Psalm 34:11-15

There will be good days, bad days and some downright evil days but the LORD GOD has the ultimate say in them all. Praise be to Him who holds life, death and everything in between in His hands. I will not fear for He is always near to those who seek Him. Honor GOD, stay immersed in HIS WORD and do good. 

True wisdom comes from above…Shalom!

David took on the role of a wisdom teacher addressing the young people who are in his charge. NKJ Bible.

Psalm 34:11–14 (NKJV)

¹¹ Come, you children, listen to me;

I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

¹² Who is the man who desires life,

And loves many days, that he may see good?

¹³ Keep your tongue from evil,

And your lips from speaking deceit.

¹⁴ Depart from evil and do good;

Seek peace and pursue it.

Psalm 37:27 (NKJV)

²⁷ Depart from evil, and do good;

And dwell forevermore.

Isaiah 1:17 (NKJV)

¹⁷ Learn to do good;

Seek justice,

Rebuke the oppressor;

Defend the fatherless,

Plead for the widow.

Matthew 16:18-19

You are Peter and on this rock I will build My Church. The Body of Christ forms the Church of Jesus Christ. It was headed by Peter, a Jewish believer in the Messiah, and was originally the Apostolic Catholic Church. It was too small a thing for it to remain only for a select few. 

God is faithful to all who by faith believe in the salvation provided by Jesus Christ. 

Perhaps a most pivotal passage of the Bible which divides Roman Catholic Christians from Protestant and Pentecostal Christians is the scripture where Christ singles out Peter from the rest of the Apostles for special consideration and authority. The Catholic Church teaches that the first principle of hermeneutics, the science of the translation and interpretation of the Bible, is the literal meaning of the text.

The definition of the literal sense: The sense which the human author directly intended and which his words convey.

The question to be asked in seeking to grasp the literal meaning of Matthew in conveying what Christ had in his mind in these words to Peter is what was understood by Peter and the other apostles and what was handed on (paradosis) by the Apostolic Church and the constant faith and practice of the Church regarding the meaning of these words of Christ.

Tertullian (Rome, 160 - 220 AD), On Monogamy, Chapter 8

Peter alone do I find ... to have been married. Monogamist I am led to presume him by consideration of the church, which, built upon him, was destined to appoint every grade of her Order from monogamists.

Clement (Alexandria, 150 - 215 AD), Who Is the Rich Man That Shall Be Saved?, Chapter 21

Therefore, on hearing those words, the blessed Peter, the chosen, the pre-eminent, the first of the disciples, for whom alone and Himself the Savior paid tribute, quickly seized and comprehended the saying. And what does he say? "Lo, we have left all and followed Thee.”

Cyprian (Carthage, 200 - 258 AD), On the Unity of the Catholic Church, Chapter 4

Upon him (Peter), being one, He (Christ) built His Church and although after His resurrection He bestows equal power upon all the Apostles, and says: "As the Father has sent me, I also send you. Receive the Holy Spirit: if you forgive the sins of anyone, they will be forgiven him; if you retain the sins of anyone, they will be retained" (Jn 20:21), that He might display unity, He established by His authority the origin of the same unity as beginning from one.

Cyril (Jerusalem, 315 - 387 AD), Catecheses, No. 2:19

Peter, the chiefest and foremost of the Apostles, denied the Lord thrice before a little maid: but he repented himself, and wept bitterly.

Augustine (Numidia, now Algeria, 354 - 430 AD), Letters, No 53

For, if the order of succession of Bishops is to be considered, how much more surely, truly and safely do we number them from Peter, to whom, as representing the whole Church, the Lord said: "Upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it”

 .www.catholicapologetics.org

you are Peter… There is a wordplay here, as the name Peter is associated with the word for “rock” in both Greek and Aramaic (the language spoken by Jesus and the disciples). Interpretation of Jesus’ meaning hinges on how the wordplay is understood.

Simon Peter

on this rock This may refer to Jesus, Peter as a leader, Peter as a representative of the leadership of the church, or the Church in general. Faithlife Bible.

The keys of the kingdom may refer to Peter’s opening the kingdom to various groups of people (Jews in Acts 2; 3; Samaritans in Acts 8:14–17; Gentiles in Acts 10). The keys would open doors to lost people. However, this term may have further significance. The keys seem to be explained by the binding and loosing discussed in the last part of the verse. In rabbinical literature, binding and loosing refers to what was permitted or not permitted. So this passage may refer to judgments that Peter would make about what would be permitted or forbidden in the church, the body of believers. NKJ Bible.

Matthew 16:18–19 (NKJV)

¹⁸ And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. ¹⁹ And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

Ephesians 2:20 (NKJV)

²⁰ having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone,

1 Corinthians 2:1-5

Christ alone the hope of glory.

He is the only sacrifice for our sins and the only key to the KINGDOM OF GOD. To Him all judgement has been given. Preach the Good News of the salvation of JESUS CHRIST…His birth, death and resurrection… the HOLY SPIRIT will do the rest!

For Paul, Jesus’ death is central to the gospel message; He bore the sins of humanity through His death. Because the Corinthians seemed to have considered crucifixion to be foolishness, Paul emphasizes the humility of Jesus’ death on the cross. This sets up Paul to describe the humble nature of his ministry. Paul declares his manner to be another example of the paradoxical nature of God’s strength in weakness.

Paul describes the nature of his ministry to the Corinthians. He reminds them that when he came to Corinth he preached “foolishness”—that is, the message of Christ crucified—rather than relying on persuasive speech or worldly wisdom. Faithlife Bible.

Whereas the Corinthians gloried in their strength, their wealth, and their gifts, Christ was glorified in His humility and death. Paul wanted to model Christ’s humility by presenting his “weaknesses.” Then the “strength” of the gospel message could be clearly seen. NKJ Bible.

1 Corinthians 2:1–5 (NKJV)

2 And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. ² For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. ³ I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. ⁴ And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, ⁵ that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

Romans 1:16 (NKJV)

¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.

John 6:53-54

There is literally life, full and eternal, when we share the Eucharist in remembrance of Him until He comes again in glory. 

We will never fully understand the significance of sharing His body and His blood in the unity of the Holy Spirit until we sit down at the supper of the Lamb. There is power in the blood of the lamb!

The first time, Jesus was the Passover Lamb of God (John 1:29), offered up so that His blood would protect those who applied it to their lives. The Jews were very familiar with eating the Passover lamb. By shocking them with this graphic language and applying it to Himself, those who were true seekers for eternal life would be jarred into realizing that their main need was not for a Messiah to give them literal bread, but for one to give them the bread of eternal life. They needed Jesus as their Passover Lamb.

As Jesus says (John 12:24), “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” To make bread, the grain of wheat had to die. Then, the fruit of the grain had to be plucked, crushed, and made into flour before it was baked into bread. Even so, Jesus had to die in order to be the bread that gives eternal life to those who eat it in faith. Pink suggests that “eating” looks back to Adam and Eve. Their eating the forbidden fruit plunged the human race into sin and judgment. Now, eating Christ, the “tree of life,” liberates us from the curse that came on us with Adam’s fall.

(Heb. 9:22), “Without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness." To be the complete and final sacrifice for our sin, Jesus’ blood had to be shed. If Jesus is just your moral example, but not your sacrificial Lamb, then He is not your Savior from sin. Excerpts from Bible.org

J. C. Ryle(ibid., 3:404),

It is as though our Lord said: “Just as the Father sent Me into the world to be born of a woman and take the manhood into God—and even though I am among you as man, I live in the closest union and communion with God—even so the man that by faith feeds his soul on my sacrifice for sin shall live in the closest union and communion with Me.” In a word, the union between Christ and the true Christian is as real and true and close and inseparable as the union between God the Father and God the Son.

