Bible Study, Devotional, Feast on This, Sunday School Lessons, The Parables

The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins

October 2, 2017May 19, 2018 mrshlovesjesus

“Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish.”

There’s a little bit of dialog out there on who the Virgins might be. Are they the church? Are they the Jewish people who finally believe in Jesus as their Messiah during the great tribulation? I’ll leave that to Jesus to reveal when the time comes. What is important is that we make sure we are not foolish Virgins!

Using scripture to understand scripture let’s see if 2 Timothy 3 might shed a little light on who some foolish virgins could be.

“But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: ²For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, ³unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, ⁴traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, ⁵having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! ⁶For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, ⁷always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. ⁸Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith; ⁹but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was.” — 2 Timothy 3:1-9

Jannes and Jambres are interestingly named in this passage by Paul, but their names do not appear in the scriptures referenced (Exodus 7:11&22). Their names come from “an unwritten teaching of the Jews,” according to Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown’s Concordance on the Whole Bible. The concordance in my Bible says they were the magicians who duplicated Aaron and Moses’s miracles before Pharoah, to undermine their credibility. They were able to turn a rod into a serpent, and water into blood, just like Aaron and Moses had done. According to quotes from Numebius (whoever that was), Jannes and Jambres were “sacred scribes, of a lower order of priests in Egypt, who were skilled in magic.” Hiller (not sure who this guy is either) interprets the name Jannes from the Abyssinian language to mean a trickster, and Jambres to mean a juggler. What’s most important is that they resisted or withstood by exibiting lying wonders to manipulate Pharoah, just as will be done in the last days by false prophets to manipulate mankind (Matthew 24:24; 2 Thes. 2:9; Revelation 13:14-15).

“Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.”

Oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit; the kings and priests in the old Testament were anointed with oil for the work of their office, in the new Testament WE, Christians are kings and priests (Rev.1:6; 5:9,10), and are anointed with the Holy Spirit (1 John 2:20,27) for the work of our office.

Visit these websites to learn more:

http://www.bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Topical.show/RTD/cgg/ID/1107/Oil-as-Symbol.htm

http://www.jackhayford.org/teaching/articles/symbols-of-the-holy-spirit/

https://www.blueletterbible.org/faq/don_stewart/don_stewart_433.cfm

http://www.loyolapress.com/symbols-of-the-holy-spirit.htm

I know you know the song, “This Little Light of Mine, I’m Gonna Let it Shine…” again using scripture to understand scripture let’s go to Acts 19 and Acts 1 to see how the Holy Spirit becomes that light in our lamps.

And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples ²he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” So they said to him, “We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.” ³And he said to them, “Into what then were you baptized?” So they said, “Into John’s baptism.” ⁴Then Paul said, “John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.” ⁵When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. ⁶And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. Acts 19:1-6

But you shall receive power (boldness) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me^[^a^] in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8

“But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.”

Have you ever gotten tired of waiting for something? A wife or husband to get ready to leave the house for an activity? The weatherman’s report during the evening news? Getting to where you are going, on a long trip? What do you do to pass the time? Play on your phone? Play some music? Take a little cat-nap? The Virgins “slumbered” and “slept.” I thought the two word choices were interesting, so I decided to look up those two words in my Word Study New Testament reference books. Here’s what I found:

The word Slumbered (verb) in this verse is the English translation of the Greek word nustazo, (Strongs #3573), and means to nod off, just like one does sitting in a chair with a full belly on a sunny afternoon after church, and when their head falls they wake back up again. Its grammatical notation is “aorist indicative active” which means it is not a continuous action as actual sleeping would be, also it is voluntary on the part of the person or people, in other words they weren’t drugged or boxed in the head, they just drifted off and closed their heavy eyelids for a moment of their own accord.

The word Slept (verb) in this verse is the English translation of the Greek word katheudo, (Strongs #2518), and means exactly “sleep” – lose consiousness. Its grammatical notation is “imperfect tense” (actually: imperfect 3-person plural to be specific), which, not being a Bible scholar by any stretch, appears to me to mean “to sleep in every sense of the word.” Soooo, what is “every sense of the word?” Thayer’s Greek Lexicon lists (crazily enough) “three” senses of the word and here they are:

a. properly (sleep): as used in Matthew 8:24; Matthew 9:24 (on this and its parallels, cf. B. D. American edition, p. 1198{a}); ; Mark 4:27, 38; Mark 5:39; Mark 13:36; Mark 14:37, 40; Luke 8:52; Luke 22:46; 1 Thessalonians 5:7.

b. euphemistically (to be dead): as used in 1 Thessalonians 5:10; (Psalm 87:6 (); Daniel 12:2).

c. metaphorically (to yield to sloth and sin, and be indifferent to one’s salvation): as used in Ephesians 5:14; 1 Thessalonians 5:6.

What? Whoa! So since slumbered comes first I’m guessing it applies to the wise virgins, who are always listed first, and the foolish, who are always listed second, must be the ones who flat out slept — in not only the proper sense of the word, but the euphemistic, and metaphorical senses as well, which totally confirms what 2 Timothy 3 said all the way up there at the start of this Bible Study, and very much triple defines their “foolishness.”

¹³But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. ¹⁴For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.^[^b^] ¹⁵For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-15

But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. ⁵You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. ⁶Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. ⁷For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. ⁸But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. ⁹For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁰who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. ¹¹Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing. 1 Thessalonians 5:4-11

“And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’”

Have you ever studied the Jewish wedding customs? If you are interested, you’ll find a little bit about them in my blog posts about the Feast of Trumpets, the Feast of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles. The wedding customs are so perfectly intertwined with the last three Jewish feasts, and this parable. And just like the bridegrooms of Jesus’ day returned for their brides…

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. ¹⁸Therefore comfort one another with these words. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18

Oh praise Jesus, I am comforted. Aren’t you? That if we die, or if we nod off He’ll wake us up?

“Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’”

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The foolish virgins should have known that the Holy Spirit cannot be purchased, it is a gift given without merit by Jesus – not of works lest any man should boast; but in not knowing they showed that they were not really His. They were of the same spirit as Simon:

And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, ¹⁹saying, “Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” ²⁰But Peter said to him, “Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money! ²¹You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God.²²Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. ²³For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.” Acts 8:18-23

The Virgins were all part of the same wedding party, but only half were wise, only half had oil and the others did not. In the same way, not everyone who attends church, or even serves in the church, is truly part of it. There are tares among us who are members, and even leaders in our churches. They have a form of godliness, but deny the power thereof. The power thereof is the Holy Spirit, so in essence they are denying (refusing) the Holy Spirit access to them, or denying the Holy Spirit’s existence. Either way, they are imposters – perhaps even wolves in sheep’s clothing.

Like Simon, they could also be poisoned by bitterness – the KJV says, “in the gall of bitterness.” Vinegar mixed with gall was offered to Jesus as He was about to be crucified and after tasting it He refused to drink it. Jesus refused to be poisoned with bitterness about His circumstances. In Exodus 15:22-26 we are told of bitter waters made sweet by a tree. Peter referred to the cross of Jesus as a tree (1Peter 2:24). If I were asked to define the word bitterness, I would say it is disappointment or unforgiveness from somewhere in our past left to fester into an infection of the heart. Some of the first things Jesus impressed upon me to do as a new Christian was to go to the people in my life whom I had unforgiveness for, and speak forgiveness to them. In so doing the Lord healed my bitter heart. Do you have an infection of the heart? Jesus is the only way to freedom. Let Jesus pry your cold, stiff hands off those hurts and resentments so that His Holy Spirit can come in and take their place, and turn your heart of stone into a heart of flesh.

Simon was also bound by iniquity, or as the KJV puts it, “in the bond of iniquity” which paints a clearer picture in my mind of a person with Satan’s hands clutched around his/her ankles and being drug with them everywhere they go, or Satan having them in a head-lock perhaps. Rather than give up whatever hurts he had or try to untangle his feet from shackles of sin, Simon just wanted to deny that they existed and pretend to be saved. Perhaps his sins were embarrassing? Or maybe he didn’t think his sins were all that big a deal? If Jesus could just give us a glimpse of the invisible stuff we carry around with us, I think it would shock us. And I think if we saw how ugly all of it really is we’d beg to have it off of us immediately.

Christ came to set the captives FREE. It is for freedom that Christ sets us free, and if He sets us free we are free indeed. If old hurts have had a hold on you; if a sinful past has held you back from trusting Jesus and Christians, don’t!!!! You might be able to hide it from people, but it is not hidden from God. God can’t let you into heaven with all of that junk hanging on you, that’s why He sent His SON to cleanse you of it and set you free from it. Do you want to be free? Confess your sins to Him and let Him wash them away in His redeeming blood. Find a pastor or Christian that you can trust and ask them to pray with you. Satan wants you to be shackled to your stuff forever, and he’ll think of every clever arguement that he can to keep you bound to him, but Jesus gives you a choice. Let it go! Be ready when Jesus comes, and not off on a fool’s errand when it’s time to go?

“And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’”

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. ²²Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ ²³And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ Matthew 7:21-23

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Does Jesus know me? Do I know Him? Do I practice lawlessness, or do I do the will of My Father?

(The scriptures are so completely intertwined. To continue studying along this vein click on Happy Firey Tongues Day , 365 Random Acts of Kindness , and No Man Knows the Day/Hour)

“Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.”

6f0052dd4a5b19e4a775ed5319647a1c-oil-lamps-lds-art — Image shared from Pinterest

“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven,[e] but My Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour[f] your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. Matthew 24:36-44

But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. ²For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. ³For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. ⁴But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. 1 Thessalonians 5:1-4

Let me just say that Noah didn’t know the exact day or hour that God would flood the earth, but he knew the ark would save him. He trusted God, and did the will of God to build it, and we do the will of God to be watching and ready…

“My sheep hear My voice” John 10:27. “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.” John 16:13

The Bible tells us that the gospel shall be preached in all the world, and then the end will come! Matthew 24:14 & Revelation 14:6,7.

Has the gospel been preached in all the earth? I don’t know. But it has certainly been preached in YOUR hearing today. Are you ready for His return?

