Christian Paradigm Shifts

Today's lesson is about the disciples and the resurrection. Peter and John run to the tomb after hearing the news that Jesus is no longer in the tomb. Mary had declared to them, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put Him [John 20:2]." John gets to the tomb first but does not go in. Peter is bold and goes inside the tomb. Sure enough Jesus is not there. The linen strips are just lying there. The linen cloth which had been wrapped around Jesus' head was folded neatly. I wonder how these two disciples felt at hearing the news that Jesus was not in the tomb. Did they feel bewildered and confused? Were they anxious about the Roman soldiers and how they would react to hearing such news? Were they full of hope or were they feeling hopeless? Death. The Bible declares it is an enemy. The last enemy to be defeated [1 Cor. 15:26].  You may have heard about the stages of grief when a loved one dies - denial, anger, bargaining, dep

Jesus is on the cross. His mother is standing close by. The youngest of the apostles is also near. Jesus, probably with the most affectionate tone he could muster due to the agony of crucifixion, tells His mother, "Dear woman, here is your son", and to the disciples, "Here is your mother." From that time on this disciple took her into his home [John 19:26-27]. That disciple was John. At the beginning of Jesus' ministry His family and His disciples were together. They were at the wedding in Cana. They were together in Capernaum. Everyone was a happy camper. Then in John chapter 7 we see a little bit of tension between the disciples and Jesus' family. Here is the interaction between Jesus and His brothers ~ Jesus’ brothers said to Him, “Leave Galilee and go to Judea, so that your disciples there may see the works you do. No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” For even his own

Hi Friends, I just wanted to share that Courtney at www.womenlivingwell.org is having an ultimate blog bash. You can link-up with other bloggers for an awesome share time. There are numerous categories for bloggers to place their link-up. I am new to the world of blogging. I am having so much fun. I love studying God's Word and sharing what I have gleaned from my own study time. There have been numerous women in my life who have inspired me in my relationship with God. I hope I can do the same for others. I am not perfect. I am just a woman who wants to know God and serve Him to the best of my ability. I have my devotional time each day. It goes something like this ~ I start my coffee brewing, head to my computer and watch the day's video from Wendy Pope. Her ministry is Walking with Women Through the Word. Her website is www.wendypope.org . After watching the video, I read from the NLT Chronological Bible. I try to find one nugget from the day's reading that I can

Today's study takes place in a familiar place to the disciples - the Mount of Olives (Garden of Gethsemane, which means oil-press). This is a very important Passover night. Jesus comes to the garden to pray before He is arrested, tried, and condemned to die. The remaining 11 follow Jesus there after finishing the Passover meal. In Matthew 26:36-46, Jesus tells the disciples that he is overwhelmed to the point of death. He tells them to stay here and keep watch with Him. His three closest disciples are there - Peter, James, and John - and they go with Him a little farther on. At a close distance they watch Jesus pray. While praying so intensely, Jesus sweats drops of blood. He asks the Father to take away His cup of suffering. Jesus concludes the prayer with not My will but Yours be done. In Luke 22:45, these three fell asleep from the exhaustion of their own sorrow. Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible states - And when he rose from prayer,.... The Syriac version reads,

Well, He's at it again. This day's lesson is on....you guessed it...humility. It also brought up a connection to a previous Bible study I did last Fall. Our ladies Bible study group studied the book of James. James 1 talks about wisdom. Well, I don't think I noticed the part that hunility plays in wisdom. A couple of chapters later, in James 3:13-16, it states ~ " Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice." Humility is wise because it gives a right perspective of who we are, especially in relation to other people. Philippians 2:3 - 8 says "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain concei

Oh, how I needed this today. Pride, envy, jealousy can creep up at anytime. Well, it crept up on me today. I prayed to the Father, "Oh Father, help me deal with this quickly and cut it off right now. I want you to be glorified and not me. Amen" Well, isn't it like God to have today's study about two disciples who wanted to be seated next to the Savior when He came into His Kingdom. I am no different than these two disciples. I can become conceited and maybe I don't even know it. In Luke 9:46-55 the disciples discuss who will be the greatest. After this discussion, John stops people from driving out demons in Jesus' name because they were not part of their group. Then the two "Sons of Thunder (James and John)" want to call fire down from heaven because a Samaritan village did not welcome them. Mark 10:35 - 40 ~ Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”  “What do you w

Present at this awesome event was Jesus, Peter, James, John, Moses and Elijah.  Jesus revealed to them His glory. He showed them who He really was - God come in the flesh! The Synopotic Gospels look at this event from different points of view. Mark 17:1-9 ~ Jesus' clothes were white as light. The disciples fall to the ground. Mark 9:2-10 ~ Jesus' clothes are dazzling white. Peter suggests that they build 3 tabernacles because he did not know what to say because he was too frightened [sometimes I say ridiculous statements, too. Especially when I am scared or nervous]. Luke 9:18-36 ~ They went up on the mountain to pray. The appearance of Jesus' face changes. Moses and Elijah are discussing Christ's departure [literally exodus] from earth. Moses and Elijah definitely know about departures from the Earth. Moses died in the presence of God and God buried him and Elijah was taken to heaven in a whirldwind with chariots of fire. I wish I could have been there on that mo

