Talk of JESUS . com

Tag: John

  • Be Still…

    “Be still, and know that I am God.
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth!”

    Psalm 37:7

    What were the instructions of the risen Christ Jesus to the Apostles for the time after He ascended once more into Heaven?

    WAIT.

    Luke 24:48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

    Even when we witness Christ crucified and resurrected, we must not get ahead of His higher purposes and timetable.

    What did the Lord say to frightened Apostles when He appeared suddenly in an upper room?

    Luke 24: “Peace to you!” 37 But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit.

    John 20:Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”

    In fact, what had Jesus spoken to His creation of the wind and sea when the Disciples in a boat with Him had thought they might perish by drowning?

    Mark 4:39 And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

    He offered the blood and sacrifice of His peace for the sake of those He loved.

    Jesus had assured that His peace will remain with those who have faith in Him.

    John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

    Jesus had often instructed the Disciples of the Source of His peace.

    Matthew 26:36 Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.”

    41 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 42 Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed…

    Be still and know that Jesus IS Lord.

    Pray to the Father and He will send you the Spirit.

    Jesus tells a parable of a great wedding feast.

    (Do Christians not expect to receive the invitation of our Lord to this glorious joining of the church to her Bridegroom?)

    One wanted to celebrate the wedding feast without an invitation. He did not wait for the invitation, but just showed up as an uninvited guest.

    Matthew 22:12 And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’

    And he was speechless.

    It’s the same word: Before the King, the man had to be still. He had nothing to say.

    13 Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”

    WAIT! on the Lord.

    Pray; and He will send the Spirit.

    If the Disciples of the first century always seemed so distracted, how much more the distracted christians of this twenty-first century.

    Be still. Pray. Wait for the Spirit. Then obey our Lord.

    Psalm 25

    English Standard Version (ESV)
    Teach Me Your Paths

    To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
    2 O my God, in you I trust;
    let me not be put to shame;
    let not my enemies exult over me.
    3 Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame…

    Jesus IS victorious over sin and death!

    Jesus IS Lord. Let us pray for His paths.

    4 Make me to know your ways, O Lord;
    teach me your paths.
    5 Lead me in your truth and teach me,
    for you are the God of my salvation;
    for you I wait all the day long.

     Be still, beloved believer.

    Pray and wait for the Spirit.

    16 Turn to me and be gracious to me,
    for I am lonely and afflicted.
    17 The troubles of my heart are enlarged;
    bring me out of my distresses.
    18 Consider my affliction and my trouble,
    and forgive all my sins.

    Lord, Jesus, You have died for my sins.

    20 Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me!
    Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.
    21 May integrity and uprightness preserve me,
    for I wait for you.

    We wait for You, Lord Jesus.

     

  • The Scrolls of Dr. Luke

    The Scrolls of Dr. Luke

    Revelation 5:1 Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals.

    Imagine having been given a tremendous responsibility to write the Holy Scrolls of God! Imagine Christ Jesus, risen King of all creation having instructed you to record the Gospel of the Cross and Resurrection for God’s Holy Church.

    Why was a Scribe so highly regarded? Few men (and only the learned) could read and write the Holy Word of God.

    Jesus had spoken with the authority of a Scribe, even as learned one teaching from a Higher Authority.  Perhaps less than five men in one hundred of those who heard Jesus teach could read. And perhaps only a dozen among a thousand could write down the words of Jesus in any language.

    For the Apostle John to have been given by Christ the very Word of Revelation (above); for the Apostle Matthew, a lowly (but literate) tax collector to have been given the charge to record the Gospel; for Luke, a doctor to the Apostles and follower of the Way to be given the charge to write down the Gospel being preached to all the world and in his most literate meticulous medical way to record the record of the Acts of the Apostles: these from the Throne of the Lord carry tremendous responsibility and eternal consequence of getting it right.

    In the Name of God, the Gospel Truth must be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

    By witness of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit the Gospel truth is Good News we can take to the bank of eternity.

    The first Scroll of Luke (the Gospel of Luke) begins in this way from the witness given to him at many different times, by eye witnesses of Jesus:

    Luke 1 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, 2 just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, 3 it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.

    Dr. Luke has recorded the events leading up to the Cross and resurrection.  Now in the Acts of the Apostles Luke will relate the journey and witness of the Apostles taking the Gospel into all the world.

    To be continued…

     

  • A Flicker of Faith

    A Flicker of Faith

    Proverbs 24:20 For there shall be no reward to the evil man; the candle of the wicked shall be put out.

    Beloved brother; dearly beloved sister:

    I know you have been ‘lukewarm‘ in your belief in Christ. You have been lukewarm in your faith in Jesus. You have been cold in your heart for His church and unthankful in your daily life.

    Your offering has been stingy (if you have even returned any of what is already His).

    And your prayer?  … Probably as infrequent as my prayers so often become.

    The flame of His light dimly flickers in the fruit of your witness. You resist the fire of His Holiness each time the Lord calls you to repentance.

    Yes… at times, we are lukewarm for the risen Lord, Christ Jesus. At times, we fail miserably in our Christian… our christian… our not-so-Christlike mortal life.

    The Light in You

    Luke 11:33 “No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light.

    34 Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness. 35 Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness.

    36 If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, as when a lamp with its rays gives you light.”

    John 1:4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

    5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

    Has the Lord’s light left your heart?

    OR do you answer our risen Lord’s voice at the door of your heart saying: ‘Repent, beloved?’

    Jesus seeks the lost. He welcomes the return of the prodigal christian.

    For to the church at Ephesus, the risen Christ also revealed through John:

    Revelation 2:5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent…

    7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

    To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’