Bible Study/Encouragement

Jesus's Journey, Part Seven

2010-11-29T21:09:00.000-08:00

Matthew 7

Judging Others

¹ “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. ² For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
³ “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ⁴ How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
⁶ “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

Ask, Seek, Knock

⁷ “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
⁹ “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? ¹¹ If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! ¹² So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

The Narrow and Wide Gates

True and False Prophets

True and False Disciples

The Wise and Foolish Builders

²⁴ “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. ²⁶ But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
²⁸ When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, ²⁹ because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.

Jesus

In concern to judging others. . I have troubles with this from time to time. I have learned to judge with mercy. This is not the only part in the Bible that says you will be judged with the same measure that you have judged others with. Our human nature is to judge or analyze things. However we are able to control our actions as well as where our mind goes when we see/hear things. With practice we are all able to change habits.

¹² So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

This applies in every aspect of every one's lives. Please take a moment to remind yourself of this everyday.

Jesus fish symbol

¹³ “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. ¹⁴ But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

I am reading this and it reminds me of an old saying:
"The things that are easy, are not worth it. The things that you have to work for, are the things you need to strive for."
I am sure many people have said this many different ways. The mesage is still the same no matter how it is phrased. You don't want the easy road, that anybody can clearly see, the road to distruction. It would be most benificial for us all to search for the smaller road that you have to look for, that you have to work towards. Our faith and prayers are very powerful. Keeping your faith is working towards this smaller road. Anybody can dismiss their faith and anybody can take the easy road. Anybody can let the evil within themselves engulf their mind as well as their actions. Let us all continuesly try to let the Lord and his word prevail against the appareant evil that sarounds us all. It is an every day struggle yet one of the most important struggles of our human lives. .

¹⁵ “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. ¹⁶ By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

Let's think of what 'fruit' you can see in false prophets..
Have you ever gotten one of those pamplets that is for a non Christian religon? It's usaully real shiney and bright colors of inspirational pictures placed in optimal viewing spots.. The words seem to flow naturaly, you're not hating reading this. Then you realise you don't run across something. Jesus Christ, our saviour, was humiliated, beaten, crucified, places in the tomb, resurected and bruaght back up to heaven..
PLEASE, I beg you all to understand this fully. Search in your heart. Feel the truth in these events.

²¹ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ ²³ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

What a powerful and important mesage here. We must not only say things. We must do things as well, remembering that it's benifical to only do things with a whole heart and not just for others to see that we are doing it..

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.

Where would you consider your foundation to be on right now, at this very moment?
Sometimes we might think we have our foundation on the rock, but we don't. Have you found yourself stressing out about your job or your bills or not being able to buy something you really wanted or not having a ride some where or the way people are treating you?
If your foundation was truly on the rock, you would laugh at silly materialistic junk. You would walk away from fools that Jesus says not to waist our time on.
I know a lot of people say, I have to worry about my job so I can keep my house, car and phone. First, it is obviously benificial to be cautious as well as consistant with our jobs.
That is seperate from worrying about it.
When we truly believe, in our hearts as well as our minds, that the Lord will provide for you. That our lives are truly in his hands.. Then there is no reason to be stressed out about things that simply do not have relavence in the BIG PICTURE. The long run. Not mere instant gratification(easy raod).
Let us all emerge ourselves into focusing on the things that pertain to our relationship with the Lord. I truly believe that when you work on your relationship with the Lord with a cencere heart, all other aspects (jobs, bills, relationships ect...) fall into place.
This will happen as a result of living your life in the way the Lord had inteded as well as doing things more intintionaly. You will find that when you are sencere about searching for the truth, you will start to see people as God sees them. Therefor you will do and say things more intintionaly. This is blissful, no chaos. Imagine, peace of mind..

Jesus in Prayer

²⁶ But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

This is the other side of my belief. When we lie to ourselves and think our foundation is on the rock(our faith is in God), when really our faith is in something far from the Lord, we will be told so when we meet our maker. You can lie to yourself, you can lie to other pepole yet you can never lie to God. That is who's opinion we need to focus on, not even our own opinions of ourselves matter next to the Lords.

