2024 Advent Deeper Christmas Devotion Day 7: Whom did Jesus come to heal?

Jesus was born for this. The Bible is full of stories of the downs and outs. Crowds thronged Jesus, including the rich, the famous and the powerful, those with ample means to donate and contribute to His ministry, some of whom might have employed tough strong body guards to open their way to access to Jesus. When everybody was rushing against time, Jesus always slowed down, paused, looked around and stopped for the sick, weak, lowly, poor, voiceless, and even an outcast, and showed God’s great mercy and grace (undeserved favor) for such individuals to ensure that they got heard and their needs attended to. He knows the Father’s hearts, and He follows the Father’s will. 

Who were the ones that Jesus stopped for? Here are some general and specific examples, spanning over old and young, men and women, Jews and foreigners, 

Indeed, all sorts of sick, physically or mentally afflicted or oppressed people who came to Him were healed and set free. They were of all ages, races, nationalities, social classes and financial status, cultures/political/religious affiliations. He was concerned with their spirit, soul and body health. The Bible recorded some of such incidents and those He healed, delivered, and paid special attention. Here is an unexhaustive list: 

Matthew 8: a leper; a Roman Centurion’s servant; Peter’s mother-in-law;  two demon-possessed men set free.

Matthew 9: a paralytic; Matthew (Levi, Luke 5) the tax collector (soul and spirit); a 12th year old girl restored to life, a woman who had bleeding issue for 12 years healed instantly; two blind men received their sight -healed; a mute man healed.

Matthew 12: healed a man with a withered hand on Sabbath in a synagogue; also healed a demon-possessed, blind and mute man.

Matthew 14: Showed His compassion for the great multitudes who followed Him on foot from the cities and healed their sick. At evening He fed them, by miraculously multiplying five loaves and two fish to feed about five thousands men, besides women and children. (Provision)

Matthew 14: Many sick people begged Him that they might only touch the hem of His garment and as many as touched it were perfectly well.

Matthew 15: A gentile (Greek) woman showed her faith and cried out to Him to heal her severely demon-possessed daughter and she was healed from that very hour.

Matthew 17: A deaf and dumb spirit tormented boy with seizure was healed despite the unbelief of even the boy’s father. 

Mark 2: Forgave and healed a paralytic carried by four men who had faith and were undeterred by the crowd. They  uncovered the roof and let down the bed so Jesus could heal him. (Spirit, soul and body)

Mark 10: Let the little children come to Him, took them up in His arms and blessed them.  (Special attention.)

Mark 12: Took note of and praised one poor widow who could had only two small copper coins and gave all to the temple. (Special attention.)

Luke 7: Raised from dead the son of a widow of Nain. (Special attention.)

Luke 7: While being a guest in a Pharisees’ house, Jesus let a repentant sinner woman wash his feet with her tears, wipe with her hair, kiss his feet and anoint them with fragrant oil. (Spirit, soul and body)

Luke 14: Healed a man with dropsy on Sabbath in the home of a ruler of the Pharisees. 

Luke 15: All the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. (Spirit and soul)

Luke 17: Ten lepers cleansed, including a Samaritan. 

Luke 18: Counseled a rich young ruler. (Spirit and soul)

Luke 18: Stopped for a blind beggar, Bartimaeus, near Jericho and healed him.

Luke 19: Brought salvation to a rich chief tax collector, Zacchaeus and his house. (Spirit and soul)

John 4: Shared the Kingdom of God with a Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. (Spirit and soul)

John 4: A Samaritan (foreign) woman who had five husbands and was living with one not her husband. (Spirit and soul)

John 4: Healed the dying son of a nobleman.

John 8: Jesus pointed out that not one of the accuser was without sin. So the adulteress was forgiven and not condemned, and He asked her to go and sin no more. (Spirit, soul and body)

John 9: Healed a man who was born blind. 

John 11: Raised Lazarus who was dead for four days. 

Summary of those whom Jesus healed and saved: Luke 5:31-32 NLT 31 Jesus answered them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. 32 I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.”

Application: Think about why we need Jesus. Why is remembering His birth so important? What more do we still need to ask since He has given all He has for all mankind? 

2024-12-17 Καὶnos

2024 Advent Deeper Christmas Devotion Day 6: a greater present for Christmas!

Would you like to know the end before you begin? Imagine the pain of a parent of a child who knows of the short and painful lifespan of their child before birth or even conception. The Father God knew of what His beloved Son would go through even before the foundation of the earth. Jesus knew. He was there together with the Creator Father God and the Holy Spirit from the very beginning of this earth and mankind. What greatness in love for them to have agreed to let Jesus come to earth for the most excruciating painful assignment in spite of the foreknowledge of the eventual outcome This is what we need to think upon today as we walk with Jesus to the deeper end during this Advent (Sun, Dec 1, 2024 – Tue, Dec 24, 2024). 

What is Advent? the arrival of a notable person or thing. The first season of the Church year, leading up to Christmas and including the four preceding Sundays.

