THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY [WOMEN]

THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY [WOMEN]

BY DR. MERVYN ABREO

THE GOOD:

MARY, JESUS’ MOTHER: Walked in utter obedience to the Lord. When the angel told her that she will be with child, she blindly accepted (Luke 1: 29 – 34).

          Imagine, even today, a thirteen or fourteen year old unmarried girl, pregnant with child. And she experienced it two thousand years ago.

REBEKAH: Left her home and family, and traveled hundreds of miles away, to marry Isaac, and produce Jacob (Israel), who became the father of the Jews.

          And, on her departure, her family blessed her, “Our sister, may you increase to thousands upon thousands; may your offspring possess the gates of their enemies.” (Genesis 24: 60). And so it happened!

RUTH: Leaving the security of her family, opted to go with her mother-in-law, Naomi to an unknown land, to dwell with strangers, who worshiped a God unknown to her.

          But, in faith, she declared to Naomi, “Your people will be my people, and your God my God” (Ruth 1: 16). She was wedded to Boaz, and their offspring became one of the ancestors of Christ Jesus.

THE BAD:

BATHSHEBA: Was unfaithful to her husband, Uriah, and slept with King David, and got pregnant.

          Their son, conceived in adultery, was slain by the Lord!

THE UGLY:

JEZEBEL: The wife of Ahab, king of Israel and one of the most evil women in the Bible!

          She promoted Baal worship (1 Kings 16:32, 33), killed God’s prophets (1 Kings 18:4, 13), opposed the prophet Elijah (1 Kings: 19:1, 2) and had the righteous Naboth killed (1Kings 21:1-14).

          Her death was prophesied, (1 Kings 21:17-24), and she was killed by Jehu. (2 Kings 9:30-37).

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          I look forward to getting your feedback. Do write in to me at:

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THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY [MEN]

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY [MEN]

BY DR. MERVYN ABREO

 SOME OF THE GOOD MEN:

JOSEPH, the foster father of Lord Jesus, takes God at His ward, and accepts Mary in her pregnant state.

           He faithfully and diligently takes care of both the mother and her infant Son.

ABRAHAM, not wanting to have an unbelieving Canaanite bride for his son, sent his servant to his own people.

          We see how allegorically, Abraham, who is a ‘type’ of God the Father, sends his faithful servant (the Holy Spirit), to fetch for his Son (Lord Jesus Christ), a bride (we, the church)! (Genesis 24).

SOME OF THE BAD MEN:

CAIN: Adam’s first-born, killed his brother Abel. Why? Because God accepted Abel’s animal sacrifice (a ‘type’ of the sacrifice of Christ on the cross), while rejecting his meaningless sacrifice, a part of his crops.

                              

          His disobedience stemmed from his egoistic need to offer what he had himself grown, and thereby obtain salvation by works, rather than by the loving grace of the crucified Lord!

KING SAUL, who had been chosen by God to become king over His people, not only upsurges the authority of the Levites (the priests who conducted the animal sacrifices), by performing the sacrifice himself, but disobeyed God, Who had instructed him to destroy all the animal.  His excuse was that he had used some of the animals as sacrifice.    And God tells him that obedience is better than sacrifice. (1Samuel 15:22).

UGLY MEN:

KING MANASSEH was one of the most wicked and vile idol worshipper, that had ever been born to a woman.

           He built altars to Baal, and pillars to Asherah, and led the entire Jewish nation in bowing down to the starry hosts, and worshipping them. He shed innocent blood, by having children slaughtered.

          God was so angry that He vowed to wipe out Jerusalem, and forsake the remnant of His people. (2Kings 21).

PILATE condemned the innocent Jesus to die, while releasing a rebel and a murderer, only to appease the Jews. (Luke 22:66---23:25).

THREE FACETS OF KING DAVID:

THE GOOD DAVID: A man after God’s own heart.

THE BAD DAVID: In spite of having any number of wives and concubines, lusted after Bathsheba, a married woman with whom he had an affair.