²⁸ When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, ²⁹ because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.

I pray for us all to be more intintional in the things we say and do.

Stephie

P.S. Someone did their 'homework' and sent in some wonderful qoutes. This is one of those qoutes:

The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.
-Albert Einstein

Jesus' Journey, Part Six

2010-11-15T14:52:00.000-08:00

Matthew 6

Giving to the Needy

¹ “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. ² “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. ³ But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴ so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Prayer

    ⁵ “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. ⁶ But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. ⁷ And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. ⁸ Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.    ⁹ “This, then, is how you should pray:
   “‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
¹⁰ your kingdom come,
your will be done,
   on earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹ Give us today our daily bread.
¹² And forgive us our debts,
   as we also have forgiven our debtors.
¹³ And lead us not into temptation,^[a]
   but deliver us from the evil one.^[b]’
   ¹⁴ For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵ But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Fasting

¹⁶ “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. ¹⁷ But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, ¹⁸ so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Treasures in Heaven

¹⁹ “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. ²² “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy,^[c] your whole body will be full of light. ²³ But if your eyes are unhealthy,^[d] your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
²⁴ “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

Do Not Worry

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life^[e]? ²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.


Jesus, our savior


Our savior again. :)

⁶ But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. ⁷ And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. ⁸ Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
   ⁹ “This, then, is how you should pray:
   “‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
¹⁰ your kingdom come,
your will be done,
   on earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹ Give us today our daily bread.
¹² And forgive us our debts,
   as we also have forgiven our debtors.
¹³ And lead us not into temptation,^[a]
   but deliver us from the evil one.^[b]’
   ¹⁴ For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵ But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

I think you all will agree with me that this is a few verses that worth taking a second look over. One of those let me pause over this and absorb it verses.. Please re-read this and try to absorb it the way the Lord wants you to.

¹⁷ But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, ¹⁸ so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Now first I would like you to realize that this is not the first time the Bible states that when your Father who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. Now see how things tie together. It is said that we must not announce our righteous deeds with a trumpet. Then it is also said, more than once, that our Father will reward us for what is done is secret.
We must also keep in mind that we will also be held accountable for the things done in secret that are sinful. Reminds of how it is also written that if we judge with out mercy, we will in turn also be judged with no mercy.

Aww look at our savior holding the bread and the wine. His body and his blood is what that represents.

YOU CAN NOT SERVE BOTH GOD AND MONEY!!!!
I would hope that this says enough in itself. However I know that a lot of these simple concepts are not what people would assume a second nature or a common knowledge. We must not let ourselves forget what is truly important. Not flat screen T.V.'s and a condo. These things will be destroyed eventually. Yet people still look at these things as though they are of some sort of importance. We all are guilty of this with something or another. It is never too late to change your mindset. We can always change and grow and improve.

²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life^[e]?

That in itself should tell you what you need to know. However I feel there is a more important message here in these verses.

³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

As always please walk away with a better sense of what to do as well as how. We must all start doing things more intentionally. Please evaluate your relationship with the Lord. For that is the relationship we all need to focus on before any others!

Stephie
P.S.

"If you don't like something, change it.
If you can't change it, change your attitude.
Don't complain."
-Maya Angelou

Jesus' Journey, Part Five

2010-11-07T18:08:00.000-08:00

Matthew 5

The Beatitudes

¹Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, ²and he began to teach them saying:
³"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
      for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
⁴Blessed are those who mourn,
      for they will be comforted.
⁵Blessed are the meek,
      for they will inherit the earth.
⁶Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
      for they will be filled.
⁷Blessed are the merciful,
      for they will be shown mercy.
⁸Blessed are the pure in heart,
      for they will see God.
⁹Blessed are the peacemakers,
      for they will be called sons of God.
¹⁰Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
      for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ¹¹"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. ¹²Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Salt and Light

¹³"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. ¹⁴"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

The Fulfillment of the Law

¹⁷"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. ¹⁸I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. ¹⁹Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Murder

²¹"You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder,^[a] and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' ²²But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother^[b]will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca,^[c]' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell. ²³"Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.
²⁵"Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. ²⁶I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.^[d]

Adultery

²⁷"You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.'^[e] ²⁸But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. ³⁰And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

Divorce

³¹"It has been said, 'Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.'^[f] ³²But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.

