Luke 8:50

Just B.E.L.I.E.V.E in Him and in His power to accomplish what we cannot. 

Remembering always faith alone pleases God. 

In the measure that we believe and trust in Him is the measure that He can perform miracles in our life and in those around us.

This miracle highlights not only the authority of Jesus, but also the response of faith that God honors.

Luke 8:50

⁵⁰ But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, “Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well.”

²² So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. ²³ For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. ²⁴ Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. 

Mark 11:22–24

John 8:31-36

Jesus came to this world because of the Father’s great love for His creation. What does He require of us? To abide in His Word made flesh in fairness, forgiveness and humility. You must love God above all and others as much as you do yourself. Sounds simple but obviously requires much.

We need to be doers of good, examples, of His great and abiding love through which gave His only begotten Son that we could be made free!

Jesus was speaking of spiritual slavery. Such a slave cannot break away from his bondage. He must have someone else set him free. A slave was not a permanent resident of a house. A son remained a family member with family privileges forever. 

abide |əˈbīd|

verb

1 [ no obj. ] (abide by) accept or act in accordance with (a rule, decision, or recommendation)

2 [ with obj. ] (can/could not abide) informal be unable to tolerate (someone or something)

3 [ no obj. ] (of a feeling or a memory) continue without fading or being lost.

• archaic live; dwell.

John 8:31-36

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.”

³³ They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?”

³⁴ Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. ³⁵ And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. ³⁶ Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

¹⁵“If you love Me, keep My commandments. 

John 14:15

¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. 

John 1:14

¹⁷ For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 

John 1:17

²⁵ But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. 

James 1:25

5 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. 

Galatians 5:1

John 8:1-11

Jesus was not talking to a group of unbelievers He was talking to believers. We can safely conclude that He was talking to all of us.

We are ALL sinners….we are ALL in need of a Savior…..Jesus came to save sinners!

Judge not for in the manner you judge you will be judged. Above all Christ taught us a New Covenant of Love for God first and then for all of His creation. His love covers a multitude of sins…ours. Those who have been forgiven the most should have even more love, forgiveness and compassion for others.

Stoning was specified in certain cases of adultery, though not all. (It is not clear why the authorities intended to punish the woman but not the man.) In the Greek text, the pronoun You is emphatic. The religious leaders were trying to trap Jesus into saying something that was contrary to the Law.

Sin no more implies that Jesus forgave her. He did not condemn her, but neither did He condone her sin.

John 8:1-11

8 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. ² Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. ³ Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, ⁴ they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. ⁵ Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” ⁶ This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.

⁷ So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” ⁸ And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. ⁹ Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. ¹⁰ When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?”

¹¹ She said, “No one, Lord.”

And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”

¹⁰ ‘The man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, he who commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress, shall surely be put to death. 

Leviticus 20:10

⁵⁶ For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” And they went to another village. 

Luke 9:56

¹⁷For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 

John 3:17

Luke 21:25-28

Look to the Lord for our salvation draws nearer.

No one knows the exact time but the signs are  becoming more and more evident…..pray that we, through Christ Jesus, can enter into His eternal rest! Keep the faith.

Jesus shifts His focus to the end times with His second mention of cosmic turmoil.

Luke 21:25-28

²⁵ “And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; ²⁶ men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ²⁷ Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. ²⁸ Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.”

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. 

Daniel 7:13

²⁹ “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 

Matthew 24:29

²³ Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. 

Romans 8:23

⁷ Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen. 

Revelation 1:7

1 Timothy 4:10-11

God is the Creator of all mankind

God loves all of His creation

What we do to the least of us we do either for Him or against Him

How we treat others is a direct reflection of who we believe…God or Man.

Savior of all men describes God as the One who gives life, breath, and existence to all.

Especially of those who believe draws a contrast between God’s common grace to all and His special saving grace to those who trust Him as their Savior.

1 Timothy 4:10-11

10 For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe. 11 These things command and teach.

⁶Your righteousness is like the great mountains; Your judgments are a great deep; O Lord, You preserve man and beast. 

