#the one on the significance of jesus as lamb of god and the blood of the lamb had me frothing at the mouth excited abt it for weeks

[sleepyyghostt]

if anyone's like, interested in wisely understanding/interpreting/analysing the bible, i seriously can't recommend this book enough one billion million times. You CAN Handle The Truth by Chad M Mansbridge (hes got a legendary name)

The title is based on the verse from 2 timothy - "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15)

so its saying, like: you ARE cabable of parsing and interpreting and wisely handling the truth (bible). and here's the tools to equip you with how. i like that a lot.

its got 3 main sections: what does it say, what does it mean, and what does it matter, each containing a whole bunch of smaller sections (a few pages long) covering lots of good topics.

Its important foundational stuff for everyone, really, and its written in a way that feels really engaging and accessible (in a very conversational tone!!) so YEAH! highly recommend this book c:

[hopealoft]

Who is Jesus Christ?

5. The Lamb of God:

A lamb is a young sheep. If someone says they have a lamb, it just means that they have a young sheep. However, if the person was a High Priest from Old Testament times, then owning a lamb has a more significant meaning. In those times, it was common practice to sacrifice a lamb to God as a propitiation for sins.

A lamb is young, innocent, pure. So, when the Bible refers to Jesus as the Lamb of God, it means that Jesus is God’s pure sacrifice.

You might ask for what? For the sins of mankind.

John 1:29 —The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

1Peter 1: 19 —but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.

Why Jesus and no one else?

As lambs are used for sacrifice because they are without blemish, God chose Jesus as a sacrifice for our sins because Jesus was without sin.

Hebrews 7:26-29 —For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens; who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. For the law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever.

All of mankind is sinful, humans were born in sin and inherit sin. There were many prophets who had died for the sake of serving God, but their death were not considered by God as propitiation in the same way God considered the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. This is because even though they dedicated their lives to serving God, at their very best, they were sinful Humans.

Romans 3:23-25 —for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.

Jesus’s sacrifice is once and for all — Hebrews 7:27, so in the community of Jesus’s followers, sacrificing of lambs is no longer practiced. They rather fix their eyes on Jesus, and aim to live like Jesus commands.

This is how much God desires the salvation of humans, so much that the Son of God was given (sacrificed), so that whosoever believes in Him (Jesus) should not perish but have everlasting life. —John 3:16

Do you believe in Jesus?

Say this prayer to invite Jesus into your life:

“Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness.I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life.”

Now, join a sound, Bible-believing and practicing church. Continue to study Jesus’s words and live as He wants His followers to live.

[freebiblestudies]

The Three Angels' Messages Lesson 03: Shine

Revelation 14:9-11 - Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name."

The third angel’s message is very ominous and scary. The third angel’s message also leaves us full of questions. What is the mark of the beast? Is it a tattoo or a bar code of some sort? How can we avoid getting this mark? Before we try to answer any of these questions, there is something important we need to discuss first. Did you know that God has a mark for His people?

Let’s read together Revelation 6:12-17 and 7:1-4.

There is a question asked at the end of Revelation chapter 6.  “Who is able to stand when Jesus comes again?  The answer is given at the beginning of Revelation chapter 7.  Those who have the seal of the living God on their foreheads will be preserved.

The mark of the beast and the seal of God are antithetical to each other – you can only have one or the other.  Ultimately, everyone must choose one mark or the other.  The mark of the beast and the seal of God both involve worship.

Let’s read together Revelation 14:1 and 22:4.

What is the seal of God?  The 144,000 and God’s redeemed people who have been saved by the blood of Jesus both have the name of God written on their foreheads.  What is the significance of this?

Let’s read together Exodus 33:18-23 and 34:1-35.

God’s name, God’s law, and God’s character are all one and the same.  When Moses asked to see God’s glory, God agreed upon three conditions:

Moses was to be put in a cleft of rock

God would cover Moses with His hand

Moses could only see God’s back

God then passed by Moses and proclaimed His name and character.  God wrote His law, the ten commandments, again on two tables of stone.  When Moses came back down the mountain, he told the children of Israel God’s commandments.

Let’s read together Genesis 17:4-6, 15-16; Genesis 33:22-28; Daniel 1:3-8; and Acts 9:1-5, 13:9.

There have been instances in the Bible where God changed an individual’s name to reflect a new identity.  God changed the names of Abram (“high or exalted father”) and  Sarai (“my lady or my princess”) to Abraham (“father of multitudes) and Sarah (“princess”).  God changed their names to reaffirm His promise that they will have a child and his descendants would become a great nation.

God changed the name of a Jacob (“supplanted”) to Israel (“contends with God”) to signify his reception of the same covenant promise given to Abraham and Isaac.

Nebuchadnezzar changed the names of Daniel and his friends as part of his attempt to indoctrinate them into Babylonian culture and thinking.

Jesus changed the name of Saul, a persecutor of Christians, to Paul when he became a follower of Christ.

Let’s read together Psalm 19:7; Isaiah 6:3; Matthew 5:45; and Romans 7:12.

God’s name, God’s law, and God’s character are all one and the same. Anything said about God’s name can also be said about His law.  For example, God is holy and perfect.  God’s law is also holy and perfect.

Let's read together Exodus 20:8-11 and Ezekiel 20:12, 20.

The fourth commandment in the Bible tells us when we worship and who we worship. The Sabbath is a sign that God alone makes us holy. Our own works cannot make us holy. We must trust in and rest in God's work for us. We cannot add to the work of salvation. We can only enjoy it. The Sabbath is a sign of trusting in Christ's righteousness and not our own.

Let’s read together Deuteronomy 6:1-8; Ecclesiastes 9:10.; John 3:16; and Hebrews 10:16.

God is actually talking about the Ten Commandments in this passage of Deuteronomy. How do we know this? Moses just repeated the Ten Commandments to the people of Israel in Deuteronomy chapter 5. Did Moses mean in Deuteronomy 6:8 that we have to literally bind stone tablets to our hands? Of course not! Let the things you do demonstrate the God you serve.

Additionally, Moses did not want us to literally bind a copy of the Ten Commandments between our eyes. What is between your eyes? It’s your forehead, which plays an important role in processing information in a meaningful way.  If God’s name is on your forehead, then His law is on your forehead. Moses wanted us to take the name of God, the holiness of God, and the law of God and put them into our minds.

Let’s read together Romans 5:1-2 and  Ephesians 2:8.

Remember, salvation is by faith through grace. You cannot obtain salvation by your own works. Salvation is a decision you make in your mind. The seal of God can only be communicated and applied in the mind.

Conversely, the mark of the beast can be received by the hand or the forehead. You can receive the mark of the beast by your works or by your mind. It is the inculcation of principles that are against the name, the character, and the law of God. This disabuses us of the notion that the mark of the beast is some kind of literal tattoo or barcode placed upon our bodies.

If you have the seal of God, then you don't have to worry about the mark of the beast, even if you didn't know what the mark of the beast is! The seal of God is the name of God, the law of God put right into your mind. You accept the seal of God by faith, and God works outside of you to declare you righteous and inside of you to make you righteous by the power of the Holy Spirit. When you have a daily personal relationship with God, He will write His law into your hearts.

Let’s read together Exodus 20:11; Matthew 24:24; 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4; Hebrews 4:1-11; Revelation 13:4; and Revelation 14:6, 9-12.

Worship is tied to receiving the mark of the beast.  If the seventh-day Sabbath is a sign of God’s authority, then the mark of the beast must be a counterfeit sign.

Consider the following excerpt from The Catholic Record of London, Ontario, Sept.1, 1923, p.4:

Protestants reject Divine Tradition, the Unwritten Word, which Catholics accept as of equal authority with the Written Word, the Bible. The Divine authority given by Christ to the Church to teach in His name, to bind and loose, Protestants deny. For them - and it is their boast - the Bible and the Bible alone has Divine authority.

Now in the matter of Sabbath observance the Protestant rule of Faith is utterly unable to explain the substitution of the Christian Sunday for the Jewish Saturday. It has been changed. The Bible still teaches that the Sabbath or Saturday should be kept holy. There is no authority in the New Testament for the substitution of Sunday for Saturday. Surely it is an important matter. It stands there in the Bible as one of the Ten Commandments of God. There is no authority in the Bible for abrogating this Commandment, or for transferring its observance to another day of the week.

