Matthew Chapter 22

Matthew chapter 22 is a continuation of chapter 21. He has just insulted the Pharisees by telling them that the kingdom will be taken from them and given to nation that will be able to do good with it. 
(Matt. 21:43) They wanted to grab Him then but were afraid of the crowd. Remember, the crowd had just been heralding Him as the Messiah in chapter 21. 
He continues with the parable of the King and the wedding feast. According to Eerdmans, this parable is a succession of events that gives chronological order to what was happening and what was going to happen in the life of Christ as it pertained to the Jews. 
(at this point, make sure you have your bible's out to make the comparisons I'm mentioning here)

You can still see this ancient carving of the Temple being destroyed in Rome

Verses 22:1-3 speaks of John the baptist calling the nation to repentance (Matt:3) and the sending out of the disciples(Matt. 10). In verse  22:4, we read of the King sending out more slaves to call the guests. The king says; the sacrifice is butchered, (Jesus is crucified ) everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast. Verse 22: 5, they paid no attention. Verse 22: 6, they seized His slaves and killed them... All of the apostles, except John, died horrible deaths as they proclaimed Jesus's death and resurrection. Many other believers were martyred as they refused to deny  Christ. Verse 22: 7 talks of the enraged King sending armies to destroy the people who rejected His invitation. In 70 AD. Jerusalem was besieged by Rome. The Temple of Herod was burnt to the ground. The melted gold from the Temple, ran down into the crevices between the stones.The Roman soldiers took the Temple apart stone by stone to get the gold. "Not one stone was left upon another." (Luke 19:43-44)also (Matt.24:22)

In verse 22:9, the King says go to the main highway and invite anyone you see, (clearly the message is of salvation is now to be taken to everyone) . The Kings servants gather everyone they can and fill the wedding hall. (Matt.22:10) Then the King notices someone not wearing the provided wedding clothes. 
Isaiah 61:10 says "He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with the robe of righteousness". Clearly this person was unwilling to take the garments that the King had provided for all of His guests to wear to the wedding supper.

 There are many, many references to garments in the scriptures. 
Some of the most interesting are in the book of Revelation. Verses 19:7-16 are wonderful. We see the bride here. We see Faithful and True coming on His white horse. We see the armies of God (that's us)coming on white horses following Jesus. And there is  verse  Rev.19:9 (which I love) "And He said to me "Write blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the lamb" and he said to me "These are the true words of God".

After this the Pharisees went away to figure out how to trap Him in His words. In verse 22:16, they sent their disciples to flatter Him and trick Him. The next verses are some of the most incredible in the Bible.I remember marveling at the Lord's answer to them the first time I read this passage.
In verse 17 they ask Jesus if it is lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not.  Our wonderful, incredible, amazing Lord had the perfect answer for them. In verse 22:19, He says "Show me the coin used for the Poll-Tax" and they brought Him the coin. In verse 22:20, He asks them whose image 

