At Bethany
(Matthew 26.6-13; Mark 14.3-9)
John 12 Six days before Passover Jesus went back to Bethany, where he had raised Lazarus from death. (2) A meal had been prepared for Jesus. Martha was doing the serving, and Lazarus himself was there.
(3) Mary took a very expensive bottle of perfume and poured it on Jesus' feet. She wiped them with her hair, and the sweet smell of the perfume filled the house.
(4) A disciple named Judas Iscariot was there. He was the one who was going to betray Jesus, and he asked, (5) "Why wasn't this perfume sold for three hundred silver coins and the money given to the poor?" (6) Judas did not really care about the poor. He asked this because he carried the moneybag and sometimes would steal from it.
(7) Jesus replied, "Leave her alone! She has kept this perfume for the day of my burial. (8) You will always have the poor with you, but you won't always have me."
A Plot To Kill Lazarus
(9) A lot of people came when they heard that Jesus was there. They also wanted to see Lazarus, because Jesus had raised him from death. (10) So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus. (11) He was the reason that many of the people were turning from them and putting their faith in Jesus.
Jesus Enters Jerusalem
(Matthew 21.1-11; Mark 11.1-11; Luke 19.28-40)
(12) The next day a large crowd was in Jerusalem for Passover. When they heard that Jesus was coming for the festival, (13) they took palm branches and went out to greet him. They shouted, "Hooray!
God bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
God bless the King of Israel!"
(14) Jesus found a donkey and rode on it, just as the Scriptures say,
(15) "People of Jerusalem, don't be afraid!
Your King is now coming, and he is riding on a donkey."
(16) At first, Jesus' disciples did not understand. But after he had been given his glory, they remembered all this. Everything had happened exactly as the Scriptures said it would.
(17-18) A crowd had come to meet Jesus because they had seen him call Lazarus out of the tomb. They kept talking about him and this miracle. (19) But the Pharisees said to each other, "There is nothing that can be done! Everyone in the world is following Jesus."
Some Greeks Want To Meet Jesus
(20) Some Greeks had gone to Jerusalem to worship during Passover. (21) Philip from Bethsaida in Galilee was there too. So they went to him and said, "Sir, we would like to meet Jesus." (22) Philip told Andrew. Then the two of them went to Jesus and told him.
-------------------------------
King Asa of Judah
2 Chronicles 14 Abijah died and was buried in Jerusalem. Then his son Asa became king, and Judah had ten years of peace.
(2) Asa obeyed the LORD his God and did right. (3) He destroyed the local shrines and the altars to foreign gods. He smashed the stone images of gods and cut down the sacred poles used in worshiping the goddess Asherah. (4) Then he told everyone in Judah to worship the LORD God, just as their ancestors had done, and to obey his laws and teachings. (5) He destroyed every local shrine and incense altar in Judah.
(6) The LORD blessed Judah with peace while Asa was king, and so during that time, Asa fortified many of the towns. (7) He said to the people, "Let's build walls and defense towers for these towns, and put in gates that can be locked with bars. This land still belongs to us, because we have obeyed the LORD our God. He has given us peace from all our enemies." The people did everything Asa had suggested.
(8) Asa had a large army of brave soldiers: Three hundred thousand of them were from the tribe of Judah and were armed with shields and spears; two hundred eighty thousand were from Benjamin and were armed with bows and arrows.
Judah Defeats Ethiopia's Army
(9) Zerah from Ethiopia led an army of a million soldiers and three hundred chariots to the town of Mareshah in Judah. (10) Asa met him there, and the two armies prepared for battle in Zephathah Valley.
(11)Asa prayed:
LORD God, only you can help a powerless army defeat a stronger one. So we depend on you to help us. We will fight against this powerful army to honor your name, and we know that you won't be defeated. You are the LORD our God.
(12) The LORD helped Asa and his army defeat the Ethiopians. The enemy soldiers ran away, (13) but Asa and his troops chased them as far as Gerar. It was a total defeat--the Ethiopians could not even fight back!