For Catholics it is not the slightest difficulty. "All power is given Me in heaven and on earth; as the Father sent Me so I also send you," said our Divine Lord in giving His tremendous commission to His Apostles. "He that heareth you heareth Me." We have in the authoritative voice of the Church the voice of Christ Himself. The Church is above the Bible; and this transference of Sabbath observance from Saturday to Sunday is proof positive of that fact. Deny the authority of the Church and you have no adequate or reasonable explanation or justification for the substitution of Sunday for Saturday in the Third - Protestant Fourth - Commandment of God.

Sunday worship does not have a Biblical basis. It has pagan roots. It is the mark of the Roman Catholic Church’s authority over the Bible. It has been adopted by Protestant churches and rationalized as “the Christian Sabbath” without any biblical support.

Why should we keep the seventh-day Sabbath? The Sabbath:

Was created by Jesus before sin and the day He rested from creation (Genesis 2:3)

Was commanded at Sinai by Jesus (Exodus 20:8-11)

Was kept and honored by Jesus (Luke 4:16)

Was kept by all of Jesus’ Old Testament followers (Ezekiel 20:12)

Was kept by all of Jesus’ New Testament followers (Luke 23:56; Acts 13:42, 33)

Is a sign of both creation and salvation (Exodus 20:8-11; Deuteronomy 5:12-15)

Is the day Jesus calls us to remember and honor (Exodus 20:8-11; Ezekiel 20:20)

Will be kept in heaven (Isaiah 66:23)

Note in Revelation 14:11 that those who receive the mark of the beast have no rest. The Sabbath is all about rest. The physical rest on the Sabbath is a sign of our creation.  The spiritual rest on the Sabbath is a sign of our redemption.

John contrasts those who get the mark of the beast with those who keep the commandments of God in spirit and truth. God's people have His name and law inculcated into their very minds, thoughts, and thinking.

Let’s read together Daniel 3:1-6; John 16:2; and Revelation 14:8-12..

Note that no one has the mark of the beast right now.  Just like in Daniel chapter 3, the mark of the beast will only come about when a day of worship is enforced by civil authorities.  Additionally, there will be legal punishment for those who do not worship on that day.

Let’s read together John 14:15; Galatians 5:22-26; and James 2:14-26.

Apple trees don’t produce apples to be apple trees, but because they are apple trees. In the same sense, Christians don’t do good works to be saved, but because they are saved. Works do not get or earn you salvation.  Rather,  works are the result of salvation based on what Jesus did for us.

Let’s read together Genesis 15:6; Deuteronomy 30:19; Joshua 24:15; Romans 1:17, 3:23-24, 8:6; Galatians 3:24; James 2:10; and Revelation 2:10.

When Adam and Eve were in the garden of Eden, they were expected to keep all of God’s commandments.  God only tested their faith in Him on one point - to not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  Likewise, God’s people in these end times will be expected to keep His commandments.  The final test will be only on one point - will we keep the seventh-day Sabbath, the true day of worship?

What is the message of the third angel?  It is a message about righteousness by faith.  Will you have faith in Jesus?  Will you stand strong and keep all of His commandments out of love and obedience to His word? Will you stand strong in the face of overwhelming peer pressure to worship on another day?  Will your faith endure to the end, even if it meant your death?

Friend, the third angel's message is not to be feared, but to be welcomed! It is good news for all those who have the seal of God! Jesus is promising to destroy sin and death forever!

[mysterycharacterflowers]

A bouquet of red spider lillies, forget-me-nots, purple hyacinth, deadly nightshades and white lillies VS Ornithogalum

First, let's talk about the bouquet of red spider lilies, forget-me-nots, purple hyacinth, deadly nightshades and white lilies

Why these flowers were chosen and their meaning: Spider lillies: Death, final goodbyes etc. Often used in funerals and grown around cemeteries. | Forget-me-nots: self-explanatory, but also a symbol of true love. Which in this case is subverted. | Purple hyacinth: deep sorrow, regret and a desire for forgiveness. I think this one's particularly interesting because it doesn't symbolize her directly but is, rather, very strongly tied to the impact her death had. | Deadly nightshade: also self-explanatory. Symbolises betrayal. In addition -- a plant that's (both in her universe and ours) historically been used for its poisonous properties. | White lillies: purity of the departed, when talking about death. Also for white of snow. Four out of five flowers here are a popular choice for funerals/are associated with death. She died really young, betrayed, at the hands of the person she loved and trusted a lot, so I thought it would be fitting. Also in terms of color -- all of these together in a boquet would look like a splatter of blood on snowy and rocky terrain, which is fitting to the circumstances of her death as well. Description: This character died more than three thousand years the story she is from takes place. She is related to the protagonists in two ways: first is that she's probably their great-...-great grandparent's sister. Second is that they [...] look very similar to her in terms of facial features. This is significant because the guy who killed her ends up surviving and meeting them. He's a changed man at that point. [...] indirectly, she also saved her great-..-nephew's life at least once. She lives on, very strongly, in her killer's (former lover's) memory. It's not a "haunting" or even "regret or sorrow" sort of thing, per se, but it is there. What matters the most is that he denies himself the thoughts of her because he can't admit to making a (ginormous) mistake and also because even if he wanted forgiveness, there's no one left to give it. So he just represses it further. So that guy could become what he wanted to become above all else, one had to give up what they treasured most -- could be a thing, a person, or an action. So her killer had to trick her and then carve out her heart and eat it in order to prove his loyalty to his overlords and gain what he desired. Problem is -- he ended up detesting that as well (for other reasons). So not only was her death tragic, it was also essentially for nothing. Her actual personality has been erased through time (fancy for "she's defined more by the impact she's made rather than by her actual self") but she did have an affinity for magic and was also very fond of crows. TLDR: woman killed, influences the rest of the story in many unforseen ways, gives killer ptsd which he denies having for the rest of his extremely long life until he doesn't

Check her post here for the full description

Now, let's talk about the Ornithogalum

Meaning and why this flower was chosen: Ornithogalum (also known as Star of Bethlehem) symbolises innocence and purity, as well as atonement and death. Also Jesus lol. Which is fitting as this character is a good person who believes they're a bad person. They're both the hero of the story and a sacrificial lamb, trying to live up to their father's legacy. Description: Oh god, my buddy [redacted]. They're convinced they're a bad person who needs to be punished, when really they're a selfless hero with the kindest heart imaginable. Once symbolically murdered themself in a dream, and consequentially changed their milkshake order to symbolise they were a changed person. Has been a firefighter, teacher, construction worker. Pro-union. Once got kissed by a guy and then immediately stabbed by him as part of a fucked up dnd game. Believes a game of football could fix the prison system. The narrator is in love with them.

Check their post here

[yokefellows]

How to Maximize Your Life on Earth

Today’s Saying

Every day you live is a gift from God. So Maximise your life by making a real impact for Jesus Christ each and every day.

Today’s Scripture

And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. 1 Peter 1:17-19

Today’s Sermonette

One of the great minds in the history of the world was Benjamin Franklin. During his life, he coined countless pithy statements that were packed with nuggets of truth.

And one of my favorite quotes from Franklin is, “Doest thou love life? Then do not squander time, for time is the stuff life is made of.”

This statement reflects a very biblical truth: God has given each of us a certain number of minutes with which we’re able to make an impact in the world.

Yet, many people squander their time here on earth and do nothing that is of significance for the Kingdom.

But the truth is that while we are here in the world (what today’s passage calls “exile”), God wants us to maximize our influence among others for the sake of the Kingdom.

While many pursue riches that perish, we’re to pursue riches that will never perish… the things of Christ!

Every day you live is a gift from God. So as the Christmas decorations get ready to come down, get ready to step into the coming year renewed and recommitted to living your days to their fullest for the sake of Christ!.

Maximise your life by making a real impact for Jesus Christ each and every day!

Today’s Supplication

Father, thank You for the gift of life and the precious time You have entrusted to me. Help me to use each moment wisely, living with purpose and intention for Your glory. May I not chase after fleeting riches but seek the eternal riches found in Christ alone. Guide my steps to make a meaningful impact for Your Kingdom, and may my life reflect Your love and truth to others. Renew my heart and mind for the days ahead, and empower me to live fully for You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

[freebiblestudyhub]

Is It Forbidden to Eat Lamb in the Bible?

The Bible contains numerous dietary laws and regulations, particularly in the Old Testament, that define what is permissible for God's people to eat and what is not. The question of whether it is forbidden to eat lamb in the Bible requires an exploration of the relevant passages in both the Hebrew Scriptures (the Old Testament) and the Christian New Testament. These laws and teachings are rooted in the broader concept of holiness, purity, and God's covenant with His people.