Psalm 36:6

John 14:22-31

Ask and it will be given; seek and you will find; knock and the door of life in Christ Jesus will be opened. What were the commandments that Jesus gave to us? Love God above all and love your neighbor as yourself. We overcome sin and the evil of this world with the power of the Holy Spirit to share the love of God to all His creation. Just believe!

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is darkness, light;

And where there is sadness, joy.

~Saint Francis of Assisi

believe (Gk. pisteuō) Strong’s #4100: The Greek word for believe literally means “to place one’s trust in another”; it occurs over 90 times in the Gospel of John alone. To believe in Jesus is to believe in His person and to trust in Him completely for salvation (3:15, 16). Many of Jesus’ contemporaries believed in Jesus’ miraculous powers, but they would not believe in Jesus Himself (6:23–26). Others wanted to believe in a political Messiah, but would not believe in the One who suffered for their sins (Mark 15:32). But we must be careful to believe and trust in the Jesus presented in the Scriptures, in the Son of God who sacrificed His life for our sins (Gal. 1:3, 4; Phil. 2:5–8).

John 14:22-31

²² Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?”

²³ Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. ²⁴ He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.

²⁵ “These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. ²⁶ But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. ²⁷ Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. ²⁸ You have heard Me say to you, ‘I am going away and coming back to you.’ If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, ‘I am going to the Father,’ for My Father is greater than I.

²⁹ “And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe. ³⁰ I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me. ³¹ But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do. Arise, let us go from here.

¹⁶ And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ^t“I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people.” 

2 Corinthians 6:16

¹⁷ that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 

Ephesians 3:17

⁷⁹To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace.” 

Luke 1:79

³³ These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” 

John 16:33

⁷ and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 

Philippians 4:7

³ And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 

Revelation 21:3

Luke 7:40-43

The people that Jesus spent most of His time on earth with were societies rejected. If He directed most of His life and ministry to them….shouldn’t we, who have been forgiven so much, also do the same?

underclass |ˈəndərˌklas|

noun

the lowest social stratum in a country or community, consisting of the poor and unemployed.

What would Jesus do?

The Underclass

Nearly every society and every city in biblical times had a large underclass. Tending to congregate in the cities, the underclass included the poor, the sick, the disabled, the lepers, the blind, the insane, the demon-possessed, widows, orphans, and refugees. Lacking resources to provide for even their basic needs, many turned to begging, stealing, menial labor, slavery, or prostitution. Few cultures made provision for these desperate, destitute wanderers, and so they remained largely powerless to change their condition. Yet it was to the underclass that Jesus intentionally directed much of His life and ministry.

Jesus’ reply indicates that He knew the reputation of the woman, but was more interested in what the woman could become through the grace of God. Jesus’ point is that the amount of love showered on the Savior will be in direct proportion with one’s sense of the gravity of the sins that the Savior has forgiven. The woman knew she had been forgiven much, and as a result she would love much.

Luke 7:40-43

⁴⁰ And Jesus answered and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.”

So he said, “Teacher, say it.”

⁴¹ “There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. ⁴² And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?

⁴³ Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.”

Amos 8:4-6

God does not tolerate injustice and He is partial to no man. To warrant God’s approval we need to take care of those who cannot care for themselves making a way for them to succeed by making sure our laws provide a safe haven in their time of need.

Fail means essentially “to have no means of survival.” 

The rich and powerful of Amos’s day were making slaves of Israel’s poor, the people they had dispossessed of their lands.

What does God require of us?

Micah 6:8 Be fair to everyone, forgive quickly and be humble knowing ALL things belong to God… we are just caretakers of the blessing  we have received.

fair ¹ |fe(ə)r|

adjective

1 in accordance with the rules or standards; legitimate

adverb

1 without cheating or trying to achieve unjust advantage

Amos 8:4-6

⁴ Hear this, you who swallow up the needy,

And make the poor of the land fail,

⁵ Saying:

“When will the New Moon be past,

That we may sell grain?