The soldiers from Judah took everything that had belonged to the Ethiopians. (14) The people who lived in the villages around Gerar learned what had happened and were afraid of the LORD. So Judah's army easily defeated them and carried off everything of value that they wanted from these towns. (15) They also attacked the camps where the shepherds lived and took a lot of sheep, goats, and camels. Then they went back to Jerusalem.
Asa Destroys the Idols in Judah
2 Chronicles 15 Some time later, God spoke to Azariah son of Oded. (2) At once, Azariah went to Asa and said:
Listen to me, King Asa and you people of Judah and Benjamin. The LORD will be with you and help you, as long as you obey and worship him. But if you disobey him, he will desert you.
(3) For a long time, the people of Israel did not worship the true God or listen to priests who could teach them about God. They refused to obey God's Law. (4) But whenever trouble came, Israel turned back to the LORD their God and worshiped him.
(5) There was so much confusion in those days that it wasn't safe to go anywhere in Israel. (6) Nations were destroying each other, and cities were wiping out other cities, because God was causing trouble and unrest everywhere.
(7) So you must be brave. Don't give up! God will honor you for obeying him.
(8) As soon as Asa heard what Azariah the prophet said, he gave orders for all the idols in Judah and Benjamin to be destroyed, including those in the towns he had captured in the territory of Ephraim. He also repaired the LORD's altar that was in front of the temple porch.
(9) Asa called together the people from Judah and Benjamin, as well as the people from the territories of Ephraim, West Manasseh, and Simeon who were living in Judah. Many of these people were now loyal to Asa, because they had seen that the LORD was with him.
(10) In the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa's rule, they all met in Jerusalem. (11) That same day, they took seven hundred bulls and seven thousand sheep and goats from what they had brought back from Gerar and sacrificed them as offerings to the LORD. (12) They made a solemn promise to faithfully worship the LORD God their ancestors had worshiped, (13) and to put to death anyone who refused to obey him. (14) The crowd solemnly agreed to keep their promise to the LORD, then they celebrated by shouting and blowing trumpets and horns. (15) Everyone was happy because they had made this solemn promise, and in return, the LORD blessed them with peace from all their enemies.
(16) Asa's grandmother Maacah had made a disgusting idol of the goddess Asherah, so he cut it down, crushed it, and burned it in Kidron Valley. Then he removed Maacah from her position as queen mother. (17) As long as Asa lived, he was faithful to the LORD, even though he did not destroy the local shrines in Israel. (18) He placed in the temple all the silver and gold objects that he and his father had dedicated to God.
(19) There was peace in Judah until the thirty-fifth year of Asa's rule.
-----------------------------
Psalm 77
[A psalm by Asaph for Jeduthun, the music leader.]
In Times of Trouble God Is with His People
(1) I pray to you, Lord God, and I beg you to listen.
(2) In days filled with trouble, I search for you.
And at night I tirelessly lift my hands in prayer,
refusing comfort.
(3) When I think of you, I feel restless and weak.
(4) Because of you, Lord God, I can't sleep.
I am restless and can't even talk.
(5) I think of times gone by, of those years long ago.
(6) Each night my mind is flooded with questions:
(7) "Have you rejected me forever?
Won't you be kind again?
(8) Is this the end of your love and your promises?
(9) Have you forgotten how to have pity?
Do you refuse to show mercy because of your anger?"
(10) Then I said, "God Most High, what hurts me most
is that you no longer help us with your mighty arm."
(11) Our LORD, I will remember the things you have done,
your miracles of long ago.
(12) I will think about each one of your mighty deeds.
(13) Everything you do is right,
and no other god compares with you.
(14) You alone work miracles,
and you have let nations see your mighty power.
(15) With your own arm you rescued your people,
the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.
(16) The ocean looked at you, God,
and it trembled deep down with fear.
