that the Book of Esther will enjoy the same status as the Torah of Moses in the world to come (Mishneh Torah, Megillah). This is because the story of Purim -- i.e., God’s covenantal faithfulness and defense of His people -- will be magnified in the deliverance that leads to the establishment of the Messianic Kingdom upon the earth. Indeed, the Second Coming of the Messiah will be regarded as the final fulfillment of Purim (Rev. 19:11-16).

Purim is all about God’s irrepressible, undefeatable, insuperable and sovereign love for His people. Though the wicked seem to sometimes have the upper hand in olam ha-zeh (this present hour), we need not fret or become anxious (Psalm 37:1, Prov. 24:19, Phil. 4:6). God is in control and His love and purposes overrule the counsel of the wicked. He will one day speak to the princes of this dark world in His wrath and terrify them in His fury (Psalm 2:5). God’s great vision for Zion, the “City of the Great King,” will never fail, friends, nor will His love for those who are trusting in Him. God’s sovereign love is our great hope. As King David said, בָּרְכוּ־נָא אֶת־יהוה אֱלהֵיכֶם / Barekhu-na et-Adonai Elohekhem: “Now bless the LORD your God” (1 Chron. 29:20). פּוּרִים שָׂמֵחַ / Purim Sameach: “Happy Purim” chaverim! [Hebrew for Christians]

https://hebrew4christians.com/

2.21.21 • Facebook

A Tuesday tweet by illumiNations:

@IlluminationsBT: #translationtuesday series: historical milestones in the Bible translation movement

William Carey, known as the Father of modern missions, translated the Bible in Bengali and five other languages from India in 1800.

2.23.21 • 12:16pm • Twitter

there is a deep significance in the translation and communication of the Scriptures

[kingdomofthelogos]

Danger & Love: for the Glory of God

Read Luke 1:5-25, 57-80

Download a printable version here.

The gift of John the Baptist in Luke 1:5-25 serves as a reminder of the love of God. Just as John the Baptist will declare the pathway for Jesus, Gabriel declares the love of God, which has the power to punish Zechariah for his ingratitude while still giving him a gift beyond all imagination. God’s glory is a dangerous thing, but it is His will that mercy triumphs over judgment. The true path of goodness is not safe, and if we will stop for a moment, we will find that all things truly good and noble come from walking an unsafe path. The salvation we have, the liberty we enjoy, such things are not purchased safely. This should not discourage us, but stir our nerves to rise up with courage as we walk with Christ who has conquered death.

Zechariah, for unfortunate reasons, is unsatisfied by Gabriel’s presence and message. He has fallen into a trap which snares many: the desire for emotional satisfaction rather than goodness and truth. Zechariah is not focused on the actual content of Gabriel’s message, which should bring him joy by all rational thought, but is instead looking inwardly at his own expectations. This desire for emotional satisfaction has caused him to dismiss the great gift that has come to him so unexpectedly.

This snare is very common in our world today. Quite often, people forsake the gifts of God because they are looking for something which satisfies their personal persuasion. Our modern age has trained us to look for emotional and personal satisfaction rather than to have respect for truth. People today think that something must feel a certain way to be real in our lives. This is the idea that something must sit right with us if it is to be believed. Christ reminds us that we neither need to have all the answers nor feel a certain emotion to actually believe in Him. In Mark 9:24, Jesus responds to the father who says “I believe, help my unbelief.” In Revelation 20:4, Christ chooses faithful Christians to serve with Him for a thousand years. As the text says, “Then I saw thrones, and those seated on them were given authority to judge. I also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony to Jesus and for the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.” The text does not say anything about their personal satisfaction nor their emotional state, but it says this: they knew that Christ was Lord and the beast was not, and they were willing to die for that fact.

Let me be clear on this topic, I am not saying God does not want us to have joy or assurance, because He desires both joy and assurance for us. What I am saying is we mustn’t fall into the trap of thinking our feeling of His presence, our understanding of His will, or any such idea that stems from our own person has the authority to actually determine God’s activity. There are many times our brains know a piece of wisdom to be true, but feel strange because our hearts are in conflict with that wisdom. Do not let this slow you down, and hold onto the wisdom even if your personal emotions are tricking you. God does as He may, and often He does things we are entirely unaware of or don’t understand.

God desires we respect His expectations and not simply focus on our own, for quite often we do not appreciate the glory that is being revealed to us, including the grace of God in our current life. God does not expect us to have all the answers with a complete emotional satisfaction, but He does expect us to be faithful. There will be times when we find ourselves walking through the valley of the shadow of death with a feeling of uncertainty of whether or not God is near, but regardless of our own feelings we must march forth in God’s truth. Jesus prayed to the Father with concerns about going to the cross, but nonetheless He went forth to the cross. We must remember that truth is not determined by our feelings or opinions, which can often be misleading, but by the providence of God which cannot be contained.

Thankfully for Zechariah, Gabriel is on his side even though he is punishing him with silence. Many of us might just pack up our gift and leave since it was received so poorly, but Gabriel has come to do the work of God. Just as God is on our side, Gabriel is as well. Zechariah still receives the great gift of a son even though his character proved unworthy. 

This points us to the great truth of God’s love. The same power that can revoke your ability to speak is also willing to forgive your ingratitude and give you a priceless gift. In the throne room of Heaven in Revelation 5:4 we find “coming from the throne are flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and in front of the throne burn seven flaming torches, which are the seven spirits of God.” It is vital that we understand how dangerous God is to truly understand His love. God is not safe, and His presence is deadly. In Exodus 33:18-23, Moses desires to see the glory of God:

18 Moses said “Show me your glory, I pray.” 19 And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim before you the name, ‘The Lord’; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. 20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face; for no one shall see me and live.” 21 And the Lord continued, “See, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock; 22 and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by; 23 then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back; but my face shall not be seen.

God’s presence is deadly. One cannot look at Him or even approach His holy places under the wrong circumstances. Yet, His love for us is tremendous and in His Law of Liberty mercy triumphs over judgement. He desires to dwell with us, and that we are freed from the bondages of fallen creation. James 2:13 teaches us that “for judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.” This is God’s will, and we do well to let His absolute power shape our understanding of His love.

In Isaiah 6:1-10, we find another glimpse of the throne of Heaven. The text reads:

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. 2 Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. 3 And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.”

4 The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”6 Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. 7 The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: “Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.” 8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I; send me!” 9 And he said, “Go and say to this people: ‘Keep listening, but do not comprehend; keep looking, but do not understand.’10 Make the mind of this people dull, and stop their ears, and shut their eyes, so that they may not look with their eyes, and listen with their ears, and comprehend with their minds, and turn and be healed.”

The presence of God is a powerful thing. The seraphs attending God must keep their faces and feet covered, for they must be careful in the presence of God despite their high position in Heaven. Even the temple in which the throne resides will tremor at the words declaring God’s glory.

This text can teach us something beautiful about Gabriel and Zechariah’s meeting. Gabriel was commissioned with power and a message from God, just as was the prophet Isaiah. God was looking to bring a swift and absolute judgement against the wickedness of His people, not because He despised them but because He loved them. There are times when people will not turn their hearts or open their eyes until they reap the consequences of their wicked deeds. While this is unfortunate, it is a pathway towards healing and restoration. This series of events is quite similar to how Gabriel reacts to Zechariah. Zechariah’s mouth is shut for the time being, and he will not be able to speak until his eyes and ears have fully recognized the truth of God’s gift.

Both God and Gabriel are actually on Zechariah’s side, just as God was on the side of the Jewish people even as they thought Him absent. God is on our side as well, and He does not want us to be ended on the Day of Judgment. God’s love desires that we have goodness in life, and we must recognize His power and be moved by His love.

The deadly power of God should not be discouraging to us, but instead encouraging. It should move us to walk through life fearing nothing other than Him. Neither death nor sickness should rob us of the noble life to which we are called. The almighty power of God actually wants you to be saved.

If we consider the things that are truly good and noble in life, we will find that none of them came through safe pathways. The path of nobility is not safe. The Way of Life is not safe. However, it is beautiful, and it portends a life beyond imagination. 

In 1620, the Pilgrims came to Virginia in the Name of God in order to give glory to God and advance the Christian Faith. It was a risky journey, and half of them would die the first winter. They knew this was a journey into the unknown, but the charge of Heaven demands we do not fear death. Similarly, Gabriel left heaven to come to Zechariah that he would give glory to God and declare the coming of the Christian Faith. Isaiah took a coal to the mouth that he might be made pure to speak the brutal truth of God that would pave the way for healing and understanding.

