kill

Seeking To Destroy Him

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And He entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand.  And they watched Him, whether He would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse Him.  And He saith unto the man which had the withered hand,
“Stand forth.”
And He saith unto them,
“Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath days, or to do evil? To save life, or to kill?”
But they held their peace.  And when He had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, He saith unto the man,
“Stretch forth thine hand.”
And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.  And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.
Mark 3:1-6

The religious leaders of Jesus’ day were keeping their eyes on Jesus, just waiting like a hungry lion to pounce on their prey, and devour Him.  Jesus was going about ministering to the people – preaching and teaching of the kingdom of heaven, healing the sick, the lame walked, and the dead were raised to life again.

The world has not changed much.  The enemy is out to destroy Jesus and all those who love Him.  Millions of dollars maybe billions is spent on decorating for remembering the birth of Jesus, and for giving gifts to one another.

Christmas is a fun time for most children, and some adults, and it should be; I know it is with my wife and I, and the rest of our family.  Yet, there are others who are hurting, because they have lost a loved one to death; or they have lost a job and are currently unemployed; and maybe sickness in the family that takes the joy from their heart and life.

No matter what your situation is in life there is someone who cares about you and the circumstances of your life.  He loves you.  You can have joy again by trusting in Jesus who is the Christ of God, or you can choose to be one of those who are seeking to destroy Christ and all who follow Him.  If you choose not to follow Him then you have chosen the other, and you are God’s enemy and in desperate trouble.

Choose to follow Jesus who died on the cross for you; He was buried, and He rose again.

They Were Told, and Told Again

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And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus went before them: and they were amazed; and as they followed, they were afraid. And He took again the twelve, and began to tell them what things should happen unto Him, saying,
“Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn Him to death, and shall deliver Him to the Gentiles: and they shall mock Him, and shall scourge Him, and shall spit upon Him, and shall kill Him: and the third day He shall rise again.” Mark 10:32-34

And all men shall fear, and shall declare the work of God; for they shall wisely consider of His doing.
The righteous shall be glad in the LORD, and shall trust in Him; and all the upright in heart shall glory. Psalm 64:9-10

We can, as Christians, learn a lot from the teachings of Jesus, and from the way the disciples listened to Jesus. Several times as we read just one of the gospel accounts Jesus told them that He was going to die, and rise again.

They had other ideas. Do we hear Him today? Do we have our own ideas and plans in the way we want to follow Him? It would do all of us who are the redeemed of the Lord to hear Him, then we will not be surprised at His word being fulfilled.

Death and Resurrection

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“And He began to teach them, that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.”  Mark 8:31
“And as they came down from the mountain, He charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, till the Son of Man were risen from the dead.”  Mark 9:9
“For He taught His disciples, and said unto them, ‘The Son of Man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill Him; and after that He is killed, He shall rise the third day.’ ”   Mark 9:31

Three times in two chapters Jesus tells them. How could they have missed it? There is one way and maybe two or three, but Jesus taught the disciples clearly that He was going to die at the hands of evil, and that on the third day He would rise again.

The first way they could have missed is because of their preconceived ideas of what the Messiah was supposed to do. The second way it was missed; not by the disciples but by the religious leaders was their unbelief. The third way it was missed by many, and this would include Judas Iscariot, just plain ole selfishness and greed.

Do not miss the fact, the truth of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He was and is the Messiah of Israel and of the whole earth. If you miss this truth, you will miss out on eternity with Him.

Words Of Jesus; Son Of God, God The Son – 080220

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“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see Me henceforth, till ye shall say, ‘Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord.’ “ Matthew 23:37-39  (KJB)

Seven Things God Hates # 6

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A False Witness

Proverbs 6:16-19

“These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:  A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,   An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,   A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.”

One false witness takes a truth and twists it to convict Jesus (Matthew 26:59-61). What makes the statement “False”? It is the accusation against One who has done no wrong. It is the attitude of the heart. It just was not true.

“Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor” (Exodus 20:16).

There is even protection for the accused, and that protection is seen in Numbers 35:30,

“Whoso killeth any person, the murderer shall be put to death by the mouth of witnesses: but one witness shall not testify against any person to cause him to die.”

It is repeated,

“At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death.” (Deuteronomy 17:6).

What makes someone a false witness? Envy, greed, unjust anger, disobedience to God, fear, hatred. Love will never cause one to be a false witness.