(17) Water flowed from the clouds. Thunder was heard above
as your arrows of lightning flashed about.
(18) Your thunder roared like chariot wheels.
The world was made bright by lightning,
and all the earth trembled.
(19) You walked through the water of the mighty sea,
but your footprints were never seen.
(20) You guided your people like a flock of sheep,
and you chose Moses and Aaron to be their leaders.
Click here for booking information to have Pastor Mike come speak or perform, from speaking to music or magic, something for all groups.
Click to visit with Pastor Mike regarding any of your needs. He will respond to each request personally, and if need be refer you to one of our other pastors.
Click to visit and join the new group The Virtual Pew, at MySpace. Become a part of a different kind of Christian group, check out the page for more information, all welcome, including those who are not followers of Jesus.
Click to visit the Virtual Pew Website and become a part of that ministry.
Click to subscribe to my blog
Click to visit and join our sister group at MySpace Hollywood Jesus.
Now for those that do not know, make sure you check out the numerous articles and blogs by checking out the archives. If visiting The Virtual Pew or MySpace they are archived on the left hand side of the page. Scroll down to where you see newer or older listed under archives and then click there. There are hundreds of postings so make sure to check out the archives. You can also contact me for a free e-book pre edit version of The Keystone Kid at mike@thevirtualpew.com
You can visit http://www.thevirtualpew.com/ and on the front page down on the left side you sill see our store. Your purchase provides needed funds to The Virtual Pew. If you do not see something to purchase you can click on the search engine, (do not put anything in the search box at this time). You will be taken to Amazon where you can search for anything you desire. Hopefully you will consider a gift to The Virtual Pew.
Now I get asked this quite often, Can we repost your blogs or articles? The short answer to that is, what an honor that you would ask, and by all means, spread the word.
Here is our contact information
(Matthew 26.6-13; Mark 14.3-9)
John 12 Six days before Passover Jesus went back to Bethany, where he had raised Lazarus from death. (2) A meal had been prepared for Jesus. Martha was doing the serving, and Lazarus himself was there.
(3) Mary took a very expensive bottle of perfume and poured it on Jesus' feet. She wiped them with her hair, and the sweet smell of the perfume filled the house.
(4) A disciple named Judas Iscariot was there. He was the one who was going to betray Jesus, and he asked, (5) "Why wasn't this perfume sold for three hundred silver coins and the money given to the poor?" (6) Judas did not really care about the poor. He asked this because he carried the moneybag and sometimes would steal from it.
(7) Jesus replied, "Leave her alone! She has kept this perfume for the day of my burial. (8) You will always have the poor with you, but you won't always have me."
A Plot To Kill Lazarus
(9) A lot of people came when they heard that Jesus was there. They also wanted to see Lazarus, because Jesus had raised him from death. (10) So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus. (11) He was the reason that many of the people were turning from them and putting their faith in Jesus.
Jesus Enters Jerusalem
(Matthew 21.1-11; Mark 11.1-11; Luke 19.28-40)
(12) The next day a large crowd was in Jerusalem for Passover. When they heard that Jesus was coming for the festival, (13) they took palm branches and went out to greet him. They shouted, "Hooray!
God bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
God bless the King of Israel!"
(14) Jesus found a donkey and rode on it, just as the Scriptures say,
(15) "People of Jerusalem, don't be afraid!
Your King is now coming, and he is riding on a donkey."
(16) At first, Jesus' disciples did not understand. But after he had been given his glory, they remembered all this. Everything had happened exactly as the Scriptures said it would.
(17-18) A crowd had come to meet Jesus because they had seen him call Lazarus out of the tomb. They kept talking about him and this miracle. (19) But the Pharisees said to each other, "There is nothing that can be done! Everyone in the world is following Jesus."