was on the coin. They answer "Caesars". Then, Jesus says "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's."
What makes this statement so incredible, besides the wisdom of the way He answered them, is the fact that we are told in the scriptures that we, human beings, are all created in the image of God !!!! Read Genesis 1:26-27. We bear His image. We belong to Him. We should not be withholding any part of our lives or being from Him. Our lives are His whether we acknowledge that fact or not. Verse 22:22 says they marveled and went away. AMAZING. 
In Verses 22:23-28, the Sadducees, who did not believe in the resurrection or any spiritual after life at all, came to Jesus with a ridiculous question  about a woman who had been married to 7 brothers. They asked this question because of a  Jewish  law which  required a brother to marry his brother's widow if he should die without producing any children. (Duet.25:5-10) This question had a mocking tone to it since the Sadducees  (I once heard a pastor say that the Sadducees did not believe in heaven so they were "sad you see")did not believe that there was a heaven for this woman and her husbands to go to.  So they were not really asking an earnest question. Jesus ignored the motives for the question and gave an answer full of authority and knowledge about heaven. In verse 22:29 He tells them that they are mistaken, he tells them that they don't understand the power of God or the scriptures (this would have made them really mad). In verse 29:30 He puts to rest the question of the existence of heaven and the question of whether there is a resurrection of the dead. Both of these things were denied by the Sadducees. He goes on to give us a tiny glimpse of what heaven will be like for us. He says " they neither marry or are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven." Notice that he does not say that we will not be male and female. He also does not say that we will be angels. He says that we will not marry and that we will be like angels in the fact that we will not marry. Then in verses 22:31,32 he makes an incredible statement to the Sadducees. He says" have you not read that which was spoken to you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and the God of Jacob? He is not the God of the dead but of the living."
Try to appreciate the magnitude of this verse. The Sadducees were the elite of the Jewish religion (their name meant righteous). Many of them were priests from prominent families. They were the ruling class of the Jewish people at that time. They held to the teachings of Moses above all else. They could probably recite the book of Exodus  if they were asked to and Jesus takes this verse from Exodus 3:6 and asks them if they have ever read it. ( Jesus knew that of course they had read this verse. He knew that every Jew knew this verse very well. He knew that not only did the Sadducees know this verse but all of the people standing around listening to this conversation knew this verse. For more info on the Sadducees, read Josephus Warsii18,14 and Unger's Bible Dictionary.) He goes on to add the important meaning behind this verse that none of them had heard or thought of. "He is not the God of the dead but of the living" 

Verse 22:34 tells us that He put the Saducees to silence. Then the Pharisees gathered themselves together in one final attempt to trick and discredit Him. In 22:35 they ask Him the question of which commandment is the greatest.  His answer was for our benefit as well as theirs. 
His answer is a heart check, a measuring rod for all of us who claim Christ as our precious savior. He says, "You shall love the Lord with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind." and " You shall love your neighbor as your self. On these two commandments depend the WHOLE LAW and the prophets."  Could the whole word of God really hinge on these two concepts? This verse has put me on my knees! I long to understand this and live it.  We fall so short! Praise God for His abundant grace towards us!

I will leave you here in the chapter. There is a little more reading but you can finish it yourselves. 
We will use  verse 22:21 to remember this chapter  Matt:22:21 " Then render to Ceasar the things that are Ceasar's and render to God the things that are God's" 

I have heard from many of you that you are enjoying the study. That blesses me so much! If you can, take the time to add your self as followers. When other ladies find the study, they will be encouraged to read it if they see your smiling face as a follower. I can tell by my stats that I have readers all over the world, which really keeps me going. I had my first reader in Chile yesterday! Don't worry, I can't see specifics, just how many from each country. I am praying for every one of you!!!

God's word is so powerful and amazing!! Keep reading! God will bring remembrance of His word and bless you with the ability to share with others. Don't neglect your "knee-mail".
Love Nancy

The Ribbon of Love and Salvation

    

As I started the study of Matthew chapter 21, I saw something beautiful. I had been seeing glimpses of a beautiful ribbon of love that is woven through the scriptures. As Jesus rode in on a donkey's colt, before He was crucified, the people started celebrating. This kind of celebrating started with the Feast of Booths. 

The Lord gives the command, for this feast to be celebrated by all the people, to Moses in Lev. 23:39-44.  If you read these verses in Leviticus, you will see that the Lord meant this to be what we would call a vacation. He calls them to remember Him first and foremost but, He plans a rest for them. Camping if you will. He calls them to celebrate, eat  and rest. He tells them to gather beautiful branches from the trees and construct "tents" to live in for 7 days. Sadly, we only have record of the children of Israel celebrating this feast one time before the captivity. (Neh. 8:17). 

Once the children of Israel were back in the land after the captivity, Ezra and Nehemiah reinstated the feast of Tabernacles, or Booths. 

 It was a time of great celebration.  Ungers Bible dictionary gives a very good description of this festival. They would literally construct temporary living structures that had to be at least 3 sides. They would have thatched roofs on them but they had to be able to still see the sky. The Lord wanted them to be able to see the stars through the roof. They would decorate their own booths as well as the whole city, and then they would celebrate, eating and sleeping in these temporary shelters for 7 days. All native born Jews were required to participate. Jews would travel from wherever they were living to join in this feast. It was called their "days of Joy". There was something wonderful happening every day. There were priests by the hundreds involved with keeping the candles lit, preparing the sacrifices, blowing the silver trumpets that heralded the next phase of the celebration, and carrying out the processions involved in gathering the needed supplies for the temple ceremonies. One of the most important of these ceremonies involved the pouring of the water and the wine.

 Everyday the priests would lead a procession of the people to an ancient pool call Shiloach. They would fill a golden flask with a half a liter of water and return to the temple. The priests would do this over and over again until the water basin on the side of the altar at the top of the stairs was was full. They drew this water because of the verse in Isaiah which said "with joy you shall draw water from the wells of salvation" (Isa. 12:3)  As they would re-enter the temple gates the people would cheer and wave their palm branches in celebration. The water would be taken up the steps of the great altar and poured in to a golden basin on one side of the altar. There was a corresponding basin on the other side of the altar which held wine. Once a day the wine and the water would be released from a spout on the bottom of the basins Then the water and the wine would run down the great steps of the altar and pool together in a large basin at the bottom of the steps. As the water started to pour down, the great crowds that had gathered in the temple, would start to chant and sing the great Hallel which would be lead by the designated priests.

It is into this scene that we enter when we read of Jesus standing up in the temple, in the book of John. He says "If any man is thirsty let him come to me and drink. He who believes in Me as the Scripture said From his innermost being shall flow  rivers living water" (John 7:37-38) . We are told in the proceeding verse  in John, that it was the last and greatest day of the feast.

 Jesus probably waited until the great Hallel was finished but it was during the incredible sight of seeing the wine and the water mingle that Jesus stood to gather all men to Himself. He knew that He, Himself was the well of salvation that they needed to draw the water from. 
Ok, so back to the ribbon. Now consider the last week of Jesus's earthly life . We start this week with Jesus's triumphal entry  into Jerusalem where the crowd spontaneously starts to celebrate as if it were the Feast of Tabernacles. We are told in the book of Matthew that they were waving palm branches, spreading there garment on the road and shouting verses from the great Hallel. They were shouting "Hosanna to the Son of David".
Jesus prepares and eats a meal with His disciples. He takes wine and says, "this is My blood of the new covenant  which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins" 

After the last supper, the crucifixion was fast approaching. He uses the wine at the last supper to say that it is  His blood that will be poured out . He stands in the Temple and says that He is the answer for a thirsty world as the water of salvation pours down the steps of the altar and as He is crucified and dies, the veil of the temple, which kept the Holy of Holies sacred, is torn in two from top to bottom (Matt. 27:51). He is then pierced in the side from which flows water and blood, mingling together upon the earth from the temple of His earthly body. Flowing from His heart of love. The great water  and wine of salvation. 

You might think that this is the end of the ribbon but it is not! Turn with me to the end of the book of Zachariah. In chapter 14, (we are reading about the future now)  Zachariah is describing for us what will happen during the time of the great Millennium  when Jesus will rule and reign upon the earth for a thousand years. He will rule from a restored and glorified Jerusalem. In 14:16 it speaks of the people of the earth going to Jerusalem to worship the King Jesus and to celebrate the Feast of the Tabernacles. In Verse 14:17-19, we are told that there will be plagues and punishments for those who do not travel (during the Millennium) to celebrate the Feast with Jesus the King
We will celebrate this feast with Him. We will see the water (representing the living water)  and the wine (representing His blood being poured out) running down the steps of the altar. The bible says it will be a celebration, probably with the cheering, laughing and singing and probably with the silver trumpets!  You can read about the Millennial temple in Ezekiel 40-47. it is wonderful reading which makes the Millennial period seem more like the old testament than the new. This is incredible to me, that we will see the scriptures come to life. To actually walk with Jesus upon this earth, to see Him, worship Him, and celebrate Him as the almighty King is beyond imagination and yet that is what the bible says will happen during the millennium.  