In this article, we will explore the Bible’s stance on eating lamb, examining both the dietary laws given to the Israelites in the Old Testament and how these laws are addressed in the New Testament. We'll also consider the symbolic significance of lamb in the Bible and whether eating lamb is considered forbidden under any circumstances.

Dietary Laws in the Old Testament

The dietary laws in the Old Testament, particularly in the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy, form a significant part of the covenant between God and the people of Israel. These laws, often referred to as kosher laws or clean and unclean laws, are detailed guidelines regarding which animals are considered clean and fit for consumption and which are not. The laws also govern how animals should be slaughtered and prepared for eating.

Clean and Unclean Animals

In Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14, God outlines which animals the Israelites are allowed to eat, and these lists include certain characteristics that make an animal "clean" or "unclean." The general principle is that clean animals must have split hooves and chew cud. These laws were meant to distinguish Israel from the surrounding nations and to symbolize purity and holiness.

Leviticus 11:3 (NIV): "You may eat any animal that has a divided hoof and that chews the cud."

Deuteronomy 14:6 (NIV): "You may eat any animal that has a divided hoof and that chews the cud."

Lamb, being a ruminant (an animal that chews cud) and having split hooves, is clearly considered a clean animal in the Bible. Therefore, eating lamb is not forbidden by the dietary laws given to the Israelites in the Old Testament.

Lamb and the Passover Sacrifice

Lamb holds a significant role in Israelite worship, especially during the Passover. The Passover lamb was a central part of the celebration commemorating Israel's deliverance from Egypt. In Exodus 12, God commands the Israelites to sacrifice a lamb, place its blood on the doorposts, and eat it as part of the Passover meal. This event marks the beginning of the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt and is a foundational moment in their history.

Exodus 12:3-5 (NIV): "Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household... The lamb you choose must be a year-old male without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats."

In this context, lamb is not just allowed but is specifically required for the ritual of Passover. The lamb must be unblemished, and its meat was eaten in a specific manner: roasted whole, with unleavened bread and bitter herbs, and the blood was used as a sign of protection.

Thus, lamb is not only permitted in the Bible but is also a symbol of redemption and sacrifice.

The Role of Lamb in Biblical Symbolism

Beyond dietary laws, the lamb has significant symbolic meaning in the Bible, particularly as a symbol of sacrifice, innocence, and atonement. The most notable of these symbols is the Lamb of God, a title used for Jesus Christ in the New Testament.

Lamb as a Symbol of Atonement

Throughout the Old Testament, the sacrificial lamb represents the idea of atonement for sin. In Isaiah 53, the coming Messiah is described as a suffering servant who will bear the sins of many, and He is compared to a lamb led to slaughter:

Isaiah 53:7 (NIV): "He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth."

This passage foreshadows the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who is referred to as the Lamb of God in the New Testament. John the Baptist identifies Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world in John 1:29.

John 1:29 (NIV): "The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, 'Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!'"

This concept of the sacrificial lamb is integral to the Christian understanding of Jesus' death on the cross. Christians believe that Jesus, as the Lamb of God, fulfilled the Old Testament sacrificial system by offering Himself as the perfect sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins. Thus, while lamb is used for food and sacrifice in the Old Testament, it also serves as a symbol pointing forward to the ultimate sacrifice in Christ.

Dietary Laws in the New Testament

The New Testament introduces a shift in the understanding of dietary laws, particularly with the advent of Jesus Christ and the teachings of the apostles. The book of Acts, along with the letters of Paul, presents a more inclusive view of dietary practices, emphasizing that believers in Christ are no longer bound by the strict dietary regulations of the Old Testament.

Peter’s Vision in Acts 10

In Acts 10, the apostle Peter has a vision in which God commands him to eat animals that were previously considered unclean under the Jewish law. In the vision, a sheet containing various animals is lowered from heaven, and God tells Peter to eat. When Peter refuses, citing the dietary laws, God responds:

Acts 10:15 (NIV): "Do not call anything impure that God has made clean."

This vision symbolizes the inclusion of Gentiles into the Christian faith and signals that the old dietary restrictions no longer apply to Christians. The distinction between clean and unclean foods was part of the Old Covenant, and with the New Covenant brought through Jesus Christ, these laws were fulfilled and no longer binding on believers.

Paul’s Teaching on Food

The apostle Paul further elaborates on the freedom believers have in regard to food. In Romans 14, Paul explains that food itself is not the issue for Christians; rather, the matter of eating certain foods becomes important only if it causes another believer to stumble in their faith. The key idea is that Christians are not bound by the ceremonial laws of the Old Testament, including dietary laws:

Romans 14:14 (NIV): "I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself."

In 1 Corinthians 10:25, Paul reiterates that Christians have the freedom to eat any food, as long as it does not lead to idolatry or harm the conscience of others:

1 Corinthians 10:25 (NIV): "Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience."

These passages affirm that, under the New Covenant, Christians are no longer prohibited from eating certain foods, including lamb, as the dietary laws of the Old Testament were fulfilled in Christ.

Is Eating Lamb Forbidden in the Bible?

Based on the Bible’s teachings, eating lamb is not forbidden. In fact, lamb is considered clean and permissible under the dietary laws in the Old Testament. It is especially significant during the Passover festival, symbolizing God's deliverance of Israel from Egypt and later pointing to the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

In the New Testament, the dietary restrictions of the Old Covenant are no longer binding on Christians. The apostles, especially Peter and Paul, made it clear that all foods are clean under the New Covenant, and believers are free to eat what they choose, as long as it does not cause offense or harm to others.

Thus, whether in the context of religious rituals, such as the Passover, or in daily life, lamb is not forbidden to eat in the Bible. It holds a deeper theological meaning as a symbol of sacrifice and redemption, both in the Old Testament and as a precursor to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Conclusion

In summary, eating lamb is not forbidden in the Bible. In fact, lamb is considered a clean and acceptable food under the dietary laws given to the Israelites in the Old Testament. It holds great symbolic significance, particularly as part of the Passover celebration, which commemorates Israel’s deliverance from Egypt. The New Testament teachings of Jesus and the apostles reveal that Christians are no longer bound by the dietary laws of the Old Testament. Therefore, lamb, like other foods, is permissible for Christians to eat.

While lamb remains significant as a symbol of sacrifice and redemption throughout the Bible, especially in the context of Jesus Christ, there is no biblical prohibition against eating it. The key takeaway is that the act of eating lamb, or any other food, should be done with a grateful heart and in accordance with the principles of love, faith, and conscience as outlined in the New Testament.

[monsooninn]

Berakhot 9b: 9. "The Wondering Jew."

The line of the Kings of Israel has never lasted more than three hours. Israel is not the powerhouse industrialized nation like those whose nipple tits it is suckling from because its past kings were nefarious, notorious, lazy, corrupt, crooked, and cockeyed. But a few of them did not get power mad, pussy whipped, or pushed around by their friends and also their enemies. The nation, as a result, like its kings did not last.

So how do we last longer than a mere three hours if we try again? How do we not drown in a sea of violence? The Talmud says there are Three Shifts or changes in human composition that are needed if a Fourth is to be possible, and the Fourth cannot be a continuation. Something new must happen.

We know the appearance of a Tzaddik will be new and fantastic, he will free the world from black and white thinking, but now the Mishnah says there are additional pairs of opposites humanity must pare down to one Gemara, also called a fourth hour.

On the Fourth Day, the sun, the moon, and the stars come out. The Gemara on these say "the mean, in the circle, round them off." It also says a Reporter will draw the circle. We have the Reporter but not the circle: we have entered the new Aeon because a Third World War replete with a holocaust of the Jewish people has started again. Nothing constructive or effective is being to remove power from its heating elements, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the Republican Party, Donald Trump, the Russians and the master of disaster himself, Charles Mary. All of this, all of it, is taking place on his turf, on his watch.

Most importantly, Israel has not reconstituted with the Holy Land its ancestral property, nor have the Muslims attained properly to Masjid, the Arabic complement to the Mashiach. Muslims who are a sibling of the Israelites, were nearly blamed for October 7 by the Mormons and would surely have all been annihilated for it if the ruse of their involvement in the Gazan Terror Tunnels was not exposed.

All of this now being on the dashboard, things are going too slowly to address the repurcussions of Israel's absence from the game. Our modern understanding of the Mishnah says we need a hot hawk, "fast, not slow. Fast."

Once the Report is made things must change. Failure to change means the Poles, black and white and now blue and white and others will forever remain separate, and the Masjid, the Mashiach and the Aeon connote the opposite effect.

