Memory Verse of the Week ~
Seek
the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you
everything you need. Matthew 6:33
Do you intentionally
seek first Jesus every day? Do you exalt Jesus with your life?
Then Jesus said to them (walking along the road to Emmaus), "You foolish people! You find it so
hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures. Wasn't it
clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before
entering his glory?" Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses
and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning
himself. Luke 24:25-27
Those foolish people. Didn’t they know the
predictions of the Messiah? We are not to be fools.
There are many verses in Proverbs
concerning fools.
Wise people treasure knowledge, but the
babbling of a fool invites disaster. Proverbs 10:14
The lips of the wise give good advice; the
heart of a fool has none to give. Proverbs 15:7
Trusting a fool to convey a message is like
cutting off one's feet or drinking poison! Proverbs 26:6
O LORD, what great works you do! And how
deep are your thoughts. Only a simpleton would not know, and only a fool would
not understand this: Though the wicked sprout like weeds and evildoers
flourish, they will be destroyed forever. But you, O LORD, will be exalted
forever. Psalm 92:5-8
Exalted forever. That is just how Jesus
Christ is…exalted now and forever. We need to study scripture more to gain a
deeper understanding of the predictions of the Messiah and to give Jesus—our
Messiah—the exaltation He deserves.
Imagine those people walking along with Him
on the road to Emmaus. How they didn’t recognize Jesus and yet He was telling
them all the facts about Himself as revealed in scripture from Moses and the
Old Testament prophets. Do you exalt Him with your life?
Prayer
~ Reveal Yourself to us, Jesus, as we read and re-read Scripture. Make Your
Word come alive in our hearts and lives that we would live to please You, serve
You, and put You first in all that we do.
Daily
Bible Reading: Judges 16-18
Friday’s
Feast at the King’s Table
As usual every Friday is Feast Day—Feasting at the King’s Table. We can’t
live on just spiritual food …nor can we live on bread alone. We’ve got to have
some meat, veggies and fruit. The fruit of the vine…grapes make so many
different wines. Red wines from red or purple grapes and white wines from green
or white grapes. The Bible does not seem to differentiate between the color of
the wine or from which grapes it was made. From the prayer during the Last
Supper we assume that Jesus was serving red wine because of the relationship
between that wine and His blood.
And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for
it. He gave it to them and said, "Each of you drink from it, for this is
my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured
out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many." Matthew 26:27-28
The benefits
of wine have been noted and well documented from the time of Hippocrates in 400
BCE to the present time. Those benefits include aids to digestion, sleep and nerves,
as well as lowering the incidence of strokes, heart disease and cancer. Wine
also can prevent diarrhea and kidney stones. Of course, all this wine must be
consumed in moderation with the recommended amount as two four-ounce glasses
per day for men and one four-ounce glass per day for women. More or less of
these amounts resulted in reduced health benefits. If you choose not to drink
alcoholic beverages, then remember that there has been some benefit found to
drinking natural grape juice—with no sugar added. No risk of alcoholism
involved in unfermented grape juice.
It is
interesting to note that Jesus’ first miracle was turning water into wine at a
wedding at which He was a guest.
The wine supply ran out during the festivities, so
Jesus' mother told him, "They have no more wine." "Dear woman,
that's not our problem," Jesus replied. "My time has not yet
come." But his mother told the servants, "Do whatever he tells
you." Standing nearby were six stone water jars, used for Jewish
ceremonial washing. Each could hold twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus told the
servants, "Fill the jars with water." When the jars had been filled,
he said, "Now dip some out, and take it to the master of ceremonies."
So the servants followed his instructions. When the master of ceremonies tasted
the water that was now wine, not knowing where it had come from (though, of course,
the servants knew), he called the bridegroom over. "A host always serves
the best wine first," he said. "Then, when everyone has had a lot to
drink, he brings out the less expensive wine. But you have kept the best until
now!" This miraculous sign at Cana in Galilee was the first time Jesus
revealed his glory. And his disciples believed in him. John 2:3-11
We probably can’t turn water into wine like
Jesus did…but if it is within our religious convictions; we can drink a small
amount of it as it is beneficial to our health. Wine is so readily available
that it is not really cost effective to make your own…although if you are a
college student it maybe on your bucket list of things to do. It was on mine.
That was an experience…a balloon on a gallon jug. Wine was created. Fourteen
Hands, Chateau Ste. Michelle, Badger Mountain and Powers wineries are a few of
my favorites among the hundreds in the Tri-Cities area that produce great wines—both
red and white varieties. Some are even organic—with no sulfites added. How
would those compare to the wine that Jesus made? We can only wait until we get
to Heaven to taste His wine. You’ll have to believe first…and then taste the
wine!
© 2019 Text and
photos by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
All
scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted.
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