Category Archives: Bible Study

Jesus as the Master Preacher

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The idea of preaching as I have gathered from several sources is a passionate appeal on a topic, usually religious. The more I have read and fit that idea into the messages that people (especially Jesus) preached in the Bible it seemed that they preached on things that they were consumed with as their “message.”  I got a feeling that the passion was in the preacher and that was conveyed to the people that are listening. I think that is why the disciples were taught for quite a while before they were sent out. They had to get the “message of Jesus” and make it theirs before they could truly give it as a “passionate appeal.” I have seen a lot of people that can get a congregation excited for forty-five minutes and then in the parking lot the people cannot remember the point of the sermon. But people who have preached on “their messages” because it is what God has put into them and their hearts make a difference.

The miracles that Jesus would do after His preaching was to convey the authority that He had to be preaching that message and to show them the real Kingdom He would bring and not just an earthly kingdom that would free them from Rome. This is why the leaders of the day were so afraid of Jesus’ message; it came with power and had hope and peace as the core of what He said.  The leaders of the day had seen other “messiahs” come and go but I think that the “passion of His message” and the miracles were more than they could handle. Gamaliel in Acts 5 said it best; “if it is from God” you are wasting your time.

This is why it is a “now kingdom”. We should be preaching His message that He has given to each of us and when we do that His power will be there to do His miracles.

Art from – http://clipart.christiansunite.com/

Jesus as the Master Healer

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Jesus heals! Jesus is my Healer! Whether it has been in my physical body or an emotional problem He has been my Healer. It may have been fast or slowly over time but He has always been faithful to make Himself real to me in the area of healing.

Jesus heals now and when He was on the earth for the same reason; it is a way of proclaiming the Kingdom of Heaven is now. People will argue theology but when you can say, “ This has been healed in my life because of Jesus” it is really hard to argue that. The testimony of someone who has been truly healed can be a real faith builder and a witness for those that knew about the illness, like Lazarus in John 12:10. The chief priest found it easier to try and kill Lazarus than argue/believe his healing. In Luke 7:14 (the young man on the stretcher) and in Matthew 9:18 (the ruler’s daughter) Jesus also “healed” them from death. Jesus did these to fulfill prophecy and to be a testimony to John the Baptist in Matthew 11:5.

As the Master Example of a Healer He used many different methods and even had to pray twice (Mark 8:24) for someone to get the job finished: He used mud made out of spit (John 9), laying on of hands (Luke22: 51), someone just touched Him (Matt. 9:20) and He spoke the word and it was done over a long distance (Matt. 8: 13). In the healing meetings when He had also taught not a lot is said how He did it but if He laid His hands on hundreds of people you know He had to be tired (like Brother Oral Roberts sitting in his revival meetings) or maybe it was like what happened at the Brownsville Revival when the anointing would just go out over the people and they would just start being healed. But in one-on-one healing situations, Jesus questioned them for exactly what they wanted (Matthew 20:32).

Jesus did not always do all of the healings that could have been done. The people in His hometown were offended and He could only do a few miracles there (Matt. 13: 58). I think this story also shows that He had a harder time with “lack of faith” than with sin. He did not ask about the ten lepers (Luke 17:12) spiritual status before He healed them and He was amazed that a “Samaritan” came back and thanked Him and not the nine “Jews” and I don’t remember the Demoniac of the Gerasenes (Mark 5) repenting before Jesus cast the demons out of him and healed him.

The demoniac in Mark 5 (clothed and in his right mind), the woman caught in adultery (John 8:3) and even His disciples are examples of Jesus healing emotions. Can you imagine how that woman felt when she looked up and no one was there and Jesus did not condemn her? And Simon the Zealot putting away his radical ideas and conforming to Jesus message of peace or Peter, the workman, being able to get along with Matthew, the tax collector.

Jesus made sure that His disciples knew how to carry on this aspect of the Good News because He sent them out to heal and preach and Peter and John certainly made a commotion when they healed the lame man in the book of Acts.

The artwork is from http://clipart.christiansunite.com/Pictures_of_Jesus_Clipart/Healing_the_Sick_Clipart/

Miracles and Storms

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Miracles, miracles, and miracles.

Matthew 21:21! Killing trees and removing mountains, ok how many of you as baby Christians went outside after reading that and tried to kill a tree? How long did you wait to see if it was dead before you decided that you did not have enough faith? Ok, did you ever do the James and John act and tried to call down lightning on something or someone? Remember they got rebuked. All of this resurfaced after listening to a great sermon on Elijah by Steven Furtick of Elevation Church. His main point was not the rain or “fire of God” but they made me think again about miracles. Yes, I believe in miracles and that God still does them today.

Father God in the Old Testament certainly handled things differently than in the New Testament. Jonah’s storm, Elijah’s drought, lightning, and rainstorm and don’t forget Moses’ plagues He certainly stepped in and used weather and “supernatural happenings” to make a point to/for His kids. That maybe is the key right there, God used His nature to make a point to/for His kids. (Forgive me, I don’t do well with “Mother Nature” anymore; please make mine Father God.) The only New Testament figures that I could find who would have that sort of power are the two witnesses in Revelations 11.

As I thought about Jesus as our example and His miracles this simple truth hit me hard. Jesus never called down lightning, asked for an earthquake, or created a violent wind. Jesus calmed storms He did not start them. He calmed storms to prove His Lordship over them. Jesus healed, fed, and comforted people. Well, what about when He said you would do “greater things” in John 14: 11-13. That phrase may also mean “more.” Jesus used the same phrase here as He did about sending the Holy Spirit – when I go to my Father. Doing better than raising the dead, don’t think so, but how about more often than He did. Smith Wigglesworth had quite a few documented cases. What if every believer raised someone!