The love of God calls us to a life of nobility. We must be willing to walk through the dark valleys if we desire the things which are good. Fallen creation itself is a valley of the shadow of death, and in order for us to truly be good we must recognize that goodness is not safe. Safety produces neither goodness nor nobility, and the will of God calls us to take the same leap of faith that both Isaiah took when a coal was touched to his mouth and Gabriel took when he left Heaven.

The issue with safety is not that it is inherently evil, but that it is an effective tool of hell to get us to throw away virtues and all that is good in life. The good things in life come at a cost, for they always do, and even approaching God is not safe. If hell can convince you that safety is preeminent, then it can teach you to be satisfied in rejecting God and all that is good. It can teach you to feel content while throwing away your liberty and enslaving your children.

God Himself took the risk of dying that He might conquer death. God has even taken the risk of loving us, with the hope that we might love Him in return; moreover, God did not take the safe route of creating puppets that He would fully control, but instead made creatures with a will to choose. This was anything but the safe route.

In Luke 1:57-80 we finally see the birth of John the Baptist. The purpose of John that Baptist was to fulfill the will of God, that people might experience the great love of God despite their shortcomings. John will not just be Zechariah and Elizabeth’s child, but God’s child. With this miracle we receive a reminder of God’s perfect and holy love, and Zechariah now proclaims a message of the loving majesty of God. Just as John’s message would declare the coming of Jesus, Gabriel’s message declared the bold nature of God’s love. Let us hold this truth near to our heart, and remember that God alone should be feared. Put on the Armor of God, and let us step out into a hostile world to shine the beacon of goodness, truth and beauty. It is noble, although it will not be safe, but do not be discouraged, for Almighty God will be with you.

[blogfriendofgodblog]

The Jesus Mask

WHAT IF... It was Satan who wears the "Jesus" Mask

WHAT IF... It was even worse than that?

WHAT COULD POSSIBLY BE WORSE THAN THAT

WHAT IF... The Biblical Jehovah was an Imposter

Yes, a Pagan Imposter Who took the place of GOD in the old testament

and as "jesus" takes the place of Yeshua in the new testament

Are you a typical christian

You believe in your bible and you believe in your "jesus"

but you do not believe ..who.. the bible says jesus really is

nor

what your bible says about his real character and nature

Is your "Jesus" really Jehovah's Son?

Isn't your "jesus" actually the old testament Jehovah?

What does the Bible tell us?

In Zechariah 12 JEHOVAH is speaking (verses 1 and 4)

In verse 10 Jehovah says, They shall look upon ME whom they have pierced

This can refer to no one other than Christ (compare John 19:37 and Revelation 1:7)

In Isaiah 43:10-11 and 45:21 JEHOVAH declares Himself to be the ONLY SAVIOUR

There is no other Saviour besides Him

According to the New Testament, Who is the ONLY SAVIOUR (Acts 4:10-12)

In Isaiah 45:21-22 JEHOVAH says, Look unto ME and be ye saved...there is none else

In John 3:14-16 we are told to look unto the crucified One to be saved

In Isaiah 45:21-23 JEHOVAH says that unto Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear

In Philippians 2:9-11 this passage in Isaiah is applied to Christ, the One before Whom all shall someday bow

So there we have it ... Jesus is Jehovah but who is this Jehovah of the Bible?

The Biblical Jehovah preachers hide from you

So you have no problem...

with the pagan jehovah having babies cut from the womb and then dashed against the ground

or his commands such as...

KILL everyone in the town if ..one.. person worships another God

or I will cause such desolation in jerusalem that the people will have to ..eat.. their own children

speaking of eating...

Do you also have no problem with Daddy feeding his darling children the ..dung.. that cometh out of a man

And thou shalt eat it as barley cakes, and thou shalt bake it with dung that cometh out of man, in their sight

And the LORD said Even thus shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles whither I will drive them (Ezekiel 4:12-13)

Tell me truly...

What kind of loving father would ever even ..contemplate..

feeding his darling Children sh!t?

WOW!!

Let's continue

Why would the true Yeshua say- that him and the biblical Jesus shall never agree

Parable Yeshua and Jesus Wisdom 12:28-34

Come now and hear again this parable:

For it so happened that on a certain day, Yeshua of Nazareth went walking by the sea, and in the heat of the day he rested himself beneath the palms

Now there came unto him

this Jesus Christ of the Christians wearing garments made red with blood

and he desired to contend with Yeshua seeing that he was alone

And sitting himself down Jesus Christ and Yeshua spoke unto one another all that day

And in the evening tide, when the wind caressed the waters of the sea and the birds of the air made ready their nests

Yeshua rose from his place and speaking unto Christ, said:

My friend, I fear that you and I shall never agree

And Yeshua turned himself again unto the children of his soul, being made joyful that he should walk among them

But Christ, rising from his place, turned himself again unto the doctrines and creeds of the faithful;

muttering to himself always concerning the works and deeds of saints and martyrs, popes and preachers

Hear now this great mystery and ponder:

For this Yeshua of Nazareth whom these men would call Christ

even he is the Father of your soul being Emmanuel unto the children of men

Why, therefore would you let such teachings as these others would teach

separate you from the true Father who loves you?

The False Christ finally identified

Yeshua speaks of the false christs and ..their.. teachings of the ..False.. Christ

Who are they who attempt to deceive the VERY ELECT

and DECEIVE MANY?

We read that they are false Christs and false prophets

But WHO are these false Christs and false prophets

How will we know them

What IDENTIFIES them as false prophets, liars, and deceivers?

Here are just two Scriptures

where Yeshua gives us the IDENTIFYING SIGNS of the these false teachers, and deceivers

MANY will say to me [Yeshua] in that day

Lord, Lord [Master, Master] have we not

A: PROPHESIED [taught, preached] in Thy ..other.. Name [Jesus]

B: In Thy ..other.. Name [Jesus] have CAST OUT DEVILS [demons]

C: And in Thy ..other.. Name [Jesus] done MANY WONDERFUL WORKS [miracles]

And then will I (Yeshua) profess

I NEVER KNEW YOU: DEPART FROM ME YOU THAT WORK INIQUITY [lawlessness] (Matt 7:22-23)

For MANY shall come in my name (Yeshua) saying [that] I am [Jesus] the Christ and shall deceive MANY" (Matt 24:5)

Who are the "MANY" today who, (1) Teach and preach in the ..other.. name of Jesus Christ (2) Cast out demons in the ..other.. name of Jesus Christ (3) Do MANY (not a few, but many) WONDERFUL WORKS    in the ..other.. name of Jesus Christ

WHO

The Russians The Chinese The Muslims The Hindus The Confucianists The Buddhists The Jews The QUARTER BILLION Ethnic Religionists The HUNDRED AND FIFTY MILLION Athiests

Do ANY of these worldwide religions teach, preach, cast out demons, and do many wonderful works

IN THE ..OTHER.. NAME OF JESUS CHRIST

No, they don’t

Well then...

WHO ARE THE "MANY" who do these things

Do not "MANY" of the TWO BILLION CHRISTIANS in the world today

"teach, preach, cast out demons, and do many wonderful works IN THE ..OTHER.. NAME OF JESUS CHRIST

Then I would say that we have identified

the "many" that the true Yeshua warned us about

The Bible says the devil deceives the entire world

yet 2 billion Bible Believing Christians think that the ..entire world.. doesn't include them

so lets make it as clear as we can

Yeshua You and your ..truths.. of the true GOD

will ..not.. be the "undoing" of our Church

We will murder you and replace you with Jehovah's Jesus

and the entire world will believe in him over you

Jehovah's reign of fear and servitude will continue and your name and your memory will be forgotten

Who will you send and who will listen to them as the entire world has already been deceived

The wages of sin was Death

until all sin would be ..fully.. paid for

with the ultimate death of deaths

No longer should any wages (Deaths) be paid for something that no longer exists

At that precise moment

all things should have been made new

No longer...

would any of GOD's Children have to die

for their sins that are no longer there!!

If anyone is still dying for ..their.. sins

then the supposed death of jehovah's "jesus"   for the sins of the ..entire world..

was meaningless!!

So tell me truly... why are people still dying for their sins?

Ah, so now you ..begin.. to see the ..LIE.. of blood atonement

Still...

Lets go to the good old bible

for the very reason that people are still dying for their sins

and why any sins that were not on the sacrifices head

BEFORE IT WAS KILLED

can never be paid for by that sacrifice.

