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...As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord (Yahweh). (Joshua 24:15)
Around 740-736 BC the prophet Isaiah prophesied about the coming of the Messiah, Saviour of the World– Extracted from Isaiah Chapter 61: 1 The spirit of Lord Yahweh is on me for Yahweh has anointed me. He has sent me to bring the good news to the afflicted, to soothe the broken-hearted,
2 to proclaim liberty to captives, release to those in prison, to proclaim a year of favour from Yahweh and a day of vengeance for our God, to comfort all who mourn
3 (to give to Zion's mourners), to give them for ashes a garland, for mourning-dress, the oil of gladness, for despondency, festal attire; and they will be called 'terebinths of saving justice', planted by Yahweh to glorify him.
4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins, they will raise what has long lain waste, they will restore the ruined cities, all that has lain waste for ages past.
5 Strangers will come forward to feed your flocks, foreigners be your ploughmen and vinedressers;
6 but you will be called 'priests of Yahweh' and be addressed as 'ministers of our God'. You will feed on the wealth of nations, you will supplant them in their glory.
7 To make up for your shame, you will receive double; instead of disgrace, shouts of joy will be their lot; yes, they will have a double portion in their country and everlasting joy will be theirs.
8 For I am Yahweh: I love fair judgement, I hate robbery and wrong-doing, and I shall reward them faithfully and make an everlasting covenant with them.
9 Their race will be famous throughout the nations and their offspring throughout the peoples. All who see them will admit that they are a race whom Yahweh has blessed.
10 I exult for joy in Yahweh, my soul rejoices in my God, for he has clothed me in garments of salvation, he has wrapped me in a cloak of saving justice, like a bridegroom wearing his garland, like a bride adorned in her jewels.
11 For as the earth sends up its shoots and a garden makes seeds sprout, so Lord Yahweh makes saving justice and praise spring up in the sight of all nations.
Jesus Christ came and fulfilled that prophesy, the Promise of God – Extracted from Luke, Chapter 4: 14 Jesus, with the power of the Spirit in him, returned to Galilee; and his reputation spread throughout the countryside.
15 He taught in their synagogues and everyone glorified him.
16 He came to Nazara, where he had been brought up, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day as he usually did. He stood up to read,
17 and they handed him the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Unrolling the scroll he found the place where it is written:
18 The spirit of the Lord is on me, for he has anointed me to bring the good news to the afflicted. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives, sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free,
19 to proclaim a year of favour from the Lord.
20 He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the assistant and sat down. And all eyes in the synagogue were fixed on him.
21 Then he began to speak to them, 'This text is being fulfilled today even while you are listening.' |
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Peter, the Rock – Extracted from Matthew, Chapter 16: 13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi he put this question to his disciples, 'Who do people say the Son of man is?'
14 And they said, 'Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.'
15 'But you,' he said, 'who do you say I am?'
16 Then Simon Peter spoke up and said, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.'
17 Jesus replied, 'Simon son of Jonah, you are a blessed man! Because it was no human agency that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven.
18 So I now say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build My Church. And the gates of the underworld can never overpower it.
19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of Heaven: whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.'
20 Then he gave the disciples strict orders not to say to anyone that he was the Christ.
21 From then onwards Jesus began to make it clear to his disciples that he was destined to go to Jerusalem and suffer grievously at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes and to be put to death and to be raised up on the third day. 21 May 2011
11 June 2011
Extracted from John, Chapter 21: 15-17 After Jesus was raised from the dead, he appeared to his disciples by the Sea of Tiberias:
After the meal, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these others do?” He answered, ‘Yes Lord, you know I love you’. Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs’.
A second time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ He replied, ‘Yes, Lord, you know I love you’. Jesus said to him, ‘Look after my sheep’.
Then he said to him a third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter was upset that he asked the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ and said, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know I love you’. Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep.
11 June 2011 21 May 2011 The revelation of Christ is close – Extracted from 1 Peter 4:
7 The end of all things is near, so keep your minds calm and sober for prayer.
8 Above all preserve an intense love for each other, since love covers over many a sin.
9 Welcome each other into your houses without grumbling.
10 Each one of you has received a special grace, so, like good stewards responsible for all these varied graces of God, put it at the service of others.
11 If anyone is a speaker, let it be as the words of God, if anyone serves, let it be as in strength granted by God; so that in everything God may receive the glory, through Jesus Christ, since to him alone belong all glory and power for ever and ever. Amen. 21 May 2011 11 June 2011
Jesus said: ‘...In the world you will have trouble, but be brave: I have conquered the world.’ (John 16:33b)
11 June 2011 21 May 2011 After Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, He promised the baptism with the Holy Spirit before He ascended to Heaven – Extracted from Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 1:
1 In my earlier work, Theophilus, I dealt with everything Jesus had done and taught from the beginning
2 until the day he (Jesus) gave his instructions to the apostles he had chosen through the Holy Spirit, and was taken up to heaven.
3 He had shown himself alive to them after his Passion by many demonstrations: for forty days he had continued to appear to them and tell them about the kingdom of God.
4 While at table with them, he had told them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for what the Father had promised. 'It is', he had said, 'what you have heard me speak about:
5 John baptised with water but, not many days from now, you are going to be baptised with the Holy Spirit.'
6 Now having met together, they asked him, 'Lord, has the time come for you to restore the kingdom to Israel?'
7 He replied, 'It is not for you to know times or dates that the Father has decided by his own authority,
8 but you will receive the power of the Holy Spirit which will come on you, and then you will be my witnesses not only in Jerusalem but throughout Judaea and Samaria, and indeed to earth's remotest end.' 9 As he said this he was lifted up while they looked on, and a cloud took him from their sight.
10 They were still staring into the sky as he went, when suddenly two men in white were standing beside them,
11 and they said, 'Why are you Galileans standing here looking into the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will come back in the same way as you have seen him go to heaven.' 21 May 2011
Back to Encouragements-71 Saint Peter
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