When reading and/or studying the Bible, I am always looking for
themes, trends, or patterns that I can use to better understand God and
His character. When I find such a pattern, I am then able to read
familiar Bible stories but with a fresh pair of glasses on, and I look
for ways that support or differ from the pattern. In this entry’s passage, I spot both the support of one pattern, and a deviation from another. For most of Jesus’ miracles, the level of faith that is present is a
factor in whether the miracle is a success – either from the one wanting
to be healed or from those who brought the disabled person. At least
two of the gospels even go so far as to imply that Jesus’ miracles were
limited by the faith present. (i.e. Matthew 13:58 / Mark 6:5.) However, in this passage, there is no mention of the woman’s faith,
of the crowd’s faith, or even of the synagogue leader’s faith. Faith is
not the focal point here. I’m guessing there was a desire from the woman
to be healed, but perhaps after 18 years of being disabled, she had
learned how to adapt her life. There isn’t even a mention or implication here that the woman is
present because this is a setup – which could imply the faith of the
synagogue leaders. The way the synagogue leaders respond to Jesus’
healing the woman make me believe they really didn’t want Him there
healing or working miracles. So this deviation from the pattern that faith equals healing is
significant in my mind. This tells me that God can work in people’s
lives without the presence of faith. While I believe He wants to teach
us the importance of personal faith in Him, He also knows there are some
instances where it is better if He acts regardless of the faith
present. It appears as though this is one such instant. So why might this deviation be present? Perhaps it is because of the other pattern I see supported in this
story: The miracle (and following dialogue) resulted God getting the
glory. The passage clearly states that “she immediately stood up straight and praised God”. (Luke 13:13 GW) In many of Jesus’ miracles, it seems as though He really focused on
helping people in ways that would prompt them to give the credit for the
miracle to God. I also see a pattern present through the gospels that
Jesus never desired the focus or the spotlight to be placed on Him.
Though everything He did, He wanted the people to see and know what God
the Father was like; He wanted the praise to go to God not Himself. Knowing the woman would praise God for the healing and that God would
get the credit following the irritated response from the synagogue
leaders, Jesus performed the miracle without the mention of faith. This
deviation and pattern tell me that Jesus will work miracles in
your life and in mine in ways where God receives the glory. Giving God
the glory is Jesus’ primary objective with the miracles He performs. This post first appeared on ReflectiveBibleStudy.com What do you think? Do you agree/disagree? Leave your thoughts below.
The statistics in this article are at least 17 years old and given the ongoing forced “immigration” into the Western World by Third World (and especially Muslim) people, we can assume that the numbers shown here are much lower than they are today. How much lower, I don’t know, but given that the statistics prove what happens as the numbers increase it really doesn’t matter. It is more than correct to assume things have only gotten worse – much worse! And so, here is how Islam works to destroy anything that it does not control. To begin with, Islam is not a religion nor is it a cult. It is a complete system. Islam has religious, legal, political, economic and military components. The religious component is a beard for all the other components. Islamization occurs when there are sufficient Muslims in a country to agitate for their so-called 'religious rights.' When politically correct and culturally diverse societies agree to 'the reasonable' Muslim demands for their 'religious rights,' they also get the other components under the table. Here's how it works (percentages source CIA: The World Fact Book (2007). As long as the Muslim population remains around 1% of any given country they will be regarded as a peace-loving minority and not as a threat to anyone. In fact, they may be featured in articles and films, stereotyped for their colorful uniqueness: United States – Muslim 1.0% Australia – Muslim 1.5% Canada – Muslim 1.9% China – Muslim 1%-2% Italy - Muslim 1.5% Norway – Muslim 1.8% At 2% and 3% they begin to proselytize from other ethnic minorities and disaffected groups with major recruiting from the jails and among street gangs: Denmark – Muslim 2% Germany – Muslim 3.7% United Kingdom – Muslim 2.7% Spain – Muslim 4% Thailand – Muslim 4.6% From 5% on, Muslims exercise an inordinate influence in proportion relative to their percentage of the population. They will push for the introduction of halal (clean by Islamic standards) food similar to the Jewish concept of kosher, thereby securing food preparation jobs for Muslims and demanding that large food stores employ them. This will increase pressure on supermarket chains to feature it on their shelves – along with threats for failure to comply. (This has already happened in the United States). France – Muslim 8% Philippines – Muslim 5% Sweden – Muslim 5% Switzerland – Muslim 4.3% The Netherlands – Muslim 5.5% Trinidad &Tobago – Muslim 5.8% At this point, they will work to get the ruling government to allow them to rule themselves under Sharia, the Islamic Law. The ultimate goal of Islam is not to convert the entire world but to establish Sharia law over that world. When Muslims reach 10% of the population, they will increase lawlessness as a means of complaint about their conditions (Paris – car-burnings). Any non-Muslim action that offends Islam will result in uprisings and threats as happened in Amsterdam over Mohammed cartoons. Guyana – Muslim 10% India – Muslim 13.4% Israel – Muslim 16% Kenya – Muslim 10% Russia – Muslim 10-15% After reaching 20% expect hair-trigger rioting, jihad militia formations, sporadic killings and the burning of synagogues and churches. Ethiopia – Muslim 32.8%At 40% you will find widespread massacres, chronic terror attacks and ongoing militia warfare:Bosnia – Muslim 40% Chad – Muslim 53.1% Lebanon – Muslim 59.7% From 60% you may expect unfettered persecution of non-believers and other religions, sporadic ethnic cleansing (genocide), use of Sharia Law as a weapon and Jizya, a tax placed on infidels that must be paid for them to remain in the country involved. Albania – Muslim 70% Malaysia – Muslim 60.4% Qatar – Muslim 77.5% Sudan – Muslim 70% After 80% one may expect State run ethnic cleansing and genocide. Bangladesh – Muslim 83% Egypt – Muslim 90% Gaza – Muslim 98.7% Indonesia – Muslim 86.1% Iran – Muslim 98% Iraq – Muslim 97% Jordan – Muslim 92%Morocco – Muslim 98.7% Pakistan – Muslim 97% Palestine – Muslim 99% Syria – Muslim 90% Tajikistan – Muslim 90% Turkey – Muslim 99.8% United Arab Emirates – Muslim 96% If the nation involved is 100% Muslim, this is supposed to usher in the peace of ‘Dar-es-Salaam' – the Islamic House of Peace; that is, there is supposed to be peace because everyone is a Muslim: Afghanistan – Muslim 100% Saudi Arabia – Muslim 100% Somalia – Muslim 100% Yemen – Muslim 99.9% But this is not the case. For there is the ongoing “religious war” among the various “sects” or “branches” of Islam including: Sunnīsm, Shīʿīsm, Ibadism, Quranism, “Non-denominational” Muslims, Mahdavia, Ahmadiyya, the “Nation of Islam” and Sufism. Because Muslims are by both creed and nature “warlike,” despite a nation or area being 100% “Muslim,” the above groups will then wage war on each other. Indeed, their creed is found below regarding their philosophy of life: 'Before I was nine, I had learned the basic canon of Arab life. It was me against my brother; me and my brother against our father; my family against my cousins and the clan; the clan against the tribe; and the tribe against the world and all of us against the infidel.' Leon Uris, 'The Haj” It is good to remember that in many countries, such as France, Muslim populations are centered in ethnic ghettos; they do not assimilate into the community at large They don’t want to assimilate; they want to rule. But because they consolidate in geographic areas, they exercise more power than their numbers would indicate. This is especially true as they knowingly choose locations where they are able to dramatically affect local and regional governments. And yet, knowing what is happening, we continue to cater to these “invaders” (not immigrants!) dealing with them in a “politically correct” way so as not to “offend.” But if we do not learn to defend our own heritage, it will indeed become a “Muslim” world.
As Jesus was headed for Jerusalem, the gospel of Luke describes His
decision to travel through the region of Samaria. As they were
approaching a town, Jesus sends some messengers ahead to get things
ready for Him to stay there. However, since the Samaritans and Jews hated one another, Luke tells us that “the people there [in that town] would not welcome him, because he was set on going to Jerusalem.” (Luke 9:53 NCV) While I am not surprised that a city of Samaritans would not welcome a
Jew who was traveling to Jerusalem, I am amazed that this little bit of
prejudice against a certain group of people caused this entire city to
miss out on having the Messiah actually spend time with them. By this point in Jesus’ ministry, word would have spread about Him
being a great Teacher, an amazing Healer, and a miracle Worker who was
blessed by God. None of these things mattered to those living in this
Samaritan city – their hatred of Jews blinded them from seeing the truth
because it could not get past the reality that Jesus was a Jew headed
for Jerusalem. It is in their decision that we are able to discover a powerful truth: Everyone
living today is tempted to be biased and judgmental towards a certain
group of “other” people. We must push past the hatred and distrust
because perhaps those we are most hostile towards are the people we can
learn the most from. Our hostility might cause us to miss out on seeing
Jesus! This post first appeared on ReflectiveBibleStudy.com What do you think? Do you agree/disagree? Leave your thoughts below.
