“Kissing donkeys bear the hope of unity, the weight of peace.”
What does a kissing donkey have to do with good teeth, biblical prophecy, and the unity of Jew and Gentile?
In my latest post blog at Linda Vogt Turner.ca I explore the rich symbolism behind the lowly donkey—how he carried the Madonna and the weight of messianic hope.
Discover how Psalm 3:7 and Amos 4:6 connect to a medieval legend about kissing donkeys to cure a toothache—and why the faithful (even dentists!) haven’t stopped smiling since.
I enjoy reading and commenting on ThePreachersWord blog, written by Ken Weliever, as often as my schedule allows. In a recent post, he lifts up 1 Thessalonians 5:11—“The Ministry of Encouragement”—and shares how he once preached a lesson entitled “Disciples Bear Burdens.” I’ve reblogged it below so you can read it first, then scroll down to read the comment I have posted here in response.
Barnabas is remembered by the early Church as a father in the faith — a Levite from Cyprus, a companion of Paul, and a man whose name is often translated as “Son of Encouragement.” This reflection was was originally shared on June 11 — the Feast of Saint Barnabas — and now offered again in time for Father’s Day…
In Acts 4:36, we’re told that Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, was nicknamed Barnabas—meaning “Son of Encouragement.”
But what many miss is that the Gospel writers gave the earthly father of Jesus the name Joseph. Later traditions place Joseph of Nazareth in the barn at the Nativity, holding the lamp over the manger—bearing witness as Abba, the one who carries the Light— not merely carrying the Light, but lifting it high, so others may see the new family being born.
Another detail often overlooked: the capital of Cyprus is Kyrenia.
And it is here the story deepens.
The name Cyrene, from Simon of Cyrene, has been anglicized from Kyrene, an ancient Greek city in the region of Cyrenaica—one of five cities in the Pentapolis. This opens the possibility that Barnabas and Simon of Cyrene are one and the same.
So what?
Why does it matter if Simon of Cyrene—the man who carried the cross of Jesus—and Barnabas—the man who later carried Paul—were one and the same?
Here’s why:
The name Simon means “one who listens and heeds.”
It was the name of the man Jesus called Peter, the rock upon whom Jesus said the Church would be built. And it was Peter who stood at Pentecost, boldly encouraging the crowd to believe in the Crucifixion and the Resurrection—to see and trust the Good News.
“Christ is risen from the dead, Trampling down death by death, And upon those in the tombs bestowing life.”
As Paul later writes in 1 Corinthians 15:13: “If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.”
And if Christ has not been raised, how can we dare to hope?
But He has been raised. And so we do hope.
We are called,as was the one known as Barnabas—Simon, Peter—to live in faith, to witness the Resurrection, to carry the message, to lift the burden, and to embody the ministry of encouragement.
And perhaps the greatest encouragement is this:
That the Body of Christ—Jesus the Man called Peter, Jesus the Woman called Paul, and the newborn child they resurrect, bring back to life in love— is still working among us.
Some know this Child as John, the one beloved, the one who hears the Voice of the Bridegroom and testifies to Him as His friend and forerunner.
Others know the Mother—Mary, also called Paul, as the one sent with Barnabas to show and tell the Good News: the Resurrection.
Still others know the Father—Joseph, called Peter, the earthly foundation stone, as the one who bears the keys and casts the net.
And in Bethany, the House of Grace and House of Figs, waits Martha—the faithful housewife, the one who was told she worried too much— but whose welcome set the table for Salome, whom some now see as Mary, to come and dance and sing, bringing Peace and Love into the world.
So what is encouragement, if not this?
Barnabas — Christ the Everlasting Father, reborn to declare with thunder: The Light has come!
To show and tell. To know we are not alone. To know the Father and Mother of God—and their begotten Son of faith—are here.
Still bearing. Still breaking bread. Still rising.
Do you think you’re special? or do you need to know?
🎶 "I Need to Know"– DonStewart
“I guess I’ll always be your friend, That’s the label you give all your men…” you say I’m special…but sometimes I wonder when you’re not here… ”
This original song by Canadian jazz vocalist DonStewart was performed live at Blue Frog Studios in White Rock, BC, as part of a tribute to Burt Bacharach in September 2024.
DonStewart’s lyrics echo the longing for clarity—the ache of love that asks, How do I stand?
Yet like Barnabas, — who is Simon, who is Peter — the one who heeds the Word and lifts the Light of the Cross, his voice— full of thunder— helps us remember who we are.
He takes us to the Gate called Beautiful.
“I have no silver or gold, but what I have, I give you — the name of Jesus of Nazer…eth… a branch from the root of Jesse.” (Acts 3:6; Isaiah 11:1)
The son who becomes a father who remembers— becomes the voice who helps us remember who we are.
The black rock we call coal can be faithfully viewed as a gift of God, at least if one considers how important coal was for the ancient Hebrew prophets Moses and Isaiah (Vogt Turner p. 257)
Many environmentalists and corporate media blame weather events on the excess of Carbon in the atmosphere, claiming this excess is what is causing climate change. Yet do you know Carbon is the “building block of all life”?
Environmentalists have linked this Carbon Excess to human behaviour and the extraction and the burning of coal and oil, his oily bride. What do you think? Are coal and oil the problem? Or are unbridled consumerism and prodigal, wastefully extravagant, habits at play here?
My paper “Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage” speaks to the need to stop demonizing Carbon and Green House Gas emissions. The reason being that our failure to redeem our waste is the bigger problem. We can not stop the rain from falling or the human body from creating waste or breathing out Carbon dioxide. Yet we can collect the rain and the waste and use them as a resource and recycle and reuse them over and over again.
Check out this video clip from my paper “Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage.”
In this video, the CEO of CCm Technologies, Pawel Kisielewski quotes Mahatma Gandhi believing whole heartedly that “Waste is only a resource in the wrong place.”
Waste is only a resource in the wrong place
Mahatma Ghandi
As for human behaviour that is prodigal, Jesus told a story about that. As the Jesus story goes, the prodigal son took his inheritance and ran away with it. Free from the restrictions of his Jewish upbringing, he spent his inheritance freely on prostitutes, unbridled women and men who sold sex or promoted sex to people looking to hook up for a night or a few hours without the responsibility and suffering that comes with having children.
You can watch this “sanitized” kids version …that leaves out the fact that the Righteous Son is angry because his brother has wasted his father’s money on prostitutes (Luke 15:30). The clip does show the prodigal confessing his sins and asking for a chance to earn back his father’s trust. The clip in keeping with the Parable shows how the Father is overjoyed when he finds this Son whom he says had died and was lost and now was found.
Kids will point out the fact that the Son did not “actually” die he merely ran away from home.
Yet do you see how timeless this parable is? The runaway in the parable gives a sincere apology, admitting he has sinned, and is ready to repent, to stop sinning and wasting his talents on those who are consumed with unbridled living and unrestrained spending and consuming.
Today’s children will ask. “Where is the Mother?” Why is the story only about the Son and the Father and the Elder Bother?
Guide the children back into the story. Have them look carefully at the pictures. All that the Father and the Son and the Elder brother are blessed with comes from the Mother. The Mother is the Light that twinkles and shines in the Father’s eye. The Mother is the Bride who chose the Father as the foundation stone of the life she intends to build with him. As the Christian Story goes in the beginning of Luke’s Gospel, the Father called Joseph almost divorces the Mother called Mary before the wedding. Yet in John’s Gospel, the Father is called Simon bar Jonah aka Peter. He comes through in the end, demonstrating to his sons, his male disciples, how important it is to give honour and respect to the Woman Jesus by putting on the Coat the “outer garment” he had taken off to fish “at night” with his pals.
Like the prodigal in the Parable, Peter becomes the Father who redeems his Bride, the Mother when he dons the Coat (the ABA mentioned in yesterday’s post) and says I LOVE YOU to Jesus the Holy Spirit and agrees and promises to care for her family of penitent sinners (John 21:7-17).
In the Parable of the Prodigal, the Father gives a robe and a ring to the Prodigal as if he were passing down a “patriarchal covenant” that carries with it a profound mystery of the Kingdom of God (Ephesians 5: 31-12) Christians are taught to keep and pass down to the next generation.
As the Pauline letters convey. When a man leaves his parents and unites with his wife, the two become one flesh, reinforcing how the Prodigal the Son repented.
Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! Or don’t you know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her body? For it is said, “the two will become one flesh.”
True! Accountability is fundamental to being an authentic Christian.
According to the Reverend Ken Weliever: Even those identified as spiritual heroes in the Bible were accountable for their missteps and mistakes. Abraham. Jacob. Moses. Joshua. David. Solomon. As well as Jesus’ own apostles like Peter, James and John.”
What the Reverend Ken Weliever left out were spiritual women of the Hebrew Testament and Martha and Mary of the Gospels. MMM…that’s curious because it is the women who often hold men accountable.
Of course let us not forget that in the Hebrew Testament as in the Pauline letters, women became “men” when they married in keeping with Genesis 2:24.
Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and “hold fast” to his wife, and they shall become one flesh (emphasis mine)
Another thing to keep in mind as we Christians walk in the footsteps of Jesus. We should think about how and why Peter was chosen as the Foundation Stone of the Church. We should also think about who James and John were. Scripture calls them the sons of Thunder.
Why would these two people called the “sons of Thunder” be chosen “to ascend” go up on the mountain and witness the Transfiguration with Peter the one Jesus chose to be the foundation stone of the church.
Of course astute bible readers will recall and share the passage in Exodus 19: 16-20, when the people having been prepared to meet God on the Third Day…waited at the bottom of the Mountain and heard the Thunder and saw the lightning while Moses their Teacher ascended the mountain to speak with God who answered him in Thunder!
On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the LORD had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder. The LORD came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.
Where does the Ascension take place that the Rabboni, The Teacher referred to when he spoke “face to face” with the Woman Jesus called Mary in the Garden of the Tombs of the dead?
According to Luke’s Gospel, the Ascension takes place on the Mount of Olives in Bethany…after the Lord appeared to Simon.
Is heaven our solar system…where Jupiter the “Father of the Roman gods and the King of the planets work with the Sol the Sun that sends photons to Earth, our home?
Or is that too weird? And yet, long ago the astrologers knew a lot about the stars and the planets that some of us are just now finding out about. According to modern astronomers, the other planets in the solar system including Jupiter the God of Thunder, the Romans believed to be the King of the planets and the “Father of the gods” exert a gravitational pull that help stabilize the Earth’s distance from the sun.
Many Romans as did the Greeks worshipped the God of Thunder and the other gods as idols, as if they could never sin or make a mistake. At least being so far away in the sky Jupiter could appear to mere mortals to be infallible and could never be held accountable to mere mortals or be forgiven for any mistakes or sins.
And so I think it is interesting to note that both Moses regarded as the Teacher of Israel, and the Man Jesus called the Rabboni, the Teacher ascended. Moses spoke with God and God answered him with Thunder (Exodus 19:19). While Jesus the Rabboni ascended and sat at the right hand side of God the “Father” (Mark 16:19).