Oaths

³³"Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.' ³⁴But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne; ³⁵or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. ³⁶And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. ³⁷Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

An Eye for an Eye

³⁸"You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.'^[g] ³⁹⁴⁰And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. ⁴¹If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. ⁴²Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

Love for Enemies

⁴³"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor^[h] and hate your enemy.' ⁴⁴But I tell you: Love your enemies^[i] and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. ⁴⁶If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? ⁴⁷And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? ⁴⁸Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.


Jesus in the temple

I have said, many times, that it doesn't matter how we are treated here on earth. It will all pay off when we reach the kingdom of heaven! This is my validation to my thoughts on this subject! It's so funny how you don't realise what to listen for when you are reading these verses.Then one day you read a verse you have read a million times before and you realise you felt this way before you read it and it is just a bright explosion of the Lord's love for you along side your openness as well as willingness to hear what you need to hear. What the Lord knows you need to hear.

Fallow Me

Let us all remember that when we do share our love of the Lord, it might just touch somebody in a way that they needed in order to give there love and praise to the Lord. When we hide our faith it delights the devil, that is not what we want. Even if you are talking to a non believer, NEVER hide your faith. Even if you are afraid of what they do. Trust me what the Lord will say to that will be much worse.

I pray you all trust in our savior!

I love how this chapter makes it a point to let you know that cheating is not in touching alone, but also in your thoughts. Keep that in mind.

Let your yes be yes and your no be no. How wonderfully simple! I pray that we all keep this floating around in our heads as we go through our daily lives. Please remind yourself on a daily basis that your yes should be yes and your no be no.. I truly believe we all will be doing ourselves a great favor if we do not heed this lightly.

As always I do pray that you all opened your hearts and minds to listen to these verses in the way the Lord wants you to perceive them. Please remind yourself that you have control over what you do and say. We all have the ability to change and learn and grow. It is never to late to regain your salvation. I beg you all to work on your relationship with the Lord.

Stephie

P.S. I am grateful for all of you that take the time to read this blog. Please try to continue as I pray you share the words of the Lord with all who will listen. Even if it doesn't seem as though people are listening, they just might be so keep your words flowing as we know God keeps his love flowing.

Jesus' Journey, Part Four

2010-10-26T21:28:00.000-07:00

Matthew 4 (New International Version)

Matthew 4

The Temptation of Jesus

¹Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. ²After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. ³The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." ⁴Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'^[a]"
⁵Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. ⁶"If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written:
   " 'He will command his angels concerning you,
      and they will lift you up in their hands,
   so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'^[b]"
⁷Jesus answered him, "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'^[c]"
⁸Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ⁹"All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me."
¹⁰Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'^[d]"
¹¹Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

Jesus Begins to Preach

¹²When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he returned to Galilee. ¹³Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali— ¹⁴to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah:
¹⁵"Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
      the way to the sea, along the Jordan,
      Galilee of the Gentiles—
¹⁶the people living in darkness
      have seen a great light;
   on those living in the land of the shadow of death
      a light has dawned."^[e] ¹⁷From that time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."

The Calling of the First Disciples

¹⁸As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. ¹⁹"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." ²⁰At once they left their nets and followed him. ²¹Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, ²²and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Jesus Heals the Sick

²³Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. ²⁴News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them. ²⁵Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis,^[f] Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him.

Jesus being led into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil

The devil quoted the Bible, wow, he knows the word of the Lord. . Just like many people who have let the evil inside them over take them. I am not sure how many of you knew that the devil knows the word of our Lord. This was news to me. I am sure I have read this passage before. I may have just overlooked this fact.

Now the fact that after the devil tried to test Jesus, he tried to tell him that he would give him "All this if you bow down and worship me." HA HA HA!!!! What the Lord gives you is what you truly deserve. For the devil to really think that Jesus was going to give up the Lord for "all this" is simply comical. All this must have meant the valleys they were looking at.. At least that's my guess. The devil is very sneaky, now knowing that he does know the word of the Lord. We should all be aware that even if a person has some words from Bible that sound pretty, maybe even some images that look peaceful, it might be the wrong God that the person is advertising for. In my eyes there is only one true way to know what is going on. You need to pray about it to the one and only true God. Pray that he will let you see these people as he sees them. If you are like me you will know when you look in there eyes that there is an evil force at work.

Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."

It is that simple. Now keep in mind that to repent means to ask forgiveness with a sincere heart. SINCERE HEART! The Lord knows if you are being sincere, remind yourself that you must only ask for forgiveness with a sincere heart, it is very important. Your salvation can be lost and regained. The Lord is very merciful. At the same time, in knowing that your salvation can be regained, you must not lose it knowingly just because you are aware that it can be regained.

¹⁹"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." ²⁰At once they left their nets and followed him.

Can you imagine what those men felt inside of them when they heard Jesus speak? Oh my.. What an exhilarating rush of love that must have been.

As always I hope that you walk away from your computer with a better understanding, respect as well as a more ambitious willingness to learn.

Stephie

P.S. I want you guys to come up with/submit your favorite quotes. I will use them on the up coming posts. Hope you do your homework! You will have to either post a comment or e-mail me to submit a quote. My e-mail address is in my profile information.

Jesus' Journey, Part Three

2010-10-19T23:07:00.000-07:00

First I would like to apologize for the delay on the posting of the third part of Jesus' Journey.

Never the less, here it is.

Matthew 3

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

¹In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea ²and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." ³This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:
   "A voice of one calling in the desert,
   'Prepare the way for the Lord,
      make straight paths for him.' "^[a] ⁴John's clothes were made of camel's hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. ⁶Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
⁷But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? ⁸Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. ⁹And do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. ¹⁰The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
¹¹"I baptize you with^[b] water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. ¹²His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

The Baptism of Jesus

¹³Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. ¹⁴But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" ¹⁵Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then John consented.
¹⁶As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. ¹⁷And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."

John the Baptist in the Jordan River

John the Baptist baptizing Jesus.

I would like you to look at this verse and ponder over it for a moment, hopefully two or three moments.

⁴John's clothes were made of camel's hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.

Now I will start off by saying that I would be fine with the honey, however my first reaction to the locusts was "Yucky!" I do have to admit that if I had to survive off the land, I would eat a bug. I hear their actually very nutritious. Eww though. I think it would have to be dead before I could attempt to digest the little guy..

In reading this, I am suddenly more grateful for the roman noodles that are stale in the cupboard. I am going to make it a point to be more grateful for the food that I do have. Also instead of complaining that I am sick of my wardrobe, I will remember that John the baptist wore clothes made of camels hair and I will think to myself... "Cotton that I am tired of looking at, is better than camels hair. Thank you Jesus for my wardrobe."

Now let's look at these verses.

The Baptism of Jesus

John the Baptist preaching

As always, thank you all fellow believers for stepping into my thoughts with me for a moment. I pray you take away a greater appreciation for the things that you do have. Next time you find yourself frustrated about the lake of things you have deemed a necessity, just take a deep breath and think about the things that actually matter. Things of realistic value. Not even money value. I am speaking of the kind of value that, in my eyes, the Lord would deem necessary. Nutritional value, moral value and especially spiritual value.

I bid you all a wonderful day/evening/night. Please remember to speak to our Lord. Remind yourself that he is in your heart. He wants us to spread his word across the nations. Please consider that even a brief conversation with a stranger could inspire years of study/worship/devotion...

Stephie

P.S.
Jeremiah 29:11
"For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope."

Jesus' journey Part Two

2010-10-12T19:59:00.000-07:00

Matthew 2

The Visit of the Magi

¹After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi^[a] from the east came to Jerusalem ²and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east^[b] and have come to worship him."
³When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ^[c] was to be born. ⁵"In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written:
⁶" 'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
      are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
   for out of you will come a ruler
      who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.'^[d]"
⁷Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. ⁸He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him."
⁹After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east^[e] went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. ¹¹On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. ¹²And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

The Escape to Egypt

¹³When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him." ¹⁴So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, ¹⁵where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called my son."^[f]
¹⁶When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. ¹⁷Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:
¹⁸"A voice is heard in Ramah,
      weeping and great mourning,
   Rachel weeping for her children
      and refusing to be comforted,
   because they are no more."^[g]

The Return to Nazareth

¹⁹After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt ²⁰and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child's life are dead."
²¹So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. ²²But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, ²³and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: "He will be called a Nazarene."

