Zechariah’s Prophecy! Part-One.

Luke 1:67-79.

We tend to over look this New Testament Prophecy, perhaps because it points to the Jewish race and to that of John, who would make a way for Jesus the Messiah to come!

But in these few verses is some invaluable lessons as to the events that were taking place in Jerusalem two thousand years ago and continue to this day in the form of anti-Semitism and even in Ekklesia by many who fail to understand what the Holy Bible is saying?

These human reactions prove that some who profess a faith, are not what they say they are, while others have been mislead into false or not fully understood teachings! Verses 69-71 sum up the connection of events past and present in the day of Jesus appearing and His role in redeeming the nation and all who believe in Him?

But those he came for rejected Him as much as many continue to so today!

Psalm 18:2-3, 132:17-18, Luke 1:32-33, Romans 9:4-5.

1 Timothy 3:16. Part-Two.

An essential Message?

This is how the Apostle Paul is summing up the coming, death, resurrection and return of Jesus, the Messiah and King of Israel and the key events of the Gospel message in these last two letters to Timothy his spiritual son!

We see affection, strong advice that has to be heeded, because being a believer does not get easier, the more so when we are serving Him in anyway, even just talking to our family, handing out the odd tract we will be attacked by Satan!

What else can we pull of of this one verse He was proved, He pleased, He was seen, He was and is being preached and many still come to Him by faith!

But the day of grace is passing and we are now already in the night of apostacy and things are only going to get worse as Satan is to be revealed to the world, we have a greater commission to reach the lost before it is too late?

Matthew 16:20, Mark 1:11, Luke 1:76-77, 16;16, Acts 2:22, Colossians 1:19-20, 23-24, Hebrews 2:2-3, 2 Peter 1:17. Revelation 1:9, 20:4.

EVIL! Two.

World War-I/II+ We Remember?

There is much pride in the human heart to remember the fallen of past wars and conflicts and it would seem honorable to do so, but not was all right in these two world wars and all wars!

Men in fear were treated as cowards and shot and their families not compensated with a war pension, greed and spite came to the fore, those who refused on religious grounds were either killed or rejected by society?

Meanwhile the suffering of nerve gas, high-explosive ammunitions left men with terrible if not horrific wounds and in the 1939-45 war many nations refused the Jews prior to the Nazi-Holocaust while others avoided their rescue and Britain maintained similar prison conditions in the Middle-East until Winston Churchill got challenged by the events?

Wars have to be fought to save our systems of politics and at one time supposed Christian values, but this is a smoke screen to cover arms sales and the pride of royal families, madness of dictatorship and excuses for sin and they will continue until even the Day of Armageddon!

Genesis 44:4, Numbers 13:32, Job 19:19, 35:12, Psalm 78:68, Proverbs 24:1, Ecclesiastes 9:3, Jeremiah 31:3, Hosea 11:1, Matthew 5:11, Luke 7::47, John 3:14-18, 12:43, 13:34, 15:9, Romans 8:37, Ephesians 2:4, Revelation 16:16.

EVIL! One.

The World/Kosmon.

We have all as believers come out of the world, its ways, selfishness, achievement, lies, filth, sexual pleasures, theft, financial gain, and walking over others?

For some who claim a faith in God, some of the above mentioned is fine for them, then the problem is that they have either turned back or that they are not fully saved, or worst still religious imposters?

Evil is the basis of sin, but we know that some people are more evil than others and other deliberately provoke God in their sin! Intimidation, bullying, dishonest gain, tax dodging to sexual sins of lesbianism and homosexuality, while even wearing the cloth and claiming the love of God?

But God sees through our motives and it is only He who knows everything, wither He acts now of tomorrow or never until the day of Judgement that ball is in his court alone!

Genesis 6:5, 13:13, 38:7, Deuteronomy 31:18, Job 1:1, Psalm 14:4, 34:16, 55:15, Matthew 5:11, 24:12, Mark 7:21, Luke 6:9, John 3:20, Acts 8;22-23, Galatians 5:21, Colossians 3:5.

1 Timothy 3:16. Part-One.

Not in every Translation?

Some have suggested this is a later add on to the original letter, but we could all be accused of making a footnote to our own letters of encouragement to others!

It is a powerful verse in the New Testament about Jesus our Lord and Savior!

Christ/Messiah came as a human or in human flesh!

The Holy Spirit proved that He pleased God!

