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Friday, November 22, 2019

LUKE CHAPTER 1


LUKE
CHAPTER 1

clip art courtesy of colorbox

1) Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us,

2) Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of The Word;

3) It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus,

4) That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.
                        for commentary, click here:  https://omaswisdom.blogspot.com/2011/12/lukes-purpose-in-writing-luke-11-4.html

5) There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia:  and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.

6) And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of The Lord blameless.

7) And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.

8) And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course,

9) According to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of The Lord.

10) And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense.

11) And there appeared unto him an angel of The Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.

12) And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.

13) But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias:   for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.

14)  And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.

15) For he shall be great in the sight of The Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.

16) And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to The Lord their God.

17) And he shall go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for The Lord.

18) And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this?  for I am an old man, and my wife will stricken in years.

19) And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings.

20) And behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.

21) And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple.

22) And when he came out, he could not speak unto them:  and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple:  for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless.

23) And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house.

24) And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying,

25) Thus hath The Lord dealt with me in the days wherein He looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.
26) And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,
       
27) To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.

28) And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, The Lord is with thee:  blessed art thou among women.

29) And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.

30) And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary:  for thou has found favour with God.

31) And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call His name Jesus.

32) He shall be great, and shall be called the son of The Highest:  and The Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David:

33) And He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of His kingdom there shall be no end.

34) Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

35) And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of The Highest shall overshadow thee:  therefore also that Holy Thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

36) And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age:  and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.

37) For with God nothing shall be impossible.

38) And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of The Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.  And the angel departed from her.
39) And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda;

40) And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth.

41) And it came to pass, that when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with The Holy Ghost:

42) And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb.

43) And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

44) For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.

45) And blessed is she that believed:  for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from The Lord.

46) And Mary said, My soul doth magnify The Lord,

47) And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

48) For He hath regarded the low estate of His handmaiden:  for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

49) For He that is mighty hath done to me great things; and Holy is His Name.

50) And His mercy is on them that fear Him from generation to generation.

51) He hath shewed strength with His arm; He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

52) He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.

53) He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich He hath sent empty away.

54) He hath helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy;

55) As He spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to His seed for ever.

56) And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her own house.
      for commentary, click here:  https://omaswisdom.blogspot.com/2011/12/mary-visits-elizabeth-luke-139-56.html
57) Now Elisabeth's full time came that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son.

58) And her neighbours and her cousins heard how The Lord had shewed great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her.

59) And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father.

60) And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John.

61) And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name.

62) And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called.

63) And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His name is John.  And they marvelled all.

64) And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake, and praised God.

65) And fear came on all that dwelt round about them:  and these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judaea.

66) And all they that heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, What manner of child shall this be!  And the hand of The Lord was with him.

67) And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost and prophesied, saying,

68) Blessed be The Lord God of Israel; for He hath visited and redeemed His people,

69) And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David;

70) As He spake by the mouth of His holy prophets, which have been since the world began:

71) That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;

72) To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember His holy covenant;

73) The oath which He sware to our father Abraham,

74) That He would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve Him without fear,

75) In holiness and righteousness before Him, all the days of our life.

76) And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of The Highest:  for thou shalt go before the face of The Lord to prepare His ways;

77) To give knowledge of salvation unto His people by the remission of their sins,

78) Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the Dayspring from on high hath visited us,

79) To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

80) And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.  King James Version (KJV) Public Domain
     for commentary, click here:  https://omaswisdom.blogspot.com/2011/12/john-baptist-is-born-luke1.html



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Monday, November 4, 2019

1 CORINTHIANS 13: 8 - 13 LOVE NEVER FAILS

1 CORINTHIANS 13: 8 - 13
LOVE NEVER FAILS




8) Love never faileth:  but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.

9) For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.

10) But when That which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.

11) When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

12) For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face:  now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

13) And now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

COMMENTARY


   8) Love never fails.  "Fail" is described as when a leaf or flower petal falls to the ground, withers, and decays.  Love will never die, will always be, because God is love and He will live for eternity.  When we love, we are doing what God does; we are showing others what God is like.

   Consider this:  when someone close to you dies, does your love for them die with them?  Of course not!  Your love for them continues for the rest of your life.  Love does not die.
   Now, here is a controversial statement for you:  tongues ceased.  According to Dr. John MacArthur, we were given the gift of tongues as a sign and the need for tongues ended with the destruction of Jerusalem and The Temple around 70 a.d.

   Tongues were 1) a sign to the unbelieving Jews of judgment, 2) a sign to the Gentile as a blessing that the Jew was no longer the favored people; that the barriers had been removed and all were included in God's blessing, and 3) a sign of a true believer after Pentecost.

   Let me expand on the "judgement sign":  We read in Deuteronomy that Israel would be conquered by a country speaking a foreign tongue, so when the Jews, especially those Jews in power during the lifetime of Jesus, heard The Word preached in a foreign tongue, they understood that it was a sign of judgement.

   Prophecy is another way of saying "preaching the inerrant Word of God".  When we speak the Word of God, unbelievers can understand and will be convicted of their sins.  Believers hear and understand that they may have missed the  mark, learning something new or being reminded of something they forgot, and they repent.  With the coming of "the Perfect", prophecy will end.

   Knowledge, likewise, will end with the coming of "the Perfect".  Prophecy and knowledge will have to last at the very least through the thousand years after The New Jerusalem has come.  So, "the perfect" must refer to the eternal state after that.  Then, our prophecy and knowledge will be complete and not just partial.

  The bottom line is that the gifts will not last forever but the fruit of The Spirit: faith, hope, and love continues or endures forever.  The greatest of these is love.

Have you decided where you will spend eternity?  I have great news for you:  the work to get there has already been done.  It is just for you to accept it.  Please click here to learn more:  https://omaswisdom.blogspot.com/p/path-to-salvation.html.

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