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The devil has been deceiving the world about sin since the Garden of Eden when he told Eve that through sin she could be like God. Time has proven, not only to Eve, but to each one of us, that this is not true. Sin brings death and not life. Jesus is making it clear that sin enslaves. We become slaves not only to the sin itself, but also to the author of sin, the devil. We are either servants of God through obedience or servants of the devil through sin.
Jesus is likening the bondage that sin produces to slavery, while comparing the freedom that comes through serving God to being a beloved son. No one would doubt that being a son is better than being a slave. Likewise, obeying God is better than yielding to sin. True freedom is found only in serving God....
This is the second of three times that Jesus spoke of Himself being "lifted up" (1st - Jn. 3:14; 3rd - Jn. 12:32-33). As the scripture explains in John 12:33, this was a reference to crucifixion as the means of His death. The lifting up is speaking of being lifted up from the earth and suspended on a cross in crucifixion. The Jews understood that Jesus was speaking of death.
The crucifixion didn't just happen. It was planned by God. Does this mean that God bears all responsibility and those who were actually instrumental in the rejection and crucifixion of Jesus are not guilty? Not at all. Jesus came to the earth to die in our place and thereby purchase redemption for...
I LOOK UP A LOT OF WORDS IN THE DICTIONARY WHEN I AM WRITING MY MESSAGES AND A LOT OF TIMES I SHARE THOSE DEFINITIONS WITH YOU. I DO THIS BECAUSE I WANT TO BE SURE I AM RIGHT ABOUT WHAT I AM SAYING. HERE IS A GOOD IDEA OF WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT. I ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT PATIENCE MEANT TO JUST COOL IT AND SEE IF IT HAPPENS. WOW, DID I MISS THIS ONE. I LOOKED IT UP IN WEBSTER'S 1828 DICTIONARY AND FOUND THIS "The suffering of afflictions, pain, toil, calamity, provocation or other evil, with a calm, unruffled temper; endurance without murmuring or fretfulness." NOW WHEN I THINK OF PATIENCE I THINK OF JESUS. I ALSO THINK OF LOVE BECAUSE HE HAD TO REALLY LOVE US TO GO THROUGH ALL OF THAT FOR US AND HE KNEW EVERYTHING THAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN TO HIM.
The scriptures teach Jesus' oneness with the Father. This oneness is more than singleness of purpose and actually denotes "a single one to the exclusion of others" as in the statement, "There is one God" (1 Tim. 2:5).
This truth is so well established in scripture that some people make no distinction between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit but believe they are simply one God expressing Himself in three different ways. However, Jesus makes a distinction between Himself and His Father here and uses Himself and His Father as two different witnesses to fulfill the requirement of Deuteronomy 17:6. Jesus would have been deceiving these Jews if there was no distinction between His Father and Himself; and yet,...
IN LUKE 9:56 IT TALKS ABOUT JESUS NOT HAVING A PLACE TO LAY HIS HEAD. (And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.) I HAVE HEARD PEOPLE SAY THAT JESUS AND THE DISCIPLES WERE POOR AND THEY TAKE IT FROM THIS PASSAGE OF SCRIPTURE. DID YOU THINK THIS MEANT THAT JESUS AND HIS DISCIPLES LIVED IN POVERTY? THIS VERSE IS TALKING ABOUT WHEN HE WAS GOING TO JERUSALEM AND THE SAMARITANS, BECAUSE OF A RELIGIOUS PREJUDICE, REFUSED HIM HOSPITALITY. I THINK HE WAS TRYING TO GET HIS DISCIPLES TO UNDERSTAND THAT THERE WOULD BE PERSECUTION IF THEY FOLLOWED HIM.
This was possibly the most potentially damaging temptation the scribes and Pharisees ever presented to Jesus. Much of Jesus' widespread popularity with the people was because of His examples of and teachings about God's mercy and forgiveness towards sinners. This was received with great enthusiasm by the people who, before this time had been presented with only a harsh, legalistic, judgmental picture of God.
The scribes and Pharisees had often tried to portray Jesus as condoning or practicing sin because of His association with sinners and His ministry to them when it violated Jewish traditions, such as the Sabbath. However, Jesus had successfully turned every attack into a victory for the side...
THIS BLOG PUBLISHES GOD'S LATEST MIRACLES THAT HAPPENED THIS PAST WEEK -
ALONG WITH PRAYER REQUEST SUPPORT FOR THE MISSION - LEAVING FOR AFTICA TOMORROW needing prayer daily for the next two weeks:
Prayer Request for African Mission Trip about to leave Florida and music with a powerful message just translated and recorded for Africa.
My songs HEAL OUR LAND and THE WIDOW PRAYS are about to take on new wings in Africa. Pastor Fred Otieno Ochieng has completed recording them in Swahili, Luo, and English. Fred will need prayer support from now on as God is just beginning his mission to Africa. I am also part of it, and believe I am going to Africa this year and would appreciate your prayers - as I am part of Pastor Fred's support system.
MIRACLES:
This is what just happened.
I was trying to raise money for the recording through
I KNOW I HAVE WRITTEN ABOUT THIS BEFORE BUT I GET SO TIRED OF SEEING THOSE ORPHANS ON TV FROM OTHER COUNTRIES AND NOTHING IS SAID ABOUT THE LITTLE ONES HERE IN THE STATES GOING TO BED HUNGRY EVERY NIGHT. THE ORGANIZATIONS SUPPORTING THOSE KIDS IN THOSE COUNTRIES ARE ALWAYS ASKING FOR DONATIONS AND IT IS GOOD TO SUPPORT THEM, IF YOU CAN AFFORD IT, BUT IF YOU CAN'T, AT LEAST PRAY FOR THEM.