Daniel 7:13-14

I long for the night that breaks into the new day then there will be no more tears, no more dying, no more pain and suffering. Come Lord Jesus!

Son of Man is Semitic for “human being.” Daniel saw One like the “Son of Man,” indicating that He is not a man in the strict sense, but rather the perfect representation of humanity. Jewish and Christian expositors have identified this individual as the Messiah. Jesus Himself used this name to emphasize His humanity as the incarnate Son of God. Contrast to the vanishing nature of the previous empires, His dominion is … everlasting.

Daniel 7:13-14

¹³ “I was watching in the night visions, 
And behold, One like the Son of Man, 
Coming with the clouds of heaven! 
He came to the Ancient of Days, 
And they brought Him near before Him. 
¹⁴ Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, 
That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. 
His dominion is an everlasting dominion, 
Which shall not pass away, 
And His kingdom the one 
Which shall not be destroyed. 

Mark 16:9

Those who are forgiven much....love much! For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that anyone who believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. Thank you Father for loving me!

Although the women had been commissioned to tell of Jesus’ resurrection, none had actually seen Jesus until He appeared first to Mary Magdalene. Only this verse and Luke 8:2 mention Jesus’ exorcism of seven demons from Mary, which would explain her strong devotion to Him.

Mark 16:9

⁹ Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons.

Ezekiel 34:25-31

Satan does his best to enslave us....his biggest tool is complacency. If he can get us to be satisfied with just being attendees at our Churches we will never seek the relationship with God that He offers us through Jesus Christ. We need to expect more than what a Church can give and seek a deeply personal walk with our Father who loves us. God finds everyone who seeks Him!! With Him and in the unity of the Holy Spirit....you have everything you will ever need :)

The exiles were encouraged through this promise of a covenant of peace, characterized by these promises: (1) security from foreign aggressor nations (2) showers of blessing, meaning productivity and prosperity; and (3) the certainty that the Lord is Israel’s God. He desires reunion with His people and a lasting relationship built on a new covenant.

Ezekiel 34:25-31

²⁵ “I will make a covenant of peace with them, and cause wild beasts to cease from the land; and they will dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. ²⁶ I will make them and the places all around My hill a blessing; and I will cause showers to come down in their season; there shall be showers of blessing. ²⁷ Then the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase. They shall be safe in their land; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I have broken the bands of their yoke and delivered them from the hand of those who enslaved them. ²⁸ And they shall no longer be a prey for the nations, nor shall beasts of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and no one shall make them afraid. ²⁹ I will raise up for them a garden of renown, and they shall no longer be consumed with hunger in the land, nor bear the shame of the Gentiles anymore. ³⁰ Thus they shall know that I, the Lord their God, am with them, and they, the house of Israel, are My people,” says the Lord God.’ ” 
³¹ “You are My flock, the flock of My pasture; you are men, and I am your God,” says the Lord God. 

Acts 21:19-25

The Catholic Church with all its’ adherence to Church Law and the traditions handed down for centuries was founded on Peter. The Protestant Churches are branches of the Catholic Church. Under the tutelage of Paul the Gentiles carried out their faith without the restrictions of Jewish Laws......Peter’s Jewish Christians adhered to the laws of the Jews.....This sounds so similar to the Catholic Church and the Protestant Churches of today. Will we ever be one in unity? When we define Christianity isn’t it one body of people under God united through the salvation He gives in Jesus Christ and accomplished through the power of the Holy Spirit? There is a place for all of us in God’s Kingdom. 

The evidence of how God changed the lives of Gentiles was presented to the Christians in Jerusalem. The strongest evidence was the Gentile believers themselves who had accompanied Paul to Jerusalem. Reports were circulating that Paul had been urging Jews to abandon Mosaic traditions. However, Paul never derided his Jewish heritage nor demanded that Jewish Christians renounce the Law of Moses. The spiritual unity of the body of believers is realized in its diversity, not in its conformity. From our diverse backgrounds and cultures we honor the same Lord.

Acts 21:19-25

¹⁹ When he had greeted them, he told in detail those things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. ²⁰ And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord. And they said to him, “You see, brother, how many myriads of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law; ²¹ but they have been informed about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs. ²² What then? The assembly must certainly meet, for they will hear that you have come. ²³ Therefore do what we tell you: We have four men who have taken a vow. ²⁴ Take them and be purified with them, and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads, and that all may know that those things of which they were informed concerning you are nothing, but that you yourself also walk orderly and keep the law. ²⁵ But concerning the Gentiles who believe, we have written and decided that they should observe no such thing, except that they should keep themselves from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality.” 

Luke 10:25-28

As Christians who love God why is it still so hard to love others as much as we love ourselves and to honor God with everything....our talents and our income.... every thing that He has supplied. With our mouth we profess our love and devotion but with our money and time....we opt out! Our love for the Triune Godhead results in love for others....for without love it is meaningless!