“…choose you this day whom ye will serve; … ” Joshua 24:15 (KJV)

Bible Study, Feast on This, Testimonies & Personal Stories, The Parables

LOST & FOUND, the Parables of “Lost” Things

August 19, 2016July 19, 2018 mrshlovesjesus

I remember when I worked at the school district, the last week of school, that our bin of lost and found items would get drug out and the items hung up on racks, or laid out on tables in the front foyer, where parents and students would be coming and going, and hopefully they’d see an item that belonged to them and take it home. I was always amazed at how much stuff would accumulate over the year. Coats, hats, gloves, shirts, sweatpants, lunch boxes, shoes… just a myriad of things. My goodness, didn’t anyone miss this stuff?

I have lost things though, so who am I to judge?

I lost my cell phone once. I had it and then I didn’t have it. I always kept it in my purse. Then one day I went to lunch with friends and afterwards ran a few errands, and when I got back home and went to make a phone call it wasn’t there. I stirred the contents of my purse around with my hand, and then emptied it out completely, dumping the contents all over the floor. Nope, no cellphone.

I looked in my car, all over the car, under the seats, between the seats, in the console, and even in the backseats. I looked on the garage floor (maybe I accidentally kicked it out with my foot), and under the shelves along the wall. It wasn’t there. It wasn’t anywhere.

Like most people now-a-days I don’t have a landline, or even another cell phone as backup. And even if I had walked to the neighbors that day it would have been useless to borrow their phone. I did’t know anyone’s number. No one calls a NUMBER any more, we all call a NAME or a FACE. Oh dear. This was bad. This was my only communication with the outside world and it was gone, gone, gone, forever!

I went back in the house and looked on every surface where I might have laid the phone: the kitchen counters, the bedroom dressers, the bathroom, the laundry room. I retraced every step I’d made before leaving the house that day. And then I got back in my car and drove back to every business in town where I’d been, and asked if anyone had found a cell phone. Not a one.

I came back home and sat in a panic in the middle of my living room floor thinking intently about what to do next. And in the middle of my racing thoughts I heard it…I heard my cell phone ringing. “My phone! Oh my gosh, where is it coming from? I jumped to my feet and dashed around my house like a raving maniac, trying to get to the sound before it stopped ringing…….and where did I find it? My… PURSE!

It had slipped through a tear in the lining and was caught between the lining and the shell of my hard leather purse. I felt like an idiot, and at the same time was soooooooo relieved to have found it. So happy in fact that I wanted to drive back to every place I’d been, call all my friends, and tell them all, “I FOUND IT!!!!”

So, I completely relate to the thrill of the woman finding her lost coin in the story below.

Click below for the FREE PRINTABLE coloring page

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The Parable of the Lost Sheep

Matthew 18:10-14 (NKJV) Courtesy of Bible Gateway

¹⁰“Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven. ¹¹For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.^[a]

¹²“What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? ¹³And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. ¹⁴Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

Luke 15:1-7 (NKJV) Courtesy of Bible Gateway

Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. ²And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.” ³So He spoke this parable to them, saying:

⁴“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? ⁵And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. ⁶And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ ⁷I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.

The Parable of the Lost Coin

Luke 15:8-10 (NKJV) Courtesy of Bible Gateway

“Or what woman, having ten silver coins,^[a] if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? ⁹And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!’ ¹⁰Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

The Parable of the Lost Son

Luke 15:11-32 (NKJV) Courtesy of Bible Gateway

Then He said: “A certain man had two sons. ¹²And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood. ¹³And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. ¹⁴But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. ¹⁵Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. ¹⁶And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.

¹⁷“But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! ¹⁸I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, ¹⁹and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.”’

²⁰“And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. ²¹And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

²²“But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring^[a] out the best robe and putit on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. ²³And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; ²⁴for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.

²⁵“Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. ²⁷And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.’

²⁸“But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. ²⁹So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. ³⁰But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’

³¹“And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. ³²It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’”

Here’s my story:

I had been born an innocent child of God and raised going to church, but somewhere early in life I saw the things that the world had to offer and I was lured away by deception. It’s a great cavernous thing that the world offers. There’s never money enough, or time enough, or energy enough to attain that carrot that Satan dangles before our faces, but the game is so enticing (everybody’s doing it) that we continue to seek to try until we have nothing left to give. That’s when we realize we are now slaves to things we hate (relationships, drugs, alcohol, situations), and it was all just a trap. God in His mercy didn’t let it get so far with me that I was stealing pig slop out of hunger, but a diet of rice and oatmeal are close enough. My father was about as far from rich as one can be, but he met me at the train station with as much relief and love and thankfulness as the father in Jesus’s story. He had his own demons that he was fighting, and it was still a while before I came to my senses, but thankfully I settled down eventually, got married, was blessed with a child, and landed a decent job back home where I belonged.

And then I was working for a small town newspaper and calling on a customer for an ad. This customer had a wrapping and shipping business located inside a liquor store on the east side of town. As I made my acquaintance on my first visit, the woman of this husband/wife team set me on my heels with a pretty direct question. One I wasn’t prepared for, or was even expecting that day. She asked me if I knew Jesus, and if I were to die today if I knew where I would be going. Wow…I couldn’t get out of there fast enough. She made me very uncomfortable. But her words haunted me for weeks after that.

I knew what she was talking about. I had been raised in Sunday school. I had Christian grandparents. My dad had always said he hoped his daughters would get baptized at some time in our lives. I always intended to get baptized, but being fresh into my young life I wasn’t sure I was done sowing my wild oats yet. Somehow I had it in my head that making a commitment to God meant the end of “fun.”

I avoided her in every way after that, but a month down the road when I stopped in to pick up their ad for our paper, being careful to go in the afternoon when I knew she wouldn’t be there, she WAS there and smiling at me as I walked through the door. DANG-IT! But as much as I make this out to be a bad thing, truly our conversation had been all I could think about. I had wrestled with God over what she said for weeks. So when she asked if I had thought about what we talked about, I humbly confessed I’d thought of nothing else.

She asked me if I was ready to make the commitment and I said yes, afraid I may not get a second chance. She whisked me off to the bathroom grabbed my hands and told me to pray with her, “Repeat after me” she said, and I did.

I honestly couldn’t tell you the words I prayed with her that day. All of them escape my memory. But something incredible happened in that bathroom when I said, “Amen.” My blood felt strangely carbonated in my veins, like life was flooding into me in some magical, spiritual way (very much the way life flooded into the Beast when Bell, the Beauty, kissed him and told him she loved him). That very similar magical effervesence bubbled up inside of me and all around me. I was saved from spiritual death that day. My legs were wobbly and weak. My mind was swirling. I absolutely was not the same person walking out of that bathroom as the person who walked into it moments earlier. I followed her out to her desk and stared in a daze out the huge picture window. All of a sudden I became aware of the sky and the most gorgeous sunset I’ve ever seen. It was magnificent with reds and purples. I wondered in my heart and asked God, “Have sunsets always been this beautiful and I never noticed, or did You make this one especially for me?”

Just as I thought this I saw a figment of angels in the clouds…thousands of them. They were all singing and rejoicing. It was so emotionally moving to me that I dissolved to tears instantly. It was some months later that I came across the scripture that says, there is “more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.” Luke 15:7, and how we have so great a cloud of witnesses watching from above (Hebrews 12:1).

The angels were rejoicing over me that day, a great cloud of witnesses, and God gave me a brief and beautiful glimpse. But I’m not the only one; they are gathered to rejoice over you too!

If you are reading this and have never asked Jesus into your heart, but feel His Spirit speaking to you, take heed my friend. He is seeking you. You didn’t end up here by accident. God brought you to these words today for a reason. He wants you. He’s reaching out to you right here and right now. Please trust Him! Give Him your heart today. You don’t need any fancy words. You just need to talk to Him. If you would feel better talking to a real person right now about this decision, that’s good too, and CBN has prayer partners ready to pray at any time of day, just give them a call (1-800-823-6053), or seek out a local pastor. Pray right now, whereever you are, and ask Jesus to come into your heart while He is knocking on your heart’s door, and let Him be Lord of your life. Don’t quench His Spirit! Don’t let the devil lure you away. Let God’s Spirit lead you. Trust me, it’s the best decision you will ever make, and the greatest love story!

(This is a video of Glen Campbell, sometime soon after he got saved. I’m a big Glen Campbell fan, and this is one of my favorite songs. I am pretty sure it tells his personal story, and that’s really what I love about it. At the time of this video it wasn’t recorded on a CD yet, but it is now. He actually recorded several Christian albums! Glen has gone on to be with Jesus, but his beautiful, personal songs and music live on for us to listen to, and you can get them at Amazon.com.)

You are the Lord’s Pearl of Great Price!

You are His Hidden Treasure!

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure

Matthew 13:44-46 (NKJV)

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

The Parable of the Pearl of Great Price

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, ⁴⁶who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

FREE PRINTABLE coloring page, click >>>>>> Solid Rock Printable

I dearly hope you have trusted Him as Savior today.

God bless you my friend!!!!

Bible Study, Feast on This, The Parables

The Parable of the Minas

July 25, 2016June 18, 2018 mrshlovesjesus

& The Parable of the Talents

Let me set the scene for this parable…

Jesus was with His disciples in the last days of His life, and coming from Jericho, where a large crowd had been following. At Jericho Jesus healed a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, and had also gone to the house of Zacchaeus, a rich tax collector who climbed up in a tree to see Him as He passed by.

Luke says that Jesus told the parable of the minas when He was “near Jerusalem.” Matthew has this parable as part of the “Olivet Discourse” given to His disciples on the Mount of Olives.

Looking at the map below we can see exactly where Jesus was. Mark 11 says Jesus and his disciples were near Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, when two disciples were sent to retrieve a colt for Jesus’ Triumphal Entry, so we know the timing was Jesus last week of life on this earth.

Jericho to Jerusalem Map

Jerusalem to Jericho map — Click on the link below for the Free Printable coloring page

Jericho to Jerusalem Map

We celebrate the Triumphal Entry as Palm Sunday, and the next Sunday of course is Easter. So, the events coming soon after this moment on the timeline were…

the Triumphal Entry,

the cleansing of the temple,

the Last Supper,

the prayer in the garden of Gethsemane,

the betrayal,

the trial, scourging, and crucifixion.

All of this would happen in the coming few days.

