Blogs
It is evident that it was the power of God that made these six hundred men fall backwards to the ground, but why did it happen when He said, "I am he"?
In this verse, and also in verse eight, the word "he" is italicized. That means that the word "he" was not in the original text but was added by the translators to make the sentence grammatically correct. This serves a useful purpose and is very helpful in most cases. However, the translators put these additions in italics so that we could be aware of what the text literally said.
In this instance, Jesus literally said, "I am." Since Jesus was God manifest in the flesh, His statement of "I am," carried just as much weight as when He expressed it to Moses (Ex. 3:14). This is nothing less than the Almighty God...
Jesus often healed people by touching them, and others received their healing as they touched Jesus. You can transmit the power or the anointing of God through the laying on of hands (Mk. 16:18; Heb. 6:2). The virtue of God can even be transmitted to objects and then brought to the person who needs healing or deliverance.
Jesus provided physical healing as well as forgiveness of sins. Many scriptures mention the healing of our bodies in conjunction with the forgiveness of our sins. Healing is an expression of God's love and compassion for our physical man. Healing miracles also draw men to God to get their spiritual needs met. Physical healing acts like a bell to get man's attention so that the Lord can minister to the inner man as well.
Healing has been purchased for us...
The Lordship of Jesus is one of the central themes of scripture. It is clear that many times the word "Lord," when referring to Jesus, is equivalent to the divine name "Yahweh" or "Jehovah." To acknowledge Jesus as Lord is to acknowledge His deity (Jn. 20:28).
What it means to give Jesus Lordship in our lives, is to recognize His right to rule in our lives, by right of creation (Jn. 1:3) and right of redemption.
"For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's" (1 Cor. 6:20).
One of the most damaging attitudes of our time is the exaltation of self over others. Personal rights have been promoted at the expense of others. This is not good for society and it is certainly not the way God...
The four gospels refer to Jesus teaching 43 times, preaching 19 times, and preaching and teaching in the same verse, six times. This indicates that Jesus spent twice as much time teaching as He did preaching. Teaching is the basic building block for making disciples. Jesus was making disciples, not just converts.
The Greek word for "disciple" literally means "a learner," and indicates "learning by endeavor" or what we would call "on-the-job training." Jesus said in John 8:31, "If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed." Anyone who meets this criterion is Jesus' disciple.
"Jailhouse religion," where a person is only sorry he got caught and is trying...
In Romans chapter one, Paul calls himself a servant of Jesus Christ. Out of the six Greek words for "servant" used in the New Testament, Paul used one of the most slavish terms possible. The word used in this passage is "doulos" and comes from the root word "deo" which means "bind." Paul literally speaks of himself as a bondman or slave of Jesus Christ - a slave by free choice; yet owned and purchased by Jesus Christ.
The idea of being a love-slave by choice comes from Old Testament passages such as Exodus 21:2-6 and Deuteronomy 15:12-17. If an Israelite bought a Hebrew slave, he must set him free in the seventh year. However, if the slave loved his master and said, "I will not go away from thee," then a...
