Acts 15: 5-12 ~ My brothers

The choosing of Stephen

Acts 15: 5-12

5
But some from the party of the Pharisees who had become believers stood up and said, "It is necessary to circumcise them and direct them to observe the Mosaic law."
6
The apostles and the presbyters met together to see about this matter.
7
After much debate had taken place, Peter got up and said to them, "My brothers, you are well aware that from early days God made his choice among you that through my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of the gospel and believe.
8
And God, who knows the heart, bore witness by granting them the Holy Spirit just as he did us.
9
He made no distinction between us and them, for by faith he purified their hearts.
10
Why, then, are you now putting God to the test by placing on the shoulders of the disciples a yoke that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear?
11
On the contrary, we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they."
12
The whole assembly fell silent, and they listened while Paul and Barnabas described the signs and wonders God had worked among the Gentiles through them.


Each day I use my feedjit live tool found at the bottom of the blog seeing what people have read - how the blog's search tool & google are used to find what they are looking for. Using these things, not to cater to man, but looking at the older posts and re-evaluate with new eyes - finding typos, things that made sense to me at the time - analogies I have to make more clear.

So today.... I see a Scripture Partner has googled this Scripture from 5-30-08 - one I left blank, thinking that no analogy was needed. The question put forth was - in the Scriptures who are my brothers? It is an important question and deals with something we should think about daily - Jesus gave us the Great Commission.

Jesus was asked this same question and He gave us the story of the Good Samaritan. This was a carefully phrased question put to Jesus to avoid the answer.... it was a teacher of the religious law asking Jesus. He didn't ask Jesus who is my "brother", (he might not have wanted to hear that Jesus answer) he asked who is my "neighbor".

We all are aware that friendship, acquaintance - have different levels. It's really great to give this deliberate thought. It encompasses the jerk you want to avoid, the hurt-er, the budding friendship, the unknown, the potential love interest. Jesus said something that covers ALL the Levels

Matthew 5:16
In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Again for emphasis - Matthew 5:14-16
"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

What did Jesus ask of a "neighbor"? Actions and words of mercy. We are always to act as the neighbor, the merciful. We expect other people to be the neighbor. Expect the best from yourself, expect the best from other people...... People can absolutely tell if you think they are suspicious, dodgy, below par or sinner. You know it. You knew it when you were single and someone had a crush on you, you know if someone doesn't like you.


Now. The balance to the equation:

Proverbs 1
10 My son, if sinners entice you,
do not consent.

Really. I have a personal example of the glamour of sin. My mom had a decades long friendship with a woman who had a very vivacious personality. She had all the right connections, told great stories, went to interesting events and loved to be very generous, giving small gifts. Other women they knew, together, were wary of her. My mom felt sorry for this and felt the woman had a good heart - all those gifts. The woman was fun. Decades of friendship soured when that women became my dad's second wife. Adultery. Yes.


Matthew 7:6
Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.

It's a tale of glamour overcoming good sense. Some people should be placed in the neighbor/mercy category, permanently, and not the "brother" category.

And the other side of the coin:

Matthew 10:16
I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.

A woman worked at the same place for years and enjoyed the people she worked with. She found she had cancer and lost all of her hair. Some days she didn't feel well and she looked bad. People began to go the other way and disappear into offices when she walked down the hall. Part of the sadness in her illness was the isolation. How did it turn out for her? She got a temp henna tattoo on her bald head and people couldn't resist talking to her about it. A survivor! Someone who gives mercy ! She was willing to be pleased and understanding to the people who avoided her.

Who are your brothers?

Jesus told us.

Luke 8:21
He replied, "My mother and brothers are those who hear God's word and put it into practice."

And the people we love who aren't believers?

Luke 18:1-7
And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart!

2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. 3 And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ 4 For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” 6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. 7 And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them?


Micah 6:
6 “With what shall I come before the Lord,
and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”

8 He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God


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1 Thessalonians 2 ~ brothers and sisters

1 Thessalonians 2 ~ (Today's New International Version)

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¹ You know, brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not without results. ² We had previously suffered and been treated outrageously in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in the face of strong opposition. ³ For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. ⁴ On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts. ⁵ You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed—God is our witness. ⁶ We were not looking for praise from any human being, not from you or anyone else, even though as apostles of Christ we could have asserted our prerogatives. ⁷ Instead, we were like young children among you.

Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, ⁸ so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well. ⁹ Surely you remember, brothers and sisters, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you.

¹⁰ You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. ¹¹ For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, ¹² encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.

¹³ And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe. ¹⁴ For you, brothers and sisters, became imitators of God's churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus: You suffered from your fellow citizens the same things those churches suffered from the Jews, ¹⁵ who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and also drove us out. They displease God and are hostile to everyone ¹⁶ in their effort to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. In this way they always heap up their sins to the limit. The wrath of God has come upon them at last.

¹⁷ But, brothers and sisters, when we were orphaned by being separated from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you. ¹⁸ For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, did, again and again—but Satan blocked our way. ¹⁹ For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? ²⁰ Indeed, you are our glory and joy.


~ delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well

When Jesus talked to people about God, He used this particular phrase "it is written." Jesus told us His life pointed to Father God; all the love, joy, hope, faith and healing Jesus gave to "all" the people. 4 times in almost each Gospel, we read the phrase "He healed them all."

Jesus knew He would not always be physically present with us on this earth and He wanted us to know how much our Father loves us. How many times do the Scriptures say "it is written"? 160 times. If someone wrote you a letter wouldn't you read it? Just as if you write a letter or an email, you hope it will be read. God wrote to you. Jesus tells us Scripture is to be read and remembered? Yes, 35 times. It is written.


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Matthew 8 ~ Jesus saw a crowd around Him

Painted by Jacopo Bassano (1510-1592)

Matthew 8

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1 When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. 2 And behold, a leper [term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13] came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” 3 And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 And Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to them.”

5 When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, 6 “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” 7 And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8 But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant [bondservant], ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 10 When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. 11 I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, 12 while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13 And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment.

14 And when Jesus entered Peter's house, he saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever. 15 He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and began to serve him. 16 That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.”

18 Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. 19 And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” 20 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 21 Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 22 And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”

23 And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. 24 And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. 25 And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” 26 And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. 27 And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”

28 And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes [Gergesenes; some Gerasenes], two demon-possessed [Greek daimonizomai; also verse 33; elsewhere rendered oppressed by demons] men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. 29 And behold, they cried out, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” 30 Now a herd of many pigs was feeding at some distance from them. 31 And the demons begged him, saying, “If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of pigs.” 32 And he said to them, “Go.” So they came out and went into the pigs, and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the waters. 33 The herdsmen fled, and going into the city they told everything, especially what had happened to the demon-possessed men. 34 And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.

We live in a time where everything moves quickly. Even movies don't give you a chance to say,"What did they say?" ....And we have had a scene change.


When the New York Times Bestseller author, M. Scott Peck,M.D., wrote the 'The Road Less Traveled" he was still in the infancy of His Christ relationship. He'd begun as a Christian/Buddhist/Carl Yung enthusiast, but as he really broke bread with the Gospels (he said if he was going to refer to the Bible -he felt he should know something of it), he met Jesus. He remembers thinking, why didn't anyone tell me Jesus had personality? Every page of the Gospels brought him closer to Jesus. This was God, this was a man.

The real Jesus. Jesus walking through this life..... Jesus attitudes - I will - be clean. Not maverick Jesus, not I am God - watch me strut - but ... go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to them.

I will come to heal him.

When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment.

Jesus entered Peter's house, he saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever. He touched her hand, and the fever left her.....

“He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.”


Not the way we portray our fictitious superheroes. When Jesus was tired, pressed upon, He was ready to leave. Men leaned towards Him to give Him shallow, meaningless promises and talk.

Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side.

In the midst of His day, a day filled with requests, endless ideas of what they perceive God to be, ideas of what He should be, their joy, their pain, their trouble, Jesus knew He needed a break.

He was asleep

The disciples ... they needed Him, didn't He know there was a storm! ............ they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.”

Didn't they know Jesus lived in a storm of constant activity and thoughts ...... And He said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then He rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and .... there was a great calm.



These were the days Jesus walked the earth. We share Psalm 116 with Him, it applies to all of us, with Him:

Return, O my soul, to your rest;
for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.

For you have delivered my soul from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling;
I will walk before the Lord
in the land of the living.