One of the strangest conclusions to all of the miracles and healings
that Jesus ever performed comes at the close of the healing by the pool
of Bethesda that John includes in his gospel. In this healing, Jesus
comes to a pool where sick people gathered, singles one person out who
had been there for a long time, heals him, then disappears into the
crowd before the healed man could thank Him. However, one of Jesus’ instructions for the man was to pick up his
sleeping mat, and that upset the religious leaders in the area. The main
reason was that the day this healing happened was the Sabbath, and it
was to be a day of rest – and carrying one’s mat was not resting. But with all this said, the last two verses of this event conclude this story in a strange way. John tells us, “After
this, Jesus found him in the temple complex and said to him, ‘See, you
are well. Do not sin anymore, so that something worse doesn’t happen to
you.’ The man went and reported to the Jews that it was Jesus who had
made him well.” (John 5:14-15 HCSB) After Jesus had healed him, this man goes and basically rats Jesus
out for being his Healer. This doesn’t make sense, but even more
confusing are Jesus’ final words to this man. “See, you are well. Do not sin anymore, so that something worse doesn’t happen to you.” (John 5:14b HCSB) Perhaps the man believed that disobeying the religious leaders was
sinning, and he felt he was obeying Jesus by communicating to the
leaders that Jesus healed him. Or perhaps Jesus’ message was meant as a
challenge for moving forward. We don’t know anything about this man before or after this event.
Implied in Jesus’ words is that the man was sick and/or disabled because
of a past sinful life. Jesus’ final message to him is to stay away from
that sinful life so that something even worse doesn’t happen to him. In this warning and challenge Jesus gave this man is a theme
we can all use in our own lives. While avoiding sin doesn’t stop bad
things from happening to us, avoiding sin does stop a good percentage of
bad things from happening. The principle Jesus is communicating is that
who we associate with will either bring us health or will bring us
harm. The quality of our friends determines the quality of our lives. This man was given a fresh start after 38 years of illness. He
had the choice whether to return to his old life, or start a new one.
Each of us doesn’t have to face 38 years of consequences in order to
choose to turn our lives around. This miracle teaches us that a new life
with Jesus can begin today. This post first appeared on ReflectiveBibleStudy.com What do you think? Do you agree/disagree? Leave your thoughts below.
“An argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest. Jesus, knowing their thoughts, took a little child and had him stand beside him. Then he said to them, ‘Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For it is the one who is least among you all who is the greatest.’” (Luke 9:46-48 NIV) As I sat down to write this weekend’s thought, this passage from Luke’s gospel stood out to me. Before this morning, I had not noticed an idea present in this familiar verse. Prior to this morning, when I read this passage, I saw a challenge in Jesus’ words for the disciples to be like the children. I would not be surprised if this truth is present elsewhere in the gospels, especially when Jesus welcomed children to spend time with Him. Jesus said that the kingdom of heaven belongs to children like these (Matthew 19:14; Mark 10:14; Luke 18:16) However, in the above passage, the blessing is not on the child Jesus had stand beside Him. Instead, the blessing is for the person who welcomes that child in Jesus’ name. Jesus says, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.” At that time, society was much more hierarchical than it is now, and children were looked down on by most people. Jesus welcoming children was a cultural shock to those in the first century. The one who associated with children was also considered low on the society’s hierarchy. In this event, Jesus challenges His disciples to reverse their idea of greatness. Instead of looking to achieve greatness in the world’s eyes, seek to achieve greatness in God’s eyes. While the world associates greatness based on how close you are to someone who is also “great”, greatness in God’s eyes is found when we welcome those that society looks down on in Jesus’ name. Greatness in God’s eyes does not care about what the “world” thinks. While exceptions exist, a general rule is that if the world dislikes something, it is probably a lot closer to being something God values. Jesus’ challenge in this passage is a challenge to welcome others. God challenges us to welcome those the world has looked down. When we welcome those that society has rejected in Jesus’ name, Jesus is welcomed too. And when we welcome Jesus, we welcome the rest of the Godhead as well! "God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them." (1 John 4:16b NIV) 🙏 📖 ✝️ 👍
“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’ “‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’ “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’ “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’ “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.” (Matthew 25:1-13 NIV) Of all the parables Jesus shared throughout the gospels, this parable stands out as being one of the most significant. In this parable, we discover a set of contrasting themes worth paying attention to. When looking at this parable, most people focus on the foolish virgins and that they didn’t pack extra oil. This detail is significant, because if at least one of the foolish virgins packed extra oil, then she would be indistinguishable from the wise group. From this introduction, the first big truth to take from this parable is planning ahead. This would be like planning for our future in this world in case Jesus’ return is delayed. While I’m sure most people would love for Jesus to return this afternoon, if not sooner, so far, Jesus’ return appears to be delayed. Wise individuals prepare for delays, whether or not delays happen, and plan accordingly. Next in this parable, all the virgins fell asleep. In this parable, both the wise and foolish virgins fell asleep. If you or I fall asleep, don’t stress about it. What matters most is what comes next. To conclude this parable, all ten virgins wake up; all ten lamps had gone out. The wise virgins take their extra oil and light their lamps, while the foolish virgins have no oil left. While planning is important, the second big truth is staying where God wants you to be. The wise virgins stay and are welcomed into the banquet. The foolish virgins leave their post and the door is closed. (This means that we should also plan for Jesus’ return immediately. The foolish virgins ran out of time and were left outside.) In this parable, we discover the value is being ready for Jesus’ immediate return, while also planning for the future if Jesus’ return is delayed beyond the end of our earthly lives. ✝️ 🙏 ✅ 👍
“Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:4-5 NIV) “If Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.” (Romans 8:10-11 NIV) A few years ago, my daughter brought home a flower from school. The flower arrived home in a small plastic shell (the kind used in nurseries to make it easy to transplant) and was vibrant and healthy. We placed it right next to our kitchen window, which is the brightest spot in our house. I calculated that from our kitchen window, this flower would get approximately 2 hours of sun each day. A few weeks later, the flower had shriveled up and died. I suspect the flower needed a larger flower pot to grow in. I suspect it needed over 2 hours of sun each day. The flower also may have died because of some other reason. However, this flower serves as a powerful metaphor for our spiritual lives. As spiritual beings, we need over 2 hours of time with God each week. Only feeding our spiritual lives one day a week leads to spiritual starvation. Also, while it might sound crazy to some, we need over 2 hours each day connected to God for our spiritual lives to thrive. This does NOT mean we must spend 2 hours studying our Bibles each day, though we would definitely grow spiritually if we did. Instead, as the passage above states, we are to remain in Jesus in order to bear fruit. When we place our faith and trust in Jesus, the Holy Spirit grafts us into God’s family, giving our spiritual lives access to the only true Source of Life. Jesus invites us to live a 24/7 life with Him, whether we are awake or asleep, whether we are at home, in the car, or at work. Jesus wants to be with us through all the struggles of our lives, and He wants to give us spiritual strength to face the challenges each day holds. While church each weekend is very important, don’t let your spiritual lives starve by only focusing on Jesus one day a week. Only spending one day a week focusing on the Son leads to a shriveled up, dry, and dead spiritual life. God can resurrect our spiritual lives. However, for Him to do so, we must let Him graft us into the Source of life! 🙏 📖 ✝️ 👍
As Jesus finishes His counter-challenge to a group of Jewish leaders
who were upset about a miracle He performed on the Sabbath, Jesus shares
a powerful – and surprising – statement regarding belief, faith, and
judgment. While reading the whole counter-argument Jesus shares, some of those
present may have began to think that Jesus was allying Himself against
them. Some may have begun to think that Jesus would stand against them
when history ends and the Father returns. But Jesus closes by saying He
is not their accuser; their accuser will be someone they wouldn’t
expect. Jesus tells them, “But do not think I will accuse you
before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. If
you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But
since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe
what I say?” (John 5:45-47 NIV) The Jewish leaders had verbally placed their faith in Moses. However,
by doing so, they missed the point of Moses’ writings and they misled
themselves. In this counter-challenge, Jesus tells them that when time
ends, Moses will stand up and accuse them because he will tell them
plainly that he was pointing them to Someone else. Moses never claimed to be the Messiah for the people, and nothing in
his writings implied this role for him. The unbelief of these leaders in
what Moses wanted them to fully realize led to their rejection of the
Messiah that God ultimately sent. Unbelief is a slippery slope. When we start rationalizing
ourselves out of a belief, we can find ourselves rejecting other things
we believed as being true as well. Many of those who have left
Christianity began their journey when facing one or two challenging
ideas they could not reconcile in their minds. When left unchecked,
these doubts ultimately led to them losing all their faith. The way to combat unbelief and/or challenging beliefs that we don’t
fully understand is not by ignoring the issue. Instead, the way to face
these challenges is by studying the options. At this point in history, there are dozens of angles regarding any
belief or doctrine. Rarely is any belief or doctrine a yes and no
proposition anymore. Most have three, four, or even five other angles we
could take on the subject. While some people might want you to believe
the only choices you have are believing the way they do or rejecting
“the truth”, they are lying when presenting you with this approach. The way to push through unbelief and challenges are by replacing these things with something you can believe in. The Jewish leaders fell into a trap that we all can fall into.
Anytime we place our eternal lives in the hands of someone who isn’t
part of the Godhead, we are opening ourselves up for disappointment and
accusation. Only the most delusional people want others to follow them
when they themselves are not following anyone else. A mature leader is really a follower who helps others move
forward while pointing them ahead of themselves. This is how Jesus led,
and this is how He has called us to lead as well. A mature leader in the
spiritual areas of life will not challenge what you believe without
pointing you towards a bigger truth about God. True spiritual leaders
don’t cut down someone’s faith; they strengthen it by pointing to Jesus. This post first appeared on ReflectiveBibleStudy.com What do you think? Do you agree/disagree? Leave your thoughts below.