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WHETHER YOU KNOW IT OR NOT, JESUS TAKES YOUR PERSECUTION VERY SERIOUSLY. AFTER PAUL HAD BEEN TRAVELING AROUND, PUTTING BELIEVERS IN JESUS IN PRISON AND HAVING SOME PUT TO DEATH, JESUS ASK HIM WHY HE WAS PERSECUTING HIM, NOT THE BELIEVERS. LOOK WHAT IT SAYS IN ACTS 9:4 (THIS WAS BEFORE GOD CHANGED HIS NAME TO PAUL) And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why...
Faith can be seen. Just as Jesus explained to Nicodemus in John 3:8, faith is like the wind. Faith itself is invisible, but saving faith is always accompanied by corresponding actions which can be seen (Jas. 2:17-26).
It was not only the faith of the paralytic that Jesus saw, but also that of his four friends (Mk. 2:3). This demonstrates the effect our intercession in faith can have upon others. Jesus saw their faith. However, although our faith released on behalf of others is powerful, it is not a substitute for their faith. It is simply a help. The person who is to receive the miracle must have some degree of faith, also. Even Jesus could not produce healing in those who would not believe (Mk. 6:5-6). In this instance, it is...
Only Mark records this important statement that Jesus was "moved with compassion" in the healing of this leper. There are three other instances in the gospels when Jesus was moved with compassion which resulted in healing (Mt. 14:14; 20:34; Lk. 7:13; and once in deliverance - Mk.5:19). The difference between seeing a person healed or not healed many times is this all-important ingredient of love.
All three of the Gospel accounts record Jesus touching this leper. This not only illustrates the doctrine of "laying on of hands", but was probably included because according to Numbers 19:22, this action would have made Jesus unclean. This illustrates the New Testament ministry of the Spirit versus the Old Testament ministry of the letter...
Leprosy was a hated disease and its symptoms are described in detail in Leviticus 13:1-46. This leper believed Jesus could heal him, but doubted His willingness to heal him. Jesus showed him His willingness to heal, and since He is no respecter of persons, He established a precedent for us (Rom. 2:11). This leper did not know God's will concerning healing, but this is not the case with us. The Word of God is the will of God, and it reveals that it is always God's will to heal.
Isaiah 53:5, makes it clear that when Isaiah said "with his stripes we are healed", he was speaking of the physical healing of our bodies. Jesus provided for physical healing as well as forgiveness of sins. The very word "save" (Gk.-"sozo") is translated "made whole" in...
What kind of parent would ever deny their children, the necessities of life? If you have children would you fail to feed them? Or provide for them? Or if they ask you for food would you give them poison instead? Of, course not. This is the point Jesus is making.
God is love (1 Jn. 4:8)! And His love for us is infinitely greater than any loving relationship here on earth. We can apply this truth about God's love for us to any command or example we find in God's Word where His standards for relationship are revealed. Be assured that He will much more than meet those standards Himself.
This gives us confidence that, in the same way we respond in love to our children and to those who...
The Feeding of the 5000 from a Different Point of View
It was a Sunday, no I didn't go to church, I was at an Offroad Race in Las Vegas 1985. I was team Capt of a pretty successful Team Called Sandak Racing out of Corona. I had just arrived home from the race and it was about 6-7pm at night. A friend of mine had given me a new bible and it was laying on the coffee table. whew, was I tired. I picked up the bible and began to read. Somewhere in the old testament. Pretty cool what was happening back then. I was laying on the couch and I fell asleep with the bible opened on my chest.
The Incredible Dream: