All of Christ's sufferings did not end when He finished His earthly ministry.

He still takes the persecution of His people personally as is revealed by His statement to Saul on the road to Damascus: "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" He didn't ask Paul why he was persecuting His people. He said, "Why are you persecuting Me?" When we are persecuted for righteousness' sake, it is actually Christ who is being persecuted.

One of the most trying part of persecution is the feeling that God has forsaken us. 

"If God wanted to, He could stop the persecution, right?" Therefore, He doesn't care." That's the way the devil tries to make us think.

The Lord is with us in persecution. If we remember this, it will keep us from being discouraged when persecution comes.

True Christianity is exactly the opposite of the world system. We are heading in a selfless direction, while the world is consumed with self. 

Jesus teaches us to love, while the world is full of hate. We are suppose to turn the other cheek, while the world takes opportunities to hurt us. The world and Christianity are in conflict. 

The only reason a Christian would not suffer persecution is if he is heading in the same direction as an unbeliever. When we go God's way, we will bump into the devil.

Christ is still suffering persecution today when His people are persecuted. He will continue to do so until He sets up His physical kingdom.

Jesus not only refusal to defend Himself, showing His humility, His also kept from venting His wrath against the man who senselessly killed His friend who was the greatest of the Old Testament prophets, John the Baptist, (Matthew 11:11), also displaying His humble nature.

Because of Christ's humility and obedience to the Father, God gave Him a name that is above every name in heaven, earth and under the earth. There is no exemption for anyone or anything from coming under the Lordship of Jesus. He is Lord of ALL.

Jesus has not only been exalted above every "being" that has a name, but He is also highly exalted above anything else that can be named. If you can put a name on it, Jesus is above it. Sickness, poverty, depression, anger - everything has to bow its knee to the Lordship of Jesus.

Every knee of men, angels, and demons will bow and confess that Jesus is Lord. Those who have denied His existence will bow in worship. Those who have spent their lives rebelling His authority will finally bow in submission.

Every being from all ages will ultimately bow and worship Jesus. If we bow our knee to His Lordship now, we will enjoy a wonderful life here on earth, and an eternity in His blessings hereafter. 

Those who deny His rightful claim to the Lordship of their lives will suffer for it in this life as well as in the next. They still will have to bow their knee to His authority, so there is nothing to gain and everything to lose if they refuse to make Jesus Lord of their life.

Herod wanted to see Jesus perform some kind of miracle. Some of the questions he asked Jesus made this desire obvious. Jesus did not use His faith to do any miracles for Herod.

Miracles are God's way of meeting the needs of those who seek Him by faith. Miracles will sometimes be used to demonstrate God's ability so that people may believe (Mark 2:10-11), but they will not happen to skeptics who are tempting God (Luke 4:9-12).

A miracle is a supernatural intervention of God's power over natural law.

Healings occur within the boundaries of natural law while miracles are not limited to natural law. 

A person with a high fever who receives prayer and then begins to recover is experiencing a healing. The Lord intervened but in the natural. The virus, infection, or whatever was rebuked left the body (Luke 4:39) and then the natural healing process that the Lord built into all of us took over. 

When something totally supernatural happens, that's a miracle. When Jesus re-attached the servant's ear and it was instantly whole after Peter cut it off (Luke 22:51), demonstrated a miracle. It was also a healing, but it was a miraculous healing.

Feeding the five thousand (Matthew 14:19-20), walking on the water (Matthew 14:25), transporting a ship and all aboard to the other side of the sea (John 6:21) all these are miracles. Miracles are usually instantaneous whereas healings are mostly gradual.

The Lord has never had anyone who was qualified working for Him. It's by God's grace that He uses any of us. Anyone who claims to be used of God because of his great holiness is either deceived or a deceiver. It's our faith in the grace of God that allows miracles to flow through us.

Christ's kingdom is spiritual, in the hearts of men, not physical. Our fight as Christians must not be with carnal weapons but with spiritual weapons (2 Corinthians 10:3-5). Spiritual forces cannot be defeated with human weapons.

When we are being attacked for being a part of Christ's kingdom, we must fight with spiritual weapons. Our warfare is not against people, but against the spiritual powers that operate behind the scenes through people. We must realize who the real enemy is and fight with the spiritual weapons the Lord has given us.