The man was asking, “What must I do to share in the reward at the resurrection of the righteous at the end?” Jesus countered the lawyer’s test by having him answer his own question. 

The basis of the man’s response is an expression of allegiance and devotion that also can be seen as the natural expression of faith, since the total person, heart, soul, strength, and mind, is involved. The theme of love for God with its emphasis on devotion to Jesus. Jesus develops the theme of love for one’s neighbor.

Jesus was not saying that righteousness is the result of works. Rather He was saying that love for and obedience to God will be a natural result of placing one’s faith in the Lord. Those who believe in Jesus and follow Him will receive eternal rewards.

Luke 10:25-28

²⁵ And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 
²⁶ He said to him,  “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?” 
²⁷ So he answered and said, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’” 
²⁸ And He said to him,  “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.” 

Acts 15:6-11

There will always be those who make the traditions of men of more importance than the commands of God. We need to tell others of His loving compassion, forgiveness  and grace so that they can accept the gift of salvation that He offers to ALL people in Christ Jesus.

These are the last words of Peter in the Book of Acts. He leaves us with the eternal truth that we are saved through faith by grace alone. The emphasis in the Book of Acts now moves from Peter to Paul, from the presentation of the gospel message among the Jews to its presentation to the Gentiles.

Acts 15:6-11
⁶ Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter. ⁷ And when there had been much dispute, Peter rose up and said to them: “Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. ⁸ So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us, ⁹ and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. ¹⁰ Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? ¹¹ But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they.” 

1 Corinthians 8:1-3

Whatever knowledge we think we have must always be filtered through love.....without love as the basis it is meaningless. Scripture is never to be used as a tool for destruction but for building up the Body of Christ.

This is one of Paul’s five attacks on the arrogance of some of the church members at Corinth. These people belittled their weaker brothers and sisters with their knowledge. They had missed the point. They should have been using their knowledge to help other believers in the church.

1 Corinthians 8:1-3
Now concerning things offered to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. ² And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know. ³ But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him. 

Isaiah 11:1-2

Fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge and the truth of the Holy One of Israel brings wisdom! In Him and in the fullness of the triune Godhead is salvation.

The words Rod and Branch are messianic terms. They are figurative words for the great descendant of the household of David, the Seed of the woman promised in Gen. 3:15, Jesus Christ Himself. The Messiah would be empowered by the Holy Spirit. The first readers of the Hebrew Scriptures likely thought that the term Spirit was just another way of speaking of God with awe or wonder. In the NT, we learn that the term refers to the third Person of the Trinity. The Messiah would demonstrate in all His life the correct response to God: He would honor and obey Him. The people of God in all ages are under orders to respond to Him with reverential awe.

Isaiah 11:1-2

There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, 
And a Branch shall grow out of his roots. 
² The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, 
The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, 
The Spirit of counsel and might, 
The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. 

Matthew

Our life is in God’s hands...past, present and future...it is all to be used for His purpose and for His glory. 

Matthew targeted a specific group of people with skills that he used in his life. He was a keeper of numbers and facts as a tax collector.  By using the facts of genealogy and passages that the Jewish people held true he proved the validity of Jesus in the Scriptures. We can use these same procedures with passages from the Scriptures to allow us to reach others that are in circumstances similar to ours in our social circles. Paul became all things to all people that he may save a few. We may need to make our past more transparent and open to criticism but it may be the catalyst that someone needs to seek forgiveness, be restored and in the process be able to forgive themselves. 

Matthew, as a Jew, unashamedly shapes his account about Jesus’ life so it is understood by a Jewish audience. His goal is to convince his peers that the King of kings has come. With this in mind, he uses terms and names that Jews will resonate with. By quoting more passages from the Old Testament than any other New Testament writer, he attempts to validate that Jesus is indeed the promised Messiah. No less than 12 times Matthew presents Jesus as Israel’s Messianic King. Also unique to Matthew is the expression, “that it might be fulfilled” which was spoken by various prophets. By footnoting familiar passages the Jews accepted as God’s inspired Word, Matthew builds his case for Christ with the precision of a former tax collector. 

Luke 15:17-27

There was a time in my life that I honestly felt like the older brother...I tried so hard to be PERFECT. In truth I was always a sinner in such need of God’s forgiveness. Once I was blinded by the social norms of the world and now I see into the perfect eyes of my sinless Savior who saved a wretch like me. Only by His mercy and by His grace do I live! Precept by precept the Holy Spirit changes us into the image of His Son and His mercy is new each and every day. What God says is clean is clean...now I only need to forgive myself.

The son expected nothing and relied completely on the mercy of his father. So it is with the sinner who repents. The description of the father’s compassion in running to his son and kissing him illustrates the immediate acceptance of a sinner who turns to God. The father accepted his son’s confession but refused his request to make him a servant. Instead the returning son was made a full member of the family again. The son’s confession of sin brought full restoration. 

