JESUS AND THE HARLOTS OF THE BIBLE

JESUS AND THE HARLOTS

BY DR. MERVYN ABREO

                   The most degraded form of a human being is a fallen or an unfaithful woman who is given the most derogatory names ever known to man : prostitute, harlot, moll, bitch, whore just to name a few.

           And it is these very women that Jesus took, cleansed, sanctified and changed, from the degraded state they were in, into a bride fit for the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

          A harlot is a woman who commits adultery. Since some of you may not know what adultery means, let me explain it to you from an example in my own life.

          I was seven years old. The last study class was completed and school was done for the day. As my classmates and I walked into the school playground we came face to face with the mother superior and a phalanx of teachers and parents who had come to pick up their kids.

          The smiling nun asked us, “And what did you’ll just finish studying?’’

          “The Ten Commandments,” we all replied.

          ‘’And can you mention a few?’’

          In a jumble of voices some of the Commandments were quoted – until one youngster said,’’ Thou shall not commit adultery.’’

          To which the nun, highly amused, replied, rather more to herself, ‘’what would you know about adultery?’’

          ‘’I know what is adultery.’’ I answered boldly.

          There was a shocking silence. All eyes turned to me. I wondered what the fuss was all about.

          ‘’And what is adultery?’’ asked the shocked nun.

          ‘’Its adding water to the milk’’, was my reply.

          That’s adulteration. But in a way I was right. When you add anything to a marriage, whether it’s in the form of another guy or gal, you get adultery.

          Now, before we go any further I want you to make a careful note of the following Scripture verse because it had great significance throughout this teaching:

Isaiah 55:11. ‘’ so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”

It achieves CONVICTION which leads to repentance and salvation.

Or it achieves rejection which leads to condemnation.

          Let us study the lives of three harlots from the New Testament who were convicted, and who were not only saved, but became the blood line of the Lord. All three are described in subsequent articles     They are the sleeping, weeping and the reaping harlots.

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THE ARTIST AND ME

THE ARTIST AND ME

BY DR. MERVYN ABREO

          There was this woman who, after her marriage, had gained so much weight, that she had become obese and totally out of shape. And as a result, her husband, who still loved her very much, had totally lost interest in her physically.

          She remembered the time when she had had an hour glass figure and heads would turn when she had walked down the street or entered a room full of people.

Pic of slim woman & smart man

          But although she tried every trick in the book, she couldn’t change her appearance. She would lose a few pounds, but regain them in next to no time.

          She then got a brain wave!

          She contacted an artist who painted portraits. She asked him to paint her in the nude. But not the way she was. He would have to use his imagination and portray her a little slimmer than what she looked in reality.

          Once the painting was done she took it home and hid it so that only she could gaze upon it in secrecy. She now had an achievable goal. Within three months she achieved her target, knocking off a third of her extra fat.

          Two more sittings and she regained her original figure!

          We too may be obese and ugly in sin, having back-slidden from the beautiful person we had been when we had first come to know the Lord. No problem. We too, like her, can go to the Artist that had originally created and cleansed us.

          And like the female described above, keep a mental picture of what we were through the eyes of the Artist:

           “For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ in accordance with His pleasure and will -- through the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the One He loves.” (Ephesians 1 : 4 – 6).

          Hold the picture He has of us. And gradually conform to that image.

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JESUS AND THE THREE SAMARITANS

JESUS & THE THREE SAMARITANS

BY DR MERVYN ABREO

          The three Samaritans who gave a good example:

The Samaritan who shamed the Jews:

            One day as Jesus was on His way ten lepers called out to Him to have mercy on them. He told them to go and show themselves to the priests, who would certify free from leprosy. They had to act in faith, which they did.

         All ten were healed, but only one returned, fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked Him. He was a Samaritan and Jesus noticed and mentioned this! (Luke 17: 11-19).

The Samaritan who shamed the Levites and the priests:

          Jesus, knowing the mentality of the Jewish leadership, told this parable about the ‘good Samaritan.’

          Though ignored by both a priest as well as a Levite, the waylaid man was helped by a Samaritan who had obeyed the ultimate command of God, i.e. love the Lord and love your neighbor. (Luke 10: 25-37).

A female Samaritan who shamed the male Samaritans:

          A Samaritan woman living in adultery was ministered to by Jesus. She had visited the well at noon, during the heat of the day to avoid the titter of the other women.

          But after her encounter with the Lord, she was transformed, not only into a righteous person, but also into an evangelist who was able to lead the entire Samaritan village to the Lord.

          None of those who had thought themselves righteous had been chosen. (John 4: 4-42).

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PATIENCE -- FRUIT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

PATIENCE -- FRUIT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

BY DR. MERVYN ABREO

I want it! And I want it now!

                   Many years ago a missionary had been sent to China to spread the Gospel message. The first job he undertook was to translate the Bible into Chinese. And so he hired a local scholar, who was well versed both in English as well as Chinese. Let’s say his name is Chen.

                  So every day from morning to night the two sat and painstakingly translated the Holy Book until it was completed and was ready for printing.

                   Seeing that his real missionary work could now begin in earnest, he turned to Chen and asked him: “Mr.Chen, how would like to become a Christian?’’

                   To which Mr. Chen replied, “I don’t know what a Christian is, because I've never met one.”

                   To which the missionary replied smiling, “I am a Christian!”

                   “Oh no, you definitely are no Christian! I’ve read the Bible. A Christian is one who has love, joy, peace, patience etc. You definitely don’t possess any of these qualities. You shout at me even if I make the slightest mistake, you are anxious and upset if your checks from your Church are delayed. You definitely are no Christian!”

