What a great way to describe a person and a honour. Let’s examine a few things about this disciple.
This was the disciple that was lying on Jesus bosom at laying at Jesus boson at the last supper. John 13:23 Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved. Bosom signifies ‘the front of the body between the arms’ (vines expository dictionary of old and new testament words) or a person’s breast or chest (oxford dictionary) For you to lay on a persons breast you must be close to them and very likely there will be a mutual likeness or love between you.
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7/11/2013 0 Comments When Others Have Forsaken YouBy M. Jernigan
Many times, while reading my bible, I’ll have an “Aha” moment. It’s during those times I receive revelation about something that God is trying to tell me. Not long ago while reading the book of Psalms, I came across a couple verses that nearly took my breath away. I’m referring to Psalm 37: 32 – 33 which states in the Amplified version of the bible. Read full article from here: 19/10/2013 0 Comments Financial offerings – Why?I’ve recently been studying New Testament financial giving i.e. tithes, offerings, free will offerings, first Fruits, etc. and I’ve kind of come to the conclusion that our primary motive for giving should be our love for God. God wants us to give cheerfully (2 Corinthians 9:7), He wants us to give hilariously and he wants us to give because we love Him and the people that the
money will be used to bless. God doesn’t need our finances; Bible says the cows on a thousand hills belong to him (Psalm 50:10), what would He ever need our money for. By Paul Ellis
I remember as a 10 year old boy watching in terror as the communion plate came closer and closer. Why was I afraid? Because there was unresolved sin in my life – I had argued with my sister before church! I knew that those who took communion in an unworthy manner risked condemnation, even death, for the Bible told me so: Have you ever heard ‘ give and you will get a hundredfold return? Well if you study scripture very carefully, this
is not what the bible is saying about the hundredfold return. So what does scripture say? Mark 10: 17 – 30 17And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? 18And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. 19Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. 12/8/2013 0 Comments Gods Will or mans suggestion?Have you ever been offered a position or something that you knew was not the Lords will for your life? Very tempting, however you knew that it was a distraction from His purpose for you. What did you do?
Many times men see potential and skill in us and try to channel it in the way they think is best. But what is the Lord saying? Every word in Scripture is inspired by the Spirit of God. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2
Timothy 3:16a). When the Lord spoke a person's name twice in calling him, He did it for greater emphasis. Consider seven examples. “Abraham, Abraham!”—a call for deliverance ~ “But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, ‘Abraham, Abraham!’ So he said, ‘Here I am.’ And He said, ‘Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.’ Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son” (Genesis 22:11-13). “Jacob, Jacob!”—a call for blessing ~ “Then God spoke to Israel in the visions of the night, and said, ‘Jacob, Jacob!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ So He said, ‘I am God, the God of your father; do not fear to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there’” (Genesis 46:2-3). “Moses, Moses!”—a call to reverence ~ “So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, ‘Moses, Moses!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ Then He said, ‘Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground’” (Exodus 3:4-5). “Samuel, Samuel!”—a call to service ~ “Now the Lord came and stood and called as at other times, Samuel! Samuel!’ And Samuel answered, ‘Speak, for Your servant hears’” (1 Samuel 3:10). “Martha, Martha”—a call of reproof ~ “And Jesus answered and said to her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her’” (Luke 10:41-42). “Simon, Simon!” (Peter)—a call of warning ~ “And the Lord said, ‘Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren’” (Luke 22:31-32). “Saul, Saul” (Paul)—a call for conviction and conversion ~ “Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’ And he said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ Then the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ So he, trembling and astonished, said, ‘Lord, what do You want me to do?’ Then the Lord said to him, ‘Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do’” (Acts 9:4-6). ~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW Reprinted from "Abundant Life Now,” a free blog which offers inspiring moments, thought-provoking comments, and solid Biblical insight (http://robertlloydrussell.blogspot.co.uk/) 4/7/2013 0 Comments Lay Aside Every WeightThe verse before us, Hebrews 12:1, gives the Christian a very practical application for winning the spiritual race that is "set before us", the race of faith which occupies every aspect of our lives. We often have a tendency to overlook key portions of Scripture to our great loss, and in this familiar verse the focus of our attention usually centers upon "the sin that so easily besets us", yet I'm afraid that such a focus has actually "beset" us from the deeper and more practical application of this passage.