As Jesus went through Bethany, Matthew and Mark tell us He shared a meal with Simon the leper (who was the father of Judas Escariot), and John tells us that Lazarus was there, and that Martha served (perhaps they were relatives or close neighbors?). This is the supper where a woman (John 12:3 says she was Mary of Bethany, the sister of Martha and Lazarus) came and poured an alabaster flask of costly perfume on His head, worth almost a year’s wages. John also tells us that Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son protested the waste. Judas, you might remember was the treasurer of the Twelve, and according to John 12:6, “was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag, he used to help himself to what was put in it”.

On the timeline of events, John says this was 6 days before the Passover, but Luke and Matthew say it was 2 days before. I’m not a Bible scholar, but perhaps it was 2 days before the Passover meal that Jesus shared with his disciples (The Last Supper), but 6 days before the actual Passover, when Jesus was crucified. Or that it was 2 days before preparations for Passover begin (inspecting lambs for blemishes, collecting wood for the cooking of the lambs, etc.), but 6 days before the actual sit-down celebration. At any rate, it was very near to “Palm Sunday.”

According to the notes in my Bible, a mina was about three months’ worth of wages, and a talent was worth about $1,000 in that day.

The Parable of the Minas

Luke 19:11-27 New King James Version (NKJV)

¹¹Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately. ¹²Therefore He said: “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return.¹³So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas,^[^a^] and said to them, ‘Do business till I come.’ ¹⁴But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We will not have this man to reign over us.’

*Jesus was of course trying to help His audience comprehend a vision of heaven, and His kingdom, by relating it to something tangible they could personally relate to, something that would be gererally familiar to them on earth. In this instance Jesus may have been drawing upon Herod the Great’s son Archelaus’ journey to Rome to bring His spiritual lesson to life. (Several sources, including a footnote in my Bible confirm this).

¹⁵“And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. ¹⁶Then came the first, saying, ‘Master, your mina has earned ten minas.’ ¹⁷And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.’¹⁸And the second came, saying, ‘Master, your mina has earned five minas.’ ¹⁹Likewise he said to him, ‘You also be over five cities.’

²⁰“Then another came, saying, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief. ²¹For I feared you, because you are an austere man. You collect what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ ²²And he said to him, ‘Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant. You knew that I was an austere man, collecting what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow. ²³Why then did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’

²⁴“And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to him who has ten minas.’ ²⁵(But they said to him, ‘Master, he has ten minas.’) ²⁶‘For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. ²⁷But bring here those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, and slay them before me.’”

The Parable of the Talents

Matthew 25:14-30 New King James Version (NKJV)

¹⁴“For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. ¹⁵And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey.¹⁶Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. ¹⁷And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. ¹⁸But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money. ¹⁹After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.

²⁰“So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ ²¹His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’²²He also who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.’ ²³His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

²⁴“Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. ²⁵And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’

²⁶“But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. ²⁷So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. ²⁸Therefore take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents.

²⁹‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. ³⁰And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

We know that Jesus told this parable as He was on His way to receive His kingdom, but by very different means than any earthly king of any time in history, and very differently than His disciples were expecting. Jesus would pay a very high price, by our standards, for His kingdom – with His life. His disciples expected Him to establish His kingdom in the flesh, soon. Jesus wanted them (and us) to know that His kingdom is a spiritual kingdom, and it is coming. He wanted them to know that he was going away, but would come back, and was leaving them (and us) with a job to do. I see the mina or talent to be like the Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts. These are what Jesus left for us to use to do the work (or use in “trade”) until He returns.

In this parable, the wicked servant said he “feared” the king, but God’s word says that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” It wasn’t a reverent and trembling fear this servant had, but the same disease the Jewish leaders had at the time of Christ – greed and jealousy. Satan dreads for Christ to rule over him; he wants to be the boss.

And I don’t know if Jesus meant to draw this parallel, but it’s interesting to me that there are three who give account in this parable and that one of the three is wicked, because when Satan (who’s name means “accuser”) fell from grace he took 1/3 of the angels with him. Isaiah 14:12-17; Ezekiel 28:12-19; Luke 10:18-20; and Revelation 12:3-9. He also was judged by his own accusations. And in the end shall be cast into the bottomless pit (Rev. 20:3) and then into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:10), where there is eternal torment and weeping and gnashing of teeth.

* * *

I can relate to this parable as both a rebellious teenager and a protective parent. When I became a parent I’d had enough life experiences to see the troubles my kids were headed for, and tried my level best to steer them away (because I loved them dearly) from making a big mistake or a bad decision. Many times they accused me of being mean or harsh, as a means to manipulate me into letting them do what they wanted. Many times that’s exactly who I became to them, mean and harsh. Those teenage years were the hardest, but I am thankful for them, because they helped me see and appreciate the patience of God with us. To show me both the wretch that I was and the loving parent that He is. And for giving me that small glimpse of His mercy, and what He deals with every day. And honestly, to call God hard or austere is more a confession of who we are, our own selfishness, and shows that we don’t really know Him, or want to know Him. We just want our own way.

I can’t say or claim to know God the way we know people, Oh the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out (Romans 11:33), but I do get to know Him every time I read and study and search out His word. And I am humbled that He wanted me to be part of His kingdom by sending a courageous lady to preach the gospel to me when I was a young and foolish mother. That lady led me in a prayer of salvation that changed my life. Certainly changed the course of my life. I shall never know what the Lord saved me from that day, but I know what He saved me to, and it blesses my heart so much that He was not willing that I should perish, but that I should come to repentance. He waited all these years for me to be born, and to choose Him. The Jesus that I know is merciful, caring, sacrificing, and loving…no greater love has any man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. He purchased a kingdom for me that I didn’t deserve. And even more importantly, He sent me to invite YOU with these words today!

So I ask you…what’s in YOUR WALLET?

Minas Free Printable

Do you know Jesus as Savior? Do you have His minas and talents in you? How will you invest them in His kingdom, or trade them on the stock exchange of heaven? Don’t worry, I am not asking you to really tell me, or even keep a record for yourself. I just think we need to ask our selves this question every day in order to put our schedules in right order. Truly there is so much work to do. We can do the work ourselves, or donate to causes that will do the work in our place. I believe this parable tells us that it all counts. But, whatever we do, let’s do it out of love, not out of obligation, for anything not done out of love is, well, not done. (1 Cor. 13)

The commandments are summed up in this, that we Love the Lord our God with all of our hearts, minds, souls, and spirits, and that we love our neighbor as ourselves (Luke 10:27; Matthew 22:37; Deut. 6:5; Mark 12:30-31). Let us love like the Good Samaritan – which just so happened also on that same Jericho road.

Let us love when we see love is needed. Love is what causes our giving to earn interest. Let us help when we see help is needed. Give when we see giving is needed. And then let us forget what we’ve done.

And let us keep our eyes on the skies, for our King is coming! Amen?

PRAYER: Oh Lord, help me to have eyes to see the needs around me, and the unselfishness to meet them. Lord forgive my selfishness. Lord forgive my fearfulness. Help me to have the courage to share this gospel of yours in the best way to honor You and tell Your story. Let those who have ears to hear, hear Your message and believe, and be saved. May those who love You be encouraged and strengthened. May those who don’t know You, find You. May Your kingdom come and Your will be done. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

“Your words were found, and I ate them, and your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; for I am called by your name, O Lord God of hosts.”

Jeremiah 15:16 NKJV

Bible Study, Feast on This, Sunday School Lessons, The Parables

The Parable of the Leaven

July 11, 2016August 29, 2018 mrshlovesjesus

Matthew13.33 — Click on the link below for the FREE PRINTABLE coloring page

Matt 13.33 Printable

This little parable is also told in Luke 13:20,

“And again He said, “To what shall I liken the kingdom of God? It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.”

While I was praying for God’s wisdom to know what this parable is about, the Lord directed me to the notes in my study Bible. They said

“God’s kingdom is not fully manifested now. But will be reavealed in the Age to Come. And in that age it will be known to all. In the meantime, God’s works are permeating all of human society, penetrating evil and transforming lives.”

(Spirit Filled Life Bible, NKJV, Thomas Nelson Publishers).

Permeating all of human society… perhaps the three measures of meal could be the past, the present, and the future, …till it was all leavened.

The mystery of God’s kingdom was hidden in the past (from the beginning of time) in the rituals and the feasts of God’s people. It was hidden in the commandments and in the tabernacle. It was hidden in the prophesies of the prophets. It was hidden in everything God asked them to do. Even if they didn’t fully grasp the greater significance of all God asked them to do, by their doing it God permeated His message to the world of who He is, the One True God, and His kingdom to come.

When Jesus, the promised Messiah came, He revealed much of what had been hidden in the past, and revealed some of the future. And through the Holy Spirit He has hidden His kingdom in each of us, in the present age, who choose Him. The Lord is the breath of life in each of us. God’s kingdom is hidden in part from our eyes right now, but is active and working in the hearts of men. We see dimly as in a mirror now – but one day we shall see face to face. When we are obedient to do what He asks us to do, we are salt and light to the world.

In the age to come God’s kingdom will be hidden (untouchable) from those who didn’t want to be part of it.

A Woman Hid

I think it is a great mystery how mankind was created in the image of God — male and female, the scriptures say (Genesis 1:27). God gave Adam a wife from his own rib to cure his loneliness. The marriage of a man and a woman together makes them one. The man is to cleave to the woman, his help mate – his womb-man, giving them the power to bring forth life on earth after their own kind. Adam called her Eve because the name meant “life” “living.”

There are scriptures that hint at God’s feminine qualities. One of the Old Testament names of God is El Shaddai and literally means “God is my Breast.” Isaiah 66:13 say’s, “As one whom his mother comforts, So I will comfort you.” Matthew 23:37 and Luke 13:34 say, “…How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings…” This doesn’t mean I think God Almighty is a “she,” or “it,” or should ever be referred to by anything other than the masqueline pronoun HE, because He obviously set male above female in the order of things, and we should always respectfully refer to Him as our heavenly Father!!!!! But if we peek more deeply into His divine nature, I think there is a woman hidden in there somewhere. I think we are hidden in Him – and He in us.

All life on earth is hidden for a time in a female womb, so the seeds of the kingdom are hidden for a time in our dark world until the time comes for them to be revealed. Until then, it is the great commission God has given to each of us to permeate our world with the message of eternal life, till it is all leavened!

Oh thank you Father God, I think (I hope) I understand this parable better now. Thank You for teaching me (teaching us) Your word. If I have any misunderstanding, show me my error, and teach me what is right, in Jesus’ name!