OUTLINE –
I. A FALSE WITNESS TWISTS WORDS TO FIT THEIR OWN AGENDA.
II. THINGS WILL FALL APART WITHOUT THE TRUTH.
III. THE TRUTH OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD IN THE CHILD OF GOD.
IV. FALSE WITNESSES DESTROY – THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE.

A FALSE WITNESS TWISTS WORDS TO FIT THEIR OWN AGENDA.

That was the way of the two witnesses at Jesus’s trial. They gave testimony to words Jesus did say, but they were twisted to fit the agenda of the hearts of the condemned to condemn the innocent.

The Psalmist wrote,

“Every day they wrest my words: all their thoughts are against me for evil.” (Psalm 56:5).

A man by the name of John Dryden said,

“Truth is the foundation of all knowledge and the cement of all societies.” (From BE SKILLED by Warren W. Wiersbe).

SOCIETIES WILL FALL APART WITHOUT THE TRUTH.

There is only injustice when you have an elite who make the laws to suit themselves and it enables them to take from the least fortunate. Warren Wiersbe wrote,

“Without truth, things start to fall apart; when people lie officially, the foundations of society begin to crumble.”

Jezebel, by pretense seemed as though she was going to exalt Naboth, but she had arranged for two men to bring charges of blasphemy against him. The charges were not truth. (See 1 Kings chapter 21). It is for sure that the kingdom of Ahab and Jezebel crumbled.

A “False witness” is a killer with intent to harm.

“A man that beareth false witness against his neighbor is a maul, and a sword, and a sharp arrow.” (Prov. 25:18).

All of those things mentioned in the verse are instruments of death. False words of false witnesses are instruments of death.

The false witness is a deceiver.

“He that speaketh truth showeth forth righteousness; but a false witness deceit.” (Prov. 12:17).

Think about the lies, the false witness of Ken Lay of Enron infamy. The lies they told led a business down to destruction. Let us not be guilty of bearing false witness.

THE TRUTH OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD IN THE CHILD OF GOD.

The Spirit of God does not, will not lie. Neither will He in the person He possesses.

The child of God, who is possessed by the Spirit of God will speak the truth in love.

“But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:” (Ephesians 4:15).

The child of God will not practice deceit. (See verse 14 of Ephesians 4).

She/He will not “Bear false witness”.

“Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” (Romans 13:10).

In 2 Timothy 3:3 “False accusers” is used as one of the terms of people who have departed from the faith, or never had it. It is the Greek word “Diabolos” which is actually the word for devil.

*Lemma*δu953 αu946 οu955 οu962
Gloss*devil
Strongs*1228
Parse*A-NPM Adjective-Nominative Plural Masculine
S&P Search*1228A-NPM
Trnslt*diabolos
Pron* dee-ab’ol-os

Is that not interesting to know that the same word for “False accusers” is the same word for devil. That surely means that “False accusers” are of the devil and have no part with God.

IT IS FOR CERTAIN THAT FALSE WITNESSES DESTROY – IT IS ALSO FOR CERTAIN THAT TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE.

We have seen by the Word of God that false witnesses are one’s who will lead others to destruction, and is headed for destruction themselves. They will destroy those who they do not like, because they have a higher position, greater material assets, are more popular, are envious and greedy for more of the world. They destroy families, churches, communities, businesses, governments, whole societies. They, themselves are headed on a path of destruction.

There is a word from our Lord Jesus on this matter.

“If ye continue in My Word, then are ye My disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:31-32).

It is a great thing to be free from the power which holds us to be false witnesses, which causes us to grasp for, hunger, and devour the things of the world. They cause us to do harm to others, even by false words of testimony. Using a good Biblical word, WOE be to those who will continue to bear false witness against another. Look out if you do.

May Psalm 12 be the prayer of our hearts concerning this thing of bearing false witness against anyone.

The only way out of such a destructive life is to confess your sin; trust Jesus to cleanse your heart and tongue. Be filled with the Spirit and walk in that Spirit. If a brother or sister in Christ offends you take the matter to God, not to another brother. One thing that appears to happen when we take this to someone else: it seems to end up being a false witness against the other. We only share such thing with others to get them on “Our side”. Check yourself, then go to that other person who has offended you. That will stop the false witnessing. Make sure of your own heart.

-Tim A. Blankenship

Jesus, The Good Shepherd

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“Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before Me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door: by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth His life for the sheep. But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and know My sheep, and am known of Mine. As the Father knoweth Me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear My voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. Therefore doth My Father love Me, because I lay down My life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of My Father.” ~Jesus (John 10:7-18)