When Jesus returns to His hometown of Nazareth and begins teaching and expounding on the Scriptures His neighbors become offended. Mark 6:1-4 lays out the story and tells us why. Seems these people who had lived right alongside Jesus for years just couldn’t get over the fact that He was a carpenter, a respectable trade but hardly one that would qualify Him to speak on such lofty matters as holy writ. And didn’t His brothers and sisters live in town too? And weren’t they just ordinary folks like the rest of them?  This mindset hindered them from receiving anything from Jesus to which Jesus said, “A prophet is not without honor, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.”

The same thing can be said of us. Though we may not be prophets it is often hard for our unsaved family and friends to accept our words when we try to witness to them. They know us and have put us in a box: sister, brother, mother, father, cousin, sidekick, etc. and it’s hard for them to see us any other way, and certainly not as a minister of the gospel. When that happens, the best witness will be how we live our lives rather than what we say.

If we live what we believe, in time those closest to us will see the change and will want to know what happened. How is it that we can be so calm during a problem when once we were the first to panic? Or how is it that we can answer a curt word with a sweet reply? Or not lose our temper or be so patient? In a world where hype in advertisement is everywhere, where exaggerated claims are made every day, it will be noteworthy to those around us to see something genuine as we, empowered by the Holy Spirit, quietly walk out our faith in meekness, love and patience, all the while praying for, rather than preaching to, our family and friends.

Sometimes we need to share God’s Word with others and sometimes we just need to live it.

Until next time,

Sylvia

Did you know that a three-strand cord is not easily broken? That’s what Ecclesiastes 4:12 says. I suppose that’s why Jesus sent his disciples out two by two in Matthew 10:5-8 to “preach . . . heal the sick, cleanse the leper, raise the dead and cast out devils,” because along with each pair of disciples came the third in the party, the Holy Spirit. In the same way Deuteronomy 32:30 speaks of one chasing a thousand, but two putting “ten thousand to flight” with the understanding that God, who makes up the third, is with them.

So we see exponential power here. What one can’t accomplish two can, and that is especially true in ministry or in matters of spiritual warfare or in times of trials and hardship. In these, and indeed any serious situations requiring God’s hand to move, it is always best to join forces with someone else. We are not meant to labor alone. Christians are part of a body, the Body of Christ. We need each other and should not isolate ourselves. And things always seem easier when two are involved.

Unfortunately, during our most difficult hour we often pull back and withdraw. And that’s just the opposite of what we should do. Satan, who walks about like a roaring lion “seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8), likes nothing better than to see a wounded sheep isolated because he knows it will be easier to defeat him/her if separated from the flock.

So if you are experiencing hardship or a crisis or some serious problem, reach out to a trusted friend, and partner in prayer with him/her. It’s amazing how much easier the load will seem and how much power the prayers will generate for it goes without saying that God will be there. After all, He has promised that where two or more are gathered in His name there He will be in the midst of them (Matthew 18:20), making the three-strand cord mighty indeed!

Until next time,

Sylvia

In following Jesus we next find Him resting at Jacob’s well in Samaria. I commented on this story in a post over two years ago, but since it’s one of my favorite “Jesus Encounters” I can’t resist reposting it now.

So while Jesus is resting a woman comes to draw water. Immediately He begins a conversation by asking her for a drink; rather shocking with you consider that she was not only a Samaritan, a member of a mongrel race considered unclean by Jews, but also a woman, a second class citizen in a male dominated society.  Jewish men didn’t strike up conversations with strange women.

She acknowledges this prejudice by asking why He’s even talking to her.  His response is amazing on so many levels.  In essence He says, if you knew who you were talking to, you’d “ask of him and he would have given you living water.”  He goes on to explain this living water was “a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”  He was declaring that He was the source of everlasting life, and here’s the kicker, He was declaring it to a fallen Samaritan women.