Prayer: Lord, unless You build the house we labor in vain who build it. We believe, but help our unbelief. Unless Your Spirit is hidden in us we will have no power to live the Christian life, or love people, or share the gospel with the lost. Lord I ask that you please forgive my sins and my wayward ways. Wash them away in the blood of Jesus. And pour out Your Spirit into me today (and every day) so that I may be able do the work You predestined me to do until the gospel has reached to the ends of the earth. Direct my steps precious Jesus. Prepare the world for Your gospel. Go before me Lord, and be my rear guard. Prepare the hearts of the people here and everywhere to receive Your message. Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. It’s in Your precious name I pray. Amen.

Bible Study, Feast on This, Sunday School Lessons, The Parables

The Gospel Parables: Parable of the Sower

June 27, 2016March 15, 2018 mrshlovesjesus

“All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: ‘I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world.’” Matthew 13:34; Mark 4:33-34; and Psalm 78:2 (A Contemplation of Asaph)

The first thing that begs a question in my mind is WHY? Why did Jesus speak to the people in parables?

Let’s start our journey with the definition of the word parable:

par·a·ble

ˈperəb(ə)l/

noun

a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson, as told by Jesus in the Gospels. synonyms: allegory, moral story/tale, fable, exemplum

Matthew 13.10 — Click on the link below for the FREE PRINTABLE coloring page

Matt 13.10 Printable

“And the disciples came and said to Him, ‘Why do You speak to them in parables?’ He answered and said to them, ‘Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given…because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.'” Matthew 13:10,11,13

In a recent teaching by Stephen Armstrong of Oak Hill Church in Austin, Texas, Verse-by-Verse Ministries, Pastor Armstrong points out that there was a defining point between when Jesus taught all of the people openly and when He began teaching only in parables. It was when the Pharisee’s accused Jesus of doing what He did by the power of Satan. Jesus informed the church leaders who were making that awful accusation, that their actions were considered blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, which is the unforgivable sin. That’s when no more signs would be given to them except for the “sign of Jonah.”

Now that might be lost on us, but Pastor Armstrong goes on to explain that the “sign of Jonah” was a total eclipse of the sun (please listen to his End Times Seminar at Max Lucado’s Oak Hills Church, in San Antonio, TX. It is soooo good!). When Jonah preached to the Ninevites, all the way back in the Old Testament there was a total eclipse of the sun. The event was so significant to the people of Jonah’s day that it was registered in the Jewish church annals and the Pharisees and Scribes of Jesus’ day would have been completely familiar with what Jesus was talking about.

Now perhaps they dismissed Jesus’ prophesy, or maybe His words didn’t fully register to them at the time, but for that sect of “sign seekers” to see the sun darkened at the moment Jesus died on the cross, it would have been the shuddering confirmation in their hearts that Jesus’ words were true and that they had just killed their Messiah.

I pray that our hearts are soft today to hear the word of God, so that we will not get to the end of our lives, filled with dread, when we realize God’s words are true!!!!

Parable of the Sower1

He who has ears to hear 001 — Click on the link below for the FREE PRINTABLE coloring page

(click here >>>>> He Who Has An Ear <<<<< click here)

Our Bible text is from Matthew, Mark, and Luke. I have included all three versions of the story so we can compare them and try to piece together a whole story. I happen to use the New King James Version of the Bible, but if you have a version you prefer you are most certainly welcome to read out of your own. This is one of the longer parables, especially when there is also the explanation, so today’s reading will be a little longer than most of the others. Are you ready? Here we go…

The Parable of the Sower

Matthew 13:1-9

“On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea. ²And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.

³Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow. ⁴And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. ⁵Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. ⁶But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. ⁷And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. ⁸But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. ⁹He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

Mark 4:1-9

“And again He began to teach by the sea. And a great multitude was gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea. ²Then He taught them many things by parables, and said to them in His teaching:

³“Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. ⁴And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it. ⁵Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. ⁶But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away. ⁷And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. ⁸But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”

⁹And He said to them, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

Luke 8:4-8

“And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable: ⁵“A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. ⁶Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. ⁷And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it.⁸But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold.” When He had said these things He cried, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

Parable of the Sower color .

The Parable of the Sower Explained

Jesus did everything that He did with a purpose. Everything He did was a training exercise, not only for His beloved of that day, but His beloved of this day as well. Jesus spoke in parables to see if we are teachable. The parables, like all of the word of God can be hard to understand. Some dismiss the Bible as fables, or as dusty old words with no relevance for modern day. If that’s how we approach the word of God, that is all it will ever be to us. But if we go to Him and ask for wisdom, and take the time to look deep into its mystery, like the disciples did, He will open it to to our understanding. We have prayer as a way to ask Him for wisdom, and He gave us His Holy Spirit to open our minds to comprehension. The Holy Spirit living inside of us will teach us.

Matthew 13:18-23

“Therefore hear the parable of the sower: ¹⁹When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. ²⁰But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; ²¹yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. ²²Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. ²³But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”

Mark 4:13-20

“And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? ¹⁴The sower sows the word. ¹⁵And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. ¹⁶These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness;¹⁷and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they stumble. ¹⁸Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, ¹⁹and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. ²⁰But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”

Luke 4:11-15

“Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. ¹²Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.¹³But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. ¹⁴Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. ¹⁵But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.”

* * *

For this parable I took out my notebook and wrote the four types of soils, and then under each type I wrote what each of the gospels said about them. Were there some details in one that were missing in another? Good detective skills will help us piece it all together for a better understanding.

WAYSIDE:

(Matthew) – Parable: the birds (who are the birds?) came and devoured the seed (what is the seed?) Parable explained: the seedling (person) hears the “word of the kingdom” but doesn’t understand it; the “wicked one” snatches it away. (So Matthew understood Jesus to say that the seed that falls on this soil is the word of the kingdom, it basically falls on deaf ears, and doesn’t leave an impression).

(Mark) – Parable: ditto Matthew Parable explained: Mark heard Jesus say that if THIS parable is hard to understand, how will anyone understand the others (which is a challenge to me to always try to understand it)? Mark says the seed that falls on this soil is the word and Satan takes it away.

(Luke) – Parable: adds that the seed is trampled down (which I take to mean that it is considered to have little to no value), and the birds devour it Parable explained: Luke understood that the seed that falls on this soil is the word of God and that the devil steals it from our hearts, to keep us from believing and being saved.

Who might the birds be in your life who eat that seed every time it is planted? Who might those be in your life who trample God’s seed, and consider it of no value? Is it a teacher, a professor, an atheist friend, a book you read or the shows you watch on TV? Maybe none of your friends are people of faith and they would make fun of you for becoming a Christian? Maybe no one in your family is religious at all? Honestly, this was the condition of my heart for most of my teenage years. I believed in God, but His word was more like a good luck charm. I am grateful that the Lord was persistent to keep tilling the soil of my heart and sowing His seeds.

STONY PLACES:

(Matthew) – Parable: not much earth, seeds sprout quickly, no deep roots, become sun-scorched Parable explained: this person is quickly swayed by emotion into believing, but only for a short time. Tribulation and persecution causes this person to stumble.

(Mark) – Parable: basically ditto Matthew Parable explained: basically ditto Matthew

(Luke) – Parable: Luke says “rock” instead of “stony places,” and that the seed lacks enough moisture to survive. Parable explained: basically the same as Matthew and Mark, but instead of using the word stumble, Luke says fall-away.

Have you heard the gospel and happily let it take root for a while, but then the fires and trials of life caused you to let it fizzle and die? Maybe something happened that caused you to question whether God is real? Like, why won’t He give you a baby? Or, why did He take your daddy away? Or, why did He let you be born with a defect? Or, why are evil people allowed to live and do horrible things?

I confess that when I finally believed as a young mother it was a very emotional experience. I was filled with joy and gladness, but those emotions soon came crashing back to earth when I started thinking about the persecution that would be coming for me. It caused me to go through a hard tribulation of self-conciousness and shame. I knew my salvation was real; everything changed inside, but I was also battered by Satan over all the sins of my past and what a worthless person I had been. Those sins truly haunted me, and I was embarrassed to show my face outside my house for fear of the finger-pointing by people who knew me at my worst. I wanted to, I guess, reject everybody before they rejected me, and kept a hard shell of Spiritual privacy on my heart for a long time, but the Lord has been faithful to complete His work in me and to turn my fearful heart of stone into a heart of flesh. Tribulation builds character (Romans 5:3-5), and is a refining fire. His perfect love has cast out a motherlode of fears. And praise the Good Lord, my family loved me and stuck by me, and most of them who weren’t saved even came to know Jesus as well. I can thank the Lord for keeping me from being like a dog who returns to her own vomit. The seed may have been sown on rocky soil, but the Lord transplanted me, and kept me alive with abundant water until I could put down deeper roots. Praise God Almighty He set me free!!!!

AMONG THORNS:

(Matthew) – Parable: seedlings choked from thorns Parable explained: the seedlings live – they hear the word, but are more concerned with making money, which is the thorn in their life that causes him/her to be unfruitful.

(Mark) – Parable: choked and fruitless Parable explained: the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things are what choke the word that is sown in this person’s heart, and make them unfruitful.

(Luke) – Parable: thorns sprang up and choked it Parable explained: these seedlings hear and even go out (to be fruitful), but are choked by cares, riches, and pleasures of life so that the fruit on their branches never matures.

Has the word of God taken root in you, but the cares of life have you choked back from growing and maturing? You love God, and go to church, but not all the time. You don’t have time to read your Bible, or pray really, because you work full time and have family responsibilities. Maybe none of your friends or family are people of faith and they keep you busy with other things?

This one might be, oh who am I kidding, IS my biggest struggle! I’m glad I don’t live in the city where there are endless things to chase after and want. I get myself in enough trouble as it is. I am often distracted by the cares of this world (what I will eat, what I will wear, getting my house clean and my laundry done), and by the lust for riches (purchasing lottery tickets instead of giving to ministry), and the Lord knows I am a seeker of pleasure rather than a seeker of Him way too much of the time. My life has a weed problem, and it is my least favorite chore, but if I don’t get on top of it when I see it getting out of hand, it will eventually choke out all the life in me, and I will never mature past infancy in Christ. Even worse, when I finally get to heaven I will have little to no fruit to bring to God’s table. 😦

GOOD GROUND:

(Matthew) – Parable: yielded a crop 100-fold, 60, and 30 Parable explained: hears the word, understands it, bears fruit 100-fold, 60, and 30.