~ Psalm 116: 7-9

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Joshua 1:1-9 ~ I am giving

Joshua 1:1-9

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1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' assistant, 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. 3 Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. 4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory.

5 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success [may act wisely] wherever you go.

8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Yesterday we looked at photos of the archaeological dig for Peter's grave, under the Vatican, and we saw the ruins of Peter's house in Capernaum. The Vatican discovery took over 10 years of digging and treasures were discovered in art, names and histories of the people found, statuary, archeology, mosiacs of the beautiful chapels and tombs. The levels went down, down, to 80 feet.

And then, there was Peter's house. It was the largest in Capernaum. Peter's family were fishermen, with a fleet of ships and men working them. The house in Capernaum is large and it is just about the only house having the remaining plaster. In the plaster, from the 1st century on - people left graffiti - praising God for His gifts and the glory in their pilgrimage. It became a house Church immediately after Peter left to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ, until another Church was built upon, over, his house in the 4th century. When you compare Peter's house to the tombs of the Vatican and the Vatican itself - you realize Peter was just a man. The graffiti is identical in both locations. Certainly, it is a thrilling find, but there was so much more about Jesus, His redemption, the hope of the departed in all of the vast tombs. The depth and the astonishing things found in the archaeology about Jesus are amazing.

Jesus died and the world changed rapidly. 16 years after His death in obscurity, it became frightful to the Roman Emperors leading. They began persecuting people.

Peter died and the Way continued.

Moses died and God's promises continued. Each man was loved dearly by God. Just as you are. God's promises didn't end with his leaders' deaths, each generation is loved.



Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon .... Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. ~ Luke 12:7


I have given to you .... give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you .... What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? ~ Romans 8:31

No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life ...... When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" ~ Luke 5:8

Only be strong and very courageous ..... Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me." ~ Matthew 28:10

being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success ..... “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." ~ Matthew 5:17

Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed ..... casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you. ~ 1 Peter 5:7

for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go .... Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." ~ Matthew 28:19,20


Hebrews 13:5b
because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."


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John 1:35-42 ~ He said to them, “Come and you will see.”

Basilica of Saint Peter today.


Altar in the Vatican, during Christmas Mass. 80 feet below are the remains of Saint Peter.


Basilica of St. Peter from 331 until 17th century A.D. It was destroyed by a fire.

G is the representation of the foundation of the 4th century Church, the rest is beneath the foundation - as it would have appeared in the 4th century.
Overview of Peter's area. The undisturbed 4th century shrine for Paul's remains, built by Constantine.
Several excavated streets under the Vatican. Surrounded by tombs of the 2nd and 3rd century.

Peter's grave is 80 feet down, it took 10 years of amazing discoveries before they reached the Peter's area; most bodies clearly identified by name, art, poetry, mosaics, statuary. Pius knew they had rediscovered Peter's bones in the 2nd century grave, surrounded by the 4th century shrine built by Constantine.
Peter's bones were kept in a box. His bones were different than the others because they contained one man, wrapped in remains of purple cloth with gold thread, a tile saying "Peter is here" in Greek, was found in the box.

How the 4th century shrine appeared in 1949

c. 1966 the remains of Peter's house in Capernaum, Israel. Similar graffiti as Paul's tomb.
The slab that kept out moisture, thieves. Slab (a rock) helping to preserve Peter's body when the others around him were already dust.
The red wall with graffiti saying this is Peter, follower of Jesus Christ. Identical art found to Peter's home in Capernaum.
Original 2nd century tomb the 4th century tomb surrounded.

The discovered bones were found in the repository wall and later returned.
Darker bones are the remaining bones of Peter.
Photos of Peter's bones.


Peter's tomb today, located under the altar in St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City, Italy.

John 1:35-42

35 The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come and you will see.”

So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour [4 p.m.]. 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “So you are Simon the son of John? You shall be called Cephas” [which means Peter, Cephas and Peter are from the word for rock in Aramaic and Greek, respectively.]

What does a relatively large house in ancient Capernaum have in common with the Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano? They are both the homes of Peter, who loved and followed Jesus Christ. Both the house in Capernaum and the 2nd century grave site have the same graffiti proclaiming this is Peter, follower of Jesus. Where is the 2nd century grave located? Beneath the Altar of the Vatican.

Peter knew his death was going to be crucifixion, Jesus told him.

