As Part of the series called:
Things That Make You Go Hmmm?

Matthew 7:15
“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.”

As Part of a new series called:
Things That Make You Go Hmmm?

Luke 2:8
“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.”

Why does the Gospel writer Matthew mention the wise men coming to Jesus, and why does the Gospel writer Luke mention shepherds coming to Jesus?

Last time we addressed Matthew’s wise men part of this two-part question. This time we will concentrate on answering part two: Why does the Gospel writer Luke mention shepherds coming to Jesus?

As part of a new series called: Things That Make You Go H’mmm!

Matthew 1:18
“Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.”

A good friend of mine recently asked me a question about “The Nativity” or birth of Jesus Christ. A question which I had never fully considered. Actually, it is a two-parter. Here is the question:

1 Peter 3:15 KJV
[15] But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

Part 3 of the Series: "Now That's Why You Don't Have Any Friends"
Psalm 2:2 KJV
[2] The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord , and against his anointed, saying...

Part 2 of the Series: "Now That's Why You Don't Have Any Friends"
Matthew 23:14 KJV
[14] Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!

"Oh boy!" One sure fire way to make people mad is to tell someone who is in denial the cold hard truth. Matthew 23 is not the first time Jesus told someone the truth, and it's certainly not the first time He told His Jewish kinsmen, known as the scribes and Pharisees, the truth. The fact of the matter is Jesus was rougher on His Jewish religious kinsmen than He was on anyone else. Why? Because the Pharisees where Hypocrites!

"Oh boy!" This catch phrase was uttered by fictional character Sam Beckett from the TV series Quantum Leap in every episode as he would leap into a seemingly impossible situation. Romans Chapter 1 is probably one of the most controversial chapters in the Bible, especially in our age of diversity and tolerance. The reasons Romans 1 is so controversial is because most people stop reading at the end of chapter 1, ignore the context and rail against one particular type of sin. Michael the archangel did not even rail against Satan when contending with that devil over the Law. (Jude 1:9). For the record, Paul's letter to the Romans is about SALVATION.

Do you remember the events surrounding the three Hebrew children in Daniel Chapter 3? Being in the world, not of the world is exactly like that! Let’s look at some obvious parallels between what is going on with Jesus Disciples and the Hebrew Children.

Last week, we promised to get right to the context of John 17:16, and so we will. Jesus is preparing His disciples for His departure, plus much more. In John 14:28 and 16:7, Jesus puts it this way, “I go away.” By this, Jesus does not mean He is going from Bethany to Jerusalem and leaving them behind, but rather that He is about to allow Himself to be crucified and die. Now, Jesus has been preparing the disciples for His crucifixion for quite some time. Plus, the Apostle John details for us in John 1 that John the Baptist actually told whoever would listen that Jesus would give His life for sinners.

Last time, we discussed the statement from 2 Corinthians 6:17 about being a separate people and how this separate means different. Christians are in the world but not of the world, so we are set apart in that we do not follow our own path but rather the path of our Savior. A Savior who purchased our sins and gave His Righteousness to us. (See Jerimiah 23:6) He had to do this because of our inability to keep God’s Law. Our sin nature made it impossible for us to make atonement for our failures. (See Romans 3:23, Isaiah 64:6)