John 6:53–54 (NKJV)

⁵³ Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. ⁵⁴ Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.

Matthew 26:26 (NKJV)

²⁶ And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”

Matthew 26:27 (NKJV)

²⁷ Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you.

Matthew 26:28 (NKJV)

²⁸ For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

Mark 14:23 (NKJV)

²³ Then He took the cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, and they all drank from it.

John 3:14-16

Just as the father of the prodigal son rejoiced in his return home, GOD the FATHER rejoices when even one of His children returns through His Son, JESUS CHRIST. Fear not for CHRIST, through he power of the HOLY SPIRIT, has overcome the world!

Oh what love is this that the triune God would give His only begotten Son to die for His fallen creation.

born again (Gk. gennaō anōthen) (3:3, 7) Strong’s #1080; 509: The Greek word anōthen translated here as again could also be rendered “from above.” The birth that Jesus spoke of was either a new birth or a heavenly birth—or both. It seems that Jesus was speaking of a heavenly birth because He later used the analogy of the wind, coming from some unknown, heavenly source, to depict the spiritual birth. But Nicodemus clearly understood Jesus to be speaking of a second birth—being born again. Jesus explains this new or heavenly birth in 3:6–8, contrasting being born of the flesh with being born of the Spirit.

God loved the world…this verse presents a concise summary of the gospel message, tying the events of Jesus’ death to God’s love for the world He created. The statement is remarkable in its depiction of divine care for the entire world—not just His chosen people, Israel. Faithlife Bible.

God’s love is not restricted to any one nation or to any spiritual elite. World here may also include all of creation. NKJ Bible.

John 3:14–16 (NKJV)

¹⁴ And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 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.

Numbers 21:9 (NKJV)

⁹ So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.

Isaiah 9:6 (NKJV)

⁶ For unto us a Child is born,

Unto us a Son is given;

And the government will be upon His shoulder.

And His name will be called

Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.,

Mark 3:6

There is right and there is wrong but compassion and grace lie between them. We would like the world to be black or white, it makes life simple and uncomplicated, but the truth is it is made up of shades of gray. If we look closely at the Bible it shows us that God in His infinite wisdom knew this and saved us anyway. I love Him. 

The letter of the Law kills but Jesus gives it life.

The Herodians were a political party who generally supported Herod Antipas’ regime. NKJ Bible.

The Pharisees were religious experts who should have led the people in righteousness. Instead, they plotted Jesus’ death with the Herodians, their bitter enemies. They were willing to set aside differences to destroy a common foe. The Herodians were Jews who supported Rome and the Herods in particular. Herod Antipas, a son of Herod the Great, ruled Galilee during the same time that Pilate served as Roman governor over Judea and Samaria. The NKJ Bible.

Mark 3:6 (NKJV)

⁶ Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.

Acts 22:1-3

We can become somewhat of a religious snob when we equate our religious affiliation with the only true faith.  I was born into and raised in Catholicism. It took a long time for God to break me of the pride associated with it. I find myself still defending it to those who have no idea of the strength that comes through faith filled Catholic families.Christ in us is  the hope of glory.

We should respect the religion that brought us to the feet of the savior with open eyes to all christ based denominations…he wants none to perish and all of us to come to the throne of grace.

Whoever stands on the solid rock of Jesus Christ, in faith believing in His power to save what we cannot, is saved… Mind, Body and Spirit.

Paul proudly proclaims he is a Jew. This emphasizes to the audience that the allegations against him are false. Faithlife Bible.

When the people heard him speaking to them in their own language they were reminded that Paul was not a Gentile but a Jew like themselves. Therefore, they listened to what he had to say. Paul explained to the crowd that he understood why they were beating him and wanted him dead. They were zealous for God. Paul was not blaming them for what they had done to him. He pointed out that in his former zeal he would have done the same thing. Paul showed compassion even to his attackers; we should model that same type of compassion for all people who have not yet placed their faith in Jesus. NKJ Bible.