If the Sacrificial System was true

and forshadowed exactly how the sacrifices were to be carried out...

Only a Priest in the lineage of Aaron

could transfer all the sins of the children of Israel

to the head of the Sacrifice

Lev 16:21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the goat

and confess over him

all the iniquities of the children of Israel

all their transgressions and all their sins putting them upon the head of the goat

Question: Were the sins that were being put upon the sacrifice committed sins or non-committed sins

Answer: They were the "committed" sins of the children of Israel

It was those sins and only those sins that would be gone forever

Since this one sacrifice, had nothing to do at all with the ..future.. sins of the children of Israel

The same ceremonial sacrifices would continue as the children of Israel committed future sins

Now, follow me through on this...

When the true Yeshua met John the Baptist at the Jordan River

who was indeed the very last Priest in the lineage of Aaron-

Did he or did he not... take the sins of the world upon his head at his Baptism

Were the sins that John the Baptist put upon Yeshua the committed sins or the non-committed sins of the world

They were the "committed" sins of the entire world

Yes the sins of the entire world that had been committed-

Those sins, only those sins

As forshadowed, this sacrifice had nothing to do with the non-committed sins of the future

If the Biblical account was true...

Then Yeshua, your sacrifice... had to have the "committed" sins of the world on his head before he was killed

His sacrifice would be meaningless to the world if he was killed without the sins upon his head

Let's go back in time... to the Sacrificial System and imagine this

If the Priest was lazy one day and decided NOT to put the sins upon the head of the sacrifice-

but decided to just kill it and be done with it Would this be acceptable to Biblical Jehovah

No Way

The sins had to be On the sacrifice before it was killed-

no other way would be acceptable than the very way Jehovah required it to be done

Now then... Let's say the Priest had a change of heart... and felt guilty for not having performed the ritual exactly as God had required it to be done

and so he went to the already ..dead.. sacrifice and proceeded to now put the sins upon it-

AFTER IT WAS ALREADY DEAD

Can you tell me... that you really and truly believe- that this secondary effort would be acceptable to the Biblical Jehovah

NO WAY

So tell me... Why is it that most Christians are taught to pray daily putting their sins upon a sacrifice... THAT HAS ALREADY BEEN KILLED

Is this after the fact effort ever going to be accepted by the angry wrathful God of man's Bible

NO

Only those sins that were on the head of the Sacrifice before it was killed

would be gone to the satisfaction of the Biblical Jehovah

Here is the ..LIE.. of "It is Finished" Here is the ..LIE.. of "Blood Atonement"

Upon the Death of Yeshua the Salvation of the Human Race was completed

The required ..payment.. of Blood and Death for sin-

was immediately satisfied at the very moment Yeshua was killed

likewise at that very moment all creation should have also been made new

And there's another big problem with this lie of blood atonement...

Any future sins of the people living at this time

not to mention the sins of those not even born as yet

could never ever be put upon an already dead sacrifice

Thus, we would have to have...

another Sacrifice another Savior another Murder

Nothing was ever FINISHED

[gospelmusic]

Our Daily Bread Devotional ODB, 11 November 2020 - Returning Home

Returning Home

By Winn Collier for ODB In distant lands they will remember me . . . and they will return. 

Zechariah 10:9 Read: Zechariah 10:6–12 Bible in a Year: Jeremiah 50; Hebrews 8 Walter Dixon had five days to honeymoon before he shipped off to the Korean War. Less than a year later, troops found Dixon’s jacket on the battlefield, with letters from his wife stuffed in the pockets. Military officials informed his young wife that her husband had been killed in action. Actually, Dixon was alive and spent the next 2.5 years as a POW. Every waking hour, he plotted to get home. Dixon escaped five times but was always recaptured. Finally, he was set free. You can imagine the shock when he returned home! (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); God’s people knew what it was to be captured, moved far away, and to long for home. Due to their rebellion against God, they were exiles. They woke each morning yearning to return, but they had no way to rescue themselves. Thankfully, God promised He’d not forgotten them. “I will restore them because I have compassion on them” (Zechariah 10:6). He would meet the people’s relentless ache for home, not because of their perseverance, but because of His mercy: “I will signal for them . . . and they will return” (vv. 8–9). Our sense of exile may come because of our bad decisions or because of hardships beyond our control. Either way, God hasn’t forgotten us. He knows our desire and will call to us. And if we’ll answer, we’ll find ourselves returning to Him—returning home. Where do you sense exile in your life? How are you hearing God calling you, showing you how to return home? God, I feel far away from You. I know You’re near, but I feel so distant. Would You help me to hear Your call? Would You bring me home?

Insight

For a relatively short Old Testament book, Zechariah is quoted extensively in the New Testament. There are at least seventy-one quotations, with thirty-one found in Revelation. Twenty-seven are found in the Gospels (fourteen in Matthew, seven in Mark, three each in Luke and John), with many occurring in the accounts of the last week of Jesus’ ministry. Zechariah 9–14 speaks of a human king (9:9–10) and a divine king (14:1–17). It also points to a figure whose suffering brings redemption (12:10–13). With the incarnation of Jesus these images are brought together into one person. As the son of David, Jesus could claim the human throne. As God in human form, Jesus fulfills the prophecies of the heavenly king who comes to earth, including suffering for the sins of the world and bringing forgiveness. When He comes again, He’ll bring His kingdom to earth.

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Follow us on social media: Facebook: @hottestnaijadotcom Twitter: @wherehot Instagram: @hottest9jablog Disclaimer: This post contains links by our advertisers. Presence of such links does not warrant endorsements by HottestNaija. Your use of their services, is subject to their terms of service. Click here to take a look at our posts on gospel music download or click this link to see all posts that include gospel music lyrics You may also like our gospel worship songs page which contains, the best, coolest and hottest Nigerian Gospel Songs, and Foreign Gospel Songs. Whatsoever is the mood, we've got you covered. Do you feel like dancing, rejoicing, shouting, screaming, or you're filled with jubilation because of the Mighty things the Lord has done? Then look no further, cos our gospel praise songs page, containing the hottest Nigerian and foreign praise songs collection, was prepared specifically for you. Peradventure you need the lyrics of the songs you are downloading now, just downloaded, or have downloaded before, our lyrics page is the best place to look. What more could be more helpful and entertaining than seeing the lyrics of your most favourite song before you, as the music unfolds unto the climax. Hey we've been there before, and still encounter it from time to time when the vocals get lost in the cloud of heavy orchestration. Are You a Classical Music lover, our classical music page, contains the best of classical songs, composed and written by composers like G. F Handel, Bach, Joseph Haydn, etc. As you listen to your best gospel song, you may also want to get some more insight and knowledge about the word of God, from eBooks written by God's servants, or you may want to learn something new or build yourself up in some way. Then our eBook Page is the right place to look. You may be in need of entertainment, and probably want to watch a video too. We understand that as well. You can get entertaining music videos from our videos page.

[dalyunministry]

KNOWING AND UNDERSTANDING JESUS THROUGH HIS MESSENGERS AND WITNESSES - Part 2

By. Bro. Paul Vincent Moses

🔰

Sunday, 27th September 2020

Dear members of Christ, I greet you all once again in the most precious name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Hope all our members in the group along with their families are safe and good by God’s grace. Thanks and praise be to God alone for all the safety and protection and care and love He has been showing upon all of us.

In our last week’s session we were discussing about KNOWING AND UNDERSTANDING JESUS THROUGH HIS MESSENGERS AND WITNESSES.

Today, we are going with our discussion on ‘KNOWING AND UNDERSTANDING JESUS THROUGH HIS PROPHECIES AND SIGNS. Let’s bow down and pray for the Lord’s leading being filled with God’s Spirit.

¶ PRAYER

Our Heavenly Father, thank you for another day, week and Sunday added unto us in our lives. There are several thousands of people across the world seen no more due to the pandemic that has universally spread. Yet, you have kept us safe just because of Your mercies showered upon us that we should not perish. As we are meditating Your Word now, Lord, please guide and lead us through Your Holy Spirit so that we would understand what is taught and that we would be able to live our practicing Christian lives. Use Thou me for your glory. I offer this prayer in Jesus mighty name. Amen!

Dear brothers and sisters, our today’s observations will be on: KNOWING JESUS THROUGH HIS PROPHECIES & SIGNS. Now let’s begin with – KNOWING JESUS THROUGH HIS PROPHECIES.

‘Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah”…Philip found Nathanael and told him, and about whom the prophets also wrote – Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph’. John 1:40-41, 45.