We often think that anger will put a person in his place. But "the wrath of man does not work the righteousness of God" (James 1:20). Anger displayed against people puts us right into the hand of the devil. The way to overcome the spiritual powers that come against us through people is to turn the other cheek (Matthew 5:39), meaning we just smile and change the subject. That makes the demons flee in terror.

One of the main weapons the Apostle Paul speaks of is the Gospel, which is the Sword of the Spirit, (the Word of God). It's the Word backed by God's Spirit that can pull down and crush the strongholds of Satan.

Every Christian is at war. There is a continual struggle against Satan and his kingdom from which there are no "leaves" or "discharges." Our enemy goes about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). Those who resist the devil will see him flee (James 4:7). The only ones whom he devours are those who don't actively fight against him.

God's kind of love is not self-serving or self-seeking. Agape love will cause a person to lay down his life for another (John 15:13), because he has literally forgotten himself. Many times when heros are asked why they put themselves in jeopardy to save someone else, they reply that they didn't even think about themselves. All they thought of was the danger to the other person. That's God's kind of love.

God's love involves emotions many times, but it is not an emotion. It is an act of the will. We can choose to love even when we don't feel like it and we can always conduct ourselves in a godly manner, when we feel God's kind of love. God's kind of love is a choice.

God's kind of love is also the cure for selfishness and pride. We cannot conquer self by focusing on self. The only way to win over self is to fall in love with God more than with ourself. It is in discovering God's love that we lose self love.

Jesus didn't feel some emotional sensation when He chose to die for us, but that was the greatest demonstration of God's kind of love that the world has ever seen. He made a choice in spite of His emotions. Because He was full of  God's love, He acted properly, even when His emotions didn't agree.

Jesus is the greatest example of God's kind of love!

The truths of God are hidden for His children, not from them. The Holy Spirit has been instructed to teach us all things (John 14:26) and has given us an unction so that we will know all things (1 John 2:20). We only have to use what He  has given us.

What God desires is that His New Testament saints know, what the Old Testament saints could not know, and that is "Christ in you the hope of glory." The coming of the Messiah was predicted in the Old Testament, but the idea that He would actually dwell in us was beyond anyone's imagination. The New Testament is clear that Christ, by the Holy Spirit, takes up permanent residence in all believers. This is a wonderful truth that some fail to fully appreciate. 

Solomon said at the dedication of the temple, "But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?" We could say, "How much less this physical body?" 

The Lord's commitment to dwell in us and never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5), must be taken as an indication of His great love for us. If we continually thought upon this, with all its implications, how could we ever be lonely or discouraged? We couldn't! Depression and self-pity would be gone!

Why would it matter what others thought of us if we truly understood how much Jesus thought of us?

Our attitudes and fears reveal that this revelation of "Christ in us" is not a well established revelation in most Christians. This verse makes it clear that our Father wants to make "the riches of the glory of this mystery" known unto us. We should all be seeking a greater revelation of this truth.

Teaching and learning in the scriptures, are much more than academic. It involves being guided by God's principles in relationship to others, as well as knowing and responding to God. It calls for the learner to put the Word of God into practice, not just hear it (James 1:22). It involves hearing a word from the outside and putting it on the inside, so that it may be expressed in our every action. 

Proverbs 2 tells us to incline our ear unto wisdom, apply our heart to understanding, cry after knowledge, lift up our voice for understanding, seek her as silver, search for her like hidden treasures, and then we will understand and find the knowledge of God (Proverbs 2:1-7). God says, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge" (Hosea 4:6), and He admonishes us to meditate on His Word day and night that we may observe to do all that is written therein.

All things should be done unto edifying. If those present cannot be taught by what is being done, then it shouldn't be done. Just as with the gift of tongues (that was spoken in the church to benefit everyone) so it is with prophecy. Those who listen will learn and be comforted.

The end result of prophecy is to comfort, encourage, edify, strengthen, exhort, stimulate and help. These should be the guidelines for prophecy within the New Testament church.

We, as believers, are given the sole responsibility in ministry to build others up. This takes place in various ways as we walk in love, promote harmony and peace, and seek the true welfare of others. We must prophesy unto the edifying of the church, and speak things that are good and beneficial to the spiritual progress of others.