Could it be possible that the Father of Jesus the Rabboni also known as Christ the Son of God, be the Thunder which Moses spoke with in Exodus 19? Could this Thunder be the Rock, that Jesus [the Holy Spirit] chose as the foundation stone of the Church (Matthew 16: 16-18)?
Many people would say NO because Simon bar Jonah like Jonah did not want the responsibility of preaching to sinners, who were liars, robbers, sex workers, enslaving women in prostitution and killing babies (Nahum 3: 1-7). Perhaps Simon like Jonah thought that would take him away from using his own prophetic voice and so he thought that by stepping away and tending to his own business by the sea, this unpleasant sinful situation would correct itself…and he could simply continue to do as he pleased and tend to his own business without this added responsibility.
However, let’s not forget. Simon bar Jonah was held accountable by Jesus the son of God. John’s Gospel records how Simon bar Jonah does try to escape the responsibility of “being the foundation stone” of the Church and protecting the sheep, the followers of Jesus the Good Shepherd. But in the final chapter of John’s Gospel, chapter 21, Simon bar Jonah hears the voice of Jesus the son of God calling out to him from the shore, telling him to cast his net on the “right side” of the boat. The disciples don’t realize or recognize that it is Jesus until his beloved disciple says “It is the Lord.” This encounter is what holds Simon bar Jonah accountable.
As soon as Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he had removed it) and jumped into the sea (John 21:7).
Could this “outer garment” be his “wedding” garment? Or is that too weird?
In ancient Hebrew culture a shepherd’s coat was an outer garment made of goat or camel hair, called an “aba”.
In the Gospel, Jesus refers to the Father as “Abba”. Could Simon bar Jonah aka Peter be Christ the Bridegroom who belongs to the Bride that the Forerunner testified about in John’s Gospel 3:38-29…when his followers “supposed” he had taken the Coat and had assumed the role of Christ the Father?
After all, the Rabbi called John the Baptist by his followers did wear a coat made from camel’s hair and a shepherd’s coat could be made from the hair of goats or camels. And he did set fathers and the children “STRAIGHT” when they were mistaken and “supposed” he was the Bridegroom.
You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but am sent ahead of Him.’
The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom stands and listens for him, and is overjoyed to hear the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete (John 3: 28-29 BSB).
Yet could it be that a wedding did take place in the vicinity of Bethany at the Mount of Olives to fulfill the prophetic testimony of John the Forerunner? Why else would the Forerunner say “The Bride belongs to [with] the Bridegroom” if the Forerunner did not envision them, eating and sleeping together in one house full of joy, raising up a divine household full of penitent sinners?
Many people look and sift through all the New Testament literature, including the apocrypha, the Gnostic Gospels and the legends and conclude that they can see no explicit evidence of such a wedding. Perhaps it is because people like the followers of the Forerunner the disciples called John confuse the Rabboni, the Teacher, with Christ the Bridegroom and fail to see the Teacher called the Rabboni as the Baptizer as the Lord of Grace who lost his head, yet was resurrected when the Woman Jesus called Mary and her sister Martha testified to the Resurrection?
Chania pronounced Hania was the female Hebrew name for Grace, and the Hebrew male name Yohannan in Greek is John and means God is gracious. So Christians need to remember that Mary and Martha witnessed the Resurrection with the men and held them accountable to the Resurrection! In fact it was Martha who was the housewife of Bethany who took care of all the preparations when her sister Mary and the disciples came to Bethany and held her Lord accountable to ensure no missteps could distract them all and lead people astray and cause a scandal.
When Martha [the housewife of Bethany] was distracted by all the preparations to be made. She came to Jesus [the Teacher] and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her to help me!”[brackets mine]
However take note, when Martha’s Lord responds to her, he says her name twice.
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord replied, “you are worried and upset about many things.
But only one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Many people might think that the Lord’s reply dismisses Martha’s concern telling her she is distracted and worried about many things. However, pay attention to how he reassures her that she has nothing to be worried about. He confirms the choice Mary has made and he reminds Martha of her purposeful role as the Lord’s Lady, his Lady!
Mary has chosen to sit at his feet with the disciples to prepare herself for the portion, the purpose she has discovered because of her relationship to Martha’s Lord and Martha’s gracious hospitality. Martha was worried because she thought that the Woman Jesus calls Mary may not have made the right choice because Mary’s choice is Simon bar Jonah! Martha’s Lord is sure Mary has made the right choice. That’s enough for Martha and it should be for us too!
“Do not give what is holy to the dogs, nor cast your pearls before swine… (Matthew 7:6) When I checked out a similar verse to this one about the Woman who Jesus the Jewish Teacher compared her (and her countrymen) to Dogs, I noticed something quite striking.
The (Canaanite) woman came and knelt before Him. “Lord, help me!” she said. But Jesus replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”“Yes, Lord,” she said, “even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” “O woman,” Jesus answered, “your faith is great! Let it be done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour (Matthew 15: 21-28).
After speaking with the Woman, Jesus the Jewish Teacher called her “O Woman as if referring to her as a great pearl of faith and wisdom. In addition, I checked out the Greek word used for Dog in Ancient Greek and noticed that it was κυνάρια! This Greek word means dogwoods. Coincidently, dogwoods are protected here in Canada because the dogwood is the official flower of the province of British Columbia, located on the west coast of Canada.
However, check out what Ken Weliever, the author of ThePreachersWord, says about the dogs and the pigs IN THE CONTEXT of what the many followers of Jesus thought in the first century. The Reverend Weliever interprets the scripture as if the dogs and the pigs were wild as if they were from the woods! In other words they would lack the culture and “good” manners of the respectable, law abiding city dwellers.
“Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces,” commanded Jesus in His famous Mountain Message.
This is one of the more difficult sayings of the Savior. What did He mean? To whom was He referring? And how can we apply it?