(Mark) – Parable: the amount of fruitfulness is reversed, 30, 60, 100 Parable explained: hear the word, accept it, bear fruit in the same reversed order.

(Luke) – Parable: only uses the 100-fold yield Parable explained: Luke almost always has more details. He understood Jesus to say that this seedling hears with a noble and good heart, doesn’t forget what he hears, and bears fruit with patience.

I am soooooo blessed that someone had the courage to sow God’s seed in my heart and grateful it took root. My whole life honestly changed the day I received Christ! I love the word of God and study it often. I pray continually. Almost all of my friends are Christian. But when I look around I’m not sure that I have any evidence of fruit. I’ve never personally led anyone to the Lord and am worried and discouraged by all my dead branches. Perhaps I just need the Lord to prune me? Gosh, will there be anything left when He is done?

“But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 1:5-8 NKJV

It might be a slower process than we would like – attaining to the perfect love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control that the Lord is growing in us, but if the Holy Spirit is alive in us and allowed to have dominion in our hearts, He will constantly cultivate us towards the fullness of all those beautiful traits..

The FRUIT of the Spirit is:

Love

Joy

Peace

Patience

Kindness

Goodness

Gentleness

Faithfulness

and Self Control

~ Galatians 5:22-23 ~

He who began a good work in us will see it on to completion. A tiny mustard seed of faith WILL GROW into a giant tree that the birds of the air can nest upon.

I pray this study will bless you and strengthen you in your inner person.

Let us not look around at others and compare. Let us just keep feeding our Spirit and putting down good deep roots! When we are filled with the Holy Spirit and full of His life in us, those fruits will mature and drop off onto the soils of the earth all around us, and sprout and grow in the hearts of others. We may never know the impact we’ve had on people’s lives around us, and that’s okay. I’d rather be surprised by the abundance of fruit when I get to heaven than puffed up with pride thinking I deserve something that I really had nothing to do with.

But while we are on this earth, and when we feel His Spirit prompting us to love others, to give to others, to be kind to others, to have patience for others, to bless and not to curse… let us let His Spirit have His wonderous way. Those are His seeds we sow, and His fruitful harvest to come.

“So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.” – 1 Corinthians 3:7

Prayer: Precious Lord Jesus, thank you for Your word and for the Holy Spirit whom you gave to me, who helps me to understand what I read in Your word, and gives me the power to live it. Thank You for cultivating the soil of my heart, watering me, giving me food, loving me, protecting me, and always being with me on this road of life. Praise you Lord, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Give me the heart for others that You have for them. Help me to be full of Your Spirit, and fruitful, that one day I may come to Your housewarming with a basket full of fruit to share with You. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen.

^“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.” – James 1:22-25

Bible Study, Devotional, Feast on This, Holidays, Jewish Feasts, The Parables

The Feast of Atonement & The Lamb’s Book of Life

October 22, 2014October 18, 2018 mrshlovesjesus

“Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.”

2 Corinthians 5:20 NKJV

In case you are just now joining me on this eye-opening journey through the feasts of Israel, I want you to know that this is one in a series of studies on the Jewish holidays. The other feasts that proceed this one are: (Passover & Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits, Pentecost and Trumpets). And then following this feast is the feast of Tabernacles.

Studying the feasts is a great way for us to gain greater insight into God’s master plan for His creation, and has opened a window of fresh air for me to God’s kingdom in heaven. These feasts are not just for Jewish observance, but are an opportunity for each of us to get to know God and His plan for all of us.

The “Days of Awe”

I think it is appropriate that we begin the study of the Atonement with the Days of Awe.

This ten-day tradition is observed in the fall of the year, after the last summer harvests (grapes). The Jewish days of awe commence immediately following the Feast of Trumpets (the celebration of the Jewish agricultural New Year), and are an annual time of repentance, reverence, and fear of God. They conclude at Yom Kippur (the Atonement) where another trumpet blasts.

According to several websites that I visited, devout Jews will spend the days of awe rising while it is still dark in the morning and going to synagogue to pray, in sincere penitence (prayer, fasting, worship, and asking God’s forgiveness for every single sin in their lives committed through the year). They will also go and make things right with their fellow-man, settle legal matters, and right anything they know someone has against them, making restitution.

The Lamb’s Book of Life

At the end of the Days of Awe, at sunset on the beginning of Yom Kippur, the custom of the Jews is to present themselves to the priest. The books are opened to see what disputes and legal matters are there, and what accusations have been brought (by two or three witnesses) against them during the past year. All secret sins are also to be confessed. Only the sins confessed are atoned for.

Then, having righted all the wrongs with one’s neighbors, brothers, sisters, family, friends, and God himself, having cleared their conscience of everything against themselves to the best of their ability, the priest then makes an atonement sacrifice for the people’s sins, blots out all their sins from the books, and writes their names in the Book of Life.

All the sins confessed and atoned for from the previous year are forgiven, never to be remembered again, as if they had never happened. When every single Jewish family has presented themselves before the priest, as the sun is setting on Yom Kippur, A HORN IS BLOWN, signaling that the ceremonies are completed. The slate (record of wrongs) is wiped clean…..until next year in Jerusalem!

Unfortunately, anyone who fails to appear before a priest out of laziness or rebellion, when that trumpet sounds, their sins remain. Anyone who refused to participate in the observance, their names are written in the book of death.

If the reader is a student of the Bible it is easy to see the parable or likeness this observance is for God’s kingdom in heaven. As with all the other feasts, Jesus is the fulfillment, and each will come full circle as a copy and shadow of things to come.

The Bible says, God has set before us, life and death, with the free will to choose for ourselves. Think how amazing that is. He even warns of of the consequences of our poor choices. Just like in the garden of Eden where there were fruitful trees for life, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which if Adam and Eve ate of would cause them to die. Why, oh why, when we have LIFE all around us are we so tempted by death? There is freedom in life and only slavery in death. How is it that the devil can make death soooo appealing … soooooo tempting? Snake oil salesman!!!!

Amazingly, even when we’ve chosen death, God still makes a way for us to be reconciled to Him. Jesus is the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world (Revelation 13:8 and 21:27). John the Baptist proclaimed, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” Our Passover Lamb has made the atonement sacrifice Himself for each and every one of our sins. The blood He shed on the cross is sprinkled on the mercy seat in God’s Holy of Holies by Jesus, our High Priest, to atone for our sins and make these bodies, these frail and cracked vessels of clay, inhabitable by His Holy Spirit.

“and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. “ Revelation 1:5

Only the sins we’ve personally confessed to Him, and only the relationships we have reconciled, are under the blood (what we bind on earth is bound in heaven and what we loose on earth is loosed in heaven). Why not give them ALL to Him, hold nothing back? When we turn from our sins and trust in Jesus, our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. All the other books (containing offenses) are wiped clean.

“For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified.” Hebrews 10:14

When that trumpet sounds at the fulfillment of Yom Kippur, the door to heaven shall be closed forever, just as the doors to the ark of the covenant are closed until the next observance of the feast.

“If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:15

The Great White Throne of Judgment is a judgment for unbelievers. No one at that judgment has his name in the Book of Life; their punishment is sure.

(Read more at: GotQuestions.org)

This coming Yom Kippur could very well be the last to be celebrated on earth. Possibly the last chance for people to make things right with God before that door of grace closes forever. Will you be a wise virgin who makes it inside for the banquet, or a foolish virgin who is shut out forever? (Read about the Wise and Foolish Virgins)

Behold I stand at the door and knock… Choose you this day whom you will serve!

I don’t think it is a coincidence that there are TEN DAYS of AWE and TEN COMMANDMENTS! I also don’t think we have to be hemmed in by a particular season to be repentant of our sins. Any time is a good time to get right with God.

Do you have any unconfessed sin? Do you know someone who has something against you that you need to make right? The Lord could be coming at any time. Are you ready? No man knows the day or the hour. Therefore, now is the time to take care of those things that would disqualify you for the prize. Be reconciled to God!

I invite you to spend the next ten days with me taking a sober look at our lives and getting serious to make things right with God? Let us choose life and not death!

Day One

Help me Lord to spend today opening my eyes to all the gods I have besides You. What do I spend my money on? What do I spend my time doing? Forgive me Father for having other gods before You! I choose life!

Day Two

Help me Lord to spend today opening my eyes to the “graven images” I have made for myself – lucky rabbit’s feet, lucky horse shoes, lucky charms, horoscopes, seeking mediums, believing in fables and old wives tales, superstitions, and the false doctrines of the Nicolaitans, self-worship, or putting my faith in anything other than You, God? Forgive me Father for trusting in empty, inanimate objects and chance, or reducing You to the same. I choose life!

Day Three

Help me Lord to spend today opening my eyes to the many times I misuse Your name in a day? Forgive me Father for using Your name inappropriately, as a curse word, as a sware, as a lucky charm, and not in actual conversation with You. I choose life!

Day Four

Help me Lord to spend today opening my eyes to the holiness of the Sabbath day as a day of rest, not only for myself, but for all of those around me, and reverence to God. Do I keep Sunday holy? Teach me how to keep it holy. Forgive me Father for being flippant and selfish and irreverent with Your Sabbath. I choose life!

Day Five

Help me Lord to spend today opening my eyes to all the ways I dishonor my parents. Do I talk badly about them? Have I dishonored them by thinking of them only as a burden, or the inheritance they might leave to me? Do I love them? Do I do things for them and care for their needs? Do I spend time with them? Father forgive me for not giving my parents the honor due them. I choose life!

Day Six

Help me Lord to spend today opening my eyes to the ways I have taken life away from another. What about abortion? Oh Father God in heaven, forgive me! I choose life!

Day Seven

Help me Lord to spend today opening my eyes to the death this sin has brought to me, my family, my nation. Premarital sex, extramarital sex, promiscuity, cheating, porn, and even looking upon another with lust in my heart. Forgive me Father that I have been a seeker of pleasure rather than of a seeker of You, and help me to overcome by the power of Christ and the Holy Spirit. I choose life!

Day Eight

Help me Lord to spend today opening my eyes to the things I have inadvertently or on purpose taken and not returned. Whether it was an object, or someone’s character, or even someone’s identity. Father God, reveal to me my sins, and help me to put each one under the blood. I choose life!