He was seen by Angels!

Christ/Messiah was preached to the Nations!

People put their faith in Him!

And He was taken up in Glory!

What is the problem, a miss translation, replacement theology, or down right anti-Semitism in the early Church to Armenian, Roman Catholic and others?

Deuteronomy 31:23, 1 Chronicles 22:13, Psalm 42:2, Jeremiah 10:10, Acts 1:2, Hebrews 3:2-6.

AUKUS!

A world Crises Situation based on Jealousy?

Red China is the enemy of the western world and so is Russia and Venezuela and Afghanistan and so on, but what they really are is they are better at doing the right things to help the peoples of their own nations and the world!

Where the United States is jealous of economic success and refuses to forgive as Joe Biden said, claiming to be a Christian, while the U.K. is being lead by a good talker and a little planner and Australia has a leader who is ignoring climate change for personal profit at the cost of millions?

What has to do with Ekklesia, it has much to do with us, since we have to live in the world daily and face the consequences of these unwise leaders, who are lining their pockets at our cost and proving they have no time for God, but their own aspirations based on lies and hypocrisy!

1 Samuel 16:7, Proverbs 14:16, 28:14, Jeremiah 17:10, Matthew 23:28, 1 Corinthians 10:12, Hebrews 4:12-13, James 3:17, 1 Peter 1:2.

Harvest Time!

From the window box to the plains?

When serving in the inner cities we tend not to see the point of having a harvest festival and yet many members have allotments, gardens, window boxes to sow a few fruit and vegetables so they can count the pennies?

On the other hand the countryside and the small ports have their respective catches of grains and fish and have something to give God the thanks for!

Not many today see a value of the harvest festival, since they associate it only with the material, but Jesus referred to the Spiritual side of all of our callings to witness our faith, share our testimony, speak and pray and then the Angels will reap fields that are white for souls for Eternity?

There are many ways to do these services, giving thanks, involving children, young people and older folks, talking about experience or just a plain service?

The use of the community is important in the role of the food bank and also in growing the wrong crops such as narcotics, showing people a right way and asking them to consider Jesus!

Genesis 8:22, Exodus 23:16, 2 Chronicles 32:28, Matthew 6:26, 13:30, Galatians 6:9, James 3:18.

Gifts of the Holy Spirit!

What are they for?

A great debate rages in the Ekklesia today in relation to the gifts of the Holy Spirit, with many claiming that that time in the book of acts is over?

But if we take time and end our doctrinal blind spots we will take note that in 1 Corinthians chapter 12 and verse 4 we are told the essential reason, before hitting the juicy bits!

Gifts, service and activity are the essentials of being touched at His will by the Holy Spirit, one who will remain active and effective in the lives of all believers who remain in fellowship with God.

We cannot preach, teach, witness, share, talk about God without the Holy Spirit, we have to be touched and given each individually our gifting, so that we may serve, so that we will remain active no matter what Satan tries to use to draw us down?

Romans 15:17, 2 Corinthians 9:12, Ephesians 4:12, 2 Timothy 4:5, Hebrews 12:28, James 2:22, Revelation 2:19.

The Prodigal Son! Three.

Jealousy?

Infuriation might be a better word for the son who worked away and did not flout his fathers inheritance!

But like many Christians today in Ekklesia they miss the point when a prostitute or a big time criminal gets saved, it makes the place, reputation of good living look dirty?

Because their hearts were blinded to God’s love and mercy on the lost, just as this father took back his son and so we have a powerful evangelism tool with Luke 15 that can be applied in the community and worldwide today?

As believers we are always now with our father who through the good works of Jesus has bought us with blood and when we see the uncomfortable coming in let us rejoice for God has brought another home!

Luke 15:11-32, Romans 15:9-13, Ephesians 2:1-10.

Angels Ministered!

Great Anguish.

Jesus was moments before His journey to the cross and our atonement, but in His human flesh he was in anguish and many believers may find themselves in these moments of great mental and physical pain from the evil people in this world!

Some modern translations do not have these verses in the text, how sad they have missed such an important point, that we too may go through periods of suffering and may even be attended to by Angels, as our Lord was?

We are warned to be careful about people who brag about the subject and dream also, but that must also be taken that Angels will help us, since Peter was released from Prison and the Apostle Paul saw Heaven!

Luke 22:43-45, Psalm 91:11-12.