Luke 22:63-64 is the account of God's own creation mocking and insulting His Son without Him intervening. The pain that this must have caused the Father cannot be described.

Those who struck Jesus and told Him to prophesy who it was that struck Him, must have taken Jesus' silence as proof that He was not who He claimed to be.

The natural mind could not conceive that Almighty God would take this kind of abuse from His creation. But this was the plan of God.

Isaiah prophesied that, as a lamb before its shearers is dumb (Isaiah 53:7), so Jesus would not open His mouth. Isaiah also mentioned that Jesus "was taken from prison and from judgment" referring to the fact that He was not given a fair trial (Isaiah 53:8). Isaiah went on to prophesy in Isaiah 53:9 that Jesus would make "his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death." 

This was fulfilled when Jesus was crucified between two thieves and buried in a rich man's tomb.

The nation of Israel still has a very important part to play in God's plan. They have a prominent role in end-time prophecy. However, the physical nation of Israel has been displaced in importance by the spiritual seed of Abraham, that is the church of Jesus Christ.

Christians are the true circumcised people of God. In Romans 2:28-29, Paul reveals that true circumcision is a matter of the heart, not the flesh, and that true Judaism is through new birth, not physical birth.

In Colossians 2:11, Paul says that spiritual circumcision was done by God without the hands of man. This circumcision, that was made without hands, proves that it was not done in the physical. Paul is referring to the spiritual circumcision of the heart. The sins of our heart were cut away and discarded through the sacrifice of Christ in a similar way that the foreskin is removed from a male. The physical act of circumcision is a picture of the spiritual circumcision that is now a reality in every born-again believer.

The condition of a person's flesh is not the important thing. It doesn't matter if the flesh is circumcised or holy. It is the condition of the spirit that matters with God. Those who put faith in their circumcision to save them are putting confidence in the flesh and not in God. Today, the act of circumcision is not the issue, but acts of holiness are still deemed by many as essential for receiving salvation. That is just as wrong as those in Paul's day who believed that being circumcised granted them salvation.

There are several Greek words used for "word." The Greek word used here is RHEMA and it literally means, "a spoken word; an utterance, a saying, but specifically a spoken word appropriate for the situation." 

It's not the Bible lying on your coffee table that makes the enemy flee, but the Word of God hidden in your heart, activated by the power of the Holy Spirit, and spoken in the appropriate situation. It's similar to what Jesus says in John 6:63, that "the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life."

The words that we speak from the written Word of God are empowered by the Holy Spirit. The Word by itself doesn't make us free. It is the Word we know and speak that will deliver us (John 8:32).

The Word so effective because it is the WORD of God. It has authority, because it is the WORD of God. God's Word supersedes all authority of the church, of reason, of intellect, and even of satan. That's why it is so effective.

In Luke, chapter four, when Jesus was tempted of the devil for forty days, it was the Word of God that Jesus used to defeat the enemy at His temptation.

Jesus constantly met His temptation by quoting from God's Word as He repeatedly stated the phrase, "It is written." So, the Christian must avail himself of God's Word by placing it in his heart so that the Holy Spirit may bring it forth at the appropriate time to accomplish a complete and total victory.

It is in the book of John who reveals Peter as the one who cut off the servant's ear and also identifies the servant. It is very doubtful that Peter was aiming for Malchus' ear. It is more probable that he was making a horizontal swing at the servant's head and as the man ducked, Peter cut off his ear.

Peter was very vocal about never denying the Lord, and his actions proved that he meant what he said. There were only two swords among the disciples, yet Peter was willing to take on the six hundred soldiers. This meant certain death or imprisonment.

Peter wanted to stand with the Lord, but he was not prepared spiritually. He was still strong in his own ability. If the battle would have been in the physical realm, Peter would have fought to the death as he proved here. But when Jesus told Peter to put up his sword and not resist with his physical power, Peter was confused.

Peter only knew how to rely on the flesh. When Jesus refused to allow Peter to fight with his sword, he was defenseless. If he would have been praying with Jesus, as instructed, Peter would have been built up spiritually and able to stand with Jesus spiritually without denying Him. 

