SURPRISE OF THE DAY ~ February 8

Things in the Bible not really in the Bible ...and a few surprises

Surprise of the Day

When Jesus came up out of the waters of his baptism, the Holy Sprit descended on him, and God announced he was his son.

Mark 1:9-11 – Matthew 3:16-17  – John 1:12-13 – Acts 2:38 – Galatians 4:5 – Ephesians 1:5 – Hebrew 1:10 & 13

Fact of the Day

Ever since then, when we do what Jesus did that day, the same thing happens to us.  When we come up out of the waters of baptism, the Holy Spirit descends on us and we are then his sons.

Amazing privilege.  Check it out.

 

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SURPRISE OF THE DAY ~ February 7

Things in the Bible not really in the Bible ...and a few surprises

Surprise of the Day

At the end of Jesus’ great commission, just as he was rising up to heaven, he said,   “I will be with you to the end of the age.” 

Matthew 27:29

Fact of the Day

In the original Greek of the New Testament, that word, age, can also be translated, “I will be with you to the end of ETERNITY.”

 

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OOPS OF THE DAY ~ February 6

Things in the Bible not really in the Bible ...and a few surprises

Oops of the Day

The crown of thorns was arranged neatly in a perfect circle with long, bare thorns everywhere.

Matthew 27:29

Fact of the Day

No!  First, it is nearly impossible to fold a branch in a perfect circle.  Try it.  Second, it was spring, not winter.  There were leaves on the bushes and often flowers. A crown of thorns with just leaves on it would imitate Caesar’s crown.  A crown with leaves and flowers on it would mock Jesus (but also be the last thing of beauty he wore).

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OOPS OF THE DAY ~ February 5

Things in the Bible not really in the Bible ...and a few surprises

Oops of the Day

Caiaphas, the High Priest, and Ananus (his-father-in-law, high priest before him) who both condemned Jesus,  believed in everything in the Old Testament just like any other priest.

Matthew 26:3-4  –  John 11:47-53  –  John 18:24-26  –  Acts 4:1-6  –  Acts 5:17

Fact of the Day

No!  High Priest Caiaphas was son-in-law to Ananas, the former high priest and was brother-in-law to Ananas’ two sons.  They were all Sadducees, the ruling elite of the day.  The only part of the Bible they believed was the Law of Moses and used it in a secular sense, not religious.  According to Josephus, they believed once a person dies, they go out of existence. They did not believe any of the prophets (including the poetic prophecies) which make up most of the Old Testament). They were basically atheists.  

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OOPS OF THE DAY ~ January 31

Things in the Bible not really in the Bible ...and a few surprises

Oops of the Day

Only a priest or bishop can touch the bread of the Lord’s Supper.  Common worshipers are not allowed to touch it with their hands because it is so holy.  The priest or bishop has to set the bread on the tongue of the worshiper.

Matthew 26:26  –  Acts 20:4-8

Fact of the Day

No! Jesus handed the bread to his apostles and told them to break off a piece to eat.    He did not break it off for them nor did he set it on their tongues.  He just handed it to them. Further, years after Jesus died, a group of Christians met together on the first day of the week “to break bread”.  (In Greek “met” was a religious meeting.) They broke off their own pieces of bread to eat during their Sunday religious meeting.

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SURPRISE OF THE DAY ~ January 30

Things in the Bible not really in the Bible ...and a few surprises

Surprise of the Day

Amazing things happened after Jesus died and after he came back to life.

Matthew 27:54  –  Matthew 28:2

Fact of the Day

There were two earthquakes within three days of Jesus’ death. The first one occurred the moment he died. The second one occurred the moment he came back to life.

WOW

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99c. But in heaven, God rises from his throne, raises his holy hand, and shouts, “Yes!”

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Jesus has been born. Moments ago. Joseph, the other father, squats on the scattered hay next to mother and baby. All is now quiet.

But in heaven, Jehovah God rises from his throne, raises his holy hand in triumph, and shouts, “Yes!” A yes that resounds through the universe and beyond. The angels pat each other on the back and burst out in a shout of triumph that shoots through the heavens and slides down to the countryside outside of the little town of Bethlehem.

An insignificant couple. A dirty stable. Smelly. Dingy. Cobwebs. Silence. Divine silence. Wonder. Awe. Overwhelming astonishment. Overpowering love.

99 CENTS. The magi are puzzled when they enter Palestine. No excitement, no parades, no…

     The magi, having traveled all the way from Parthia in the east, are puzzled when they finally  cross the border. Life as usual in Palestine.  No excitement. No parades.  No banners.  The Jews stare at the long caravan of regal magi on plumed camels with silk saddles, wondering why these rich and stately foreigners are in their country….

     The magi arrive at Bethlehem about midnight. They have found it.  “Well, this is it, gentlemen,” Yasib says under his breath. “The King of all kings. The Priest of all priests. The one predicted centuries ago by Magi Daniel.”

              Hey, you magi, or whatever you unbelievers call yourselves. You’re not wanted here. This is our religion. Don’t go changing everything. You’ve got it all wrong.

(Excerpt from STAR SONG)

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Joseph is bleeding. From the broken promise. The broken heart. The broken life.

Joseph sinks down to the floor with his etched picture of Mary. All broken. Crushed. Cut to the heart. Unhealable. Inconsolable. Betrayed with the ultimate betrayal.

Sprawling completely prostrate now, Joseph hits his fist against the floor. He is bleeding. Bleeding from the broken pottery. Bleeding from the broken promise. The broken heart. The broken life. “Oh, Mary… Oh, God…” he groans

(Excerpt from “The Other Father” chap 3 of STAR SONG)

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The two women fall into each other’s arms, locked in love, faith, and ultimate submission to holiness.

My dear friends in the Lord, I’d like to share with you how this book – STAR SONG – came about . When I was seventeen years old at Harding College in 1958 I wrote some of which you will read in this book. When I showed it to some of my girlfriends, they said I should write the entire life of Christ. I told them I was not old enough and had not experienced enough of life yet. But I promised I would write it when I was sixty.

Through the years, I added things and changed things, first on my portable Royal typewriter, then an electric typewriter, and finally my “amazing” Selectric typewriter. And the pages had smudges where I had erased and replaced words here and there and became aged and brittle. Much of what you will read now of Mary’s conversations with Gabriel, her family, and Elizabeth I wrote when I was seventeen. Also, most of what you will read from the time Jesus left the fortress with his cross to his last breath I wrote when I was seventeen.

Throughout the years, my growing number of pages were stored in closets, bottom drawers, and, finally, file cabinets as I moved through life from one place to another.  I even sometimes separated parts of them into inspirational pamphlets which I printed with those ditto machines with their purple ink and later on mimeograph machines, getting ink all over my hands and clothes. Yet, all through those forty-three years, I remembered my promise made in my dormitory room so long ago when we were all so young.

Then, when I was fifty-nine, having lived and experienced far more during those years than I had really desired, I sat down to finish writing my entire life of Christ. I cannot recall whether it was during the summer or winter months when I finished it, but it was in the year 2000. I had kept my promise.