whosoeverinhim

Friday 120624

Ephesians 2:8-9 ‘…For it is by God’s grace that you have been saved through faith. It is not the result of your own efforts, but God’s GIFT, so that no one can boast about it…’ GNT (Good News Translation)

Don’t let me or my writings influence or scare you in any way, instead, allow me to be used as a vessel to open the Word, just a little bit, and hopefully, together we are going to read and study His Word, and let God teach us what He wants us to hear.

Since the beginning of this study, our vision has been that we are ONLY going to follow what is found in the Holy Bible, that pertains to us, and we realize that it’s ONLY from our own effort that we put into this study, that we’re going to take anything away for our own use.

The verses we are going to study tonight:

Acts 2:1-4; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Daniel 9:24-27; Matthew 16:18; John 1:11-12; Acts 9:31; John 1:17, 14:16; 1 Corinthians 10:32; Matthew 19:28; 1 Corinthians 15:51-57, :58.

In my attempt to spread the Word, to the people in the 21^st century, I am posting a new lesson every morning.

I am posting my lessons on eleven (11) different sites.

On Facebook, I am:

Whosoever Inhim

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I begin this lesson this morning, sorry there are those people out there (some of them are my friends and family), so many are caught up in what this world teaches, and they’ve never attempted to open up their Bible’s to see what God has told us in His WORD.

It doesn’t matter what some ‘man’ tells you on a Sunday morning; it doesn’t matter if you heard it on a Wednesday or Monday night at church either, if a ‘man’ said it, you have to ask yourself, did man say it or did God SAY IT?

So, next let’s ask yourself:

ARE YOU READY

It’s an easy question to ask, but it may be a hard one to answer for so many because, we’re too busy listening to what this world is teaching us instead of us following what GOD has been telling us from the start.

Another thing that really frustrates me is hearing so many people today quoting Scripture, but so many of the verses they quote from the Bible have been written to and for the Jewish person. The promises made to the Jewish believer in the Bible is only good for the Jewish believer.

If you’re going to quote from the Bible, why not quote a verse that was intended for us as a people … for us Gentiles (since the percentage of people that even read the Bible anymore are Gentiles).

The apostle Paul was hand picked by Jesus to be the teacher to the Gentile nation … why would someone go against, what God deemed to be so important for us, and go out on their own?

God didn’t feel it meant anything to continue using the eleven that waited in Jerusalem for His return after His death, burial and resurrection.

The bible can be used as a historical record in those days that followed the crucifixion.

Peter, James and John all remained in Jerusalem for Jesus 2^nd coming, to the Mount of Olives, where they were going to be, waiting for Him to return.

But the original, remaining eleven, never received the promise of the MYSTERY that was ONLY given to Paul when he taught about the Age of Grace or teaching about the Age of the Church. The eleven had no clue what the Age of Grace even meant, they thought grace was what they recited before they ate lunch or dinner.

An ‘age’ is an historical period of time or an era. Some historians divide human history into many epochs and name them according to their defining characteristics: Middle Ages, Modern Age, Postmodern Age, etc. Biblical history, too, can be divided into different eras. When those divisions emphasize God’s interaction with His creation, we call them dispensations. More broadly, biblical history can be divided into two periods, roughly following the division of Old and New Testaments: The Age of the Law and the Church Age.

There is a wrench thrown into the gearbox right here, the O.T. and N.T. doesn’t necessarily end and begin when the Bible is separated.

The N.T., or the Church Age doesn’t begin until Pentecost. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are in the Bible are considered N.T. gospels but they are NOT part of the Church Age.

The Church Age is the period of time from Pentecost to the rapture.

Acts 2

vs1 ‘…When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place…’

vs2 ‘…And suddenly a noise like a violent rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting…’

vs3 ‘…And tongues that looked like fire appeared to them, distributing themselves, and a tongue rested on each one of them…’

vs4 ‘…And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with different tongues, as the Spirit was giving them the ability to speak out…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

1 Thessalonians 4

vs13 ‘…But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as indeed the rest of mankind do, who have no hope…’

vs14 ‘…For if we believe that Jesus died and rose from the dead, so also God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep through Jesus…’

vs15 ‘…For we say this to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will not precede those who have fallen asleep…’

vs16 ‘…For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first…’

vs17 ‘…Then we who are alive, who remain, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord…’

vs18 ‘…Therefore, comfort one another with these words…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

It is called the Church Age because it covers the period in which the Church is on earth. It corresponds with the dispensation of Grace. In prophetic history, it falls between the 69th and 70th weeks of Daniel.

Daniel 9

vs24 ‘…Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the wrongdoing, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for guilt, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy Place…’

vs25 ‘…So you are to know and understand that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, until Messiah the Prince, there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with streets and moat, even in times of distress…’

vs26 ‘…Then after the sixty-two weeks, the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined…’

vs27 ‘…And he will confirm a covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come the one who makes desolate, until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, gushes forth on the one who makes desolate…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

Jesus predicted the Church Age in Matthew. Jesus has kept His promise, and His Church has now been growing for almost 2,000 years.

Matthew 16:18 ‘…And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

The Church is composed of those individuals who have by faith accepted Christ Jesus as their Savior and Lord.

John 1

vs11 ‘…He came to his own country, but his own people did not receive him…’

vs12 ‘…Some, however, did receive him and believed in him; so, he gave them the right to become God’s children…’ GNT (Good News Translation)

Acts 9:31 ‘…And so it was that the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had a time of peace. Through the help of the Holy Spirit, it was strengthened and grew in numbers, as it lived in reverence for the Lord…’ GNT (Good News Translation)

Therefore, the Church is people rather than denominations or buildings. It is the Body of Christ of which He is the head. The Greek word ecclesia, translated ‘church,’ means ‘a called-out assembly.’ The Church is universal in scope but meets locally in smaller bodies.

The Church Age comprises the entire dispensation of Grace.

John 1:17 ‘…God gave the Law through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ…’ GNT (Good News Translation)

For the first time in history, God actually indwells His creatures, permanently and eternally. In other dispensations the Holy Spirit was always present and always at work, but He would come upon people temporarily. The Church Age is marked by the Holy Spirit’s permanent indwelling of His people.

John 14:16 ‘…I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, who will stay with you forever…’ GNT (Good News Translation)

Scripture makes a distinction between the nation of Israel and the Church.

1 Corinthians 10:32 ‘…Live in such a way as to cause no trouble either to Jews or Gentiles or to the church of God…’ GNT (Good News Translation)

There is some overlap because, individually, many Jews believe in Jesus as their Messiah and are therefore part of the Church. But God’s covenants with the nation of Israel have not yet all been fulfilled. Those promises await fulfillment during the Millennial Kingdom, after the Church Age ends.

Matthew 19:28 ‘…Jesus said to them, you can be sure that when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne in the New Age, then you twelve followers of mine will also sit on thrones, to rule the twelve tribes of Israel…’ GNT (Good News Translation)

This one verse in Matthew, though it may show a promise made to His followers, it also shows, I think, the reason why these men never left Jerusalem after Jesus was crucified because in their minds, Jesus was returning to set up His kingdom and they wanted to be the first ones in line so they could sit on the thrones that had been promised to them.

The Church Age will end when God’s people are raptured out of the world and taken to be with the Lord.

1 Corinthians 15

vs51-52 ‘…Listen to this secret truth: we shall not all die, but when the last trumpet sounds, we shall all be changed in an instant, as quickly as the blinking of an eye. For when the trumpet sounds, the dead will be raised, never to die again, and we shall all be changed…’

vs53 ‘…For what is mortal must be changed into what is immortal; what will die must be changed into what cannot die…’

vs54 ‘…So when this takes place, and the mortal has been changed into the immortal, then the scripture will come true: ‘Death is destroyed; victory is complete…’

vs55 ‘…Where, Death, is your victory?
Where, Death, is your power to hurt…’

vs56 ‘…Death gets its power to hurt from sin, and sin gets its power from the Law…’

vs57 ‘…But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ…’ GNT (Good News Translation)

The rapture will be followed in heaven by the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:6-9) as the Church, the Bride of Christ, receives her heavenly reward. Until then, the Church carries on in hope, exhorted to ‘stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.’

1 Corinthians 15:58 ‘…So then, my dear friends, stand firm and steady. Keep busy always in your work for the Lord, since you know that nothing you do in the Lord’s service is ever useless…’ GNT (Good News Translation)

Jesus, I pray that those ears and eyes, either listening or seeing this message today would be opened to the very fullest and allow Your love to come inside their lives and comfort them. Teach us Jesus. Protect us. We love You. Amen

InHIM. ><)))o>

Thursday 120524

Don’t let me or my writings influence or scare you in any way, instead, allow me to be used as a vessel to open the Word, just a little bit, and hopefully, together we are going to read and study His Word, and let God teach us what He wants us to hear.

So, our study consists of two ground rules:

1^st we ONLY read and follow what is found in the Holy Bible.

2^nd we ONLY learn from a study by what effort we put into that study.

The verses we are going to study tonight:

John 3:16; Matthew 4:18-22; John 1:1, 4:3-43; Leviticus 19:28; Leviticus 19:27.

Several years ago, while reading the Bible, I was in the Book of John, reading chapter 3 verse 16.

‘…For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life…’ KJV (King James Version)

I knew that day, at that very moment, I would be known as WHOSOEVER.