And the Sabbath,

That we may trade wheat?

Making the ephah small and the shekel large,

Falsifying the scales by deceit,

⁶ That we may buy the poor for silver,

And the needy for a pair of sandals—

Even sell the bad wheat?”

⁶So you, by the help of your God, return; Observe mercy and justice, And wait on your God continually. 

Hosea 12:6

¹⁷Learn to do good; Seek justice, Rebuke the oppressor; Defend the fatherless, Plead for the widow. 

Isaiah 1:17

Nahum 3:18-19

Everything, every thing, is under God’s control. Fear Him who has the power of life and death in His hands. He will lift up the humble and bring down the prideful because He alone is the Creator and giver of life and it is His right.

Every nation and people that had suffered under the abusive power of Nineveh would shout and clap upon hearing of the city’s destruction. There would be no mourning for Nineveh.

Assyria was a dominant power in the Near East for a large portion of the Bible, and the lands of the Bible were within the reach of its empire. Assyria’s affairs with biblical characters are recorded in 2 Kgs 15–23, where it is overthrown and Babylonia becomes the dominant Near Eastern power. In the Prophets, Assyria (land and inhabitants) is referred to in a variety of ways: as an object of judgment but also an instrument of judgment, as an example of pride and its consequences, and even an object of God’s affection. Assyria is also frequently spoken of in the context of exile and return, as the northern kingdom of Israel was destroyed by Assyria and taken into exile. 

Jesus warned the people of his own day, This is a wicked generation. It asks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah (Lk 11:29).

Jesus was harkening back to the historical paradox that when Israel would not repent, he frequently used the pagan nations around them to humble and purify them. Since Israel would not repent, God sent Jonah to strengthen the Assyrians and God eventually used Assyria to prune Israel, and execute justice for its failure to repent.

And thus for the people of Jesus time, if they would not repent, and come to believe, they, in their foolishness like Hoshea of old, would wage war, this time against the Romans, and suffer a horrible blow. That in fact happened in 70 AD when the Temple was destroyed and 1.2 million Jews died in the war.

It is a mysterious providence but it is also written to warn us. If we do not repent, we cannot be strong, and our enemies will surely overwhelm us. And what will our Assyria, our Rome be? It could be radical Islam, it could be our debt crisis, it could be our demographic winter. But by failing to repent, by our injustice, our refusal to keep commitments, our rising unbelief and ingratitude, by our sacrificing our children on the “altars” of our lust and our burning incense to the “gods” of this age, we are calling a just punishment and grave consequences that cannot forever wait. 

~ Archdiocese of Washington

Nahum 3:18-19

¹⁸ Your shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria;

Your nobles rest in the dust.

Your people are scattered on the mountains,

And no one gathers them.

¹⁹ Your injury has no healing,

Your wound is severe.

All who hear news of you

Will clap their hands over you,

For upon whom has not your wickedness passed continually¹⁶Fear and dread will fall on them; By the greatness of Your arm They will be as still as a stone, Till Your people pass over, O Lord, Till the people pass over Whom You have purchased. 

Exodus 15:16

⁶At Your rebuke, O God of Jacob, Both the chariot and horse were cast into a dead sleep. 

Psalm 76:6

³Indeed Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon, With fine branches that shaded the forest, And of high stature; And its top was among the thick boughs. 

Ezekiel 31:3

¹⁸ Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, As I have punished the king of Assyria. 

Jeremiah 50:18

⁹For her wounds are incurable. For it has come to Judah; It has come to the gate of My people— To Jerusalem. 

Micah 1:9

¹⁵This is the rejoicing city That dwelt securely, That said in her heart, “I am it, and there is none besides me.” How has she become a desolation, A place for beasts to lie down! Everyone who passes by her Shall hiss and shake his fist. 