Defining the Terms
First of all, it’s important to understand He was not speaking of a dog like we do today. It was not a cute, domesticated house pet. A dog was a wild, scavenger animal. Dogs would roam the streets looking for any bit of food they could find. They were unclean animals. Fierce. And would often attack.
Secondly, to the Jews, pigs were an unclean animal (Lev. 11:7). They were viewed with contempt and considered filthy. Eating their meat was an abomination under the Old Law (Deut. 14:8). Demons were banished to a herd of pigs (Matt. 8:30-32).
The Reverend Weliever goes on to make the point that it is pointless to keep trying to convert these dogs and pigs. He says…
I have known folks through the years who have been trying to convert the same neighbor, friend, relative, or co-worker for 20 years. They are not interested. They could care less about the gospel, the church, or the salvation of their soul. Yet, I’ve heard some say, “We should never give up.” Well, maybe. But this text says not to extend the pearl of great price to those who deny, reject and ridicule its value.
A pearl is priceless. But not to a pig. That which is holy holds sacred value. But not to a dog. Let’s not allow the Word of God to be blasphemed.
True, sometimes one just has to stop trying so hard and just let the neighbour be. If one’s neighbour wants nothing to do with the Gospel, it is heartbreaking. One feels like one’s faith is being lived out in vain.
In my comment I tried to once again point out that Jesus the Teacher is speaking to the Woman Jesus called the Pearl of great price!
Today it is extremely difficult for people in a progressive multicultural province such as British Columbia, Canada to see the Woman Jesus. People only see Jesus the Jewish Teacher and fail to see how Jesus the Jewish Teacher came to the Woman Jesus under the cover of darkness!
Even here in the land of the dogwoods, Patriarchal language, the language of HIM, has veiled the Woman Jesus. It takes a keen ear and a keen eye to see and hear the Woman Jesus speaking and distinguish her words from Jesus the Teacher’s.
Dan Brown’s and Margaret Starbird’s assertion that Jesus was married and had two children has been rejected, denied and ridiculed.
The agenda here in progressive British Columbia is to promote Christ as Queer in keeping with the idea that Jesus never married. Queer folk want to believe that Christ is the foundation upon which the Church is built. Yet they cannot see that the Rabbi called John by his followers testified that Christ is the Bride who belongs to the Bridegroom! They cannot see the evidence (John 3:28-29).
Queer folk are not alone. Many modern worshippers have lost sight of the Woman Jesus and the Rock she loves. The Story talks about being the light and letting the light shine. No one lights a light and puts it under the bed or under the table! People who value the light put it on a lamp stand.
So why do people read John 8:12 and assume Jesus the Teacher of Israel is speaking and not the Woman Jesus trapped in adultery? Why don’t people living in the land of the Dog woods see the Woman Jesus as the Light of the World?
Yes Queer folk and adulterous men and women would like to be accepted and affirmed as civilized people, worthy of eating at the table with righteous believers.
However, I must point out. Jesus the Teacher standing with her, did not condemn her. But he did tell her to “go and sin no more” (John 8:11). Thus it is important to repent and become a “turner” and turn from sin.
Adultery and sex outside marriage has always been the big taboo. Civilized people need to honour and cherish their loved ones and treat them with dignity and respect with a covenant, a promise that they regard as “sacred”.
So where does this leave Queer folk? Some say as long as Queer folk live in committed loving relationships with one another…let them be. Others insist their way of life needs to be protected. Others insist the Queering of Christ is threatening the Light of the Gospel and keeping an adulterous generation from seeing the Light of the World as the Penitent Woman!
Could it be that many non-Queer affirming people are also keeping this adulterous generation from seeing Jesus as Penitent, because they do not understand that to be like Jesus who was/is sinless, one must repent and actively “go and sin no more”?
Remember, when Jesus the Teacher and Simon the Father of the Law and Oral Tradition (aka the Pharisee) met and spoke about sin. The moral teaching came to light when Simon concluded that the one who was forgiven the most would love the most. Thus the Woman whose sin was greater than Simon’s and was forgiven was deemed to be more loving than Simon the Father of the Oral Tradition and the Law! And the story concludes…
But those at the table began to say to themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”
And Jesus told the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
Again the Woman’s faith is what saves her. She goes in peace. She doesn’t go condemned with a scarlet A marked on her forehead.
Yet today people still demonize her, they speak ill of her, as if she was the town prostitute. They just can’t see Simon’s point of view.
Simon thought, Jesus the man she anointed with her “alabaster” jar, should acknowledge how he knew this woman was a sinner and why she was “touching” him (Luke 7:39). In other words, Simon thought that Jesus the Teacher was not worthy of being the “anointed” one and should confess that he had spent the night under the cover of darkness with her and repent!!!
I realize this is difficult for many Christians to realize. We are all sinners and the death of Jesus on the Cross does keep the Sun from shining for three whole hours (Luke 23:44).
It is difficult to deny oneself and take up the Cross…especially if your worldly thoughts and worries are keeping you from seeing the Pearl of Great Price that the Cross is.
But as Jesus turned…and said to Simon…
But Jesus turned and said to (Simon) Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me. For you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” Then Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.
When one denies oneself, one dies to self and begins to learn how to love God with one’s whole heart and mind and one’s neighbour as one’s self.
However, thinking like a man, a person without any desire for the Woman of Faith or any appreciation of her as the Pearl of Great Price, one may likely see the Cross as a lifeless lamp stand or a lifeless piece of dogwood that is detached, that has been cut down and without roots.