This is the verse that gave this study, its name.

Here are some other versions of this very popular verse found in the Bible.

‘…For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life…’ NIV (New International Version)

‘…For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life…’ NLT (New Living Translation)

‘…God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die…’ CEV (Contemporary English Version)

This verse in John, is not going to save the Gentile today in the 21^st century, but it is a promising verse that shows us God’s love.

Some of the more thoughtful writings I find are in the book of John. All the apostles were Jewish. John and his brother (big James) were fisherman on the sea of Galilee, and they were asked by Jesus to be His disciples, on the same day that Simon Peter and his brother (Andrew), were chosen.

Here is the same subject but written by Matthew in chapter 4.

vs18 ‘…And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers…’

vs19 ‘…And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men…’

vs20 ‘…And they straightway left their nets, and followed him…’

vs21 ‘…And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them…’

vs22 ‘…And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him…’ KJV King James Version)

John 1:1 has always intrigued me …

‘…In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…’ KJV (King James Version)

I’ve spoken about a television series called ‘the CHOSEN’ before and this scene when John was sitting at a table, writing John 1:1 was an experience for me.

John spoke: … In the beginning was the Word … and the thunder rumbled in the background.

John spoke: … and the Word was with God … and again the thunder rumbled in the background.

John spoke: … and the Word was God … and again the thunder rumbled in the background along with bolts of lightning.

As I stated earlier, John and his brother big James, were Jews and they were very much against the Gentile’s. All the original 12 apostles were.

They could not understand why Jesus would spend time helping them or walking through parts of land that were inhabited by the Gentile’s, such as Samaria.

John 4

vs3 ‘…He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee…’

vs4 ‘…And he must needs go through Samaria…’

vs5 ‘…Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph…’

vs6 ‘…Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour…’

vs7 ‘…There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink…’

vs8 ‘…For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat…’

vs9 ‘…Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans…’

vs10 ‘…Jesus answered and said unto her, if thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water…’

vs11 ‘…The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water…’

vs12 ‘…Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle…’

vs13 ‘…Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again…’

vs14 ‘…But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life…’

vs15 ‘…The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw…’

vs16 ‘…Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither…’

vs17 ‘…The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband…’

vs18 ‘…For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly…’

vs19 ‘…The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet…’

vs20 ‘…Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship…’

vs21 ‘…Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father…’

vs22 ‘…Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews…’

vs23 ‘…But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him…’

vs24 ‘…God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth…’

vs25 ‘…The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things…’

vs26 ‘…Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he…’

vs27 ‘…And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her…’

vs28 ‘…The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men…’

vs29 ‘…Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ…’

vs30 ‘…Then they went out of the city, and came unto him…’

vs31 ‘…In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat…’

vs32 ‘…But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of…’

vs33 ‘…Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat…’

vs34 ‘…Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work…’

vs35 ‘…Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest…’

vs36 ‘…And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together…’

vs37 ‘…And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth…’

vs38 ‘…I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours…’

vs39 ‘…And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did…’

vs40 ‘…So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days…’

vs41 ‘…And many more believed because of his own word…’

vs42 ‘…And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world…’

vs43 ‘…Now after two days he departed thence, and went into Galilee…’ KJV (King James Version)

I apologize, today’s study is apparently of: ‘the Woman at the Well.’

Just these 40 some verses are so full of information that mankind has polluted the minds of so many by changing certain words, placing an emphasis on a word that Jesus only speaks about 1 time.

What do I mean, you might ask.

vs16 ‘…Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither…’

vs17 ‘…The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband…’

vs18 ‘…For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly…’

vs19 ‘…The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet…’

Jesus knew the woman had been married more than 1 time, He knew she had been divorced multiple times, He knew she was living with a man that she was not married to …

BUT

… Jesus stated the fact 1 time. He never spoke about her divorce again. He never spoke of her living with a man she wasn’t married to ever again.

In some churches today, in the 21^st century, this matter would’ve been a weekly sermon on how wrong divorce was or how wrong living with someone you’re not married to.

Jesus stated the fact 1 time never to be repeated, ever again.

I have told people, don’t read the Bible and find a word and associate it with something that happens today in our lives in the 21^st century … and a BIG example is ‘divorce.’

Back in the times of Jesus, a man would have a room with his 5 wives and one day he decided to ‘divorce one of them.’ He would walk up behind the woman, grab her by the hair, pull her towards the front door, open the door and throw her out of his house … this was the man divorcing his wife.

Today there is child support, there is the court system, there is the government voicing what needs to be done; none of this happened in Jesus’ day.

Another word is tattoos, when the word was used in the Bible, mankind would grab a rock or a sharp piece of wood and scrape into their arms the names of a deceased loved one. This would cause infection and possibly death, nothing like what occurs today in the 21^st century.

Leviticus 19:28 ‘…Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the Lord…’ KJV (King James Version)

People quote this verse, they change words that have been used in the Bible, to words that we use today, such as the word, ‘tattoos’ …

… the first words out of my mouth are WHY DON’T THESE PEOPLE READ THE VERSE JUST AHEAD OF VERSE 28!!!

vs27 ‘…Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard…’ KJV (King James Version)

Another words, NO haircuts and NO shaven faces.

I am sorry I went so long. Today’s lesson must be:

READ THE BIBLE FOR YOURSELF SO THAT YOU KNOW WHAT IS AND IS NOT IN THE WORD.

I love you ALL. Jesus loves each one of us, even more. Open your Bibles and read His Word for yourself so that you will know when someone is lying to you.

Jesus, I pray that those ears and eyes, either listening or seeing this message today would be opened to the very fullest and allow Your love to come inside their lives and comfort them. Teach us Jesus. Protect us. We love You. Amen.

InHIM. ><)))o>

Wednesday 120424

Ephesians 2:8-9 ‘…For it is by God’s grace that you have been saved through faith. It is not the result of your own efforts, but God’s GIFT, so that no one can boast about it…’ GNT (Good News Translation)

You and I together, let’s open and study the Word that we have ALL been given. Use me to help you study the Bible and allow me to be used to help you search what God wants for us to hear.

Let’s only follow what we find that pertains to us and realize that it’s only from our own effort in studying His Word that is going to let us take anything away that we can use in our lives by ourselves and with those that we love.

The verses we are going to study tonight:

Ephesians 2:8-9; Exodus 20:3-17; Deuteronomy 5:7-21; 1 Corinthians 8:6, 10:14; Romans 13:9, 2:1; Ephesians 6:1-2.

Today, in the 21^st century, we are living in the Age of Grace. Grace that God gave us for Everlasting Life.

Ephesians 2:8-9 ‘…For it is by God’s grace that you have been saved through faith. It is not the result of your own efforts, but God’s gift, so that no one can boast about it…’ GNT (Good News Translation)

Back in Exodus, God gave the Israelites the 10 Commandments. They can be found in Exodus 20 and in Deuteronomy 5.

Jesus came to this earth, NOT to destroy the Law, He came to fulfill, to complete the Law for the Jewish people.

Us Gentiles, we have never been under the Law. I am fairly certain there are many throughout this land that celebrate their church services today, resembling the Law.

This morning, I was made aware that the apostle Paul mentioned 9 of the 10 commandments in his writings. I had never noticed them before, but that is what this lesson is going to be about today, the 10 Commandments, actually, the 9 Commandments.

Below are the 10 Commandments and where they are found in the Bible, I’ve also included the 9 that Paul mentions in his writings.

Exodus 20:3 / Deuteronomy 5:7 / 1 Corinthians 8:6 #1-you shall have no other gods before me.

Exodus 20:4 / Deuteronomy 5:8 / 1 Corinthians 10:14 #2-you shall not make idols.

Exodus 20:7 / Deuteronomy 5:11 / Romans 2:1         #3-you shall not take the name of the lord your god in vain.

Exodus 20:8 / Deuteronomy 5:12                                     #4-remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

Exodus 20:12 / Deuteronomy 5:16 / Ephesians 6:1-2 #5-honor your father and your mother.

Exodus 20:13 / Deuteronomy 5:17 / Romans 13:9   #6-you shall not murder.

Exodus 20:14 / Deuteronomy 5:18 / Romans 13:9   #7-you shall not commit adultery.

Exodus 20:15 / Deuteronomy 5:19 / Romans 13:9   #8-you shall not steal.

Exodus 20:16 / Deuteronomy 5:20 / Romans 13:9   #9-you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

Exodus 20:17 / Deuteronomy 5:21 / Romans 13:9 #10-you shall not covet.

Here are the verses, from the Bible, of the 10 Commandments.

Exodus 20

*vs3 ‘…Thou shalt have no other gods before me…’

*vs4 ‘…Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth…’

vs5 ‘…Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me…’

vs6 ‘…And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments…’

*vs7 ‘…Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain…’

*vs8 ‘…Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy…’

vs9 ‘…Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work…’

vs10 ‘…But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates…’

vs11 ‘…For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it…’

*vs12 ‘…Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee…’

*vs13 ‘…Thou shalt not kill…’

*vs14 ‘…Thou shalt not commit adultery…’

*vs15 ‘…Thou shalt not steal…’

*vs16 ‘…Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour…’

*vs17 ‘…Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s…’ KJV (King James Version)

Deuteronomy 5

*vs7 ‘…Thou shalt have none other gods before me…’

*vs8 ‘…Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth…’

vs9 ‘…Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me…’

vs10 ‘…And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments…’

*vs11 ‘…Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain…’

*vs12 ‘…Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee…’

vs13 ‘…Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work…’

vs14 ‘…But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou…’

vs15 ‘…And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched-out arm: therefore, the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day…’

*vs16 ‘…Honour thy father and thy mother, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee…’

*vs17 ‘…Thou shalt not kill…’

*vs18 ‘…Neither shalt thou commit adultery…’

*vs19 ‘…Neither shalt thou steal…’

*vs20 ‘…Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbour…’

*vs21 ‘…Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbour’s wife, neither shalt thou covet thy neighbour’s house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or anything that is thy neighbour’s…’ KJV

We now are going to look at the 9 Commandments that Paul talks about in his writings.

