Category Archives: Bible
Only Jesus
Gal. 1:10 “Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.”
“Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. So the angel said, ‘Do NOT BE AFRAID, Mary, for God has decided to bless and use you! You will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus . . . and he will be the Son of God, and his Kingdom will never end!’ Then Mary asked, ‘But how can this be?’” [Luke 1:29-34 paraphrased]. Read the rest of this entry
Trust
Jer. 29:11 “I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.” (MSG).
Joseph cooperated, the shepherd’s celebrated, Mary contemplated, and the three wise men dedicated. To get positioned for blessings this Christmas, we must learn from these four categories of people that were rightly positioned at the first Christmas and were blessed. Read the rest of this entry
Male & Female
John 20:16,20,27 “Mary!” Jesus said. She turned to him and cried out, “Rabboni!” … As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side… Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side… Believe!”
Jesus used voice recognition with Mary but showed His scars to the disciples and Thomas. Why? Did you do your homework? When Jesus resurrected and made Himself known to Mary, He used His voice and Mary responded “Rabboni!”. But when Jesus showed up to the disciples, the men, Read the rest of this entry
Trustworthy
John 19:24 “So they said, “Rather than tearing it apart, let’s throw dice for it.” This fulfilled the Scripture that says, “They divided my garments among themselves and threw dice for my clothing.”
John 19:23 “When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they divided his clothes among the four of them. They also took his robe, but it was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.” (emphasis added). Jesus was dressing well, stop dressing shabbily in the Name of Jesus. 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
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
Face Up
John.17:1 “After saying all these things, Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father…” (emphasis added).
When Jesus wants to talk to God, Jesus faces Him. When you want to talk to God, face Him. And because God is on His throne in heaven, that means to face up. Like we said yesterday, you may not do this all the time. However, the posture of your heart is more important, and it mostly will reflect on the Read the rest of this entry
The Privilege
John 16:23 “At that time you won’t need to ask me for anything. I tell you the truth, you will ask the Father directly, and he will grant your request because you use my name.” (emphasis added).
Jesus changes gear here and introduces us to another privilege of Him going away. Jesus says you and I can go straight to the Father in His Name just as He does. Just as the disciples saw Him do the tomb of Lazarus in John 11 and as they will still see Him do in John 17. Read the rest of this entry
Advocate II
John 16:8-11 “And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me; Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.” (KJV].
When the Holy Spirit comes, He will radically redefine three of the foundational notions of spirituality. The first notion He is redefining is sin; sin is not believing in Jesus. Previously, the opposite of sin was righteousness. But now, the opposite of sin is faith in Christ Jesus sin. Read the rest of this entry
