Monthly Archives: February 2021

Bible Love Story

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Happy Valentines Day!

Unashamed of Jesus's avatarUnashamed of Jesus

But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Ruth 1:16

At first glance the book of Ruth seems like just a Love Story but end results turned out to be greater blessings, not only for Ruth and Boaz, but for the entire world. There grandson would be King David, who also is the bloodline of Jesus Christ.

Ruth was the daughter in law to Naomi, they all lost their husbands due to a great famine. Naomi decides to head back to her hometown of Bethlehem and Ruth decided to follow her. Ruth was not a blood relative of Naomi, but was loyal to her as her daughter in law

At this, she bowed down with her face to the…

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John 21- Jesus on The Shore

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But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus.Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No. And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes. Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher’s coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea. John 21:4-7

The disciples , unsure of what to do next as they waited for The Lord’s next instructions, they decided to do what they do best, go fishing! Remember before they became disciples, Peter and Andrew were professional fishermen. But they left their careers behind to serve The Lord, they answered their higher calling

Then a man was on the shore, and he yelled “Did you catch any fish”, they didn’t recognize it was Jesus at this point, what Christ instructed them to do was the same thing when he first met them, throw your nets to the other side of the boat. This made them realize and recognize it was The Lord talking to them

They were so excited to see The Lord , they jumped out of their boats and swam to shore! Are you this excited to see and talk to Jesus?

And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,) dragging the net with fishes. As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread. Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught. Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken. John 21:8-11

Jesus was on the shore waiting to have fellowship with his disciples, this reminds me of Communion. Jesus wants to have fellowship with us, the bread and the wine/juice are reminders of Christ. How often do you have fellowship with Jesus? He’s waiting on the shore for You!

Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord.Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise. This is now the third time that Jesus shewed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead.  John 21:12-14

It’s very interesting that Jesus still eats while having a Resurrected Body. It demonstrates that Jesus is still a man even in an eternal body. This will be the same for us, in our resurrected bodies we will still be in our human form as God created us in his image, a mystery to ponder

Secondly notice Jesus and his disciples are “breaking bread” a reminder of Communion, it’s a sign of the New Covenant, it’s our fellowship with our Lord and God Amen!

John 20- The Resurrection Part 3

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Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. John 20:19-21

As we continue to look at the events of the Resurrection, we see when Jesus visited his disciples. As stated in the previous post, Jesus remained on Earth for 40 days until he ascended back to Heaven. As the Apostle Paul testified, Jesus was seen by over 500 people during this time period (1 Corinthians 15)

Notice Jesus showed the disciples the marks on his hands and his side, to verify it was him. Its very interesting even though Jesus has a Resurrected Body, he still bears the mark of his crucifixion, a reminder for all of us the love and sacrifice Christ demonstrated towards us 

And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained. But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. John 20:22-24

Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit upon his disciples, the Breath of God. Notice the disciples were currently hiding in the upper room out of fear of the Romans, however now that they have the Holy Spirit, they will go out and preach the gospel and change the world. What a difference the Holy Spirit makes!

The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. John 20:25-26

Thomas, who was better known as “Doubting Thomas” wasnt there when Jesus visited the first time, so he had doubts that Christ really was resurrected. Can you relate with Thomas? Notice Jesus came back again, this time to personally visit Thomas

Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. John 20:27-29

Thomas said he wouldn’t believe unless he seen the marks on Jesus, Christ then instructed Thomas to touch the marks on his body. It was indeed the Risen Lord, the same Jesus that was crucified on the cross for our sins, is the same physical Jesus that rose from the tomb after 3 days!

Thomas declares Jesus is not only his Lord but also his God! Thomas understood Jesus is God in the flesh! If Jesus wasn’t God, he would have rebuked Thomas but he didn’t, if Jesus didn’t physically rise from the dead, then he would have the marks from the crucifixion.  The Lord your God has Risen indeed Amen!

