Question – Jesus, 128

 ~ Regarding Sleep ~

 

Introduction  ~  This series is about questions involving Jesus.  Some were asked by individuals involved with Jesus Christ while He walked on earth.  Others are questions that Jesus Christ asked others.  We will look at questions on over 160 topics (some may split into two or more posts).  Even so, it is far from an exhaustive list. 

 

Scripture  ~  “Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, ‘Sit here while I go and pray over there.’  And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed.  Then He said to them, ‘My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.’

 

“He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, ‘O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.’  

 

“Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, ‘What!  Could you not watch with Me one hour?  Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.  The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.’

 

“Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, ‘O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.’  And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy.

 

“So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.  Then He came to His disciples and said to them, ‘Are you still sleeping and resting?  Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.  Rise, let us be going.  See, My betrayer is at hand’” (Matthew 26:36-46).

 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.

 

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God Is My… , 14

 ~ God Is My Source of Eternal Life, 2~

 

Introduction  ~  Previously (July 16, 2017 – January 6, 2019) ALN posted a series of 82 posts of “Jesus is…,” and then we looked exclusively at who “God is…” from the Book of Psalms (February 9, 2020 – December 5, 2021).  We are now considering “God is…” statements from non-Psalms passages. 

 

Passage  ~  “Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning.  If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father.  And this is the promise that He has promised us — eternal life” (1 John 2:24-25).

 

Another Passage  ~  “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life — the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us” (1 John 1:1-2).

 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.

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Myth, 133

 ~ Christians Must Accept Their Personal Bondage to Sin ~

 

Myth  ~  Being a Christian does not give you any advantage in how you live your life.

 

Realities  ~  (1) Like so many myths it contains a kernel of truth: it is easy to live life as you always have.  However, a Christian who maintains regular time in the Word of God and regular communion with God through prayer will over time have a substantial change of lifestyle. 

 

“Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty [not bondage].  But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:17-18).

 

(2) If one has confessed Jesus Christ as their Savior, they have a responsibility to grow in their knowledge and in their lifestyle. 

 

“Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?  For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

 

Scripture  ~  “Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:  Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:1-4). 

 

Quotes  ~  “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.  And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.  For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace” (Romans 6:12-14).

 

Comment  ~  Like so many truths in Scripture we not only possess God’s power through the Spirit of God living in us but we also have responsibility to do our part with the power He has given us.  And when we fail, we are to confess it (1 John 1:5) and God will forgive us and give us power to move forward. 

 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.

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