1 Corinthians 3:5-11

My eyes were opened as a child at St. Mary’s of Assumption. The priest and nuns there planted the seeds of my faith. My grandmother, by her example, showed me the way to the Father. The Holy Spirit watered the seeds and I believed! He was, is, and will always be my dear spiritual guide who has taught me that love conquers all! 

It is not about the messenger…it is about the message.

He gave me a beautiful analogy of the Master Builder and the choices that are ours to make and the choices that were His alone to make for us. He never gives up on us…even when we are the prodigal sons and daughters that wander far from Him. He never leaves us nor forsakes us but follows us all the days of our lives. Faith pleases God!!!

This life is not all about us…it is about Jesus, and the sacrifice that He made to allow us to come home to the Father.

The Corinthian believers heard and received the gospel message from both Paul and Apollos. Presents a unified picture of the church community. Faithlife Bible.

Paul had planted, or started, the church in Corinth; Apollos had watered it and had a significant ministry there after Paul left. But both men were only servants through whom God worked. The ones who plant and water have nothing to boast about because God gives the increase: Only God draws unbelievers to Himself. It is our responsibility to do our job no matter what the results, for God will reward us for our efforts and the quality of our work. NKJ Bible.

1 Corinthians 3:5–11 (NKJV)

⁵ Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? ⁶ I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. ⁷ So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. ⁸ Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.

⁹ For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building. ¹⁰ According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. ¹¹ For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Isaiah 28:16 (NKJV)

¹⁶ Therefore thus says the Lord God:

“Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation,

A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation;

Whoever believes will not act hastily.

1 Corinthians 4:15 (NKJV)

¹⁵ For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.

Jonah 3:5-10

Just believe and trust in God’s power that through the Christ He has overcome this world. In His love made manifest, Jesus, came with shouts of peace to people of goodwill!

There is hope for any nation that will confess their sins, repent and CHANGE!

Exhibited trust or faith in God, as evidenced by a change in behavior. Faithlife Bible.

The term used for God here is the general term for deity. The fact that the writer does not use the personal name for God here may suggest that the Ninevites had a short-lived or imperfect understanding of God’s message. History bears this out: We have no historical record of a lasting period of belief in Nineveh. Eventually the city was destroyed, in 612 b.c. NKJ BIble.

Scripture frequently presents the Lord as repenting (or, changing his mind) of the evil that he threatens.  (Genesis 6:6-9. Jeremiah 18:8.) Catholic Bible.

Jonah 3:5-10 Catholic Bible

5 the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast and all of them, great and small,^* put on sackcloth.^a

6 When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.

7 Then he had this proclaimed throughout Nineveh:^* “By decree of the king and his nobles, no man or beast, no cattle or sheep, shall taste anything; they shall not eat, nor shall they drink water.

8 Man and beast alike must be covered with sackcloth and call loudly to God; they all must turn from their evil way and from the violence of their hands.

9 Who knows? God may again repent and turn from his blazing wrath, so that we will not perish.”^b

10 When God saw by their actions how they turned from their evil way, he repented of the evil he had threatened to do to them; he did not carry it out.

Jonah 3:5–10 (NKJV) The People of Nineveh Believe

⁵ So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. ⁶ Then word came to the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes. ⁷ And he caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying,

Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; do not let them eat, or drink water. ⁸ But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. ⁹ Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish?

¹⁰ Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.

Joel 2:14 (NKJV)

¹⁴ Who knows if He will turn and relent,

And leave a blessing behind Him—

A grain offering and a drink offering

For the Lord your God?

Isaiah 59:6 (NKJV)

⁶ Their webs will not become garments,

Nor will they cover themselves with their works;

Their works are works of iniquity,

And the act of violence is in their hands.

The Church of Jesus the Christ

The origins of the Church of Jesus the Christ, all God, all man!

Over the course of time some Christians broke away from the Church that Jesus founded, and so a name was needed to distinguish this Church from the ones that broke off from it. 

*Because all the breakaways were particular, local groups, it was decided to call the Church Jesus founded the "universal" *(Greek, kataholos = "according to the whole") Church, and thus the name Catholic was applied to it.