We will learn more about the true motives of King Herod later on.

From the very beginning, Jesus had to endure greedy emotions . . Before he was even old enough to understand any of these selfish events taking place. Think about it, Herod was disturbed... Because people were worshiping baby Jesus?? Sounds like a real gem.

Herod sent spies to tell him where baby Jesus was.

The appointed spies didn't even go back to tell Herod. This was a test of faith for them. They passed.

Thanks to a lovely angel of the Lord, baby Jesus would be safe for a while. Joseph, Marry and baby Jesus lived in Egypt until Herod died.

Herod had all of the boys age 2 and under killed when he found out he had been outsmarted. . Kings of all sorts are overtaken by their yearnings.. Yearnings for things of sin. . People in general, but I suppose we are all more familiar with the corrupt royalty and politicians. Perhaps due to the fact it published far more than mere every day Jane's and John Doe's..

All these events had been documented before they happened, through the prophets.

So we end today with Jesus moving from Egypt to Nazareth.

Let this help you to think about peoples true intentions. Herod claimed he wanted to find baby Jesus so that he could worship him. His true intention was to kill him out of jealousy.

Just let yourself be aware that people do not always mean what they say. The Devil dresses up his evil to make it easier to lure you in. Be safe and smart. Listen to what the Lord is telling you.

Stephie

P.S. Jeremiah 17:7
"But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him."

Jesus' journey, part one.

2010-10-10T23:18:00.000-07:00

I am going to dedicate the upcoming postings to the journey of our personal savior. Jesus Christ. I am not certain the exact number of posts that will be dedicated to this yet. This is part one.

We will start with Matthew then move on to Luke later. This is where we will start to explore the book of Mathew.

My archaeological study Bible has all sorts of fun facts at the beginning of each book. These are the categories as well as some of the content concerning the book of Matthew.

AUTHOR, PLACE AND DATE OF WRITING
Tradition associates this Gospel with the apostle Matthew, although intense debate has swirled around a statement from the early church father Papias that survives only in Eusebius(Ecclesiastical history, 3.39.16). It is usually translated(in part), "Matthew collected the oracles (logia) in the hebrew language." For generations most scholars interpreted Papias as claiming that Matthew had composed in hebrew a Gospel that was for the most part a record of Jesus' sayings or "oracles."
Logia probably means a Gospel.

AUDIENCE
Matthew's original readers were predominately Jews who already believed in Jesus and confessed him the son of God.

CULTURAL FACTS AND HIGHLIGHTS
Matthew's purpose was to prove to a Jewish audience that Jesus is the Messiah.

TIMELINE
Beginning of Jesus' ministry: 26 A.D.

Matthew 1:18-25

The Birth of Jesus Christ

¹⁸This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. ²⁰But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,^[a] because he will save his people from their sins."
²²All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ²³"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"^[b]—which means, "God with us."
²⁴When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. ²⁵But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

Matthew 1:23. ²³"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"
This verse refers to Isa 7:14; 8:8, 10. I would like to delve into Isa 7:14 for a brief moment.

Isaiah 7:14 (New International Version)

¹⁴ Therefore the Lord himself will give you ^[a] a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and ^[b] will call him Immanuel. ^[c]

^{As we get deeper into the journey of our savior you will find that Jesus lets it be known that this has been a plan for a long time. The Messiah (Jesus) must go through these events. This reference in Matthew simply gives further proof that he is the Messiah and his work was directly from our Lord. What a terrific thing to sit back and let seep into your mind.}

^{Could you imagine being there?? In 23A.D.}
^{Oh heavens, I could only start to imagine being in the same venue with our savior Jesus Christ. He is always in our hearts but I am talking about before his Crucifixion. . Such a tremendous amount of joy and love mixed with loyalty must have been flowing in the veins of the believers surrounding him.. It makes my tummy warm with butterflies to try and imagine this moment of utter significance it would have on a persons life.}