Day Nine

Help me Lord to spend today opening my eyes to the false witnesses I have committed. If I lose my integrity how do I ever get it back? It is so easy to lie when I am backed into a corner and trying to avoid trouble. Sometimes a story seems more interesting when it is embellished with a little exaggeration. Sometimes I want to fit in with others and find myself sucked into gossip. Father God, help me to be a person of integrity. Help me to always tell the truth. I choose life!

Day Ten

Help me Lord to spend today opening my eyes to the things I want. Am I greedy for another person’s looks, or money, or fame? Do I want what someone else has, a nicer house, or job, a sexy spouse, new clothes, or a new car? Father God, make me sensitive today to all my little jealousies, and forgive me of them. Wash my sins away in the precious blood of Jesus. I choose life!

* * *

“Is this not the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; when you see the naked, that you cover him, and not hide yourself from your own flesh? Then your light shall break forth like the morning, your healing shall spring forth speedily, and your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; and you shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’” Isaiah 58:6-9

How big of a debt has God forgiven me of over these last ten days, and over my lifetime, really? I pray that God would sober my heart for how great His mercy has been towards me, and in turn give me mercy for others that I have had a hard time forgiving.

The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant

²¹Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”

²²Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. ²³Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. ²⁵But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. ²⁶The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ ²⁷Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.

²⁸“But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’ ²⁹So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you all. ³⁰And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. ³¹So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. ³²Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. ³³Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ ³⁴And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.

³⁵“So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”

Matthew 18:21-35 (NKJV)

God’s Timing

No man knows the day or the hour of Christ’s return. The Lord may come tomorrow, next week, later this month or a thousand years from now.

Are we looking for a sign? Let us remember what Jesus said to the Jewish leaders of His day in Matthew 12:39, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.”

I find it terribly interesting that the Book of Jonah (Old Testament) is traditionally read at the haftarah on Yom Kippur (the Feast of Atonement), the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, when they contemplate God’s judgment and repent.

Jonah couldn’t believe that God would send him to preach repentance to the gentiles/heathens of that day, and was bothered even further when they accepted the gospel that he reluctantly preached. I believe God intended the experience to provoke His Jewish children to jealousy, so they would to turn their hearts back to Him as His favored ones, which is exactly why we who are not Jews have been welcomed into God’s kingdom (Romans 11:11) for a time.

I believe Jesus perfected the ministry of Jonah. As Jonah was three days and nights in the belly of the whale (death), Jesus was in the grave. Through a miracle Jesus lived again, arose, and ascended to His throne where the Holy Spirit was released to inhabit every person who believes on the Son, because of the blood sprinkled on the mercy seat in heaven by our High Priest – Jesus, and the Christian church was born – Nineveh believed!!!!

Read Jonah 2 in your Bible!

If we are looking for a sign, there are plenty to consider: Earthquakes, floods, famines, hurricanes forrest fires, volcanoes, signs in the sun (solar eclipses), the moon (blood moons), and the stars (star of Bethlehem). There are wars and rumors of wars. Our earth appears to be in the throes of birth pains continuously and exponentially. In the last days the Jewish people were to be gathered back to their homeland. Not only have they been given their homeland back in this generation’s lifetime, but their capital city of Jerusalem has recently also been restored and recognized.

Amazingly God has protected His word (the Bible) throughout all of time, so that it should not perish for all these centuries, even though many hostile generations have tried, until every tiny jot and tittle is accomplished. That in itself is a miracle.

God’s people, the Jews still exist, through all these millennia, despite every attempt of every other race on the planet to try to cleanse the planet of their existence. Another miracle.

God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Could it be YOU that He has been waiting for, for all this time? Could it be us, and this generation, that He has waited for?

I know that I am probably coming on pretty strong – like a mother who is sending her children out into the dangerous world and just wants them to know the dangers and come back home safe. But I want to soften my tone for just a minute and ask, what are you afraid of? Are you afraid to love Jesus? Has something or someone (in the church or this world) hurt you and you are afraid to love?

The Fighter

Keith Urban

I know he hurt you
Made you scared of love, too scared to love
He didn’t deserve you
‘Cause you’re precious heart is a precious heart
He didn’t know what he had and I thank God, oh, oh, oh
And it’s gonna take just a little time
But you’re gonna see that I was born to love you

What if I fall (I won’t let you fall)
What if I cry (I’ll never make you cry)
And if I get scared (I’ll hold you tighter)
When they’re try’na get to you baby I’ll be the fighter

What if I fall (I won’t let you fall)
What if I cry (I promise I’ll never make you cry)
And if I get scared (I’ll hold you tighter)
When they’re try’na get to you baby I’ll be the fighter

Look in the mirror
You’re beautiful, so beautiful
I’m here to remind you
You’re my only one, let me be the one to heal…

I love this song. Can we sing it again with the one who hurt us being Satan, and the Fighter being Jesus?!!!!!! I love it even more when I think of it this way!!!!!!!!! Give Jesus a chance. Let Him heal you. Let Him love you the way you were meant to be loved. Let Him search your heart and cleanse it of all the wicked ways that you’ve been drug through. He won’t let you fall!!!!! He’ll wipe all the tears from your eyes!!!!! And when you get scared He’ll hold you tighter than anyone ever has in your whole life. ❤

Making Prayer a daily part of our lives

Seek Him in the morning (pray and read the scriptures)

“My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up” – Psalms 5:3

Visit this website for 12 Helpful Morning Prayers and verses

Seek Him during the day (pray and read the scriptures)

“We know that all creation groans and is in agony even until now. Not only that, but we ourselves, although we have the Spirit as first fruits, groan inwardly while we await the redemption of our bodies.” – Romans 8:22-23

Visit this website for some beautiful daytime prayers and scripture readings iBreviary

Seek Him at meal times (pray and read the scriptures)

“Bless us, O Lord, and these thy gifts…”

Visit this website for some terrific mealtime scripture prayers Intoxicated on Life

Seek Him in the evening (pray and read the scriptures)

“At evening withhold not your hand.” – Ecclesiastes 11:6

Visit this website for a great set of evening reflections Morning&Evening.org

Seek Him upon your bed (pray and read the scriptures)

“At night my soul longs for You, Indeed, my spirit within me seeks You diligently; For when the earth experiences Your judgments The inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.” – Isaiah 26:9

Visit this website for cross references related to the above scripture BibleHub.com

Put on the whole armor of God, and pray continually with all kinds of prayers
Be watchful (pray and read the scriptures)
Keep seeking, keep knocking, keep asking (pray and read the scriptures)
Seek peace and pursue it (pray and read the scriptures)

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. – Jesus

(Mathew 22:37; Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27; Deuteronomy 6:5)

Before you go, may we have a prayer together?

Dear Heavenly Father, I pray for my brothers and sisters, my spouse, my parents, my children, my friends, my family, and for myself, that You, O Lord will forgive us our sins, all of our sins, sweep our houses (body, soul, & spirit) clean and put our houses in order. I pray Your blood will cover ALL our transgressions and that You will write our names in the Lamb’s book of life forever. I pray that You will fill us with Your Holy Spirit, as a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance. I pray that You will tune our ears to hear what the Spirit tells us, and help us to remember everything You have told us in Your word. I pray that we will each grow stronger in Spirit every day. I pray that You will suit us up in the Spiritual Armor this day and every day, wash our feet of the heathen dust of the earth, and be attentive to our prayers. If the enemy asks to sift us as wheat I pray that you will tell him NO. I pray that You will bind our enemy, cast him as far from us as the east is from the west; cast out every fear, pull down every stronghold, and cast down every high thing that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. I pray that You will put a hedge of protection around us, place us under Your feathers and in Your shadow, surrounded by Your holy guardian angels who will intimidate and chase away every enemy, real or imagined. Set for us safe boundaries that the enemy cannot penetrate. I pray that You will put in us a desire to seek peace and pursue it with every person in our lives including You. When we are weak You are strong. I pray that You will give us clear minds, to this end, that we will forever worship You in Your kingdom, and forever be with You. We love and honor You. We worship You, O precious merciful LORD. We magnify Your name in all the earth. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses and we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen

“In mercy and truth Atonement is provided for iniquity; And by the fear of the Lord one departs from evil.”
Proverbs 16:6 NKJV

“And they overcame by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony.” Revelation 12:11

Next year in “New” Jerusalem!

(*Le-shanah ha-ba’ah bi-Yerushalayim)

* Closing toast for every Passover and every Yom Kippur observance, every year. Note that both feasts are about the blood, the Passover blood of the Lamb of God that takes away our sins, and the Atoning blood of our merciful High Priest that cleanses away our sins.

Please visit this website (Hebrew4Christians) for a more in-depth study of Yom Kippur, the fall feasts and High Holy Days, from a messianic Jewish perspective.

Bible Study, Devotional, Feast on This, Holidays, Jewish Feasts, Sunday School Lessons, Testimonies & Personal Stories, The Parables

Happy Firey Tongues Day!

June 8, 2014October 18, 2018 mrshlovesjesus

“When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.” Acts 2:1

Pentecost is celebrated in late spring/early summer (on these dates).

Most folks are familiar with the word Pentecost and the event in the New Testament which it represents. It was on this day a little over 2000 years ago that the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples and they all spoke in tongues. It is the day that marked the birth of the Christian church.

But several thousand years before that, God introduced Shavuot to His people (Exodus 23:16). Shavuot was a memorial to be observed exactly 50 days (or 7 weeks plus a day) from the Jewish Feast of Firstfruits – which was the tithe (bikkurim) and regard to God for the spring harvest, which took place right after Passover/Unleavened Bread. In Jewish history, it marks the day that the Torah was given to the children of Israel on Mount Sinai and is celebrated today by the reading of the book of Ruth, as well as dressing in white robes, and holding baptisms.

The word “Pentecost” means fiftieth. Originally, on this blessing-of-the-summer-harvest or pilgrim “feast of weeks,” the people were to bring out of their habitations two loaves of bread, and unlike the feasts before it, this time the bread was baked WITH leaven. The loaves were to be of the same weight and was therefore called the Counting of the Omer (a dry measure or sheaf of grain).