Some Greeks Want To Meet Jesus
(20) Some Greeks had gone to Jerusalem to worship during Passover. (21) Philip from Bethsaida in Galilee was there too. So they went to him and said, "Sir, we would like to meet Jesus." (22) Philip told Andrew. Then the two of them went to Jesus and told him.
-------------------------------
King Asa of Judah
2 Chronicles 14 Abijah died and was buried in Jerusalem. Then his son Asa became king, and Judah had ten years of peace.
(2) Asa obeyed the LORD his God and did right. (3) He destroyed the local shrines and the altars to foreign gods. He smashed the stone images of gods and cut down the sacred poles used in worshiping the goddess Asherah. (4) Then he told everyone in Judah to worship the LORD God, just as their ancestors had done, and to obey his laws and teachings. (5) He destroyed every local shrine and incense altar in Judah.
(6) The LORD blessed Judah with peace while Asa was king, and so during that time, Asa fortified many of the towns. (7) He said to the people, "Let's build walls and defense towers for these towns, and put in gates that can be locked with bars. This land still belongs to us, because we have obeyed the LORD our God. He has given us peace from all our enemies." The people did everything Asa had suggested.
(8) Asa had a large army of brave soldiers: Three hundred thousand of them were from the tribe of Judah and were armed with shields and spears; two hundred eighty thousand were from Benjamin and were armed with bows and arrows.
Judah Defeats Ethiopia's Army
(9) Zerah from Ethiopia led an army of a million soldiers and three hundred chariots to the town of Mareshah in Judah. (10) Asa met him there, and the two armies prepared for battle in Zephathah Valley.
(11)Asa prayed:
LORD God, only you can help a powerless army defeat a stronger one. So we depend on you to help us. We will fight against this powerful army to honor your name, and we know that you won't be defeated. You are the LORD our God.
(12) The LORD helped Asa and his army defeat the Ethiopians. The enemy soldiers ran away, (13) but Asa and his troops chased them as far as Gerar. It was a total defeat--the Ethiopians could not even fight back!
The soldiers from Judah took everything that had belonged to the Ethiopians. (14) The people who lived in the villages around Gerar learned what had happened and were afraid of the LORD. So Judah's army easily defeated them and carried off everything of value that they wanted from these towns. (15) They also attacked the camps where the shepherds lived and took a lot of sheep, goats, and camels. Then they went back to Jerusalem.
Asa Destroys the Idols in Judah
2 Chronicles 15 Some time later, God spoke to Azariah son of Oded. (2) At once, Azariah went to Asa and said:
Listen to me, King Asa and you people of Judah and Benjamin. The LORD will be with you and help you, as long as you obey and worship him. But if you disobey him, he will desert you.
(3) For a long time, the people of Israel did not worship the true God or listen to priests who could teach them about God. They refused to obey God's Law. (4) But whenever trouble came, Israel turned back to the LORD their God and worshiped him.
(5) There was so much confusion in those days that it wasn't safe to go anywhere in Israel. (6) Nations were destroying each other, and cities were wiping out other cities, because God was causing trouble and unrest everywhere.
(7) So you must be brave. Don't give up! God will honor you for obeying him.
(8) As soon as Asa heard what Azariah the prophet said, he gave orders for all the idols in Judah and Benjamin to be destroyed, including those in the towns he had captured in the territory of Ephraim. He also repaired the LORD's altar that was in front of the temple porch.
(9) Asa called together the people from Judah and Benjamin, as well as the people from the territories of Ephraim, West Manasseh, and Simeon who were living in Judah. Many of these people were now loyal to Asa, because they had seen that the LORD was with him.
(10) In the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa's rule, they all met in Jerusalem. (11) That same day, they took seven hundred bulls and seven thousand sheep and goats from what they had brought back from Gerar and sacrificed them as offerings to the LORD. (12) They made a solemn promise to faithfully worship the LORD God their ancestors had worshiped, (13) and to put to death anyone who refused to obey him. (14) The crowd solemnly agreed to keep their promise to the LORD, then they celebrated by shouting and blowing trumpets and horns. (15) Everyone was happy because they had made this solemn promise, and in return, the LORD blessed them with peace from all their enemies.