Likewise, we may sincerely desire to never deny our Lord, but it takes more than desire; it takes preparation. We all have been taught how to rely on ourselves, but we have to learn anew how to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might (Ephesians 6:10). Just as in the physical realm, where muscles have to be exercised to become strong, so we have to exercise ourselves unto godliness (1 Timothy 4:7).

It is evident that it was the power of God that made the six hundred men fall backwards to the ground, John 18:6. But why did it happen when He said, "I am he"?

In this verse, and also in verse eight, the word "he" is italicized. That means that the word "he" was not in the original text but was added by the translators to make the sentence grammatically correct. This serves a useful purpose and is very helpful in most cases. However, the translators put these additions in italics so that we could be aware of what the text literally said.

In this instance, Jesus literally said, "I am." Since Jesus was God manifest in the flesh, His statement of "I am," carried just as much weight as when He expressed it to Moses (Exodus 3:14). This is nothing less than the Almighty God releasing His glory through the powerful statement, "I AM." No wonder these men were knocked to the ground.

This graphically illustrates how Jesus could have easily defended Himself against any size army that would come to take His life. As He said in John 10:18, "No man taketh it (His life) from me, but I lay it down of myself."

There are other instances recorded where people fell to the ground as a result of being in God's presence. The same thing still happens. Just as some people faint when they experience fear, when they experience the awesome presence of God, they become weak, and lose strength in their physical body.

Jesus often healed people by touching them, and others received their healing as they touched Jesus. We can transmit the power or the anointing of God through the laying on of hands (Mark 16:18; Hebrews 6:2). The healing power of God can even be transmitted to objects, like a handkerchief and then brought to the person who needs healing or deliverance and it be laid upon them.

Jesus provided physical healing as well as forgiveness of sins. Many bible verses mention the healing of our bodies along with the forgiveness of our sins. 

Healing is an expression of God's love and compassion for our physical man. Healing miracles also draw men to God to get their spiritual needs met. Physical healing acts like a bell to get man's attention so that the Lord can minister to the inner man as well.

Healing has been purchased for us as part of the atonement of Christ. The Lord would no more refuse to heal us than He would refuse to forgive us. That does not mean that we deserve healing - we don't. It is a gift from God, just as salvation is a gift from God (Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8). 

We don't deserve to have our sins forgiven. We cannot demand salvation from the Lord, but we can expect it. Also, healing has been purchased for us through the atonement of Christ. Healing belongs to us, but it is still the mercy of God that provides healing. Every act of healing is an act of mercy.

The Lordship of Jesus is one of the central themes of the Bible. It is clear that many times the word "Lord," when referring to Jesus, is equivalent to the divine name "Yahweh" or "Jehovah." To acknowledge Jesus as Lord is to acknowledge His deity (John 20:28).

What it means to give Jesus Lordship in our lives, is to recognize His right to rule in our lives, by right of creation (John 1:3) and right of redemption.

"For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's" (1 Corinthians 6:20).

One of the most damaging attitudes of our time is the exalting of ourselves over others. Personal rights have been promoted at the expense of others. This is not good for society and it is certainly not the way God expects His body to operate.

As Christians, we need to develop a continual awareness that our lives are not our own. We do not have the liberty to do as we please. We should present our body as a living sacrifice unto God, recognizing that this is just our reasonable duty to the one who gave His life for us (Romans 12:1).

The Lordship of Jesus should be the determining factor in every action of a Christian (Romans 14:7-10). Every thought and action should pass the test, "Is this what my Lord Jesus wants me to do or think?" If the answer is not a definite "yes," then it shouldn't be done. "Whatsoever is not of faith is sin" (Romans 14:23).

The four gospels refer to Jesus teaching 43 times, preaching 19 times, and preaching and teaching in the same verse, six times. This tells us that Jesus spent twice as much time teaching as He did preaching. Teaching is the basic building block for making disciples. Jesus was making disciples, not just converts.

The Greek word for "disciple" means "a learner," and indicates "learning by endeavor" or what we would be "on-the-job training." Jesus said in John 8:31, "If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed." Anyone who meets this condition is Jesus' disciple.

"Jailhouse religion," where a person is only sorry he got caught and is trying to get out of a bad situation, will not produce true discipleship. It takes a forsaking of all to be Jesus' disciple. Jesus wants us to "count the cost." It is definitely a commitment.

What the Lord has started in you, He will also continue and complete. That is not to say that your success will be automatic; we have to cooperate with what God is wanting to do in our lives. Our faithfulness may always be suspect, but God's faithfulness is never in question. It is always God's will to continue and complete the good work He began in us.

In Romans chapter one, Paul calls himself a servant of Jesus Christ. The Greek word for "servant" in the New Testament, that Paul used means "bind." Paul literally speaks of himself as a bondman or slave of Jesus Christ - a slave by free choice; yet owned and purchased by Jesus Christ.

If an Israelite bought a Hebrew slave, he must set him free in the seventh year. But, if the slave loved his master and said, "I will not go away from thee," then a hole was to be bored through the lobe of his ear pronouncing him a bond-slave forever.

Jesus is the supreme example of selflessness - He puts others ahead of Himself.

We see from Jesus' example, that the way to exaltation in God's kingdom comes through humility and servanthood to others. His humiliation, displayed in His coming to earth as a man, is not only a lesson in Christology but also an example to all believers of what greatness in God's kingdom implies. Let this attitude of heart, taken from the example of Jesus Christ, continue to motivate all true believers in Him.

The Creator became the creation; the Lord became the servant; the Highest became the lowest. All of this was done because of God's great love for us.

We have angels assigned to us. Hebrews 1:14 reveals that their purpose is to minister to us, on our behalf. In the Old Testament, Psalm 91 teaches on the ministry of angels to God's people.

Some people who have realized this truth have taken it as far as to say that we are suppose to speak to our angels and they will obey our commands. There is no instruction in scripture to do this nor is there any example of that being done. We don't have the intelligence to administer all of the angels.

Many of the angels' protective duties described in Psalm 91 are preventative, and we certainly could not effectively command these activities.

These angels are dispatched exactly as this verse describes - by looking at the Father's face (Matthew 18:10). God Almighty controls them for us; but, we do have a part to play. Psalm 91 prefaces all of these promises about angels as being for those who dwell in the secret place of the most High and say that the Lord is our refuge and fortress and in Him we trust.

It is the combination of our faith in God and His faithfulness to us that releases the angels on our behalf. If it was solely up to God, His provision would be the same for everyone because of His mercy and grace. 

We have to receive God's grace by faith (Ephesians 2:8). As we seek the Lord, become aware of His ministering spirits which were created to minister to us, and speak forth our faith in this area, He will send forth His angels on our behalf.

It is not our individual acts of sin that make us a sinner. It is our sin nature that makes us commit individual acts of sin. Adam's one sin produced a sin nature in all men that then, caused each person to commit individual acts of sin. Jesus not only dealt with the original sin that contaminated the human race, but He also dealt with each individual act of sin.

Anyone who is trying to obtain righteousness through their actions is totally missing the point. Believers are made righteous through faith in Christ, independent of their actions. It's the same way that everyone was made a sinner: through Adam's one sin, not through our individual sins.

At salvation, our old man (Romans 6:6) or sin nature died, but the tendency to sin remains in the thoughts and emotions that the old man left behind. No longer does the Christian have a sin nature that compels him to sin, but he must simply deal with renewing his mind.

Sin ruled like a king through condemnation to bring death upon everyone.

Condemnation is like the general of sin that enforces its power. But, God's grace rules like a king through righteousness to bring all who are in Christ into eternal life. Righteousness is the general of grace who defends us against all the wiles of the devil.

Remove guilt or condemnation and sin loses its strength to rule (1 Corinthians 15:56). Remove the knowledge of righteousness by faith, and grace loses its power to release eternal life into our daily lives.

The way to walk in the spirit is by living, conducting our actions according to, and following the leading of the Word of God as quickened by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit and the Word of God agree perfectly because the Holy Spirit is the one who inspired the written Word of God.

Denying the flesh will not result in walking in the Spirit. Walking in the Spirit will result in denying the flesh. This may seem like a subtle difference, but the difference is truly profound. 

As a whole, false religions teach that as we overcome our flesh, there is a noticeable increase in the presence and power of God in our lives. That was what the Pharisees of Jesus' day and the legalistic Jews of Paul's day taught. Just the opposite is true. As we experience more of the presence and power of the Spirit of God, then the influence of the flesh is decreased. 