Recall life split in two the night the Black Pillar fell: God told the Israelites, "kill one more time, then live."

"At midnight of 15 Nissan 2448 (1313 BCE), G‑d broke the last manacle of Egyptian bondage by killing all Egyptian firstborn, and the nation of Israel was born as a free people.

The time is significant: twice1 the Torah emphasizes that the event occurred exactly at midnight, and to this day, midnight is a factor in our annual re-experience of the Exodus at the Seder held each year on the eve of 15 Nissan. (Midnight is the deadline for the eating of the matzah and the bitter herbs, for the eating of the meat of the Passover offering, and for eating the afikoman which today represents the Passover offering at our Seder.)

But can an event actually take place at midnight? It would seem not. If midnight is the line that divides the night in two, then it is not a time period of any duration.

No matter how minute a time-particle we might envision as occupying the center of the night, this particle can itself be halved—its first half would belong to the first half of the night, and its second half to the post-midnight half of the night. Indeed, a more literal translation of the Hebrew words kachatzot halailah, rendered above as “at midnight,” would read “as the night divides.” How, then, can anything be said to occur at the time that the night divides?"

The Egyptians, the Mormons etc. AKA the Condederation are our paschal lambs. Their final blood will protect the door to the future for all the people who believe in Israel for all the ages to come.

For this to happen, for an end to all delusion, suspicion, superstition and mythologizing of the Jew to stop, and for Israel to be a cosmically accepted phenomenon, the mouth of the damned river needs to be shut.

9. Matni' from Imaty Corinne heard Shema in the morning? Distinguishes between light blue and white. Rabbi Eliezer says: Between Teklet and Kirti. And finished, up to the hot hawk, Rabbi Yehoshua says up to three hours, for it is the way of kings to stand for three hours.

=

The lumbar, the grain store, Korin With Me heard Shema in the morning? Distinguishes between light blue and white. The Master of the Disciplines of Eli Ezer, "bring me succor" says: Between the Record and the Critical. And finished, up to the hot hawk, He is God, says up to three hours, for it is the way of kings to stand for three hours.

The reason Israel is a figment of our imaginations is because it has not been able to bring succor to humanity in God's Name only profound, lasting, and significant amounts of anguish.

This is not our fault certainly not but "they started this fight but by God we are going to finish it."

It is unfortunately the job of the Jewish people to go on a vendetta against those that have wronged them and be rid of them for good. This will require something Israel has never had in recent times, a King and an army that is willing to remain loyal to him and a nation that can sustain itself.

God says in this Gemara to raise an army of the meanest, most powerful ilk and put it to use in exacting tribute from a world that has exceeded its limits, that has ignored God and taken Him for granted and here is how we can do it:

"The identical noun κορος (koros), also spelled κουρος (kouros), means son in the sense of boy or lad. This word stems from the Proto-Indo-European root "ker-", meaning to grow or become bigger (hence too the familiar Latin verb creo, from which English gets the verb to create). This PIE root is suspiciously similar to the Hebrew root כרר (karar), which describes circular motions with the added nuance of amassing something within the circle so formed.

Our noun κορος (koros) isn't used independently in the Bible, but it's part of the name Dioscuri, and from it derive:

Combined with the prefix επι (epi), meaning on or onto: the noun επικουρος (epikouros), which denotes auxiliary troops as opposed to the military force formed from πολιτης (polites), civilians. In other words: the elite army consisted of the "sons", and the επικουρος (epikouros) were the "for-the-sons" or "in addition to the sons". This word appears in the New Testament only as the name Epicurean, but from it in turn comes:

The noun επικουρια (epikouria), meaning help (from auxiliary, non-native troops). This noun occurs in ACTS 26:22 only, quite tellingly in Paul's declaration that God gave him epikouria, that's help from non-natives or gentiles."

As the Gemara says we must be able to appeal to others whom the Mormons and Republicans and King have harmed and rally; we must make big promises we can keep. The biggest of them all is the Mashiach, an era of lasting health and peace that touches every living thing on this planet. Our enemies are not promising this to anyone, that leaves this task to us.

That being said, it is time to set the record straight. Those fuckers have been raping and murdering and terrorizing Jews, Muslims, black people and gay people for decades with impunity and this time they blew it big time- they tunneled under israel and attacked Jewish people on sacred soil. They have to die because of it.

They aren't planning to help the poor or lost, reduce the temperature of bring love and belonging anywhere on this world. It is time to find the time, the energy and the will power, the space between the blue and white sky where the Magen David sits and execute the Torah.

The Values in Gematria are:

a. Matni' from Imaty Corinne heard Shema in the morning? Distinguishes between light blue and white. The Number is 4919, דט‎אט, "Data: If you are religious..."

b. Rabbi Eliezer says: Between Teklet and Kirti. And finished, up to the hot hawk, Rabbi Yehoshua says up to three hours, for it is the way of kings to stand for three hours. The Number is 10255, יבהה‎ ‎ ‎, "...she wondered?"

Do you know what Israel means? Why as a concept, a precept, a dictate and a nation it is the most important vitamin missing from our diet? Israel means "to surpass one's savage nature." We have not done this because man is inherently corrupt and has not chosen to be sentient instead.

Do you at last understand? Why things are going wrong all around this planet, and what will happen if we donot restore Israel to it? I have made an effective argument, it is time for all of us to die and to be reborn. Some of us will be reborn in the fires of hell but that is as it must be. The rest will be born blue and white, AKA yevzd, "footsteps, welfare, aid, charity, then feast."

Enough with the faith healing and the religion. Government is a science and a duty, we are failing at it and this world is going tilt. Perform the prescribed works and set it right.

[lindajenni]

it's a seasonal thing

"to everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven." eccl 3:1 there certainly are seasons and times.  right now, we know we are in the christmas season.  there are seasons in the worldly sense, i.e. football and baseball seasons, as are there seasons of life.  but do you so easily recognize things in their spiritual season? right now, we are in the one of the most significant spiritual seasons ever.  i don't know if you're like me or not, but when i contemplate this season, i feel as though it is almost surreal; a touch of irrational reality.  and yet, here we are; chosen from all that ever lived to be here in this last generation. right now the history of the end of this age is being recorded in God's books.  but don't let the devil bind you in his prison of pressure.  don't let him silence your tongue from expounding the hope we have set before us.  we are all called to testify.  "and they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death." rev 12:11 most of us will never write a book, compose a song or garner influence over a large number of people.  but each of us has a whisper of influence over those within our realm.  perhaps by the words we speak, but certainly by the witness we live.  "but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in jerusalem, and in all judea and samaria, and to the end of the earth." acts 2:1 we might be the only bible anyone will ever read.  what i mean is that the unsaved might be exposed to the gospel by your very Christ-likeness.  when we are living a life of obedience and reflecting the attributes of God like long-suffering, patience, and love, people see that as attractive and winsome.  when we are walking with Christ, we should be looking more like Christ every day.  use your life for His glory in making disciples of all nations, and live like you really believe it. Jesus once said that "you are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?  it is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men." matt 5:13  so either you’re like the natural salt, which enhances the flavor and also acts as a preservative, or you overdo it, which sometimes stings in wounded people.  unless God’s wrath is revealed against unsaved sinners, God’s mercy will not be relevant. during the gruesome black plague in the 1300s, there was an estimated 75 to 200 million people who died.  those who weren’t christians started noticing that the christians’ funerals were as hopeless as the funerals they had for family.  the christian funeral actually offered hope beyond the day.  that hope is found only in Christ.  those outside the church began to be drawn to this hope, and then they heard the gospel of Jesus Christ where He said, “I am the resurrection and the life.  whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live.” john 1:25  speaking of God, “He is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to Him.” luke 20:38�� these christian funerals began to bring people to Christ because they’d say, “these christians suffer well.  why is that?”  of course, we know why.  we have hope beyond hope.  yes, even a full assurance! the christian is a person who makes it easy for others to believe in God since we are the salt of the world, we are lights in a darkened world, and we suffer well because of our hope in Jesus Christ.  when we reflect Christ, we let people know what He’s like, and that might help to open the door for the gospel to enter their heart. be salty, be light in a darkened world, be Christ-like in all you do or say.  this is the age, the season of grace.  "let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.  and to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints." rev 19:7-8

[allsoulspriory]

Psalm Of Penitence

For I am aware of my rebellious acts; I am forever conscious of my sin. Against you – you above all – I have sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. So you are just when you confront me; you are right when you condemn me. — Ps 51:3-4

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. — Rom 3:23

This psalm is a temple staircase worn by the feet of myriads of penitents. The page is wet with the tears of the most saintly and sinful. Augustine had them written on the walls of his tiny cell at Hippo so that he might appropriate them constantly. Perhaps they are more precious to us at the end of life than at the beginning.

