Good morning. The book of
Revelation is the one that follows third John. Some Christians spend all of
their time in it, but most probably hardly ever, if ever have looked at it.
Some people “know” everything that's going to happen; however I am not one of
those. I would go through it, but there is not a lot that is uplifting and
applicable to you for today. Therefore I am going back to the book of Matthew.
Now I'm sure you remember that Matthew starts with the genealogy of Jesus. That
can be kind of boring, so most people skip it. There are a couple of
interesting things, one of which is that Boaz’s (The dude that married Ruth)
mother was Rahab. She was from Jericho not Israel, so it is not surprising that
he married a foreigner also. It also shows that Jesus’ ancestors included
people who were not descendants of Abraham - they were Gentiles. It then talks
about Mary being with child by the Holy Spirit and Joseph wanting to put her
away secretly. He was told by an angel to not do that, and that the child's
name should be Jesus - for it is He who will save His people from their sins.
Names of people were very important in those days. They revealed something
about the person. For example Abraham's name was changed from Abram, when he
was about to become the father of a multitude. Jacob's name was changed to
Israel, when he went from being a deceiver to the father of a nation. Of course
Jesus means Jehovah saves. Father thank You that You sent Jesus to save us from
our sins. Whatever the reader needs supply to him/her. Give him/her a vision of
his/her future. Help him/her to follow You completely.
Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me
Good morning. Paul then gives a list of a lot of things that he has gone through as an apostle. I do not write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For if you were to have countless tutors in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. There could be many people that you listen to either in church or through the Internet or other means; but there was only one person (as a general rule it was a person) that lead you to Christ. Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me. He was saying that just like a child imitates his or her father, they were to imitate him. He says that again seven chapters later. Since it is easy to forget some things about people we have not seen in a while, Paul says that he sent Timothy to them to remind them of his ways which are in Christ, just as he taught everywhere in every church. Some have become arrogant, as though I were not coming to you. I shall find ou...
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