Notice the division the Spirit makes between "weight" and "sin": "let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us". Without carefully reading, these two are often blurred together as one, but it should not be so. The Bible is speaking of two very different hindrances that bog us down and prevent us from running in such a way "that ye may obtain." (1 Corinthians 9:24) Most of us are well aware of the meaning of sin and its frustrations, but are we just as aware of this other besetter indicated here by the inspired apostle? WHAT IS A WEIGHT? A weight is anything and everything that slows us down from our prescribed run. The expression "every weight" tells us that weights are manifold; there can be many, and they can be diverse. A weight is not sin. There are many things we do as Christians that hinder our run even though those things in and of themselves are not wrong. The apostle Paul put it this way: "All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not." (1 Corinthians 10:23) There are no rules about how you must dress when participating in a race, but simply because it is lawful for you to wear what you will, that certainly does not advocate donning a heavy coat and cumbersome footwear! Such choices, while legal, do nothing but oppress the runner from running to win. Read full article at: 29/6/2013 1 Comment To Know HimThe apostle Paul admonishes us in 1 Timothy chapter 2 to pray and give thanks to God on behalf of
all men because it is good and acceptable in the sight of God who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim 2: 1-4). Why does the Lord desire for us to come to the knowledge of the truth? The bible makes it clear in John 8:32 that the truth we know will determine our experience of the freedom that Christ has already obtained for us on the cross of Calvary. “And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free” The bible makes it clear that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:16). Jesus is also the Word according to John 1:1. We can therefore re-phrase John 8:32 as, “And you shall know the Word (Jesus) and the Word shall make you free’’. Is it therefore possible that the lack of freedom in an area could be due to the lack of knowledge of the truth/word? Rather than spending time in the Word and with the Word, many of us are crying, begging God For the things that He has already given to us and many even run from one church to another seeking help from different pastors. I want to encourage us to shift our attention/focus on the Word; a great revelation awaits us that will cause us to reign over every situation and circumstance of life. There are many promises in the bible that are waiting for our discovery. What does it mean to know the truth, i.e. the Word (Jesus)? The Oxford dictionary defines, ‘know’ as follows; To understand something, To have something in your mind that you have learnt or discover, ‘what have you discovered about the Lord recently? He yearns to reveal Himself to us, 1Samuel 3:7 To recognize or to be familiar with a person, that is to have an intimate relationship with someone. Jesus gave an example of such relationship between Him and the Father in John 10:15 “As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father” How to establish close relationship with Him Delight yourself in Him (Psalm 37:4). The word delight means to take great pleasure in something or someone, to feast on or to love. He becomes the number one in our life. The Word is our priority, which is our number one. Dwell in Him (John 15:4 -7). The word dwell means to abide or reside in Him. Colossians 3:16 “ Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly”. This means the responsibility is mine not my pastor or my spouse. Desire Him (Psalm 27:4). Desire means a feeling of wanting something very much, a craving or longing for something or someone. This connotes that my very existence depends on Him. The bible says in John 15:5 “for without Me you can do nothing”. Spend time with Him in prayer; He desires to reveal Himself to you and to show you the way out. The last part of John 8:32 says that the truth (the Word) shall make you free. This means that once you discover the truth in that area, your freedom is guaranteed. The word, “make” means to create which also means to manufacture. This means that the word of God will “manufacture” or engineer your freedom in that area. The word “make” also means to produce (accomplish or bring about). Again this is very clear the truth you discover will bring about a turn around in you life. Finally it means to force, i.e. to compel something to happen, this denotes a degree of force, and the truth or the Word will forcefully produce the freedom required. Most of the time, when we hear the word ‘counsellor’ our minds race to human beings. And yes, man can counsel us, however the word ‘counsellor’ is not limited to man.
Lets have a look at this scripture: Psalms 119: 24 Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counselors. Are you going through a difficult time? Are you saying to yourself, where is my way of escape? Perhaps its time to look at what the Lord has done for you in the past. Consider the various testimonies in your life, and let them be your counsellors. Ponder on what the Lord did for you before, how He brought you out, how He delivered you, for He has not changed. Let what the Lord did in the past, be your present counsellors in that situation. Encourage yourself in the Lord. Say to yourself, what the Lord did then, He will do now. Remember David, 1 Samuel 17: 37 David said moreover, The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the Lord be with thee. Did the Lord not deliver Him? Begin to remember all of your testimonies and ponder on them. Let them encourage you and be your counsellors. Say to yourself as the psalmist said ‘Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counselors’. B.O |
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