Note the definitions of sin. It is an erasure or blot on the fair page of life, hence the cry, “Blot out my transgressions.” Oh, God would blot out the scribblings and smudges of our later years and bring back the fresh beauty of our youth! It is a stain on the white robe of the soul, hence the petition: “Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity.” There is one way into the Holy City: “Blessed are they that wash their robes and make them white in the Blood of the Lamb.” It is leprosy; hence the cry, “Cleanse me from my sin; purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean.” There was special significance, then, for thee and me when Jesus reached forth His hand and touched the leper, saying: “Be thou clean.”

Note the condition of forgiveness. It is confession. Transgression must be acknowledged. We must realize that sin is not only against man but God, to whom man belongs, and who is affronted by all evil as committed directly against Himself. And our confession must not be superficial but deep and heart-searching. We must go back to our earliest origins, to our connection with a sinful race, to our inward and hidden parts.

Note the cry for purity and righteousness of life. The clean heart has to be created, for there are no materials within us that can be shaped or molded. Eph 4:24 tells us that full provision has been made for this. We desire a “right” or steadfast spirit, which shall not deviate to the right or left but bear straight to the goal. The Greek word for sin is “missing the mark.” We long for a spirit that shall not be deflected. We desire a “free” or willing spirit. Yea, what a transformation is here! But it has been effected in myriads (1Co 6:11).

Prayer

Heavenly Father! Forgive us our many sins, ignorances, and failures, and cleanse us from all iniquity for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Lord. May we hate sin as Thou dost, and may Thy grace sink deeper into our hearts, purifying the springs of thought and action. Amen.

[seth-e-brown-blog]

[ The Priestly Order of Melchizedek ]

“This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life. For it is witnessed of him, “You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.” For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness (for the law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭7‬:‭15‬-‭19‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Melchizedek is mentioned in Genesis, Psalms, and and a few times in Hebrews. (Gen14:18, Psalm110:4, Heb5:6…)

So what’s the significance of the Father saying to Jesus, “You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.”!

Let’s start with a quick breakdown of the covenants.

Abrahamic Covenant / Promise (Gen12:1)

God swore to Abraham to make him the father of a great nation.

Mosaic Covenant / Law (Exodus19)

Blessing to the offspring of Abraham based on obedience to the law.

Davidic Covenant / King (2Sam7)

God unconditionally promises that the messiah would come from the line of Judah and become king over Israel.

New Covenant / Grace (Luke22:20)

Jesus fulfills the law (Mosaic Covenant) and therefore we share in the blessing of God’s plan to establish an everlasting spiritual family.

The law (Mosaic) made nothing perfect. It proved the depravity of the human heart, thus securing the need for an all sufficient sacrifice. Jesus is the lamb slain before the foundation of the earth, and He is the lion of the tribe of Judah found worthy to take the title deed of the earth (the scroll) to rule and reign in Jerusalem.

The levitical priesthood (order of Aaron) was established to stand between people and God in response to the Mosaic covenant (obedience to the law), but the priesthood could never be ultimately successful in its goal. This is why Jesus is our high priest after Melchizedek (instead of Aaron) because of His indestructible life. Jesus is completely without sin, and lives for eternity making intercession for us.

Because Jesus is our high priest after the order of Melchizedek…

1. We are no longer under the law (Gal5:18)

2. Our guilt is washed away and we are made holy as He is holy (1Peter3:21)

3. We get to inherit the promise of God through Jesus’ blood (John1:17)

Praise God for the priestly order of Melchizedek! Now let us not submit again to a yolk of slavery (law), but rather that we would walk by the Spirit and put to death the deeds of the flesh. (Gal5:1)

[yhwhrulz]

Wayside Chapel Daily Devotional 31st March 2023

March 31

Matthew 26:27-29 27Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. 28This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom."

At the Last Supper Jesus did something out of the norm for the traditional Seder of the day. The traditional meal had four cups of wine. Each has a name and spiritual significance. The cup that Jesus was presenting in our text above was the third, the Cup of Redemption. In the past it reminded the people of the blood of the lambs that marked the doorposts in Egypt. The destroying angel saw the blood marked doors and passed over them. Instead of the regular phrases that were repeated here, He told them the cup was about His blood! Some manuscripts include the word 'new' before 'covenant'. In 1 Corinthians 11, Paul quoted it with the words 'new covenant'. What did Jesus mean?

The old covenant was the covenant made on Mount Sinai. It was made with the blood of animals and dependent on the rules being kept. The prophets told of a day when God would make a new covenant. God promised to make one that was not written on stone tablets but written on the transformed heart of the recipient. That day has come.

There is another nuance here that we would catch if we are familiar with traditions of the day. The wording is very much like a proposal for marriage. A groom would present a cup of wine to a prospective bride and propose a covenant of relationship with her. If she took it and drank it all, it meant she received his life and would give him her life as well.

One of the dearest expressions is the last verse. Wine was a symbol of joy and celebration. Jesus said He would not drink it again until He drank it anew with us in the Father's kingdom. We long to be with Him, but this expression tells us how He longs to be with us. This reveals to our hearts His great love for us.

Remember: The next time you have communion, remember the meaning behind these rich symbols and words.

[seekfirst-community]

The following reflection is courtesy of Don Schwager © 2023. Don's website is located at Dailyscripture.net

Meditation: John calls Jesus the Lamb of God and thus signifies Jesus' mission as the One who redeems us from our sins. The blood of the Passover Lamb (Exodus 12) delivered the Israelites in Egypt from slavery and death. The Lord Jesus freely offered up his life for us on the cross as the atoning sacrifice for our sins (1 Corinthians 5:7). The blood which he poured out for us on the cross cleanses, heals, and frees us from our slavery to sin, and from the "wages of sin which is death" (Romans 6:23) and the "destruction of both body and soul in hell" (Matthew 10:28).

John points to Jesus' saving mission - to offer up his life as the atoning sacrifice for our sins

It is significant that John was the son of Zachariah, a priest of Israel who participated in the daily sacrifice of a lamb in the temple for the sins of the people (Exodus 29). John recognized that Jesus was the perfect unblemished lamb offered by the Father in heaven as the one and only sacrifice that could cancel the debt of sin, and free us from death and the destruction of body and soul in hell.

The Holy Spirit reveals who Jesus truly is - the Son of God and Savior of the world

When John says he did not know Jesus (John 1:31,33) he was referring to the hidden reality of Jesus' divinity. But the Holy Spirit in that hour revealed to John Jesus' true nature, such that John bore witness that this is the Son of God. How can we be certain that Jesus is truly the Christ, the Son of the living God? The Holy Spirit makes the Lord Jesus Christ known to us through the gift of faith. God gives us his Spirit as our helper and guide who opens our hearts and minds to receive and comprehend the great mystery and plan of God - to unite all things in his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:10).

Do you want to grow in the knowledge and love of Jesus Christ? Ask the Lord to pour his Holy Spirit upon you to deepen your faith, hope, and love for God and for the plan he has for your life.

"Lord Jesus Christ, fill me with the power of your Holy Spirit and let me grow in the knowledge of your great love and truth. Let your Spirit be aflame in my heart that I may know and love you more fervently and strive to do your will in all things."

The following reflection is from One Bread, One Body courtesy of Presentation Ministries © 2023.

baptized in the spirit

“It is He Who is to baptize with the Holy Spirit.” —John 1:33

Many people talk about being “baptized in the Spirit.” By this, they usually mean having a renewal of their life in the Spirit. However, the Bible considers being baptized in the Spirit to be the same as being baptized, and not a renewal of life in the Spirit. Thus, many people use the phrase, “baptized in the Spirit,” in an un-Biblical way.

Although these people are wrongly using biblical terminology, they are “correct” pastorally. We have a great need to renew our being baptized in the Spirit. Through sin and selfishness, many baptized people have stifled (1 Thes 5:19) and saddened the Holy Spirit (Eph 4:30). If we are to live the Christian life as the Lord intended it to be lived, we must stir into flame the gift of the Holy Spirit (2 Tm 1:6-7).

