http://thetrinityinjersey.org THE Trinity in Jersey - a series of weekly newsletters under the title "info for islanders" linking the Bible, Jesus Christ and Jersey. Immediately after his resurrection and just before his ascension in AD 33, Jesus Christ instructed his key followers to make disciples of all nations. They were to do this in two ways: first, by immersing them into the name (all the attributes and facts about) the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; second, by teaching them to observe and obey all that he had commanded them. THE Trinity in Jersey "info for islanders" seeks to assist in both those ways in making disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. en Sat, 02 Dec 2023 19:32:10 EST http://thetrinityinjersey.org/newsletter.htm?id=849 Bible Jesus Christ Sinner Syvret “No one igniting a candle puts it in a cellar or under a bowl, but on a lamp-stand, so that those moving near may see the light. Your own eye is the candle of the body. As long as your eye may be sincere your whole body is full of light. But when it may be bad and your body dark, then take heed that the light in you is not the darkness. It follows that your body, complete, full of light and having no dark part, will be complete and full of light as long as the candle in its shining brightness may give light to you.” (Luke’s biography of Jesus, 11: 33 My translation) . . Increasingly across the world State Taxation Authorities are introducing or extending self-assessment. Of course, this has its dangers. Recently, people have accused one another of being “less than candid”, “insincere”, even “disingenuous”. That’s the problem with self-assessments in general. Lies.But self-assessment does have one major advantage – apart from the obvious one of saving government money by employing fewer civil servants. What is this major advantage? It’s that people are assessing themselves are forced (as it were) to make up their own minds as to their own honesty – their own candidness, sincerity, and genuineness – to themselves. http://thetrinityinjersey.org/newsletter.htm?id=849 Thu, 30 Nov 2023 00:00:00 EST http://thetrinityinjersey.org/newsletter.htm?id=848 Bible Jesus Christ Sinner Syvret And he began to speak to them in parallels. “A man planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and leased it to tenants and went into another country. When the season came, he sent a servant to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Again he sent to them another servant, and they struck him on the head and treated him shamefully. And he sent another, and him they killed. And so with many others: some they beat, and some they killed. He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ And they took him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. Have you not read this Scripture: “ ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?” And they were seeking to arrest him but feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parallel against them. So they left him and went away. (Mark’s biography of Jesus, 12: 1-12, c. AD30) . .. “Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. (Acts 2: 36-41) Remembrance Sunday for WW2. Remember of Armistice for WW1. Remember Guy Fawkes. How about remembering AD 30?See the extract in bold red above. Jesus was asking the Judean leaders to remember. He did that via a “parallel”. In the parallel, he likened those leaders to tenants of a vineyard. To them, as God’s special people, had been entrusted a promised land. But the national leaders, over many centuries, had failed abysmally to be faithful to the LORD God and to follow Him in the way they lived their lives, and in the way they lived and led the people. So great had been their failures that, in BC 584, the land had been taken from them, first by the Assyrian and then by the Babylonian Empires. After that the Greeks and then the Romans. The national leaders in Jerusalem in AD 30 had no real power. They were tolerated by Rome. Rome had a multi-faith policy throughout its Empire. But that didn’t work terribly well. It isn’t today.When Jesus asked the AD 30 Jewish authorities to “remember” – via this parallel - he reminded them of their treatment of the LORD God’s “prophets” (messengers) over the preceding six centuries. Jesus even told them – via the parallel – what they intended to do to him! Kill him, so as to own it all. http://thetrinityinjersey.org/newsletter.htm?id=848 Thu, 16 Nov 2023 00:00:00 EST http://thetrinityinjersey.org/newsletter.htm?id=847 Bible Jesus Christ Sinner Syvret “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God but the ones along the path are those who, having heard, then comes the devil and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they, not believing, may not be saved. But the ones upon the rock –these, having then heard the word, receive it with joy and these do not have a root; they believe for a time and in time of trial withdraw. But the ones having fallen into the thorns, these are the ones who, having heard and carried on, are completely choked under life’s cares and riches and pleasures, and are not productive. But the ones in the worthy ground, these are whoever, having heard the word, retains it in a worthy and good heart, and bears fruit in steadfastness” (Luke’s biography of Jesus, “The Sermon on the Plain”, chapter 8: 11) . .. “Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. (Acts 