Victory must come in this order. We don't walk in the Spirit as a result of overcoming the flesh, rather overcoming the flesh is the result of walking in the Spirit.

It's similar to how we fill a dark room with light. We don't shovel out the darkness and then light appears. No! We simply turn on the light and the darkness flees. Much of religion preaches to stop sinning (get rid of the darkness) and then the Holy Spirit will come and empower (the light will come). That's not the way it works. Man can no more get rid of the power of the flesh on his own than he can get rid of the power of darkness without light. We have to receive the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives by grace and then the union with the Holy Spirit breaks the power of the flesh. The key to breaking the control of the flesh is to use the power of the Spirit through faith, while the flesh is still causing us problems. Those who are waiting for the Spirit to manifest after they have subdued the flesh, will wait as long as the man who is trying to get rid of the darkness so the light will appear.

Our spirit is not our problem. The born-again Christian receives a new spirit at conversion, that is just like Jesus' (1 John 4:17) because it is the Spirit of Jesus. Our born-again spirit is always willing to do God's will. It's our flesh that is the problem.

The flesh, as Jesus describes it, not only includes our physical body but also describes our soul. God has given every believer everything it takes to walk in victory, but "we have this treasure in earthen vessels" (2 Corinthians 4:7). That is saying that our spirit, where God has deposited all of His power and glory, is inside our flesh.

That doesn't mean we cannot tap into this divine source. As much as we renew our minds and act on the Word of God, we can experience the divine flow through our physical bodies. 

Just as we must use our muscles to increase in strength, we must exercise ourselves (soul, mind and body) unto godliness (1 Timothy 4:7-8).

Prayer is one important way of exercising ourselves unto godliness, and is why Jesus admonishes us to watch and pray.

The Bible presents salvation as a life transforming experience. Change is one of the characteristics of a true believer. Failure to understand that this change takes place in the spirit first, and then is reflected in our outward appearance through our thoughts and actions in direct proportion to the way we renew our minds, causes much confusion.

This change has to take place in our born-again spirit first. Our bodies don't instantly change and neither does our soul or our mind.

It is our spirit that is instantly changed at salvation. It is perfect (Hebrews 12:23). It cannot sin (1 John 3:9). 

Everything that is true of Jesus is true of our born-again spirit. Our spiritual salvation is complete at salvation. We receive the same spirit that we will have throughout all eternity. It will not have to be changed or cleansed again. It is sealed with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13) and is sanctified and perfected forever (Hebrews 10:10, 14; 12:23).

For the remainder of our Christian life, we must not try to obtain faith, joy or love from God, but rather release what we already have in our spirits (Galatians 5:22-23) into our soul and body. 

Failure to understand this has caused some people to despair when they don't see sufficient change in their life after coming to the Lord for salvation. It must be understood that the change is internal in our spirit and the outward change will take place as we renew our minds through God's Word.

Temptation is connected to what we think about (Hebrews  11:15). Temptation has to be entered into. We can avoid temptation by avoiding thoughts that generate temptation (Proverbs 23:7). 

Since it is impossible to not think, we cannot just try to reject the negative thoughts in this world, but we must choose to think on the positive truths of God. This is where prayer comes in.

In prayer, we have our minds stayed upon God and are not receptive to thoughts that conceive temptation. Temptation or sin must be conceived (James 1:14-15). 

It is easier to avoid being tempted by being in constant communion with God, than it is to overcome temptation once it has been conceived.

Paul admonishes the Philippian believers to reflect and meditate upon eight positive principles of thinking that will lead to a victorious Christian life (Philippians 4:8). These are things that are "true," that is: honorable, truthful and upright. Things that are "honest," that is: honorable, truthful, genuine, not characterized by deception or fraud. Things that are "just," that is: what is right, or right conduct; any circumstance, fact or deed that is right. Things that are "pure," free from defilement or impurity. Things that are "lovely," pleasing, agreeable, inspiring love or affection. A "good report," that is: a saying or report that is positive and constructive rather than negative and destructive. "Virtue," which is moral excellence, righteousness and goodness. "Praise," or what is praiseworthy; expressing one's esteem of a person and his virtues. 

We need to focus on the good in every area of our lives, recognizing God's hand in even the smallest things will bring peace and keep our hearts and minds following hard after the Lord.