1Corinthians 8:6 ‘…But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him…’ KJV (King James Version) (#1)

1 Corinthians 10:14 ‘…Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry…’ KJV (King James Version) (#2)

Romans 13:9 ‘…For this, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not kill, thou for this, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false witness, thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false witness, thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself…’ KJV (King James Version) (#6, 7, 8, 9 and 10)

Now here for a little, we’re going to look deeper into the words that were used and what they actually mean.

Consider this: to take God’s name in vain is to say we are Christian but not live a life in keeping with that profession. That is like spitting in God’s face. To claim you are a Christian and then doing everything ungodly, wouldn’t you consider that to take God’s name in vain?

What God is saying is that we should not claim His name without living under His lordship. Taking the Lord’s name in vain is another way of saying ‘false believer’ or ‘hypocrite.’

A false believer is someone who pretends to be a believer, but doesn’t try to live by their principles, or doesn’t take their beliefs seriously.

Romans 2:1 ‘…Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things…’ KJV (King James Version) (#3)

Ephesians 6

vs1 ‘…Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right…’

vs2 ‘…Honour thy father and mother, which is the first commandment with promise…’ KJV (King James Version) (#5)

The one Commandment that Paul never does speak of is #4-remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

We need God more than just one day a week. Myself personally, I enjoy being in the presence of God every day, seven days a week. Do I fail, do I sin and sometimes fall short, of course I do. If I said I was perfect, I’d be lying to you all. Get in the habit of keeping God open to you more than just one day a week.

Keep your Bibles always open and near all the time so you can constantly study His Word.

I love ALL of you.

Jesus, I pray that those ears and eyes, either listening or seeing this message today would be opened to the very fullest and allow Your love to come inside their lives and comfort them. Teach us Jesus. Protect us. We love You. Amen

InHIM. ><)))o>

Tuesday 120324

Don’t let me or my writings influence or scare you in any way, instead, allow me to be used as a vessel to open the Word, just a little bit, and hopefully, together we are going to read and study His Word, and let God teach us what He wants us to hear.

So, our study consists of two ground rules:

1^st we ONLY read and follow what is found in the Holy Bible.

2^nd we ONLY learn from a study by what effort we put into that study.

The verses we are going to study tonight:

2 Timothy 3:16; Matthew 15:24; Acts 9:15; Ephesians 2:8; 2 Timothy 3:16; Matthew 7:13-14.

This week’s lesson is for anyone that studies the Bible by themselves or maybe in a group. Tonight, we’re going to compare Scripture with Scripture.

There are many people today that see no problem with ‘Man’s Churches,’ I’m okay with any church but I criticize many of them because the churches today, cloud Scripture to fit what they want to portray instead of teaching us Gentiles, what we should be reading instead of Scripture that was written for the Jewish people to document their history as a people.

2 Timothy 3:16 ‘…All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness…’ KJV (King James Version)

‘…All Scripture is given by inspiration of God…’

Keyword here is the word ALL. Everything from cover to cover, EVERYTHING.

‘…and is profitable for doctrine…’

The adjective ‘profitable’ in this verse means useful or beneficial, promoting or enhancing well-being. In other words, the Bible is good for us.

‘…for reproof…’

The word ‘reproof’ in the Bible can have multiple meanings, including rebuke, chastening, scolding, correction, disputing, judging, arguing or proving.

In this verse in 2 Timothy, it is generally understood to mean ‘rebuke’ or ‘correction’ in a kind way. The verse can be interpreted as Scripture being useful for showing people what is wrong in their lives and how to live right.

The thing we all must realize, even though SCRIPTURE has been given by the inspiration of God, ALL SCRIPTURE hasn’t been meant for ALL of us to follow.

I’ve said for several years now, the Old Testament was written for the Jewish man so his history, the history of the Jewish people could be remembered.

There is nothing in the Old Testament for a Gentile to learn. There is nothing in the Old Testament that tells me how to live my life.

The Old Testament for me, is like a road map, it shows me when the Jewish person did wrong. It sends a caution flag up for me, warning me to not make the same mistakes as they did.

So, the Bible tells us when people have lived their entire lives the wrong way and at the same time, the Bible shows us how we can live our lives right.

From the two earlier facts, there are several verses that we really need to look at.

Matthew 15:24 ‘…Jesus replied to his disciples, God has sent me to help only the people of Israel. They are like sheep that have lost their way…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)

This is Jesus talking to His disciples in vs24.

Jesus, Himself tells us He came ONLY for the house of Israel, that is the Jewish people.

Jesus didn’t focus on us Gentiles until after He was crucified, buried and was resurrected back to life.

To me, maybe the most powerful verse in the Bible for us Christians today.

Acts 9:15 ‘…But the Lord said to Ananias, Go now to Saul! I have chosen him to work for me. He will go to those who are not Jews and to their rulers. He will tell them about me. He will also tell the people of Israel about me…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)

If God chose Saul/Paul, why do we turn our backs and not focus specifically on Paul’s writings?

Why do we feel the need to do extra instead of just following God’s lead?

Are we not being just as the Jews doing things the way we want to do things and not worrying what God wants us to do?

In a way, churches today focus on Scripture that was written for the Jewish individual, it shouldn’t be that hard to believe that since they’re picking which verses they do and don’t want to read they’re steering their congregations in the wrong way also.

Why don’t they just repeat this next verse over and over again …

Ephesians 2:8 ‘…For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God…’ KJV (King James Version)

Here is a newer version:

‘…For it is by God’s grace that you have been saved through faith. It is not the result of your own efforts, but God’s gift…’ GNT (Good News Translation)

‘…When you believed in Jesus, God saved you because he is very kind. You could not save yourselves, but that is God’s gift to you…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)

Some common sense here, what do we think we’ll gain if we try to DO something?

God has already told us IT’S A GIFT, a gift is free.

Let’s read 2 Timothy again and maybe in a newer version so we might see it clearer.

vs16 ‘…Everything that is written in the Bible comes from God’s Spirit. It helps us in many ways. The Bible teaches us what is true. It warns us when we are doing wrong things. It shows us what is right. It teaches us how to live good lives…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)

Why do we feel we have to do better than what God has tried giving us?

It is called UNBELIEF.

We, human beings, we don’t believe that God can do what He has told us.

Adam and Eve didn’t believe God when they were in the garden.

Jonah didn’t believe God, not until he came out of the fish’s belly.

The Israelites didn’t believe God at Kadesh Barnea.

The list goes on and on throughout the entire Bible.

The Sadducees and the Pharisees didn’t believe when Jesus walked the earth.

Today, it’s the 21^st century, there are millions of people that still don’t believe that God can do what He’s told us.

We recite verses that have never been meant for us to follow and yet, those verses that WERE written for us Gentile’s, it seems that part of our Bibles have been ripped out from the covers and thrown away.

We just don’t BELIEVE, there is this cloud of UNBELIEF hanging over our heads.

This must be the number one reason why the gate is so narrow. Most of mankind has always followed the wrong path.

Matthew 7

vs13 ‘…Go in through the narrow gate. The gate to destruction is wide, and the road that leads there is easy to follow. A lot of people go through that gate…’

vs14 ‘…But the gate to life is very narrow. The road that leads there is so hard to follow that only a few people find it…’ CEV (Contemporary English Version)

The reason it is so hard for us to find and follow the narrow road is maybe because it’s really too easy for us to find and follow. ‘MAN’ keeps getting himself involved in trying to do things just a little bit better.

The Bible tells me it is a GIFT that we’ve already been given … all we must do is accept it, as it is.

All the above words, taken from this lesson has happened and then suddenly, the Bible uses the word ‘MYSTERY’ that flip-flops everything that we thought we knew but instead, all of this has been kept secret and has now been shown to mankind.

What we thought we knew, or what we thought we just began to understand now has all been changed.

The first thing we MUST figure out is that it is our
FAITH that is going to save us from Everlasting Damnation.

It is our FAITH that God can do what He has told us.

It is our FAITH that will allow us to attain the gift that God has given us.

It is our FAITH that is going to allow us to believe that JESUS died on a cross for our Salvation.

It is our FAITH that God is who He says He is.

So, at the beginning of this lesson, we read a verse where Jesus told His disciples that He ONLY came to the House of Israel.

Matthew 15

24 ‘…Jesus replied to his disciples, God has sent me to help only the people of Israel. They are like sheep that have lost their way…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)

If we kept on reading Matthew 15, in fact, 4 more verses:

vs28 ‘…Jesus answered her, Woman, you show clearly that you believe in God. God will do what you have asked…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)

in a different version:

vs28 ‘…So Jesus answered her, you are a woman of great faith! What you want will be done for you. And at that very moment her daughter was healed…’ GNT (Good News Translation)

The woman’s FAITH had her request answered.