Acts 22:1–3 (NKJV)

22 “Brethren and fathers, hear my defense before you now.” ² And when they heard that he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, they kept all the more silent.

Then he said: ³ “I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the strictness of our fathers’ law, and was zealous toward God as you all are today.

Romans 10:2 (NKJV)

² For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.

Isaiah 5:20

The downfall of the righteous will be their inability to discern evil and good. The extreme right is most likely not right at all!  

Jesus alone is the light of the world..not the accumulation of  money, power and control.

Isaiah 5:20

Woe to those who call evil, good and good, evil;

Who put darkness for light and light for darkness;

Who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.

ACTS 22:17-22

In the end times we will be persecuted for standing up for Godly values. It will be hard to judge good from evil unless we base everything on the WORD OF GOD. We need to read the New Testament and take it literally to heart. Keep in mind that it was God’s chosen people, the religious right, who condemned Paul for speaking the truth. 

Pray for discernment! 

In speaking to a hostile Jewish audience, Paul uses old testament imagery as he seeks to show that his message is not an abandonment of his Jewish heritage. He explains his message via his own encounter with Jesus. Faithlife Bible.

The Jews did not hate all Gentiles. In fact, they permitted God-fearing Gentiles to worship in the Court of the Gentiles. A Gentile could even become a proselyte, recognized as a Jew, by being circumcised and obeying the laws of Moses. Thus the Jews in this passage were not upset about allowing Gentiles to worship God, but at the idea that Gentiles could be on an equal footing with them before God without being proselytes. The fact that the Gentiles could come to God directly by faith in Jesus Christ was offensive to them. NKJ Bible.

Acts 22:17–22 (NKJV)

¹⁷ “Now it happened, when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I was in a trance ¹⁸ and saw Him saying to me, ‘Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, for they will not receive your testimony concerning Me.’ ¹⁹ So I said, ‘Lord, they know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believe on You. ²⁰ And when the blood of Your martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by consenting to his death, and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.’ ²¹ Then He said to me, ‘Depart, for I will send you far from here to the Gentiles.’ ”

²² And they listened to him until this word, and then they raised their voices and said, “Away with such a fellow from the earth, for he is not fit to live!”

Matthew 10:17 (NKJV)

¹⁷ But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues.

Luke 11:48 (NKJV)

⁴⁸ In fact, you bear witness that you approve the deeds of your fathers; for they indeed killed them, and you build their tombs.

Matthew 27:41-43

Being faithful in the trials and tribulations in this life is what matters to the Father. 

GOD will work them out for our good and for the testimony we will  have after they pass. Look at Job…faithful to the very end through the loss of everything. Job knew that GOD would restore all that Satan was allowed to steal, kill and destroy in his life, if not in this life, in eternity.

 JESUS willingly gave His life for ours. He had no need to prove His deity. He only wanted to please the FATHER by fulfilling His plan for salvation.

The religious leaders assume that God would not let His Son be executed. Faithlife Bible.

Jesus would not come down from the Cross because He was the Son of God and the King of Israel. He was obediently following God’s plan for Him; His obedience would lead to His exaltation as King over all. NKJ Bible.

Matthew 27:41–43 (NKJV)

⁴¹ Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, ⁴² “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. ⁴³ He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ”

Matthew 18:11 (NKJV)

¹¹ For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.

John 3:14 (NKJV)

¹⁴ And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,

John 3:15 (NKJV)

¹⁵ that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.

Ezekiel 35:10-13

God sees the whole of a situation. You and I do not. But one thing we can depend upon His will will be done in heaven and on earth. Pray for discernment.

The people of Edom wanted to take possession of what they saw as abandoned land. Yahweh condemns their claim and affirms that Israel has not been abandoned. Faithlife Bible.