(16) Asa's grandmother Maacah had made a disgusting idol of the goddess Asherah, so he cut it down, crushed it, and burned it in Kidron Valley. Then he removed Maacah from her position as queen mother. (17) As long as Asa lived, he was faithful to the LORD, even though he did not destroy the local shrines in Israel. (18) He placed in the temple all the silver and gold objects that he and his father had dedicated to God.
(19) There was peace in Judah until the thirty-fifth year of Asa's rule.
-----------------------------
Psalm 77
[A psalm by Asaph for Jeduthun, the music leader.]
In Times of Trouble God Is with His People
(1) I pray to you, Lord God, and I beg you to listen.
(2) In days filled with trouble, I search for you.
And at night I tirelessly lift my hands in prayer,
refusing comfort.
(3) When I think of you, I feel restless and weak.
(4) Because of you, Lord God, I can't sleep.
I am restless and can't even talk.
(5) I think of times gone by, of those years long ago.
(6) Each night my mind is flooded with questions:
(7) "Have you rejected me forever?
Won't you be kind again?
(8) Is this the end of your love and your promises?
(9) Have you forgotten how to have pity?
Do you refuse to show mercy because of your anger?"
(10) Then I said, "God Most High, what hurts me most
is that you no longer help us with your mighty arm."
(11) Our LORD, I will remember the things you have done,
your miracles of long ago.
(12) I will think about each one of your mighty deeds.
(13) Everything you do is right,
and no other god compares with you.
(14) You alone work miracles,
and you have let nations see your mighty power.
(15) With your own arm you rescued your people,
the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.
(16) The ocean looked at you, God,
and it trembled deep down with fear.
(17) Water flowed from the clouds. Thunder was heard above
as your arrows of lightning flashed about.
(18) Your thunder roared like chariot wheels.
The world was made bright by lightning,
and all the earth trembled.
(19) You walked through the water of the mighty sea,
but your footprints were never seen.
(20) You guided your people like a flock of sheep,
and you chose Moses and Aaron to be their leaders.
Click here for booking information to have Pastor Mike come speak or perform, from speaking to music or magic, something for all groups.
Click to visit with Pastor Mike regarding any of your needs. He will respond to each request personally, and if need be refer you to one of our other pastors.
Click to visit and join the new group The Virtual Pew, at MySpace. Become a part of a different kind of Christian group, check out the page for more information, all welcome, including those who are not followers of Jesus.
Click to visit the Virtual Pew Website and become a part of that ministry.
Click to subscribe to my blog
Click to visit and join our sister group at MySpace Hollywood Jesus.
Now for those that do not know, make sure you check out the numerous articles and blogs by checking out the archives. If visiting The Virtual Pew or MySpace they are archived on the left hand side of the page. Scroll down to where you see newer or older listed under archives and then click there. There are hundreds of postings so make sure to check out the archives. You can also contact me for a free e-book pre edit version of The Keystone Kid at mike@thevirtualpew.com
You can visit http://www.thevirtualpew.com/ and on the front page down on the left side you sill see our store. Your purchase provides needed funds to The Virtual Pew. If you do not see something to purchase you can click on the search engine, (do not put anything in the search box at this time). You will be taken to Amazon where you can search for anything you desire. Hopefully you will consider a gift to The Virtual Pew.
Now I get asked this quite often, Can we repost your blogs or articles? The short answer to that is, what an honor that you would ask, and by all means, spread the word.
Here is our contact information
The Virtual Pew
P.O. Box 17731
Wichita, KS 67217
Click on the following links to learn more about The Virtual Pew
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Phone Number to Call During the Show, (Please never call prior to the start of the show) - (646) 716-8587
Phone Number to Call During the Show, (Please never call prior to the start of the show) - (646) 716-8587
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