This is an example in the Bible, where this writing in Matthew was written for the Jewish individual to prove how the promises made by God in the Old Testament were being fulfilled by Jesus through His ministry.

In three Bible passages, Jesus healed people and told them ‘Your faith has made you well.’ He healed 10 lepers (Luke 17:11-19), the woman with the issue of blood (Matthew 9:20-22), and a blind man (Mark 10:46-52).

Luke 17:19 ‘…And Jesus said to him, get up and go; your faith has made you well…’ GNT (Good News Translation)

Matthew 9:22 ‘…Jesus turned around and saw her, and said, Courage, my daughter! Your faith has made you well. At that very moment the woman became well…’ GNT (Good News Translation)

Mark 10:52 ‘…Go, Jesus told him, your faith has made you well…’ GNT (Good News Translation)

Even though the Gospels written by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are written to those Jews that were attempting to change into Christianity, these verses show how important FAITH is in our Christian life.

FAITH made these three believers well … so too will our lives be changed if we apply FAITH into our lives.

Keep yourselves in the Word. Strengthen your BELIEFS in what He teaches us and get away from believing in what our churches of the day want us to believe.

Believe in what God teaches us.

I love y’all very much. Jesus loves us even more than we can comprehend love and what it really means.

Trust and BELIEVE in Him.

Open your Bibles and read the real Word He wants us to hear.

Jesus, I pray that those ears and eyes, either listening or seeing this message today would be opened to the very fullest and allow Your love to come inside their lives and comfort them. Teach us Jesus. Protect us. We love You. Amen

InHIM. ><)))o>

Monday 120224

Don’t let me or my writings influence or scare you in any way, instead, allow me to be used as a vessel to open the Word, just a little bit, and hopefully, together we are going to read and study His Word, and let God teach us what He wants us to hear.

So, our study consists of two ground rules:

1^st we ONLY read and follow what is found in the Holy Bible.

2^nd we ONLY learn from a study by what effort we put into that study.

The verses we are going to study tonight:

Exodus 20:1-17; Matthew 12:1-8; Mark 2:27; Romans 6:14; 1 Thessalonians 4:17; Romans 10:9-11.

So, let’s begin …

One of my neighbors came over to my house the other morning and began telling me, how her kids were home reading the Bible and they were learning the 10 Commandments for themselves.

I didn’t say anything positive or negative about her comment but, it is truly a shame that parents are not following what has been written in the Bible so they can teach their young, the truth.

It is a shame; our parents didn’t learn what was written in the Bible. It’s a shame they allowed another person to tell them what the Bible said, instead of them finding out for themselves what was written.

It’s a shame our grandparents didn’t teach what was written in the Bible to their kids. How many generations will it take before God’s Word is read aloud and followed by His believers … maybe today, there just aren’t that many believers left to read His Words.

The 10 Commandments were given to Moses to then give to the Israelites and it was meant for them to follow God’s Law.

Exodus 20

vs1 ‘…And God spake all these words, saying…’

vs2 ‘…I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage…’

vs3 ‘…Thou shalt have no other gods before me…’

vs4 ‘…Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth…’

vs5 ‘…Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me…’

vs6 ‘…And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments…’

vs7 ‘…Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain…’

vs8 ‘…Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy…’

vs9 ‘…Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work…’

vs10 ‘…But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates…’

vs11 ‘…For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it…’

vs12 ‘…Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee…’

vs13 ‘…Thou shalt not kill…’

vs14 ‘…Thou shalt not commit adultery…’

vs15 ‘…Thou shalt not steal…’

vs16 ‘…Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour…’

vs17 ‘…Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor man’s problem, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s…’ KJV (King James Version)

Man’s problem, since the time of Moses, has mostly been himself, his inability to hear the Words that God gave him.

This problem has apparently lasted through to this day.

In Jesus’ time when He walked this earth, the religious men of the day, they knew the Word but instead of them listening, following and teaching what God was telling them, they were more interested in overseeing that 613 rules were followed by the Jewish people. They were jealous of the power that the Romans projected and the pharisees wanted to be seen as powerful as them, so they mirrored the Romans in a way.

They read from the scrolls daily to the Jews but, they didn’t take the time to teach what was being told to them, instead they enforced the 613 rules.

When Jesus was able to quote the passages from the scrolls, before He ever even opened them, the astonished religious leaders, rather than acknowledging Jesus, they instead called Him a hoax.

What was it that really made the pharisees mad and upset with Jesus and His followers?

Jesus and His followers ignored the trivial 613 rules that the pharisees considered to be the most important thing in any ones lives.

In Matthew 12

vs1 ‘…At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn and to eat…’

vs2 ‘…But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day…’

vs3 ‘…But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him…’

vs4 ‘…How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests…’

vs5 ‘…Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless…’

vs6 ‘…But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple…’

vs7 ‘…But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless…’

vs8 ‘…For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day…’ KJV (King James Version)

The pharisees were irrate because Jesus and His followers were not keeping the Sabbath.

Mark 2:27 (this was Jesus speaking) ‘…And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath…’ KJV (King James Version)

Throughout history, man has failed to follow what God has wanted from us. Instead of us changing our lives to fit around the Word of God, man has continuously changed the words they wanted to use that God gave us and they fit those words around their lives.

Am I 100% right all the time, maybe not; but I do know that we should be changing our lives to fit the Word of God that He has given us and stop trying to fit the word around our lives.

We should be talking about how wonderful the Word is or how wonderful our God is instead of talking about a pastor, his message or the building he preaches from.

Romans 6:14 ‘…For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace…’ KJV (King James Version)

Here is a newer version …

Romans 6:14 ‘…Sin will no longer have authority over you. You do not have a new life because you obey the Law which God gave to Moses. You have a new life because God is very kind to you…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)

Eventually, one day, mankind will wake up and smell the roses … I fear that day will be on that day the trumpet calls, and Jesus gathers His church, up into the sky, to remain in the presence of Him, forever.

1 Thessalonians 4:17 ‘…Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord…’ KJV (King James Version)

Again, in a newer version …

1 Thessalonians 4:17 ‘…After that, those of us who are still alive will join together with them. God will suddenly take us up into the clouds. In that way, we will all meet the Lord in the sky. So we will all be with the Lord for ever…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)

God in His love, kindness and mercy towards us has allowed us to have His GRACE. This is a gift that God gave all of mankind at the time of Jesus’ death on the cross. Jesus died for the sins of this world. Not just my sins … not just our sins (mine and yours), but for ALL the sins ever committed by mankind, ALL mankind.

All you must do is believe and you are saved.

Romans 10

vs9 ‘…That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved…’

vs10 ‘…For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation…’

vs11 ’…For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed…’ KJV (King James Version)

Once again, here is the same passage in a newer version of the Holy Bible.

Romans 10

vs9 ‘…The message is this: You must say clearly that Jesus is the Lord. Also, you must believe deep inside yourself that God raised him to life again after his death. Then God will save you…’

vs10 ‘…God accepts people as right with him when they believe like that, deep inside themselves. And when people say clearly that Jesus is Lord, God saves them…’

vs11 ‘…It says in the Bible: Everyone who believes in him will not be disappointed…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)

I pray every day that I hope I can be used as a mouthpiece to allow mankind to think for just a moment that they would open their Bibles and look at the Word for themselves.

There is no 1 correct version of the Bible that must only be used. If there were, God would have told us.

Eventually, there must be a little ‘common sense’ used by us individuals. We cannot remain forever with our heads buried in the sand and making comments that we don’t understand.

We need to realize His Words before He returns because after then, it will be too late.

I love you ALL. God loves ALL of you, even more. Take the time and read His Word before it is too late.

Jesus, I pray that those ears and eyes, either listening or seeing this message today would be opened to the very fullest and allow Your love to come inside their lives and comfort them. Teach us Jesus. Protect us. We love You. Amen.

InHIM. ><)))o>

Sunday 120124

Ephesians 2:8-9 ‘…For it is by God’s grace that you have been saved through faith. It is not the result of your own efforts, but God’s GIFT, so that no one can boast about it…’ GNT (Good News Translation)

You and I together, let’s open and study the Word that we have ALL been given. Use me to help you study the Bible and allow me to be used to help you search what God wants for us to hear.

Let’s only follow what we find that pertains to us and realize that it’s only from our own effort in studying His Word that is going to let us take anything away that we can use in our lives by ourselves and with those that we love.

The verses we are going to study tonight:

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; John 3:16; Ephesians 2:8; Hebrews 11:1; Romans 8:18-30.

We should evaluate our lives, what we have and where and what we are lacking in and through our attempts, we should try and make ourselves better.

While we, us human beings, while we are alive and on this planet earth, we will NEVER be perfect on our own. It is going to involve Jesus in our lives to make us that way.

We know that there is coming the day, when Jesus is going to return for His Church and those that are not ready are going to be left behind and face the horrors of what has been foretold in the Tribulation.

