Genealogy of Jesus

Enjoy boring parts of Bible
The passage (Mat 1:1-17 NIV)  A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham: {2} Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, {3} Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, {4} Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, {5} Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, {6} and Jesse the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah's wife, {7} Solomon the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam…
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BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS

The Be-attitudes
(Mat 5:9 NIV)  Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Maintain peace with others Mat 5:39-42 NIV) But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. {40} And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. {41} If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. {42} Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. As far as possible, we should maintain peace with others. Maintaining peace sometimes means that we need to let others have their way. It may mean we don’t enforce…
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Jesus with the Samaritan Woman

Encounters of Jesus
The passage (John 4:7-26 NIV)  When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, "Will you give me a drink?" {8} (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) {9} The Samaritan woman said to him, "You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?" (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) {10} Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water." {11} "Sir," the woman said, "you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? {12} Are you greater than our father…
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Jehu

Lessons from Bible Characters
Jehu went beyond the call of duty in doing God's work. 2 Kings 9: 6 So Jehu got up and went inside; the young man poured the oil on his head, saying to him, "Thus says the Lord the God of Israel: I anoint you king over the people of the Lord, over Israel. 7 You shall strike down the house of your master Ahab, so that I may avenge on Jezebel the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord. 8 For the whole house of Ahab shall perish; I will cut off from Ahab every male, bond or free, in Israel. Jehu was asked to kill the entire family of Ahab. However he went beyond that and killed many other…
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How to select a good spouse

Wisdom from the Proverbs
(Prov 12:4 NIV)  A wife of noble character is her husband's crown, but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones. Many think divorce can be an easy solution. But God hates divorce (Mal 2:16), and remarriage may not be a viable option for the disciple of Christ - Mt 19:8-9 Seek help from God to find a good wife. (Prov 19:14 NIV)  Houses and wealth are inherited from parents, but a prudent wife is from the LORD. Do not place priority on “good looks” alone (Prov 31:30 NIV)  Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. Look for a woman who shows discretion. (Prov 11:22 NIV)  Like a gold ring in a pig's snout is a beautiful woman…
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Valley Experiences of Jacob

Valley experiences of Bible characters
Jacob moved from being always looked after by his mother Rebekah to someone that was constantly being cheated. Jacob worked hard for seven years so that he could marry Rachel, the girl he loved. But he was tricked by Rachel’s father, Laban who gave him Rachel’s sister Leah to be wedded. Jacob had to promise to work another seven years before Laban agreed to also give him Rachel as his wife. (Gen 29:18-28 NIV)  Jacob was in love with Rachel and said, "I'll work for you seven years in return for your younger daughter Rachel." {19} Laban said, "It's better that I give her to you than to some other man. Stay here with me." {20} So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a…
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Solomon

Lessons from Bible Characters
When making requests to God, he had his priorities right. (1 Ki 3:5-10 NIV) At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, "Ask for whatever you want me to give you." ….. {9} So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?" {10} The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. When we pray, do we have our priorities right? Do we ask for things of God's kingdom or do we ask for things for ourselves. There is nothing wrong with asking things for ourselves but the priority we attribute to them is important. When Jesus' disciples asked Him how…
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2 & 3 John – Truth

Books of the New Testament
Background Early church tradition testified that 2 and 3 John were written by John the disciple of Jesus, who used a different title and called himself an “elder” in these two epistles (2 John 1:1). False teachers had infiltrated the church and taught that Jesus was not truly a man but only appeared to be one. Therefore, in these two epistles, John focuses on protecting our fellowship from those who teach falsehood. The apostle went so far as to warn his readers against inviting false teachers into the house or even offering them a greeting (2 John 1:10). Testing the truth with God’s word 2 John 7 I say this because many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world.…
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1 Peter – Trials & Suffering

Books of the New Testament
Background Peter, one of the disciples of Jesus, is the author of this epistle. He wrote this letter to a group of Christians scattered throughout the northern areas of Asia Minor. In this letter, Peter spoke much about persecution, which anticipated the persecution he and other Christians would endure in the final years of Nero’s reign. This epistle therefore contains guidance for us today on how we can live the Christian life even though life may be beset with problems. Trials are there to test our faith 1 Peter 1:6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which…
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