John 21:17-19
He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. 18 Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” 19 (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.”

Jesus knew where Peter would be buried, he took Peter to Caesarea to give him the prophesy:

Matthew 16:18
And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Peter's final resting place was rediscovered in the 1939 dig; began when Pope Pius XI died and there wasn't a good place to bury him. The workmen of Pope Pius XII discovered it wasn't going to just be pagan people underneath the floors of the Basilica. After 10 years of amazing discoveries, most bodies clearly identified by name, art, poetry, mosaics, statuary, Pius knew they had probably rediscover Peter's bones in the 2nd century grave surrounded by the 4th century shrine built by Constantine. Pius decided they would wait until the evidence looked completely irrefutable, they waited until December 23, 1950, when Pius told the world.

By 1964, conclusions the scientists decided were:

- An"elderly man" between sixty and seventy years, about five feet seven inches tall, of heavy build, a man of robust constitution. Missing the feet bones. The bones had lain - and for a considerable period of time - in a bare earth grave. (Peter had been martyred, buried as a criminal). All these bones, it appeared, at some time after dissolution of the flesh, had been taken from the earth and wrapped in a purplish, gold-threaded cloth. Enclosed was a plaque /tile with two Greek words "Petros Eni." Peter is here.

- Many, many of the tombs had bodies that had already turned to dust, the bones of Peter were amazing in their completion. There was even water in the area, which had been a problem to the Basilica for centuries. A single, huge outcropping of rock had preserved the carefully cared for remains.

- Sumptuous marble housing erected by Constantine, in the 4th century, over the 2nd century tomb, was intended to preserve forever both the true original grave of Peter's remains. It has never been tampered or violated.

- Soil adhering to the bones in the repository proved they had originally been interred in the earth. Chemical analysis proved that this soil exactly matched the soil in the original grave under the monument.

- The bones, where as others in the vicinity contained a lot of different types of bones thrown together, these were the carefully preserved bones of one man, missing the feet. In the repository, they had been wrapped in cloth of royal purple, an indication of the unusually high dignity accorded. Threads of gold in the cloth reinforced this impression, since the combination of purple and gold was a fact well attested from antiquity as indicating imperial honors. The robe was older than 4th century.

- An inscription within the repository, in Greek, declared "Peter is buried in here." Other inscriptions on the outside the repository, in Latin invoked his name in prayer.

- 2nd century Graffiti on the tomb's red wall was very similar to the graffiti in Peter's Capernaum house.

- Pope Damasus, in the fourth century, seriously encountered the problem of cemetery vandalism growing out of religious bigotry, it was a violent age. The repository in the sturdy little wall guarded against intrusions by permanently enclosing the precious remains on all sides.

One of the main scientists working on the archaeological dig:
http://saintpetersbasilica.org/Necropolis/MG/TheTombofStPeter-1.htm
THE TOMB OF ST. PETER
by Margherita Guarducci
© 1960, Hawthorn Books


The Bones of St. Peter. The First Full Account of the Search for the Apostle's Body by John Evangelist Walsh. © 1982. http://saintpetersbasilica.org/Necropolis/JW/TheBonesofStPeter-1.htm

It's interesting to see Peter's house (photograph above) is just the remains of a house. The Church - the Bride of Jesus Christ has amazing depth and splendor.

Matthew 7:7
Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

So many amazing archaeological discoveries in the last 100 years. To name just a few: Dead Sea Scrolls, Lazarus' tomb in Spain, the entire Hittite Nation, the cities of Nineveh, Ur, Sodom and Gomorrah. Tile piece in Goliath's hometown with his name and David's name. The walls of Jericho. The walls of Babylon. The Capernaum Synagogue with Zebedee's name (father of disciples James and John) on a pillar. Written record of King David. King David's Palace found by description in the Bible for location. Many steeles ( antiquity plaques) found to confirm biblical fact written by other nations. Many, many artifacts in the Museum of Israel.

Blessed are You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

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John 1:29-34 ~ I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God

John 1:29-34 ~ (Revised Standard Version)

The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

This is he of whom I said, `After me comes a man who ranks before me, for he was before me.' I myself did not know him; but for this I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel."

And John bore witness, "I saw the Spirit descend as a dove from heaven, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him; but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, `He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' "

And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God."