Yet the Hope of the Gospel is that…Simon bar Jonah, also called Peter the Rock, does declare his love for Jesus and takes on the responsibility of feeding the sheep of Jesus (John 21:17). He too repents and turns from his sin, his lack of faith in the Light, working by the sea at night, without the morning Light, hoping to secure gold and silver like the billionaires controlling the world.
What Simon does is awesome. Make no mistake. Simon allows himself to be human and allows his story to shape the Jesus story. At first like the disciples, like sinners, Simon fails to realize the catch of the day, and fails to realize that the Woman of Faith he dearly loves is the Pearl of great price, and the coin of true wealth, hidden in the mouth of the Fish, waiting for him to embrace.
Having faith in Simon bar Jonah is what Jesus the Teacher and Jesus the Woman of Faith and their disciples must have. For without Simon and the sheep he feeds there would be no Gospel!
Watch out the Alligator teaches Sunday School! Yes many of the teachers in our Sunday Schools put Zacchaeus down to put Jesus the Teacher up. They do the same with the Woman Caught in Adultery. They do this with Simon the Pharisee and lump all the Simons together. And then they release Jesus Barabbas as the notorious robber who steals Simon’s thunder and robs Zacchaeus of “her” virtue and resurrects the Son of the Father and claims he is the only one who kept all 10 commandments!
Preserving the 10 commandments is noble! However, as the Apostle to the Apostles states…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
Grace is forgiveness that comes when we have faith in the blood that pulses through the veins of Christ Jesus. When young Christians see Christ hanging on the Cross, the alligator lets them think Christ’s death is something so horrible they would never ever want to imitate that death and let themselves be crucified! The alligator also convinces them that everyone who participates in crucifying Christ is a murderer.
Yes…dear children, don’t let the Alligator devour your faith. In the Christian Faith Story, do as Rachél did in the true story above. Grab both sides of the gator’s jaws and pry them open. Take the gator’s own words and pry open the words of Scripture and see the miracle of how Jesus the Christ comes to life eternally as a perfecting Trinity.
Hint…let the math concept of a triangle based pyramid help you understand and conceptualize how the transfiguration of James, John and Simon-Peter standing on home base at the foot of the mount of transfiguration in Martha’s hometown…trusting in divine hospitality and grace come together as ONE faithful divine body that serves as a model for others to follow.
Now don’t let the name James fool you or the fact that James is a son of Thunder. Technically thunder and lightning always come together. Lightning is quicker than the sound of lightning…yet which one really comes first?
While the two events occur simultaneously, you see lightning before you hear thunder because the speed of light is much faster than the speed of sound.
The Alligator also uses the word “son” and lets you think the word “son” is male as in the name Zacchaeus and in the name James aka Jacob who loves Rachel! Jacob remember wrestles with the angel of the lord all night and becomes a new man, bearing the name Israel. In that story, Jacob is a man with more than one wife.
Stay on your guard. Remember when a man leaves his parents he dies to his old bachelor self…and unites with his wife and the two become one new man, one flesh (Matthew 19:5; Genesis 2:24; Ephesians 5:31).
In the olden days, when a woman married she would have taken her husband’s first and last name. If they divorced the woman would likely have reassumed her maiden name, but it was not and is not mandatory.
Today things are changing and the legal approval of same sex marriages are complicating things even more…so it is more important than ever to be aware of the Alligators in our churches. Alligators swim in “shallow” water. This generation and the next need to push out into “deep” water. Christians in shallow water are in danger of losing sight of Christ as the Bride who belongs to the Bridegroom as the Forerunner testifies (John 3: 28-29; Hebrews 6:19).
According to ThePreachersWord, a recent graduation speech caused such controversy that over 216,600 people have signed a petition calling for the removal of the Kansas City Chief’s Kicker, Harrison Butker from the National Football League.
Addressing the female graduates, Butker said.
“I think it is you, the women, who have had the most diabolic lies told to you,” Butker said. “Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world, but I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world.”
Sounds strangely like a Bible command I read from the apostle Paul where older women were commanded to teach younger women to love their husbands and their children (Titus 2:3-5). And for younger widows to marry, have children, and manage their household (1 Tim. 5:14).
However, such Biblical exhortations ought not to be publicly uttered in our politically correct world, according to the far leaning left. So, the NFL issued a statement through their Chief Diversity Officer, Jonathan Beane, saying Butkner “gave a speech in his personal capacity. His views are not those of the NFL as an organization.”
To be fair, the kicker also spoke against abortion, euthanasia, homosexuality, and dangerous gender ideologies which he described as “degenerate cultural values.” He further challenged the men in the audience to embrace their masculinity and the role God has given them in the home and in society.
For these remarks Harrison Butker has been labeled as “sexist, homophobic, anti-trans, anti-abortion and racist.”…
While ThePreachersWord does not agree with all of Butker’s theology he did urge his audience to draw closer to God in their daily lives. He even criticized bishops in the Catholic church for their lack of leadership, for keeping silent when they should speak, and for becoming politicians instead of Shepherds. He said spiritual leaders need to be more vocal, “instead of fitting in the world by going along to get along, they too need to stay in their lane and lead.”
Thus One Reader commented saying:
So, why aren’t we putting a petition together to praise Butker’s respect for woman and the virtue of the family? Why aren’t we sending it to the NFL and praising the return to principles that use to be praised in our society.
I then added a lengthy comment, I’ve posted here.
One way to praise and demonstrate respect for “woman” and the virtue of the family is to get behind the Woman Jesus called the Magdalene! She is the penitent model that is the Light of the World! (John 8:2). She was the Woman Caught in Adultery that the Teacher of Israel encouraged the Religious Leaders of his day to bring in for questioning.