A few verses down we realize just how fallen.  She’s had five husbands and the man she’s currently living with wasn’t even her husband. That’s probably why she came to the well around the 6^th hour or noon, in the heat of the day, when no one else would be there, because she was probably even an outcast among her own people. But Jesus knew all this, and revealed His knowledge to her.  And she was amazed.  And so am I because even with this prior knowledge He doesn’t say, “boy, you really blew it.  You’ve really made a mess of your life.” Rather He said, “if you’d asked, I’d have given.”

And that’s just what he says to us.  No matter how much we’ve messed up our life, no matter how low on society’s totem poll we are, no matter how insignificant we feel, no matter how “unclean” our lives have become, God loves us, and says, “if you ask I will give you eternal life.” Wow! 

Sometimes I don’t understand why God bothers with us.  We are so flawed, so weak, so much like the “dog who returns to his own vomit” yet He’s there, saying to each of us, “ask me, and I’ll give you because I love you, no matter who you are or what you’ve done.”

The end of the story is also wonderful.  Jesus uses this woman, this fallen unclean Samaritan, to go and tell her community about Him and lead others to Him, thus showing there is a place for even the lowliest in God’s kingdom and in His plan. 

Oh what a God we serve! What a loving, tender, good God! And it’s His very goodness that leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4b).

Until next week,

Sylvia

“He drives out demons through the prince of demons,” the Pharisees said regarding Jesus in Matthew 9:34 after Jesus healed a dumb man and the man spoke. It’s hard to imagine saying such a thing after seeing the wonder of Jesus’ miracles. But scoffers in Jesus’ day came in all forms, but none more odious than the “church” people, the so-called “religious” crowd. The ones who should know better.

And nothing has changed. Today, people still scoff at the miracles and ministry of Jesus, and that includes “church” people. How many times have you heard a “believer” say, miracles aren’t for today? That was only for the times of the apostles in order to build up the church. Really? Where in scripture does it say that? My Bible says Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).

So what’s the problem? Why do people scoff? Especially church people? Why must the body of Christ disagree so? And find so much to criticize? It’s because of the enemy within. The enemy that is within all of us. The enemy of Self. Just like in Jesus’ day, today many in the church allow Self to reign in their lives instead of Jesus.

When you boil everything away, there are only three kingdoms: the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Satan, and the Kingdom of Self. And we all serve one of them. Note they are listed in order of power, Self being on the bottom. Satan will never be able to defeat the Kingdom of God. In fact the only kingdom he can conquer is the Kingdom of Self that’s why it pleases him when we walk in self will. He knows it’s only a matter of time before he will conquer us and we will be serving him.

Self wants to be as God. It wants to call the shots and be elevated. It is the true enemy within. The enemy that will close itself to the Word of God thinking it knows best. The enemy that will divide a church because of pride. The enemy that will seek to exalt itself even at the expense of others. The enemy that can look at the proof of Jesus’ miracles and say it is the act of Satan or look at the very Word of God and then twist it to suit its own purpose or motive.

The enemy within is one we must all guard against. Even after coming into the saving knowledge of Jesus we are still flesh and blood and wrestle against the power of darkness as well as possess a mind that is in desperate need of being transformed by the Word of God. It is a struggle that can only be won through the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us.

Oh, that we may all be conformed into the image of Jesus Christ and love one another! Only then will we experience, in the measure that God desires for us, that other kingdom, the Kingdom of God here on earth.

Until next time,

Sylvia

Think God doesn’t care about your situation? Nothing can be further from the truth.  All through the New Testament we see the compassion of Jesus. And since Jesus said “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30) we know that God the Father is compassionate, too.

Take the story in Luke 7:11-17. Just as Jesus is heading for the gate of a town a funeral processing is coming out. The deceased is a young man, the only son of a widow. And when Jesus sees the widow, he has compassion on her. That word “compassion” in the Greek means to have sympathy to such an extent that the bowels yearn—the very deepest part of a person. This compassion wasn’t a passive thing but made Jesus stop and move in the widow’s direction. “Don’t weep,” He tells her, then raises her son from the dead showing us there is no problem too big for Him to handle.

Luke 7: 18-22 goes on to tell us about John the Baptist sending two of his disciples to Jesus to ask Him if He was the ONE. The one to come, the Messiah. And Jesus answers by pointing to His deeds, how he had cast out demons, healed the blind, lame, the lepers and the deaf and raised the dead, all signs of the Messiah which most of the Pharisees chose to ignore. Jesus was so clearly the ONE that it actually required those learned in the Scriptures to be willful ignorant of His identity. I suppose because acknowledging Him would shake them out of their comfort zone.

But was Jesus looking to have people acknowledge Him for glory? For profit? No. He was looking for people to come to Him so He could heal, deliver, set free. So He could exercise His incomparable compassion and dispense His unconditional love. And He’s still looking today and saying with a heart of compassion, “Come to me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

There is nothing too small or large that we can’t take to our compassionate Jesus.

Until next time,

Sylvia

Ever wonder why some people who profess to be Christians live like anything but? And some even wilder than the world? I have because I know some and was recently reminded by a friend about the parable of the sower. I’m glad she did because immediately a light went on, making perfect sense of the matter.

In Mark 4 Jesus teaches a crowd about a sower and how some of his seed “fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.” Then some of the other seed “fell on ground full of rocks” and since there was little soil and the seed had no roots it withered as soon as the sun came up. Still more of the seed “fell among thorns and thistles” which completely choked it out. But thank goodness, some seed actually landed on good ground.

Jesus goes on to explain what all this means. The seed is the Word of God. Sometimes it’s forcibly removed by Satan just like the birds that came and ate it. The Word that falls on stony ground has no roots and as soon as the person, who initially received it with joy, encounters trouble or persecution they immediately fall away. The seed choked out by “thorns and thistle” represents those who allow life’s cares and pressures to squeeze everything else out. The “good ground” is obviously those who care enough about the Word to cultivate it, allow it to take root, and give it a priority in their life.

But how can one cultivate good ground? Well . . . by having a teachable spirit. By understanding that Christianity is a walk of a lifetime, that there are no easy fixes, and that we will surely encounter trials and troubles.  And that it is during these trials and troubles that we most need God and need to move closer to Him and not further away. It’s a life of constant dying to self in order to make room for the growing Word. It’s understanding that we’ll never be perfect but that God loves us anyway and that only by His Sprit can we live this life. It’s also remembering those whose seed has been stolen by Satan, or who have turned away because of trouble and persecution, as well as those who are so burdened by the cares of life they have no room or time for anything else. And when we remember them we need to pray that God takes their puny soil and enriches it and cultivates it and makes it fertile much like He did for us for I truly believe all good ground is good only because it was first fertilized by the prayer of others.

Until next time.

Sylvia

Jesus was always making radical pronouncements. Here in John 3:13-15 He proclaims He has come from heaven, and not only that, but proclaims His future death. The Amplified says it best, “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert on a pole, so must the Son of Man be lifted up (on the cross).”  And then comes verse 16, the verse we all love, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”

What a pronouncement! Jesus knew His destiny, His purpose. And boldly states it here. His crucifixion was no accident. It was planned from the foundation of the world. And it was to be no small accomplishment, either. It would accomplish nothing less than the salvation of perishing mankind!

Though Jesus couldn’t be any clearer in His statements in John, His disciples just didn’t get it. Not really. Not then anyway. That came much later. In the same way, so many people still don’t get it. They don’t understand who Jesus is and why He came. They say He’s a good man, a good teacher, nothing more. But then how do they explain Jesus’ statement in John 3:17 “For God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might find salvation through Him”? No “good” man would ever declare such a thing because no man, no teacher, no matter how good can save the world. Only God Himself coming down in the flesh could accomplish that.

So why doesn’t the world love Jesus? After He gave so much? After He did so much for us? The Bible gives us that answer too. It tells us that Satan has blinded mankind. “In whom the god of this world (Satan) hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” (2 Corinthians 4:4)

So next time you witness to someone you love, bath it in prayer first, and be patient and kind because, just like we were once blinded, they are still blinded by Satan, and he  will fight tooth and nail to keep them from coming into the Truth. But the one thing Satan keeps underestimating is that the kind of love God offers is more than able to pierce the darkness Satan tries to create.

