Category Archives: Christianity

Matthew 2- Out of Egypt

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And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son. Matthew 2:13-15

When you study the entire Bible, its amazing all the shadows of Christ that are in the Old Testament. When we think about Egypt, of course we think about the Israelites being delivered from over 400 years of slavery in the Exodus. And then Jesus symbolically uses Egypt to demonstrate how Christ delivered us from the slavery of sin and death. (John 8) 

It’s interesting that Egypt became an intrical part of Jesus’ life here on Earth. As King Herod began looking to kill the newborn King, God warned Mary and Joseph to take Jesus to Egypt and hide out. The Apostle Matthew declares that his act fulfills the prophecy foretold by Hosea in the Old Testament

When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.  Hosea 11:1

It’s amazing when you read this prophecy and realize that Jesus was being foretold about hundred of years before the Incarnation of Christ. Did Israel understand this prophecy was given to them? Probably not, much like when Isaiah foretold the Sign would be a Virgin would have a Son (Isaiah 7:14) How could anyone during that time period even comprehend these prophecies? Even today with all the knowledge, manuscripts, and commentaries we have today, many still ponder the exact meaning of these phrases.

The Apostle Matthew does an excellent job of tying together the Messianic Prophecies of the Old Testament with the fulfillment in the New Testament. Matthew clearly states that this event of Jesus going to Egypt was the fulfillment of Hosea 11:1. Same as he states the Incarnation of Christ is the fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14, you either believe the Bible or you don’t

But think of Jesus Christ as the greater Joseph, the greater Moses. Joseph went to Egypt as a slave and became King, Moses beacame the mediator between God and Israel and led them out of slavery of Egypt. But Christ is the greater Joseph or Moses, these men were just shadows of Jesus to come. 

For God so loved the world that He gave his Only Begotten Son! (John 3:16) Salvation is now possible through Christ Amen!

Luke 23- Jesus Took Our Place

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And Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, Said unto them, Ye have brought this man unto me, as one that perverteth the people: and, behold, I, having examined him before you, have found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse him: No, nor yet Herod: for I sent you to him; and, lo, nothing worthy of death is done unto him I will therefore chastise him, and release him. (For of necessity he must release one unto them at the feast.) And they cried out all at once, saying, Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas: (Who for a certain sedition made in the city, and for murder, was cast into prison.) Luke 23:13-19

Again as Pilate and Herod found no wrongdoing of Jesus, the religious leaders kept pushing for Rome to execute The Lord. There was a loophole found, the Romans had a custom of releasing a prisoner at the feast. The religious leaders used this clause as a way to have Jesus take the place of a convict murder named Barrabas. Now notice Pilate originally said I will chastise and release him. This was not getting off easy either, this meant the Roman soldiers would brutally beat Jesus almost to death, but not crucify him

However Israel wanted to exercise the clause in this mockery of a trial and have Barabbas released and Jesus crucified. Think about this, Jesus, the sinless Lamb of God is going to take the place of a horrible sinner and die on the cross for his sins. Jesus took your place also, even though we were still sinners God demonstrated his love towards us and Christ died for our sins (Romans 5:8) You are Barrabas! We are all Barrabas!

Pilate therefore, willing to release Jesus, spake again to them. But they cried, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. And he said unto them the third time, Why, what evil hath he done? I have found no cause of death in him: I will therefore chastise him, and let him go. And they were instant with loud voices, requiring that he might be crucified. And the voices of them and of the chief priests prevailed. And Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they required. And he released unto them him that for sedition and murder was cast into prison, whom they had desired; but he delivered Jesus to their will. Luke 23:20-25

Pilate knowing that Jesus is innocent , tried one last time to release him, however the crowd kept shouting “Crucify Him”, “Crucify Him”, and notice it says “He delivered Jesus to their will” The will of man was to kill the Son of God, but the will of God was to save all humanity through his Son! As the Apostle Paul said “Christ became the curse for us, so we can be released from the curse of The Law” (Galatians 3:13)

Jesus took your place, literally and symbolically, We are all sinners and deserve to die on that cross, however because of Gods love for us, He took our place!  He who knew no sin became our sin so we can become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Christmas- John 3-Only Begotten Son

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For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16

On that glorious day God sent his love to us thru his only begotten Son Jesus. Our Messiah who has delivered us from our sins and has giving us eternal hope.

The original Greek text for Begotten was “Monogenes”. As most Greek words Monogenes has two primary definitions. It means “unique or one of a kind” and it means “only child”. The word Begotten clearly defines Jesus importance and uniqueness as The Son of God.

For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. John 3:17

Angels filled the sky and rejoiced when Jesus was born, because he came to save the world not condemn it. By his atonement sacrifice he has taken our sins for us , so we can be part of Gods covenant.