1 Thessalonians 4

vs13 ‘…Our Christian friends, we want you to understand properly about your friends who have died. Then you will not continue to be sad about them. People who do not hope for any life after death are sad when their friends die. But you should not be upset like those other people…’

vs14 ‘…We believe that Jesus died, and he rose again after death. So, we also believe that people who have died as Christians will rise again. When God brings Jesus back, he will take the Christians to go with Jesus…’

vs15 ‘…We are telling you the message that the Lord has given to us. This is what will happen when the Lord returns. Those of us who are still alive will not go to meet the Lord first. We will not go before those people who have already died…’

vs16 ‘…On that day, the Lord himself will come down from heaven. He will shout with authority. People will hear the voice of the leader of God’s angels. They will hear the sound of God’s trumpet. Then those people who have died as Christians will become alive again. They will be the first people to rise up…’

vs17 ‘…After that, those of us who are still alive will join together with them. God will suddenly take us up into the clouds. In that way, we will all meet the Lord in the sky. So, we will all be with the Lord forever…’

vs18 ‘…Because this message is true, tell it to each other. Help one another to be strong, not sad…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)

I have purposefully used the EASY (Easy English Bible) version while displaying these verses for you, because I have found the EASY version so calmly and peacefully printed.

I could have used the AKJV (Authorized King James Version) but so many times, words are used that today in the 21^st century, they don’t make any logical sense.

I don’t believe the version we use makes any difference as long as we are reading His Word.

How many times have you heard someone say, ‘you’ll see your daughter again, one day soon,’ or ‘you’ll see your mom again’ or ‘your dad’, ‘your brother’ or ‘sister,’ ‘aunt’ or ‘uncle,’ my point is we’ve all heard this said to someone.

There is going to be that event in our life when we are going to face the realism that people on this earth are one day going to die and leave us.

It has to be recognized that this is going to happen.

It is a reality we ALL are one day going to experience.

Let’s begin to search in the Bible to clearly answer ALL of our questions.

Today, the most known verse in the Bible is found in John.

John 3:16

‘…For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life…’ AKJV (Authorized King James Version)

‘…For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

I myself, do not BELIEVE John 3:16 is meant for the Gentile believer.

Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection are not mentioned in this verse by John.

Here is the verse I put all of my confidence in:

Ephesians 2:8 ‘…For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God…’ ESV (English Standard Version)

This word ‘GRACE’ is so powerful.

Here is the same verse taken from the Amplified Bible.

Ephesians 2:8 ‘…For it is by grace [God’s remarkable compassion and favor drawing you to Christ] that you have been saved [actually delivered from judgment and given eternal life] through faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [not through your own effort], but it is the [undeserved, gracious] gift of God…’ AMP (Amplified Bible)

Here is another verse that is found in Romans:

Romans 10:9 ‘…that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

These verses by the apostle Paul speak of our Salvation so that we can be able to attain Everlasting Life with Jesus.

What else can be said, it is complete.

While writing this lesson, I got online and began comparing words. And it is through ‘words’ that we are able to communicate with one another.

There have not been many times when I have disagreed or found it difficult to contemplate what has been written, but today I find that this is the case.

Online there is a disagreement that FAITH and BELIEVE are words with identical meanings.

So, as always, hopefully God will step into this paper and guide me with the wisdom He wants to be portrayed.

When a person says they have FAITH in God, it is because they BELIEVE in God.

Look at it in the opposite way:

When a person says they have FAITH in God, it is because they DO NOT BELIEVE in God.

How can you NOT believe in something and have faith in it?

Try another sentence.

A person will only be able to keep their FAITH in something when they BELIEVE in that same thing.

Again, look at it in the opposite way:

A person will only be able to keep their FAITH in something when they DON’T BELIEVE in that same thing.

Once again, how can you NOT believe in something and have faith in it?

I’m unsure I agree with all of the information we can find online comparing these two (2) words.

Let me see what the Word shows me.

The plainest verse in the Bible on FAITH is found in Hebrews 11:1.

‘…Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen…’ ESV (English Standard Version)

‘…Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen…’ AKJV (Authorized King James Version)

‘…Now faith is the certainty of things hoped for, a proof of things not seen…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

‘…To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see…’ GNT (Good News Translation)

One word that is used in every version is the word ‘hope.’

All I can say to each one of you is to keep your Bibles always open and read the words that have been written in the Word.

Romans 8

vs18 ‘…I consider that what we suffer at this present time cannot be compared at all with the glory that is going to be revealed to us…’

vs19 ‘…All of creation waits with eager longing for God to reveal his children…’

vs20 ‘…For creation was condemned to lose its purpose, not of its own will, but because God willed it to be so. Yet there was the hope…’

vs21 ‘…that creation itself would one day be set free from its slavery to decay and would share the glorious freedom of the children of God…’

vs22 ‘…For we know that up to the present time all of creation groans with pain, like the pain of childbirth…’

vs23 ‘…But it is not just creation alone which groans; we who have the Spirit as the first of God’s gifts also groan within ourselves as we wait for God to make us his children and set our whole being free…’

vs24 ‘…For it was by hope that we were saved; but if we see what we hope for, then it is not really hope. For who of us hopes for something we, see…’

vs25 ‘…But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience…’

vs26 ‘…In the same way the Spirit also comes to help us, weak as we are. For we do not know how we ought to pray; the Spirit himself pleads with God for us in groans that words cannot express…’

vs27 ‘…And God, who sees into our hearts, knows what the thought of the Spirit is, because the Spirit pleads with God on behalf of his people and in accordance with his will…’

vs28 ‘…We know that in all things God works for good with those who love him, those whom he has called according to his purpose…’

vs29 ‘…Those whom God had already chosen he also set apart to become like his Son, so that the Son would be the first among many believers…’

vs30 ‘…And so those whom God set apart, he called; and those he called, he put right with himself, and he shared his glory with them…’ GNT (Good News Translation)

We are shown more than what we ask for. All we need to do is ask and it will be given to us.

Hope is not merely a ‘wish’ that we ask for. Hope is an assured GIFT we will receive. We haven’t received it yet but, we KNOW we will, ONE day.

Keep you Bibles always open and study as much as you can. Seek the words He has given to us and keep yourselves protected from what someone may have written or explained online. Just because it’s in print doesn’t mean it has to be so.

Listen to Jesus speak to you through the words we have been given in the Word.

Be wise and be aware that there are those out there in this world that want you to see a different way. When their hands reach out for you to deposit a payment, BEWARE!!!

An entire study needs to begin by just being aware of your surroundings.

Study the Word of God and put on the Armor that He has given us to protect us from the evil one.

Ephesians 6 has been given to us by God to protect us. ARM YOURSELVES AND BE SAFE.

I love ALL of you. I could keep on going tonight. Open your Bibles and let Him guide you where He wants you to go.

Jesus, I pray that those ears and eyes, either listening or seeing this message today would be opened to the very fullest and allow Your love to come inside their lives and comfort them. Teach us Jesus. Protect us. We love You. Amen InHIM. ><)))o>

Saturday 113024

Don’t let me or my writings influence or scare you in any way, instead, allow me to be used as a vessel to open the Word, just a little bit, and hopefully, together we are going to read and study His Word, and let God teach us what He wants us to hear.

Our identity means a lot today, the problem that confronts all of us is, just who are we trying to portray our identity to?

So, our study consists of two ground rules:

1^st we ONLY read and follow what is found in the Holy Bible.

2^nd we ONLY learn from a study by what effort we put into that study.

The verses we are going to study tonight:

Acts 2:4; 1 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 3:3; Philippians 4:6-7, 19; Galatians 3:20; John 4:23-24; Matthew 10:8.

So, earlier in our study we finished our lessons on the word MYSTERY.

The Greek word musterion (mystery), when used in the New Testament, refers to the things of God that were once hidden but were later revealed through Christ and the coming of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:4 ‘…All the believers became full with the Holy Spirit. They began to speak in languages that they had not learned. They spoke whatever language the Holy Spirit helped them to speak…’ EASY (Easy English Bible) 

Just this past week, I updated a verse posted on my blog:

1 Timothy 3:16 ‘…And, beyond controversy, great is the mystery of our religion – that Christ appeared in human form, and His claims justified by the Spirit, was seen by angels and proclaimed among Gentile nations, was believed on in the world, and received up again into glory…’ WNT (Weymouth New Testament)

‘…And, beyond controversy…’, another words, beyond any possible dispute.

The next six words …

‘…great is the mystery of our religion…’, in just about every other version I found it written as ‘…the mystery of godliness…’

The mystery is that Christ became flesh, He came to this earth as a human being. To continue, the mystery is the person and work of Jesus, including the divinely revealed truth about him. The phrase can also be seen as a summary of Jesus’ ministry, with the implication that the godliness of God’s Son should be reflected in people’s lives.

Unless we have our heads buried in the sand, each one of us should realize there have been a lot of changes in this world over the last few years.

Today we hear people talk on ‘Global Warming,’ ‘Global Currency,’ and there is a large percentage of people pushing everything GREEN for our atmosphere’s sake.

Maybe the one real thing that’s not being relayed to people out there in this world, is maybe our time is running out as we know it.

Maybe it is time for us to make certain we are firming up our relationship with Jesus Christ and we begin to focus on the words He has given us through His Word.

It’s a shame, I sit back and hear of shootings at a presidential election rally, there are shootings in our public schools and gang members are running rampant in our larger cities. Non-citizens flood across our borders, bringing with them crime, drugs and health issues and today’s news reporters are only focused on today’s political rivalries.