Advent is a season observed in most Christian denominations as a time of waiting and preparation for both the celebration of Jesus’s birth at Christmas and the return of Christ at the Second Coming. It begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas, often referred to as Advent Sunday. The name comes from Latin adventus (‘coming; arrival’), translating the Greek parousia from the New Testament, originally referring to the Second Coming.

The first coming dealt with the salvation and redemption of mankind. What about the Second Coming? 

The Second Coming: Bible verses (Excerpts quoted from NLT Bible unless otherwise specified)

Matthew 24:36–44: “However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows. 37 “When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day.

Luke 21:25–28: 27 Then everyone will see the Son of Man coming on a cloud with power and great glory. 28 So when all these things begin to happen, stand and look up, for your salvation is near!”.  

John 5:28–29: 28 Don’t be so surprised! Indeed, the time is coming when all the dead in their graves will hear the voice of God’s Son, 29 and they will rise again. Those who have done good will rise to experience eternal life, and those who have continued in evil will rise to experience judgment.

1 Thessalonians 4:16–17: 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. 17 Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. 

Revelation 1:7: Look! He comes with the clouds of heaven.

And everyone will see him—

    even those who pierced him.

And all the nations of the world

    will mourn for him.

Yes! Amen!.

Hebrews 9:27–28 (NKJV): 27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, 28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.

Matthew 24:26–31 (NKJV): “27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.” “29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days … 30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. “ (Three times in the NT we are told about the “trumpet call of God” which is always associated with the second Advent and the great resurrection of the dead. Matt. 24:31; 1 Cor. 15:52; 1 Thess. 4:16.)

1 Thessalonians 5:1–3 (NKJV): But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. 2 For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.

1 Corinthians 15:51–52: 51 But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! 52 It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. 

John 14:1–3: ““Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. 2 There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.”

The Good News of the Second Coming of Jesus gives hope and assurance of a secured future. This brings Christmas to another level of depth about the grace and truth that came through Jesus’ first coming. 

Application: Continue to meditate on the goodness and love of God through giving all mankind Jesus, the ultimate present!

2024-12-16

2024 Advent Deeper Christmas Devotion Day 5: Neither ashamed nor afraid

 Often Christians are ashamed. Why? Where? How come? These are the questions for which we find answers from our brethren the apostle Paul today as we dive into deeper waters with Jesus. Jesus assured us not to be afraid. Paul assured us not to be ashamed. He was not ashamed too. 

Romans 1:16-17 New Living Translation

16 For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.[a] 17 This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”[b]

Footnotes

1:16 Greek also the Greek.

1:17 Or “The righteous will live by faith.” Hab 2:4.

1. Why are Christians ashamed to tell the Good News of Jesus even at His birthday celebration right now? They don’t know the power of God in the Gospel:
1. They are afraid of being rejected, ridiculed, not politically correct, judged, and worse, even persecuted. 
2. They do not know in Christian faith we are required to just believe and carry out our belief by faith in the living God.
3. God has assured of a divine power, through the Holy Spirit, to carry out to fulfill His purpose of saving lost souls.
4. This salvation is available for everyone who believes, regardless of race and past beliefs. 
2. What is this all powerful God-initiated Good news about Jesus?

Romans 1:3-5 New Living Translation

3 The Good News is about his Son. In his earthly life he was born into King David’s family line, 4 and he was shown to be[a] the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit.[b] He is Jesus Christ our Lord. 5 Through Christ, God has given us the privilege[c] and authority as apostles to tell Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey him, bringing glory to his name.

Footnotes

1:4a Or and was designated.

1:4b Or by the Spirit of holiness; or in the new realm of the Spirit.

1:5 Or the grace.

In summary, you have to believe this:

1. The Good News is about Jesus Christ, the Son of God
2. He was born into King David’s family line on earth, just as prophesied
3. He died for us and was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit
4. The God News is all about Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Application: Our belief is based entirely on the truth given in the Bible, as we believe by faith and not by sight. With man’s tendency to use our mind this is hard and quite impossible. But with God, nothing is impossible. This Christmas let us expect the divine intervention of the Holy Spirit from God making the impossible to possible!  

Note from my post on 2022-12-20: “Jesus has declared that He and His Father are one. Jesus also says this of us (His believers): “I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.” And His Father is our Father. This is the greatest assurance today. As we are united with Christ and God, we have nothing to fear or worry about. His house is our house. His lives in us and His divine life is our real life. He does things with us, speaks to us and teaches us. He gives us all good gifts. He loves us to the extent of giving His Son to us, to redeem us so that we can return to Him and be reconciled with Him as His children. He sent His Son to purchase our life, pay for our healing and divine health too.”

He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Romans 8:32

2024-12-11 Καὶnos

2024 Advent Deeper Christmas Devotion Day 4: “You are worth it”

 

Jesus knew beforehand who He was and what He was born for. Even as a young twelve year old child He answered His mother, “Why were you searching for me? . . . . Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49) As an adult He definitely demonstrated His full knowledge of His Sonship of God the heavenly Father. (John 8:58, 17:5) John 8 58 Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” John 17 5 And now, O Father, glorify Me together [a]with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was. (a. Lit. alongside)

Being the beloved Son of God and one with God, He knows all about the Father’s love for Him. In Luke 15 He used three common scenarios to tell of our worth/relationship with God: the parable of the lost sheep, the lost silver coin and the lost son. In the Jewish culture to lose a sheep as a shepherd would be a very shameful thing, a coin from a piece of bridal jewelry lost in her own house would be more shameful, followed by the lost son, which was the worst of all in Jewish culture.

