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About-Him Devotional 11-13-04
Http://About-Him.Com Our Thoughts on the the life of Christ, from His baptism to His ascension following the Harmony of the Gospels. Our recent elections, in which moral values were a big factor, illustrate the point of this segment quite well. Everybody is not going to love us, if we proclaim the Lordship of Jesus. Jesus said we would be hated of all men for His name's sake. For example, those states which voted against gay marriage have been referred to as "Jesus States." Once again the abortion arguments are heating up. We see a constant assault against any mention of God in our schools and courts. The Christian can take no middle ground.
Our job: Preach Jesus to a lost and dying world, whether it is popular or not. God will honor His word and give an increase.
157: Retirement to the City of Ephraim - John 11:54
45 ¶ Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him. 46 But some of them went their ways to the Pharisees, and told them what things Jesus had done. Many of the Jews who were present at the tomb of Lazarus believed on Jesus when they saw Lazarus raised from the dead. Others however, hurried to tell the Pharisees what Jesus had done.
The raising of Lazarus prompted the Sanhedren court to call a special meeting. They were perplexed about what to do with Jesus because of His many miracles. They had not forgotten that after feeding the five thousand, the people were ready to proclaim Jesus king and set him on a throne as Messiah. They were afraid that this might happen again, which of course would have invited the wrath of the Romans, who would deal very harshly with anything that they perceived to be rebellion.
John 11:51 And this spake he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation;
Caiaphas, a Sadducee was the high priest that year. Of course the Sadducees cared much more for politics than religion. However, Caiaphas became an unwitting spokesman for the Spirit of God. John said, he prophesied that it was necessary that one man die be put to death, so that the nation could be spared. John added that He would not die for the Jewish nation alone, but would gather together in one all of the children of God who were scattered around the world.
John 11:53 Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death.
They plotted together on how they would kill Jesus. The Passover was near and the word was put out that if anyone saw Jesus, they should report it, so that He could be taken into custody.
Jesus and His disciples, went out to a city called Ephraim which was in the outlying area and ministered there.
Conclusion and Application:
When we preach the word of God we can't expect any different results than Jesus obtained when He raised Lazarus from the dead. Some believed on Him while others sought to do Him harm. Jesus said that if they hated Him, they would hate us (Matthew 10:25).
Just like Balaam's donkey, the high priest had no choice but to utter a prophesy inspired by the Spirit of God.
In About-Him Online Sermons http://about-him.com/sermonlink..htmlOur Bible Studies http://about-him.com/bslinkpage..html Our Music: http://about-him.com/audio.html Flash Theater http://about-him.com/player.html Scripture list on 30 subjects http://about-him.com/wordarc.html
Humor The teacher was in the middle of telling the Bible story of Lot's rescue from the sinful cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. When she came to the part about Lot's wife, she said, "And Lot's wife looked back and turned into a pillar of salt."
A little boy's hand shot up. "That's nothing. Last week when my mother was driving to the store, she looked back and turned into a telephone pole." (From Walking With Jesus Ministries http://www.wwj.org.nz) Somebody Has Said "Some people think God does not like to be troubled with our constant coming and asking. The way to trouble God is not to come at all." - D.L. Moody
Keep Looking Up!
Don & Marie Spooner
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