Understanding the Greek?

More than one Translation!

I think it is very important as a preacher teacher to have some grasp of the Greek, so that we can understand the many words from the various versions that are available for reading and study today?

Even if we are still limited to the King James or Revised Bibles, the Greek context is of great value, where as the Hebrew is quiet fixed even to the modern Israeli and so when comparing verses we will have a frame work built on a strong basis!

What Ekklesia faces today is deception and sensuality, the excuse to undermine the laws of God and to have truth expressed with love, rather one without the other!

2 Peter 2:1-3, Romans 16:18, 1 Corinthians 6;20, Galatians 2:4.

Modern Translations!

Missing the definitions of the text?

Many of the new translations of the Holy Bible, that have sought to move away from the King James version have done an injustice to the Greek, if not also the Hebrew languages and lumped words together into one, when missing the real context of what is being said!

It remains hard to know if this has been done deliberately or it is just being lazy in the work, hoping that only a few would take any notice?

We need to be clear and understand what God is saying to us in the scriptures so that we can preach the Gospel message and see souls saved!

Matthew 22:29, John 4:23-24, Romans 15:4, Hebrews 4:12-13, Revelation 3:20.

Christmas!

The real meaning of?

We all know the events of the Christmas story and how we can cross reference the Gospels with the book of Isaiah and other to fit the traditional picture of it, but so much can be missed out in the leaving out of certain passages.

Most of western-Christmas is associated with the Catholic Church and the Protestants have taken out the bits that they do not like in relation to doctrine, while the eastern Church celebrates more the iconography of the saints than scriptures?

But we want too look at the message of Salvation through Jesus and why He came into our world to save sinners like you and me!

Numbers 24:17, Isaiah 9:2, Luke 1:76-79, 2:8-15, 30-32, John 8:12.

Lack of Preaching!

Fear?

Is it fear of the laws of the lands, or is it being lazy and hoping our gracious God will do it for us, as we lounge about hoping for that great revival to come?

Has prayer replaced preaching or is it seen as old fashioned and like many things in modern society old and not of any value?

God does not change, only we do and this has been foretold in the New Testament that people will grow cold, that truth is no excuse to stop, since many still want to hear and many will claim on the day of Judgement that they never heard.

John 3:3, 14-18, Romans 10:17, 1 Timothy 4:1-2, Hebrews 9:26, 10:10, Revelation 3:20.

Have house groups?

Killed the western Christian Churches!

Many believers have come to the conclusion that the onset of cell groups have ruined many congregations in the western Ekklesia, because they are an excuse for cliques’ and family related groups to control lost freedoms?

Many of these groups seem helpful in their outlook, but what they do is they kill the midweek prayer meeting and getting together for that oasis of fellowship.

In many other lands distances are an issue to travel and small groups probably work better, but we really should be able to combine the two and find that even the abandonment of the evening service is also something to be brought back to help the many who are struggling at work, home and other?

Matthew 25:1, Acts 1:14, 1 Corinthians 11:20, Ephesians 5:19.

The Ukraine?

No Peace!

As believers how do we deal with a world leader who refuses peace and is also provoking conflicts with other nation who are seeing through him and his mantra of lies to get a shopping list of weapons, that even his armed forces are failing to deploy in a proper manner, but rather waste on the battlefield?

Zelensky has rebuked many people who have suggested peace, this is nothing new David was rebuked by the peoples he lived with in hiding and it was a struggle for him!

Jesus tells us He did not come into our world to make peace, but with a Sword to cause division and to see who really loves Him more than our own loved ones?

Psalm 35:20, 120:7, Matthew 10:34-39.

We are abused, but we press On!

Mission and Leadership.

One cannot say, ‘Today that many in the western Ekklesia go through this set of circumstances in the palatial panelled homes and insurance policies, holding anti-Semitic views and much other worldly rubbish?

We wonder why we no longer have revivals and if we do, they are not what they once were! Even one hundred years ago many famous preachers pointed out the lounging of missionaries on the field on the continent of Africa and many other far flung places?

Here we are challenged by these Apostles going out to share Jesus in hostile societies and unbelieving Jews, with very little of comfort, except they had faith and the strength to trust God and in the process we have the book of acts, telling to us the growth from the Way, ‘Hedos to Ekklesia and two thousand years of continued growth.

1 Corinthians 4:11-13, 2 Corinthians 11:23, (Matthew 8:20), Lamentations 3:45.

What we signed up for?

Our agreement with God!

Many believers find after years of service that they get left behind by the next generation and we may at times feel why did struggle so much for?

In this last age of human history there has been some dramatic changes, motorised transport, the invention of television and now the Internet, Space travel, electric cars, hydrogen surpassing the burning of fossil fuels and nuclear power if not war?

We may have written our own tracts, preached and taught, while today people use apps, watch videos on their phones and tablets and share via the web, even with the continuing Pandemic ekklesia is moving in to virtual rather than physical!

What we need to do is accept and be glad that younger people are getting saved and that our experience of life may be of help to all who are struggling?

Matthew 20:9-11, Luke 15:31-32, Romans 3:23, 6:23.

How God see’s Us!

Embracing and Kissing?

Luke 15 found in the Gospels of the New Testament is not a chapter to be overlooked, since it is the story of salvation and a revelation of how God see’s us!

Sometimes in the Ekklesia we forget some essentials mentioned by Jesus, such as the one s in Luke 15:20-21 and the ministry of washing each others feet as maybe not literal, when they are?

This young man has squandered his inheritance and sees sense to go home, he thinks through what he must say to his father!

But his father sees him coming and is ready with love for the one who was lost, this theme is not new, we see it with Esau and Jacob love in practice!

We also see it with Absalom even though much was given to him, he chose to fail and oppose his father for the throne, that was not his to have!

Genesis 33:4, 2 Samuel 14:33, Acts 14:33.

We need each Other?

As Believers!

Meeting together is hard for many of us in closed countries, some religious others unbelieving by state control? But for others it is illness, forgotten in the numbers, rejection, being outcast for mistakes, mental-illness and other?

God only wants things for a time to teach people to try harder and not fall backwards, but get up say sorry to Him first and get moving again!

We should know that it is hard to be a ‘Christian, but its worth it, since we are a saved people with a eternal hope and purpose and we have been empowered by the Spirit of God to reach out to others and to see souls saved!

We are also a people of prayer, of communicating with our creator and knowing that He hears and answers our prayers, heals people, influences governments and leaders even without them being aware of their right actions with integrity and that our Lord is coming back for us at the end of the ages!

John 16:7-9, Ephesians 5:21, Jude 1:15, Revelation 6:9-10.