Today’s Scriptural readings invite us to renew our life in the Spirit. Look at Jesus, the Lamb of God (Jn 1:29). Let Him free you as He freed the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. Let Him take away your sins and the sins of the world (Jn 1:29). “Follow the Lamb wherever He goes”; be pure and uncompromising with the ways of the world (see Rv 14:4). Receive a renewal of being baptized in the Spirit today.

Prayer:  Father, may I want the Spirit as much as I want to breathe. Revive the graces of my Baptism and Confirmation.

Promise:  “I will make you a light to the nations, that My salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” —Is 49:6

Praise:  “I will proclaim Your name to my brethren; in the midst of the assembly I will praise You” (Ps 22:23). Risen Jesus, You are worthy of our praise.

Reference:  (For a related teaching on Power in the Spirit, listen to, download or order our CD 64-1 or DVD 64 on our website.)

Rescript:  "In accord with the Code of Canon Law, I hereby grant the Nihil Obstat for the publication One Bread, One Body covering the time period from December 1,2022 through January 31,2023. Reverend Steve J. Angi, Chancellor, Vicar General, Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio April 12, 2022"

The Nihil Obstat ("Permission to Publish") is a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be free of doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have granted the Nihil Obstat agree with the contents, opinions, or statements

[tpanan]

My Sunday Daily Blessings

January 15, 2023

Be still quiet your heart and mind, the LORD is here, loving you talking to you...........                                                                

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (Roman Rite Calendar) Lectionary 64, Cycle A

First Reading: Isaiah 49:3, 5-6

The LORD said to me: You are my servant, Israel, through whom I show my glory. Now the LORD has spoken who formed me as his servant from the womb, that Jacob may be brought back to him and Israel gathered to him; and I am made glorious in the sight of the LORD, and my God is now my strength!

It is too little, the LORD says, for you to be my servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and restore the survivors of Israel; I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 40:2,4,7-8, 8-9, 10

"Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will."

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:1-3

Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, to the church of God that is in Corinth, to you who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be holy, with all those everywhere who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.                            

Verse before the Gospel: John 1:14a, 12a

R: Alleluia, Alleluia

"The Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us. To those who accepted him, he gave power to become children of God."

R: Alleluia, Alleluia

**Gospel: John 1:29-34

John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. He is the one of whom I said, 'A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.' I did not know him, but the reason why I came baptizing with water was that he might be made known to Israel."

John testified further, saying, "I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from heaven and remain upon him. I did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God."

**Meditation:

John calls Jesus the Lamb of God and thus signifies Jesus' mission as the One who redeems us from our sins. The blood of the Passover Lamb (Exodus 12) delivered the Israelites in Egypt from slavery and death. The Lord Jesus freely offered up his life for us on the cross as the atoning sacrifice for our sins (1 Corinthians 5:7). The blood which he poured out for us on the cross cleanses, heals, and frees us from our slavery to sin, and from the "wages of sin which is death" (Romans 6:23) and the "destruction of both body and soul in hell" (Matthew 10:28). 

John points to Jesus' saving mission - to offer up his life as the atoning sacrifice for our sins It is significant that John was the son of Zachariah, a priest of Israel who participated in the daily sacrifice of a lamb in the temple for the sins of the people (Exodus 29). John recognized that Jesus was the perfect unblemished lamb offered by the Father in heaven as the one and only sacrifice that could cancel the debt of sin, and free us from death and the destruction of body and soul in hell.

The Holy Spirit reveals who Jesus truly is - the Son of God and Savior of the world When John says he did not know Jesus (John 1:31,33) he was referring to the hidden reality of Jesus' divinity. But the Holy Spirit in that hour revealed to John Jesus' true nature, such that John bore witness that this is the Son of God. How can we be certain that Jesus is truly the Christ, the Son of the living God? The Holy Spirit makes the Lord Jesus Christ known to us through the gift of faith. God gives us his Spirit as our helper and guide who opens our hearts and minds to receive and comprehend the great mystery and plan of God - to unite all things in his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:10).

Do you want to grow in the knowledge and love of Jesus Christ? Ask the Lord to pour his Holy Spirit upon you to deepen your faith, hope, and love for God and for the plan he has for your life.

Lord Jesus Christ, fill me with the power of your Holy Spirit and let me grow in the knowledge of your great love and truth. Let your Spirit be aflame in my heart that I may know and love you more fervently and strive to do your will in all things.

Sources:

Lectionary for Mass for use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, copyright (c) 2001, 1998, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain (c) 1968, 1981, 1997, international committee on english in the liturgy, Inc All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner

**Meditations may be freely reprinted and translated into other languages for non-profit use only. Please cite copyright and original source. Copyright 2021 Daily Scripture Readings and Meditation, dailyscripture.net author Don Schwager

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

Devotional Hours Within the Bible

by J.R. Miller

Pilate Sentencing Jesus (John 19:1-16)

Pilate's portrait is hung up in the gallery of the world's great criminals. His is one of the names which never will be forgotten. The incident of the scourging is one of the darkest blots in the story of that terrible Friday. Pilate claimed that he could find no fault in Jesus, and that He should be released - yet, hoping that it would satisfy the Jews, he ordered Him to be scourged. The scourging must be considered as a part of Christ's sufferings as the world's Redeemer. The shame and indignity of being tied like a slave to a whipping post and then beaten until He seemed dead, we never can realize, for, thanks to the softening influence of the religion of Christ, such treatment even of the worst criminals is now unknown in civilized lands. There is, however, a word in Isaiah which gives a fresh meaning to this part of Christ's suffering. "With His stripes we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5), says the prophet. The peace we enjoy is ours, because the rod of chastisement fell upon Him - because He was smitten. Our soul's diseases are healed, their wounds made whole, because the body of Jesus was gashed and lacerated by the horrible scourge!

After the cruel scourging came the crowning with thorns and the mockery of Jesus as a King. "The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head." We ought to look with great love and reverence at the picture - Jesus the Son of God, our Savior, standing there in the midst of heathen soldiers, mocked and insulted by them. We know how truly He is a King, and what a glorious King He is.

When the crusaders had captured the Holy City, Palestine became an independent kingdom. Godfrey, of Bouillon, was made king of Jerusalem, and it was proposed that he be crowned with a golden crown. But Godfrey's noble answer was, "I will not wear a crown of gold in the city where my Savior wore a crown of thorns."

It is a sweet thought, too, that because Jesus wore a crown of thorns in the day of His shame - His redeemed ones shall wear crowns of glory in the life to come.

In one sense this mock coronation of Jesus was very significant. Was He really ever more a King than when He was enduring His cross? All through John's gospel we have seen that Jesus spoke of His going to His cross - as His being glorified. His cross really was His throne. It was on the cross that He fought the great battle and won the great victory of redemption. The cross was the ladder that led up to His throne. His crown of thorns, too, was fitter for Him than a crown of gold would have been, for He was the King of sorrow ; He reached His glory - by His sufferings; He saved His people - by dying for them. He is adored and worshiped now as the King who has lifted men up by His own sorrows and blood to eternal life and blessedness.

Pilate showed pitiful weakness at every step in his dealing with Jesus. He knew there was no sin in Him, and yet he brought Him out to the people and surrendered Him to them. "Behold the Man!" Our eyes should be fixed upon Jesus as He stands there in the presence of the multitude. On His head - is the crown of thorns, and around His torn and bleeding body - is a purple robe, mock emblems of royalty. Behold the Man! Behold the Man enduring shame and contempt, set forth as a spectacle of mockery, that He might be presented at last in glory, and honored before angels and the Father. Behold the Man, reviled - yet reviling not again; hated - but still loving on; cruelly wronged - but speaking no resentful word. Behold the Man, the God-Man, wearing humanity, the Son of God humbling Himself and becoming obedient unto shame and death - that He might save our souls! Behold the Man, holy, sinless, undefiled, separate from sinners - yet bearing upon His own head as the Lamb of God, the sin of the world.

The only righteous thing for a just judge to do when he finds his prisoner innocent - is to set him free. Pilate brought Jesus out to the people - but said plainly, "I find no fault in Him." Nobody could. Nobody ever did. The rulers tried zealously enough to find something that they use as a pretext - but they found nothing. They tried false witnesses - but even these could not agree in their witnessing. Now the keen Roman judge inquires into His character, into His life, into His motives - but finds nothing against Him. No other man has lived in whom no fault could be found. The holiest men have sinned. But Jesus was absolutely sinless. Why then did He suffer as a sinner? We know well the answer. They were our sins that they laid upon Him. "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us" (Galatians 3:13). Christ also has suffered once for sins, "the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God." "Who His own self bore our sins in His own body on the tree."

