Blogs
Jesus, The Chief Cornerstone
Matthew 16:18, 'And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.'
MATTHEW 16:13-19
Some people have mistakenly interpreted this passage to say that Peter was the foundation on which Christ would build His Church. However, that would violate many scriptures that refer to Jesus as the 'chief cornerstone.'
Ephesians 2:20 does mention the apostles as being part of the foundation stones of Christ's church, but it doesn't single Peter out above any of the other apostles, This same scripture once again mentions Jesus as the 'chief cornerstone.'
There are two different Greek words used for 'Peter' and...
Petition Not Repetition
Mark 8:24-25, 'And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking. After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.'
MATTHEW 7:7-11; MARK 8:22-25
It was unusual for Jesus to inquire about the results of His ministry as He did in verse 23. It was even more unusual that Jesus laid hands on this man a second time. This is the only example in the New Testament where Jesus had to minister to any need more than once to affect a total healing.
Many people request things from God and then look at their circumstances to see if God answered their prayer. That is walking by sight and not by faith. If they can't 'see' God's answer, then...
WE SOMETIMES REALLY HAVE TO FOCUS ON WHAT WE ARE STUDYING IN THE BIBLE TO GET THE FULL EFFECT THAT GOD WANTS US TO GET. I AM GOING TO COPY JOHN 9:1-4 SO YOU CAN READ IT THE WAY IT IS IN THE BIBLE. THEN I WILL TYPE IT AGAIN JUST CHANGING THE PUNCTUATION MARKS. (JOHN 9-1-4 1 And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? 3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.
Symptoms Of A Hard Heart
Mark 8:17, 'And when Jesus knew it, he saith unto them, Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye your heart yet hardened?'
MATTHEW 16:1-12; MARK 8:11-21
Just a few days before this instance, hardened hearts caused Jesus' disciples to be amazed when they saw Jesus walk on the water to them. Here, Jesus' statements reveal some of the characteristics of someone with a hardened heart.
First, a hard heart keeps us from perceiving spiritual truths. This is why everyone in a church service hears exactly the same message yet, some will receive while others won't. It's not the Word that is the variable, but rather the condition of the hearts. A hard heart stops...
AS CHRISTIANS, WE ALL SHOULD BE TEACHERS AND PREACHERS OF GOD'S WORD AND PREPARING YOUNG CHRISTIANS TO BE DISCIPLES OF JESUS. THE FOUR GOSPELS REFER TO JESUS TEACHING 43 TIMES, PREACHING 19 TIMES AND DOING THEM BOTH IN THE SAME VERSES 6 TIMES. TEACHING SOMEONE ABOUT JESUS SO THEY CAN GO OUT AND TEACH SOMEONE ELSE IS WHAT WE SHOULD BE DOING. JESUS WAS NOT JUST MAKING CONVERTS, HE WAS MAKING DISCIPLES.
Jesus Challenges The Sadducees
Matthew 16:1, 'The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would show them a sign from heaven.'
MATTHEW 16:1-4
The Sadducees were a Jewish sect (Acts 5:17), of both a political and religious nature, that was best known for its opposition to the more popular party (the Pharisees), because of differences in various doctrinal and political questions. Sadducees rejected the oral tradition of the Pharisees who made a 'mountain' of burdensome legislation and accepted only the written law. We are told they believed there is 'no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit' (Acts 23:8). From Josephus, we learn that the Sadducees believed that the soul perishes with the body (Antiq....
DO YOU KNOW WHY WE SHOULD NOT SIN? IT IS NOT SO WE CAN KEEP OUR SALVATION IF WE HAVE RECEIVED JESUS AS OUR SAVIOR. JESUS DIED FOR ALL SINS AND IF WE DO SIN WE JUST NEED TO ASK FORGIVENESS FOR THAT SIN AND THE FORGIVENESS THAT HAS ALREADY BEEN GIVEN WILL APPLY TO THE SIN. THIS WILL SHOW SATAN THAT WE ARE UNDER GOD'S PROTECTION AND WILL KEEP HIM FROM HAVING ACCESS TO OUR LIVES. HE WILL TAKE EVERY OPPORTUNITY TO DO THIS. HE DOES IT BY SETTING THINGS IN FRONT OF US THAT WILL TEMPT US TO SIN. FOR INSTANCE, HE WILL HAVE SOMEONE MAKE YOU MAD SO YOU WILL EITHER DO OR SAY SOMETHING YOU SHOULDN'T. I AM SURE YOU CAN THINK OF MANY WAYS HE HAS DONE THIS TO YOU. WE MUST STAY STRONG. EPHESIANS 6:10 SAYS "be strong in the Lord, and in the...
The Ministry Of Holy Spirit
Mark 8:12, 'And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation.'
MARK 8:11-13
The Greek word used here for 'sighed deeply' means an intense grieving, inaudible prayer, or groan. This is intercession of the Holy Spirit, with groanings that cannot be uttered. Some Spirit-filled Christians believe this means groanings that cannot be uttered in normal speech and that this refers to speaking in tongues. However, this actually refers to a type of intercession different than speaking in tongues.
In John 11:33 and 38, Jesus groaned in the Spirit twice, and in those cases there were no words...