THE UGLY DAVID: To cover up his affair with Bathsheba, and her resulting pregnancy, he had Uriah, her husband, killed!

          Yet he rose from the depths of degradation to become one of God’s favorite sons. All because of his cry to the Lord: “Create in me a clean heart oh Lord………..”

          If he could, so can any of us!

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Dear friend,

          I look forward to getting your feedback. Do write in to me at:

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JESUS CHRIST -- GOD OR LORD?

JESUS CHRIST – GOD OR LORD?

BY MERVYN ABREO

WHAT IS A ‘GOD’? A ‘god’ can be any spirit being, a person, or even an object, on which you depend for your well being, while here on earth -- and for your eternal salvation, after you die.

          For example, your god may be your wealth, drugs, Satan or a demonic spirit etc.

          The God of the Bible is Jesus.

ONE, OR MANY GODS: The Bible says that there is only one true living God: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.” (Deuteronomy 6:4).

          But the Bible also speaks of many ‘gods’!

          But these are false gods. Therefore, God warns:

           “I am the Lord your God…………you shall have no other gods before (or besides) Me. (Exodus 20 : 1, 2).

JESUS ASSERTS THAT HE ALONE IS GOD:

          “Before Me no god was formed, nor will there be one after Me.” (Isaiah 43:10).

JESUS CHRIST IS LORD!

          But because there are so many false gods around, He takes on the title of Lord:

          “Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord.” (Psalm 144:15).

FALSE GODS ARE NO LORDS!

          But, because others address their false gods as lords, He once again asserts Himself:

           “For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome……..” (Deuteronomy 10:17).

IDOLS & IDOL WORSHIP

          And, because people worship false gods in the form of idols, He ridicules both the idol, as well as its worshiper:

          “The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but they cannot see; they have ears, but cannot hear, nor is there breath in their mouths. Those who made them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them.” (Psalm 135: 15 – 18).

IDOLS ARE WORTHLESS: Paul says, “…...man made gods are no gods at all.” (Acts 19:26).

ALL WORSHIP, GLORY AND PRAISE RIGHTFULLY BELONG TO JESUS:

          “I am the Lord; that is My name! I will not give My glory to another or My praise to idols.” (Isaiah 42:8).

THE ALMIGHTY GOD OPENLY EXHIBITED HIS PRESENCE AND POWER OVER FALSE GODS:

          In 1Kings (chapter 18), the prophet Elijah says to the people, “How long will you waver between the two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal (a false god) is God, follow him.” (Verse 21).

          So he helps them to choose for themselves between the Lord and Baal, the false god. Both he and the false prophets of Baal would each offer a separate sacrifice. The animals would be slaughtered and placed on the individual altars. But the wood would not be ignited.

          Then he, on one side, would call on the name of the Lord, and the 450 prophets of Baal on the opposite side, would call on the name of their god. And the god who answers by fire – he is God. (Verses  22-24).

          The prophets of Baal called to their god, even going to the extent of cutting themselves. But there was no answer. (Verses 25 – 29).

          Then Elijah, after drenching his sacrifice, wood and altar with jars of water, called on the Lord. And He answered. The fire of the Lord fell and consumed everything. (Verses 30 – 38).

          ‘When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord – He is God! The Lord – He is God!”’ (Verse 39).

          Therefore JESUS is both GOD as well as LORD!

          And He is the only……… ONE TRUE LIVING GOD!

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Dear friend,

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"THE REAPING HARLOT" and JESUS

“THE REAPING HARLOT” and JESUS

BY DR.MERVYN ABREO

      She was one of the three harlots of the New Testament who was convicted and saved by the Lord Jesus Christ.

     An important related Scripture:

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 brings about rejection, which leads to condemnation.

SAMARITAN WOMAN AT THE WELL:

          

THE REAPING HARLOT: because she turned from a harlot into an evangelist (John 4: 4-30).

          Initially the dialogue between Jesus and the Samaritan woman is about water. But while Jesus is talking about the Holy Spirit, she is still thinking in the natural.

