Purse, Bag and Sword

Luke 22:35-38

³⁵ Then Jesus asked his disciples, “When I sent you out that time without purse, bag, or shoes, did you lack anything?”
“Not a thing,” they answered.
³⁶ “But now,” Jesus said, “whoever has a purse or a bag must take it; and whoever does not have a sword must sell his coat and buy one. ³⁷ For I tell you that the scripture which says, ‘He shared the fate of criminals,’ must come true about Me, because what was written about Me is coming true.”
³⁸ The disciples said, “Look! Here are two swords, Lord!”
“That is enough!”^[a] he replied.

Footnotes:

1. Luke 22:38 That is enough; or Enough of this.

Jesus Predicts Peter's Denial -- (Your Faith Will Not Fail)

Luke 22:31-34 (GNT) "Simon! Simon! Listen!  Satan has received permission to test all of you, to separate the good from bad, as a farmer separates the wheat from the chaff.  But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith will not fail.  And when you turn back to Me, you must strengthen your brothers."

Peter answered, "Lord, I am ready to go to prison with you and die with you!"

"I tell you, Peter," Jesus said, "the rooster will not crow tonight until you have said three times that you do not know me."

The Argument About Greatness

Luke 22:24-30 (GNT) An argument broke out among the disciples as to which one of them should be thought of as the greatest.  Jesus said to them, "The kings of the pagans have power over their people, and the rulers are called 'Friends of the People'.  But this is not the way it is with you; rather, the greatest one among you must be like the youngest, and the leader must be like the servant.  Who is greater, the one who sits down to eat or the one who serves him?  The one who sits down, of course.  But I am among you as One who serves.  You have stayed with Me all through My trials; and just as My Father has given Me the right to rule, so I will give you the same right.  You will eat and drink at My table in My Kingdom, and you will sit on thrones to rule over the twelve tribes of Israel."

The Lord's Supper

Luke 22:14-23 (GNT) The Lord's Supper

¹⁴ When the hour came, Jesus took His place at the table with the apostles. ¹⁵ He said to them, “I have wanted so much to eat this Passover meal with you before I suffer! ¹⁶ For I tell you, I will never eat it until it is given its full meaning in the Kingdom of God.”
¹⁷ Then Jesus took a cup, gave thanks to God, and said, “Take this and share it among yourselves. ¹⁸ I tell you that from now on I will not drink this wine until the Kingdom of God comes.”
¹⁹ Then He took a piece of bread, gave thanks to God, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body, which is given for you. Do this in memory of Me.” ²⁰ In the same way, He gave them the cup after the supper, saying, “This cup is God's new covenant sealed with My blood, which is poured out for you.^[a]
21 “But, look! The one who betrays Me is here at the table with Me! ²² The Son of Man will die as God has decided, but how terrible for that man who betrays Him!”
²³ Then they began to ask among themselves which one of them it could be who was going to do this.

Jesus Prepares to Eat the Passover Meal

Luke 22:7-13 (GNT)

⁷ The day came during the Festival of Unleavened Bread when the lambs for the Passover meal were to be killed. ⁸ Jesus sent Peter and John with these instructions: “Go and get the Passover meal ready for us to eat.”
⁹ “Where do you want us to get it ready?” they asked Him.
¹⁰ He answered, “As you go into the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him into the house that he enters, ¹¹ and say to the owner of the house: ‘The Teacher says to you, Where is the room where my disciples and I will eat the Passover meal?’ ¹² He will show you a large furnished room upstairs, where you will get everything ready.”
¹³ They went off and found everything just as Jesus had told them, and they prepared the Passover meal.

Fill A Shoebox, Change a Life - This Christmas Receive the Joy of Giving!

Please visit: samaritanspurse.org

Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus

Luke 22:3-6 (GNT)

³ Then Satan entered into Judas, called Iscariot, who was one of the twelve disciples. ⁴ So Judas went off and spoke with the chief priests and the officers of the Temple guard about how he could betray Jesus to them. ⁵ They were pleased and offered to pay him money. ⁶ Judas agreed to it and started looking for a good chance to hand Jesus over to them without the people knowing about it.

In Praise of God's Goodness

Psalm 34:1 (GNT)  "I will always thank the LORD; I will never stop praising Him."

Give A Poor Child Their First Christmas Gift!

THIS IS SO MUCH FUN!!! Want to feel REALLY good? Then you MUST do this! You will help make many little ones happy too! Please make a shoebox! And please SHARE this with others! Let's make it viral! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKLz5u-ErW8. Website is: http://www.samaritanspurse.org/operation-christmas-child/pack-a-shoe-box/

I Look To the Lord For Help At All Times, And He Rescues Me From Danger

The Lord is the friend of those who obey him and he affirms his covenant with them. I look to the Lord for help at all times, and he rescues me from danger. Psalm 25:14-15 GNT

The Plot Against Jesus

Luke 22:1-2 (GNT) The time was near for the Festival of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover.  The chief priests and the teachers of the Law were afraid of the people, and so they were trying to find a way of putting Jesus to death secretly.

The Need to Watch (end)

Luke 21:37-38 (GNT) Jesus spent those days teaching in the Temple, and when evening came, He would go out and spend the night on the Mount of Olives.  Early each morning all the people went to the Temple to listen to Him.

And Stand Before the Son of Man

Luke 21:36 (GNT) (Jesus continues) "Be on watch and pray always that you will have the strength to go safely through all those things that will happen and to stand before the Son of Man."

The Need to Watch

Luke 21:34-35 (GNT)

³⁴ “Be careful not to let yourselves become occupied with too much feasting and drinking and with the worries of this life, or that Day may suddenly catch you ³⁵ like a trap. For it will come upon all people everywhere on earth.

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

Luke 21:29-33 (GNT)

²⁹ Then Jesus told them this parable: “Think of the fig tree and all the other trees. ³⁰ When you see their leaves beginning to appear, you know that summer is near. ³¹ In the same way, when you see these things happening, you will know that the Kingdom of God is about to come.
³² “Remember that all these things will take place before the people now living have all died. ³³ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

The Coming of the Son of Man

Luke 21:25-28 (GNT)

²⁵ “There will be strange things happening to the sun, the moon, and the stars. On earth whole countries will be in despair, afraid of the roar of the sea and the raging tides. ²⁶ People will faint from fear as they wait for what is coming over the whole earth, for the powers in space will be driven from their courses. ²⁷ Then the Son of Man will appear, coming in a cloud with great power and glory. ²⁸ When these things begin to happen, stand up and raise your heads, because your salvation is near.”

Because He Is Faithful To Us Too

Follow the Lord and honor Him; obey him and keep His commands; worship Him and be faithful to Him. Deuteronomy 13:4 GNT

Jesus Speaks of the Destruction of Jerusalem

Luke 21:20-24 (GNT)

²⁰ “When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then you will know that it will soon be destroyed. ²¹ Then those who are in Judea must run away to the hills; those who are in the city must leave, and those who are out in the country must not go into the city. ²² For those will be ‘The Days of Punishment,’ to make come true all that the Scriptures say. ²³ How terrible it will be in those days for women who are pregnant and for mothers with little babies! Terrible distress will come upon this land, and God's punishment will fall on this people. ²⁴ Some will be killed by the sword, and others will be taken as prisoners to all countries; and the heathen will trample over Jerusalem until their time is up.

Unforgiveness (Part 1) - the condition of your heart is of primary importance to God.

Leprosy Of The Heart

And it happened when He was in a certain city, that behold, a man who was full of leprosy saw Jesus; and he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, 'Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.' Then He put out His Hand and touched him, saying, 'I am willing; be cleansed.' Immediately the leprosy left him.

Luke 5:12-13 (NKJV)

From Carey Lewis, founder of AMTC (Actors, Models, and Talent for Christ)  She sends me these and I'd love share them!

Consider heart leprosy. In the Bible, God calls its victims, 'Impudent and hard-hearted' (Ezekiel 3:7). They become unfeeling: 'Being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart' (Ephesians 4:18).