We never should forget this. In these days perhaps there is a tendency to forget the sacrifice of Christ, in thinking of His salvation. Between us in our curse and our blessing - stands the cross of our Savior. He was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities. Let us praise the grace that took our sins, that we may stand whiter than snow before the throne of judgment!

The silences of Jesus are always as significant as His words. He was silent to Pilate. He understood Pilate's weak insincerity. Pilate had had opportunity enough to do the right thing for Jesus - but he had thrown away His opportunity. Now Jesus would answer no more of His questions. One lesson we must get from this silence - is that if we reject Christ's offer of mercy and grace over and over, the time may come, will come, when Christ will be silent to us. And of all calamities that can possibly ever come to any soul - none could be so great as that Christ should be silent to its prayers. "Then shall they call upon me - but I will not answer; they shall seek me early - but they shall not find me" (Proverbs 1:28).

Another lesson we may learn from Christ's example, is that there come times in all our lives, when silence is better than speech. Often to words of reviling or to insult - silence is the only true Christian answer. To many of the assaults of skeptics on our religion and on our Lord - it is better that we remain silent than that we speak. There is a time to speak boldly and without fear in the presence of Christ's enemies - Christ did speak several times in reply to Pilate - but there are also times when we should keep silence, attempting no answer.

Pilate tried to compel Jesus to answer him. "Don't you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?" The answer of Jesus is very clear. "You would have no power over me - if it were not given to you from above." No man's power belongs to himself, to do with as he pleases; it is given him from God, the Source of all power. This is true of the authority of parents and teachers, and of the power possessed by civil magistrates. Men are eager to obtain positions of power, and they do not always realize the responsibility which is attached to such positions. Power belongs to God, and must be used for God, or its misuse will bring its sore penalty. It is a talent which is given to us to be accounted for, and no treason is worse than malfeasance in the employing of power. This is true all the way from the power of the child on the playground or in the home, up to the power of the president of the nation or of the king on His throne. "You would have no power over me - if it were not given to you from above."

There is another sweet thought suggested by the words "against me" in this sentence. Christ in this world was under the protection of His Father, and no one on earth could lift a finger against Him but by the Father's divine permission. What was true of Him, the Son of God, is true of each one of the sons of God in all their earthly life. Each believer, the humblest, the weakest, is kept in this world as the apple of God's eye. No one can lift a finger to touch one of God's little ones, except by divine permission. This shows how secure we are, amid all the world's dangers and enmities, while we trust ourselves, like little children, in our Father's keeping.

When Pilate ceased His weak efforts to have Jesus released, saying to the rulers, "Behold Your King!" they cried out, "Away with him, crucify him!" Thus they finally rejected their Messiah. We read at the beginning of John's gospel that "He came unto His own - and His own received him not" (1:11 ). The whole story of His life was an illustration of this rejection of Him. Wherever He went they received Him not. Here and there a home opened its doors to Him, and now and then there was a devout heart that made hospitality for Him - but these receptions were so few that they could easily be counted. Crowds of the common people thronged after Him, and many heard Him gladly - but very few became His true disciples. Even on Palm Sunday, five days before He died, there was a vast multitude to cry, "Hosanna!" and wave palm branches; but soon the palms lay withered in the streets, and on Friday only cries of "Crucify him!" were heard in the air. "He came unto His own - and His own received Him not."

It is the saddest event in all history, this coming of the Son of God to this earth, bearing in His hands all divine and heavenly blessings - but finding only shut doors and shut hearts, being compelled to take away His gifts because men would not receive them. We read this old story and wonder how His own people could have treated Him so; yet how is it with us? Do we treat Him any better? We do not cry, "Crucify him!" but we shut the doors of our hearts in His face and keep Him out. We reject and refuse His gifts which He comes all the way from heaven to bring to us. We may not with angry voice exclaim, "Away with him!" but in our hearts many of us do keep Him away.

The struggle had ceased, and "Pilate delivered him therefore unto them to be crucified." He first tried every way to avoid the issue; then he temporized, hoping in some way to evade the responsibility. At least he yielded, and his name goes down through history pilloried forever, as the man who delivered Jesus to be crucified, knowing and confessing that He was free from any crime. He was known in the world by no other act. Surely it is an unenviable notoriety. It had been a thousand times better for him if he had never been horn, or if he had remained forever in quiet obscurity, instead of going to that high place of power in the land, in which he had to meet and deal with this most monentous question of history.

We read in one of the Gospels that Pilate took water in the presence of the people and washed his hands, thus by symbol declaring that he was not responsible for the sentencing of Jesus to die. But the water did not wash away one particle of the stain of the guilt of that terrible sin! Pilate had the misfortune to be the only man in all the province who could send Jesus to the cross. Upon him, therefore, the final responsibility rested, no matter the pressure that was brought to bear upon him by the enemies of Jesus.

Just so, the fact that others urge us to sin - does not take away our guilt for that sin. No being in the universe can compel us to do wrong; if, then, we do wrong - the sin is our own. True, Jesus said there was one other whose guilt was even greater than Pilate's - that was the high priest. His sin was not only that he himself was determined to do wrong - but that he dragged others with him. We remember that the rulers replied to Pilate's act of washing his hands, "His blood be on us and on our children!" (Matthew 27:25). No one who has read the story of the next forty years can doubt that this self-imprecation was fulfilled. Forty years later, thousands of the people were scourged and crucified. The crime of the rulers was successful - but what came of the success in the end? Let us learn that sin brings always terrible woe, and that the worst of all sin - is sin against the Lord Jesus Christ.

[kabane52]

Jacob’s Speckled Flock as a Type of Passover

(Genesis 30:31-32)  He said, "What shall I give you?" Jacob said, "You shall not give me anything. If you will do this for me, I will again pasture your flock and keep it: let me pass through all your flock today, removing from it every speckled and spotted sheep and every black lamb, and the spotted and speckled among the goats, and they shall be my wages.

The word for "pass through" is identical to the word used of the LORD's passing through Egypt on the night of Passover. These texts are connected by the fact that the paschal offering is indeed a lamb (both sheep and goats were acceptable in this context) whose blood is the instrument through which the LORD takes a particular people as sanctified, buying them back as His adopted son. The theme of redemption (purchasing back) is anticipated in this text too, as those sheep and goats which are visibly marked out as spotted and speckled are bought by Jacob in his passing through the flock. 

Other pre-echoes of the paschal redemption can be found in Genesis. In Genesis 41, after being elevated, Joseph "passed through all the land of Egypt" (41:46), language which anticipates "I will pass through the land of Egypt" in Exodus 12:12. Joseph buys back the whole nation, but at what price? It is the price paid at the beginning of the story: the value at which his slave-labor was assessed, twenty pieces of silver. Joseph utilizes that twenty-silver value (one might say that he holds his savings in the assets of his labor and skill) to give life to all the nations of the known world who came to Egypt to buy bread. You should be reminded in this context of the significance of unleavened bread in the exodus story.

Notice how the figures in the position of the LORD in these types are simultaneously figures of the messianic seed. The ground is cursed and resists producing fruit for mankind. Noah is prophesied to bring a sabbatical rest, and Noah plants a vineyard- the ground is subject to him such that it produces wealth. Joseph is described in the language of Noah. The famine is across the "face of the whole earth" just as the flood was described. And as the beasts proceeded from the ark "by families" immediately before they were "blessed" by God, so God tells Abraham that in his seed will all the "families" of the world be "blessed" soon afterwards. Noah is commanded to gather in representative seeds to the ark: Joseph gathers in the harvest of all nations to the ark of Egypt, the ark which saves not a small remnant, but the whole culture and civilization. The families of the earth were not slain while Abraham and his seed survived.

 Point being that Joseph and Noah are very closely linked in their being messianic figures who bring sabbatical rest. Yet he is described in the position of the LORD when judgment falls on Egypt. These are some of the earlier traces of the relation between distinct threads in biblical theology and narrative- threads whose integrity demands that they be tied together. And indeed they are in He who is the "son of Joseph", Jesus our Messiah. He is the incarnate LORD- who fulfills in a literal, concrete sense both the human redemptive types and the activity of the divine Redeemer throughout scripture. He is the Angel of the LORD in whom is the "Name" of God by which all other things are named.