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever Amen.  (Ephesians 3:20-21) 
He loves us! He even has our vacations planned. (even though I don't like camping) **   Be overwhelmed with His love for you today.
God Bless,
Love Nancy  

Matthew chapter 21

We start chapter 21 where we left off in chapter 20. Jesus the disciples, and a great multitude, approach Jerusalem. This would be Jesus's last trip to Jerusalem in His earthly body. Eerdman's says that some historians believe that the crowd was probably growing as they approached the city. The great multitude that had been following Him from behind is now joined by the people coming from the city who had seen the great procession coming and had heard that He had raised Lazarus from the dead. As the crowd from the city reaches Jesus, they turn and are now leading the great celebration into the city.

It is in this incredible scene of noise and celebration that Jesus sends two of his disciples to get the donkeys that He would use to ride into the city. He truly enters the city as the conquering hero. The crowd begins to lay the garments off of their bodies and palm branches on the road before Him. For some of them, this outer garment or coat, was their most prized possession. If they were poor ,it was their warmth and shelter.  (Exodus.22:26-27).  One of the most interesting things about this whole scene is that, the multitude begins to act as though they are involved in the Feast of Tabernacles. They gather palm branches to wave. They started to shout "Hosanna" which originally meant "save now" and was a form of prayer and supplication but became a term of joy and blessing that they bestowed on each other. They also began to shout and sing parts of the great Hallel. The great Hallel is Psalms 113-118. The Jews still chant and sing this part of scripture at certain festivals including the Feast of Tabernacles and at Passover. So the multitude was shouting, and singing, "hosanna to the Son of David" The Son of David meant the Messiah. The crowd was acknowledging Jesus to be the promised Prince of the line of David. Jesus was allowing Himself to be treated as a returning King and hailed as the Messiah.This had never happened before.

I am sure that the disciples thought that He must be wrong about the crucifixion. They were witnessing the crowd acknowledging Him as their King. He was riding on their garments. The disciples were probably thinking that they were about to see Him take His place as the long awaited Messiah.

Jesus entered the city, with His great procession of people, and went to the Temple. Mark 11:11,Tells us that He just looked around that evening and went back to the Temple the next day.  Where He over turns the money changers tables and basically throws out the people who were in the temple selling animals for sacrifice. According to Eerdman's, The selling took place in the court of the Gentiles. The priests would lease the space to these merchants and they would  sometimes share in a percentage of the profits.

The people were required to provide animals for sacrifice at the Temple. Many times  they would bring  animals with them for the sacrifices. The animals would be inspected by the priests and the people would be informed that their animals were not flawless enough and they would be forced to buy a new animal from the Temple merchants. The dove sellers were selling dove's to the poor and the money changers were there to make sure that the coins given to the temple were only Jewish coins. They needed shekels. No coin which had the image of a heathen ruler,  or any heathen image on it, could be given to the temple. Of course the coins were exchanged for a percentage of their value paid to the money changers.
While working on this study;
I did a little looking around at ancient coins  on the internet. This is a very interesting subject. You can use Google images to look at some of these old coins. There were coins actually minted to humiliate and remind the Jews of a failed uprising or insurrection. I saw one minted with a Jewish woman mourning while sitting dejectedly under a palm tree.
In verse 21:13, He says to them "My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a robbers den."  He actually combines 2 verses here. He combines Isa. 56:7 and Jere. 7:11. 
Verse 21:14 says the blind and the lame came to Him. The language infers, without number, and He healed them. In Matthew 11:5, Jesus tells the disciples of John the baptist to go back to John and tell him that the blind receive sight. Jesus was quoting from Isaiah 35:5 where the kingdom of the Messiah is being described. In verse 21:14, He is actually standing in the temple after entering the city being heralded as the Messiah, fulfilling the prophesy in Isaiah. He is being heralded by the children with the same shouting and singing as the day before when He rode into Jerusalem, "Hosanna to the Son of David" 