Jesus calls us to the "secret place" to talk with us. Christ said, "When you pray, go into your room and close the door and pray to your Father who is unseen [Matt. 6:6]. Even Jesus had his own "secret place". He went to a place in Capernaum called Eremos (solitary) Heights. It had rugged  rocks of granite and windswept cliffs. A friendlier part of it is called Eremos Hill. It has blossoms, birdsongs, and a view of the lake. This place would later be the mountain of the new covenant, the mount of beatitudes [With Jesus Through Galilee According to the Fifth Gospel]. This is where he was the day after healing in the synagogue, healing Peter's mother-in-law, and healing the multitude who came to Peter's door. Jesus got up very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he left the house, and went to a solitary place, where he prayed [Mark 1:35]. He made this His habit to go and prayer to His Father. I have recently started the discipline of readin

Today's lesson was entitled "A Hard Act to Follow". In this lesson, Jesus has just called his discples and they attend the synagogue in Capernaum on the Sabbath. Peter and Andrew were from Capernaum. They probably attended this synagogue each week. They knew the people. Some were relatives, neighbors and business associates. Jesus gives a message and heals a demon-possessed man. Afterwards, Jesus and the disciples arrive at Peter's house where his mother-in-law is sick. Jesus heals the woman. She rises to wait on them. As evening came (the sun was setting), people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. The whole town gathered at the door of Peter's house and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let them speak because they knew who he was (see Matthew 8: 16-17; Mark 1:32-34; and Luke 4:40-41). Beth Moore comments on this scene: Jesus' Word was a panpharmacon - a salve for every sore...I have

I think we have all heard the familiar phrase: "You can choose your friends but you can't choose your family." The meaning of this phrase is that some things you can choose, but others you cannot, so you have to try to make the best of what you have where you have no choice. But is family something that we just have to make the best of? Or did God intend much more for the family? Today's Beloved Disciple lesson was entitled "Old Ties and New Ties" Jesus had just called Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip and Nathanael to be his disciples. Then we see these new disciples interacting with Jesus and his family at the wedding in Cana. John 2:2 tells us that Jesus, his mother and his disciples attended the wedding. Happy times I am sure. Next Jesus is with his mother, brothers and disciples in Capernaum. Things seem to be going well between all of them. However, later on, there was to be a schism in Christ's family (see John 7:3-5). In week 3 we will see a

They were fishermen - Andrew, Peter, James and John. They were partners. They were companions. They were fishing on the Sea of Galilee (other names for this body of water include - Sea of Chinereth [Hebrew for heart-shaped], Lake Gennesaret [named for a fertile plain nearby] and the Sea of Tiberias [because it was associated with the capital of Herod Antipas] ). These fishermen were in Bethsaida [house of fishing] when Jesus called them to be fishers of men. These men were doing their everyday job - fishing, cleaning their nets, and catching nothing while working all through the night. Jesus came into their lives and turned things every which way for these disciples. He changed their routine into an adventure. Where am I in my life right now? Am I in a routine and a rut or am I living the great adventure with Jesus? Where are you on this spectrum between the ordinary and the outstanding? I know for me that this can change from day to day. Right now I see myself on this scale of 1-1

The Apostle John Lived - Near the Sea of Galilee in Bethsaida Occupation -  Fisherman, disciple, writer (wrote the Gospel of John; 1,2, & 3 John; Revelation) Parents - Zebedee and Salome Older Brother - James Hebrew name - Jehohanan John's story is told throughout the Gospels, Acts and Revelation.

I love genealogy. I love finding out the stories of people's lives -  their family, where they lived, what they did for a living, the culture of the time and so on. Well, John, the beloved disciple, has a story. He did not live in a vacuum. He was a man of his culture and time. As I did today's lesson of Beth Moore's study, "Beloved Disciple", I discovered that family life and spiritual life were intertwined. They were not separate activities. Deuteronomy 6:4-9 states: "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.  Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates." NIV

This is my first blog post. I am not sure about this new endeavor. I have seen other wonderful blogs, including the ones I follow. I hope that I have something to share that is worth reading. I have been doing a Bible study on 1 John with Courtney at www.goodmorninggirls.org . We are about to begin a new week. We are in the middle of chapter two. 1 John is all about authentic faith and who is a true believer. This has inspired me to dig a little bit deeper into the life of John, the beloved disciple. Therefore in conjuction with the 1 John study, I will be doing the Beth Moore study "Beloved Disciple". I will be sharing the insights and connections I glean from 1 John (2nd and 3rd John, too), The Gospel of John, and Revelation. If you'd like, you are welcome to join me on this wonderful adventure!