Luke 15:17-24

¹⁷ “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! ¹⁸ I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, ¹⁹ and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.” ’ 

²⁰ “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. ²¹ And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 

²² “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. ²³ And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; ²⁴ for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry. 

Jeremiah 43:8-11

God is always in control...always and in all ways! He is everywhere, He sees everything present and future and all power and control is His alone. Your life is ordered and in His hands. Trust Him only with your life!

Revelation 19:6-8  And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! 

This judgment oracle echoes earlier pronouncements against Judah, with Nebuchadnezzar identified as the servant of God. Severe judgment is pronounced on Egypt, including judgment on the disobedient people of Judah.

Jeremiah 43:8-11

⁸ Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying, ⁹ “Take large stones in your hand, and hide them in the sight of the men of Judah, in the clay in the brick courtyard which is at the entrance to Pharaoh’s house in Tahpanhes; ¹⁰ and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will send and bring Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and will set his throne above these stones that I have hidden. And he will spread his royal pavilion over them. ¹¹ When he comes, he shall strike the land of Egypt and deliver to death those appointed for death, and to captivity those appointed for captivity, and to the sword those appointed for the sword.

Joel 1:14

There is no hope offered to man other than to accept God’s gift of Christ Jesus.....Christ within man is the the fulfillment of God’s eternal plan! We need to cry out to Him, as a nation and individually, for His mercy and forgiveness. In our sincerity He will forgive our past and make our future bright with promise.

Joel reminds the nation’s leaders that being restored to blessing requires repentance. God will not withhold His favor and blessing from those who are truly repentant.

Joel’s prophecy had two purposes. First, Joel wrote to call the nation to repentance  on the basis of its experience of the recent locust plague. The recent disaster was but a token of a more devastating judgment to come. Yet that judgment could be averted by sincere and humble repentance. In this, Joel shares a common message with other prophets. In the light of impending judgment, there is always a message of hope for those who will return in faith to God. Second, the prophecy was intended to comfort the godly with promises of future salvation and blessing. Should the national disaster occur, Joel offered hope to the true believers that all was not over. God would keep His promise; the Savior would one day reign.

Joel 1:14

Consecrate a fast, 
Call a sacred assembly; 
Gather the elders 
And all the inhabitants of the land 
Into the house of the Lord your God, 
And cry out to the Lord. 

Acts 14:18-19

People will either put you on a pedestal or toss you out as useless if you are not what they want or expect you to be. Our self esteem and motivation must be based on doing the right thing for the right reason without undue regard to the current values of society. The heart is deceitful in all its ways but Gods’ way is the same today as it was from the beginning of time! 

The people though that Paul and Barnabas were gods when they did a miraculous healing BUT as soon as someone started rumors about them they were deemed as sinners worthy of stoning....man is easily influenced by others. 

Acts 14: 18-19

¹⁸And with these sayings they could scarcely restrain the multitudes from sacrificing to them. 

¹⁹ Then Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there; and having persuaded the multitudes, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead.

The Book of Proverbs

To read about the things in life that truly matter to God as it relates to man is the beginning of knowledge.....to actually understand and apply them to living is wisdom.

The verbs to know, to perceive, and to receive refer to the ways we acquire wisdom. Wisdom refers to skill. Instruction could also be translated discipline; it refers to the process of receiving knowledge and then applying it to daily life. A person develops discipline in life by applying words of insight.

Everyone knows the value of good advice. Listening to those who are wiser than we are gives us the benefit of their hard-won experience. Growing up, getting along with others, and holding a job all would be impossible without guidance from folks who have been there before. The Book of Proverbs gives that kind of help.

But the book is more than a collection of “tips and tricks.” It passes on a core of knowledge and experience that God says we must have if we are to live successfully. These proverbs are not merely old sayings that concern people in far-off lands, but universal principles that apply to all people of all times. They speak to modern problems as much as to ancient ones because they concern human nature and God’s ways. Human nature has not changed since Solomon’s time; neither has God’s. Only the landscape around us has changed.

Proverbs 1:1-7

The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel: 
² To know wisdom and instruction, 
To perceive the words of understanding, 
³ To receive the instruction of wisdom, 
Justice, judgment, and equity; 
⁴ To give prudence to the simple, 
To the young man knowledge and discretion— 
⁵ A wise man will hear and increase learning, 
And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel, 
⁶ To understand a proverb and an enigma, 
The words of the wise and their riddles. 
⁷ The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, 
But fools despise wisdom and instruction. 

Daniel 9:3-7

If God’s children will humble themselves, change their evil ways and ask for forgiveness He will come and heal them.  We cannot make idols of money, sex and religious traditions and then call upon Him to rescue us. There is mans’ way and then there is God’s way....choose Gods'! God established prophesy and God answers prayer.