'Lest they should see with their eyes, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them' (John 12:40). Heal them? Yes! Internally and externally. Mentally healthy minds and physically healthy bodies come from spiritually healthy hearts. Therefore, the condition of your heart is of primary importance to God.

Leprosy of the heart is caused by unforgiveness, which is caused by anger, which is caused by pride: the sin of Satan, who grew to consider himself equal with God.

Being equal with God would mean that He (and we) believe we know what is best: we are qualified to determine both crime and punishment. Because when we refuse to forgive anyone for anything, we make ourselves equal to God--or even superior to Him.

Because He commands us to the opposite behavior. Because He put His Money where His Mouth was: by Jesus, He forgave us.

Therein, harboring unforgiveness causes leprosy of the heart, and we who live with this evil spirit are indeed 'Unclean! Unclean!'

I Alone Am the Lord, the Only One Who Can Save You

“I alone am the Lord, the only one who can save you. I predicted what would happen, and then I came to your aid. No foreign god has ever done this; you are my witnesses. Isaiah 43:11-12 GNT

Troubles and Persecutions (continued)

Luke 21:10-18 (GNT) He (Jesus) went on to say, "Countries will fight each other; kingdoms will attack one another.  There will be terrible earthquakes, famines, and plagues everywhere; there will be strange and terrifying things coming from the sky.  Before all these things take place, however, you will be arrested and persecuted; you will be brought before kings and rulers for My sake. This will be your chance to tell the Good News.  Make up your minds ahead of time not to worry about how you will defend yourselves, because I will give you such words and wisdom that none of your enemies will be able to refute or contradict what you say.  You will be handed over by your parents, your brothers, your relatives, and your friends, and some of you will be put to death.  Everyone will hate you because of Me.  But not a single hair from your heads will be lost.  Stand firm and you will save yourselves."

Troubles and Persecutions

Luke 21:7-19 (GNT) "Teacher," they (Jesus' disciples) asked, "when will this be?  And what will happen in order to show that the time has come for it to take place?"  Jesus said, "Watch out; don't be fooled.  Many men, claiming to speak for Me, will come and say, 'I am He!' and 'The time has come!' But don't follow them.  Don't be afraid when you hear of wars and revolutions; such things must happen first, but they do not mean that the end is near."

He went on to say, "Countries will fight each other; kingdoms will attack one another.  There will be terrible earthquakes, famines, and plagues everywhere; there will be strange and terrifying things coming from the sky.  Before all these things take place, however, you will be arrested and persecuted; you will be handed over to be tried in syngogues and be put in prison; you will be brought before kings and rulers for My sake.  This will be your chance to tell the Good News.  Make up your minds ahead of time not to worry about how you will defend yourselves, because I will give you such words and wisdom that none of your enemies will be able to refute or contradict what you say.  You will be handed over by your parents, your brothers, your relatives, and your friends; and some of you will be put to death.  Everyone will hate you because of Me.  But not a single hair from your heads will be lost.  Stand firm, and you will save yourselves."

Jesus Speaks of the Destruction of the Temple

Luke 21:5-6 (GNT) Some of the disciples were talking about the Temple, how beautiful it looked with its fine stones and the gifts offered to God.  Jesus said, "All this you see - the time will come when not a single stone here will be left in its place; every one will be thrown down."

"I Trust In God Wholeheartedly and My Needs Will Be Met"

Just sharing this 'cause it melted my heart. THIS is an example of having a strong relationship with the Lord:

Today I reading in an article in the Los Angeles Daily News about the U.S. government shutdown and in the midst of it when it got to talking about the impact on some government employees, it quoted one employee as saying:

"I know some other employees, if you don't have money saved, it's going to be difficult," said Thelma Manley, who has spent seven years as a staff assistant with the Internal Revenue Service during a 30-year career in government.  As for herself, she said, "I'm a Christian.  I trust in God wholeheartedly and my needs will be met."

It so good to hear in the newspaper what is written in scripture how many times? And even written on our money: In God We Trust!

If you feel the same way, please share! 

God bless you!