beginning

May 23, 2020

“He Loved Them to the Very End”

He had loved his disciples during his ministry on earth, and now he loved them to the very end. – John 13:1b NLT

John 13:1-3 NLT

Jesus never had any question about what His purpose was here on earth. This was decided before the beginning, He had laid aside all of His royalty in heaven and come to earth as Love incarnate. He lived a simple life doing what He saw the Father do and saying what the Father said. Now, the time for Him to return to His glory in Heaven was quickly approaching. He loved people with a love that our human minds cannot fully embrace. Even knowing that Judas would betray Him, He allowed Judas to be one of His disciples. The Father had given Him all authority over all things and He could have used it at any time. Yet, He stayed the course and died a cruel death for our redemption. He was love clothed in human flesh for our benefit. Through the blood of Jesus, we have access to that same love. Jesus was perfect and could love perfectly, we are imperfect and so we love imperfectly. But one day, we will love as He loves. Then we will know fully just as God knows us now. We need to practice showing love to others every day so they will be attracted to Jesus. Love will never fail.

13 Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.​ – 1 Cor 13:13​

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

Post 05-23-2020

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May 22, 2020

“Whatever the Father Tells Me”

50 And I know his commands lead to eternal life; so I say whatever the Father tells me to say.”  –John 12:50 NLT

John 12:44-50 NLT

Because of His great love and mercy, Jesus gives one more invitation to the crowd to believe in what He has said and who He is. He is telling them since you have seen and heard me, you have heard and seen the Father. Every word Jesus said and every act He committed came directly from the Father. On judgment day, the unbelievers will be judged by the words that Jesus was teaching. After all, Jesus was the Word Incarnate, the Living Word, the Word that was established in the beginning. In Jesus, there was life and that life was the light for all the people.

1 In the beginning there was the Word. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 All things were made by him, and nothing was made without him. 4 In him there was life, and that life was the light of all people. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overpowered it.—John 1:1-5 NCV)

​Jesus is God, God is Jesus, Jesus is the Word and the Word is Jesus and in Him is life and light. God and Jesus are in perfect agreement and have been since the beginning. The Word that Jesus spoke was commanded by the Father and contained Life. It is the same Word that has saved us and will keep us until the day Jesus returns. The world needs to hear that Word today, so they can ask the Lord for help.

14 But before people can ask the Lord for help, they must believe in him; and before they can believe in him, they must hear about him; and for them to hear about the Lord, someone must tell them; 15 and before someone can go and tell them, that person must be sent. It is written, “How beautiful is the person who comes to bring good news.”–Romans 10:14-15 (NCV)

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

May 20, 2020

“Walk In the Light”

35 Jesus replied, “My light will shine for you just a little longer. Walk in the light while you can, so the darkness will not overtake you. Those who walk in the darkness cannot see where they are going. – John 12:35

John 12:32-36 NLT

When ​Jesus​ used the words “if I b​e lifted up” the people seemed to understand that He meant He would have to die. They immediately respond that they thought that the Christ would live forever. So, to them if He were going to die, He couldn’t be the Messiah for whom they had been looking . They do not grasp the concept of the resurrection and eternal life.

1 In the beginning there was the Word. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 All things were made by him, and nothing was made without him. 4 In him there was life, and that life was the light of all people. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overpowered​ ​it.—John 1:1-4 (NCV)​

After the resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit, we now have the light living inside of us and we are the light of the world. The Holy Spirit leads us into all truth as we study the word of God. So, we have the light internally with the Holy Spirit and we have the light externally with God’s Word.

105 Your word is like a lamp for my feet​ and a light for my path.—Psalm 119:105 (NCV)

There is no reason for us to walk in darkness. Every where we go, we should dispel the darkness.

“You are the light that gives light to the world. A city that is built on a hill cannot be hidden.—Matt. 5:14 (NCV)

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

Post 05-20-2020

April 28, 2020

“He Saw It and Was Glad”

56 Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of  seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.”- John 8:56 NIV

I AM

Jesus explains to the people that they don’t really know God even tough they claim God as “our God”. If they really knew God, they would accept Jesus and be excited that the Messiah had come in their lifetimes. Jesus says that even Abraham rejoiced as he looked forward to the birth of the Messiah. The people really didn’t accept this. Since Jesus is not even fifty years old, how could He possibly have seen Abraham? Then Jesus makes a statement that really gets the crowd worked up. “I existed before Abraham was even born”. The truth is more than that, Jesus existed before _______ and it doesn’t matter what you put in the blank, Jesus already existed.

1 In the beginning the Word already existed.
​ ​The Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He existed in the beginning with God.
3 God created everything through him,
and nothing was created except through him.—John 1:1-3 (NLT)

​The crowd became so angry that Jesus had to slip away or be stoned to death. The name of Jesus still causes that kind of reaction today. When the name of Jesus is spoken, there is no neutral ground and there is no procrastination. You either have to accept Him or reject Him. What choice have you made?

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

Post 04-28-20

February 24, 2020

“He Existed”

2 ​​He existed in the beginning with God.  -John 1:2 NLT​

Before God created the world and divided time into night and day, They existed. God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit were there as One and yet separately. Jesus was the Word and was there with God. He participated in the creation of all things and all things were made for Him. He is Life and He is Light. He came into the world as the Word made Flesh. John was sent to announce His coming and John was faithful in carrying out that mission. John was the prophet foretelling the birth of Jesus. John was looking forward to that day even though John knew that when Jesus comes, “I must decrease and He must increase”. Now, we are the prophets looking back and looking forward, we tell of the future return of Jesus. We should pray that we will be as faithful as John was in carrying out our part of the mission. It is up to each of us to carry out the plan and the purpose that God planned for each of us to do. This was decided before the beginning of the world.