God, through the prophets, had draws a picture of the coming Messiah. Every Jew who heard readings from the Old Testament knew parts of this picture well. When Andrew and Philip met Jesus they began to see ways in which Jesus fit the prophetic picture. Believing Jews had waited centuries for this very moment. This kind of good news had to be shared! Philip soon told his friend, “We have found the One Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote”.

The Nation of the Messiah Moses, in about 1500 B.C., was the opening writer of the Old Testament. He recorded God’s first promise of hope for the sinful human family.

God said to the snake: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will crush your head and you will strike His heel.” Genesis 3:15.

From the beginning, the prophecies point to a male offspring, a male child. He would crush or destroy the snake, Satan (Revelation 12:9).

Later, God spoke again of an ‘offspring’ or ‘seed’. God chose Abraham, and God promised him, “Through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed Me”. Genesis 22:18.

God repeated this promise to Abraham’s son Isaac as in Genesis 21:12; 26:4) and then to Isaac’s son Jacob as in Genesis 28:14. Jacob’s other name was Israel, and he had twelve sons. Which one of these twelve would God choose? Just before his death, Israel gave God’s blessings to each of his sons. Israel said to his son Judah: “The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until He comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is His.” Genesis 49:10.

In other words, kings would come from Judah. Many years after Genesis had been written, this prophecy came true. The kings of Israel did come from the tribe of Judah. Yet there was more to the prophecy. He would come – the One to whom that ruler’s rod really belongs. He would be more than just Israel’s King, for He would be over the nations.

• The Family of the Messiah

The first king from Judah’s line was David, in about 1000 B.C. God made amazing promises to David as in 2 Samuel 7:8-29; Psalm 89:3-37 & chapter 132. These promises were repeated by the prophets Isaiah (11:1), Amos (9:1), Ezekiel (37:24-28). Jeremiah, for example, foretold, “The days are coming when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land, declares the Lord.” Jeremiah 23:5.

The New Testament was written over 600 years after Jeremiah. The book of Matthew begins: “A record of the geology of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham”. Matthew 1:1.

Israel’s laws about holding land caused Jews to keep strict records of each family line. Therefore, it was well-known among the Jews that Jesus was from David’s family (Matthew 9:27; 15:22; Acts 2:22-36).

Was it just by chance that Jesus came into that one nation, that one tribe, and that single family predicted by God? The number of places in the world is beyond counting. Who could foretell the exact place of the Messiah’s birth? Yet the prophet Micah made an amazing promise: The great Ruler would come from the home village (1 Samuel 16) of His forefather David. “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for Me One who will be Ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” Micah 5:2.

• The mother of Jesus lived in Nazareth.

Government rules forced her to travel many miles to Bethlehem. Her male child was born there, in the very village marked 500 years earlier by Micah (Matthew 2, Luke 2 & John 7:42.

• Did this also happen by chance?

Andrew and Philip knew that only God could foretell and fulfill in such exact ways. They understood enough of the prophecies to be able to say, “We have found the Messiah.” However, some prophecies were more difficult to understand and accept.

Many Jews Expected an Earthly King

Many Jews thought that the Messiah would be like other kings. They reasoned that if the Messiah would rule all nations, He would do so by armed force. So they looked for one to lead them in the battle against their nation’s enemy, Rome (Acts 5:36-37). Seeing the great powers of Jesus, they wanted to force Jesus to become their king according to John 6:05. They expected earthly Jerusalem to be His capital city.

Later, when Jesus came to Jerusalem, large crowds shouted their greetings:

“Hosanna to the Son of David”. Matthew 21:9.

“Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David”. Mark 11:10.

“Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord”. Luke 19:38.

• The crowds were soon disappointed.

Instead of joining in their happiness, Jesus wept over the city (Luke 19:43-44). He warned that Jerusalem would soon be destroyed by the Romans (Luke 21:5-24). Instead of marching against the Roman rulers, Jesus came before them as an accused criminal on trial (Luke 23). Many who had welcomed Him began to call for His death. Nails were driven into His hands and feet to hold him onto the raised wood of the cross. There He was left to die slowly, in great pain. Neither the followers of Jesus, nor His enemies, expected that the Messiah would suffer in such ways. Great kings are supposed to be accepted by their people; Jesus was rejected by His people. Great kings have honour and respect; Jesus died in shame. Great kings defeat their enemies; Jesus was crucified by His enemies. His friends were confused and sad. They said, “But we had hoped that He was the One who was going to redeem Israel”. Luke 24:21.

If they had looked more closely at the Old Testament, they would have realized that it foretold that the Messiah would be rejected. Before He died, Jesus often predicted that He would be killed by the Jewish and Roman leaders as in Luke 17:25; 18:31-33; & 20:9-15. In proof of this, He quoted Psalm 118:22, which spoke of Israel’s leaders rejecting God’s chosen One. The prophet Isaiah as we find in chapter 53 and verse 3, had also shown that God’s chosen One would be despised and rejected.

• How Messiah Would Suffer and Raise

The Old Testament prophecies did not stop there. They went on to show exact ways in which the Messiah would be hurt.

Here are a few, linked with passages in the New Testament:

 A close friend would turn against Him. betraying Him to His enemies. (Psalm 41:9; Luke 22:47-48.

 The price to be paid for this betrayal was thirty pieces of silver. Zechariah 11:12-13; Matthew 26:14-15.

 His own followers would scatter, leaving Him alone. Zechariah 13:7; Mark 14:49-50.

 People would strike Him and spit on Him. Isaiah 50:6; Matthew 26: 67.

 While treated in the most shameful way, He would endure it in silence. Isaiah 53:7; Mark 14: 61; 15:5.

 He would be falsely judged and punished with criminals. Psalm 35:19; Isaiah 53:8,12; John 15:24-25; 19:18.

 He would be pierced, even in His hands and feet. Psalm 22:16; Zechariah 12:10; John 19:18,37; 20:27.

 Those who pierced Him would also gamble for his clothes. Isaiah 53:8; John 19L25-37.

 His death would be the guilt offering for removing the sins of us all. Isaiah 53:10-12; 1 Peter 2:24.

Old Testament laws allowed only animals to be used as guilt offerings. Isaiah wrote in about 700 B.C. and he followed those laws. How then could Isaiah speak of this Human as the guilt offering? Isaiah 53 said other surprising things. It showed that after His suffering He would enjoy great satisfaction as a result of that suffering. It showed that after His death He would again see the light of life. Isaiah 53:10-11.

Some might ask, Did Christians later write into Isaiah 53? The answer is No! This did not come from Christians. Remember that all the Old Testament was translated into the Greek language in about 250 B.C. Long before Jesus’ birth Isaiah 53 was already being read in many lands. The oldest known Hebrew copy of Isaiah was found in 1947 at Qumran near the Dead Sea, and has been kept in Jerusalem. Scientists have examined this Isaiah Scroll. They date this scroll as having been penned over 100 years before the coming of Jesus. Yet this very ancient Isaiah scroll says the same things in Isaiah 53 as your Bible says today. There is no doubt at all that Isaiah’s description of One dying for the sins of others, and then living again, was written long before Christianity began.

• Jesus Claimed to Fulfill Prophecy

None of us chooses our own family line and place of birth. None of us can choose to return to life after dying. Yet Jesus boldly claimed to fulfill all Old Testament prophecies about eh Messiah. To His own followers Jesus said, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not Christ have to suffer these things and then enter His glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself…He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about Me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms”. Luke 24:25-27,44.

And to the leading Jews Jesus said, “These are the Scriptures that testify about Me…If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about Me.” John 5:39, 46.

This continued to be the message of the early Christians according to Acts 3:24; 10:43; 13:32; & 26:22-23.

Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ,” he said. Acts 17:2-3.

• Knowing that Jesus is the Christ is not a matter of wishful guessing.

It can be explained, reasoned and proved from the Old Testament Scriptures as in Acts 17:2-3. Jesus matched the prophetic picture perfectly. Yes, He even fit the parts that seemed impossible! Peter, an eyewitness who saw the prophecies coming true, assured us that the message of the prophets was certain as in 2 Peter 1:19.

• How can we be sure and can we understand prophecy?

God alone could accurately foretell everything about His coming Messiah. And only God’s true Messiah could fulfill all that God had foretold about Him.

