A decree from Caesar Augustus which was sent out to the entire Roman Empire to have all registered, caused Mary and Joseph to go to their own town. They went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the town of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David (Luke 2:4). What seemed a problem to them, supposedly, when there was no room anywhere else for them to lodge, it was providential for them to lodge at a place where sacrificial lambs were cared for. These lambs were without blemish, perfect for the atonement of sin at Passover time. That was the place where only these types of animals were found. Joseph and Mary were not aware of the deep meaning of that place in relationship with their new-born Son- the Lamb of God.
Tag: YAHSHUA
Testimonies of Three Centurions
As YAHSHUA went into Capernaum, a centurion came up to Him, begging Him, and saying, Lord, my servant boy is lying at the house paralyzed and distressed with intense pains. And YAHSHUA said to him, I will come and restore him. But the centurion replied to Him, Lord, I am not worthy or fit to have You come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant boy will be cured, for I also am a man subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, Go and he goes; and to another, Come, and he comes; and to my slave, Do this and he does it. When YAHSHUA heard him, He marveled and said to those who followed Him, I tell you truly, I have not found so much faith as this with anyone, even in Israel… Then to the centurion YAHSHUA said, Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed. And the servant boy was restored to health at that very moment (Matt. 8:5-10,13). A centurion was a man of great distinction by their courage and skill in battle. They were captains over 100 soldiers. A centurion started as a soldier working his way up the ranks. Their good conduct and truthfulness were in general the causes for their promotion to the command of a centurion.
At That Time Michael Shall Arise
(Daniel 12)
Daniel was a young man when taken captive to the land of Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar in approximately 604 B.C. He was from a noble family. His name bears the meaning God is my judge. Through the entire time Daniel lived in that foreign land, he displayed faithfulness to God. His testimony before King Nebuchadnezzar always gave credit to God for his success in the interpretations of dreams, even before he went as far as to interpreting the dreams.
Lo-Debar- a Thing of Naught
Lo-debar was a place where history opened its pages through the Bible and showed its conditions- spiritual, and physical. This city existing even in the time of Joshua carries a negative prefix Lo, and debar meaning “word” or “thing.” It was there that Jonathan’s son’s nurse found refuge when she had to flee the palace at the news of King Saul’s death to protect Jonathan’s son from being killed. He was only five years old when his nurse took him up and fled; and in her haste, he fell and became lame (II Sam.4). She then fled to Lo-debar, where she found refuge in the house of Machir son of Ammiel at Lo-debar (II Sam. 9:4). While still alive, Jonathan made a friendship covenant with David saying if anything would happen to him, David would take care of his family. Jonathan knew that David, and not he was to take the throne of his father, consequential to the destruction of his family. His son was taken and hidden in a remote place, where only the outcasts from society, the unskilled and non-educated people lived. Lo-debar was nonetheless, a place of refuge. Mephibosheth son of Jonathan lived there all his life until he was sought for and rescued by King David for the sake of his friend Jonathan.
Five Loaves of Bread and Two Fish
(John 6:1-14)
The Jewish Passover was approaching when a crowd of people seeing what YAHSHUA had done in reference to miracles, followed Him. Testing Philip, one of His disciples, YAHSHUA, aware of the people’s need, asked him a question: “Where are we to buy bread, so that all these people may eat?” There was a reason why YAHSHUA directed the question to Philip. He singled him out for a divine appointment. There is a significant meaning in every singularity of events YAHSHUA presented. Here YAHSHUA was perhaps telling Philip wherever he goes to share His broken body, his needs will be provided supernaturally, or perhaps He was asking Philip how he was going to share the Gospel (His broken body –the Living Bread) to the famished world.
The Righteous Are Living Memorials of God’s Faithfulness
(Psalm 92: 15)
The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree; they shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon, planted in the house of the Lord, they shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be full of sap and verdure. [They are living memorial] to show that the Lord is upright and faithful to His promises; He is my Rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him (Psalm 92: 12-15).
Nevertheless, Your Will Be Done
After eating His last Passover with His disciples, YAHSHUA led them to the Gethsemane Garden. It was night. The darkness of the night could not hide the agony expressed in His voice saying, Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done (Luke 22:42). What was He expressing in that hour, fear? Hardly. He, for a moment of His earthly life, was going to suffer as a human being in the fire of hell, when He would break himself away from Whom He was in the holy trinity- the Son. How hard it was going to be for Him, Who knew no sin! We can never understand how God in three persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit would condemn Himself in the person of the Son to hell. But this is for another time. My point here however, is that even to the point of His death His prayer remained embedded in the will of the Father, as He had been teaching: “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
Raised With Christ For Salvation
(Ephesians 2:6; 7:11, 12)
The wonderful book of Ephesians is without a doubt, a treasure for the believer in Messiah YAHSHUA. The first chapter is full of blessings from the beginning to the end: We are chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world and set apart as blameless; we are adopted as His own through our Lord YAHSHUA; in him we are redeemed and in Him we were made heritage and have obtained an inheritance; we have been stamped with the seal of the long-promised Holy Spirit as a guarantee, an anticipation of our redemption (Ephesians 1).The beautiful thing here is that we have all of these blessings now, while in our corrupted body. Also, we have been raised with Christ and He has made us to sit down together in the heavenly sphere with Him (2:6). That’s where we are spiritually speaking; that’s the position God has given us now and forever that He might clearly demonstrate through the ages to come the immeasurable riches of His free grace in His kindness and goodness of heart toward us in Messiah YAHSHUA (2:7). The believer has become in Him children of Light. YAHSHUA is the light of the world. His light is reflected in all believers. We were marked for our redemption through the seal of the Holy Spirit, as Israel was when the door post of their houses were marked with the blood of a sacrificed lamb for their salvation.
They Hated Me Without a Cause
(John 15:25; Psalm 35:19; 69:4)
The Prophet Isaiah, 740 years before Christ, prophesized about His trial and death in a way that touches the heart of all those of us who love Him. He gave a solemn picture of the manner in which YAHSHUA was rejected and forsaken. The hatred of men toward Him was described in ways we do not understand. He was despised, rejected and forsaken by men, and like One from Whom men hide their faces, He was despised. He was not appreciated, neither esteemed; He was oppressed and afflicted, by oppression and judgment He was taken away and no one considered that He had died for their own transgression (Isaiah 53:3,7,8). The difference men saw in YAHSHUA made them uncomfortable.
YAHSHUA’S Last Seven Sayings at the Cross
The last seven sentences uttered by our Lord before His death were with purpose and meaning. As He was carrying the sins, diseases, guilt of mankind while in the cross, and being cursed for us, He expressed forgiveness, salvation, and love for the world. These were in relationship to men. He expressed anguish of separation from His Father, His physical need, the completion of His ordeal, and finally commended His Spirit to the Father. These last four were in relationship to Himself.
Light from the Word 