We KNOW life isnt supposed to run non-stop, but many of us feel out of the loop if it doesnt. Or maybe they have broken relationships that they want God to mend. There are things that we cannot rush through in life. The man would get This is oft repeated, but without any obvious source. If the shepherds knew of this home in particular (as had been suggested), it would likely have been because Josephs family was involved in the network of places used to birth lambs for the Temple, though this is mere conjecture. The exception: flocks kept for the Temple-services. At its root, our problem is willingly walking separate from God. In short, they seem to be great at religion and lousy at faith. C.S. Revenge Promises of blessing were woven into the lives of people who followed His teaching (Mt. It only means they want the lotto ticket without in the story of Jesus. The of Galilee and they were stunned, excited and full! See if you can pick out what the account tells you about Jesus that will change you. In an effort to be more efficient and more productive, we may have lost something in the quality of daily life. His allegiance was to Jesus and His Word alone. These were people that wanted to please God by collecting the rain water in the required stone vessels, so that every impurity of life could be symbolically washed away. Those who may be weakest physically may be a special gift from God to all of us. Yet things arent as they seem. perspective. John was interested in his readers. Think about it: There are plenty in our world who have enough to eat, arent struggling with the effects of war, plenty who have food on the table and a roof over their heads. The big idea of the text is this. He couldnt see his child. washed, and I received sight. 12 They said to him, Where is He? He said, I Jesus wants to go deep inside of you, and change who you are. The final set of teachings show our confidence must be in Gods power, not ours. He said: Save for your Heaven account, not just retirement (6:19-24). You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord. At the same time, Jesus DOES understand how manipulative people can be. The instruction was clearly to respect, fear and honor civil authority based on their placement by God. I dont need the distraction, but I am not going to tell him he cant because it will harm him unless I am willing to cut all the sugar out of my diet. Though he was not yet acting out, there were ample illustrations of inequitable rulers readily available at the time. When she showed up at church and saw a Christmas tree, she protested. The people at the time of Jeremiah reasoned that they could carry burdens and make deliveries on the Sabbath as long as they werent actually working. The It is the symbol of the city and is considered to be one of the most important Protestant churches in Germany, along with the Dresden Frauenkirche and the St. Michael's Church, Hamburg . In the first two lessons of this series on what Jesus DID, we have observed these principles: In the third lesson of the seven works in Johns Gospel, the writer selected a tender moment between Jesus and a hurting and lonely lame man. Dont stumble over it! I was responding to what I saw, but not what was truly there. Some people are so molded by peer pressure; no evidence really matters much to the view they hold. That is another form of deep rebellion and arrogance. We see in the story that Jesus wasnt so other worldly that He wouldnt celebrate a wedding with two people starting a new family. Dont miss that. John you ever feel like your life was like a game in which you were more a Pawn than a Rook or a King? amount of truth I do not understand and my often ignored inner desire to Believe my Father sent Me (trust the source of my message as from the very Creator). 7 Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax [is due]; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor. Most of them were word for word lifted out of the Hebrew Scripture (though not all). A They just didnt see it Does this sound like things have changed all that much? the man for a judgment on Jesus. Each of these exalts OUR NEEDS over others. He included three truths about the man Jesus encountered: The man was sick for a long time (5:5). By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to the use of that data. While we should be open about why we concluded from the Word that participation is wrong for our family, we must also teach our children the principles of GRACE. Yet, our works will still be evaluated as Jesus gazes at what we bring Him as the prized accomplishments of this life. Here are a couple questions: How do we disciple people if we cant take deduction and application of passages of Scripture to help them know right from wrong? We had a camper, some tents and a large screen room (our Smith dining hall) where we would camp out for a couple months at a time. The phrase no room in the inn gave rise to the idea the couple was stuck in an animal stable as a last resort to give birth , but that is a merely implied in the English reading. The ExpectedChoicesof a True Disciple (7:13-29). didnt object to carrying out the law against adultery; the Bible claims He was In fact, the Mishnaic memory recalls: An animal that was found between Jerusalem and Migdal Eder, or a similar distance in any direction, the males are [considered] burnt offerings. She wrote (p.279): In the fall of 1978, Michael Dertouzos, director of the Laboratory for Computer Science, held a two-day retreat at MITs Endicott House on the future of personal computers, at the time widely called home computers. It was clear that everyday people would soon be able to have their own computersBut what could people DO with them? Obituary. Jesus came. Then he kept the glass brightly polished, and carefully hung it at the approach of dusk. It is as though we have become the killer appWe dont do our emails; our email does US. We are about to wake up to reality. Do you want to have no fear of authority? We OWE it to people to love them. Sources of that period echo each other. No Way Out is part of the Life Application Teaching series form Dr. Randall Smith's sermons recorded in his church in Sebring Florida. That is called parenting. We are going to follow the evidence that has been combed over for centuries, and listen to the words of those who saw Jesus in action, and judged His character and personal claims by His deeds. The probatic pools were beside a well-established sheep market, and for a time the area was apparently dominated by a pagan Greek shrine from which the healings were reported in a superstitious way. I honestly dont know why. God resists the proud, but gives undeserved help to the humble. They reason that when a woman was ritually unclean (as in childbirth), she had to live apart from her family so as not to defile the household. could see the truth about who cared for him and who cared for their reputation. He will walk us through Heavens gates. As I close, I want to echo the words offered by Billy Graham a few years ago, before he entered the presence of the Savior on February 21, 2018: There is no doubt that our generation suffers from moral uncertainty. He holds a degree in Church Leadership from Southeastern University. Where and how do we find truth? that amazed the people around the man born blind. 