Moreover, in order to understand prophecy, it is important to realize how God has spoken. “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways as in Hebrews 1:1. God has not spoken in just one way. He spoke in various ways and among those different ways, God has used literal ways of speaking and also symbolic ways of speaking. Literal means that the words have their normal meaning, which is often an earthly meaning. As an example of literal prophecy, look at Micah 5:2. It said that the Ruler from God would come from Bethlehem. “Bethlehem was meant literally that is, it was the earthly town by that name. the ways God spoke through Micah was easy to understand. Most of the Bible is written literally – using plain language.

However, God’s prophets used all the forms of speech, just as we do. Therefore they spoke at times in pictures, called symbols or figures. Malachi 4:5 is an example of symbolic or figurative prophecy. “See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes.” Jesus did not take this prophecy in its literal sense. He understood that the coming “Elijah” was John the Baptizer, who was like Elijah. (Luke 1:17; Matthew 11:14; 17:10-13.

As another example, consider Psalm

118:22, “The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes”. Through the New Testament we learn that Psalm 118 was especially about the rejection of Christ. (Luke 20:9-18; Acts 4:11; 1 Peter 2:7. “Stone,” then stands for something much more than a piece of rock. It is a picture or symbol for Jesus. This was God’s way of saying that Israel’s builders (the leaders) would reject the stone (Jesus).

• KNOWING JESUS THROUGH HIS SIGNS

“Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim. Then He told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine… He said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but You have saved the best till now.” This, the first of His miraculous sings, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed His glory, and His disciples put their faith in Him.” John 2:7-11.

Jesus gave much more than a gift at this wedding party. He gave a sign with important messages. The disciples had first believed through the witness of John the Baptizer. Their faith had grown through meeting Jesus personally. They began to see how He fit the old prophecies. Now, seeing His first miracle, they began to really trust in Jesus. They put their faith in Him.

• A True Sign

The Bible first mentions such signs in Exodus 4. God used miraculous signs to prove the authority of Moses. Israel could be sure by the signs that God had sent Moses. Through that same Moses god promised to send a Prophet like Moses as in Deuteronomy 18:17-18. Some Old Testament prophets did work miracles. Yet none of them had used miracles as fully and powerfully as Moses had used. Deuteronomy 34:10-12. The last famous miracles of the Old Testament were in the time of Daniel. That had been over 500 years before the births of John the Baptizer and Jesus. If the disciples were not used to seeing miracles, what made them so sure that they had seen a real miracle at Cana? John wrote as one who was present as in John 20:30 & 21:24. He knew the exact day of this first sign (John 1:43-2:1). Jesus came to join in blessing the newly married couple. What a blessing He gave them! There was nothing more for their guests to drink, and Jesus cared enough to solve their problem. He used 6 large jars that were already there. John 2: 6 says that each jar held about 20 to 30 gallons (75 to 115 liters) of water. This made a total amount of at least 120 gallons (450 liters). When they too some of the water to their leader, they found that it had become wine! Could there have been some trick? Many were present to examine all the facts: The wine had the finest taste – there was nothing poor or waters about it. All could test the wine’s quality. They could also check that the large amount of water had been supplied only by the servants. The servants had filled the water pots to the very top (John 2:6). Nothing else could have been added. In the same way, John’s report is clear and full. No room is left in John’s report for a mistake of memory or a trick. Nothing important has been left out. In nature God does use water to make grape juice. In the plant – the grape vine – water has slowly changed into juice with the help of sunshine, soil and air. What God does gradually through nature, He did in one moment through Jesus. Here was the power of God at work in a Man. Here was a true sign that only Heaven could give!

• Messages of Power

The miracle at Cana was just the beginning. For over 3 years Jesus did many miracles, showing powers that even Moses had not shown. Here are a few examples:

Jesus and His disciples were caught by a storm at sea. The boat seemed to be ready to sink. The disciples woke Jesus, crying, “Lord, save us! We are going to drown!” Then Jesus replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of Man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey Him!” Matthew 8:26-27.

During another storm, Jesus came to their boat walking on the lake (Matthew 14:25). When Peter was invited by Jesus, he also walked on the water. Then Peter looked at the strong waves and high winds, and he began to sink. Jesus rescued him and helped him back to the boat. This happened soon after another memorable miracle. As the fame of Jesus grew, so did the crowds. They followed Jesus even to the lonely mountains east of Lake Galilee. Jesus told His disciples to find food for the crowds (Mark 6:38). Andrew came back and said, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” Jesus said, “Have the people sit down”. There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them. Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.” John 6:9-11.

Armies use many supplies, many cooks and much money to feed such numbers. Jesus used just a handful of food to make enough to fully satisfy 5000 men, besides women and children (Matthew 14). Honest eyewitnesses could not have been mistaken about such reports. Some ask,

“Could Jesus’ followers have made up a false story?”

Thousands who were there could have proved them liars. The whole Jewish nation would have laughed at such wild stories. The nation did not laugh. It took the reports so seriously that it divided over them (John 7:12, 43; 9:16). Many recognized the miracles as signs from God. Others saw the miracles as a threat to their own ruling positions. When Jesus raised the dead, they took the miracles seriously enough to seek the death of Jesus (John11).

• Messages of Mercy

With such powers, Jesus could have become very rich. Instead, He lived and died with almost nothing. He never used His miracles selfishly (Matthew 4:1-10; John 4:3-8). Some miracles of the Old Testament had destroyed people. Jesus came on a mission of mercy. “I did not come judge the world, but to save it’. John 12:47. Thus His miracles did no harm, even to enemies. His miracles carried a clear message of love and help for all, especially for the needy and suffering. When the 5000 men followed Jesus east of Lake Galilee, He had compassion on them and healed their sickness (Matthew 14:14). Another time, when Jesus fed over 4000, He said, “I have compassion for these people…I don’t want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way”. Matthew 15:32.

He Himself was fully human, feeling much hunger, thirst, tiredness, sadness and pain. So He could feel with the pains and needs of others. Jesus often reached out and touched sick people (Mark 6:5; 7:33). Even those with the worst illnesses, and with diseases that can be passed to others, were not left out.

‘A man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged Him, “Lord, if you are willing, You can make me clean.” Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. “I’m willing”, He said. “Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him”. Luke 5:12-13.

Were these true miracles of healing? Take a closer look. Jesus visited a pool called Bethesda in Jerusalem: “As Jesus went along, He saw a man blind from birth…Jesus spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. ‘Go, wash in the Pool of Siloam’, he said to him. So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.” John 9:1, 6-7.

Many knew this beggar who had been born blind. Jesus’ enemies had to admit that God’s hand had been at work (John9:24). But they did not want to honour Jesus. So they tried to say that Jesus was a sinner. The healed man did not know Jesus well, yet to such things he replied, “Whether He is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I know, I was blind but now I see.” John 9:25. From verses 30-33 when we read we find further sayings of the healed blind man. “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where He comes from, yet He opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to godly man who does His will. Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing.” Some became upset that Jesus healed on the Jewish day of rest, the Sabbath. Jesus replied to them, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by Himself; He can do only what He sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does, the Son also does.” John 5:19.

Jesus’ miracles showed God’s own will and work. God cares for His people. He reaches out to meet their needs. Through Christ He sets right the things that are wrong.

• Messages of Faith

Jesus used many lessons to prove God’s willingness to help. He used examples of God’s care in nature (Matthew 6:25-26). He used examples of family love, showing how much more the heavenly Father cares (Matthew 7:9-11). He also used the miracles themselves as examples for building faith in god’s power and kindness.

He told a healed woman, “Your faith has made you well”. He told a soldier, “It will be done just a you believed it would”(Matthew 8:13). When Jesus did an amazing miracle to a tree, He used it as an example for His apostles. Yet He used words showing that the basic lesson ‘ “have faith in God” – was a lesson for all. The word of God says,

‘Have faith in God…I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, “Go, throw yourself into the sea,” and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” Mark 11:22-24.

The miracles served as spiritual windows. Through them people could look into the power of God at work in Christ. Jesus did not heal every ill person in the world, or even all the sick in the land of Israel. Jesus healed every case of every kind of illness brought to His attention (Matthew 4:23-24; 8:16; 9:35). He never failed. Thus he proved God’s power to help every person who comes to Him. He used the healing of man’s diseased body to prove that He could also heal man’s sinful spirit (Luke 5:17-26). He used the healing of the blind to prove that He could give spiritual insight to all who are willing to learn (John 9). He used the feeding of the 5000 to prove that He is “the living bread” for eternal life (John 6). He cast out demons to prove His power to throw Satan out of any person (Luke 11). He raised the dead to prove that He has the power to raise up the spiritually dead as well as all in earthly graves (John 5:25-29; 11:1-45). Jesus did not raise up every dead person in Palestine. He raised up enough to serve as clear examples. These and His other miracles were sufficient to make His message plain: Place your faith in God and in His Son, Jesus. God has the desire and power to help each of us who comes to Him through Christ. Jesus said to His followers, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me.” John 14:11.