2: 36-41). . Most Jersey churchgoers will have heard Jesus’ Parable of the Sower many times. He spoke this parable to huge crowds. Shortly after, he explained it to his then disciples. In bold above is the first part of his explanation.What do you think of it? “The seed is the word of God.” Clearly, “having heard”, I can do one of four things with this “word”. First, I can be so path-hard that I ignore it completely. Second, I can rejoice in its beauty and clarity and allow it inside me. But later, when things don’t go the way that I think they should go, I give up on it. Third, I can indeed take it inside me but then live my own life. My own life is full of “cares and riches and pleasures”. Those dominate me. Those engulf the seed, the word of God, within me. The seed is gone. http://thetrinityinjersey.org/newsletter.htm?id=847 Thu, 09 Nov 2023 00:00:00 EST http://thetrinityinjersey.org/newsletter.htm?id=846 Bible Jesus Christ Sinner Syvret “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?” (From Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 7: 1) . .. “Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. (Acts 2: 36-41). .“Lord God, almighty and eternal Father, we pray that you will guide this Court by your Holy Spirit so that, having your gift of wisdom and understanding, it may do justice to all, rightly judging that the good and the innocent be upheld and protected, and wrongdoers punished and restrained so that the truth of your word may be applied among us, and you may reign here through Jesus Christ Our Lord....” . Last Friday morning I attended Jersey’s Royal Court with a dear friend of mine. He was accused of several criminal offences. He pleaded “guilty” to them all and was immediately taken into custody. He is now in La Moye prison. He doesn’t yet know how long his sentence will be. That will be decided by the Superior Number of the Royal Court early next year. http://thetrinityinjersey.org/newsletter.htm?id=846 Thu, 02 Nov 2023 00:00:00 EDT http://thetrinityinjersey.org/newsletter.htm?id=845 Bible Jesus Christ Sinner Syvret When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you speak well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But the Scripture will be fulfilled, ‘He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.’ I am telling you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place you may believe that I am he. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.” John 13: 12-20 . .. “Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. (Acts 2: 36-41). .“Lord God, almighty and eternal Father, we pray that you will guide this Court by your Holy Spirit so that, having your gift of wisdom and understanding, it may do justice to all, rightly judging that the good and the innocent be upheld and protected, and wrongdoers punished and restrained so that the truth of your word may be applied among us, and you may reign here through Jesus Christ Our Lord....” .‘Too many church members are starched and ironed but not washed.’ (Vance Havner, writer, 1901-1986)... ‘Genuine fellowship comes when Christians stop relating to one another as righteous saints and accept one another as unrighteous sinners.’ (David Watson, author, 1933-1984)... Charles III’s reign continues: “long to reign over us, God save our King.” The last words of Lady Jane Grey echoed the last words of Jesus as he died upon a cross outside Jerusalem around AD 30. She said, “Lord, into thy hands I commend my spirit.”Immediately prior to her execution Lady Jane Grey read aloud Psalm 51 to the crowd at the Tower of London. It begins: “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.”It certainly seems that Lady Jane Grey both knew herself to be a sinner and also placed her complete trust in Jesus Christ the LORD for his cleansing.Come with me now back to AD 30 and the very last hours of Jesus’ life on earth – as recorded in bold above by John his eye-witness biographer.Immediately before the above extract Jesus had acted out a play which saw him lay aside his outer garments (his equality with the Father), taken a towel (become a human being), tied it around him (being made wholly man forever), poured out water into a basin (himself on the cross), and washing clean their feet (symbolically their whole beings, through and through).You may well say, “Fair enough. I’ve heard all this before.” http://thetrinityinjersey.org/newsletter.htm?id=845 Thu, 05 Oct 2023 00:00:00 EDT http://thetrinityinjersey.org/newsletter.htm?id=844 Bible Jesus Christ Sinner Syvret Now early in the morning he [Jesus of Nazareth, around AD 30] came again to the temple courts [Jerusalem]. And all the people were coming, and he sat down and began to teach them. Now the scribes and the Pharisees brought to him a woman caught in adultery. And standing her in the middle, they said to him, testing him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery! Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” (Now they were saying this to test him, so that they would have an occasion to bring charges against him.) But Jesus, bending down, began to write with his finger on the ground, taking no notice. And when they persisted in asking him, straightening up he said to them, “The one of you without sin, let him throw the first stone at her!” And bending down again, he wrote on the ground. Now when they heard it, being convicted by their conscience, they began to depart, one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone—and the woman who was in the middle. So Jesus, straightening up and seeing no one except the woman, said to her, “Where are those accusers of yours? Does no one condemn you?” And she said, “No one, Lord.” So Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and sin no more.” (From John’s biography of Jesus, chapter 8, Lexham English Bible) . .. “Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. (Acts 2: 36-41). .