That is why Jesus was a Jew and we are Catholics: Jesus came to complete the Jewish religion by creating a Church that would serve as its fulfillment and be open to people of all races, not just ethnic Jews. As Catholics, we are those who have accepted the fulfillment of the Jewish faith by joining the Church that Jesus founded. catholic.com

We Catholics have Jewish roots. Our Mass is rooted in the Passover meal and in the synagogue liturgies of the first century. Many of our feasts and seasons, like Pentecost, are rooted in Jewish feast days. Many of our ideas about God and the world come from our Jewish roots. patheos.com

*For the first thousand years of Christianity, there were no denominations within Christianity as there are today. 

Various offshoot groups certainly existed, but most were small and quickly snuffed out as “heresies."

*The first major division within Christendom came in 1054, with the Great Schism between the Western Church and the Eastern Church. From that point forward, there were two large branches of Christianity, which came to be known as the Catholic Church (in the West) and the Orthodox Church (in the East).

The next major division was the Protestant Reformation, sparked in 1517 by Martin Luther's publication of 95 Theses against certain Catholic practices. By 1529, German princes were demanding the right to choose between Lutheranism and Catholicism in their territories. 

*(These demands were published in a document titled Protestation, giving the Protestant movement its name.)

Meanwhile, "Reformed" Christianity developed in Switzerland based on the teachings of Ulrich Zwingli and John Calvin. When it spread to Scotland under John Knox, the Reformed faith became Presbyterianism. Switzerland was also the birthplace of the Anabaptists, spiritual ancestors of today's Amish, Mennonites, Quakers, and Baptists.

Anglicanism was established in 1534 when England's King Henry VIII broke from the authority of the Pope. Anglicanism is often regarded as a "Middle Way" between Catholicism and Protestantism , while others categorize it as Protestant. Anglicanism became Episcopalianism in the United States. Methodism, based on the teachings of John Wesley, also has its roots in Anglicanism.

Those who remained within the fold of Roman Catholicism during the Reformation argued that central regulation of doctrine is necessary to prevent confusion and division within the church and corruption of beliefs. 

Protestants, on the other hand, insisted that it was precisely this policy of control that had already led to corruption of the true faith. They demanded that believers be allowed to read the Scriptures for themselves (it was previously available only in Latin) and act in accordance with their conscience. This issue of religious authority continues to be a fundamental difference in perspective between Catholic and Orthodox Christians on one hand, and Protestant Christians on the other.

*With its emphasis on individual interpretation of scripture and a measure of religious freedom, the Reformation marked not only a break between Protestantism and Catholicism, but the beginning of Christian denominationalism and sectarianism as we know it today. 

And perhaps not surprisingly, *some of the most interesting developments in Christianity have occurred in the United States, where individual freedom in all things is intensely valued. Christian Science, Mormonism, and the Jehovah's Witnesses are just a few of the major religious movements that have developed in this context.

Today, Christianity encompasses an astounding variety of denominations, sects, and churches. Relationships between these groups range from mutual respect and cooperation to denial that the other group is really "Christian." Many Christian groups would also refuse the label of "Christian denomination," considering themselves the only true form of Christianity, not one among many. religionfacts.com

“Christ” is a title derived from the Greek word Christos (lit. “anointed one”), which in turn comes from the verb chrio (“to anoint; to smear or pour oil over someone”). It has exactly the same meaning as “Messiah,” which is derived from the Hebrew Mashiah (also “anointed one”; see Christological Titles). According to Acts 11:26, the first time those who believed in Jesus were called “Christians” was in Antioch, a Greek-speaking city of ancient Syria (about 300 miles north of Jerusalem), about the year 35 or 40 CE.  Before that time, in the Aramaic-speaking environment of Judea, the followers of Jesus may have been called Nazarenes, or Messianists, or Followers of the Way, or by some other designation. (see Jewish Groups of the Second Temple Period).

Hosea 2:21-22 Catholic Bible

And when you see the errors of your ways, then you will call on Me and you will find Me. When you humble yourself in His righteousness and His grace then you will be established.

In righteousness and in justice are the central ethical principles of the Old Testament. Faithlife Bible.