He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. John 3:18

Jesus is The Truth, Life, and The Only Way to eternal life. If you reject him you are condemning your life. Why would you reject the one who has giving you everything? Jesus is the only gift you need this Christmas

And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. John 3:19

Many will reject him because they love there sin more than him. The Word of God is a sword the cuts to the heart of evil. Rejoice for the light of the world has been delivered to us in a manger in Jesus Name Amen

 

Christmas- John 1-Word Became Flesh

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The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

Word became Flesh, is there any better way to describe Jesus Christ? When did the Word become Flesh? On that day in the manger, when Mary conceived the child sent from God, a son has been given to us. The day when Heaven came down to Earth, to save us from our sins. Jesus is clearly revealed as “The Word”, and “The World” dwelt among us and we didn’t even realize it

How can you question your Heavenly Fathers love for you? He sent his only begotten Son, to become fully human, and live among us. On that day in the manger we have seen the Glory of God. And our Lord and Savior brought with him grace and truth. The grace from God that delivers us from our sins. The grace that could only come from the shedding of his precious blood at the cross.

Jesus became Flesh for you, don’t reject your Messiah. Every knee will bow and tongue will confess Jesus is Lord and Savior, everyone one denies Jesus before others, he will deny to God.  Come to the manger this season and bow to your King in Jesus Name Amen

Christmas- Micah 5-Out of Bethlehem

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But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times. Micah 5:2

God works in mysterious ways. 700 years before Christ was born in a manger in Bethlehem, a prophet named Micah foretold about the coming Messiah. When people heard this prophecy there were probably rejoicing and celebrating, for God has saved them from the oppression of the world.

However, the coming of our King, didn’t happen the way we would all imagine the King of Kings entering the world. He was born of a virgin, who was to be put to death because nobody believed her story. He was carried on a donkey over 70 miles in Mary’s womb making the treacherous journey to Bethlehem.

At the time Mary and Joseph probably thought traveling to Bethlehem was the worst scenario that could have happened, but what they didn’t know was they were fulfilling Gods plan for the world. For our Messiah was to come from Bethlehem, and he did in a lowly manger.

A couple of things about this prophecy are amazing when you understand, first the accuracy of the prophecy, as we know Israel was eventually divided into two kingdoms, Israel and Judah, so there was actually two Bethlehem’s eventually. The fact that the prophet Micah , not only told the correct city of Jesus birth, but also the correct Bethlehem of Ephrath, its amazing

Secondly the city of Bethlehem’s main industry was the breeding of the Passover Lambs. As we know Jesus is The Lamb of God (John 1:29) our Passover Lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7) so it makes perfect sense , Jesus would be born in Bethlehem , the city of the Passover Lamb, born in a manger as the Lamb of God

Whatever you think Christmas is about, know this story it begins in the manger in Bethlehem where God sent his son to save the world. Remember this story and the prophecies fulfilled in Jesus Name Amen

Holy Week- Tuesday -The Fig Tree

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He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” And His disciples were listening. Mark 11:14

As we continue our “Quest To The Cross” our next stop is “The Fig Tree” Here Jesus was hungry , looking for something fruitful, and found a barren tree that produced no fruit. He immediately rebuked the tree and commanded that it will never produce fruit again,  the tree withered and died immediately.

A few things we can observe from this, first notice again this is not the watered down Jesus that is portrayed by most. The power that Christ posses , even when he speaks, the tree withers and dies immediately. Just as when demons listen to his commands or he calm the waves of the sea. Jesus has full authority on Heaven and Earth.

Second “The Fig Tree” is symbolic to our spiritual lives. As Jesus said “Good trees produce good fruit , bad trees produce bad fruit, by our fruit we will be recognized (Matthew 7) So will Jesus say to us Good work faithful servant or depart from me you worker of lawlessness?

And Jesus answered saying to them, “Have faith in God. Mark 11:22

As the disciples noticed “The Fig Tree” withered Jesus said to them “Have faith in God” We can take this multiple ways, as they were amazed at Jesus power and authority over Heaven and Earth. Jesus instructed them faith can move mountains!

Do we have the faith to continue to be a fruitful disciple or will we wither away from lack of faith? Put your faith in God in Jesus name Amen!

Palm Sunday

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Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. Zechariah 9:9

Palm Sunday is the celebration of Jesus entering Jerusalem as our King fulfilling the prophecy from Zechariah. Notice Jesus decided to ride a donkey instead of a horse, this was to show his humility and he is the “Prince of Peace”, many Jews were hoping for Jesus to wage war against Rome but God had a different plan.