Recently I watched a special on the 2,500 to 3,000 year old mummies found scattered in China. It was really well done, they documented the success and failure to obtain DNA from each mummy and told about the known history of each person. One was a 5 year old boy buried with beautiful blankets, woven with great care. The loss of the blankets to the family indicated how much the child was held in esteem. Another a young woman with beautiful skin clothing and jewelry. A man they thought might have been a king, buried with a horse. Everyone was surprised to find the DNA indicated a high level of travel, there was Eastern European, India and a blend of DNA from around the world.

It is human nature to come from the beautiful miracles of John the Baptist's birth and Jesus' to wonder how John can say, twice, he didn't know Jesus. Or Jesus came before John, when John is older.

Proverbs tells us there are men who knew Heaven before being born on earth. Jesus isn't part of that select group. Jesus is the Word of God, with God, in the beginning of creation. Proverbs also tells us about the joy Jesus found in Creation. Jesus was... before John.

How and why didn't John the Baptist know Jesus - his cousin? Why can't we be more surprised by the rest of the 1st Chapter of John. Men meeting Jesus for the first time declared to each other "this is the Son of God" in both verse 41 and verse 49 of John 1. This is far more astonishing - Jesus has men leaving their way of life behind to become His disciples in a mere afternoon of listening to Jesus.

So why, why doesn't John recognize his cousin Jesus? It's pretty obvious when we add up what we know. It seems we must look at this question. John's parents were old when he was born. As people become very aged, they do not travel greatly. Traveling was difficult even for the young. John's parents lived 90 miles from Jesus. John surely heard, in his youth, about Jesus and the "funny circumstances" surrounding the quick wedding of pregnant, un-wed cousin Mary. When we see the Gospels record only cousin Elizabeth's support for Mary, we must also remember John the Baptist probably heard more of the rumors from more of the family - who are not remembered in the Scriptures.

So .... why didn't John recognize Jesus??? For the same reasons we didn't recognize Jesus until we invited Him to be part of us. Before we really knew Him: we heard about Jesus from other sources. Not all the sources were credible. Family (Church) is sometimes boring and the time it takes to get there and back is too long. Why put the effort into going when people aren't always nice? We missed the family get-togethers (Church) for so long, people hassle us about That too. If you don't remember the family stories correctly there is mocking. It's all a big tangle to sort out and we have other things to do.

Then, more importantly, it comes to the decision time. As John grew spiritually into God's plan for him, Jesus became important to him. John took the time to dwell and think about who Jesus is. God revealed not just family, a good man, but a Savior. John, bravely, and with certainty says, "And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God."


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Everyday I use a tool on my blog called http://live.feedjit.com/live/scripture-for-today.blogspot.com/aae3c425d8b9a4f3/. It helps seeing what typos - things people look at. Today....the [Vatican] Holy See (Vatican City State) arrived from google.it on "Scripture for Today: John 4:1-30 ~ So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people". It made My Day! Be glad with me for the many flags and people loving the LORD, with us!!!

The Vatican recently asked their priests to begin blogging, an informal format to spread God's Love.

1 Thessalonians 5:18
give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you

7 hours ago

Feedjit Live - Updating in real-time

live.feedjit.com


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Zechariah 1 and 2 ~ the Lord, for He has roused himself from His holy dwelling

Light by Alexander Gardere

Just as a new year allows us to have a new beginning, Zechariah speaks of rousing God in conversation - we would call this prayer. It's fascinating - a conversation between an angel of the Lord and the Most High.

We had an excellent sermon today, a vision of renewal - 37 local Christian Churches and their Senior Pastors have all felt revival in their souls. They are going to participate in prayer and fasting for 10 days at the end of January, to come together from months of conversation (prayer).

This week I've spent time re-reading JRR Tolkien's "The Hobbit." My son, a freshman artist studying at Baylor University, said he began drawing because his father read him "The Hobbit"; it was a pictorial event playing out for him, in pictures, throughout his entire childhood. What is this book, if not a journey where comfort is discarded and personal growth achieved? As I read this novel with new eyes, today the most vivid conversation of Zechariah's became new again. You are encouraged to read Zechariah 1 and 2 to yourself out-loud, with enthusiasm, and feel the encouragement of the Vast, Might Loving Father for you.

