A New Creature. . . an Apostolic Pentecostal blog

I'm beginning a study of the book of Matthew for a Wednesday morning bible study at our church. The first verses of Matthew are not the most exciting verses of the whole Bible. . . Matthew begins with the genealogy of Jesus: Matthew 1:1 The book (biblos) of the genealogy (genesis) of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham: The first two words in Greek are: biblos genesis. . . The book of beginnings. . . Mirroring the first book of the Pentateuch. The book of beginnings. The Jews of the day would immediately recognize the parallel significance. . . The beginning of the world created by God in Genesis 1. . . The beginning of the world saved by God in Genesis 2. Matthew's genealogy begins with Abraham who lived about 2000 years before Jesus. . . This has always seemed dry and boring to me. There are a few people of interest, but most are faceless names lost in trackless time. Until it came to me. . . I too have a genealogy. . . a nameless, faceless unbroken li...

  How do I measure my Christian progress?  At times I become discouraged at my slow pace.  I keep making the same mistakes, or I go back to making mistakes I thought I was beyond. We've lived in our home for 8 years.  There is a tree in our front yard.  Looking at that tree this morning, I cannot tell any difference in how it looked 8 years ago, but if I look at photographs from back then, and now I can clearly see growth. Psalms 1:1-3 KJV Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper We are to be like trees and not like weeds which spring up quickly, and whither and soon die.  Our growth is to be...

  I’m involved in a study on unity in the Bible.  Yesterday I posted 22 Bible verses which spoke about unity.  This morning as I’m meditating on this, about how I do not believe that it is God’s will that the body of Christ, the Church, be so fragmented as it is. From Google: There are estimated to be more than 45,000 Christian denominations globally as of the early 2020s, a number that has grown significantly from around 500 in 1800. These groups range from large, established traditions like Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy to thousands of smaller, independent, or Protestant denominations. The forecast is that if this trend continues, that there will be 60,000 Christian denominations by 2050. What a horror this is.  Just a few verses regarding this: 2 Corinthians 13:11 KJV  Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind , live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you. Acts 4:32 KJV  And the multitude of...

  I'm continuing to do my study in Ezekiel on idols, and idolatry.  When I ran across this passage: Ezekiel 18:20-32 NLT  The person who sins is the one who will die. The child will not be punished for the parent’s sins, and the parent will not be punished for the child’s sins. Righteous people will be rewarded for their own righteous behavior, and wicked people will be punished for their own wickedness.   21  But if wicked people turn away from all their sins and begin to obey my decrees and do what is just and right, they will surely live and not die.  22  All their past sins will be forgotten, and they will live because of the righteous things they have done.   23  “Do you think that I like to see wicked people die? says the Sovereign LORD. Of course not! I want them to turn from their wicked ways and live.  24  However, if righteous people turn from their righteous behavior and start doing sinful things and act like ot...

First time doing a study on the word idol] in the Bible.  I was surprised to learn that there are 16 Hebrew words and 6 Greek words translated as such, which I believe is an indication that ‘idols’ are not easily defined.  They resist being put into a neat pigeon hole.  This may serve as a warning to us that idols can arise in unexpected places. I did a search for words in the KJV for words containing: idol], abomin], image].  These are the most common English words translated from the Hebrew, and Greek words for “idols”. There are 401 verses in the Bible and 484 instances where those words are found.  What greatly surprised me was that the book of Ezekiel contains 82 verses, and 98 matches of that total. Ezekiel = 1 of the 66 books of the Bible = 1.5% Ezekiel = 82 of the 401 Bible verses on idols, etc. =  20% I’ve read the Bible quite a number of times, but reading the Bible is very different from studying the Bible.  I never associated Ezekiel with i...

I've never done a study on hope until today. I was recently asked how to help someone have hope.   That question forced me to look into what hope means.  I found a key to be in this passage: Ephesians 2:11-12 NLT  Don’t forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called “uncircumcised heathens” by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts.  12  In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope. This verse presents the idea that there is a strong correlation between the covenant promises of God and hope.  The promises of God raise our expectations.  The promises of God fill us with hope.  No matter our present circumstance, the promises of God birth in us with joy and hope. Romans 15:13 ...