Category Archives: Abuse
For Nothing
Philip. 4:6 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (NKJV)
We are going to be looking at the things that attempted to steal the joy from the hearts of some people who were present at the very first Christmas. We will look at Mary, Joseph, and the wise men and what tried to steal their joy. Read the rest of this entry
The Other Disciple
Eccl.4:9-10 “Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.”
John 18:17 “The woman said to Peter, “You are not also one of this man’s disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.” When the woman said, “also”, it means there was someone they knew was Jesus’ disciple, right? They knew John was Jesus’ disciple and John was present as an acknowledged follower of Jesus, Read the rest of this entry
Stand Tall!
John 18:4 “Jesus fully realized all that was going to happen to him, so he stepped forward to meet them. “Who are you looking for?” he asked.”
John 18:3 “The leading priests and Pharisees had given Judas a contingent of Roman soldiers and Temple guards to accompany him…” The number of soldiers alone, not to talk of the temple guards, that came to arrest Jesus were at least two hundred. Read the rest of this entry
After This
Zec. 13:6 “And if someone asks, ‘Then what about those wounds on your chest?’ he will say, ‘I was wounded at my friends’ house!’”
John 18:1 “After saying these things, Jesus crossed the Kidron Valley with his disciples and entered a grove of olive trees.” (emphasis added). After saying what things? After casting the vision and the long prayer in John 17, talk time was over, prayer time was over. Read the rest of this entry
Your Heart
John 17:17&19 “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth …And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth.” (NRSV & NLT)
God can bring glory out of shame, however, shame itself does not glorify God. In fact, there would be no need for God to change shame to glory if shame glorifies God. So, shame is of no value to anybody. Apart from the glory confusion, there is also the ‘by God’s grace’ confusion. Read the rest of this entry
Unity
Eph.4:2-3 “Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.”
Yesterday, we looked at two of the three predominant themes in Jesus’ prayer. Jesus prayed for Protection, Jesus prayed for Glory and thirdly for Unity. Jesus prayed for unity. Jn.17:21, 23 “I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you… I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.” (emphasis added). Read the rest of this entry
Your Business
John 17:14 “I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.” (emphasis added).
This is usually conflicting for us because we live in the world. When we stay with God and stand for God, sometimes people will just detest you for no reason. Even though you have not done anything, they just don’t like your face. Read the rest of this entry
To Know
John 16:8-11 “And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.” (NKJV]
As they stood there, at the cross jeering and laughing at Jesus, the Jews could never have imagined three things. Firstly, that the atonement of the world’s sin, including their own, was on Jesus. Like we said yesterday, Jesus took care of all our sins on the cross – past, present, and future. Read the rest of this entry
The Purpose
Eph. 6:18 “Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.”
John 15:18-19 “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you. Read the rest of this entry
The Meeting
John 9:30-31 & 33 “…Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will… If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” (NRSV]
In Luke 10:40-42 [please read], we see the story of Mary and Martha; Martha was busy, distracted with so many things. But Mary sat at the feet of Jesus, and Martha complained, she wanted Jesus to tell her sister to join her in the kitchen instead of just sitting and enjoying fellowship with Jesus. Read the rest of this entry