[wesleyhill]

God’s Blood for All Saints

A homily on Revelation 7:9-17, preached at Trinity Cathedral, Pittsburgh, on the Feast of All Saints 2020

I would speak to you in the name of God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen. It’s impossible to open a news site or paper or magazine without seeing words like “division,” “polarization,” and “disagreement.” (Indeed, it’s nearly become a cliché to mention these things.) A columnist for Time magazine named David French recently wrote this: We [Americans] increasingly loathe our political opponents. The United States is in the grip of a phenomenon called “negative polarization.” In plain English this means that a person belongs to their political party not so much because they like their own party but because they hate and fear the other side. Republicans don’t embrace Republican policies so much as they despise Democrats and Democratic policies. Democrats don’t embrace Democratic policies as much as they vote to defend themselves from Republicans. At this point, huge majorities actively dislike their political opponents and significant minorities see them as possessing subhuman characteristics. I think David French is right about our political divisions, but there are so many more instances of division and hostility we could mention. Our country is rife, it seems, with enmity and hatred. Families are fracturing. Churches are splitting. Black lives are being snuffed out with impunity. It’s no wonder that we are hearing worried chatter about the possibility of “civil war.” The Bible is not naïve about these realities we are currently enduring. It is clear-eyed about hostility and violence between individuals and within societal groups. Barely four chapters in, the Bible tells the story of a brother who murders his brother. And only a few chapters after that, it tells the story of humanity’s arrogant attempt to build a stairway to heaven and God’s resulting judgment: “And the Lord said, ‘Look, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down, and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.’ So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth.” Division is God’s judgment. Enmity between people groups is a tragedy and a curse, as the Bible sees it. The main division, though, that we see in the Bible is the division between God’s chosen people Israel and the rest of the nations. In the New Testament, St. Paul describes this division like this: there is “the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us.” Jews often despised Gentiles as “sinners,” as “dogs,” as the antithesis of everything they were called to be and to do as God’s special people. And Gentiles returned the favor, disdaining Jews and persecuting them, driving them from their homeland, subjecting them to idolatrous demands. There is no human way of breaching such a division between peoples, no way of overcoming the hostility. That is the reason why our reading this morning from the book of Revelation is so breathtaking. Listen to a portion of it again. John, the seer, who writes down his visions, says this about God’s heavenly throne room: “I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice, saying, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!’” If you know the Bible’s history, its stories of division and hostility and enmity, this is an astonishing passage. Here tribes and people groups that were at war with each other are now joining their voices together to praise God the Father and the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ our Lord. Here are Jews and Gentiles together in the same choir. Here are Persians and Babylonians, Judeans and Samaritans, Romans and barbarians — and, we might add, Hutus and Tutsis, North Koreans and South Koreans, Israelis and Palestinians. They are all equally robed in fine linen, with no one in a better or worse off position than anyone else. And they are giving thanks to God for rescuing them — that’s what “salvation” means. They are united, they are equally sharers in the same salvation, and they are singing the same song. This is a vision of all the saints of God, the holy ones whom God has redeemed, whom we commemorate on this feast of All Saints. It is a picture of our ultimate destiny. We trust that in the end, by God’s mercy and faithfulness, we will be there among the saints before God and his Christ, and we will spend all eternity adoring God and basking in the light of His life and love. But we need to ask a difficult question here. How is all this talk of togetherness not cheap? How is it not just singing Kumbaya and pronouncing “peace, peace” when there is no peace? How is it not whistling a tune while the world burns? In his latest encyclical, Pope Francis poses the question: “Nowadays, what do certain words like democracy, freedom, justice or unity really mean? They have been bent and shaped to serve as tools for domination, as meaningless tags that can be used to justify any action.” How, then, can we “unbend” a word like unity? How can we make sure it isn’t simply a covert tool to preserve the status quo? One of the striking things about our reading this morning is that it refers to Jesus Christ without using His name. It refers to Him four times as “the Lamb.” And one of those four times is in the longer phrase “the blood of the Lamb.” The saints from every tribe and language who gathered around the throne of God are described as the ones “who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” Let’s linger over this image for a moment. It’s a picture drawn from the Old Testament and the story of Israel. On the eve of God’s liberation of his people from their slavery in Egypt, God commands the Israelites to kill a lamb and smear its blood on their doorposts and lintels so that they might be spared the judgment of God in the form of the angel of death. The lamb’s shedding its blood, its yielding up of its life, is what protects Israel and delivers them from destruction. What the seer John’s vision says to us is that our Lord Jesus Christ is the ultimate and final Passover lamb. Jesus, the Lamb of God, bore the full weight of all the guilt and injustice and sorrow and hatred and immorality that we perpetuate. Jesus is the Lamb of God who shed His blood to bring it all to an end, so that we might be forgiven and set free from sin and death and changed into agents of justice and mercy and healing and virtue. God does not wink at our grievances against one another. God does not tell us all simply to “get along,” sweeping our divisions under the cosmic rug. God does not offer us a cheap “reconciliation” that is built on ignoring the real issues at hand. What God does instead, we might say, is ratchet up the stakes. God tells us through His holy law that the main division, the primary hostility in the world, is not between Jew and Gentile or Black and white or rich and poor or Republican and Democrat. No, the chief division, the tallest and thickest wall of hostility, is between a sinful, angry, rebellious humanity and a righteous, holy, and loving God. St. Paul goes so far as to call us — all of us, every single human being — “God-haters.” We have all turned aside from God’s ways; we have all strayed like lost sheep. And the wonder of God’s good news is this: rather than disown us as hopeless sinners, God agrees to pay Himself the price of our enmity. God endures our hatred and murderous divisions at the cost of His own blood. God overcomes the great division in the universe — the division between God and humanity — at the price of His own death. The great Karl Barth describes this “wondrous exchange” in such powerful terms I feel I must quote him: If we would know what it was that God chose for Himself when He chose fellowship with humanity, then we can answer only that God chose our rejection. He made it His own. He bore it and suffered it with all its most bitter consequences… God chose our suffering (what we as sinners must suffer towards Him and before Him and from Him). God chose it as His own suffering… [God chose] to empty and abase Himself for the sake of [His] chosen ones. Judas who betrays Him He chooses as an apostle. The sentence of Pilate God chooses as a revelation of His judgment on the world. God chooses the cross of Golgotha as His kingly throne. God chooses the tomb in the garden as the scene of His being the living God. That is how God loved the world. That is how from all eternity God’s love was so selfless and genuine… [F]rom all eternity God has determined upon [our] acquittal at His own cost… God has ordained that in [our] place… God Himself should be perishing and abandoned and rejected — the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. (translation slightly altered) God Himself has paid the price in His Son Jesus Christ to reconcile us to Himself. If this greatest and deepest hostility between God and humanity has been overcome, then the lesser divisions between ourselves have also been overcome. We now, whether Jew or Gentile, Black or white, rich or poor, old or young, are called and empowered to live out the unity we have been given in Jesus Christ. The Christian writer Francis Spufford is right when he says, “This is not very comfortable. Here Christianity overspills the separate categories by which we conventionally understand the world now, insisting to an awkward degree on common ground.” Precisely. This is awkward and challenging and costly in all sorts of ways, and it must involve the telling of hard truths about ongoing injustice and the need for repentance, but just this is what we are called to in Christ. We have common ground with each other: we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We are all broken and in need. And, at the same time, we have been forgiven and declared righteous in God’s sight through the death and resurrection of Christ. In a few moments, all of us here, who have been washed in the blood of the Lamb, will come forward to eat and drink the Lamb’s body and blood. “Love is that liquor sweet and most divine, / Which my God feels as blood; but I, as wine” (Herbert). The blood of the Lamb that was shed on the cross has become our salvation and sustenance. Hymn #174 in our hymnal is a hymn whose origin dates back to the sixth century. It says much better than I could ever say everything that we are celebrating on this great feast day. As I read its words to you, may they be a preparation and invitation for the feast we are about to share together: At the Lamb’s high feast we sing praise to our victorious King, who has washed us in the tide flowing from his pierced side; praise we him whose love divine gives his sacred blood for wine, gives his body for the feast, Christ the victim, Christ the priest. Where the paschal blood is poured, death’s dark angel sheathes his sword; Israel’s hosts triumphant go through the wave that drowns the foe. Praise we Christ, whose blood was shed, paschal victim, paschal bread; with sincerity and love eat we manna from above. Mighty victim from the sky, Pow’rs of hell beneath thee lie; death is conquered in the fight, thou hast brought us life and light: hymns of glory and of praise, risen Lord, to thee we raise; holy Father, praise to thee, with the Spirit, ever be. Amen.