 Verse 15 is incredible. It says that when the Chief priests and the Scribes saw all the WONDERFUL things that He was doing and heard the children crying out, they became indignant. They asked Jesus  if he could hear what the children were saying. He gives them an interesting answer. He quotes the beginning of Psalm 8:2 in verse 16 but He doesn't finish the verse in Psalms. The rest of Psalm 8:2 says "because of Thy adversaries, to make the vengeful cease". If these teachers of the law knew their scriptures, they would have known what the rest of this verse said and would have known that  Jesus was saying that they were the adversaries and vengeful that this scripture spoke of. 
I am going to skip the account of the figless figtree because without a long drawn out explanation of figs and their growing seasons, I don't think we can draw many conclusions from this. What I will address is verse 21:21-22. 
I have been praying to understand these verses about faith and prayer and receiving what you ask for. In regards to the faith and believing, we need to ask,  what is going on deep down in our hearts and minds as far as our faith is concerned? In Samuel 16:7 we find out that the Lord doesn't see as a man sees, but the Lord looks at the heart. Take some time and put the word "heart" into the Blue Letter Bible (.com) phrase search and see what comes up. Take time to look up the verses listed there. Pray that God will show you His heart.

I have found that my motives are so important when it comes to prayer. I have been asking the Lord to search my deepest motive for every prayer I pray and show it to me. Oh course this is for my benefit. He already knows my every motive. 
One more thing about prayer and what we shall receive. In Rev. 8:3-4, we see our prayers being mixed with incense upon the golden altar. This very hot mixture then rises before our God, out of the angels hand as a sweet smelling aroma  before Him. Are our prayers truly worthy of such an amazing honor?  These verses revolutionized my prayer life. When I get on my knees, I now see my prayers being mixed and ascending before Him. I have been inspired to pray with an eternal perspective.
The rest of the chapter is Jesus being confronted  again by the chief priests and elders. They were trying every way possible to trap Him or discredit Him. Jesus is not careful or concerned about offending or angering them.  He was in His last week of life as a human being and he knew their hearts and motives. In verse 21:31, He tells them that the tax gatherers and harlots would get into heaven before them. I can just imagine their burning anger. In verses 21:33-46 He tells a parable that is even more insulting to them than the last. In verses 45-46 it says that the Pharisees and chief priests knew that He was speaking about them. They wanted to grab Him  right then, but they feared the people. 


As you study these chapters 19-28, keep in mind that these chapters are an account of Jesus's last week to walk the earth. Matthew has recorded this important week for us. Pray for remembrance and understanding in a way that will make these verses come alive to you. Remember, these are  the actual events that took place as Jesus drew closer to His eternal destiny.

FOR THIS CHAPTER WE WILL USE ***21 IS T.E. (TEA) TIME*** the T. stands for triumphal, and the E. stands for entry. Hopefully this will help you remember that the last week of Jesus's  human life starts here.

God Bless you ladies! Keep praying, keep reading. I am praying for all of you. 
love
nancy

Matthew chapter 20

This Is such an amazing chapter! I actually want to start this study by saying that chapters 19 and 20, should be considered as one unit. Chapter 20 is a continuation of what was happening in 19.  If we consider them together, we will have a better understanding of what Jesus was trying to teach the disciples, and us, on His journey to the cross.

Two times in chapter 19, the disciples make comments to Jesus about something that has happened, that reveals their heart feelings and motives on the subjects being discussed. In verse 19:10, Jesus ignores the true motive in their casual remark about marriage and teaches on celibacy. In verse 19:27, after seeing Jesus tell the rich young ruler to sell everything and give it to the poor and come and follow Him, they in essence said to Him that they had already done what he had asked of the rich young man. So, what was there going to be for them? They said to Him that they had given up "everything" for Him.
 If I were Jesus, I would have been tempted to tell them that they had no idea what they were saying. I would have told them that they were giving up nothing compared to what I had to do for them. I would have told them how I could hold the universe in my hand and that I had laid my crown aside to save their measly lives. 
Instead, our precious, humble, glorious Lord, tells them what they will inherit when He comes into His glory. But, He finishes chapter 19 with the words  " many who are first will be last and the last will be first"
This is where we start chapter 20.  Verses 19:30 and 20:1, are actually the same sentence. After saying that the first will be last and the last shall be first, Jesus starts the parable of the landowner with a vineyard.

