Habakkuk 1:5 Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told. -LORD God
Why do we seek the approval of others more so than we seek the approval of God? Why do we let the opinions of others affect us so much?
Do not let the opinions of others dictate who you think you should be. Just be you & do what you know is right in your heart & naturally attract those that are right for you.
Stop doing backflips for people that will only use you to benefit themselves. Be happy in God rather than miserable being who you aren’t. Avoid fools.
Galatians 1:10 For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant to God.
Proverbs 18:2 A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.
Jude 1:1 Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James…
Who is Jude? Iουδασ/Judas… His name means “he shall be praised”. His name is Judah in the Hebrew means “praise Yahweh”.
Members of the synagogue in Nazareth identify Judas as Christ’s half-brother. They also proclaim James and Judas (Jude) are brothers. Mary is the mother of Jesus, James, and Jude. Joseph is the father of James and Jude. God is the Father of Jesus.
Matthew 13:55 Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?
Mark 6:3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon?
The Apostle Paul testifies James is Jesus’ brother.
Galatians 1:19 But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord’s brother.
And James and Judas are brothers, therefore, Judas and Jesus are half-brothers.
James and Jude grew up with Jesus. They lived with Christ in the same house under the same parents and siblings. His brothers had seen miracles. Water was turned into wine. Thousands were fed. Christ had walked on water. Yet…
John 7:5 For not even His own brothers believed in Him.
The unbelief in Jesus was before His death, burial, and resurrection. Hearts and attitudes would change after the fact of the ascension of Christ.
Acts 1:14 All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.
…a servant of Jesus Christ…
As of the writing of the epistle, Jude considered himself a bond servant or δουλοσ/doulos in the Greek. The word is frequently translated as “servant” or “bond servant”. Notice, Jude does not associate himself as a half-brother to Jesus. He refers to himself as a servant.
Strong’s Concordance defines δουλοσ/doulos as: a slave, bondman, man of servile condition; metaphorically, one who gives himself up to another’s will; those whose service is used by Christ in extending and advancing his cause among men; devoted to another to the disregard of one’s own interests.
As believers in Jesus, we were purchased by His shed blood. He loves us. He owns us. We are redeemed.
Ephesians 1:7 In Him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace…
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
Why do we seek the approval of others more so than we seek the approval of God? Why do we let the opinions of others affect us so much? Do not let the opinions of others dictate who you think you should be. Just be you & do what you know is right in your heart & naturally attract those that are right for you. Stop doing backflips for people that will only use you to benefit themselves. Be happy in God rather than miserable being who you aren’t. Avoid fools.
Galatians 1:10 For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant to God.
Proverbs 18:2 A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.
An Oxford geneticist and a theologian are teaming up to find the DNA of Jesus Christ. The Oxford University geneticist is George Busby. The theologian is Pastor Joe Basile. The History Channel has completed a special on the topic called “The Jesus Strand”.
The team has looked at the Shroud of Turin, the Sudarium of Oviedo, and potentially the bones of John the Baptist. A goal is to obtain DNA from each of these samples to determine the DNA of Christ. The ultimate goal of scientists would be to clone Jesus Christ. And they are trying.
Separately from this project, other scientists are working on extracting DNA from the James Ossuary and the bones found.
With all of these projects, there is a series of tremendous assumptions. One, the Shroud of Turin and the Sudarium of Oviedo belong to the actual person who is the Jesus Christ. On the surface, it appears the Shroud and Sudarium are likely to belong to the same person. Blood stains correspond with both pieces of linen. Wounds are consistent with flogging and crucifixion. A specific pollen is found on both items which is indigenous to ancient Israel.
A rare blood type AB from a male is noted on both artifacts. As a side note, a person with blood type AB is a universal recipient. He can take any blood type into his body.
Other significant assumptions include the accurate identification of John the Baptist and James. Do the bones actually belong to the historical persons in the Bible?
So why Jesus, John the Baptist, and James? Specifically, scientists are looking at the family tree of the Virgin Mary. She is one half of the equation of Jesus.
John the Baptist is the cousin of Jesus. The mother of John the Baptist is Elizabeth. She is related to Mary. Luke 1:36 “And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month.” –Angel
See Luke 1 for complete details of Mary, Elizabeth, John the Baptist, and Jesus.
James is the half-brother of Jesus. Galatians 1:19 But I did not see any other of the apostles except James, the Lord’s brother.
As for the other half of Jesus’ genetic code, good luck with that. Matthew 1:20 But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.”
This is the fulfillment of the prophecy written at least 700 years before Mary from Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.
There is only one Earthly example of DNA from the Father’s lineage, Jesus Himself. And He is not around. He is alive at the right of the Father in Heaven. There are no buried bones here on Earth, only His shed blood.
Hebrews 12:2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Ephesians 5:16 making the most of your time, because the days are evil.
map: theguardian.com
The phrase “making the most” is an interesting translation. It is the Greek word exagorazo. Per Strong’s Concordance it means: to redeem; by payment of a price to recover from the power of another; to ransom; buy off.
Someone has purchased these days for us. See Jesus on the cross. Revelation 5:9b for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. See also 1 Corinthians 6:20, Colossians 1:14, Acts 20:28, Ephesians 1:7.
The days of our lives are precious and not to be wasted. Treasure these days and utilize them for good… because the days are evil.
Psalms 34:21 Evil shall slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
Another translation is Evil people shall self-destruct. Is this ever true. They will be punished. There are not 72 virgins.
Psalms 34:14 Depart from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.
… seek peace and pursue it. In the original Hebrew “seek” and “pursue” are not passive. The action is to be intensive and intentional. “Seek” or require, desire, exact, request, demand are the concepts. “Pursue” or put to flight, chase, dog, attend closely upon, persecute, harass, to follow after, and aim to secure are the ideas (Strong’s Concordance).
Evil needs to be confronted.
Galatians 1:4-5 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father…
Yes, evil exists in our time (November 2015). There are plenty of examples on display in our world. We can expect there will be more evil.
Take comfort, evil will not stand forever.
Revelation 21:4-5 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”
And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.”
Jude 1:1 Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James…