Firstfruits and Shavuot are both grain harvests. Firstfruits is a harvest of barley, and is the setting for the story in the Book of Ruth where Boaz harvests his fields and leaves behind a little for the gleaners (the poor who lived in the land). Ruth came to glean in order to provide food for herself and Naomi, her mother-in-law, who had both been away in another country until the death of their husbands forced them to come back home. Boaz was Naomi’s close relative, and therefore Boaz honored a Hebrew obligation to redeem the land for his cousin/close friend who died and left no living male descendents to carry on his name. Out of respect for Naomi, Boaz graciously married Ruth (who was not Jewish) and the two had a son, Obed (who was king David’s grandfather and is listed in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1:5), giving him a share of Boaz’s wealth and an inheritance in the land (and in the kingdom to come). Boaz became the kinsman redeemer, and his valor is a gorgeous picture of hospitality.

Shavuot is the firstfruits offering of the wheat harvest, waved to the Lord to honor and thank God for His provision. The leaven in the flour of those loaves was covered by bread that had risen, the leaven therefore was no longer visible. The summer wheat harvest was always a bigger harvest than the spring barley harvest, but a mere drop in the bucket compared to the fall (fruit) harvest.

Copy and Shadow of things to Come

Once again, Jesus is the fulfillment of these beautiful Jewish feasts. He is our “Bread of life.” He has covered our “sin” (leaven) by his body that was sacrificed and now is risen.

He is our Kinsmen Redeemer because He has graciously married us, who are not Jewish, and given us a new life and an inheritance in the kingdom to come, grafting us in and making us part of the family of God by His redeeming blood.

The Torah brought the Law of God to His people ~ and ~ The Word/Logos-of-God brought the Spirit to His people

It is to our advantage that Jesus ascended into heaven after redeeming us, for if Jesus had not gone, the Holy Spirit could not have come (John 16:7). We all needed the Holy Spirit to come, for so many reasons, including…

We would receive power when the Holy Spirit came upon us (Acts 1:8)

He would teach us and guide us, and help us to be discerners of truth

He would empart to us Spiritual gifts that would enable us to do the will of God

The ministry of the Holy Spirit is the heart of Pentecost. Like the other feasts, Pentecost has a first observance, followed by a middle ritual observance part, and finally a fulfillment, both on earth and in God’s kingdom to come. The Jewish Feasts were and are a copy and shadow of things to come. Jesus, before He ascended into heaven (BTW: on the very day of Firstfruits, as the wave offering to God of the harvest of souls to come), instructed his disciples to…

“tarry in the city until they were endued with power from on high” — Luke 24:49

It was an event He had been preparing them for since before He went to the cross, and one He reminded them of again after His resurrection, during the 40 days of His appearances before His ascension. He told them He would be leaving and that it was to their advantage that He go, for if He didn’t go the Holy Spirit would not come (John 16:7).

He encouraged them that the Holy Spirit would stay with them and help them (John 14:16). The Holy Spirit would convict the world of sin (John 16:8). He would guide them, and relay to them whatever He heard from the Father (John 16:13). He would tell them of things to come (John 16:13), remind them of the scriptures that they had read and heard, and give them power to heal and to preach ( Luke 4:18; 1 Cor. 12:9). All very vital things for a people who’s Savior was traveling on to His throne and would be out of sight until His promised return. It was a token of assurance for them, as He is for us, that our Lord will keep His promise to come back for us (2 Cor. 1:22).

The Mystery

There is a LOT of philosophy out there about the Holy Spirit. The New Testament church has been divided and subdivided over this issue of the Baptism of the Holy Ghost. This very country that I live in today was birthed out of such divisions. There are scholars with waaaaaaaaay more credentials than lowly little me to debate the issue, but the one thing they, and I, and we all have in common as the basis for our beliefs are the eye witness testimonies of the men and women who were actually there when the event occured. Some of Jesus last words to His Apostles were, “You are witnesses of these things.” And that is something no one else on the planet can boast. It makes the word of God, the Bible, an extremely valuable document. And if anyone wants to know about the Holy Spirit of God all we have to do is seek Him in the scriptures. Study the scriptures and you will find Him! The scriptures are in fact the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17; Hebrews 4:12; 2 Timothy 2:15) and they are intricately woven.

In the closing chapter of Luke Jesus said,

“Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”

I have prayed that I may rightly divide this word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15), and scripture always teaches scripture. So, I am convinced that Jesus wanted His disciples to go and wait in the city, to stay in the city, to NOT LEAVE THE CITY of Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit came to them, because of the confirmation of Acts 1:4 – just in case they had other ideas, since Jesus had just told them in Luke 24:47 that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. He didn’t want them to go off on a missions adventure just yet, and certainly not without the company of the Holy Ghost.

No question the disciples were saved. No question their lives were totally changed when Jesus came into their lives. But their calling, their ministry was not complete without the Holy Spirit, without the fullness of God, because they had His work to do.

“The Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.” John 14:17

In John 20:22 it says Jesus breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit” possibly prophesying how the Holy Spirit would come to them – in a breath or wind from heaven, and demonstrating that it is He who gives us the ability to receive the Holy Spirit.

“And the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostsrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” Genesis 2:7

“Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” John 3:5-8

So where did the disciples go after their Messiah had ascended to heaven and disappeared out of their sight? They obeyed their Lord, and went to the city, as Jesus had instructed, “and were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God” Luke 24:53. And they were in the upper room all together in fellowship, with one accord in prayer and supplication, all eleven disciples and the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers (Acts 1:12-14). While they were there clinging to Jesus in prayer and biding the time with each other, they chose a replacement for Judas. They obeyed Jesus directions and trusted His order and His timing.

As Fish Drawn Up in a Net

I wonder what draws you to this post today? Are you searching for the Baptism of the Holy Ghost? Are you here reading this today because you are at a place in your new spiritual walk with Jesus where you have experienced His passover (saving blood) and unleavened bread (cleansing), you’ve communed with Him as Savior, and experienced His breath of new life – been baptised in water for the remission of sins. You know that your soul is among His firstfruits offering, but reading in John and Acts you feel as if you lack the power and courage to truly love as the Bible tells us to love (1 Corinthians 13)?

Are you reading about the Fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5, and know that you don’t always have those qualities or virtues evident in you?

Are you reading about Spiritual Gifts in Romans 12, Ephesians 4, and 1 Corinthians 12, and haven’t a clue what yours are, much less the ability to fan them into flame (2 Timothy 1:6)?

Are you timid and fearful to share your faith?

Do you always seem to be under attack by the enemy, unable to fight him off or get your head above the flood of your struggles? Is your Spiritual Armor laying on the pages of your Bible instead of covering your body?

Are you reading in your Bible of people who over and over again received the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues, and you don’t speak in tongues? You neither speak in a foreign language that others can understand, nor a prayer language that only God understands?

These are the very things that drew me to seek the truth of the Holy Spirit, the baptism, the indwelling, the empowering Holy Spirit in the scriptures. The Feast of Pentecost!

And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, “Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” But Peter said to him, “Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money! You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.” Acts 8:18-23

What is my motive? To be better than others? To be held in high regard? Are my motives poisoned by jealousy? Is there bitterness or iniquity in my heart?

Honestly, in my quest to know the Holy Spirit of God – the truth, I have found many imposters, or maybe not necessarily imposters, but seekers like myself who were blown to and fro by every wind of doctrine, and tossed by every tempest. It has been the blind leading the blind in many cases. Some also may have pretended to be filled with the Holy Spirit just to fit in with all the craziness sweeping through. There are tongues of men and tongues of angels (even dark angels). Tongues can be faked. False teachers abound. There are tares among the wheat!

I am not called to judge, or pluck up what I think are weeds. We are to be patient with those weaker in faith, as our Father is patient with us.

But I am convinced the scriptures will lead us to the truth, if we search for it with all of our hearts. And I believe the Holy Spirit is not gotten by any other means than that Jesus give Him to us, and that Jesus gives Him to us for for His own good purpose (not ours): to enable us to hear His voice and fulfill the gifts and calling He has placed on our lives, to be fruitful to take the good news of Christ’s love to the world, to be equipped for ministry (Eph. 4:12-16), and to be able to have those private conversations with Him that nobody else can understand or evesdrop on, especially Satan. And I believe it isn’t something we have to fear will be weird or scary – just like our Salvation wasn’t weird or scarry, but glorious. I believe the Holy Spirit is poured into us to be poured out of us, and that we have a constant need of refilling, or of fanning into flame, when we feel empty, weary, or lost.

Our Father desires to give us good gifts, and if we ask for the Holy Spirit out of right motive I am confident He will give Him to us (Luke 11:11-13) and that the fruit of the Spirit will be evident in us (Gal.5:22-23).

I believe in order to receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit we must love God from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith (1 Timothy 1:5), and be willing to do God’s will, and follow God’s instructions, and not quench the Holy Spirit (1 Thess. 5:19) who leads us. (*Quenching the Spirit is, I believe, to withhold love by suppressing conviction, prohibiting manifestation, or snuffing out a Holy fire that is kindled in our hearts). Like the parable of the rich young ruler who tells Jesus he has done everything that is required, but is there anything else that he must do, and Jesus tells him to sell everything he has and give it to the poor, and come follow Him. If we are like this young pharisee and desire to keep anything back, we will never receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Luke 14:25-33; Luke 18:18-22). We must be empty of our own will, because the Holy Spirit will sometimes lead us where we do not wish to go (John 21:18). The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Could it be that we must cling to Jesus like the apostles did – in the church, continually praising and blessing God! …and in one accord with the brethren in prayer and supplication? The word of God says, if we seek Him we will find Him, when we search for Him with all of our heart (Jeremiah 29:13)! It says that where two or more are gathered in His name, there He is amongst us (Matthew 18:20). “Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven,” Matthew 18:19.

So, the discpiles waited in the city, but the use of the word “Tarry” is even more incredible than that…

The word “tarry” captured my imagination when I studied this scripture. So I pulled my Complete Word Study of the New Testament book off the shelf and researched the word tarry in Luke 24:49. When I did I found that the Greek word translated tarry in this one place in the scriptures is kathizo (Strongs 2523) and next to it is a tiny grammatical code “aim.” It is an abbreviation of the words aorist imperative, which indicates that this was a simple action to be done in the future, not “pim,” which is present imperative, and would have commanded a continuous or repetitive action.

