BibleVersity

"Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.'" - (Jn. 6:35, NASB)    A brief excerpt from this mornings message. As Jesus spoke to those around, no one could miss the obvious reference to OT "manna" from Heaven that God send to care for Israel in 40 years of wandering around. The problem that some had was Jesus declaring Himself to be God (I AM), and His reference about eating His body. The Pharisees could not accept his declaration of deity, nor would they accept it. To them this was blasphemy. In addition, they did not get his comment of eating His flesh and drinking His blood. Jesus was not advocating cannibalism, but that the only way to Heaven was through believing in Him.     In studying this passage, three times Jesus refers to Himself as "bread of life" or "living bread." Why?  Bread nourishes, sustains, and satisfies the physical body. Without...

"There is no peace for the wicked," says the LORD. - (Is. 48:22, NASB)    There are many things in this life that the Christian may or may not have. I know Christians who are wealthy, and many who are not. I know of some who are well-known, and many who are obscure. Some I know of successful business owners, and some who struggle in day-to-day operations. If it a fact of life. Jesus warned us not to store up treasures on earth that are temporary in light of eternity, but store up treasures in heaven. However, there is one "treasure" here on earth that is available only to the Christian: Peace.     We often think of peace as the opposite of war. That is a limited understanding of what peace is. In the OT, peace was often seen as a combination of health, prosperity, welfare, happiness, and at rest from conflict around. In other words, primarily external in nature. In the NT, peace was understood better as primarily internal. With the arrival of Jesus, His tea...

"…He came…and said to Peter…"…the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." - (Matt. 26:40-41, NASB)    Many of us are familiar with the words of Jesus highlighted above, and most of us can identify with the truth of Jesus statement. As I read this passage this morning, I noticed something that I had not put together before. When Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane, He took all the disciples with him, but only took Peter, James, and John with Him deeper into the garden.  Jesus went a little further alone and prayed. When he came back to the group, the Bible records that he found them sleeping. And, to be honest, it was past time for bed for these guys. Jesus wakes them up and rebukes them. Now, notice Jesus' words in verse 40, "And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to PETER." (emphasis mine) He did not necessarily rebuke James and John, but directed His words at Peter. Why is this? If you back-track to verse 33-35, you will f...