Betrothal was a binding commitment, the last step before the wedding and consummation. The Lord emphasized that the new marriage between Himself and Israel would be permanent. NKJ Bible.

The betrothal was the legal moment before cohabitation when the dowry was paid to the father of the bride. In this remarriage the Lord gives the bride price to Israel herself “forever.” Justice and judgment refer to equity and fairness of conduct. The next two terms, “loyalty” (hesed), the steadfast love between the covenant partners, and “compassion,” maternal love are characteristic of Hosea. You will know, not an abstract but a practical knowledge, which means acknowledgment of God’s will and obedience to his law. Catholic Bible online.

Hosea 2:19–20 (NKJV)

¹⁹ “I will betroth you to Me forever;

Yes, I will betroth you to Me

In righteousness and justice,

In lovingkindness and mercy;

²⁰ I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness,

And you shall know the Lord.

Hosea 2:21-22 (Catholic online Bible)

I will betroth you to me forever:

I will betroth you to me with^* justice and with judgment,

with loyalty and with compassion;

I will betroth you to me with fidelity,

and you shall know the LORD.

Jeremiah 31:33 (NKJV)

³³ But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

Jeremiah 31:34 (NKJV)

³⁴ No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

Hosea 6:6 (NKJV)

⁶ For I desire mercy and not sacrifice,

And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

Hosea 13:4 (NKJV)

⁴ “Yet I am the Lord your God

Ever since the land of Egypt,

And you shall know no God but Me;

For there is no savior besides Me.

John 17:3 (NKJV)

³ And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

Daniel 7:15-28

Jesus conquered the world! Sin and death are under His authority.

A C Gaebelein - There are other Saints besides "Church Saints." The Saints of whom Daniel was thinking were his own beloved people (Jewish believers). To that people is promised a kingdom in the days of the Messiah. With Him the Lord in Glory, there is a heavenly people, so as Messiah and the Son of Man in 

connection with the earth He has an earthly people, Saints which will receive and possess with Him that kingdom which will fill the whole earth. These Saints are the God-fearing Jews, who pass through the great tribulation and inherit the blessings and promises which God gave through their own prophets.

In 1776, American preachers, politicians, and many ordinary citizens interpreted this chapter as applying to America, particularly the promise that the "saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom". Evidence seems clear that our forefathers saw themselves as a nation with a millennial destiny. In 1771, Timothy Dwight, for instance, wrote a hymn, "America," which expresses this fond ideal: Hail Land of Light and Joy! Thy power shall grow  Far as the seas, which round thy regions flow;  Through earth's wide realms thy glory shall extend,  And savage nations at thy scepter bend. But America has not and will not launch God's kingdom of justice and plenty. For that, we await the climactic and glorious return of Jesus Christ. Dr. Donald Campbell.

Note that these passages would suggest that the anti-Christ exerts his nefarious influence on the world in general and the saints in particular. in the three and one-half years immediately preceding the Lord's return.

For the first time in the book, Daniel could not make sense of a vision and needed someone to explain it to him. He questions one of the throne room attendants, who clarifies the meaning of the beasts and the little horn. The account ends with the anticipation of God’s kingdom and a glimmer of hope. The vision will be expanded upon in later chapters.

The four kings represent four kingdoms. Historically it represents the persecution of the Jews under Antiochus.The approximate duration of Antiochus’ Jewish persecution—three-and-a-half years. If the little horn is the antichrist, this is the final three-and-a-half years of the tribulation period.

For those who believe the fourth beast is Rome, the 10 horns may represent a 10-nation confederation that will arise during a seven-year tribulation period preceding Christ’s return. Faithlife Bible.

There are three common interpretations as to the ten kings who shall arise from this kingdom: (1) The fourth beast is Greece and the ten horns are ten divisions of the Grecian Empire. (2) The fourth beast is Rome and the ten horns are the fragments of the Roman Empire. (3) The fourth beast is a revived Roman Empire and the ten kings are members of a future realm. Another refers to the little horn of v. 8. This king will subdue three others, blaspheme God, persecute the saints, attempt to change times and law, and dominate the saints for a limited time. The dominion of the little horn will come to a violent end when he submits to the court of God.