2 Peter 3:3 ‘…The first thing that you should understand is this. In the last days of this world, some people will laugh at you because you believe in God. These people will do whatever bad things they want to do…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)

In all the years that I’ve taught the Word of God, maybe this is the first that I’ve noticed, how much prophecy is focused on today.

Too many times, I hear people speaking about a church service, but they’re not praising what has been written in the Word. Instead, they are giving praise to a pastor, the music or the interior of a church building as if the reason God created this earth was just for this one church building and its congregation.

Before physically attending a new church, I get online to watch previous services at that church, and I listen to earlier sermons.

There was this one church, every week, just before the pastor walked onto stage, he spoke in a shaky and loud voice …

‘I feel the presence of the Holy Spirit, here with us today.’

You’re joking right …? Every Sunday, the same exact time, when you’re in the exact same spot, just as the pastor enters onto the stage the Holy Spirit comes into a service?

What page, book and verse did that come from?

Phillipians 4

vs6 ‘…Do not worry about anything. Instead, pray to God about everything. Ask him to help you with the things that you need. And thank him for his help…’

vs7 ‘…If you do that, God will give you peace in your minds. That peace is so great that nobody can completely understand it. You will not worry or be afraid, because you belong to Christ Jesus…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)

Where is it written a pastor is needed for the Spirit to come into our service?

Philippians 4:19 ‘…And my God will liberally supply (fill until full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus…’ AMP (Amplified Bible)

… you seen the word ‘pastor,’ anywhere?

Galatians 3:20 ‘…Now a mediator is helpful if more than one party must reach an agreement. But God, who is one, did not use a mediator when he gave his promise to Abraham…’ NLT (New Living Translation)

There is no mediator, any longer, needed to worship our God.

There is no mediator, any longer, needed to pray to our God.

Jesus told the ‘Gentile’ woman at the well in Samaria (land of the Samaritans) …

John 4

vs23 ‘…But a time is coming – and now is here – when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such people to be his worshipers…’

vs24 ‘… God is spirit, and the people who worship him must worship in spirit and truth…’ NET (New English Translation)

Jesus made this statement to the woman at the well close to 2000 years ago.

It is only when we get into the habit of opening His Word and reading what we have been told that our lives will change from surviving the way this world wants us to live, to living the LIFE that Jesus has promised that we will have once we have attained Him in our lives.

We have been told how we must have FAITH in our lives. We must BELIEVE that Jesus Christ died, was buried and rose again on the third day so that we may LIVE in Eternity in His Presence.

The Bible doesn’t tell us how many hoops we must jump through or how many bells we must ring.

The Bible doesn’t tell us how many days we must attend a church service or how much change we must throw in the collection basket.

The Bible doesn’t tell us what color suit coat we need to wear or how big of a hat we must wear on our head.

These wishes are all man. Man lets you know you need a suitcoat to worship God. Man lets you know your hair must be cut. Man lets you know it is wrong to get a tattoo or it is wrong to get a divorce.

If Jesus thought the Law was difficult for mankind to obey, I can only guess what He would think of the rules that man is putting on other men like they do today.

Just as Jesus told His disciples …

Matthew 10:8 ‘…Heal the sick, bring the dead back to life, heal those who suffer from dreaded skin diseases, and drive out demons. You have received without paying, so give without being paid…’ GNT (Good News Translation)

In a different version:

‘…Make sick people well again. Cause dead people to become alive again. If people have a bad disease of the skin, make them well again. Send bad spirits out of people to leave them. God has been very kind to you, so you should be kind to other people. When you help people, do not ask them for money…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)

So many churches are too interested in making a living instead of serving those in need.

Don’t be afraid to speak up and let the words of Jesus flow off your tongue so that others might hear the message. Just remember that there may be those around you that have never had the exposure that you’ve had. You may be the one and only individual that might have a chance to influence some soul.

Be proud of your God and let others see your proudness in everything that you do.

I love every one of you. Remember though that Jesus, He loves every one of us even more than I could ever possibly love. Be kind and be proud of what God has given you.

Share what you have with those that are in need. You will be rewarded in the future.

Open your Word and continue to study what He has given us. Make reading the Bible a daily part of your life and share with others what you will find.

Jesus, I pray that those ears and eyes, either listening or seeing this message today would be opened to the very fullest and allow Your love to come inside their lives and comfort them. Teach us Jesus. Protect us. We love You. Amen.

I am, InHIM. ><)))o>

Friday 112924

Ephesians 2:8-9 ‘…For it is by God’s grace that you have been saved through faith. It is not the result of your own efforts, but God’s GIFT, so that no one can boast about it…’ GNT (Good News Translation)

You and I together, let’s open and study the Word that we have ALL been given. Use me to help you study the Bible and allow me to be used to help you search what God wants for us to hear.

Let’s only follow what we find that pertains to us and realize that it’s only from our own effort in studying His Word that is going to let us take anything away that we can use in our lives by ourselves and with those that we love.

The verses we are going to study tonight:

Romans 8:31-39; Hebrews 13:6; Psalms 23:1-6.

In my attempt to spread the Word, to the people in the 21^st century, I am posting a new lesson every morning.

I am posting my lessons on eleven (11) different sites.

On Facebook, I am:

Whosoever Inhim

Whosoever inhim Bible Study

Or, in a search engine, simply type:

lrabbe.wordpress.com

whosoeverinhim.weebly.com

lrabbe2024.wixsite.com/my-site-2

lrabbe2024.wixsite.com/whosoeverinhim

whosoeverinhim.blogspot.com

www.tumblr.com/whosoeversblog

whosoeverinhim.cw.center

inhim.webador.com

free-4140862.webador.com

Tonight’s lesson I hope does not keep people from reading the lesson. There are going to be times and trials in this life that are going to be difficult for us, the Christian believer. But it is our FAITH and trust in God that is going to keep us moving forward. It is God in our lives that is going to keep us from running away to hide from the unknown. It is God that is going to keep us strong.

Satan is afraid of you and me. He’s afraid because He knows we have Jesus on our side.

He’s stupid enough to think he can overpower God but that’s just the way that he thinks.

Romans 8

vs31 ‘…What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us…’

vs32 ‘…He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things…’

vs33 ‘…Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies…’

vs34 ‘…Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us…’

vs35 ‘…Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword…’

vs36 ‘…As it is written: For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered…’

vs37 ‘…No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us…’

vs38 ‘…For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers…’

vs39 ‘…neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord…’ NIV (New International Version)

We should never be afraid of anything that we are unsure of. God is there and He is going to take care of us.

Hebrew 13:6 ‘…So we say with confidence, the Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me…’ NIV (New International Version)

To be honest, for a week now I have been walking around, reminding myself of my mothers-in-law’s favorite verse, found in the Bible.

Allow me the pleasure to read it to you:

Psalm 23

vs1 ‘…The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want…’

vs2 ‘…He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters…’

vs3 ‘…He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake…’

vs4 ‘…Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me…’

vs5 ‘…Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over…’

vs6 ‘…Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever…’ KJV (King James Version)

Pat repeated this verse over and over again.

Breaking down vs1 ‘…The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want…’ KJV (King James Version)

In other versions:

‘…The Lord is my Shepherd; I will not be in need…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

‘…The Lord is my Shepherd; I have everything I need…’ GNT (Good News Translation)

‘…The Lord takes care of me, like a shepherd with his sheep. I have everything that I need…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)

As I was reading vs1, I wanted to write ‘NEED’ instead of ‘want’ as it is written in the KJV, but then I see the NASB version.

Then when I copied and pasted the GNT version and it said exactly what it should, I have everything I need.

Breaking down vs2:

‘…He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters…’ KJV (King James Version)

‘…He lets me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

‘…He lets me rest in fields of green grass and leads me to quiet pools of fresh water…’ GNT (Good News Translation)

‘…He takes me to green fields where I can rest. He leads me to streams of water where I can drink…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)

Breaking down vs3:

‘…He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake…’ KJV (King James Version)

‘…He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for the sake of His name…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

‘…He gives me new strength. He guides me in the right paths, as he has promised…’ GNT (Good News Translation)

‘…He gives me new strength in my life. He is my guide to the right paths. He does this to give honour to his name…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)

Breaking down vs4:

‘…Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me…’ KJV (King James Version)

‘…Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

‘…Even if I go through the deepest darkness, I will not be afraid, Lord, for you are with me. Your shepherd’s rod and staff protect me…’ GNT (Good News Translation)

‘…I may walk through a valley that is as dark as death. But I will not be afraid of any danger. This is because you are with me, Lord. Your stick and your shepherd’s pole protect me from danger…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)

Breaking down vs5:

‘…Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over…’ KJV (King James Version)

‘…You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil;
My cup overflows…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

‘…You prepare a banquet for me, where all my enemies can see me; you welcome me as an honored guest and fill my cup to the brim…’ GNT (Good News Translation)

‘…You prepare a big meal for me while my enemy’s watch. You put olive oil on my head. You bless me so much that my cup is completely full…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)

Breaking down vs6:

‘…Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever…’ KJV (King James Version)

‘…Certainly, goodness and faithfulness will follow me all the days of my life, And my dwelling will be in the house of the Lord forever…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

‘…I know that your goodness and love will be with me all my life; and your house will be my home as long as I live…’ GNT (Good News Translation)

‘…I am sure that you will always be good to me.
You will love me all the days of my life. That will never change. I will live in the Lord’s house for as long as I live…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)

REFRESHED

I am at peace. Questions will always remain; however, Pat’s Bible quote will never be so far away I will not remember …

That is what the Word is for us. It is that little piece of strength that we will need to make it through. All we have to do is remember that it is there, and half the battle is already over.