This is the Truth that too many Religious Leaders of today are running away from–at the Church’s peril. I’ve written plenty on this topic. http://www.lindavogtturner.ca
The Magdalene stood in the Garden of the Tombs “face to face” with the Teacher of Israel she called the Rabboni. She is the Teacher the rabble identified as the Christ (John 7: 37-53) who had met with the Teacher of Israel (John called Nicodemus) under the cover of darkness and who had said “as Moses lifted up the (bronze) SNAKE in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life (John 3:14-15).
She like the followers of The Rabboni also known as John by his followers “supposed” he was the Christ and had taken the body of her Lord, the Bridegroom (John 20:15: John 3:28)
HOWEVER…the Rabboni told the Woman Jesus called Mary aka the Magdalene. “do not ‘cling’ to me” (John 20:17).
Many people down through the ages have wondered why the Teacher said this to the Woman? Had they forgotten the words of Joshua who reminded the people of Israel to [cling] “hold fast to the LORD your God, as you have done to this day” (Joshua 23:8).
Have people forgotten or overlooked the teaching of the Rabbi called the Forerunner aka John? When his followers “supposed” he was the Christ he said.
“You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but am sent ahead of Him.’The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom stands and listens for him, and is overjoyed to hear the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine…”
Getting married and raising a “godly” family is a noble virtue. Raising a family to love God with their whole heart, mind and body and to love their neighbour as themselves is important. Raising a family doesn’t mean a Mom and or a Dad cannot have a career outside the family. It simply means that when parents raise up a family to honour and respect the Word of God and to obey the TEN commandments, including the FOURTH ONE to honour your father and your mother, God will equip parents, the family and the community who supports these beliefs to serve God and be the blessing God has called them to be.
The Truth is. Many of us women do still share the dream of “Getting Married” and raising a godly family.
Wow, I woke up on Saturday morning with a loud crack of thunder! When I checked the time, it was 6:13. With that realization, I was sure this was God telling me all would be well and to quit worrying—let me explain.
Firstly, I know that when Moses, the Teacher of Israel, spoke to God, God answered him with Thunder. I know that thunder happens all the time and Lightning strikes can set whole forests of trees on fire. But stay with me as I explain the significance of an isolated loud crack of thunder waking me up at exactly 6:13.
At that very moment, the thought popped into my head, to do a google search for all the Bible Passages numbered 6:13.
Later in the morning I sat down at my computer to check my emails before following through with this Google Search quest. Every Friday, ThePreachersWord sends me an email recapping the weekly posts. Checking out the ones I had commented upon and reblogged, I noticed that I had missed one. I had not read or commented upon the one entitled “Sin Hurts”. This posts describes how King David was led into temptation and sinned. Be sure to check it out.
Sin Hurts. It is not just an affair that one can brush off like crumbs off the table or whitewashing a house. Sin hurts because as the prophet Nathan explained to King David, his Sin caused many unexpected consequences that hurt the House of David big time.
After reading “Sin Hurts” and refreshing my memory of the Sin of King David and Bathsheba, I did a Google Search for 6:13, the time I was awakened with the loud boom of Thunder. The first one that came up was Matthew 6:13. What a coincidence. Take a look.
Matthew 6:13 reinforces the message presented in the “Sin Hurts” Blog Post. So yes it is important that Christians pay attention to the Lord’s Prayer aka the Our Father and pray it often.
The Lord’s Prayer
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen (Matthew 6:13 KJV).
Other 6:13 Bible Verses Google Listed
Ephesians 6:13
Mark 6:13
Romans 6:13
Isaiah 6:13
Revelation 6:13
1 Corinthians 6:13
Solomon’s Song 6:13 (not listed)
Viewing the list, I was curious. Solomon’s Song 6:13 was not on the list. So I set about to reflect upon the 6 other verses to see how they would connect with Solomon’s Song 6:13 and the Story of King David, Bathsheba. Take note. Their Son King Solomon is also known as the Son of David aka the King of Israel who God allowed to have a thousand wives and concubines (First Kings 11:3). Keep this in mind when you read the Christian Story. Jesus is often referred to as the Son of David, the King of Israel.
Ephesians 6:13NIV
Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
Mark 6:13NIV
They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.
Romans 6:13ESV
Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.
Isaiah 6:13
If even a tenth—a remnant—survive, it will be invaded again and burned. But as a terebinth or oak tree leaves a stump when it is cut down, so Israel’s stump will be a holy seed.”
Revelation 6:13 BSB
and the stars of the sky fell to the earth like unripe figs dropping from a tree shaken by a great wind
1 Corinthians 6:13ESV
The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.
Song of Solomon 6:13NASB
“Come back, come back, O Shulammite; Come back, come back, so that we may look at you!” “Why should you look at the Shulammite, As at the dance of the two armies?
Connections:
Many young people are like unripe figs. They are not prepared for John’s revelations or John’s testimony. They don’t know the Bible. They don’t see how Christ is as the Rabbi in John’s Gospel says the Bride who belongs to the Bridegroom (John 3:29). Progressive churches are leading their congregations into temptation, insisting that God loves everyone and allows them to imitate the Son of David aka Solomon, the King of Israel and have sexual intercourse with numerous partners and spouses.
Progressive values dismiss sexual immorality as forgivable sins because after all God forgave David and his son Solomon who had 700 wives, princesses, and 300 concubines (1 Kings 11:3). Yet many Christians do not quite see how the Shulamite like a graceful Gazelle lets go of the “Son of David” at the end of Solomon’s Song and finds her Bridegroom, the one who belongs to her and her own vineyard—where there are Balsam Trees, medicinal trees for the healing of the sin sick soul.