          It is only when Jesus speaks of her multiple sexual partners, that she realizes that He is no mere man. And while on the topic of worship, when Jesus reveals that He is the Christ, she is convinced, believes and rushing back to the town, testifies about Him.

          And many of the Samaritans from that town believed in Him.

          She goes from a harlot, to a believer, to even an evangelist.

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Dear friend,

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' THE WEEPING HARLOT" and JESUS

“THE WEEPING HARLOT” and JESUS

BY DR. MERVYN ABREO

          She was one of three harlots of the New Testament who was convicted and saved to by Lord Jesus Christ.

An important related Scripture:

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 brings about rejection which leads to condemnation.

THE WEEPING HARLOT:

          So called because she was weeping at the feet of Jesus. (Luke 7: 36-50.)

          As the drama unfolds, the woman, a prostitute, convicted of her sins, seeks out Jesus, Who is in the house of a Pharisee, as his guest.

          Filled with remorse and self loathing, she repents of her past ways and washes the feet of the Lord with her tears, wiping them with her hair. Then she kisses His feet and anoints them with perfumes.

          She gets two different responses: the first from the Pharisee who criticizes Jesus for tolerating her behavior. The second from Jesus, Who in turn rebukes His host telling him that, when He came to his house as a guest, He was neither given water to wash His feet, nor was He greeted with a kiss.

The key issue is: Why was there such a diagonally opposite response from the woman and the Pharisee, since both were sinners?

          The woman was convicted of sin and she came for forgiveness. And she received it when Jesus told her, ‘’ your sins are forgiven.’’ And then, ‘’your faith has saved you; go in peace.’’ She left justified.

          The Pharisee on the other hand, who fasted and tithed on a regular basis, was filled with self righteousness, and based his righteousness on the Law.

          And that very Law would condemn him.

Ratio between forgiveness and love: Even Jesus acknowledges that, it is natural for those who have been forgiven more, to love more.

          But let us keep in mind that our walk with the Lord should make us so sensitive that, when we err even to the smallest extent, our response should be as though we have sinned in a big way, and we should immediately do whatever is necessary to get right with God.

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Dear friend,

          I look forward to getting your feedback. Do write in to me at:

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" THE SLEEPING HARLOT" AND JESUS

“THE SLEEPING HARLOT” and JESUS

BY DR. MERVYN ABREO

          She was one of the three harlots of the New Testament who was convicted and saved by the Lord Jesus Christ.

An important related Scripture:

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 brings about rejection which leads to condemnation.

THE SLEEPING HARLOT:

           So named because she was caught sleeping (having sex) with a man. (John 8:3-11).

          Caught in adultery and brought to Jesus for His judgment.

          On one hand, as per His own Law as written in the Old Testament, He has to condemn her to be stoned to death! On the other hand, how could any sinner ever expect to find mercy and grace if He had rejected and condemned her? 

        

  If Solomon could have, so beautifully, solved the problem of the two prostitutes, fighting for the same child (1 Kings: 16-28), could we expect anything less from the Creator of Solomon?

          So Jesus bends down and writes with His finger on the ground. Why? The answer is found in the Book of Exodus (31:18): “When the Lord finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, He gave him the two tablets of the Testimony, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God.”

          The Ten Commandments convinces man (conviction/ condemnation) of his sinful state. As Jesus wrote on the ground He challenged them: “ If anyone of you is without sin let him be the first to throw a stone at her” and those who had accused the woman, began to go away one at a time, until only Jesus was left with the woman still standing there. 

          Then Jesus tells her, that since there is no one to condemn her, neither would He. (Because the Law came through Moses but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.)

          The Lord knows that, like her accusers, she too is convicted of sin. And so He sends her off but not before a warning: “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

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Dear friend,

          I look forward to getting your feedback. Do write in to me at:

                                        drmervynabreo@gmail.com

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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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Dear friend,

          I look forward to getting your feedback. Do write in to me at:

                                        drmervynabreo@gmail.com

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