I know Psalms was written to the Jew.

With that being said, ALL Scripture has been Inspired by God for ALL of us to see.

We don’t have to follow the writings that were meant for the Jewish individual, but there are some writings written to the Jew that are comforting to our  soul.

These writings to the Jew, they will not SAVE us Gentile’s from Everlasting destruction, but there is comfort in the words.

Always remember, God knows what we’re going through. He knows the struggles that we’re going to have. He sees the struggle we’re having right now at this moment.

Just talk to Him and ask Him for His assistance, remember that Armor that He has given us to protect us from the evil desires of Satan.

Keep your Bibles always open and ready for you to grab on to. Study His Word every day. Keep yourselves prepared.

I love y’all.

Jesus, I pray that those ears and eyes, either listening or seeing this message today would be opened to the very fullest and allow Your love to come inside their lives and comfort them. Teach us Jesus. Protect us. We love You. Amen

InHIM. ><)))o>

Thursday 112824

Don’t let me or my writings influence or scare you in any way, instead, allow me to be used as a vessel to open the Word, just a little bit, and hopefully, together we are going to read and study His Word, and let God teach us what He wants us to hear.

We have two ground rules in this study:

1 – we are ONLY going to read and follow what is found (that pertains to us), in the Holy Bible.

2 – we are ONLY going to learn from a study, what effort we put into that study.

The verses we are going to study tonight:

Acts 11:1-18, 19-26, 27-30; Galatians 2:9; Acts 12:25.

So, we are going to continue with our lesson on which apostle taught the Gentiles first; was it Paul or was it Peter.

Peter is told to meet with Cornelius, and he baptizes the first gentile at Caesarea. (Acts 10).

Peter is called to Jerusalem to explain why he had entered a gentile’s house and then baptized a gentile. After explaining about the action of the Holy Spirit, the leaders had no further objection. Acts 11:1-18.

Acts 11

vs1 ‘…The apostles and the other believers in Judea heard that Gentiles had also believed the message from God…’

vs2 ‘…Peter then returned from Caesarea, and he arrived in Jerusalem. Some of the Jews there who were believers spoke against him. These Jews thought that all believers should be circumcised…’

vs3 ‘…So they said to Peter, you stayed in the house of men who were not circumcised. You even ate meals with them…’

vs4 ‘…Peter then began to explain everything that had happened. He said to them…’

vs5 ‘…I was staying in a house in the city of Joppa. One day, when I was praying, I had a special dream. In this vision, I saw something that came down from heaven. It was like a large piece of cloth. Somebody held it at each of its four corners and let it come down to the ground next to me…’

vs6 ‘…I looked carefully at it. I saw that there were farm animals with four legs inside the cloth. There were also wild animals, snakes, and birds in it…’

vs7 ‘…Then I heard a voice that said to me, Peter, stand up and kill some of these animals. Then you can cook them and eat the meat…’

vs8 ‘…But I answered, no, Lord, I would certainly not do that. I have never eaten an animal that our Law says is unclean…’

vs9 ‘…Then the voice spoke to me from heaven again. It said, God has made these animals good for people to eat. So, you must not say that it is not right to eat them…’

vs10 ‘…All this happened three times. After that, the cloth went back up into heaven again…’

vs11 ‘…At that moment, three men from Caesarea arrived at the house where I was staying. Someone had sent these men to find me…’

vs12 ‘…The Holy Spirit told me that I should go with them. He said that I should not be afraid. These six believers from Joppa also went with me to Caesarea. We all went into Cornelius’s house…’

vs13 ‘…Then Cornelius told us what had happened to him. He had seen an angel who appeared in his house and said to him, send some men to Joppa to fetch a man who is called Simon Peter…’

vs14 ‘…He will come and speak to you. His message will tell you how God will save you and everyone else in your house…’

vs15 ‘…When I started to speak to Cornelius and his family, the Holy Spirit came down on them. It happened in the same way that he first came down on us at the beginning…’

vs16 ‘…Then I remembered what the Lord Jesus had said to us: John baptized people with water, but God will baptize you with his Holy Spirit…’

vs17 ‘…So we see that God gave these Gentiles his gift of the Holy Spirit. This is the same gift that he gave to us Jews who have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. So, I could never try to stop God…’

vs18 ‘…The Jewish believers heard what Peter said. They could not say anything more against him. Instead, they praised God, and they said, We now see that God has also let Gentiles have life with him. He will accept them if they stop doing bad things and turn to him…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)

There is no further record of Peter ever preaching to gentiles after this incident.

Attention then shifts to Antioch and the developing tension over the role, if any, gentiles should have in the Gospel message. Acts 11:19-26. It was during this time that Barnabas went to get Saul in Tarsus (v25) and brought him to Antioch. It was at this time that Saul and Barnabas began preaching to gentiles.

Acts 11

vs19 ‘…After the Jewish leaders had killed Stephen, the believers had a lot of trouble. The believers left Jerusalem and they went to many different places. Some of them went away as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch. They told God’s message to people in these places. But they only told the message to Jews…’

vs20 ‘…Some of the believers were people who came from Cyprus and Cyrene. These men went to Antioch. There they told God’s message to Gentiles, as well as to Jews. They told everyone the good news about the Lord Jesus…’

vs21 ‘…The Lord God helped these men with his power. Very many people believed their message and they trusted in the Lord Jesus…’

vs22 ‘…The believers in Jerusalem heard about what had happened in Antioch. So, they decided to send Barnabas there…’

vs23 ‘…Barnabas arrived in Antioch. He saw how God had been kind to the people there and helped them. Barnabas was happy about this. So he said to the new believers, ‘Continue to trust the Lord Jesus completely…’

vs24 ‘…Barnabas was a good man. The power of God’s Holy Spirit was with him. He trusted God completely. Many people in Antioch believed in Jesus and joined the group of believers…’

vs25 ‘…Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul…’

vs26 ‘…When Barnabas found him, he brought him back to Antioch. For one whole year, Barnabas and Saul met together with the group of believers there. They taught very many of them about Jesus. Antioch was the first place where the believers were called Christians…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)

Because of a famine, Saul and Barnabas are sent with gifts to Jerusalem. Acts 11:27-30.

Acts 11

vs27 ‘…During this time, some prophets travelled from Jerusalem to Antioch…’

vs28 ‘…One of these men was called Agabus. The Holy Spirit gave him a message from God. He stood up and he said to the people there, Soon people will be very hungry all over the world because there will be no food…’ (That happened when Claudius ruled the Roman world)

vs29 ‘…The believers in Antioch wanted to help the other believers who lived in Judea. Each of them decided how much of their own money they could give…’

vs30 ‘…Then they gave the money to Barnabas and Saul. Barnabas and Saul took this gift to the leaders of the believers in Jerusalem…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)

It is probable that this was trip to Jerusalem is that referred to in Gal 2:1, fourteen years after Paul’s conversion. It was at this Jerusalem meeting that Paul agreed with Peter an amicable division of labour – Paul would preach to the gentiles while Peter would preach to the Jews, Gal 2:9.

Galatians 2:9 ‘…James, Peter and John understood that God had given this special job to me. They are the leaders that the church in Jerusalem respects. And they were happy to accept Barnabas and me as their friends. They agreed that we should teach God’s message to the Gentiles. They themselves would continue to teach the Jews…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)

Saul returns from Jerusalem to Antioch. Acts 12:25

Acts 12:25 ‘…Barnabas and Saul had gone to Jerusalem to help the believers there. They finished their work and then they returned to Antioch. They took John Mark with them…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)

Just for the record, John Mark wrote the synoptic gospel of Mark. John Mark was a scribe for the apostle Peter.

Paul and Barnabas are sent off on their first missionary journey Acts 13:2 – 14:28, preaching to gentiles, returning to Antioch.

The Jerusalem council is called to debate circumcision. Acts 15.

Thus, it appears that Peter baptized the first gentile (Acts 10, 15:7, 14) but appears to have then decided to concentrate on the Jews as subsequent actions confirmed (Gal 2:11-14). Paul also initially preached to Jews as shown above but later switched his focus to reaching only the gentiles.

Maybe we should ask ourselves what we have learned from these two lessons on who the first apostle was to preach to the Gentiles. It does appear as if it was Peter, but with that said, Jesus did choose Paul to teach the Gentiles.

Once again, this shows me just how difficult it was for the Jew to transform into the belief that a Gentile could be saved. It should also be a lesson just how difficult it was for a Jew to convert away from the teachings of the law.

This should be a lesson to us all today in the 21^st century, just how difficult it’s going to be for a person to leave a denomination that they’ve known since childhood, to today now change and follow Jesus and accept the gift of GRACE that God has given us that will Eternally save us from the promise of Spiritual Death.

It is going to take prayer for us to save each one of us from this fate that we ALL have in front of us.

Keep in the Word and study what God has freely given us. Use your voice and let others know what secrets you have found. Speak to them of the importance for them to get into the Word and study it for themselves to learn His Message.

I love y’all. Always remember that God loves each one of us even more than what we can comprehend what Love is.