Ezekiel 35:10–13 (NKJV)

¹⁰ “Because you have said, ‘These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will possess them,’ although the Lord was there, ¹¹ therefore, as I live,” says the Lord God, “I will do according to your anger and according to the envy which you showed in your hatred against them; and I will make Myself known among them when I judge you. ¹² Then you shall know that I am the Lord. I have heard all your blasphemies which you have spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, ‘They are desolate; they are given to us to consume.’ ¹³ Thus with your mouth you have boasted against Me and multiplied your words against Me; I have heard them.”

1 Samuel 2:3 (NKJV)

³ “Talk no more so very proudly;

Let no arrogance come from your mouth,

For the Lord is the God of knowledge;

And by Him actions are weighed.

Psalm 9:16 (NKJV)

¹⁶ The Lord is known by the judgment He executes;

The wicked is snared in the work of his own hands.

Meditation. Selah

Luke 15:28-32

Much has been written about the prodigal son and the grace and forgiveness shown him by his father but very little about the reaction of the elder son. Sometimes it may seem that the perfectionist tendencies of the firstborn child are overlooked. We need to please! But if we look deeper into this parable pride is the very thing that stops us from maturing into a compassionate and forgiving adult. The father reminds his son that there is a reward for striving to do good but in the end it is much more important to show mercy to all those who come to their senses and return to the GOD of their youth. 

In Christ what was lost is found and what was dead and without hope has been given a new beginning and everlasting life with His Creator.

Instead of rejoicing that his lost brother was found, the older brother responds with resentment. This attitude reflects the scribes (teachers of the law) and Pharisees’ complaint about Jesus’ fellowship with sinners. Faithlife Bible.

The father responded to his disgruntled older son by explaining that just because someone receives a blessing, that does not mean there is no blessing for others. The father also implied that the older son always had the opportunity to celebrate with a fattened calf, since the animals were his. NKJ Bible.

Luke 15:28–32 (NKJV)

²⁸ “But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. ²⁹ So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. ³⁰ But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’

³¹ “And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. ³² It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’ ”

Matthew 4:12-17

The Kingdom of heaven planted itself on this earth when Jesus began His ministry.

Following His temptation in the wilderness, Jesus returns to the region of Galilee and begins His ministry. This is approximately ad 28. Luke estimates that Jesus was around 30 when He began His public ministry.

The age for priestly jobs: Num 4:2 Take the sum of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, after their families, by the house of their fathers, Num 4:3 From thirty years old and upward even until fifty years old, all that enter into the host, to do the work in the tabernacle of the congregation. See also Num 4:23 , Num 4:30, Num 4:35, Num 4:39. 

This is the reason Jesus waited till he was 30. (Luke 3:23) to enter public life.

These tribes were allotted territory in what became known as Galilee, but the Jewish population was largely displaced during the Persian period (ca. 550–330 bc). The inhabitants of Jesus’ day were mostly Gentiles (non-Jewish people) or descendants of Jews who had resettled in the region.

The Greek word used here, kēryssō, connotes a different sort of proclamation than the modern verb “preach” expresses. It often was used to describe official pronouncements of sovereigns, such as declarations of state visits or changes in taxation. Faithlife Bible.

The phrase from that time Jesus began occurs twice in the Book of Matthew (16:21). Each reference marks a crucial direction in the book. This one looks to the beginning of His earthly ministry, while 16:21 anticipates His crucifixion and resurrection. Jesus’ exhortation was identical to that of John the Baptist (3:2). NKJ Bible.

Matthew 4:12–17 (NKJV)

¹² Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee. ¹³ And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, ¹⁴ that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:

¹⁵ “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,

By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,

Galilee of the Gentiles:

¹⁶ The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light,

And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death

Light has dawned.”

¹⁷ From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Mark 1:15 (NKJV)

¹⁵ and saying,  “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

Isaiah 9:1 (NKJV

9 Nevertheless the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed,

As when at first He lightly esteemed

The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,

And afterward more heavily oppressed her,

By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,

In Galilee of the Gentiles.

Isaiah 9:2 (NKJV)

² The people who walked in darkness

Have seen a great light;

Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death,

Upon them a light has shined.