Summary: In all cases, regardless of physical or intrinsic value, there is an attitude of care involved.

Lost sheep: The shepherd cares for the one sheep.

Lost silver coin: The woman cares for the one coin.

Lost son: The Father cares for the lost son.

Jesus spoke of the first two parables in only 8 verses. He told of the prodigal/lost son’s story in great details (22 verses). It is evident that He wants us to relate to this passage and apply to our personal condition. In God’s eyes, we are/once were lost/prodigal sons in some if not all aspects of lives.

Read the two verses that revealed how the father viewed His lost son: Luke 15:24, 32

24 for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry. 32 It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’ ”

The unrepentant lost son was as lost as dead to the father. So were we all before God until we repented and accepted Christ and His atonement for our sins.

Study on the word “dead”. Thayer’s Greek Lexicon: STRONGS NT 3498: νεκρός

1. Properly,  a. one that has breathed his last, lifeless:

b. deceased, departed, one whose soul is in Hades: Revelation 1:18; Revelation 2:8; νεκρός ἦν, was like one dead, as good as dead, Luke 15:24, 32): 1 Peter 4:6; Revelation 20:5, 12f; τίς ἀπότῶν νεκρῶν, one (returning) from the dead, the world of spirits, Luke 16:30; ἐκ νεκρῶν, from the dead, occurs times too many to count.

c. destitute of life, without life, inanimate: God is the guardian God not of the dead but of the living, Matthew 22:32; Mark 12:27; Luke 20 38 So he is the God of the living, not the dead, for they are all alive to him.”

2. Tropically:

a. (Spiritually dead, i. e.) “destitute of a life that recognizes and is devoted to God, because given up to trespasses and sins; inactive as respects doing right”: John 5 25 Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. Ephesians 2:1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

b. Universally, destitute of force or power, inactive, inoperative Romans 6:11 of things 11 So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.

HELPS Word-studies: 3498 nekrós (an adjective, derived from nekys, “a corpse, a dead body”) – dead; literally, “what lacks life”; dead; (figuratively) not able to respond to impulses, or perform functions (“unable, ineffective, dead, powerless,” L & N, 1, 74.28); unresponsive to life-giving influences (opportunities); inoperative to the things of God.

Application: When we celebrate the birth of Jesus, we actually see how God, the Father, loves us, all mankind. He loves to the point of giving His beloved Son for us. Otherwise there is no need for Jesus to be born as a man and go through a painful death Himself.

John 18:37 The Voice

Pilate: 37 So You are a king?

Jesus: You say that I am king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the cosmos: to demonstrate the power of truth. Everyone who seeks truth hears My voice.

2024-12-10 Καὶnos

2024 Advent Deeper Christmas Devotion Day 3: that you may believe

 Who is He, where is He from? How is it that the whole world is celebrating His birthday? According to the New Testament, the key identity of Jesus Christ is that He is the Son of God.  This is seen in the importance of the need to understand, confess, and believe this about Jesus in the following verses:

 Matt 16:13-17 That You May Believe

³⁰ And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; ³¹ but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

John 20:30-31

²² Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. ²³ Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

1 John 2:22-23

⁹ If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of ^[a]God which He has testified of His Son. ¹⁰ He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. ¹¹ And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. ¹² He who has the Son has ^[b]life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. ¹³ These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, ^[c]and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.

Footnotes

• 1 John 5:9 NU God, that
• 1 John 5:12 Or the life
• 1 John 5:13 NU omits the rest of v. 13.

Application: Ponder this crucial verse: He who has the Son has ^[b]life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. That means there is no option to eternal life with God and the Son of God in us (and we in Him) guarantees this status after this life on earth. It means our destiny hinges on Jesus’ birth and our belief in Him as we hear and read all about Him in the Bible. 

Prophet Isaiah prophecies the birth of Jesus in his well-known prophecy of the Messiah, given about 700 years before Jesus was born to Mary,...

Read on...

 https://kzlam36.wordpress.com/2024/12/09/christmas-journey-with-jesus-day-3-that-you-may-believe/

2024 Advent Deeper Christmas Devotion Day 2: Death abolished! Immortality revealed!

 

The birth of Jesus has brought this Good News: “but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,” 

Why is this Good News? The answer is : ...https://kzlam36.wordpress.com/2024/12/05/christmas-journey-day2-death-abolished-immortality-revealed/

2024 Advent Deeper Christmas Devotion: Day 1: The rising of the Morning Star

 Peter knew that he was leaving soon, and he wrote this. His last testimony. He knew Jesus. And he followed to the end. There is no record of his personal life except that he was married with a wife and also a mother-in-law! Peter brought his family...

https://kzlam36.wordpress.com/2024/12/04/let-the-day-dawns-and-the-morning-star-rises-in-your-hearts-christmas-meditation/