John 20- The Resurrection Part 2

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But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre, And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him. John 20:11-13

As we continue to take a look at the Resurrection Story here in the gospel of John, we see Mary Magdalene stayed behind because she was mourning the loss of Jesus. Now this showed alot of faith because The Tomb was a very dangerous place right now,  it was under watch by the Roman Empire, if they found her they probably would have thrown her in prison or maybe executed her

But her love for Christ was greater than the love for this world! Now she was crying also because she thought the body of Christ had been stolen, again showing the disciples didn’t fully understand the prophecy that Christ will be Risen, even though Jesus told them this multiple times throughout his ministry

And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master. John 20: 14-16

Now this event is one of the great mysteries of The Bible, Mary was having a conversation with Jesus yet didn’t recognize him, why? Well first thought is Jesus is in his “Resurrected Body” a body that is perfect and immortal, just imagine some day you will also have a Resurrected Body, so glorious many wont recognize you!

However Mary does recognize Jesus by his words, as Jesus stated in John 10 “My Sheep know my voice” even though Mary didnt physically recognize Jesus , she knew him by his words, shows you how powerful words can be!

Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God. Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her. John 20: 17-18

Jesus’ statement here is used alot by “Anti-Trinitarians” who try to refute his Deity. Jesus declares his Father is his God and our God. Now the argument is “If Jesus is God then why did he call The Father God”? Well I think those who use this argument don’t really understand the doctrine of the Trinity, The Father, Son , and Holy Spirit are all separate yet they share one essence. So for Jesus to call the Father God is correct, just as we would call The Father God or the Son God or the Holy Spirit God. 

Mary goes to hug Jesus , however he states “Don’t touch me I have not yet ascended to my Father” As we know Jesus spent 40 days here on Earth after the Resurrection until he ascended back to his Father. He instructed her, to go tell all the disciples! As we know from Paul’s testimony in 1 Corinthians 15, over 500 people would witness the Resurrected Jesus before his ascension Amen!

John 20- The Resurrection Part 1

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The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him. Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre. John 20:1-3

Today we take a look at the greatest event in human history, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Why is this the greatest event in human history? Because Jesus has forever defeated sin and death, Jesus is Risen and reigns forever! Anyone who wants to reject Christ, point them to the Empty Tomb. It’s empty, He is Risen, process this as you will, but The Lord has Risen just as he said he would

First note, all the gospels tell us , Jesus rose on the first day of the week, Sunday. You’ll hear many conspiracy theories about why Christians worship on Sunday, but the Bible is clear The Lord’s Day is Sunday. The first day of the week Jesus is Risen! This has nothing to do with Catholicism or Paganism, its about understanding the significance and importance of The Resurrection of Christ!

So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre. And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in. Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. John 20:4-7

Now another thing to point out, is the first people to discover the Tomb is Empty was the woman not the Apostles. Why is this significant? Well in the first Century if we were going to make us a “Resurrection Story” you would not have the woman as the first witnesses, as their testimony was not valid back in that day. Also Mary Magdalene was a former prostitute filled with demons, probably not the ideal witness the Apostles would have wanted

But the fact remains, the women discovered the Tomb because they loved The Lord more than they loved their own lives, as going to the Tomb could have meant death or imprisonment by the Romans. It we know Jesus make us all new, Mary Magdalene was a Born Again disciple of Christ

Another fact to look at is  it states “The napkin at Jesus head was wrapped together in place” meaning the napkin was folded. It was a Jewish custom to fold your napkin when leaving the dinner table, signifying you were coming back! The Lord was giving us a message , He is coming back!

Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed. For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.Then the disciples went away again unto their own home. John 20:8-10

Why did Christiniaty begin? Because of The Empty Tomb, because Jesus is Risen! Jesus didn’t come here to start a new religion, everything changed when Christ rose from the dead! The disciples were still trying to piece everything together, they didn’t understand that the Christ must die for our sins and will rise again yet

As the Apostle Paul said “Without the resurrection our faith would be worthless” (1 Corinthians 15) Jesus is Risen, and this changes everything Amen!