Tune and Prepare!

The family tree Jesus’ family tree is firmly rooted in the history of the house of Abraham and later Israel, linking him to Abraham, through whom God promised to bless all nations, and to David, whose dynasty was promised to endure forever. As the Son of Abraham, Jesus is identified as the One through whom all nations on earth are to be blessed - not merely a tribal deity, but the universal Savior for all humanity. The first-century The first-century Jewish world into which Jesus was born was a complex tapestry of religious fervor, political tension, and spiritual longing. Understanding this context illuminates both the challenge Jesus faced and the revolutionary nature of his ministry. In the first century, religious life in Israel was dominated by several competing groups, each with distinct beliefs and practices. The Jewish people lived under Roman occupation, administered through puppet rulers like the Herodian dynasty and Roman governors such as Pontius Pilate. This ...

Intro Among the most beloved and read books of the Bible, the Psalms and Proverbs stand as twin pillars of what scholars call the Wisdom Literature of the Old Testament. Together with Job, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon, these books form a distinct body of writing within the Hebrew Bible.. Proverbs is a collection of units originally independent, some of which can be traced back to the era of Solomon. The 150 Psalms were written by the poets of God's people over a period of a thousand years, and collected for worship in the Temple by the exiles who returned to Jerusalem after 538 BC. .. The Psalms name multiple contributors: David dominates with 73 attributed psalms, but Asaph, the sons of Korah, Solomon, Moses, ... also appear. Proverbs is similarly composite. ... the full booklet can be read here

Part I Jesus' Judgment Seats Judgement - for Whom? — A Study in Three Passages These three passages form a powerful trio on the theme of divine judgment. Together they affirm that every person — believer or unbeliever — will one day stand before the Lord Jesus Christ and give account of their life. They call us to live wisely, humbly, and compassionately in the light of eternity. 2 Cor 5:10 The Bema Seat of Christ "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil." — 2 Corinthians 5:10 What is the "Judgment Seat"? In the Greek, the word for "judgment seat" is “Bema” — a raised platform in the Greco-Roman world where a judge or official would sit to discuss decisions and form opinions on municipal and civil matters, or even re...

... A nurse came to me in great physical need. Her faith had sunk to almost zero. Then I received a very short message. "Tell the child that I am still alive!" What else could I have added to that? What a pity that the Lord himself did not speak more often in this way. He certainly has something to say to us! But his goodness is so great that he sometimes descends (personally) to his children to convince them directly. Praise be to his holy name! Did you have any contact with priests? Sometimes priests came to me to ask for advice on personal matters; often the advice was to pray. One priest occasionally asked me to lay my hands on his wife, who was suffering from severe depression. When he saw me, he always said: "They lay their hands on the sick, and they are healed." May I ask how you felt about the church in this country? During my career as an officer {in the Salvation Army} I didn't have much time to attend church services....

(acidic text) Intro Proper self-assessment is a delicate matter. It requires an orderly system of personal relationships and a great deal of grace. When we calmly and lovingly endure our conflicts and learn from them, when the unknown and invisible areas become smaller and smaller and our weaknesses, which are understandable to others from the outside, become more and more obvious, then our self-esteem problems also decrease significantly. They do not disappear—we live in a sinful world—but they are not the main problem and, above all, they do not provide a basis for false identity and compensatory behavior. {At the same time, I admit and confess that I am familiar with the following from personal failures or temptations.} Restless souls However, there are restless souls. Those who always have a ready explanation and justification for the correctness of their actions. These are mostly extroverted individuals whose satisfaction factor only reaches around 98% whe...

(The Roaming Spirit-Trader - acidic text) Intro A helyes önértékelés kényes jószág. Rendezett személyes kapcsolat rendszer és sok sok kegyelem szükségeltetik hozzá. Amikor nyugodtan és szeretetben elviseljuk konfliktusainkat és tanulunk azokból, amikor a számunkra ismeretlen láthatatlan terület egyre kisebb lesz és a mások számára kívülről érthető gyengeségünk egyre nyilvánvalóbbá válik, akkor önértékelési problémáink is jelentősen csökkennek. Nem szűnnek ugyan meg - bűnös világban élünk - de nem a fő problémát képezik és főleg nem adnak alapot hamis identitásnak és pótcselekvésnek. {Ugyanakkor itt azt is beismerem és megvallom, hogy a következőket személyes bukásokból vagy kísértésekből is ismerem.} Nyughatatlan lelkek Vannak azonban nyughatatlan lelkek. Olyanok akiknek mindig van kész magyarázatuk és igazolásuk tettek helyességére. Ezek többnyire extrovertált személyek akiknek elégedettségi faktora csak akkor jut el 98% körüli értékre, ha az általuk képviselt {vag...

