"Who’s in Your Boat?"
Mark 4:35-41
April 25, 2010
Question: What do I do when I can’t do it?
Affirmation: When we feel we can handle a job God has delegated to us, that is when we are on the road to despair and need to be delivered.
"Delegated"
That day when evening came, He said to His disciples, "Let us go over to the other side." Leaving the crowd behind, they took Him along, just as He was, in the boat. There were also other boats with Him.
Mark 4:35-36
As they sailed, He fell asleep.
Luke 8:23
But Peter insisted emphatically, "Even if I have to die with You, I will never disown You." And all the others said the same.
Mark 14:31
Despair
A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.
Mark 4:37
Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before.
Jonah 1:13
The disciples went and woke Him, saying, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!"
Matthew 8:25
Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, don't You care if we drown?"
Mark 4:38
Delivered
He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
Mark 4:39
Others went out on the sea in ships; they were merchants on the mighty waters. They saw the works of the LORD, his wonderful deeds in the deep.
For He spoke and stirred up a tempest that lifted high the waves. They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths; in their peril their courage melted away. They reeled and staggered like drunken men; they were at their wits' end. Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and He brought them out of their distress. He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. They were glad when it grew calm, and He guided them to their desired haven. Let them give thanks to the LORD for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for men. Let them exalt Him in the assembly of the people and praise Him in the council of the elders.
Psalms 107:23-32
He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?"
Mark 4:40
Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me and said, `Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.' So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as He told me.
Acts 27:23-25
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
Isaiah 43:2-3
Night Light
Mark 4:21-34
April 18, 2010
Question: How can I be a good Christian?
Affirmation: These parables of Jesus tell us what our job is and what the Holy Spirit’s job is in our growth as Christians.
Our Job
And He said to them, "Is a lamp brought in and put under a basket, or under a bed and not on a stand? For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light."
Mark 4:21-22 ESV
This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."
John 3:19-21
This will take place on the day when God will judge men's secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.
Romans 2:16
The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
Hebrews 1:3
In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:16
He, who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, &3:6, 13, 22
Then He added, "Pay close attention to what you hear. The closer you listen, the more understanding you will be given – and you will receive even more. To those who are listening to My teaching, more understanding will be given. But for those not listening, even the little understanding they have will be taken away from them."
Mark 4:24-25 NLT
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Colossians 3:15-17
The Spirit’s Job
He also said, "This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain--first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come."
Mark 4:26-29
I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.
1 Corinthians 3:6-7
Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Philippians 1:6
Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?
Galatians 3:3
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
Galatians 5:22-25
Again He said, "What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade."
Mark 4:30-32
Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop--thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown."
Mark 4:20
Some significance of the shed blood of Christ
Once a year the priest went into the Holy of holies to sprinkle blood on the mercy seat for the justification of the sins of the people. That mercy was granted instead of judgment.
The blood on the mercy seat was a type and shadow of the blood of Christ poured out
for the remission of sin, not just a covering, that sin may be done away with. However
that act took a perfect sinless sacrifice and Jesus Christ was the only one who could fulfill
the law and finish the work.
When Christ died, it was dark, the earth shook with and earthquake and the veil in the temple was rent from top to bottom. that was not all as we shall see.
With that sacrifice Jesus declared "it is finished" all the ceremonial law was completed
fulfilled and done away with. No more priests, animal sacrifices, keeping of holy days,
ordinances etc. It was truly finished. A new era was born a new covenant was being entered into.
The ark of the covenant was not in the temple, for many years it had been stored in Jeremiah’s grotto. Which was actually under the site where Christ was crucified and
when the earth quake came and the rock split, the blood of the Son of God , the perfect
sinless life, became sprinkled upon that seat all, all of the law was fulfilled.
Mathew 27:50-54
1 Corinthians 10:16 KJV
The cup of blessing which we bless , is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break , is it not the communion of the body of Christ?
Ephesians 2:13 KJV
But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
Hebrews 9:14 KJV
How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
1 Peter 1:2 KJV
Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied .
1 Peter 1:19 KJV
But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
1 John 1:7 KJV
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another , and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
Revelation 1:5 KJV
And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood v.6 and made us kings and priests unto God even His Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Road Trip
Luke 24:19-35
April 4, 2010
The Problem
Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus Himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing Him. He asked them, "What are you discussing together as you walk along?" They stood still, their faces downcast.
Luke 24:13-17
"What things?" He asked. "About Jesus of Nazareth," they replied. "He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed Him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified Him; but we had hoped that He was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn't find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said He was alive.
Luke 24:19-23
Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but Him they did not see." He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!
Luke 24:24-25
The Prophets
"But what about you?" He asked. "Who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "The Christ of God." Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone. And He said, "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life."
Luke 9:20-22
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall crush you on the head, and you shall bruise Him on the heel."
Genesis 3:15 NASV
And through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed Me."
Genesis 22:18
My God, my God, why have you forsaken Me? Why are you so far from saving Me, so far from the words of My groaning?
Psalms 22:1
He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. Surely He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered Him stricken by God, smitten by Him, and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
Isaiah 53:3-6
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:16-17
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
Hebrews 4:12
The Personal Encounter
But they urged Him strongly, "Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over." So He went in to stay with them.
Luke 24:29
Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with Me.
Revelation 3:20
Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him, and He disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while He talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?"
Luke 24:31-32
They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together and saying, "It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon."
Luke 24:33-34
Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.
Luke 24:35
"He Knows My Name"
John 20:10-18
April 12, 2009
Question: Why can’t people just "see" what Jesus can mean to them?
Answer: Sometimes we are so blinded by sorrow or sin we have to be "bidden" by the Savior to come to Him
Blinded by Sorrow
But Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over and looked into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. They asked, "Woman, why are you crying?"
John 20:11-13a
After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God. The Twelve were with Him, and also some woman who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out …. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.
Luke 8:1-3
With a loud cry, Jesus breathed His last. The curtain of the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And when a centurion who stood of Jesus heard His cry and saw how He died he said, "Surely, this man was the Son of God!" Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene …
Mark 15: 37-40
So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where He was laid.
Mark 15:46-47
"They have taken my Lord away," she said, "and I don’t know where they have put Him." At this she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize it was Jesus.
John 20:13b-14
Bidden by the Savior
"Woman," He said, "why are you crying? Who are you looking for?"
John 20:15
Jesus said to her, "Mary."
John 20:16a
She turned toward Him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!"
John 20:16b
Jesus said, "Do not hold on to Me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God." Mary of Magdala went to the disciples with the news: "I have seen the Lord!" And she told them that He had said these things to her.
John 20:17-18
He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!"
Revelation 21:4-5
From Religion to Resurrection
Luke 24:1-8
April 12, 2009
Question: Isn’t Christianity just another religion, no better of worse than any other?
Answer: The Resurrection of Jesus makes Christianity far more than a religion; it is a relationship with the living God
Religion
On the first day of the week, very early in the morning the women took spices that they had prepared and went to the tomb.
Luke 24:1
How can we sing the songs of the LORD while in a foreign land?
Psalm 137:4
I tell you the truth; you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.
John 16:20
Resurrection
In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He is risen!
Luke 24:5-6a
Oh, that my words were recorded, that they were written on a scroll, that they were inscribed with an iron tool on lead, or engraved in rock forever! I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see Him with my own eyes – I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!
Job 19:23-27
Remember
Remember how He told you, while He was still with you in Galilee: The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again." Then they remembered His words.
Luke 24:6b-8
The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.
Matthew 20:28
Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die.
John 11:25
Relationship
Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent Me, I am sending you." And with that He breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit."
John 20:21
If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.
I Corinthians 15:14
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.
I Corinthians 15:20
"What the Stones Would Shout"
Luke 19:35-44
April 5, 2009
Question: What would the stones find to shout about?
Answer: The stones of Jerusalem would should of what they had watched and heard; what they were witnessing, and a warning.
What they had watched and heard
Abraham answered, "God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering my son." And the two of them went on together.
Genesis 22:8
He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.
Hebrews 6:20
"The time is coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.
Jeremiah 31:31
See I send My messenger, who will prepare the way before Me. Then suddenly the LORD you are seeking will come to His temple; the Messenger of the covenant, whom you desire will come," says the LORD Almighty. But who can endure the day of His coming? Who will stand when He appears?
Malachi 3:1-2
What they were witnessing
Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your King comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentile and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Zechariah 9:9
The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.
Romans 8:19-21
Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up you ancient doors, that the King of Glory may come in. Who is the King of Glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up you ancient doors, that the King of Glory may come in. Who is the King of Glory? The LORD Almighty – He is the King of Glory.
Psalm 24:7-10
What they were warning
The LORD said, "What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.
Genesis 4:10
Seventy "sevens" are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgressions, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy. Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven "sevens" and sixty-two "sevens". It will be rebuilt with street and trench, but in times of trouble. After sixty-two "sevens" the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing. The people of the ruler will come and destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed.
Daniel 9:24-26
And though this temple is now imposing, all who pass by will be appalled and will scoff and say, "Why has the LORD done such a thing to this land and to this temple?" People will answer, "Because they have forsaken the LORD their God, who brought their fathers out of Egypt, and embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them – that is why the LORD brought disaster on them"
I Kings 9:8-9
Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us.
I Peter 2:12
"What I have"
Acts 3:1-10
April 27, 2008
Question: In reality how much ability
does each of us have to impact the world around us?
Proclamation: It is Christ working through us that can really change our
world.
Illusions of Power:
Political
"You won't talk to me?" Pilate demanded. "Don't you realize that I
have the power to release you or to crucify you?" Then Jesus said, "You
would have no power over Me unless it were given to you from above."
John 19:10-11 NLT
Wealth
But God said to him, "You fool! This very night your life will be
demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?"