“Hurry, my beloved, And be like a gazelle or a young stag On the mountains of balsam trees!” (Solomon’s Song 8:14)
Because the Prophets Isaiah and John the Divine both mentioned Trees, I picked up on the mention of balsam trees in Solomon’s Song that I had not considered before. Here at the end of the Song, the dancing Shulamite comes to realize she has been unfaithful, enabling and serving King Solomon and his court. She like the Woman Jesus called the Magdalene has been clinging to Solomon, the Son of David, as if he were the Gardener, the Father of her unborn children, her branches.
With the awareness of these 6:13 verses and the concept of Thunder and Lightning, what becomes apparent for me is this.
The dancing Shulamite, comes to life again as the Magdalene in the Gospel trying to dance between two armies—one celebrating the Son of David’s sexual freedom, not wanting to condemn him, and the other waiting and watching for the Bride to come with her promised Bridegroom— as the Holy Spirit in the Beginning hovered over the deep dark abyss and caused the first lightning bolt that caused the first clap of Thunder.
Still, reflecting upon all these 6:13 numbered verses, I wonder how many people realize the significance of The Third Day in Christianity and in the Book of Genesis. Christianity teaches that Jesus rises from the dead on The Third Day. Yet I also wonder if young people today know that it was Moses who authored the First Five Books of the Bible, including the Book of Genesis and that on the Third Day, God called Trees into existence.
On the Third Day God said:
“Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit according to their kind with seed in them”; and it was so.”(Genesis 1:11)
At the very moment I wrote this, I feel compelled to point out and remind Christians of the fact that Jeremiah 1:11 is also a very important Bible Verse connecting a tree with God’s calling. Jeremiah sees an A-MYGDALA, an Almond Branch—as if Jeremiah is seeing—the Woman Jesus of the Gospels called a Mygdala—coming to life to build and plant the kingdom of God.
Jeremiah 1:11
See, I have appointed you today over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and plant.” and the word of the LORD came to me, asking, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” I see a branch of an almond tree,” I replied. “You have observed correctly,” said the LORD, “for I am watching over My word to accomplish it.” (Jeremiah 1: 10-12)
Next, as I gazed upon the Matthew 6:13 passage aka “Our Father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name passage, I wondered how many people have simply fallen into temptation, because they have lost the significance of A-Mygdala and the Whole Armor of God and the healing that “oil” can bring to many sin sick souls.
I then wondered how many souls are sick because they just do not realize how important The Third Day is to the Story of Moses and the Thunder and Lightning that preceded the Ten Commandments and the significance this has for Jesus rising on the Third Day.
For instance, how many Christians are familiar with the Exodus Passage where Moses prepares the people for the day the third day when the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai as all the people watch (Exodus 19: 11-19).
Exodus 19:19 and the Third Day
…it came about on the third day, when it was morning, that there were thunder and lightning flashes and a thick cloud over the mountain and a very loud trumpet sound, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled…
When the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him with thunder (Exodus 19:19 NASB).
On the Third Day, the Lord descended from Heaven to the Top of Mount Sinai and with Thunder and Lightning called Moses, the Teacher of Israel up to the Summit… and then sent him down the Mountain with the Ten Commandments.
In Conclusion:
Thunder is an important Biblical Concept.
So is Lightning
Keeping the Seventh Commandment is a big deal and so are keeping the other 9.
To put on the Whole Armor of God, Christians need to know who Moses is and how he spoke with God as God descended from Heaven on the Third Day in the form of Thunder and Lightning—as the people watched and welcomed Moses back among them with the Ten Commandments.
Christians are called to be the Light of the World and should realize how and why the First Christians used “oil” to drive out demons and heal the sick. Oil and trees were used to bring healing to sin sick souls possessed by demons. Reflecting upon the Story of David and Bathsheba and the Sin that comes to light, it is easy to see Mark 6:13’s demons as governments and bosses who have the authority to command armies to fight their battles.
Thinking about the Story of David and Bathsheba and how David sends out Bathsheba’s husband to be killed in battle, I can easily draw a parallel to today’s wars. Can you?
Western nations are waging war to protect democracy and its freedoms. Meanwhile politicians garner support for weapons and armies by promoting the ideal that polygamy, polyandry, adultery, prostitution, abortion at every stage of pregnancy, gender reassignment surgery and perhaps even pederasty are rights and freedoms rich progressive societies promote, value and are willing to recruit armies and raise taxes to protect.
Without the Whole Armor of God, Christians are prey to political agendas that use them as political instruments to promote values that serve the politician’s need to stay in power. As I write this blog piece I am confident Jeremiah did see the Amygdala (Jeremiah 1:11) and that the Lord did say “for I am watching over My word to accomplish it.” (Jeremiah 1:12).
Saturday morning was the Seventh Day of the Week, the Hebrew Sabbath. When I heard Thunder crash and upon reading Matthew 6:13, I was reminded not to give in to temptation and despair thinking many of God’s people were not prepared, were not equipped with the whole armour of God and therefore unable to watch God come to life and speak with the Teacher of Israel “face to face”. For…
All it takes is faith, a bible and a group of people willing to bow their heads, and open their eyes and read.
As I reflected further bringing in the other verses in the Google List and others promoted by that list, I became acutely aware of the political agenda battling for Christian souls—promoting an adulterous generation.
What Gives Me the Most Hope?
Solomon’s Song of Song 6:13 in light of 8:14 gives me the most hope. For it was the Shulamite who had the last word, calling for her beloved Stag to come quickly and satisfy her as his Gazelle, his Bride.
When you hear Thunder and Lightning, what comes to your mind?
Have you heard the Thunder and the Lightning in your life at isolated moments when perhaps you were thinking? Why is God allowing an adulterous generation to grow and conquer so many young children?