Ever since I realized that I am nothing on my own and know nothing before God , and after I came before the Savior with this nothingness, namely, that He should be my life and my everything, I had every reason to be joyful. I could bring all my own and others' troubles before Him, Who did everything to help us. God's word and His wonderful promises brought me more and more joy every day, and I discovered more and more truths and promises that gave me reason to praise and thank Him. Emil Nigg

Excerpt The true nature of the sin and the true glory of Christ's Work Adam Adam stands as the first representative head of humanity. Through his disobedience, sin entered the world, and through sin came death - not just physical death, but spiritual separation from God. Paul writes in Romans 5:12 "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned." This presents a mystery that we must understand: we are affected by Adam's sin {bad heritage} even though we did not personally commit it. Death reigned even over those "who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam" (Romans 5:14). We are connected to Adam in such a way that his sin became our sin, his condemnation became our condemnation. This is not unjust, because Adam truly was our representative head and our ancestor - the father of all human beings. Yet this very mystery reveals God...

Excerpt Jesus reveals his ID and Mission A crucial turning point came when Jesus asked his disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matthew 16:15-16). Jesus confirmed that this revelation came from the Father and began to teach them plainly about his coming death and resurrection. This was difficult teaching for the disciples to accept. They had expected a conquering Messiah who would overthrow Rome and establish Israel's political dominance. Instead, Jesus spoke of suffering, rejection, and death. Peter even rebuked Jesus for this teaching, only to be sharply corrected: "Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man" (Matthew 16:23). Jesus repeatedly taught his disciples that the path to glory led through suffering, that true greatness came through service, and that to save one's life on...

"Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost." 1Cor 12:3 The Holy Spirit has power to reveal Jesus Christ and His glory to man. When Jesus spoke of the Spirit's coming He said: "But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me" (Jn. 15:26), and it is only as He does testify of Christ that men will ever come to a true knowledge of Christ. You send men to the Word to get a knowledge of Christ; but it is only as the Holy Spirit takes the word and illuminates it, that men ever get a real living knowledge of Christ. "No man can say that Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy Ghost." 1Cor 12:3. If you wish men to get a true knowledge of Jesus Christ, such a view that they will believe on Him and be saved, you must...

The Prayers of the Bible, from the book: "Prevailing Prayer" by D. L. Moody T hose who have left the deepest impression on this sin-cursed earth have been men and women of prayer. You will find prayer has been the mighty power that has moved not only God, but also man. Prayers of the Faithful Throughout history, all God’s people have been praying people. Look, for instance, at Richard Baxter.[1] He stained his study walls with praying breath, and after he was anointed with the Holy Spirit, he sent a river of living water over the city of Kidderminster in England, and converted hundreds. Martin Luther[2] and his companions were men of such mighty pleading with God that they broke the spell of ages, and laid nations subdued at the foot of the cross. John Knox grasped all of Scotland in his strong arms of faith; his prayers terrified tyrants. George Whitefield,[3] after much holy, faithful, closet pleading, went to the Devil’s fair, and took more t...

The Prayers of the Bible, from the book: "Prevailing Prayer" by D. L. Moody T hose who have left the deepest impression on this sin-cursed earth have been men and women of prayer. You will find prayer has been the mighty power that has moved not only God, but also man. The prayers of Jesus I want to call special attention to Christ as an example for us in all things – in nothing greater than in prayer. We read that Christ prayed to his Father for everything. Prayer preceded every great crisis in his life. Let me share a few examples from Scripture. I never noticed until a few years ago that Christ was praying at his baptism. Jesus was also baptized, and while He was praying, heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove (Luke 3:21-22) . Another great event in his life was his trans­figuration, when Jesus took along Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while He was praying, the appearance...