• Messages of the Messiah

When God promised to send the Prophet like Moses, God said, “I will put My words in His mouth, and He will tell them (Israel) everything I command Him.” Deuteronomy 18:18. When Jesus came, He kept claiming to speak as the Son faithfully speaking for His Father. He spoke only what God commanded Him.

“My teaching is not My own. It comes from Him who sent Me.” (John 7:16).

“There is a judge for the one who rejects Me and does not accept My words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day. For I did not speak of My own accord, but the Father who sent Me commanded what to say and how to say it.” (John 12:48-49).

• How could Jesus prove such great claims?

The same way Moses did – by great acts from God Himself! Speaking about the healing at Bethesda, Jesus said, “The very work that…I am doing, testifies that the Father has sent Me.” John 5:36. Later He said, “The miracles I do in my Father’s name speak for Me.” John 10:25. Many Jews began to understand the message of the miracles. “Many in the crowd put their faith in Him. they said, When Christ comes, will He do more miraculous signs than this Man?” John 7:31. “Peter said, Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a Man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs which God did among you through Him, as you yourselves know.” Acts 2:22.

Jesus’ miracles had the same purpose as Moses’ miracles. They showed the right, given by God, to lead and to speak for God (Exodus 4:12-17. Yet, as great as Moses had been, had he never said, “Trust in Me”. Moses did not say anything like these words of Jesus: “Believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.” John 10:38.

“Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father…Believe Me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves.” John 14:9, 11).

Jesus’ miracles were greater, especially in giving life. He did “what no one else did” (John 15:24). Therefore, His signs had a greater message. While proving that Jesus was the Prophet, they also proved much more. Jesus’ claims about Himself and His Father were not empty words. The disciples began to understand this message when Jesus walked on the sea.

“Then those who were in the boat worshipped Him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” Matthew 14:33. After seeing the power of Jesus, Peter confessed, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Matthew 16:16.

• John also saw the signs of Jesus.

Near the end of his report, John showed the message of the miracles:

“Jesus did many other miraculous sings in the presence of His disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.” John 20:30-31.

• If God really did send Jesus, how could God prove that fact to men?

By showing powers that only God can give. Jesus had those powers. He showed full control over every part of nature. He gave immediate healing from every sickness. He proved His complete power over death. Many witnesses saw and reported these signs to us. The signs have an important message for each one of us – Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Belief in Jesus and His name leads to life.

We’ll continue with this in the next week God willing. May God bless the portion that has been meditated till now! May the Lord bring a better understanding to all of us and to others through us about our Lord Jesus Christ who was a man of both Old Testament and New Testament! Also, may the Lord remove all the controversies about the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ! May today’s meditation of God’s word be a great blessing to all of us and all the members of our families!

• Closing Prayer

Our Father, thank you for being with all of us throughout our meditation. Help us to live our lives to give witness about the Lord whom we studied. Bless all of us and guide us towards your truth. May what we have learnt be a blessing to the rest through our living and preaching! I offer this prayer in the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Love of God our Father in heaven, the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with all of us especially those who rejoice in the Lord’s word, now and forevermore. Amen!

[frederickwiddowson]

The writings of Luke the physician starting with his version of the gospel - Luke 17:20-37 comments: the kingdom of God is within you

Luke 17:20 ¶  And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: 21  Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. 22  And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it. 23  And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them. 24  For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day. 25  But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation. 26  And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. 27  They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. 28  Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; 29  But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. 30  Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. 31  In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back. 32  Remember Lot’s wife. 33  Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it. 34  I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. 35  Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 37  And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.

 The kingdom of God does not appear on this earth in this present dispensation as a nation with massive parliament or congress buildings or executive mansions, armies, and multitudes of government bureaucrats. It occurs in the heart of each believer and those believers are united as the church of God, Christ’s body on earth.

 God’s Spirit indwells each believer.

 John 14:23  Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

 Romans 8:9  But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

 Proof of that indwelling is the fruit that is produced.

 Galatians 5:22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 24  And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. 25  If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26  Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

 The body of believers is the church, Christ’s body on earth, to be doing things on earth as His ambassadors….

 2Corinthians 5:16 ¶ Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. 17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 18  And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; 19  To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. 20  Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. 21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

 Ephesians 6:20  For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

 Colossians 1:24  Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:

 …until He returns to take control of the world of men physically.

 Revelations 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

 We are not improving the world or making the world a better place because it is dominated by sin and man’s extreme arrogance and presumption, something from which we have been delivered if we are truly Christ’s.

 Galatians 1:3  Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, 4  Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:

 There are many and have been many false Christians, tares among the wheat, but God will deal with that at the end of human history. Just read Matthew 13 about them with the birds of the air being types of Satan, and the woman polluting the three measures of meal in type false religion.

 What is to be the expression of our faith, of our religion? Is it political, social, or a practice of power? No, none of those.

 James 1:27  Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

 Jesus says here in this passage that you cannot see the Kingdom of God. It is not found in a cathedral, an enclave, a church building or compound, school, or camp. It is found within the spiritual heart of each believer.

 We look fervently for Christ’s return. In fact, we are told to do so.

 Titus 2:11 ¶  For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; 13  Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 14  Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

 Then, Jesus goes on to provide a summary, a synopsis, of things that will happen at the end of human history, including the translation of the believers, the church, from the world, something which has been promised. First, Enoch’s translation as a type of our own.

 Genesis 5:24  And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.

 See three mentions of the translation, popularly called The Rapture, here.

 Hebrews 11:5  By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.

 Then, the promise, spoke of three times.

 Proverbs 25:7  For better it is that it be said unto thee, Come up hither; than that thou shouldest be put lower in the presence of the prince whom thine eyes have seen.

 Revelation 4:1  After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.

 Revelation 11:12  And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.

 And the promise confirmed even to when in the course of prophetic events it is to take place…

 1Corinthians 15:52  In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

 1Thessalonians 4:16  For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

17  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

 Verse 24 in this passage reminds me of verses in the Old and New Testaments.

 Daniel 7:13  I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.

 Zechariah 12:10  And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon 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 firstborn.

 Matthew 24:1 ¶  And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. 2  And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these

things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. 3  And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him

privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?

     4 ¶  And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. 5  For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. 6  And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7  For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:

and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. 8  All these are the beginning of sorrows. 9  Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you:

and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. 10  And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. 11  And many false prophets shall

rise, and shall deceive many. 12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13  But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. 14  And this gospel of

the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. 15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by

Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) 16  Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: 17 Let him which is on the housetop not

come down to take any thing out of his house: 18  Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. 19  And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck

in those days! 20  But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: 21  For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22  And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened. 23  Then if any man shall

say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. 24  For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible,

they shall deceive the very elect. 25  Behold, I have told you before. 26  Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers;

believe it not. 27  For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 28  For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together. 29  Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: 30  And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31  And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

 Revelation 1:7  Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

 The Kingdom of God is not a physical thing of this world now.

 John 18:36  Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.

 Romans 14:17  For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

 But, Christ’s return to deal with the darkness of this world will be very physical. Verse 37 and this entire passage is a stark reminder of events at the end of human-centered history.

 Revelation 19: 11 ¶  And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. 12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. 13  And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. 14  And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. 15  And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16  And he hath on his

vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. 17  And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; 18  That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. 19  And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. 20  And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. 21  And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.

 There is another principle expressed here underscored in verse 32. We are not to look back. Our future with Christ is what is important. Read Luke 9:59-62 again.

 Luke 9:62  And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

 I believe, though, in verses 30 to 33 before speaking of the translation of the church, Christ is literally referring to the final Holocaust of the Jews perpetuated by the Beast of Revelation, who is popularly called The Antichrist, although that title is not in Revelation. See Revelation, chapter 12, as Satan drives the remaining, believing Jews, into the wilderness.

[roman-catholic-mass-readings]

8th July >> Mass Readings (Europe, Africa, New Zealand, Australia & Canada)

Monday, Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time 

    or 

Saint Kilian, Bishop and Martyr (Ireland).