Luke 12:20
Religious
"However, there should be no poor among you, for in the land the LORD God is
giving you to possess as your inheritance, He will richly bless you, if only you
fully obey the LORD your God and are careful to follow all the commands I am
giving you today." Deuteronomy 15:4-5
True Power
"Once God has spoken: Twice I have heard this: That power belongs to God;"
Psalm 62:11
"I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in Me will do what I have been
doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to
the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in My Name, so that the Son ay
bring glory to the Father. You may ask Me for anything in My Name, and I
will do it."
John 14:12-14
But He took her by the hand and said, "My child, get up!"
Luke 8:54
Response to Power
"Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those
with fearful hearts, be strong, do not fear; your God will come, He will come to
save you. Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the
deaf be unstopped. Then will the lame lap like a deer, and the mute tongue
shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the
desert."
Isaiah 35:3-6
"Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ
crucified: a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles,"
1 Corinthians 1:22-23
"What are we going to do with these men?" they asked, "everybody living in
Jerusalem knows they have done an outstanding miracle and we can not deny it."
Acts 4:16
"Holy What!?"
Acts 2:1-13
April 13, 2008
What do we mean by the Holy Spirit and what's
His place in the church?
God wishes to act through His Church to bring back this world to Himself.
Preconditions
"And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the
gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in Him with a
seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is your deposit guaranteeing our inheritance
until the redemption of those who are God's possession - to the praise of His
glory."
Ephesians 1:13-14
"When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one
place."
Acts 2:1 NKJV
God's Action
"The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the
deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters."
Genesis 1:2 RSV
"Then He said to me, "Speak to the winds and say: This is what the Sovereign
Lord says: Come, O breath, from the four winds! Breathe into these dead
bodies so that they may live again."
Ezekiel 37:9 NLT
Conduits of God
So Moses went out and told the people what the LORD had said. He
brought together seventy of the elders and had them stand around the Tent.
Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him and He took the Spirit
that was on him and put the Spirit on the seventy elders. When the Spirit
rested on them they prophesied ..... But Moses replied, "Are you jealous for my
sake? I wish all the LORD's people were prophets and that the LORD put His
Spirit on them!"
Numbers 11:24-25 &29
"I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present the word of
God in its fullness - the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and
generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. To them God has chosen to
make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is
Christ in you, the hope of glory."
Colossians 1:25-27
Purpose of His Action
"That is why it was called Babel - because there the LORD confused the
languages of the whole world. From there He scattered them over the face
of the whole earth."
Genesis 11:9
"And He make known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure,
which He purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have
reached their fulfillment - to bring all things in heaven and on earth together
under one head, even Christ."
Ephesians 1:9-10
(See Acts 8:14-17, Acts 10:44-48/Acts 11:15-18 and Acts 19:1-6)
Reaction
But others in the crowd ridiculed them, saying, "They're just drunk, that's
all!"
Acts 2:13 NLT
Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus
Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of
the Holy Spirit" .... Those who accepted his message were baptized and about
three thousand were added to their number that day.
Acts 2:38&41
"Do not get drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead,
let the Holy Spirit fill and control you."
Ephesians 5:18 NLT
"Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with
God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the
apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the chief cornerstone.
In Him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple
in the Lord. And in Him you too are becoming built together to become a
dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit."
Ephesians 2:19-22
"What Jesus Began to Do"
Acts 1:1-11
April 6, 2008
In a world that is such a mess, what can the church do?
The Disciples learn there is no easy fix. Jesus tells them instead that they and we will receive the Holy Spirit and be His witnesses to a world that needs Him.
No Easy Fix
"What our soul is to the body, the Holy Spirit is to the Body of Christ,
which is the Church."
St. Augustine
You Will Receive
"For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the
countries and bring you back into your own land. I will sprinkle clean
water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleans you from all your impurities
and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit
within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
And I will put My Spirit in you and move you to follow My decrees and be careful
to keep My laws." Ezekiel 36:24-27
"The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good
news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and
the recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the
year of the LORD's favor."
Luke 4:18-19
"If you love Me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father,
and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever - the Spirit of
truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him or knows
Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you."
John 14: 15-17
"And He breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit.""
John 20:22
"And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of the truth, the
gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in Him with a
seal, the promised Holy Spirit."
Ephesians 1:13
You Will Be
"You are My witnesses," declares the LORD, "and My servant whom I have
chosen, so that you may know and believe Me and understand that I am He.
Before Me no god was formed, nor will there be one after Me. I, even I, am
the LORD, and apart from Me there is no savior. I have revealed and saved
and proclaimed 0 I, and not some foreign god among you. You are My
witnesses," declares the LORD, "I am God."
Isaiah 43: 10-12
Don't Just Stand There
"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people
belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of
darkness into His wonderful light."
1 Peter 2:9
Questions to Ponder:
1) Have I been trying to witness on my own strength or do I first rely
on my relationship with God?
2) What is my "Jerusalem", "Judea", "Samaria", and "Ends of the earth"?