Until next time,

Sylvia

Sometimes desperation makes us do desperate things. Here’s a woman with an issue of blood in Matthew 9:18-26 who has come to the end of her rope. For twelve years she’s suffered, and, as Mark 5:26 tells us, spent all her money on doctors. So now she’s broke and tired of being sick and tired. So she does the unthinkable. She reaches out and touches the hem of Jesus’ garment. A woman with an issue of blood was considered unclean, and anyone she touched was considered unclean. How, then, did she dare touch this man –this One considered by many to be holy and a rabbi (teacher)? Why, some even claimed he was the Messiah! But desperation made her bold enough to sneak behind Jesus and lay hold of the edge of His robe, all the while saying to herself, “If I only touch His garment, I shall be restored to health.”

At once Jesus feels power draining from Him and asks, “Who touched me?” The disciples are surprised by His question since there’s a huge throng pressing and jostling Jesus as they make their way to Jairus’ house and his sick twelve year old daughter. But Jesus pressed the point. Someone had touched Him in faith causing “virtue” to go out from Him (Luke 8:46). That word “virtue” in Greek is dunamis and means force, power. It is the very basis of the word “dynamite”! So Jesus felt his dynamite power leave Him. And when He sees the woman who did this, how does He react? Well, first He puts her at ease. To this unclean woman who had no business touching Him, He says, “Take courage daughter!” Then He follows it with, “Your faith has made you well.” And immediately she was healed.

The scene ends with Jesus going to Jairus’ house where the daughter has already died. And in spite of all the jeers and laughter when Jesus tells everyone “the girl is not dead but sleeping,” He calmly enters the room and brings her back to life.

It’s interesting to note the use of the number twelve. The woman had the issue of blood twelve years, and Jairus’ daughter was twelve years old.  As I’ve said in other posts, numbers in the Bible mean something, and twelve is the number indicating God is in control. It speaks of His perfect government (12 apostles, 12 tribes of Israel, etc) and indicates here that God is Master of even sickness and death. And that these things must submit to His authority.

Overall, there are two major take-away points to be gleaned here. The first illustrates that even those who feel unworthy need not be afraid to reach out and touch Jesus. Wondrous things can happen when touching Jesus through His word, prayer and meditating on Scripture. And oh how willing Jesus is to respond! Perhaps not always in the way we want, but always in the way we need. And secondly, as Jesus raised Jairus’ dead child so He can raise our dead things, too. Our marriages, our finances, our health, our job opportunities, anything that seems irrevocably lost to us, Jesus is able to restore.

What issues do you have today? Issues that have made you sick and tired, discouraged and even desperate? Why not bring all these troubling issues to Jesus? Touch Him in faith, then watch and see what He will do. 

Until next time,

Sylvia

Here’s a contrast for you. Both Mark 3:1-6 and Luke 6:6-11 talk about how Jesus went into a synagogue on the Sabbath and saw a man with a withered hand. At once the Pharisees perk up. Maybe here was their chance to get something on Jesus! Of course Jesus knew their mind and at once tells the man with the injured hand to stand up. Then Jesus asks “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath days, or to do evil? To save life or to kill?” When no one has the courage to answer, Jesus becomes angry because of “the hardness of their hearts,” and at once commands the man, who was probably trembling at this point, to stretch out his poor withered hand. And as soon as he does, his hand is healed.  And how did the Pharisees react? They left and took counsel on how to kill Jesus.

What? Kill Jesus for healing on the Sabbath when He had already told them He was Lord of the Sabbath?  Not exactly. Then kill Jesus out of jealousy and use this perceived violation of the Sabbath as an excuse? Yes, and that’s exactly what they try to do.

Where does such jealousy come from? The answer is simple: Satan. He used these men to try to prevent Jesus from blessing the man with the withered hand. Jesus had already told these types of Pharisees in John 8:44 that they were of their “father the devil.” And these Pharisees were just acting like their “father.” The truth is, Satan doesn’t want any of us blessed by God. He doesn't want us to have what he cannot. And he'll do all in his powered to keep us from our blessings. He doesn’t want us saved or healed or delivered or prospering in any way. He would prefer to see us lost, sick, tormented and poor in mind and spirit as well as in material matters.

