Luke 13:31-35, Isaiah 53:3-5, 9

    This Scripture gives a record if the last months of Jesus' earthly ministry.  The Pharisees approached Jesus as He journeyed toward Jerusalem.  Jesus was somehwere in the region of Ephraim, Perea and Bethany, preaching and teaching in the cities and villages.  When the Pharisees had a conversation with Him concerning Herod the King.  It would appear that the Pharisees were trying to warn Jesus of Herod because Herod was the one that had John the Baptist beheaded.  During the conversation, the Pharisees told Jesus that Herod would kill Him.  Jesus kept His composure, He was fearless.  Therefore He replied "Go Tell That Fox."  He was not at all worried about it, He had foreknowledge of His crucifixion.  I wonder how we would react if we were threatened.

    Jesus knew that He had some more curing and healing to do.  Therefore He did not need to dwell on the negative, but on the positive.  Yes!  He was well aware of the fact that He was going to be crucified but before He reached the cross He wanted to cross out the devil. Jesus wanted to deliver as many people as possible from the disease of sin.  Therefore, He said "I DO CURE."

                      excerpt from the book "By the Foolishness of Preaching" by the Reverend Dr. Grace Ruth Batten, DD 




    

    Jeremiah 7:3 KJV - Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place.

    If you want the blessings of God to be with you, then you must meet the requirements.  The Lord told Jeremiah to tell Judah that if they wanted to dwell in the place where they were, then they must live up to seven conditions.  The conditions were:
                       1) amend your ways and doing
                       2) trust not in lying words
                       3) thoroughly amend your ways and doing
                       4) thoroughly execute Judgement
                       5) do not oppress strangers/orphans and widows
                       6) do not shed innocent blood and 
                       7) neither walk after other gods to your hurt
    If Judah would keep these commands then God would give them the land that He gave their fathers.  The church world today is going through the motions, shaking and lacking in power.  We must stabilize our relationship with God, and ask God to take us back to the place where we first believed.  The Lord will be somewhere listening for your prayers of repentance and the amending of your ways.  All God asks us to do is to repent, forsake our ways and wrong doings.  He is waiting for us to walk through the open door of His love.

              excerpt from the book "By the Foolishness of Preaching" by the Reverend Dr. Grace Ruth Batten, DD 

"Come Clean in 2013" - Psalm 19:12 KJV - Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults.