Category: Insights

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through Him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth.

He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see – such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities of the unseen world. Everything was created through Him and for Him. He existed before anything else, and He holds all creation together.

Christ is also the head of the church, which is His body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who will rise fro the dead. So He is first in everything. For God in al His fullness was pleased to live in Christ and through Him God reconciled everything to Himself. He made peace with everything between heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. (vv. 15-20, NLT)

Is was. not winter, and Jesus was in Jerusalem at the time of Hanukkah, the Festival of Dedication. He was in the Temple, walking through the section known as Solomon’s Colonnade. The people surrounded Him and asked, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”

Jesus replied, “I have already told you, and you don’t believe Me. The proof is the work I do in My Father’s name. But you don’t believe me because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from Me, for My Father has given them to Me, and He is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from My Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.” (vv. 22-30, NLT)

“Jesus told them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, because. have come to you from God. I am not here on My own, but He sent Me. Why can’t you understand what I am saying? It’s because you can’t even hear Me! For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of all lies. So when I tell the truth, you just naturally don’t believe Me! When of you can truthfully accuse Me of sin? And since I am telling you the truth, why don’t you believe Me? Anyone who belongs to God listens gladly to the words of God. But you don’t listen because you don’t belong to God.” (vv. 42-47, NLT0

Jesus answered, “If I want glory for Myself, it doesn’t count. But it is my Father who will glorify Me. You say, ‘He is your God’, but you don’t even know him. If I said otherwise, I would be as great a liar as you! But I do know Him and obey Him. Your father Abraham rejoiced as he looked forward to My coming. He saw if and was glad.”

The people said, “Your aren’t even fifty years old. How can you say you have seen Abraham?”

Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I AM!” At this point, they picked up stones to throw at Hime. But Jesus was hidden from them and left the Temple.” (vv. 54-59, NLT)

Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of these men who heard what John (the Baptist) has said and then followed Jesus. Andrew went to find his brother, Simon, and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means “Christ”).

Then Andrew brought Simon to meet Jesus. Looking intently at Simon, Jesus said, “Your name is Simon, son of John – but you will be called Cephas” (which “Peter”.)

The next day Jesus decided ot go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, ” Come, follow me” Philip was from Bethsaida, Andrew and Peter’s hometown.

Philip went ot look for Nathaniel and told him, “We have found the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, son of Joseph from Nazareth.:

“Nazareth!” exclaimed Nathanael. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”

“Come and see for yourself, “Philip replied.

As they approached, Jesus said, “Now here is a genuine son of Israel a man of complete integrity.”:

“How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.

Jesus replied, “I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you.”

Then Nathanael explained, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God – the King of Israel!”

Jesus asked him, “Do you believe this is just because I told you I had seen you under the fig tree? You will see greater things that this.” Then He said, “I tell you the truth, you will all see heaven open and angels of God going up and down on the Son of Man, the one who is the stairway between heaven and earth.” (vv. 40-51, NLT)

“Not everyone who calls out to Me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of My father in heaven will enter. On judgment day, many will say to Me, ‘Lord! Lord’ We prophesied in Your name and cast out demons in Your name, and performed many miracles in Your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.” (vv. 21-23, NLT)

“”I will speak against those who cheat employees of their wages, who oppress widows and orphans, or who deprive the foreigners living among you of justice, for these people do not fear Me,’ says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.” (Malachi 3:5, NLT)

“There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female. For you are all Christians – you are one on Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28, NLT)

“Who has believed our message? to whom has the Lord revealed this powerful arm?

My servant grew up in the Lord’s presence like a tender green shoot, like a root in dry ground. There was nothing beautiful or majestic about His appearance, nothing to attract us to Him. He was despised and rejected- a man of sorrows, acquainted with the deepest grief. We turned our backs on Him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.

Yet it was our weakness He carried; it was our sorrows that weighed Him down. And though we thought His troubles were punishment from God, a punishment for His own sins! But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.

All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on Him the sins of us all.