On the other hand, God is jealous, too.  In Exodus 20:5 God says, “Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them (graven images), nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God.”  It even carries a severe penalty because if you continue reading that same passage, it says “visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me.” But it’s also followed by a promise in verse 6, “and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.”

God is serious about our relationship with Him. And He wants that relationship to be exclusive, intimate, and deep so He can freely pour out His blessings on us, which are many; the chief among them being His loving presence and fellowship.

Make no mistake. In this life we will be touched by the first type of jealousy or the second. For my part I prefer the second.

Until next time,

Sylvia

The recent news concerning Pope Benedict’s resignation compels me to once again set aside my series on “Following Jesus.” I have written on the subject of a new Pope before, and since there are startling prophecies connected with this event, I am reposting some of that information now.

What does this prophecy say, and who said it?

A 12^th Century Archbishop, Saint Malachy, purportedly received a vision wherein he was given the description of 112 future Popes, then detailed it in a work entitled The Mysterious Prophecy of the Popes. The current Pope Benedict XVI is number 111^th, thus the very next Pope will be the 112^th.  Of this final Pope, Malachy says: “In extreme persecution, the seat of the Holy Roman Church will be occupied by Peter the Roman, who will feed the sheep through many tribulations; when they are over, the City of Seven Hills will be destroyed, and the terrible or fearsome Judge (Jesus) will judge his people.”

So, according to Saint Malachy, the next and final Pope will oversee the Catholic Church through much “persecution” and “tribulation” just prior to the return of the “fearsome Judge” or Jesus, and during which time Rome will be destroyed.

Over the years several Jesuits have worked hard to debunk Saint Malachy’s prophecy as a forgery, then along came respected Belgium professor and Jesuit, Rene Thibaut (1883-1952) who studied the prophecies to determine if they matched the previous Popes, and not only asserted they did and that Saint Malachy’s prophecies were valid, but then through elaborate computations, put the date of 2012 as the time this final Pope would enter the world stage. Obviously his calculations were a few months off.

But is it possible? Can the 112^th Pope really usher in the end times? Worse yet, can he be the False Prophet of Revelation, or at least his tool, that Thibaut and others believe him to be?

According to Father Malachi Martin, the answer is “yes”. A Jesuit and eminent Catholic theologian, Martin was a personal friend of Pope Paul VI, and a member of the Vatican Advisory Council, as well as the personal secretary to the celebrated Jesuit Cardinal Augustin Bea. He was also the Vatican researcher on the Dead Sea Scrolls and spoke seventeen languages. In other words, he was a man of importance who commanded respect at the highest levels. His startling claim is this: an Illuminate-Masonic group (Freemasons) had infiltrated the upper ranks of the Catholic Church and conspired to bring about a one world government. In his book, Windswept House, Martin talked about “prominent clerics who worship Satan” and that “networks . . . had been established between certain clerical homosexual groups and Satanist covens,” hence the world-wide cover-up of pedophile clerics by the church establishment. Martin also talked about a secret ceremony, the “enthronement of Satan,” which took place in the Vatican in 1963 in order to ensure two outcomes: 1) Satan’s control over the Vatican and Rome and 2) a demonically controlled end-time Pope. Martin died under “suspicious” circumstances in 1999 while working on another book connecting the Catholic Church with the New World Order.

If considering a Pope of Rome as being affiliated in any way with the end-time Antichrist is still unthinkable, let me assure you that Malachi Martin wasn’t the only one who believed it possible. The list is long, and includes such notables as Luther, Calvin, Thomas Cranmer, John Knox, John Wesley, Charles Spurgeon, George Whitefield, and Jonathan Edwards. To learn more, read Petrus Romanus, The Final Pope is Here, by Thomas Horn and Cris Putnam. It’s guaranteed to frizzle your hair.

But are these prophecies and warnings just foolishness? Or are these men right, and their writings dire warnings, a wake-up call, alerting us of things soon to come?

Only time will tell.

Until next week,

Sylvia