The Prayers of the Bible, from the book: "Prevailing Prayer" by D. L. Moody T hose who have left the deepest impression on this sin-cursed earth have been men and women of prayer. You will find prayer has been the mighty power that has moved not only God, but also man. New Testament Prayers In Acts 10, Cornelius, who was a centurion in the Italian regiment, prayed to God regularly. During one of those prayers, he had a vision and saw an angel of the Lord. The angel told him to summon the apostle Peter. When Peter arrived, Cornelius said, Now then, we are all here present before God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord (Acts 10:33). Although Cornelius was a worshipper of the true God, he lacked faith in Christ. Peter taught the truth about how Jesus had been crucified and raised from the dead. While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message. All the circumcised believer...

The Prayers of the Bible, from the book: "Prevailing Prayer" by D. L. Moody T hose who have left the deepest impression on this sin-cursed earth have been men and women of prayer. You will find prayer has been the mighty power that has moved not only God, but also man. Old Testament prayers Abraham was a man of prayer, and angels came down from heaven to converse with him. Jacob’s prayer was answered when he wrestled with God at the place he named Peniel, which means “face of God.” His meeting with the Lord resulted in Jacob having a mighty blessing, and even his brother Esau’s heart was softened towards him. The Lord gave Samuel as an answer to Hannah’s prayer for a child. Elijah’s prayer closed up the heavens for three years and six months, and when he prayed again, the heavens gave rain. The apostle James calls the prophet Elijah a man with a nature like ours. James also says, the effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much (James 5:16-17). El...

The two first and essential means of grace are the Word of God and prayer. Conversion comes through these, for we are born again through the living and enduring(abiding) word of God (1 Peter 1:23), and whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved (Romans 10:13). By the Word of God and prayer, we also grow. Scripture tells us we should desire, or crave, the pure spiritual milk of the Word so we may grow by it (1 Peter 2:2), and we cannot grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ unless we also speak to him in prayer. It is by the Word that the Father sanctifies us (purifies and sets us apart) but we are also instructed to watch and pray to avoid falling into temptation. These two instruments of grace must be applied in the right proportion. If we read the Word and do not pray, we may become puffed up with knowledge, without the love that builds others up. If we pray without reading the Word, we will be ignorant of the mind and will of God, an...

Supongo que poder ayudar a las personas de una manera tan extraordinaria te ha proporcionado cierta satisfacción. Me sentí muy, muy feliz al ver que algunas personas se curaban. Pero nunca olvidé quién era el Ayudante. Cada vez que recibía una carta como esa sobre la curación, me arrodillaba y decía estas palabras: «Mira, mi Salvador, esto es para Ti, el agradecimiento es para Ti... pero yo también puedo alegrarme por esto, ¿no?». ¿También era usted pastor de los enfermos? Supongo que orar por los enfermos y cuidar de ellos van de la mano. Si me llamaban para visitar a un paciente, esa era la primera pregunta que le hacía antes de orar: «¿Va todo bien entre usted y el Salvador?». En muchos casos, seguía la confesión, allanando el camino para una oración de fe. Santiago no escribió en vano: «... aunque haya pecado, será perdonado» (Santiago 5:14-17) ... Estoy pensando aquí en la historia de la curación del hombre con un derrame cerebral (Mateo 9:2), que primero...

Being able to help people in such an extraordinary way has given you a certain satisfaction, I suppose. I was very, very happy to see that some people were cured. But I never forgot who the Helper was. Whenever a letter like that came to me about healing, I would kneel down with those words: 'Look, My Saviour, this is for You, the thanks are for You,... but I can rejoice in this too, can't I? Were you also a pastor of the sick? I suppose praying over the sick and caring for the sick go hand in hand. If I was called to see a patient, that was the first question before prayer: "Is everything okay between you and the Savior?" In many cases, confession followed, clearing the way for a prayer of faith. James did not write in vain: "...even if he has sinned, he will be forgiven" (James 5:14-17) ... I am thinking here of the story of the healing of the man with a stroke (Matthew 9:2), who was first freed from his sins and then healed ...