John

Blessings at the Back of the Line

“Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. ‘Teacher,’ they said, ‘we want you to do for us whatever we ask.’ ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ he asked. They replied, ‘Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.’ ” – Mark 10:35-37 Whenever we study the Bible, it’s helpful to understand the cultural and historical context of the stories. Although we don’t always think about it, Jesus was living in what was perhaps the greatest and most powerful nation in human history. The Roman empire was the seat of world dominion and it was all about power, which was dictated from the top down. It was a place where people were vying for authority and where Caesar was in his lofty position only because he had an army. The Jews were living in the

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Return to Your First Love

“You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.” – Revelation 2:3,4 To wrap up our discussion about the church at Ephesus, I want to look at the words John wrote in the book of Revelation. In the Apostle’s vivid vision, which happened while he was exiled on the island of Patmos, he was given messages of wisdom and instruction for each of the seven churches in Asia. As we’ve seen over the past couple of days, the Christians in Ephesus lived in an atmosphere of persecution and hostility. Because they wouldn’t worship the image of Artemis or bow down to the emperor Domitian, they were oppressed and mistreated. Nevertheless, they endured and stayed strong in their convictions. However, through John, the Lord communicated the one thing He had

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Words Contain Faith

“Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John.” – Luke 1:11-13 One of my favorite Biblical examples of the power of words is found in the story of a New Testament character named Zechariah. Married to Elizabeth, he was a priest, and by the time we’re introduced to him in Luke chapter 1, he’s an old man. Though he and his wife were very much in love, they were unable to have kids, and this was a source of heartbreak for both of them. Resigned to being childless, Zechariah faithfully continued his priestly duties, and one

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