Mary, the Mother of Jesus, foreshadows the Christian Life!
Why have I never seen this before? When the Holy Spirit impregnated Mary with Baby Jesus, He was foreshadowing Jesus coming to live inside of us once we accept Him.
Like Mary, we will be misunderstood and scorned at times. But, Oh, the joy of having Jesus . . .
Read MoreI love the Christmas season so much that it breaks my heart to hear people say, “I’m just trying to get through the holidays.” Because I eagerly anticipate the focus on Jesus and the time with family, I am saddened to know that many people actually dread the Christmas season. If that’s you, I want to encourage you . . .
Read MoreIn these verses, God is commanding that specially prepared oil be continuously brought for the priest to keep the menorah – the lamp – continuously lit. Hanukkah commemorates the miraculous provision of this specially prepared oil after the Maccabean Revolt.
About a hundred years after Alexander the Great conquered the Holy Land, his successors had long departed from his relatively benevolent rule. Antiochus Epiphanies prohibited the practice of the Jewish religion and tortuously murdered . . .
Read MoreThis passage encourages me today. Like Habakkuk, I’ve been standing and praying for “my people” for decades. I had begun to despair over my vision for my loved ones.
God’s answer to Habakkuk encourages me greatly: . . .
Read MoreThe subtitle in my Bible says, “Discipleship is costly.” And that has been my attitude toward these verses. I must give up my rights (deny myself) and go through some difficulties (carry my cross), but it will be worth it in the end. Perhaps you have had the same attitude too. Thanks to my pastor’s sermon yesterday, I have a fresh perspective.
Pastor reminded us that these words come from the One Person who loves us the most. . . .
Read MoreGod is kind to everyone, even to people who are not grateful for the incredible sacrifice He made for them. God is kind even to evil people. And God expects the same from us. He wants us to have mercy for the mean.
This phrase in Luke is at it at the end of Jesus’ teaching on loving your enemies. I think of an enemy as someone known to me, but not in close relationship. For example, I would consider an abusive . . .
Read MoreNow I am seeing the Trinity of God Everywhere and in All things!!
I noticed that the Old Testament priests were consecrated with water, blood and oil (Leviticus 8). That is three things! I wondered if these could represent the Trinity. As it turns out, they do! . . . .
Read MoreI delight in finding the Trinity of God hidden in familiar passages of Scripture. I discovered one this one in the contents of the Ark of the Covenant.
The Ark of the Covenant contained three things: 1-the stone tablets upon which the finger of God wrote His covenant, 2-a golden pot of manna, and 3-Aaron’s rod that budded (Heb.9:4).
It is easy to see how the stone tablets symbolize God the Father because . . .
Read MoreThe trinity of God is right here in this first sentence! In fact, these four words speak volumes: God said, “Light, Be!”
In the beginning God – “Elohim” in Hebrew – created the heavens and the earth. “Elohim” is God plural; coupled with a singular verb it denotes the majestic plural. So the character of God that is emphasized when He spoke His first Word is that of plurality and unity and power.
The Spirit of God is “ruah Elohim” in Hebrew. “Ruah” is breath or wind. So the Spirit of God is the breath of God. This is important because our voice is carried on our breath. Without wind . . .
Read More“Holiness” is God’s theme for me lately. This passage in Romans is just one of the many examples of “holiness” surfacing in my readings. Here the Holy Spirit is referred to as the “Spirit of Holiness.” It seemed like an interesting twist of semantics at first. But actually, their word choice was deliberate. And it adds weight and significance to the passage.
If we say “Holy Spirit,” that indicates that the Spirit of God, Himself, is Holy. We are saying that Holiness as His nature. “Holy” is who He is. But if we say “Spirit of Holiness” that indicates . . .
Read MoreAaron, the priest, wears a "seal" in the form of the gold plate on his turban. The "seal" that Aaron wears declares that he is, "Holy to the Lord!"
This caught my attention because we, like Aaron, are priests of the Most High God. (1 Peter 2:9) We have also been “sealed” with the Holy Spirit for . . .
Read MoreDo you see the difference? In the first version, the implication is that a group of people decided that instead of referring to the disciples as “The Way” or some other designation, they would be called Christians. In the second version, God Himself reveals some new thing about Jesus followers! This is a game-changer!
This is much more significant than . . .
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