It is interesting that Luke is the only one of the gospel writers to mention that Jesus' sweat was as great drops of blood. This is probably because Luke was a physician (Colossians 4:14), and this was of special significance to him.

There have been documented cases of people actually sweating drops of blood under extreme emotional pressure. This might explain why Luke is the only writer to mention the angel strengthening Him, He needed supernatural strength to endure His sufferings.

The use of the words "as it were" might also mean that the sweat of Jesus was only comparable to blood in consistency or size, but it tells of the effect Jesus' agony had on His physical body.

Jesus' sufferings for us were more than just physical. In the garden, before He suffered physically, He suffered emotionally, almost to the point of death. Luke records, an angel had to come and give Him strength or the emotional struggle alone would have killed Him.

All that Jesus did was motivated by love. It was for the joy that was set before Him that He endured going to the cross. He didn't do what He did to save us out of pity or a sense of obligation as our Creator. He did it because He loves us.

God was referred to as our Father in the Old Testament, and Jesus' frequent use of this title brought a whole new understanding of our relationship with God. Jesus referred to God as His Father, and He spoke of God as being our Father. This infuriated the religious Jews of Jesus' day who considered it blasphemy to call God their Father, because they understood that to mean they were equal with God.

We are instructed to call God our Father, revealing the kind, gentle, loving nature of our God. The term "Abba" is an affectionate term that a young child calls his father, which is like our term "daddy." It is a term used for fondness. It removes the idea of God as a strict judge and carries the image of Him as a loving Father who cares, understands, and is our best friend. "Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God" (1 John 3:1).

We are sons of God by adoption. Jesus was the Son of God by nature. As Jesus said to the Jews, ye are of your Father the devil (John 8:44; Ephesians 2:3).

Jesus purchased us and made us adopted sons of God.

We are not just heirs, we are joint-heirs with Christ. To think that we share equally with the one who has inherited everything God is, and has, is beyond our imagination.

Jesus knew it was the Father's will for Him to be made an offering for the sins of the world. This is true because He prophesied His death and resurrection many times before. 

Because of His unique relationship with God, Jesus was asking God to accomplish His will some other way, but at the same time affirming His commitment to do His Father's will and not His own.

He was not at a loss to know God's will and but, left this time of prayer trusting that whatever the Father deemed best for Him would happen.

He knew, when He began praying what the Father's will was and He knew at the close of His prayer, that God's will could not be accomplished any other way.

For us to pray, "Lord, if it be thy will" in response to a promise that God has given us is nothing but unbelief and is not even remotely related to what Jesus did in the Garden of Gethsemane. One of the basic principles of answered prayer is that we must believe that we receive when we pray (Mark 11:24). There is no way that we can fulfill that condition if we don't know God's will in a situation. Praying, "if it be thy will" takes us out of the active position of believing and puts us in the passive position of waiting and letting circumstances rule our lives. 

If we are seeking direction in an area where God's will is not already known through His Word, then we should pray James 1:5, and ask for wisdom. Then we can believe that we receive when we pray, and with that knowledge continue our prayer in faith.

We should not be ignorant but understand what the will of the Lord is (Ephesians 5:17).

The only appropriate time to pray, "If it be thy will" is when we are dedicating ourselves to the service of God, regardless of where or what that may be.

God the Father had the plan of salvation worked out before He even created the world. Most of us would not have created the world and man if we knew the heartache and terrible sacrifice it would cost. But God is not man. In His judgment (which is the correct judgment) the prize was worth the cost.

We were chosen in Christ before the world began. The Lord did not choose us by our merit, but solely by our acceptance of Christ which His foreknowledge allowed Him to do before the foundation of the world. 

In the strictest sense, we were not personally chosen, but Christ was chosen and all those who are "in Christ" partake of His being chosen by His Father. Just as we are the beneficiaries of the covenant between God the Father and His Son Jesus, so we are chosen because we chose God's chosen, Jesus Christ. The Father would no more reject us than He would reject Jesus because we are accepted by the Father through Christ.

None of us can claim that we are without blame in the sight of men because man looks on the outward appearance and all of us have sinned (Romans 3:23). But the Lord looks on our born-again spirit which has been regenerated in Christ and He sees us holy and without blame.