Verse 20:2 tells us that the landowner agrees to pay the workers a denarius  for the days work. In verses 20:3-7, the landowner continues to visit the marketplace all day long to hire workers.  This actually is very hard work. We have a vineyard near our home. The vines on their stands are pretty short ,only about half the height of a man so this job requires a lot of bending and stooping. Once harvested into a basket or bucket the grapes are quite heavy. You can imagine how hard this job would be while working in the hot sun.

In verse 20:8, the land owner tells his foreman to call the workers and pay them. He tells him to start with the workers who were hired last. When the workers lined up, according to when they were hired , the workers saw that the guys who had only worked an hour, got a full denarius  and assumed, that since they had worked longer, they would be paid more. Of course they did! We would have thought the same thing. 

Many times I wondered why some of the guys went all day without being chosen. This artist gives us the idea that they were smaller or younger and not as desirable as the bigger stronger guys."the last shall be first and the first shall be last"

After all, isn't that only fair? Not only had they worked all day in the scorching heat but now they were having to stand in line behind the guys who only worked and hour, and wait to be paid!

Verse 20:11 tells us that when these hot, tired workers got to the front of the line and got their pay, they grumbled to the land owner because they only got paid a denarius, the same as the guys who worked a shorter day. Jesus finishes with verses 12-15 to show how the story turns out. The men did not get anymore money for grumbling. The land owner could do what he wanted with his money. He had kept his agreement. He had not wronged anyone. But, Jesus finishes with the whole point of the story. He finishes where He began in verse 30 of chapter 19. In verse 20:16 He says, "Thus, the last shall be first and the first shall be last."

This story of the land owner and his vineyard, strikes at the very heart of what human beings would consider fair. It is a universal story that every human can relate to in any culture. It is timeless, and just as emotion invoking now as it was on the day when Jesus spoke it to his disciples. 

Jesus is teaching the eternal in these two chapters. He is trying to get His disciples to  think with an eternal perspective. Jesus is the first who became last and the last who will become first. In Isaiah 53, we see Jesus "despised and forsaken of men" who by the end of the chapter is the conquering hero. He wanted His disciples to make the connections here. He wanted them to think differently about everything. He wanted them to realize that how humans decide who is useful and what is valuable or fair, is not how God decides. He was trying to enable them to see that the road to glory was not going to be what they thought it would be. They should not expect to be treated fairly by the world's standards. Remember, they had just told Jesus that they had given up everything for him (19:27)and wanted to know what their reward would be. 

They needed this lesson because before long they would  see the Lord unfairly tried, convicted and murdered for being kind, caring and sinless. He would suffer unspeakable torture and shame for healing the sick and raising the dead. Their world was going to turn upside down.

As they started their journey down the road to Jerusalem for the last time, he tells them this. (read Matt. 20:17-19)  
I am positive that they still did not understand. We know that is true because in John 21:8-9, we are told that when they entered the tomb they saw and believed but before that time they did not understand about Him rising from the dead. They had been in hiding since His crucifixion. It wasn't until Jesus rose from the dead and they received the Holy Spirit,  that all of the words and teachings of our Lord made sense to them. They gained an eternal perspective.

I love the next part of this chapter. In verses 20:20-28 the mother of James and John comes to make a request of Jesus. She asks if "Her boys" could be honored above the others. It says that she got down on her knees to ask the Lord this favor.  Eerdmans says that it is clear that she was not asking that her boys  receive this honor in death but that she still thought that Jesus would be setting up His earthly kingdom very soon. Jesus, ever patient, says "you do not know what you are asking for, Can you drink of the same cup I will drink?" They say yes, clearly still not understanding what that cup will be.
It tells us that the other 10 disciples became indignant at James and John. It seems that the lesson on the last being first and the first being last had been lost on them. They did not want these two to be honored in anyway above them. That was not fair, they didn't deserve special honor. In verse 20:25, Jesus calls them together to address them quietly and I believe gently, as a mother would call her child to a private conversation to set something right. He tells them that they have seen how the world government operates but that it is not to be so among them. He says, whoever wishes to be great must be the servant of all, who ever wants to be first, must be the slave. Then He teaches in verse 20:28 that He is to be their example of ambition . He says He "did not come to be served, but to serve and become a ransom for many" His Classic example to them is in John 13. 


