Its time for Joy not to Fear - Joy & Gladness

I want to share what i learned during this Christmas season as i  listened to sermons and read articles -

"Stop thinking about Christmas and Start thinking about Christ"




The promise of savior -  Isaiah 9:6 
         For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
         And the government will rest on His shoulders;
         And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
         Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

The purpose of savior - Luke 2:11
for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
"Jesus came to this world on a rescue mission ; seek the lost and save the lost. "

The provision of savior -Micah 5:2

        But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
         Too little to be among the clans of Judah,
         From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel
         His goings forth are from long ago,
         From the days of eternity."
"A foundation of eternity"

What Suha heard while jogging thru John...

I heard Jesus describing himself in 7 different "I am" statements and this was encouraging to me. Gods presence is there in unique ways. Because of this, when we experience circumstances that we "don't get", we "do get" that God is with us and that Jesus loves us very deeply. In every unique way we can find comfort because he is with us.

What Hema expereinced while jogging thru John...

We know the stories of the bible, we read them, we share them with each other and are encouraged how God in His way is with us. It makes us feel happy because we know we are his.  What I find amazing is that we don't see Jesus yet we believe in Him.  The people of Jesus time saw Him and struggled to believe him. By reading  through John together with others I am encouraged in my faith.

What Hez saw while jogging thru John...

The book of John talks about the Holy Spirit more than Matthew, Mark or Luke did. In Mark 3:29 Jesus instructs that we are not to blaspheme the Holy Spirit which indicates to me how important the Holy Spirit is. John focus' alot more on the Holy Spirit, describing Him in more detail.  I find this really important as the Holy Spirit is the key to us being able to move forward in our relationship with God and spiritual things.

The LIGHT Has Come...

This is what impacted me this morning and I just had to blog it .... John 1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.In him was LIFE, and that life was the LIGHT of all people.  The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. he came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all people might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The TRUE LIGHT that gives light to every person was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his Name, he gave the right to become the children of God - children born not of natural decent, nor of human decision or a husbands will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the ONE and ONLY, who came from the Father full of grace and truth. John testified concerning him. He cried out saying, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.'" From the fullness of grace we have all received one blessing or another. For the law was given through Moses; GRACE and TRUTH came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Fathers side, has made him known. John1:1-18 NIV

Where's Waldo in Luke?

As we jog we will find ourselves looking at the lanscape of Luke ... the book of Luke is a gospel of reversals ... have you noticed any along the way?

R & B

is not Rythm & Blues in the book of Mark... although it does have to do with the dance of life. The message of Christ here is about Repentance for forgiveness of sin & Baptism by the Holy Spirit. This is the true music of life and freedom!
Here's the song of the week for reading through the book of Mark How Great is Our God by Chris Tomlin

Short & Snappy...

...the book of Mark is concise. This account of Christ's life depicts him as a voice of action & involvment, compassion  & concern, teacher & servant. Pace yourself to hear these voices as they speak to you.

Freedom...

Jesus passion is to offer us compassion through thick and thin ...

If you listen carefully to the Word of God...

... what do you hear? Power? Compassion? Authority? Insight? Interest in your life? Cause to care about relationships with others? ... what about Jesus' illustrations and stories covering everything & the kitchen sink.... from a head on a silver platter, to thousands of hungry people, sheep, sin, demon-possession, a figless fig tree, a mom who wanted to push her sons to the front of the line, a wedding banquet, paying taxes, hypocrisy, ten virgins, bags of gold, prayer, denial, a hanging, brutality, death & life.... IF YOU LISTEN CAREFULLY WHAT DO YOU HEAR?

Seeing within changes one's outer vision. Joseph Chilton Pearce

Insights & Musings...

1 down ... 34 to go ...
Any insights or musings you'd like to share from your reading this week?

Intent of the Heart

One of the key insights I find in these chapters is that we are called to examine the intent of the heart....from how we interact with others, to our respect for creation, to the way we care for ourselves, to expressions of our love for God, to how we understand eternity. Using scripture to examine the intent of our heart lets us look at ourselves whith a different scope. What do you think?

Jogging tip ...

How are you doing as you jog through the first week aka the first 14 chapters of the book of Matthew? Here's a tip that you may find makes the jog easier... read from a bible that you can understand, in todays language, like the New Living Tanslation, the New King James, The Message, Todays NIV, Reina-Valera 1995(Spanish) or look for other options on biblegateway.com AND use a bible that doesn't have extras so the read can be fluid. If, however, you like all the extra info about what you are reading and you have the time to take it in use a good study bible.

Knowing & Loving the One True God

As we warm up for our jog lets get excited about the power to grow in 35 weeks and how it will impact the rest of our lives.  Let's focus on how God loves us... here's the music link of the week . Peace!Oh How He Loves Us, David Crowder Band

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Getting Started

Lauren and I worked to set up this new blog for our NT journey ..Welcome