Monday, Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Liturgical Colour: Green)

First Reading

Genesis 28:10-22

Jacob's dream of the ladder at Bethel

Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. When he had reached a certain place he passed the night there, since the sun had set. Taking one of the stones to be found at that place, he made it his pillow and lay down where he was. He had a dream: a ladder was there, standing on the ground with its top reaching to heaven; and there were angels of God going up it and coming down. And the Lord was there, standing over him, saying, ‘I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac. I will give to you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants shall be like the specks of dust on the ground; you shall spread to the west and the east, to the north and the south, and all the tribes of the earth shall bless themselves by you and your descendants.

Be sure that I am with you; I will keep you safe wherever you go, and bring you back to this land, for I will not desert you before I have done all that I have promised you.’ Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, ‘Truly, the Lord is in this place and I never knew it!’ He was afraid and said, ‘How awe-inspiring this place is! This is nothing less than a house of God; this is the gate of heaven!’ Rising early in the morning, Jacob took the stone he had used for his pillow, and set it up as a monument, pouring oil over the top of it. He named the place Bethel, but before that the town was called Luz.

Jacob made this vow, ‘If God goes with me and keeps me safe on this journey I am making, if he gives me bread to eat and clothes to wear, and if I return home safely to my father, then the Lord shall be my God. This stone I have set up as a monument shall be a house of God.’

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 90(91):1-4,14-15

R/ My God, in you I trust.

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High

and abides in the shade of the Almighty

says to the Lord: ‘My refuge,

my stronghold, my God in whom I trust!’

R/ My God, in you I trust.

It is he who will free you from the snare

of the fowler who seeks to destroy you;

he will conceal you with his pinions

and under his wings you will find refuge.

R/ My God, in you I trust.

Since he clings to me in love, I will free him;

protect him for he knows my name.

When he calls I shall answer: ‘I am with you,’

I will save him in distress.

R/ My God, in you I trust.

Gospel Acclamation

cf. John 6:63,68

Alleluia, alleluia!

Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life;

you have the message of eternal life.

Alleluia!

Or:

cf. 2 Timothy 1:10

Alleluia, alleluia!

Our Saviour Jesus Christ abolished death

and he has proclaimed life through the Good News.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Matthew 9:18-26

'Your faith has restored you to health'

While Jesus was speaking, up came one of the officials, who bowed low in front of him and said, ‘My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her and her life will be saved.’ Jesus rose and, with his disciples, followed him. Then from behind him came a woman, who had suffered from a haemorrhage for twelve years, and she touched the fringe of his cloak, for she said to herself, ‘If I can only touch his cloak I shall be well again.’ Jesus turned round and saw her; and he said to her, ‘Courage, my daughter, your faith has restored you to health.’ And from that moment the woman was well again.

When Jesus reached the official’s house and saw the flute-players, with the crowd making a commotion he said, ‘Get out of here; the little girl is not dead, she is asleep.’ And they laughed at him. But when the people had been turned out he went inside and took the little girl by the hand; and she stood up. And the news spread all round the countryside.

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

————————

Saint Kilian, Bishop and Martyr (Ireland)

(Liturgical Colour: Red)

(Readings for the memorial

There is a choice today between the readings for the ferial day (Monday) and those for the memorial. The ferial readings are recommended unless pastoral reasons suggest otherwise)

First Reading

2 Chronicles 24:18-22

'You have deserted the Lord: now he deserts you'

The Judaeans abandoned the Temple of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, for the worship of sacred poles and idols. Because of their guilt, God’s anger fell on Judah and Jerusalem. He sent them prophets to bring them back to the Lord, but when these gave their message, they would not listen. The spirit of God took possession of Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood up before the people and said, ‘God says this, “Why do you transgress the commandments of the Lord to no good purpose? You have deserted the Lord, now he deserts you.”’ They then plotted against him and by order of the king stoned him in the court of the Temple of the Lord. King Joash, forgetful of the kindness that Jehoiada, the father of Zechariah, had shown him, killed Jehoiada’s son who cried out as he died, ‘The Lord sees and he will avenge!’

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 30(31):3-4,6,8,16-17

R/ Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.

Be a rock of refuge for me,

a mighty stronghold to save me,

for you are my rock, my stronghold.

For your name’s sake, lead me and guide me.

R/ Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.

Into your hands I commend my spirit.

It is you who will redeem me, Lord.

As for me, I trust in the Lord:

let me be glad and rejoice in your love.

R/ Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.

My life is in your hands, deliver me

from the hands of those who hate me.

Let your face shine on your servant.

Save me in your love.

R/ Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.

Gospel Acclamation

Matthew 5:10

Alleluia, alleluia!

Happy those who are persecuted

in the cause of right,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Matthew 10:17-22

The Spirit of your Father will be speaking in you

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Beware of men: they will hand you over to sanhedrins and scourge you in their synagogues. You will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the pagans. But when they hand you over, do not worry about how to speak or what to say; what you are to say will be given to you when the time comes; because it is not you who will be speaking; the Spirit of your Father will be speaking in you.

‘Brother will betray brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise against their parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all men on account of my name; but the man who stands firm to the end will be saved.’

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

[dailyaudiobible]

12/30/2019 DAB Transcript

Malachi 1:1-2:17, Revelation 21:1-27, Psalms 149:1-9, Proverbs 31:10-24

Today is the 30th day of December. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It is a pleasure and a joy to be here with you on New Year's Eve eve. And man, just, we are about to dock at shore, and we are about to complete another revolution around the sun, and another revolution through the Scriptures. And what a joy, what a joy its been. We’ve got these couple of days out in front of us. Let’s just pay close attention what the Scriptures are speaking to us as they draw themselves to a close. And that is going to bring us into the Old Testament today and the final book of the minor prophets and the final book in the Old Testament, which is called Malachi. And every time we encounter a new book, we sort of fly over it and talk about it and try to get some orientation and context for what we’re reading. And we’ll do that right now with Malachi. This is the last book we’re gonna encounter this year. This is the last time we’re gonna do this.

Introduction to the book of Malachi:

So, Malachi's obviously gonna last us two days, today and tomorrow, when we…when we complete our year together. And the name Malachi means my messenger, which is why biblical scholars have been debating about whether…whether Malachi is the name of the author or whether Malachi is the name of the book and it was written by somebody else. And the title is my messenger. But for our purposes, we’ll assume the author was a prophet of God named Malachi. And this book would make Malachi a likely contemporary of other prophets like Ezra and Nehemiah, but nothing is known about Malachi outside the book of Malachi, which is something we've grown accustomed to as we’ve moved through the minor prophets this year. So, we remember because we spent a lot of time working through the stories of exile. So, we remember that Babylon defeated the southern kingdom of Judah and conquered Jerusalem and took the people into exile. And then later, the Persian Empire defeated the Babylonian Empire and allowed Hebrew exiles to come back to their homeland. And, so, Malachi…Malachi lived about 100 years after the Persians defeated the Babylonians and it had been more than a half a century since the temple, spurred on by the prophetic voices of Haggai and Zechariah had been rebuilt, but the promises that the people were living into and hoping in, the promises of restoration and their return to prominence, those had remained unfulfilled. And, so, the people were in fact in their ancient homeland, they were the returned exiles, but the glory of their former days had not returned, and their homeland wasn't theirs, they were a part of an empire, and they were discouraged. And…and…and…as a part of the Persian Empire, they were just a little province far, far away from the capital. And, so, they were tiny and distant and felt forgotten. And because of…of these circumstances, the people lost their interest in the worship of God, like the passion for God even though God had brought them out of exile. We’re…we’re in the future now. So, we have new generations that never knew what happened. And, so, they lost their passion for God. And then we’ve seen this so many times in the Scriptures, then there is a moral decline in the culture as their spirits are declining and so it begins to come apart at the seams and disintegrate. So, like…like the Mosaic law demands that sacrifices that were offered to God were to be spotless and were to be without blemish, but the priests had begun to use blind, blemished animals for sacrifice. And the law was just becoming further and further into irrelevant as like the north star for the Hebrew culture. And, so, into all of that Malachi comes. And Malachi's probably the final prophetic writing of the Old Testament age. And he comes and he rebukes the doubt and speaks at their faithlessness and calls them to return to God, which is such a recurring theme in the Bible. And, so, after Malachi, after this was written, it would be four century's, 400 years before God would send another prophetic voice and that prophetic voice is found as we begin the New Testament, the voice of John the Baptist, which would mark the beginning of the new or what we would call the New Testament era. And it's like okay 400 years, like what happened? What happened between the Testaments? And if…if we want that…if we want to understand those stories that…that have been documented, in part, we can turn to what we know as the Apocrypha. So, in many…in many Christian traditions around the world, some of these books or all of these books are considered Scriptures. And then other people avoid them. Hey, I kind of grew up avoiding…like I didn’t know. I just knew there were these other ancient books, but I didn't…I didn’t know. I couldn’t…I couldn’t, as a kid even make sense of the Bible, so much less the Apocrypha. So, some people just like hold them suspect, or just like kind of stay away. And it’s interesting when you…when you open up a Bible because some…some printed Bibles have all of the…all the apocryphal books in them while other Bibles don't have them in there at all. And I’m not telling you one way or the other what you should or shouldn't read. I’m…I'm just saying, some of the material of the stories that took place between the Old and New Testament periods are found in the writings known as the apocryphal books and they definitely…I've read many of them and recorded many of them. You can find them in the Daily Audio Bible Shop. But many of them tell the stories that lead us between the Old and into the New Testament era and the coming of the Savior, but that's what happened between the Testaments and that's not exactly where we are. We are still entering the final book of the Old Testament's unknown is Malachi. And, so, we’re reading from the Christian Standard Bible this week. And today we’ll read Malachi, chapters 1 and 2.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word. We thank You for Your faithfulness to us. We thank You for Your long-suffering and patience with us. We thank You for Your kindness toward us. Oh Father, we don't deserve any of this, and yet You have bestowed it upon us freely. So, as we prepare Lord, one more day, one more day together on the journey of this decade, that we might feel Your presence strongly as we look back and feel Your guidance strongly as we look forward, and to feel the unspeakable presence of Your overwhelming love for us as we’re here, right now, in the present. We love You, Lord, and we thank You for all that You've spoken into our lives in all that You have yet to speak to us through Your word this year. Come Holy Spirit we pray. In the name of Jesus, we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website, its home base, its where you find out what’s going on around here. So, of course, be mindful of that. Stay tuned. Stay connected in any way that you can.