God looks at us through Christ and everything in our life becomes covered by the blood of Jesus. We are holy and without blame before Him because of His love expressed through His Son.

God loves us the same as He loves Jesus. A true revelation of this will make our faith come alive and allow us to walk in the fullness of God. God's love is the key that opens the door to everything that God is. "God is love" (1 John 4:8).

God's love is wide, long, deep and high, which can only be comprehended through the revelation and knowledge of the Holy Spirit. Those who only have a superficial knowledge of God's love are like a person who looks at a one dimensional picture of the real thing.

In Ephesians 3:19, Paul prays for us to know the love of God which passes knowledge. The Greek word that is translated "know" in this verse is a verb expressing experiential knowledge. The Greek word that is translated "knowledge" is  a noun denoting the act of knowledge. Paul is praying that we will experience the love of God which passes mere knowledge of it.

Since a true revelation of God's love makes us full with the fullness of God, then a lack of being full of God must mean that we lack understanding and experience of God's love. The end result of having understanding and experiential knowledge of God's love is that we will be filled with all the fullness of God.

Jesus prayed for all believers to be one as He and the Father are one.

This more than what many promote as unity today. Paul besought the Corinthians to "all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment" (1 Corinthians 1:10). This is God's standard of unity.

This oneness among believers is what Jesus said would cause the world to know that Jesus is the Son of God. This is the greatest tool for evangelism that the church has. The only way that Christ's body will be one as the Father and Jesus are One is through God's kind of love. 

No wonder Satan tries to get believers to go at each others' throats. We spend billions of dollars a year on evangelism through television, radio, conventions and crusades, yet, the world is not evangelized because the body of Christ is not united in love.

There is very little unity among believers. This has occured over thousands of years and it probably won't be fixed over night. We must strive towards unity but not be overwhelmed by the problem. All Christians have already been joined to each other through the body of Christ, and God the Father sees us all as His children. 

All divisions among Christians are made by man, not God. For a brief period of time, the church enjoyed unity on earth. Regardless of what strife and division has occurred, all believers are still one in Christ and will live in perfect oneness throughout eternity. We are now one in Spirit. We just need to experience that unity here on earth.

"Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10).

We are not from the world. Through the new birth, we come from God and should constantly remind ourselves of this. 

It is not good to be too "at home" in the world. We are in the world but are not of the world. 

The main reason that God chooses to use those who are nothing by the world's standards, is so no one else can take credit for the great things that are accomplished.

If the Lord used those who had it "all together" in the natural, then they would share the glory that rightfully belongs to God alone. But when the Lord works miraculously through someone who obviously has no talent or ability, then everyone says, "This must be God."

Not only does this keep others from misdirecting the glory that belongs to God, but it keeps the person who God uses from swelling up with pride. One of Satan's greatest weapons against someone who is being used by God is to tempt them to think that the Lord is using them because they possess some great virtue.

God uses "nobodies." If we think we've become "somebody" (in our flesh), then we will quit being used. He will not share His glory with anyone else "......my glory will I not give to another...."Isaiah 42:8.

Jesus prayed twice that the Father would keep His disciples from evil. Then He reveals the way that God will accomplish this, it is through His Word. 

Anyone who desires to live for God, reject the devil, and reject the world's system, must know God's Word.

We must study the word of God, it reveals the will of God for our actions and attitudes. To be filled with the knowledge of God's will, we must be filled with God's Word. God's Word is His will! Those who are ignorant of God's Word will be ignorant of God's will.

Knowledge of God's will is basic in developing Christian conduct and character. There is no way we can fulfill God's will if we don't know what it is. The starting point for any Christian is understanding God's will for their life. 

The first step is to desire it. Jeremiah 29:13 says, "And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart." People ask the Lord for knowledge of His will but don't receive it because they aren't seeking with ALL THEIR HEART. No one who has ever sought the Lord with all his heart has ever been disappointed.

The Holy Spirit is the giver of God's wisdom. It is through Him that we know the things God has revealed to us. One of the main ministries of the Holy Spirit is to reveal God's will to us.

There is no way we can walk worthy of the Lord and please Him if we don't know His will. We can't be fruitful without the knowledge of His will. God has provided all that we need to be successful and victorious in this life. Believe His Word!