The last part of this chapter is very important

 to me. Verses 20:29-34 is the account of the blind men who cry out to Jesus from the side of the rode. The verses say that a great multitude was there. The blind men cried out "Lord , Have mercy on us Son of David". They called out "Son of David" to show Him that they knew that He was the Messiah. The crowd tried to stop them from crying out to Him but they cried out all the louder. The scripture says that he stopped to talk to them and was "moved with compassion."  Jesus touched their eyes and immediately they were healed and followed Him. This is the prayer I pray as I continue to pray for my little daughter who needs a healing. (she is the one holding the puppy). I pray those very words. "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us" and then I pray that he will be moved with compassion and heal my daughter. He has already healed her in many ways. She has succeeded at things that the Drs. never thought she would . But she still needs the Lord's healing touch in her voice and muscle strength. Pray for my daughter if you think of her. I know that this is kind of personal, thanks for reading.

To finish. I find these two chapters to be incredible, life changing chapters in our journey to start living our lives with an eternal perspective. This world is passing away. Our hope is in Him. The servant of all. The eternally patient, all loving, all knowing Lord. Who will come on a white horse to claim His bride,us. To the world, foolishness (1st Corinth.1:25). 


Keep reading, keep studying. The things you are reading, are for the eternal. TO REMEMBER THIS CHAPTER WE WILL USE 20 WORDS. (UGH) I KNOW, BUT THE HOLY SPIRIT WILL GIVE YOU REMEMBRANCE. JUST ASK.

LABORERS IN THE VINEYARD, DEATH AND RESURRECTION FORETOLD, MOTHER OF JAMES AND JOHN ASK FOR FAVOR, SIGHT FOR THE BLIND.***20 WORDS**

God bless you ladies, I am praying for every one of you. Pray for an eternal perspective in everything you do.
Love
Nancy  


   

wHY ThIs sTUdY ***

I decided to start this way of studying because I prayed for a way to remember what I was studying and reading. I would study a book of the bible and only finish my study when I thought that I could remember what was in that book. Well, it wasn't long after I started a study on another book that I would realize that I had forgotten most of what I had read in the previous book. 
I also didn't like the fact that I knew a lot of information from the bible but I didn't always know where to find the subjects or verses that were being discussed. I really wanted to be able to quickly turn to passages without spending a lot of time flipping to find stuff. (if you know what I mean).
Anyway, this is the way the Lord lead me to study and remember His word. It works for my brain. I hope that it will work for yours too.
We will not be memorizing verses. We will be using "memory tools" to remember subjects, topics, and passages in the bible.

For example, Matthew chapter 4... Think FAST.. FAST has 4 letters, Jesus fasted for 40 days and 40 nights, he also chose 4 apostles in Chapter 4, PETER, ANDREW, JAMES AND JOHN.

OF course this takes practice, and the other important piece is to READ, READ, READ the chapter you are studying over and over again. Then use your memory tool to remember it. I will be providing a memory tool for every chapter but you may start develop your own memory tools as the Holy Spirit brings to mind the things that God wants you to remember.

This method has been wonderful for me. I actually started with the book of John and can now tell you something from every chapter in that book. That study will come later, for now we are working on Matthew.

Pray, pray, pray and practice. Practice as you are falling asleep at night. Practice as you wait at a stop light. Practice as you wait in line at the grocery store. Practice any time you have to wait. Turn that time into God's time.
I hope that this turns into a wonderful journey for you as you go through God's word. I will be praying for all of you.
God Bless
Love
Nancy