                   That night the missionary got on his knees, and wept and prayed, and was changed by God. He spent many more years in China and succeeded in bringing thousands upon thousands of people to the Lord.

                   When the missionary grew old and frail, he was called back to America to retire.

                   On the plane carrying him back home, was a pop singer who had visited China as part of his tour. At the airport, there was a huge crowd waiting to welcome the singer back. But there was not even a single person who had come to receive the missionary. So he felt saddened by this and said to the Lord: “This singer spent just a few weeks away and what a welcome he receives. Whereas I spend my entire life away, and there is no one waiting to receive me!”

                   And the Lord answered him: “That’s because you’re not home yet son. You’re not home yet.”

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ASPHYXIA -- DEATH BY CRICIFIXIION

ASPHYXIA –  DEATH BY CRUCIFIXION

BY DR. MERVYN ABREO

          Death by crucifixion does not occur either because of the severe agonizing pain, or because of bleeding, but as a direct result of asphyxia, i.e. cutting off the oxygen supply to the lungs.                                                          

                                       

                                      

NOTE: Death by hanging occurs, not as a result of choking of the wind pipe as is commonly thought, but as a result of snapping of the cervical spine, when the person is dropped through a trap door.

ORIGIN OF CRUCIFIXION: The barbaric nations, before their conquest by the Romans, used to crucify their enemies after they had been killed in battle, in order to deter further conflict.

          The Romans, who prided themselves on being a civilized nation, went one step further. They crucified their enemies while they were still alive!

MECHANICS OF CRUCIFIXION: Unlike popular belief, the nails that pierce the hands do not pass through the palms. If this had been the case, then the hands would have been wrenched off the nails by the weight of the body, because the bones of the palm, (the tarsals), run in the same direction as the direction of the fingers.

 

          Rather, the nails have to pass through the wrist, proximal to the wrist bones (the metatarsals). It is these wrist bones that keep the hands from being wrenched off.

THE FOOT REST: The feet of the crucified person rest on a small wooden wedge. And we will soon see why this wedge is necessary.

KEEPING ALIVE: As already seen, death is by asphyxiation, because the crucified person, who is literally hanging by his wrists, is unable to breath. And so, to suck air into his lungs, he has to pull himself up, using his pierced hands to do so, while simultaneously lifting himself, by pressing down on the foot rest beneath his feet, feet which have also been pierced, and nailed to the vertical shaft of the cross.

          The instinct for survival is so strong that it may take several days for the crucified person to ultimately weaken, give up, and die.

          Therefore, to hasten death, the Roman soldiers often broke the knees of those crucified, so that they were unable to lift themselves up.

THE CRUCIFIXION OF LORD JESUS:

          The Lord was always in total control. And He said, “It is finished!” And, as His work here on earth was done, He voluntarily gave up His Spirit.

          But let us never ever forget the agony and humiliation He suffered for us.

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WORLD'S MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMAN

WORLD’S MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMAN

BY DR. MERVYN ABREO

          There was a beautiful young girl who was in love with a nice, but poor boy. A rich young man, wanting to have this girl for himself, asked her, “I have wealth, houses, cars and whatever one could ask for. What has that guy got that I haven’t”?

          “Me!” she replied, smiling sweetly.

              

                                        

          Everyone wants a beautiful, sweet natured, kind, and most important, a virgin for a bride.

          And so would Jesus!

          But wherever He looked, he couldn’t find a single virgin. All were spiritual harlots!

          Because all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God!

          Therefore He decided to come down and save the wretched whore, picking her up from the filth and washing her by His own precious blood.

          I heard about a woman, whose clothes had caught fire, but was saved by the timely intervention of her husband, who had risked his life to save her. With tears of joy and gratitude she confessed that, when his proposal had originally come, she had refused. But she had eventually relented, because of the pressure brought about by her parents. 
        She now stated that, because of what he had done for her, her love for her husband had grown many fold, and she would go to any length to make him happy.

                                        

          Therefore, how much more should we, His glorious bride, the Church, love and serve Him, eternally grateful for what He has done for us.

          And we should also realize our worth; we are the chosen bride of not just anybody, but of the King of kings and Lord of lords!

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I AM A 'SHOGUN'

I AM A ‘SHOGUN’

BY DR. MERVYN ABREO

         

          At the death of the Shogun, his son felt totally inadequate to step into the shoes of his father.

          A Shogun in ancient Japan was a hereditary military governor. While the emperor was a mere figurehead, the Shogun wielded actual power over the country.                                       

                             

                                                                        

          James Clavell, in one of his novels based in Japan of yesteryears, narrates how, the young son and heir was terrified at the prospect of taking the place of his father, who had been a powerful and dynamic personality.                                                           

           So he goes off by himself and is sitting all alone on the hill side, when a poor man comes and asks him for some dole money. He is irritated, and asks him as to why he is worrying him about something so trivial in nature, at a time like this, when he, as well as the entire country, were going through such a grave crisis.

          And the poor man replies, “Because I used to always go to your father. But now, YOU are the Shogun!”

          Realization hits him, and he boldly goes and takes command.

                                                        

          When Jesus was crucified and buried, the same happened to His disciples.

           But after Pentecost, they boldly stepped into Jesus’ shoes.

          We too have gone through our Pentecost.

                                                             

          So let us boldly go forth and take command!

         EVANGELIZE! GO FORTH AND MAKE DISCIPLES , BAPTIZING THEM IN THE NAME OF................ 

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