Art by Alexander Gardere

Zechariah 1 and 2

Zechariah 1

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In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, son of Iddo, saying,

“The Lord was very angry with your fathers. Therefore say to them, Thus declares the Lord of hosts: Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets cried out, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, Return from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.’

But they did not hear or pay attention to me, declares the Lord. Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever? But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not overtake your fathers?

So they repented and said, As the Lord of hosts purposed to deal with us for our ways and deeds, so has he dealt with us.”


Sun by Alexander Gardere

On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, son of Iddo, saying, “I saw in the night, and behold, a man riding on a red horse! He was standing among the myrtle trees in the glen, and behind him were red, sorrel, and white horses.

Then I said, ‘What are these, my lord?’ The angel who talked with me said to me, ‘I will show you what they are.’ So the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered, ‘These are they whom the Lord has sent to patrol the earth.’ And they answered the angel of the Lord who was standing among the myrtle trees, and said, ‘We have patrolled the earth, and behold, all the earth remains at rest.’

Art by Alexander Gardere, used twice for emphasis

Then the angel of the Lord said, ‘O Lord of hosts, how long will you have no mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, against which you have been angry these seventy years?’ And the Lord answered.... Gracious and Comforting Words to the angel who talked with me.

So the angel who talked with me said to me, ‘Cry out, Thus says the Lord of hosts: I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion. And I am exceedingly angry with the nations that are at ease; for while I was angry but a little, they furthered the disaster.

Therefore, thus says the Lord, I have returned to Jerusalem with mercy; My house shall be built in it, declares the Lord of hosts, and the measuring line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem.

Rising February by Alexander Gardere

Cry out again, Thus says the Lord of hosts: My cities shall again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.’”

And I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, four horns! And I said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these?” And he said to me, “These are the horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.” Then the Lord showed me four craftsmen. And I said, “What are these coming to do?” He said, “These are the horns that scattered Judah, so that no one raised his head. And these have come to terrify them, to cast down the horns of the nations who lifted up their horns against the land of Judah to scatter it.”

Zechariah Two

And I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand! Then I said, “Where are you going?” And he said to me, “To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its width and what is its length.”

And behold, the angel who talked with me came forward, and another angel came forward to meet him and said to him, “Run, say to that young man, ‘Jerusalem shall be inhabited as villages without walls, because of the multitude of people and livestock in it. And I will be to her a wall of fire all around, declares the Lord, and I will be the glory in her midst.’”

Up! Up! Flee from the land of the north, declares the Lord. For I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heavens, declares the Lord. Up! Escape to Zion, you who dwell with the daughter of Babylon. For thus said the Lord of hosts, after his glory sent me [he sent me after glory] to the nations who plundered you, for he who touches you touches the apple of his eye: “Behold, I will shake my hand over them, and they shall become plunder for those who served them. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me.

Growth of Time by Alexander Gardere

Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for behold, I come and I will dwell in your midst, declares the Lord. And many nations shall join themselves to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people. And I will dwell in your midst, and you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. And the Lord will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem.”

Be silent, all flesh, before the Lord.... for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.

Alleluia.

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Psalm 100 ~ For the Lord is good; His steadfast love endures forever, and His faithfulness to all generations.

Psalm 100

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Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!

Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and not we are ourselves;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!

For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.

I love the Rose Bowl Parade, it must be just a veiled hint at what heaven looks like.


Psalm 57:10
For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

Psalm 57:11
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.

Matthew 22:31-33
But about the resurrection of the dead—have you not read what God said to you, 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.”

33 When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at his teaching.

Luke 20:38
He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.

John 4:10-14
10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”

13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”


John 6:51
I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

John 6:57
Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me.

John 7:38
Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them

John 14:10
Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.


Ezekiel 10:19-20
19 While I watched, the cherubim spread their wings and rose from the ground, and as they went, the wheels went with them. They stopped at the entrance of the east gate of the LORD’s house, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them.

20 These were the living creatures I had seen beneath the God of Israel by the Kebar River, and I realized that they were cherubim.

Acts 14:15
“Friends, why are you doing this? We too are only human, like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them.

Romans 8:11
And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

Romans 9:26
and, “In the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘children of the living God.’

Romans 12:1
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.

1 Corinthians 15:45
So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being” ; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit.

1 Peter 1:23
For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

2 Corinthians 3:3
You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.









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