715-765), Byzantine iconodule martyr Stephen I of Hungary (c. 965-1038), canonized in 1083 Stephen of Obazine (1085-1154), Cistercian, first Abbot . We believe that behind the scenes are two competing agendas that of a loving God and another of a deceiving enemy. He was removing an obstacle in order to make the path safe, and then heading to the temple to worship and be declared clean! So she begged and bargained. They seem excellent sources for early thinking about the Gospel and sharing it, but not great sources for detailed historical analysis of the original events. Take a moment to grab a truth. Ultimately, dont do what will cause another to fall into sin. As you may recall, the letter was designed to answer five big questions: What happened to mankind? He was going to heal the boy, but the key to the story is what happened NEXT. We made clear before that all the things in the passage regard subjective thinking: personal judgments. If you are reading today for scintillating information (something new you hadnt heard before) you are willing to settle far too low for what Jesus can bring you. 10 Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. -03-2022, 0 Comments to people after they leave this work in us. In the story of the water into wine at Cana (found in John 2), we saw that Jesus transforms what is yielded to Him for His use. Raising up the dead body of His friend Lazarus at Bethany in Judea (John 11:1-45). So I need to ask you. 7:5 For there is no king that had any other beginning of birth. (There are definite advantages to being the Author of the 7 For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; 8 for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lords. He isnt talking badly about our physical bodies (nor our God-given nees like food, etc.) Randall Hall Smith, age 78 of Five Points, AL, passed away on August 17, 2020, at WellStar WGMC, after a brief illness. Others religious leaders were busy studying that same Word, but because of the spirit of religion, they were transfixed with controlling people not throwing them a life-line. Resisting authority and violating law, even in an imperfect and fallen world, should make us afraid. The Greek term for inn (Luke 2:7) is kataluma, normally translated guest chamber and used also in Luke 22:11. When Benjamin Franklin wished to interest the people of Philadelphia in street lighting, he didnt try to persuade them by talking about itinstead, he hung a beautiful lantern on a long bracket before his own door. "Matt is a real find. They arent a problem; they are a blessing. . I have repeated to youwhat Isaiah foretold about the sign which foreshadowed the Cave. What generally builds muscle really hurts in the process. In our modern American lifestyle, we often act as though life should be easy. 23 For this reason his parents said, He is the feast, Jesus was in the temple courts and the leaders thought of a way The baby was wrapped in cloths most commonly associated with the wrapping of the dead and an apparent protective binding of the Temple lambs commonly born in that area. is the story of a man who felt himself to be a pawn in life a man with few Contact. Physical healing is the peak of Gods work it isnt even close The attraction of the sensational and the scandalous governs media coverage in our age and any scholar who claims things about Jesus Christ that ordinary Christians would find disturbing is enticing to a cynical media looking for a story even if the views promoted lack any credibility with the vast majority of experts in the field. Did you notice the seventh hour in verse 52 was the hour that Jesus healed the boy according to verse 53? The man knew what caused the problem we dont need to know. They heard You shall not commit murder but Jesus argued that His original intent was not to limit the scope of harm to a knife or a club, but to include murder by mouth and other kinds of wounds to the heart. ISRAEL: May 4-15, 2024 "Life and Land of Jesus"with Martinsburg, (PA) GBC (Program #240501, Taught by Dr. Randall Smith). Skip down a few verses and you will note a second test case issue. 11 czerwca 2022 . John 2:4 And Jesus said to her, Woman, what does that have to do with us? Obviously, Jesus provided enough for all that they needed to celebrate, and what they needed to start their own label for the next year! I was responding to what I saw, but not what was truly there. niagarainfo.com/historic.htm). made them look bad (see John 7:32), Jesus seemed to disappear into the crowd for the week of the feast, re-emerging to In short, Jesus accepted US so we can learn to accept EACH OTHER. Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died. 9:35 Jesus That isnt their job. point about His own sending, His own mission from the Father. Will you choose to follow a world that is killing the fruit that was so abundant when we took His Word more seriously? and said, We know that this is our son, Anyone who knows me well, knows I HATE cell phones, because I prize uninterrupted conversation, and undisrupted time thinking. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, but on the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses; for whoever eats anything leavened from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. At the same time, the computer (or shall I say cell phone which seems to be everything BUT an actual phone) has replaced much social conversation. the heat. Dr. Randall Smith shows from Zechariah 11 that the God of the Bible is a loving God for sure. In the verses of John 4:46-54, the writer revealed a second miracle performed by Jesus. Evidence in the narrative for this may exist in the idea of how directly the shepherds found the baby (as though they knew the place the angels indicated). Devon along with his wife Caroline are the directors of the program, overseeing day to day life, discipleship and supervising the whole GCBI experience. Behind these questions there is the desire to see God prove himself by taking these evil things away so that we will all believe in him and live happily ever after. His neighbors in John 9:8-9 The separation anxiety many believers feel is from God. Funny as Enmities: echthros; someone who harbors irreconcilable hostility, with actions prompted by envy or hatred. (Sermon Central Illustrations). Romans 14:10 But you, why do you judge your brother? It is also notable the Protoevangelium of Jacob similarly suggests the birth of Jesus was outside the village in a cave. Instruction Four: It isnt our job to become life fruit inspectors of one another, but rather we must learn to focus on the gaze of Jesus on our practices and behaviors.