Glorifying God and HIs Grace with Insights and Scripture
“”One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking Him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus replied,”What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?”
The man answered, “You must love the Lord y0ur God with all your hearts all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind. And love your neighbor as yourself.”
“Right!” Jesus told him, “Do this and you will live.”” (Luke 10: vv. 25-29)
“”But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies!” Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also. Give to any one who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back. Do to others as you would like them to do to you.
If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them! An if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get any credit? Even sinners do that much! And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, why should you get credit? Even sinners will lend to other sinners for a full return.
Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for He is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. You must be compassionate, just as our Father is compassionate. “”
(Luke 6: vv. 27-36, NLT)
“”Then God told Noah and his sons, “I hereby confirm My covenant with you and your descendants, and with all the animals that were on the boat with you. – the birds, the livestock, and all the wild animals – every living creature on earth. Yes, I am confirming My covenant with you. Never again will floodwaters kill all living creatures; never again will a flood destroy the earth.”
Then God said, “I giving you a sign of My covenant with you and will all living creatures, for all generations to come. I have placed My rainbow in the clouds. It is the sign My covenant with you and with all the earth. When I send clouds over the earth, the rainbow will appear in the clouds, and I will remember My covenant with you and with all living creatures. Never again will the floodwaters destroy all life. When I see the rainbow in the clouds, I will remember the eternal covenant between God and every living creature on earth.” Then God said to Noah, “Yes this rainbow is the sign of the covenant I am confirming with all the creatures on earth.”” (Genesis 9, vv. 8-17, NLT)
Jesus Chooses the Twelve Apostles
“One day soon afterward Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and He prayed to God all night. At daybreak He called together all of His disciples and chose twelve of them to be apostles. Here are their names:
Simon (whom He named Peter),
Andrew (Peter’s brother),
James,
John,
Phillip,
Bartholomew,
Matthew,
Thomas,
James (son of Alphaeus),
Simon (who was called the zealot),
Judas (son of James),
Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed Him).
Crowds Follow Jesus
When they came down from the mountain, the disciples stood with Jesus on a large, level area, surrounded by many of His followers and by the crowds. There were people from all over Judea and from Jerusalem and from as far north as the seacoasts of Tyre and Sidon. They had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases: and those troubled by evil spirits are healed. Everyone tried to touch Him, because healing power went out from Him, and He healed everyone.” (Luke 6: vv. 12-19, NLT)
“”But the Lord said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
Elijah replied,”I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with You, torn down Your altars, and killed every one of Your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.”
“Go out and stand before Me on the Mountain, the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake, there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire, there was the sound of a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.”” (1 Kings 19: vv 1-13)
“”Then the Lord told him, “Go back the same way you came, and travel to the wilderness of Damascus. When you arrive there, anoint Hazael to be king of Amran. Then anoint Jehu the grandson of Nimish to be king of Israel, and anoint Elisha, son of Shapat from the town of Abel-meholah to replace you as My prophet. Anyone who escapes from Hazael will be killed by Jehu, and those who escape Jehu will be killed by Elisha! Yet I will preserve 7,000 other in Israel who have never bowed down to Baal or kissed him!”” (1 Kings 19: vv 15-28, NLT)
“We can make our own plans, but the Lord gives the right answer.
People may be pure in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their motives.
Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed.
The Lord has made everything for His own purposes, even the wicked for a day of disaster.
The Lord detests the proud; they all surely be punished.
Unfailing love and faithfulness make atonement for sin. By fearing the Lord, people avoid evil.
When people’s lives please the Lord, even their enemies are at peace with them.
Better to have little, with godliness, than to be rich and dishonest.
We can make our own plans, but the Lord determines our steps.”
(Proverbs 16: vv. 1-9, NLT)
“”In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman!. The Lord is with you!”
Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name Him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of HIs ancestor, David. And He will reign over Israel, forever; His Kingdom will never end!”
Mary asked, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.”
The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and He will be called the Son of God. What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived and a son and is now in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.”
Mary responded, ” I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.”” (Luke 1: vv. 26-38, NLT)
“”Many people have set out to write accounts about the events that have been fulfilled among us. They used the eyewitness reports circulating among us from the early disciples. Having carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I also have decided to write an careful account to you, most honorable Theophilus, so you can be certain of the truth of everything you were taught.
When Herod was King of Judea, there was a Jewish Priest named Zechariah. He was a member of the priestly order of Abijah, and his wife, Elizabeth was also from the priestly order of Aaron. Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous in God’s eyes, careful to obey all of the Lord’s commandments and regulations. They had no children because Elizabeth was unable to conceive, and they were both very old.
One day Zechariah was serving God in the Temple for his order was on duty that week. As was the custom of the priests, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense. While the incense was being burned, a great crowd stood outside, praying.
While Zechariah was in the sanctuary, an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the incense altar. Zechariah was shaken and overwhelmed with fear when he saw him. But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John. You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord. He must never touch wine or other alcoholic drinks. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth. And he will turn many Israelites to the Lord their God. He will be a man with the spirit and and power of Elijah. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the father to the children, and he will cause those were are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly.”
Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man now, and my wife’s also well along in years.”
Then the angel said, “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God . It was He who sent me to bring you this good news! But now, since you didn’t believe what I said, you will be silent and unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper time.”
Meanwhile, the people who were waiting for Zechariah to come out of the sanctuary, wondering why he was taking so long. When he finally did come out, he couldn’t speak to them. They finally realized from his gestures and his silence that he must have seen a vision in the sanctuary.
When Zechariah’s week of service in the Temple was over, he returned home. Soon afterward his wife, Elizabeth, because she was pregnant and went into seclusion for five months. “How kind the Lord is!” she exclaimed. “He has taken away my disgrace of having no children.” (Luke 1: vv. 1-25, NLT)
“O Lord, You have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord.
You go before me and follow me. You place Your hand of blessing on my head. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!”
I can never escape from Your Spirit! I can never get away from Your presence.! If I go up to heaven, You are there; if I go down into the grave, You are there.
If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there Your hand will guide me, and Your strength will support me.
I could ask darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night- but even in darkness I cannot hide from You. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are all the same to You.” (Psalm 139, vv. 1-12, NLT)
“”Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from inside the fish.
He said, “I cried out to the Lord in my great trouble, and He answered me. I called to You from the hand of the dead, and Lord, You heard me!
You threw me into the ocean depths, and I sank down to the heart of the sea. The mighty waters engulfed me; I was buried beneath Your wild and stormy waves.
Then I said, ‘O Lord, You have driven me from Your presence. Yet I will look once more toward Your holy Temple.’
I sank beneath the waves, and the waters closed over me. Seaweed wrapped itself around my head. I sank down to the very roots of the mountains. I was imprisoned in the earth, whose gates lock shut forever.
But you, O Lord my God, snatched me from the jaws of death! As my life was slipping away, I remembered the Lord. And my earnest prayer went out to You in Your holy Temple.
Those who worship false gods turn their backs on all God’s mercies. But I will offer sacrifices to You with songs of praise and I will fulfill all my vows.
For my salvation comes from the Lord alone.”
Then the Lord ordered the fish to spit Jonah out onto the beach.””
(Jonah Chapter 2, NLT)