God’s Masterpiece

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

Post 03-24-2020

January 23, 2020

“The Word Was God”

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.- John 1:1 NKJV

John 1:1-5 NLT

The Word existed in the beginning. The Word was with God and the Word was God. This Word of Life was revealed to us in human form as Jesus Christ, the Messiah. Hundreds, no, even thousands witnessed His walk here on earth. Biblically and historically, there is no doubt that a man named Jesus lived and walked on this earth approximately 2,000 years ago. He was seen, He was heard and we have read the reports. It is now up to each individual to accept or reject this truth. Those who accept it can have a real relationship with the Living Word. The Word is God is Light is life is Jesus is the Holy Spirit. If we have one, we have Them all. We cannot choose to have One without accepting them altogether. How much of each we access and the effect they have on our lives is up to each of us. The fullness of our joy and the absence of fear in our lives is the measure of how much of All of Them we have accepted. Walk in the Light and there can be no darkness, walk in Love and there is no fear. 

1 John 4:16-19 NLT

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

Post 01-23-2020

September 16, 2018

Do the Good Things

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10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. — Ephesians 2:10 NLT

When we think about God’s choices and blessings from a human viewpoint, they make little or no sense to us.  Why would God call this person or that person to do a particular job?  Why would He call them and not me?  If we look deeper, those that God calls are given greater responsibilities and  asked to do things that most of us would never agree to do.  Look at the prophet Isaiah.  God told Isaiah to walk around Israel for three years naked and barefoot preaching and prophesying. (Isaiah 20)  That’s not exactly what I had in mind when I accepted Jesus as my Savior and it is not something I would want to do.  With great blessings, there is usually great sacrifice.  Mary was chosen to be the Mother of the Messiah. The angel told her she was highly favored and blessed and she certainly was.  But with that blessing came much suffering and pain of heart for Mary.  She watched as her own family and their own people rejected Jesus on a daily basis,  She watched as He suffered great pain from a crown of thorns that mocked Him. She watched as He suffered even greater pain on the cross and as His side was pierced and His life flowed out of Him.  I would not want to watch a child of mine go through that.  God prepares each of us for the work He knows that we will do.  We should be grateful He has chosen us for whatever task He has prepared for us to do and do it to the best of our ability.  Don’t miss out on the blessings because we feel the work is small and insignificant.  Nothing God asks us to do is insignificant.


10 Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand.” — Zechariah 4:10 NLT
“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” – Anonymous
Post 09-16-2018
March 4, 2018

“He Was, He Is, and He Always Will Be”

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10 He also says to the Son,  “In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundation of the earth and made the heavens with your hands. – Hebrews 1:10 NLT

Hebrews1:10-14 NLT

Every thing that is created will come to an end. Our souls will remain and live on forever. God has said that Jesus will live and reign forever and Jesus has promised us that we will be with Him and we will be in His likeness. Our souls, our life center, will remain alive after we shed this flesh like taking off a coat. Then our bodies will be glorified and we will be with Jesus in a new heaven and a new earth. Jesus will reign after all His enemies have been defeated. In our new, immortal bodies, we will reign with Him, serving Him and praising Him with joy and gladness. In the meantime, God has sent His angels to serve us, watch over us and protect us. Jesus “was” in the beginning, He “is” now and He “always will be”. He is the author and the finisher of our faith. Our salvation depends on the faithfulness of God, not on anything that we do. Therefore, we are secure in our salvation.


“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” – Anonymous

Post 03-04-2018

January 30, 2018

A New Birth – A New Beginning

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12 What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. 14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.—1 Cor. 2:12-14 NIV
​We are born with the spirit of the world in us which causes us to sin. When we accept Jesus as our Savior, we receive God the Holy Spirit. He comes to abide in us and to lead us into all truth. To understand the truth takes wisdom from heaven. This can only be taught by the Holy Spirit who teaches us spiritual realities with Spiritual words. If we have not received the Holy Spirit, we will not accept the truths that He wants to teach us. The person who has not received the Spirit of God cannot discern or understand Spiritual things. That person considers Spiritual things to be foolishness because of his or her lack of understanding. Those who have truly accepted Jesus as their Savior are Spirit-bred, Spirit-fed and Spirit-led!
6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You​ must be born again.’—John 3:6 NIV

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

Post 01-30-2018

December 1, 2016

The Beginning of the Change

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17 I see him, but not here and now.    I perceive him, but far in the distant future.
A star will rise from Jacob;  a scepter will emerge from Israel.
— Numbers 24;17 NLT
This would have been a strange prophecy for the Israelites to hear. This was a confirmation of the prophecy in Gen 49:10 that the scepter would never depart from between Judah’s feet. All priests were to be of the tribe of Levi and Jacob was of the tribe of Judah. How could a priest rise out of the tribe of Judah? But God had a plan that would not violate the laws that He had handed down. When the scepter rose out of Israel, there would be a change in the way people were to worship God. This is explained further in Hebrews.

Hebrews 7:11-16 NLT

So, we see that while the priesthood of the Levites was established by the law, the priesthood of Jesus was established through the power of an indestructible life that could only be from the Creator. It was decided before the earth was formed. Jesus would be the final and perfect blood sacrifice for all the sin of the world. He was not, can not, and will not be destroyed or defeated. What Adam gave up in Eden, Jesus took back with His death and resurrection.


Now, we celebrate His birth, but that truly was just the beginning!

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

Post 12-01-2016