Ok, what about Matthew 21, He promised, well I guess the next time you are hungry and are about to be crucified expect that fig tree to die. But until then do miracles like Jesus; focus on healing, feeding, and freeing that will be a lot better than a dead bunch of trees and no mountains.

Fruit and Nuts – Olives and Pistachios

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Olives, wow what an iconic plant that represents not only the Church but also God the Holy Spirit.

The tree was very important to the daily life of people throughout the Bible. But unlike some of the other fruits I have looked at it was the oil made from the olive berries that held the most importance to daily life. In my studies I found that the olive berries were eaten, usually preserved in saltwater, but that the oil was used for many things – light, medicine and anointing. There were other oils (sesame and walnut) in use during Bible times but at least in the Bible it seems that when you see oil it was olive oil. I had to check but I could not find one reference to olive berries being eaten in the Bible.

The first mention of olives, in Genesis, is the leaves found in the dove’s mouth that Noah sent out after the flood. The last mention of olive trees is found in Revelation and they represent the two prophets in chapter 11. Either olives or oil is mentioned in most, but not all, of the books of the Bible.

Paul in Romans 11:17 – 24 represents spiritual Israel as a olive tree that we were grafted on to in the place of unbelieving Israel. That scripture tells me two things: first, heed Paul’s warning about arrogance toward Israel and that they knew how to graft fruit trees two thousand years ago!

The olive oil is a picture of the Holy Spirit’s anointing and gifts. Getting the oil required that the olives be crushed in an olive press the same technique is used today and the grades of oil come from the milling and collection process. It paints an interesting picture for us Christians who want God’s anointing. Are you ready to be crushed in order to be useful to the Church?

Another interesting fact I learned in my study was that olive trees have no growth rings so you cannot accurately tell the age of the tree.  Just like the Church, it is an “ageless” growing organism that is to be producing fruit.

Mount of Olives http://www.bibleplaces.com/mtolives.htm

a good article http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/janick-papers/fruits-bible.pdf

Picture of olive tree http://www.freepik.com/index.phpgoto=2&k=olive&isCat=1&isKeyword=1&order=2&vars=2

olive press 

http://handsonjewishholidays.com/wpcontent/uploads/2011/11/chorazinolivepress.jpg

Pistachio Nuts

There is only one reference to pistachio nuts in the Bible (they did make it) and that is in Genesis 43:11.  They are part of the “gift” the brothers are to take back with them when they return to Egypt. I got the feeling Jacob was not only trying to bribe the “Man” but maybe open up a trading business. If you look at this story in Genesis chapters 42 and 43 the big thing I find interesting is the name shift, in chapter 42 it is Jacob in 43 it is Israel. (see What Was His Name) Maybe the shift here is because in chapter 42 Jacob is focused on himself while in 43 he is focused on the “family.”

The links below are interesting; check them out if you have the time.

pistachio nuts blog http://nutgourmet.wordpress.com/2009/02/08/nuts-in-the-bible/#comments

fun facts http://www.foodreference.com/html/f-pistachios.html

pictures of pistachio tree and nuts http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pistachio

nice website about Israel, its food and land http://judaism.about.com/od/conservativejudaismfaq/a/dov_tubshvat_3.htm

Moses’ Psalms

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Psalm 90 is actually the only Psalm that has a sub-heading that identifies Moses as its writer (some Bibles do not include these) but it is fairly clear that his family was musical. Look at Exodus 15 even though Moses may not be credited with writing that song he did lead the Israelites in its singing and in verse 21 Miriam follows his lead and starts playing the tambourine and dancing. He also leads (recites) a song in Deuteronomy 32, so he seems to at the very least have been a songwriter.  Over the years as I have read Psalms 90 through 100, I have wondered why most of them have no subtitles and that Psalm 101 is clearly marked as being written by David? The exception is Psalm 92, which is identified as being for the Sabbath Day. (possible placement of Psalms)

Ok, now for an active imagination because there is no proof for this other than contextual clues, and some people may think that is a bit thin. Look at the job that Moses actually had to do; teach the children of Israel about God after they had been in a pagan land for 400 years. They were more knowledgeable about Egyptian gods than they were about Yahweh just because they were around those demon gods’ art and statues. He had approximately one million people who knew very little about God and had to be instructed in His ways. What better way to do that than through song; so now read these Psalms as Sunday School lessons and focus on themes. Also, think about the trials and problems the Israelites had in Exodus through Deuteronomy.

  • Psalm 90 – (think Exodus 15:26)
  • Psalm 91 – (think Exodus 17:15) to make God your fortress and He will protect you
  • Psalm 92 – (think Exodus 16:27)
  • Psalm 93 – (think Deuteronomy 5,6) shifting thinking from Egyptian gods
  • Psalm 94 – (think Exodus 10:29) a call for justice
  • Psalm 95 – (a lesson after Meribah and sending out the first spies) exhortation to praise God and not tempt Him
  • Psalm 96 – to praise God for His general judgments
  • Psalm 97 – the majesty of God’s kingdom
  • Psalm 98 – a general call to praise God
  • Psalm 99 – the mercifulness of God and His right to reign (some sources suggest that it may not have been the Samuel of 1 Samuel)
  • Psalm 100 – (think Exodus 40) giving praise to enter the new worship area

Psalm 111 is mentioned in Part 2. (See below.)

Thompson Chain-Reference Bible was a resource. NIV usually includes subtitles on Psalms.

Moses picture: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/db/Moses_Pleading_with_Israel_(crop).

Please see Part 2.  In Part 2, I focus on Moses’ Psalms or Songs outside of the Book of Psalms.