^{This concludes the first part of Jesus' journey. I pray that you all take a moment to really talk to Jesus and let him know that you are thankful to him for dying for our sins. Not only dying but being tortured, humiliated as well murdered for our sins. He did all this with love, mercy and grace in his heart. He did this with the help of our Lord, so that the word of the Lord could be spread through the nations. I thank the Lord. Praise you Jesus! Praise you Lord!! For your mercy as well as your love. Please Lord help us all to help ourselves to better understand what we should really be focusing on in our lives. Not the cars, televisions, houses, money in our accounts ect.. I am not speaking of the things that we have come accustomed to believing we need.. I am speaking of the things that have true meaning to our dedication. The Lord, helping your fellow man/woman, selflessly giving your time to a good cause with the right motivation behind it.}

^{I adore these images.. If I posted all the images I find that I adore, well that would just be too many images for the eyes to process all at once. So I only post a few.}

^{Please continue to explore Jesus' journey with me. I know this is a very important part of the Bible and I am grateful to be able to share it with those who are willing to embark on the expedition with an open mind and heart.}

^Stephie

^{P.S. If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not people or things.}
^{-Albert Einstein}

James 4:1- 4:6

2010-10-08T22:27:00.000-07:00

All the passages that I post come from www.biblegateway.com/passage.. I start out by reading my Bible, then when I know what I want to post for the days study, I copy and paste the verses from this site.

Submit Yourselves to God

¹What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? ²You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. ³When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. ⁴You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. ⁵Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely?^[a] ⁶But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:
"God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble."[b


Praying angels


The bird of peace, the angel of peace. How beautiful.

First I would like to repeat one of the major points of this passage.

"God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble."

What a terrific thing to remind yourself of when you feel as though you are working up some aggression.. Those times when you can feel your blood boiling as your mind races to find justification in acting on your impulse. Justification, even though what you are about to do is a clear sign of no self restraint nor a will to be a true Christian and not let hate as well as pride and many other human nature characteristic traits take over, cloud our better judgment. It would be beneficial for all of us if we reminded ourselves that we put our trust in the Lord.

You see the first picture of the praying angels? Don't you think it would benefit us greatly if we surrender ourselves to prayer in place of anger? What a simple thought..

What an idea... It almost makes me laugh to think of how simple some answers are, yet they are over looked.. If we all searched deep in our hearts, we would find that we know a majority of the answers we ask.. Of all the things you ponder in a day, even a week.. Your entire life, how many of those questions do you honestly think you already know the answers to?

Now I am not claiming to be some saint who expresses self restraint 100% of the time. Please do not be misled.. I know that things are easier said than done. I also believe, in my heart, that anything is possible. I believe that each and every one of us has the ability to execute these mannerisms 100% of the time.. It takes practice.. Something I am going to do from here on out.

Each day I will remind myself of what the scripture says. When I wake up, after lunch as well as after bedtime prayer. I can not predict the future but I would not doubt it if this, as well as prayers to the Lord to help me see people the way he does, doesn't make me do things with clearer intentions. Perhaps I will frame this quote and hang it somewhere I know I always look..

The man who gave me the book In the Beginning by Alister E. McGrath ( From a previous post) also told me weeks ago, if not months, that if I prayed to the Lord to help me see people as he(the Lord) sees them, I would do things more intentionally.. It makes sense and not just in the context he put in it for me, in tons of situations.. Every situation anybody encounters. What terrific tools for success the Lord will grant us if we just open our minds as well as our hearts and ask for the right things with the right intentions and give it our wholes hearts effort.. Now that is something worth pausing over to consider the truth in the message, how we can apply it to our daily routine.

Another beautiful praying Angel

More birds/Angels of peace

I pray that you step away from reading this with a new found sense of what to put energy and focus towards.

Stephie

P.S. By trying, you may fail others. By not, you may fail yourself.
-Unknown

2010-10-05T18:16:00.000-07:00

These are Images I found.. They all relate to Gutenberg.. All the pictures of Bibles are Gutenberg's Bibles..