Jesus, I pray that those ears and eyes, either listening or seeing this message today would be opened to the very fullest and allow Your love to come inside their lives and comfort them. Teach us Jesus. Protect us. We love You. Amen

InHIM. ><)))o>

Wednesday 112724

Don’t let me or my writings influence or scare you in any way, instead, allow me to be used as a vessel to open the Word, just a little bit, and hopefully, together we are going to read and study His Word, and let God teach us what He wants us to hear.

We have two ground rules in this study:

1 – we are ONLY going to read and follow what is found (that pertains to us), in the Holy Bible.

2 – we are ONLY going to learn from a study, what effort we put into that study.

The verses we are going to study tonight:

Acts 9:1-19, 20-22; Galatians 1:17; Acts 9:23-25; Galatians 1:18; Acts 9:29, 30, 31, 32-42.

This lesson we are probably going to break up into several parts so we can study the readings more closely.

Let me voice an observation I’ve found since searching the Word for this lesson. There is this debate as to who was the first person that began preaching to the Gentiles, was it Paul or was it Peter. After some digging, I found some interesting facts. I’m going to copy and paste my findings.

Saul receives his conversion experience on the road to Damascus, Acts 9:1-19

Acts 9

vs1 ‘…All this time, Saul was still speaking strongly against the disciples of the Lord Jesus. He wanted to kill all the believers. So, he went to see the most important priest in Jerusalem…’

vs2 ‘…Saul asked him, please will you write some letters for me? Then I can give one of these letters to the leader of each Jewish group in Damascus. That will give me authority to take hold of any believers that I find there. Saul wanted to find anyone who agreed with the Way of the Lord Jesus. Then he would tie them and bring them back to Jerusalem, whether they were men or they were women…’

vs3 ‘…He travelled towards Damascus. He was very near the city when a bright light suddenly appeared. The light came from the sky, and it shone all around him…’

vs4 ‘…Saul fell down onto the ground. He heard a voice which said to him, Saul, Saul, why do you fight against me…’

vs5 ‘…Saul asked, Lord, who are you? He said, I am Jesus. And you are fighting against me…’

vs6 ‘…Now you must get up and go into the city. Someone there will tell you what you must do…’

vs7 ‘…The men who were travelling with Saul stood still. They could not say anything. They could hear someone speaking. But they could not see anyone…’

vs8 ‘…Saul stood up. He opened his eyes, but he could not see anything. So, the men who were with Saul held his hand. They led him into Damascus…’

vs9 ‘…For three days, Saul could not see anything. During that time, he did not eat any food or drink anything…’

vs10 ‘…There was a believer who lived in Damascus. His name was Ananias. God gave him a message in a vision. The Lord Jesus said to him, Ananias! Ananias answered, Lord, I am here…’

vs11 ‘…Jesus said to Ananias, prepare yourself and go to Straight Street. A man called Judas lives on that street. Go to his house. When you get there, ask for a man from Tarsus who is called Saul. He is praying to God…’

vs12 ‘…He has had a message from God in a vision. In his vision, he saw a man who is called Ananias come to him. He saw you put your hands on him so that he could see again…’

vs13 ‘…Ananias replied, Lord, many people have told me about this man. He has done very bad things to your own people, the believers in Jerusalem…’

vs14 ‘…Now he has come here to Damascus, and he has brought letters with him from the leaders of the priests. They have given him authority, so that he will take hold of everyone who believes in you. He will tie them and put them in prison…’

vs15 ‘…But the Lord said to Ananias, Go now to Saul! I have chosen him to work for me. He will go to those who are not Jews and to their rulers. He will tell them about me. He will also tell the people of Israel about me…’

vs16 ‘…I myself will tell him about the many troubles that he will have. He will have much pain on my behalf…’

vs17 ‘…So Ananias went to Judas’s house, and he went inside. He put his hands on Saul, and he said to him, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus himself has sent me here to you. It was Jesus that you saw on the road when you were coming here to Damascus. He has sent me to you so that you will be able to see again. God will also fill you with his Holy Spirit…’

vs18 ‘…When Ananias said that, immediately something like bits of fish skin fell from Saul’s eyes. Then Saul could see again. So, he stood up and Ananias baptized him…’

vs19 ‘…Then Saul ate some food, and he became strong again. Saul teaches people about Jesus. Saul stayed with the believers in Damascus for a few days…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)

Immediately afterward Saul preached Jesus in the synagogues, Acts 9:20-22

Acts 9

vs20 ‘…He immediately went to the Jewish meeting places, and he taught people about Jesus. He told them that Jesus is the Son of God…’

vs21 ‘…All the people who heard what Saul said were very surprised. They said to each other, This is the same man who caused much pain to the believers in Jerusalem. We are sure it is him! Now he has come here to Damascus to take hold of the believers and take them away to Jerusalem. He wants to make them stand in front of the leaders of the priests…’

vs22 ‘…But Saul became even more powerful when he taught the people. He showed very clearly that Jesus is God’s Messiah. So, the Jews who lived there in Damascus could not answer him…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)

How long he remained in Damascus preaching in the synagogues is unknown, but it was probably a few months (???). He then went to Arabia for an unknown time, presumably to clarify his thinking. Gal 1:17

Galatians 1:17 ‘…Nor did I go to Jerusalem to see Christ’s apostles there. Those men were already his apostles before I was. But I did not go to talk to them. Instead, I went immediately to the region of Arabia. Later, I went back to the city of Damascus…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)

Saul then returned to Damascus. It is not clear whether the events of Acts 9:23-25 (the plot to kill Saul) was before or after the trip Arabia. I am inclined to the latter because it was after “many days” (Acts 9:23). In any case, at this point, Paul has thus far confined himself to synagogues. It was at this point that he decided to leave for Jerusalem.

Acts 9

vs23 ‘…After many days, the Jews met together. They decided that they would kill Saul…’

vs24 ‘…But someone told Saul about this. The Jews carefully watched the gates of the city all day and all night. They wanted to catch Saul and to kill him…’

vs25 ‘…But one night, Saul’s friends helped him to leave the city secretly. They put him in a basket. Then they put him through a hole in the city wall. Then they let the basket go slowly down to the ground outside the city…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)

Paul goes to Jerusalem 3 years after his conversion (Gal 1:18) to meet Cephas/Peter and other leaders.

Galatians 1:18 ‘…Then, three years later, I did go to Jerusalem. I stayed there with Christ’s apostle Peter for 15 days, so that he could teach me…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)

Saul is still only dealing with Jews and not gentiles. Acts 9:29.

Acts 9:29 ‘…Saul also talked with the Jews who spoke the Greek language. He argued with them about Jesus. As a result, they wanted to kill him…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)

Paul then travels to Syria and Cilicia via Tarsus. Acts 9:30.

Acts 9:30 ‘…The other believers heard about this. So, they took Saul away to Caesarea. From there, they sent him to Tarsus…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)

The Church enjoyed a time of peace. Acts 9:31. During this next period, Acts is silent about the activities of Saul.

Acts 9:31 ‘…By this time there were believers everywhere in Judea, Galilee and Samaria. For some time, they had no troubles. The Holy Spirit helped them to become strong. So, more people became believers, and they obeyed God in everything that they did…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)

Peter miraculously heals Aeneas and resurrects Tabitha at Lydda. Acts 9:32-43

Acts 9

vs32 ‘…Peter often travelled to many different places. One day he travelled to Lydda, and he went to see the believers there…’

vs33 ‘…In Lydda, he met a man called Aeneas. Aeneas could not move his arms or his legs. He lay on his mat all the time. He had been on his mat for eight years…’

vs34 ‘…Peter said to Aeneas, Jesus Christ now makes you well again! So, stand up and put away your mat.’ Immediately Aeneas stood up…’

vs35 ‘…Many people who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw Aeneas. They saw that he was now well, and they believed in the Lord Jesus…’

vs36 ‘…There was a woman called Tabitha who lived in Joppa. She was a believer. In the Greek language, her name was Dorcas, which means ‘deer.’ She was always doing good things to help people. She gave poor people the things that they needed…’

vs37 ‘…Dorcas became very ill and then she died. Women washed her body and they put it in a room upstairs…’

vs38 ‘…Joppa was not very far from Lydda. The believers in Joppa heard that Peter was in Lydda. So, they sent two men to go and to tell him, please hurry and come to Joppa…’

vs39 ‘…Peter then returned to Joppa with the two men. When he arrived at Dorcas’s house, some women took him upstairs. Many widows were there, and they were crying. They all stood there, near to Peter. They showed him the shirts and coats that Dorcas had made while she was still with them…’

vs40 ‘…Peter sent all these women out of the room. He went down on his knees, and he prayed to God. Then he turned his head towards the dead woman, and he said, Tabitha, stand up! She opened her eyes. When she saw Peter, she sat up…’

vs41 ‘…Peter held her hand and he helped her to stand up. Then he told the widows and all the believers to come into the room. He showed them that Dorcas was alive again…’

vs42 ‘…People everywhere in Joppa heard what had happened. As a result, many more people believed in the Lord Jesus…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)

Keep yourself in His Word and study to find the truth that He wants us to know.

I love y’all.

Jesus, I pray that those ears and eyes, either listening or seeing this message today would be opened to the very fullest and allow Your love to come inside their lives and comfort them. Teach us Jesus. Protect us. We love You. Amen

InHIM. ><)))o>