Oh, my goodness friends, like land is in sight. We are gonna reach the shore tomorrow. I cannot believe that tomorrow is the last day of the year. So, this…this is a good day to…to reach out to your friends and family, those if you plan to take the journey next year, those that come to mind and come to heart that you would like to journey with, to take the journey with you in the coming year through…through the Bible and what that does in our lives in the course of a year, this is a good time to reach. It’s funny, we know the end of the year's coming, we know the end of the decade's coming and it’s like we should get to December 31st and then we should have like a few days there just to sit there and appreciate the time. But, you know, it just doesn't do that. The 31st will end and the first will begin just like every other day and we’ll set sail again. So, this a good time to invite those that you care about for the journey into the new year.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible in these last hours of this year and decade then I thank you as I’ve said humbly, profoundly, gratefully, deeply. I am grateful that man, tomorrow, tomorrow will complete 14 years, seven days a week. That's…I’m gonna wait till tomorrow to think about that because it shakes me up inside and, yeah, then a flood of just so many memories begin to come back. I just can't believe it. But anyway, I am deeply, deeply, deeply, deeply grateful that we've been able to be in community and allow God's word to center us in a rhythm of life that has carried us in transformative ways this far and I'm glad that we can be on that journey together and I'm glad that we can do that together. So, there's a link on the homepage at dailyaudiobible.com. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or, if you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or comment 877-942-4253 is the number to dial or just press that Hotline button that's in the Daily Audio Bible app at the top. It just lives there. And, yeah, anytime no matter where you are, day or night you hit that button start talking because we’re in this together and that's the hotline. So, you can press that.

And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you hear tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Hey everybody it’s Margo from Liberia. I really want to thank Brian for something that happened a couple of months ago. I did phone in at the time, but my Hotline button wasn’t working so I was reminded of it this morning. I can’t remember the date, but one day at the mission hospital I spent quite a few hours helping to stabilize a newborn baby. He came in basically almost dead and we managed to resuscitate him, get his vital signs back to pretty much normal. And it was quite amazing, it seemed supernatural, and I remember feeling so happy and just quite victorious that day. And the next day I went in and discovered that he had died overnight. And I remember I was so devastated and I kind of just lost the plot and thought just, “you know what. I can’t do this” and I actually went home. I remember I cried all the way walking home and boy did I question God that day. You know, like, “God why did You bring me here to see these things?” Anyway, I put DAB on when I got home, and the Lord spoke to me so beautifully through Brian’s commentary that day and I felt so loved by God that he would speak to me that way. The timing was amazing. So, during the commentary Brian said, “when you feel crushed, overwhelmed, and opposed don’t mistake the challenge for abandonment”. And I just remember weeping, kneeling on my __ floor saying, “God I don’t understand but thank You that You have not abandoned me. I know that I’m not here alone.” So, thank you Brian for letting God use you that day and for all the other days that God uses the DAB. Okay. Love you all heaps. Bye.

Hi Daily Audio Bible this is Rebecca from Michigan December 23rd. I know the New Year’s is coming up, so I want to pray for you guys. Father God, I pray for everybody in DAB to have a wonderful new year day and that they’ll be safe driving to and from wherever they’re going. I pray that this year will be a special year. 2020 is the eye vision. So, I pray to have perfect vision this year and accomplish a lot of stuff this year. I pray I can continue to stay with DAB again for the next year and I maintain the whole year like I have been now, and that God has just totally changed my life through listening to His words and changed the life of the DAB people. I pray financially you would change my life, that you help me get my dad’s __ paid off and my student loan and my car paid off this year. And I pray you teach me on tithing and the importance of tithing to the church and helping other people out who are in need and giving to those who need food or shelter, clothing, and places to sleep and a job. I pray you provide all those needs and I pray you provide everybody here with mental health and emotional health and physical health and financial health and that you will bless them and give them more abundance. And I pray that they’ll be feeling God’s presence through the whole time on DAB. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen. I pray for Brian and Jill and his…

Hi, this is Lawrence. I’m listening to the podcast of December 22nd and I just heard Mary’s call. Mary said her husband had died two days ago and that she really needed prayer at this time. Mary, I want to tell you, you are getting prayer for me and I’m sure you are getting it from everybody in the DAB community. God bless you in this very difficult time.

Good day my Daily Audio Bible family. I received my Christmas box today December 23rd and upon looking at the Christmas bulb with the word “maintain” it finally struck me what that word might mean for me. I’m always looking ahead, looking ahead at different situations, that when we get through this situation this will happen, and when we get beyond this crisis this might change. I think God wants me just to be still and maintain a sense of being in the moment, being in right now, being thankful for this very moment, quit looking ahead, quit thinking that the other side of the rainbow is going to be happier and better because it’s been a long, long journey and I’m tired. Thank you all for everything that you do for each other here on this beautiful line. Have a Merry Christmas. I love you all. Bye.

Hello family this is Lady of Victory calling from Illinois. I am a first-time caller and I am just blown away. Today is Monday, December 23rd and I was listening, again a new listener, and I was listening to both Beloved regarding the inappropriate sister…stepsister as well as a guy I believe from California about his son Kevin from getting out of jail and just felt prompted to want to call in. God, we lay our DAB family before You, God for stepsister who has been inappropriate to husbands and God Kevin. We are trusting You Lord God that You would give them the right things to say, the right attitude to have, the right behavior to display Lord God that will show Your presence God and not to give any airtime, if You will, to the enemy God but to let them know that You are with them God and that You are going before them to make every crooked place straight Gpd. We pray specifically for Kevin, that he will get rid of the anger Lord God, that when he comes out that he will be a Father to his 11-year-old son God, that he will be able to hear You and hear You well God. Prayerfully he has heard from You well while he has been in prison incarcerated God and You have gotten a hold of his heart and arrested his heart God to be the Father that he needs to be to Kevin. And as well as beloved God, help her to know that You said that marriage is sacred and that the marriage bed is undefiled. And, so, we come against the enemy and any attack that he is coming against our fellow DAB family in any way form or fashion. We come against it, Satan in the name of Jesus and we thank You for victory. And we look forward to hearing the report in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Hey DAB family this goes out to Carla Jean in Las Vegas concerning your adult children, Dakota Hazel concerning your newest grandson Liam, Alexis in Texas concerning Andrew, and Jerry from Duluth Minnesota concerning your son Stephen. [singing starts] It’s not in trying but in trusting. It’s not in running but in resting. It’s not in wondering but in praying that we find the strength of the Lord. Oh. It’s not in trying but in trusting. It’s not in running but in resting. It’s not in wondering but in praying that we find the strength of the Lord [singing ends]. Be encouraged family. Know that I’m praying for you and God is with you. Your 10-day-old brother, new brother in DAB, Kingdom Seeker Daniel from South Holland Illinois. God bless you guys. Love you.