“Lord God, almighty and eternal Father, we pray that you will guide this Court by your Holy Spirit so that, having your gift of wisdom and understanding, it may do justice to all, rightly judging that the good and the innocent be upheld and protected, and wrongdoers punished and restrained so that the truth of your word may be applied among us, and you may reign here through Jesus Christ Our Lord....” .‘Too many church members are starched and ironed but not washed.’ (Vance Havner, writer, 1901-1986)... ‘Genuine fellowship comes when Christians stop relating to one another as righteous saints and accept one another as unrighteous sinners.’ (David Watson, author, 1933-1984)... The above incident is not what it seems. Yes, Jesus was extremely popular with the people. All the people were coming and … he began to teach them. Yes, the scribes and Pharisees … the male, religious, authoritative and legally-trained hierarchy wanted … to bring charges against him. Why? You probably know envy yourself.Maybe the hierarchy planned the whole thing in detail… Anyway, they brought the woman, she caught in flagrente delicto, to Jesus in the temple courts. Their law, given by the LORD God through Moses some 1,300 years earlier, stated this: “If a man is found lying with a married woman, then they shall both die; both of them, the man who lay with the woman and the woman also, so you shall purge the evil from Israel.” (Deuteronomy 22:22)So – why didn’t the male, religious, authoritative, legally-trained hierarchy bring the man along to Jesus? Why not? Maybe you know that as well? http://thetrinityinjersey.org/newsletter.htm?id=844 Thu, 28 Sep 2023 00:00:00 EDT http://thetrinityinjersey.org/newsletter.htm?id=843 Bible Jesus Christ Sinner Syvret O LORD, my strength and my stronghold, my refuge in the day of trouble, to you shall the nations come from the ends of the earth and say: “(1) Our fathers have inherited nothing but lies, (2) worthless things in which there is no profit. (3) Can man make for himself gods? (4) Such are not gods!” (Jeremiah 16: 19) . .. “Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. (Acts 2: 36-41). .“Lord God, almighty and eternal Father, we pray that you will guide this Court by your Holy Spirit so that, having your gift of wisdom and understanding, it may do justice to all, rightly judging that the good and the innocent be upheld and protected, and wrongdoers punished and restrained so that the truth of your word may be applied among us, and you may reign here through Jesus Christ Our Lord....” .‘Too many church members are starched and ironed but not washed.’ (Vance Havner, writer, 1901-1986)... ‘Genuine fellowship comes when Christians stop relating to one another as righteous saints and accept one another as unrighteous sinners.’ (David Watson, author, 1933-1984)... Yes, I know. I know that Jeremiah was a miserable prophet. He lived at a time of misery for his nation – Judah. They (aka Israelites) had lost (to the bellicose neo-Assyrian Empire) ten twelfths of their territory over 100 years earlier. When Jeremiah wrote the remaining two twelfths as well as the capital city of Jerusalem had been totally overcome by the neo-Babylonian Empire in 587 BC. Virtually all his seniors, friends and young people had been sent into captivity – into captivity to slavery. But miserable Jeremiah could pray – and record in writing his prayer: O LORD, my strength and my stronghold, my refuge in the day of trouble. This reminds me, today, of Evgenii & Maryna Lvov in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine where Evgenii is a follower of Jesus Christ and part of Baburka Church. Zaporizhzhia continues, now – today, to be one of the cities most affected by the war, as one of the main gateways from the Russian-occupied territories, and only 60km from Europe's biggest nuclear power plant. Missile attacks on the city are frequent, and the flow of refugees continues to be much higher than other cities. Evgenii is a seminary Bible teacher and deacon in the church, which has continued to serve the many displaced people in the city very sacrificially. http://thetrinityinjersey.org/newsletter.htm?id=843 Thu, 21 Sep 2023 00:00:00 EDT http://thetrinityinjersey.org/newsletter.htm?id=842 Bible Jesus Christ Sinner Syvret Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight" declares the LORD. (Jeremiah 9: 23) . .. “Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. (Acts 2: 36-41). .“Lord God, almighty and eternal Father, we pray that you will guide this Court by your Holy Spirit so that, having your gift of wisdom and understanding, it may do justice to all, rightly judging that the good and the innocent be upheld and protected, and wrongdoers punished and restrained so that the truth of your word may be applied among us, and you may reign here through Jesus Christ Our Lord....” .‘Too many church members are starched and ironed but not washed.’ (Vance Havner, writer, 1901-1986)... ‘Genuine fellowship comes when Christians stop relating to one another as righteous saints and accept one another as unrighteous sinners.’ (David Watson, author, 1933-1984)... The people who get together at Tesson Chapel in St Peters Valley in Jersey are giving away a credit-card-sized plastic card. Interestingly, the cards don’t invite people to come to the Chapel – although no doubt they’d be most welcome if they did.Instead, the cards prominently state “we’re all about knowing Jesus and making him known”.Neither Tesson Chapel nor the people who go there are of any merit compared with Jesus Christ, son of the living God.On the reverse of the card is the extract in bold red above from a book in the Old Testament of the Bible which goes by the name of its author – a man named Jeremiah. It’s worth repeating: Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight" declares the LORD. http://thetrinityinjersey.org/newsletter.htm?id=842 Thu, 14 Sep 2023 00:00:00 EDT http://thetrinityinjersey.org/newsletter.htm?id=841 Bible Jesus Christ Sinner Syvret And it came to be, when Jesus finished these parables, he removed from there and, coming into his hometown, he was teaching them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, “How? This man? This wisdom? These powerful works? Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And are not all his sisters with us? Then how? This man? All these things?” And they were stumbled in him. In fact, Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not dishonoured except in his own hometown and in his own house.” And he did not do many powerful works there, through their unbelief. (Matthew 13: 53, my translation) . .. “Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. (Acts 2: 36-41). .“Lord God, almighty and eternal Father, we pray that you will guide this Court by your Holy Spirit so that, having your gift of wisdom and understanding, it may do justice to all, rightly judging that the good and the innocent be upheld and protected, and wrongdoers punished and restrained so that the truth of your word may be applied among us, and you may reign here through Jesus Christ Our Lord....” .‘Too many church members are starched and ironed but not washed.’ (Vance Havner, writer, 1901-1986)... ‘Genuine fellowship comes when Christians stop relating to one another as righteous saints and accept one another as unrighteous sinners.’ (David Watson, author, 1933-1984)... . . As you can see above, Jesus has finished teaching folk a series of parables. These (including the parable of the sower) were about human responses to him as well as indications of the presence of look-alikes among his followers.Another was about his own love towards human beings in the field of the world. “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” And yet another about the joy of a human being who finds priceless treasure in Jesus. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a trader in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.”Now (above) he deliberately goes to “his hometown”. Here, they weigh the evidence in front of them. They decide that he is a mere man – one of them. Jesus then leaves them, unable to help those in his hometown - because of their unbelief.After that, Matthew, the eye-witness biographer of Jesus, reports two key incidents, both of which occurred at that time and both of which involved “giving”. http://thetrinityinjersey.org/newsletter.htm?id=841 Thu, 24 Aug 2023 00:00:00 EDT http://thetrinityinjersey.org/newsletter.htm?id=840 Bible Jesus Christ Sinner Syvret At that time a demon-oppressed blind and dumb was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the dumb speaks and sees. And all the people were amazed, and stated, “Perhaps this is the Son of David?” (Matthew 11: 22, my translation) . .. “Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. (Acts 2: 36-41). .“Lord God, almighty and eternal Father, we pray that you will guide this Court by your Holy Spirit so that, having your gift of wisdom and understanding, it may do justice to all, rightly judging that the good and the innocent be upheld and protected, and wrongdoers punished and restrained so that the truth of your word may be applied among us, and you may reign here through Jesus Christ Our Lord....” .‘Too many church members are starched and ironed but not washed.’ (Vance Havner, writer, 1901-1986)... ‘Genuine fellowship comes when Christians stop relating to one another as righteous saints and accept one another as unrighteous sinners.’ (David Watson, author, 1933-1984)... . .. . Three things were wrong about this person who was brought to Jesus. Those three apply to most people. Demons within. Inability and unwillingness to see and to pray. All were dealt with. All the people thought he might be the promised Son of David, the Messiah.In fact the listening Pharisees said, “This man doesn’t cast out demons except by Beelzebul, the chief of demons.” The Pharisees were certain that Jesus was empowered by the highest of evil beings to cast out the lowest demons. And they said so.In fact, knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Any kingdom divided against itself is ruined, and any city or house divided against itself will not stand. And, if the enemy casts out the enemy, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?” http://thetrinityinjersey.org/newsletter.htm?id=840 Thu, 17 Aug 2023 00:00:00 EDT