Jesus went to his hometown and taught the people in the synagogue in a way that amazed them. People were asking, “Where did this man get this wisdom and the power to do these miracles? ⁵⁵ Isn’t this the carpenter’s son?  Isn’t his mother’s name Mary?  Aren’t his brothers’ names James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? ⁵⁶ And aren’t all his sisters here with us?  Where, then, did this man get all this?” 
(Matthew 13:54-56 -- GW)

See also . . . https://answersingenesis.org/bible-characters/is-the-perpetual-virginity-of-mary-a-biblical-view/

Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you’re going. So how can we know the way?”
⁶ Jesus answered him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one goes to the Father except through me. ⁷ If you have known me, you will also know my Father. From now on you know him through me and have seen him in me.”
(John 14:5-7 -- GW)

Photo:  https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/sky-at-sunset-gm821640382-132887323

Happy Monday . . .

People die once, and after that they are judged.

(Hebrews 9:27 -- GW)

"God doesn't drive parked cars."

(A quote attributed to many)

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You will hear a voice behind you saying, “This is the way.  Follow it, whether it turns to the right or to the left.”

(Isaiah 30:21 -- GW)



Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.

(James 1:21 -- KJV)

Photo:  https://br.123rf.com/photo_90804259_burned-out-suv.html

Wisdom is directly in front of an understanding person, but the eyes of a fool are looking around all over the world.

(Proverbs 17:24 -- GW)

Ice is formed by the breath of God, and watery expanses are frozen.
(Job 37:10 -- CSB)


Photo:  https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/frost-on-the-car-gm869875956-145186591

In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.

(John 14:2 -- KJV)

My son, obey the command of your father, and do not disregard the teachings of your mother.

(Proverbs 6:20 – GW)

Photo:  https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/christmas-polar-bears-gm898394280-247894524

I will say to the Lord, “You are my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust.”
(Psalm 91:2 -- GW)


I look up toward the mountains.  Where can I find help?  ² My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.  ³ He will not let you fall.  Your guardian will not fall asleep.
(Psalm 121:1-3 -- GW)

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves.
(Philippians 2:3 -- CSB)

My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin.  But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.

(1 John 2:1 -- NIV)

Why should a fool have money in his hand to buy wisdom when he doesn’t have a mind to grasp anything?
(Proverbs 17:16 -- GW)

O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America! God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

(from America, the Beautiful by Katharine Lee Bates)

“The reason I can still find hope is that I keep this one thing in mind: ²² the Lord’s mercy.  We were not completely wiped out.  His compassion is never limited.  ²³ It is new every morning.  His faithfulness is great.  ²⁴ My soul can say, ‘The Lord is my lot in life.  That is why I find hope in him.’  ²⁵ The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to anyone who seeks help from him.  ²⁶ “It is good to continue to hope and wait silently for the Lord to save us.
 

(Lamentations 3:22-26)

 

 

Happy Monday
. . .

And he said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘“Physician, heal yourself.”  What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’”
(Luke 4:23 -- ESV)

He spreads snow like a blanket and scatters frost like dust.
(Psalm 147:16 -- GNT)

Photo:  https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/frosty-windshield-gm869869756-145184465

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me."
(John 14:6 -- ESV)

Teach them to do everything I have commanded you.  “And remember that I am always with you until the end of time.”
(Matthew 28:20 -- GW) 

The Lord says,
    “I will instruct you.
     I will teach you the way that you should go.
     I will advise you as my eyes watch over you.
⁹ Don’t be stubborn like a horse or mule.  
They need a bit and bridle in their mouth to restrain them, 
or they will not come near you.”
(Psalm 3:8-9 -- GW)

So I tell you and encourage you in the Lord’s name not to live any longer like other people in the world.  Their minds are set on worthless things. ¹⁸ They can’t understand because they are in the dark.  They are excluded from the life that God approves of because of their ignorance and stubbornness. ¹⁹ Since they no longer have any sense of shame, they have become promiscuous.  They practice every kind of sexual perversion with a constant desire for more.

(Ephesians 4:17-19 -- GW)

The one who builds stairs up to heaven
    and sets their foundation on the earth,
the one who calls for the water in the sea
    and pours it over the face of the earth—
His name is the Lord.
(Amos 9:6 -- GW)

Photo:  https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/wooden-steps-gm846529106-138677171

He stayed there until Herod died.  What the Lord had spoken through the prophet came true: “I have called my son out of Egypt.”

(Matthew 2:15 -- GW)

After they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream.  The angel said to him, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt.  Stay there until I tell you, because Herod intends to search for the child and kill him.”
¹⁴ Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and left for Egypt that night. ¹⁵ He stayed there until Herod died.  What the Lord had spoken through the prophet came true: “I have called my son out of Egypt.”

(Matthew 2:13-15 -- GW)

Happy Epiphany! 

O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker.
(Psalm 95:6 -- KJV)

Photo:  https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/three-wise-men-gm898768756-248009171

Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea when Herod was king.  After Jesus’ birth wise men from the east arrived in Jerusalem. ² They asked, “Where is the one who was born to be the king of the Jews?  We saw his star rising and have come to worship him.”
(Matthew 2:1-2 -- GW)


Don’t love the world and what it offers.  Those who love the world don’t have the Father’s love in them.
(1 John 2:15 -- GW)

 After they had heard the king, they started out.  The star they had seen rising led them until it stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰ They were overwhelmed with joy to see the star. ¹¹ When they entered the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary.  So they bowed down and worshiped him.  Then they opened their treasure chests and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
(Matthew 2:9-11 -- GW)

Photo:  https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/ceramic-wise-men-gm890716468-246750706

The wise men were not at the manger.  They came later. 

1) In Luke 2:21, Jesus was circumcised at 8 days old. 

 

2) In Luke 2:22-24, Jesus was presented at the temple after Mary’s 40 days of “uncleanness” had passed.

 

3) In Matthew 2:2, the wise men said they came after they saw the star (“from the east” isn’t a short journey to Bethlehem).

 

4) In Matthew 2:11, the wise men visited the HOUSE where Jesus was. 

 

5) In Matthew 2:14, Joseph took Mary and Jesus to Egypt (had to be at least 41 days after he was born). 

 

6) In Matthew 2:16, Herod killed all the babies under 2, (“according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men”). 

 

 

Blessed are those who find strength in you.  Their hearts are on the road that leads to you.
(Psalm 84:5 -- GW)

Photo:  https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/highway-in-the-mountains-gm865502898-143722899

Every Scripture passage is inspired by God.  All of them are useful for teaching, pointing out errors, correcting people, and training them for a life that has God’s approval.

(2 Timothy 3:16 -- GW)