This is another one of those instances when the Bible proves to be parable-like, with special things hidden away in it that the Lord only shares with those who seek Him. Why does the Holy Spirit prompt us to be curious about the words in scripture? Because the jots and tittles in scripture are important, so much so that not one of them shall pass away until they are fulfilled. Words mean things. Jesus’ choice of words is important. I’m so grateful that I had the time to obey the Spirit’s prompting and study this out, because there was treasure hidden.

I looked up the word kathizo and found that it means to sit, to set down, to seat down, to dwell. It is never used however when the action is to rest, but refers rather to a person taking a special seat of importance, one reserved for important tasks, like a judge sits at his bench in a courtroom to hear a case, or a king on his throne to govern his kingdom, or a preacher in his pulpit to preach to his congregation, or a watchman at his post to guard the city. It isn’t about taking a load off; it’s about taking the captain’s chair in the control tower. Literally the scripture could be read, “…but sit (take your place) in the city…until you are endued…”

Isn’t that interesting? Well, I hope YOU’RE sitting down, because I have something pretty exciting to share and I can hardly wait for you to see it. Please turn to Acts 2:2 and fill in the blank below to find out what the disciples were doing when the Holy Spirit arrived:

“And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as a rushing might wind, and it filled the whole house where they were ________________.”

What a beautiful mystery!

Jesus told His disciples to literally go sit in Jerusalem in the special place, and when the time had fully come for the Holy Spirit to arrive, here He came, first with a voice in that mighty rushing wind, as if the Lord were whispering from His throne in heaven: Are you sitting? Here it comes! It honestly gives me goosebumps to think of it…

Twelve Apostles SITTING, as on thrones – like the elders sitting on thrones around God’s throne – Revelation 4:4. Kings and Priests. A copy and shadow of things to come!!!!

And just in case that isn’t awesome enough, let’s finish that verse of scripture with a discerning look at the word “endued.” I always thought it meant imparted or given, but it is Strongs #1746 enduo, and it means CLOTHED – in the sense of sinking into a garment (sitting into it perhaps?); invested with clothing; arrayed… Wow!

Twelve Apostles SITTING, as on thrones, and CLOTHED in white robes, with crowns of gold on their heads – Revelation 4:4.

This scripture reveals the Holy Spirit as clothing, as an investment – as a deposit guaranteeing our redemption, as Spiritual Armor, as a robe of righteousness, as a Bride made ready!!!!

Check out these scriptures about white robes and fine linen…

“Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who would be killed as they were, was completed.” Revelation 6:11

“After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands.” Revelation 7:9

“Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife and made herself ready. And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.” Revelation 19:7-8

The Holy Spirit gave the Apostles the power to do righteous acts, which we get to read all about in the Book of Acts! A righteous act is like righteous judgment – it is an act or a judgment that knows every hidden thing. The only way for a human to know every hidden thing is to have it emparted to us by an all-knowing God. Who can know the mind of God except the Spirit! The Spirit reveals the mind of God to us and therefore the will of God.

Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True…He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood... – Revelation 19:11,13

There is a dress code in heaven. This is why the person was thrown out of the wedding banquet in Matthew 22:11-14. He was a fake (Isaiah 64:6; Matthew 23:25-33) in filthy rags. He was a “tare,” who grew up among the wheat, but he doesn’t fool the King!

Oh wise virgins, seek Him while He may be found – fill your lamps with the oil that lasts until the bridegroom returns (Matthew 25:1-13) – like the oil of Hanukkah.

The apostles received power when the Holy Spirit came upon them…

Let me set the actual scene: Jewish people from every nation and language of the world were in Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Weeks, and consequently they all became eye witnesses of the spectacle of its fulfillment. When the Holy Spirit gave divine utterance to Jesus’ apostles, the people there each heard the gospel of salvation being preached to them in their native language. Everyone present became witnesses of the power of Jesus in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and took the testimony back to their homes far and wide, and ultimately to the ends of the earth. And the powerful sermon that Peter bravely preached to them that day, by the power of the Holy Spirit that was newly poured into him, resulted in the salvation of 3,000 people.

3,000! This was a greater number of souls than was harvested at Jesus’ crucifixion – FIRSTFRUITS (when the graves were opened and the bodies of the saints were raised), but only a drop in the bucket to the fall harvest – Feast of Trumpets, which is yet to come. I believe 3000 is an intentional number, for it was the exact number who were killed on the day the law came down from Mount Sinai, because of the golden calf (Exodus 32:28). Second Corinthians 3:6 says, “The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”

The giving of the Law (and the Torah) at Mount Sinai, after the Passover, and after their baptism in the Red Sea, marked the birth of a new nation bound for their promised land… In like manner, Pentecost marked the birth of the Christian church, the adopted children of God, with the same inheritance (eternal life in God’s kingdom) as our Jewish brothers and sisters. Jew and Christian = two loaves.

Let’s recap the closing words of Peter’s famous sermon: Repent! Be baptized! Receive the gift of the Holy Spirit!

“For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” (Acts 2:38-39)

The promise is the same today as it was yesterday, and last year, and last century, and that magnificent day in the ancient world.

“The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few” (Matthew 10:37).

If we are born again, we are laborors for Christ. One disciple may plant the word of God into mens hearts, while another waters what was planted, but truly it is only the Lord who gives the increase and causes the seed to to live and breathe and have its being. No man comes to the Father except the Spirit draws him. If it is the Lord who gives the increase then it is foolish for us to get puffed up and take credit for anything, isn’t it?

“Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.” Zechariah 4:6

“Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” Paul asked of the new Ephesian disciples. “We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.” “And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them…” (Acts 19:2, 6)

Ask, and It shall be given to you! The Spirit cannot be purchased (Acts 8:14-24), and if you do not have Him working through you, beware (the Seven Sons of Sceva, Acts 19:11-19). But, if you are saved, and you fear the Lord, and your motives are pure, ask of the Father and He will give you the Helper to clothe you, to lead you, protect you, enable you, empower and guide you in all wisdom.

“If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him.” (Luke 11:11-13)

If you have asked Jesus into your heart, confessed and repented of your sins, been washed and cleansed in the blood of the Savior, been baptised (died to your old fleshly ways and been raised to new life) making confession before men, and yet feel timid to do the work of an apostle or ambassador of Christ, or you didn’t speak with new tongues, or because you don’t feel the power (boldness) that the scriptures speak of to preach or to heal, then ask my dear brother or sister, please ask.

We must do as the disciples did and spend our time in the church praising and blessing God, clinging to Jesus humbly. We must sell everything we have (the iniquity in our heart) and follow Jesus (Philippians 3:8-11). If we give God our whole hearts, Jesus will sweep us clean and put us in order (Matthew 12:43-45; Luke 11:24-26) – breathe on us! But then He must also fill us with the Holy Spirit so that when those old spirits come knocking again, there will be no room inside. Without the Holy Spirit we are unable to do the will of God. We are unable to resist the devil. And we are slaves to our flesh (the Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak). The Holy Spirit is given to us for our good and the good of the world.

“Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.” Philippians 3:12

You and I are in the summer harvest time of God’s calendar: “Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” (Galatians 6:9)

Let us be WISE VIRGINS and fill our lamps with the *oil that doesn’t run out (read about the history of the feast of Hanukkah or Dedication when after cleansing the temple, the priests lit the Menorah with a day’s worth of oil, but it burned (gave light) for 8 days and never went out until the rider on the horse returned). (*Oil is another symbol used for the Holy Spirit in scripture.)

And let us look forward to that great fall harvest, when the greatest body of Jews will join the church at the Second Coming of Christ (Zechariah 12:10; 13:1), the great fall (fruit) harvest when “All Israel will be saved” (Romans 11:26). That is when the times of the Gentiles will be fulfilled. God will bless us who have blessed her, and curse those who cursed her, and welcome us both to our inheritance. Two loaves!!!!!

“So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.” Acts 2:46-47

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*This mini-Bible study is part of a study of the feasts of Israel. If you have enjoyed it you may also enjoy reading about all the other feasts in scripture: “The Lord our Passover,” “FIRSTFRUITS,” “Feast of Trumpets,” “No Man Knows the Day or the Hour…,” and “Feast of Booths.” You can find the links to these in the list of recent posts listed on the right column of this page. Thank you for sharing this journey with me. I pray that you are blessed by God’s word and filled with a desire to know Him with all of your heart and share Him with a lost world.

“Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish.”

“Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.”

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“But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.”

“And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’”

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“And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’”

.

“Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.”

“…choose you this day whom ye will serve; … ” Joshua 24:15 (KJV)

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The Parable of the Lost Sheep

The Parable of the Lost Coin

The Parable of the Lost Son

You are the Lord’s Pearl of Great Price!

You are His Hidden Treasure!

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure

The Parable of the Pearl of Great Price

I dearly hope you have trusted Him as Savior today.

God bless you my friend!!!!

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& The Parable of the Talents

The Parable of the Minas

The Parable of the Talents

* * *

“Your words were found, and I ate them, and your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; for I am called by your name, O Lord God of hosts.”

Jeremiah 15:16 NKJV

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“And again He said, “To what shall I liken the kingdom of God? It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.”

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The Parable of the Sower

The Parable of the Sower Explained

* * *

Love

Joy

Peace

Patience

Kindness

Goodness

Gentleness

Faithfulness

and Self Control

“So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.” – 1 Corinthians 3:7

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“Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.”

2 Corinthians 5:20 NKJV

The “Days of Awe”

The Lamb’s Book of Life

“If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:15

Behold I stand at the door and knock… Choose you this day whom you will serve!

God’s Timing

The Fighter

Making Prayer a daily part of our lives

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. – Jesus

(Mathew 22:37; Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27; Deuteronomy 6:5)

Before you go, may we have a prayer together?

“In mercy and truth Atonement is provided for iniquity; And by the fear of the Lord one departs from evil.” Proverbs 16:6 NKJV

“And they overcame by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony.” Revelation 12:11

Next year in “New” Jerusalem!

* Closing toast for every Passover and every Yom Kippur observance, every year. Note that both feasts are about the blood, the Passover blood of the Lamb of God that takes away our sins, and the Atoning blood of our merciful High Priest that cleanses away our sins.

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“When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.” Acts 2:1

“Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”

“So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.” Acts 2:46-47

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“In mercy and truth Atonement is provided for iniquity; And by the fear of the Lord one departs from evil.”
Proverbs 16:6 NKJV