The kingdom of God, governed by His saints, will exercise rule over all the earth. NKJ Bible.

Daniel 7:15–28 (NKJV)

¹⁵ “I, Daniel, was grieved in my spirit within my body, and the visions of my head troubled me. ¹⁶ I came near to one of those who stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of these things: ¹⁷ ‘Those great beasts, which are four, are four kings which arise out of the earth. ¹⁸ But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.’

¹⁹ “Then I wished to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth of iron and its nails of bronze, which devoured, broke in pieces, and trampled the residue with its feet; ²⁰ and the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn which came up, before which three fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth which spoke pompous words, whose appearance was greater than his fellows.

²¹ “I was watching; and the same horn was making war against the saints, and prevailing against them, ²² until the Ancient of Days came, and a judgment was made in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom.

²³ “Thus he said:

‘The fourth beast shall be

A fourth kingdom on earth,

Which shall be different from all other kingdoms,

And shall devour the whole earth,

Trample it and break it in pieces.

²⁴ The ten horns are ten kings

Who shall arise from this kingdom.

And another shall rise after them;

He shall be different from the first ones,

And shall subdue three kings.

²⁵ He shall speak pompous words against the Most High,

Shall persecute the saints of the Most High,

And shall intend to change times and law.

Then the saints shall be given into his hand

For a time and times and half a time.

²⁶ ‘But the court shall be seated,

And they shall take away his dominion,

To consume and destroy it forever.

²⁷ Then the kingdom and dominion,

And the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven,

Shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High.

His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,

And all dominions shall serve and obey Him.’

²⁸ “This is the end of the account. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts greatly troubled me, and my countenance changed; but I kept the matter in my heart.

Revelation 13:1 (NKJV)

13 Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name.

Revelation 13:7 (NKJV)

⁷ It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation.

Mark 5:35-43

“The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” John 6:29.

With God nothing is impossible. Just Believe!

Jesus intends to continue to keep His identity secret until the appropriate time. If He revealed His identity at this stage, as the Son of God, it could result in Him being prosecuted and executed immediately. Faithlife Bible.

The implication of the girl’s reported death is that her condition is now irreversible and without remedy. Jesus immediately corrects this thought by insisting that Jairus stop being afraid and continue to believe.

faith (Gk. pistis) (5:34; 10:52; Matt. 8:10; 15:28; Luke 7:50; 8:48) Strong’s #4102: The Greek term means “trust,” or “firm persuasion.” The corresponding verb means “to believe,” as is illustrated by Jesus’ word in 5:36 to Jairus: “Do not be afraid; only believe.” To have faith is to relinquish trust in oneself and to put that trust in another. The woman who had the hemorrhage had put her trust in physicians but to no avail. Now she put all her trust in Jesus, believing He could cure her. According to Jesus, it was her faith that made her well. This was a proclamation Jesus made many times (Matt. 8:10; 9:22, 29; 15:28; Luke 7:50; 8:48). The writers of the epistles sometimes use the word pistis to refer to what one believes, the content of faith, God’s revelation in the Scripture (see Gal. 1:23).

He permits only three disciples to join Him—Peter, James, and John. Note that these same three were the ones permitted to see the Transfiguration and who accompanied Jesus for prayer in Gethsemane. NKJ Bible.

Mark 5:35–43 (NKJV)

³⁵ While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?”

³⁶ As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not be afraid; only believe.” ³⁷ And He permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James. ³⁸ Then He came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and saw a tumult and those who wept and wailed loudly. ³⁹ When He came in, He said to them, “Why make this commotion and weep? The child is not dead, but sleeping.”

⁴⁰ And they ridiculed Him. But when He had put them all outside, He took the father and the mother of the child, and those who were with Him, and entered where the child was lying. ⁴¹ Then He took the child by the hand, and said to her, “Talitha, cumi,” which is translated, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” ⁴² Immediately the girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age. And they were overcome with great amazement. ⁴³ But He commanded them strictly that no one should know it, and said that something should be given her to eat.