Prayer is not a gimmick by which we charm or coerce God into giving us what we want. Prayer is a sober-minded acknowledgment of our true situation before the Lord and an admission of our need for His divine help.

This is a prayer of repentance for Israel’s past sinfulness, but it is also a prayer of confidence because God was about to overthrow the Babylonians and allow the Jews to return to their homeland to rebuild it. The 70 years of captivity were almost up, and glorious things lay ahead. Daniel confessed that Israel had departed from the Word of God, had disregarded the prophets of God, and had despised the Lord Himself.

Daniel 9:3-7

³ Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. ⁴ And I prayed to the Lord my God, and made confession, and said, “O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments, ⁵ we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments. ⁶ Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the land. ⁷ O Lord, righteousness belongs to You, but to us shame of face, as it is this day—to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those near and those far off in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of the unfaithfulness which they have committed against You. 

1 Corinthians 9:19-23

There is freedom in the Word of God made flesh. We need to care for and minister to all people that we may save some.  To everyone who believes in the salvation of the cross of Jesus Christ  it is given... but in order to accept this free gift of God they must hear the salvation message.

John 3:¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 

Paul put his ministry of the gospel above his personal desires. Paul was willing to conform to the customs of other people, whether Jew or Gentile, in order to bring them to Christ. He obeyed God’s law through obedience toward Christ. This was a broader law than the Mosaic legislation; this was the fulfillment of Christ’s will.

1 Corinthians 9:19-23

¹⁹ For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; ²⁰ and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; ²¹ to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law; ²² to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. ²³ Now this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I may be partaker of it with you. 

John 8:31-32

When we live in, dwell in, the Word of God the Holy Spirit will take the Living Word, Jesus Christ, and bring  Him to life giving us eternal life through the truth that sets men free. Jesus gave His life in exchange for ours releasing us from spiritual bondage. Study the Word of God.... it never returns void!

A believer who continues to obey the Word is a disciple, a learner. The word free refers to freedom from the bondage of sin. Obedience to the Lord means fellowship with Him, protection from sin, and experiencing His love.

John 8:31-32

³¹ Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him,  “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. ³² And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” 

Hosea 7:13-14

We, as individuals and as the Body Of Christ, need to flee from the standards of this world and seek refuge in the commands of Christ. We need to speak of His great love for His creation and the necessity of keeping within the parameters that God set for us. Only with the salvation that He offers in Christ Jesus and in the transforming of our minds by the Holy Spirit is there hope. The Holy Spirit takes the things of God and brings them to life transforming those who seek to know the truth. Our God is a jealous Father who will not tolerate mans’ idol worship.

Like a bird that flies away when frightened, Israel fled from the Lord and His standards, despite His willingness to help the people.

God sent a drought that took away Israel’s grain and new wine. Yet instead of turning to Him in repentance, the idolatrous Israelites demonstrated their devotion to Baal. According to Canaanite religious beliefs, prolonged drought was a signal that the storm god Baal had been temporarily defeated by the god of death and was imprisoned in the underworld. Baal’s worshipers would mourn his death in hopes that their tears might facilitate his resurrection and the restoration of crops.

Hosea 7:13-14

¹³ “Woe to them, for they have fled from Me! 
Destruction to them, 
Because they have transgressed against Me! 
Though I redeemed them, 
Yet they have spoken lies against Me. 
¹⁴ They did not cry out to Me with their heart 
When they wailed upon their beds. 

Mark 6:56

Jesus is in the miracle working business.....in the measure that you believe in Him you can receive from Him! Place your fears at His feet and watch Him transform them for His glory.

Mark 6:56

 ⁵⁶ Wherever He entered, into villages, cities, or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged Him that they might just touch the hem of His garment. And as many as touched Him were made well. 

The Gospel According to Matthew

We are not a part of this worldly kingdom our hope rest squarely on the shoulders of God’s King, Jesus Christ. We are not to be conformed to the standards of this world nor get overly concerned about the cares that it brings because this is not our home. Worldly conflicts will come and they will go until the time of the end arrives then ......Jesus the Christ will reign!

The Gospel According to Matthew

Succession to a throne is often a time of conflict and uncertainty. David’s son Absalom tried to usurp the throne. Solomon’s choice of successor lost more than half the kingdom to a traitor. Menahem assassinated his predecessor in Israel. Royalty is a dangerous business.

This is no less true when the heir is the King of kings. If ever there was a high-stakes succession, this was it. A Man claims to be Israel’s own Messiah; of course all Israel sits up and takes notice. Of course He must prove His credentials: Who wants an impostor? The Book of Matthew presents Jesus’ credentials. It presents Jesus as the King, but King of a totally different kingdom—the kingdom of heaven.