Jump back to the first Bibles printed

2010-10-04T18:01:00.000-07:00

A very wonderful, respectable man lent me a few books about a year ago. One of those books is In The Beginning written by Alister E. McGrath
A majority of this content is quoting this book.

I haven't read all of it yet, I tend to try to read too many books at once..
I wanted to jump back and inform you all of the first Bibles printed.. This book that my friend lent me has this information as well as a lot of other interesting and useful information.

These are all facts from the book.. I am not claiming credit for researching these things, I am simply stating what I am reading.

The man who is responsible for the first printed Bibles is Johannes Gutenberg.

The Bible consist of sixty-six books. Thirty-nine in the Old Testament. Twenty-seven in the new.
Imagine back around 1448-ish.. This was a huge task!!

This book says that the sheer length of the Bible made it a major publishing undertaking and to print it in it's totality represented pressing the technology, then available, to it's uttermost limits.

How terrific. What a tremendous aspiration.

(TOP) First printing press (BOTTOM) Movable Metal Type

As far as can be established, Gutenberg began cutting the type for this project in 1449-1450. Composition began in 1452 and printing was completed in 1456.
Each page had two columns of text, consisting of forty-two lines of type.
In the final stages, six compositors were hired on to help.

As few as 185 copies were printed, 40 of which still exist today.

The cost of this would have been considerable. Each printed Bible consisted of 340 folio sheets. As each calf hide yielded two folio sheets, 170 animal hides were required for each of the two volumed Bibles.

The asking price for each Bible was thirty florins, estimated to be three years wages for a learned clerk.

As always I hope this was of some use for you all. Please take away the knowledge of the text, if nothing else..

Stephie

P.S. Life must be lived forwards, but can only be understood backwards.
-Soren Kierkegaard

1 Corinthians

2010-10-04T00:00:00.000-07:00

1 Corinthians 7:1-16 (New International Version)

1 Corinthians 7

Marriage

¹Now for the matters you wrote about: It is good for a man not to marry.^[a] ²But since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband. ³The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. ⁴The wife's body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband's body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife. ⁵Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. ⁶I say this as a concession, not as a command. ⁷I wish that all men were as I am. But each man has his own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that. ⁸Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I am. ⁹But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.
¹⁰To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. ¹¹But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.
¹²To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. ¹³And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. ¹⁴For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.
¹⁵But if the unbeliever leaves, let him do so. A believing man or woman is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace. ¹⁶How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or, how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?

This is wonderful.. There is such basic knowledge in this passage. I think that people as a whole should go back to the basics. I love how it says that if you can't control yourself, you should get married. As to save yourself from sinning. This is great, it helps us realise that the Lord understands that we are all human and as such we all have weakness in one way or another. Breaks my heart how many married people still don't control themselves.. I pray that people, as a whole, start to devote themselves more to the Lord than to what they are already trained to devote themselves to. EXAMPLE: Work, Companion ect.... I strongly believe that if you work on your relationship with the Lord, all other relationships will mend naturally. We all must be sure that if we do decide to enter a relationship, we must let the Lord be our guide in our choices as well as our actions.
We will explore what the good book has to say about work but for now we all must be aware, on some level, that the Lord comes before work..
I must say that I like how it explains situations of believers married to non believers.. Just another terrific example of God's love and mercy for us all.
I pray that this blog post has some sort of positive effect for you all out there, hope it relates to some struggle and guides you through it.

Stephie

P.S.Freedom prospers when religion is vibrant and the rule of law under God is acknowledged.
-Ronald Reagon

Tomorrow is the first day

2010-10-03T20:38:00.000-07:00

Fellow readers/believers,
Tomorrow is the first day of our Bible Study. Please feel free to leave any and all questions as well as comments. Hope to brighten your day..
Stephie

P.S. It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness

Hello woman and men of faith!

2010-10-03T20:14:00.000-07:00

My name is Stephanie and I have been exploring the Bible and all it's wonders for about 5 years now. I like to pray for wisdom and start flipping pages.. It works well for me..
I intend to make this blog devoted to the Bible as well as daily encouragements.. If you have any requests please leave a comment and I will post your request..
I pray that this blog will help people and bring peace of mind to all who read it.