He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet He never said a word. He was led like a lamb to slaughter. As as sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open His mouth. Unjustly condemned, He was lead away. No one cared that he died without descendant, that his life was cut short in midstream. But He was struck down for the rebellion of my people. He had done no wrong and He had never deceived anyone. But He was buried like a criminal; he as put in a rich man’s grave.

But is was the Lord’s good plan to crush Him and cause Him grief. Yet when His life is made an offering for sin, He will have many descendants. He will enjoy a long life and the Lord’s good plan will prosper in His hands. (Isaiah 53: 1-10, NLT)

“On this day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover Lamb is sacrificed, Jesus’ disciples asked him, ‘Where do you want us to go to prepare the Passover meal for you?’

So Jesus sent two of them into Jerusalem with these instructions: ‘As you go into the city, a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you. Follow him. At he house he enters, say to the owner, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room where I can eat the Passover meal with My disciples?’ He will take you up to a large room that is already set up. That is where you should prepare our meal. So the two disciples went into the city and found everything just as Jesus had said, and they prepared the Passover meal there.

In the evening Jesus returned with the twelve disciples. As they were at the table eating, Jesus said, ‘I tell you the truth, one of you eating with me here will betray me.’

Greatly distressed, each one asked in turn, ‘Am I the one?’

He replied, ‘ It is one of you twelve who is eating from this bowl with me. For the Son of Man must die, as the Scriptures declared long ago. But how terrible it will be for the one who betrays Him. It would be far better for that man if he had never been born.’

As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, ‘Take it, for this is My body.’

And He took the cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to the, and they all drank from it. And he said to them, ‘This is my blood which confirms the covenant between God and His people. It is poured out as as sacrifice for many. I tell you the truth, I will not drink wine again until the day I drink it new in the Kingdom of God.’

Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives.” (Mark 14:12-26, NLT)

“Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that His hour had come to leave the wold and return to His father. He had loved His disciples during His ministry on earth, and now He loved them to the very end. It was time for supper, and the devil had already prompted Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had given Him the authority over everything and that He had come from God and would return to God. So He got up from the table, took off His robe, wrapped a towel around His waist, and poured water into a basin. He then began to wash the disciples feet, drying them with the towel He had around him.

When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter said, to Him, ‘Lord are You going to wash my feet?’

Jesus replied, ‘You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will.’

‘No,’ Peter replied, ‘you will never wash my feet!’

Jesus replied, ‘Unless I wash you, you won’t belong to Me.’

Simon Peter said, ‘Then wash my hands and head as well, Lord, not just my feet.

Jesus replied, ‘A person who has bathed all over does not need to wash, except for the feet, to be entirely clean, but not all of you. ‘ For Jesus knew who would betray Him. That is what He meant when He said, ‘Not all of you are clean.’

After washing their feed, He put on his robe again and sat down and asked, ‘Do you understand what I was doing?’ You call Me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord’, and you are right, because that’s what I am. An since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feed, you ought to wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. I tell you the truth, slaves are not greater than their master. Nor is the messenger more important thatn the one who sends the messenger. No that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them.” (John 13: 1-17,NLT)

“Jesus said, ‘Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.'”
(Luke 23:34, NLT)

“And Jesus replied, ‘I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.'” (speaking to the thief on the cross who asked him to remember him when He [Jesus]came into his kingdom). (Luke 23:43, NNLT))

“When Jesus saw His mother, standing there the disciple He loved [John], He said to her, ‘Dear woman, here is your son.’ And he said to this disciple, “Here is your mother.'” (John 20:26-27, NLT)

At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. At about three o’clock, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, ‘Eli, El, lema sabachthani?’ which means,’My God, My God, why have you abandoned me?'” [This was the time that Jesus received the sins of the world]. (Matthew 27:45-46, NLT)

“Jesus knew that his mission was now finished and to fulfill the Scripture He said, ‘I am thirsty.'” (John 20:28, NLT

“When Jesus tasted it [the soaked sponge of sour wine], He said, ‘It is finished.'”(John 20:30, NLT)

“Then Jesus shouted, ‘Father, I entrust My spirit into your hands.!’ And with those words, He breathed his last.” (Luke 24:46, NLT)