During his arrival, everyone laid down palm branches, what did this symbolize? The palm branch in Roman culture symbolized victory. However the Palm branch was symbolic in Egyptian culture to symbolize eternal life. Both meanings are very fitting for Palm Sunday

(Matthew 21:9) “And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest”

Hosanna means “Please deliver us” or “I beg you to save”. Everyone was desperately waiting for coming of our Messiah; Jesus fulfilled the promise and prophesies. This is part of what makes Palm Sunday so special and spiritual.

(Psalm 118:26) “Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD: we have blessed you out of the house of the LORD.

This is the Psalm the people sang while Jesus entered Jerusalem, everyone knew Jesus was the Son of God, the Messiah promised from the Old Testament scriptures.

So this Palm Sunday remember Jesus is coming again soon, lets rejoice and sing in anticipation of our Messiahs return in Jesus name Amen

Lying Vanities

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They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy. Jonah 2:8

God had a mission for Jonah, to save the city of Nineveh, but originally he refused and decided to go his own way.  But God works in mysterious ways and used a Whale to change Jonah’s mind.  How many of us try to create our own destiny, only to be thrown overboard like Jonah was? But if we put our trust in God and not “lying vanities” we won’t be forsaken, we will be fulfilled by completing our destiny

(Ecclesiastes 1:2-4) “Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun? One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.”

We go about our daily lives in the “Rat Race” running around trying to complete this and complete that, but when you take step back what is it all for? Don’t waste your life following “Lying Vanities” follow God and his plan for your life.

Our goal here in life should be to prepare people for eternity in Heaven. The only way to get there is thru Jesus. If we waste our time chasing after objects, there useless, and won’t save your life.

(Job 15:31) “Let not him that is deceived trust in vanity: for vanity shall be his recompence.”

Trust not in “Lying Vanities” but trust in God, your creator. Many people believe “vanities” such as money have power, security, and freedom. But money will not save your soul only lose it. Don’t be deceived by the world, you need God.

(Psalm 31:6) “I have hated them that regard lying vanities: but I trust in the LORD.”

How much does God hate idolatry?  Very much because our God is a jealous God (Exodus 34:14) Think of it this way, you’re a parent, your child who you love, decided to ignore you and follow someone else. Doesn’t that make you feel good as a parent? This is the same way God feels toward you, he wants you to love him because he loved you enough to give you life.

Its easy to get caught up in following “Lying Vanities” of this world, but don’t risk forsaking your own mercy, we worship an awesome God and he loves you. Follow him and fulfill your destiny in Jesus name Amen

Don’t Repay Evil with Evil

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Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. Romans 12:17

It’s human nature to seek revenge when someone does us wrong. But does two wrongs make a right? The riots in Baltimore are a classic example of this. We originally started with one victim, but now it’s escalated to multiple victims. What justice did this accomplish?

If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Romans 12:18

Some will say Peace is impossible. But until everyone learns to love each other as themselves, there will never be Peace. Until you value your neighbors life as you value your own. Until the world accepts Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, it will never be possible. Only with God are all things possible.

Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. Romans 12:19

Our God is a just God, he is in control. Don’t take revenge into your own hands, give it up to The Lord. When you defy God and take revenge in your own hands, your not only being rebellious, it’s Satanic. God is the law and justice.

On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Romans 12:20

You have heard the expression “Kill them with kindness” Good always defeats evil, as Jesus said only the Merciful will obtain Mercy. If your not merciful you will never receive Peace.

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:21

Evil will never overcome you unless you allow it, God can’t be defeated, if God is with us who can stand against us. Don’t give in to Evil, take a stand and stand with God.

Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. Luke 23:34

Even as Jesus was hanging on the cross, he asked God to forgive everyone. We need to forgive also just like Jesus. Don’t take justice in your own hands, put it in the hands of God. Don’t repay Evil with Evil in Jesus name Amen

Scepter Is Born

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Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom. Psalm 45:6

Scepter– royal or imperial power or authority , sovereignty

Remember all power and authority has been given to Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:18) He is the Scepter, this is a prophecy of the coming of our King.

Christmas is a time to remember the birth of our Scepter, Jesus Christ. The Son of the Living God delivered to us to establish Gods kingdom that will last forever. There will be no end to the reign of Jesus Christ. His throne has been established on that day in the manger.

Jesus is the King of Kings and Lord and Lords (Revelation 19:16) Its time to rejoice and give thanks for your new born King. The King that has overcome the world, The King that was willing to lay down his life for us.

Is Jesus the King of your Kingdom? Have you accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior? This Christmas season get the gift of life, the gift that is eternal and will never fade away. By the power of the Blood of Christ, we are victorious! The throne of God has been established in Jesus Name Amen!