Zephaniah 2:15

Ezekiel 35:1-4

All prophesy will be fulfilled and can be used for teaching. God alone has the right to judge and His judgement is true and without hypocrisy…if we live in violence we will die in violence.

Ezekiel 35:1-4

35 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir and prophesy against it, ³ and say to it, ‘Thus says the Lord God:

“Behold, O Mount Seir, I am against you;

I will stretch out My hand against you,

And make you most desolate;

⁴ I shall lay your cities waste,

And you shall be desolate.

Then you shall know that I am the Lord.

Deut 2:4-6

“Give the people these orders: ‘You are about to pass through the territory of your brothers the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. They will be afraid of you, but be very careful. Do not provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land, not even enough to put your foot on. I have given Esau the hill country of Seir as his own.  You are to pay them in silver for the food you eat and the water you drink.’” .

Seir bordered the Promised Land on the South East and was also called Edom. Lot’s sons Moab and Ammon (after whom the capitol of Jordan is named) were given the land north of Edom and East of the Jordan. Together these three land grants make up the land currently occupied by Jordan.

In 1921 the British partitioned the land they had been given control of following WW1 ( the British mandate) into Israel as a Jewish homeland and trans-Jordan (later Jordan) as a homeland for the “Palestinians”.  Jordan gained its independence in 1946, two years before Israel was declared an independent nation.

The area referred to as Mt. Seir in the Bible is called the Shara range today.  It’s in southern Jordan where the city of Petra is located.  In Biblical times this was the land of Edom.  In Ezekiel 35 Mt. Seir is used as a euphemism for Edom.  At the time of the Babylonian conquest the people of Edom sought to benefit from Israel’s troubles, first by helping the Babylonian army find and capture the fleeing Israelites and then by plotting to take the promised land for themselves in Israel’s absence. The Lord had Ezekiel tell the people of Edom their own land would be made desolate because of this.

Some try to apply this prophecy to the current Palestinians, but I believe it was fulfilled by a formerly nomadic people called the Nabateans who entered the area in the mid 4th century BC and completely overran the people of Edom, leaving no  survivors.  The Nabateans became a powerful force in the region, controlling desert trade routes between Egypt, Mesopotamia and the Eastern Mediterranean for about 450 years.  Today’s Bedouins may be all that’s left of the Nabateans

⁸ So Esau dwelt in ⁱMount Seir. Esau is Edom. 

Genesis 36:8

⁵ Do not meddle with them, for I will not give you any of their land, no, not so much as one footstep, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession. 

Deuteronomy 2:5

¹⁵“For the day of the Lord upon all the nations is near; As you have done, it shall be done to you; Your reprisal shall return upon your own head. 

Obadiah 15

Matthew 25:14-21

God gives all of us talents so that they can be multiplied, honed and shared with others. We multiply our talents by using them. It is up to us to use those gifts for the benefit of others… In faith knowing that He is a rewarder of those who believe in Him and place their trust in Him alone.

 The parable of the talents illustrates the faithfulness required of God’s servants. The fact that the master traveled to a far country indicates that there would be ample time to test the faithfulness of the servants.

talent |ˈtalənt|

noun

1 natural aptitude or skill

• people possessing talent

2 a former weight and unit of currency, used especially by the ancient Romans and Greeks.

Matthew 25:14-21

¹⁴ “For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. ¹⁵ And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. ¹⁶ Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. ¹⁷ And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. ¹⁸ But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money. ¹⁹ After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.

²⁰ “So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ ²¹ His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things.

 Enter into the joy of your lord.’

⁶ Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; 

Romans 12:6

⁷ But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: 

1 Corinthians 12:7

¹¹ And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 

Ephesians 4:11

¹⁰ He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. 

Luke 16:10

⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 

2 Timothy 4:7

¹²If we endure, We shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us. 

2 Timothy 2:12

⁸ whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 

1 Peter 1:8

⁷ He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. 

Revelation 21:7