If you liked what you read today and want to learn more from verses like the ones I linked together for this Blog Post. Subscribe to my email list and stay connected. Perhaps you will point out verses that I am not yet aware of that will add to our awareness.
Submission to the head of the house in a dysfunctional relationship is where many people found themselves in the past. The Father was the Head of the House and the Mother and Children were in his hands. He had the authority and sadly, in far too many families his word ended all discussion. This dysfunctional model was reinforced by the words of St. Paul in Ephesians 5:21.
Yet because Paul and Barn “aba” were set apart (Acts 13:2) to minister, to have authority as parents for new born children, Paul as the spokesperson lamented saying.
Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual, but as worldly—as infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for solid food. In fact, you are still not ready, for you are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and dissension among you, are you not worldly? Are you not walking in the way of man?
As new believers they could not see Paul as their Mother, the Bride of Christ. Nor were they ready to understand what Paul meant by Galatians 2:20.
My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Consequently in a misogynist world new born Christians had difficulty understanding what it meant to honour their father and their mother and to understand the sacrifice their elder brother, the Forerunner, made submitting himself to imprisonment and subsequent entombment when Salome outed him and requested his head be put on a commemorative plate as the TEACHER OF ISRAEL — as if the Prophet MOSES had come back to life! (Mark 6:15)
Make no mistake. The Rabbi called John is the Forerunner and the Teacher of Israel who became Jesus, a high priest forever, when he entered the inner sanctuary. As Paul says.
We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain,where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.
Yet new born Christians need to be baptized and discipled to be ready to see and understand the Forerunner as Jesus Christ the Son of David, the Son of Christ the everlasting Father (Isaiah 6:9) because according to John’s Gospel the Forerunner’s name was John. He was the one baptizing sinners and religious leaders, rebuking them saying.
“You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but am sent ahead of Him. The Bride belongs to the Bridegroom!” (John 3:29)
Keeping John 3:29 and Galatians 2:20 in mind, make no mistake. It is the Bride and the Bridegroom with faith in the Son of God and his teaching who call sinners to repentance to unite and sustain the body [the family of God] to honour their father and their mother so that—
it may go well with you and that you may have a long life on the earth (Ephesians 6:2).
Me first is how many people want to live in the world. Eternal life and the idea that one’s soul can come back to life and be reunited with loved ones here on earth seems like nonsense or science fiction. Modern people want to live and enjoy this life and believe it is the only life they have. They want to be free without the responsibility of dealing with undesirable family issues or the negative consequences, such as hurt feelings or quarrels that come from being in a covenanted live-in relationship that is rooted in the commandment—
to love God with one’s whole heart, mind and body and to love your neighbour as yourself.
Yet as Paul points out the blessings and positive consequences of being in a mature “face to face” relationship are to know fully, and be fully known—to love and be loved (1 Corinthians 13:12).
In the words of Nat King Cole, a great Jazz Singer, husband, father and friend—
“The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.”
In this blog post entitled “I Was Blind and Now I see”, I refer to some of the Testimony of Faith I self published as The Ecumenical Affair. My self published work is a true story that holds up a mirror or a spiritual window that reflects the light of the Gospel.
As it happened to Saul 2000 years ago, it happened to me.
As it happened to the Woman at the Well,
as it happened to Zachaeus who went out on a limb on the road to Jericho,
as it happened to the bent Woman,
as it happened to the Woman with the hemorrhage,
as it happened to the Canaanite Woman,
as it happened to the Woman Jesus called Mary,
and as it happened to the Woman called the Magdalene, the Woman from A Mygdala it happened to me.
As a young 32 year old homemaker I encountered Jesus, the Son of David at the 6th Assembly of the World Council of Churches. The Assembly was located not far from the Jericho Beach Road in Vancouver, British Columbia.
I know what you’re thinking. Is this just when I took Jesus into my heart for the first time?
No! I met a man I was convinced was and I am still convinced is Jesus the Son of David.
But I was blind and now I see.
I was blind because I like many women and men could not let go of “supposing” the Rabboni whom I had met under the cover of darkness (John 3:1-21; Luke 19: 1-10) and then again at NOON at the Well, had taken Christ’s body, had assumed Christ’s role as the Bride’s Bridegroom, the Everlasting Father, the Gift of God (John 4:10: John 1:47) promised to her.
And then, 25 years later in a Garden of Tombs on the island of Crete, I encountered that same man, that same renowned Teacher, I had met in Vancouver near Jericho Beach.
Encountering the Greek, the Teacher and friend of Christ “face to face” in this Garden of Tombs 2000 years of history past as if it were merely 2 days. This encounter held a mirror up and reminded me of the Forerunner’s testimony who said 2000 years ago. “The bride belongs to the bridegroom” (John 3:29). And the words spoken by the Woman Jesus called the Magdalene, supposing the Teacher was the Gardner, her husbandman (John 15:1). “Sir have you taken my Lord’s body? And the Teacher’s words “Do not cling to me.”
11 years later, following another conference event, the Greek Teacher met with me privately and said to me in the presence of his and my friend and colleague Luke. “Linda I am worried about your soul. Do you know what Blaspheme is?”
You see, my Greek friend loved me so much he was making sure, my love for a man I had brought with me to this Garden of Tombs was not keeping me from accomplishing the Word of God–as the Nazer the Branch known to Jeremiah as the Amygdala (Jeremiah 1:11).
You see the man I love and had brought to the Garden who planted trees with me, is a Cyrenaic a Simon Bar Jonah who often thinks not like God but as a man who grew up learning about Jesus in the Pentecostal Faith amongst people whose ancestors were African American Slaves. He knows full well that Scripture says Jesus was nailed to a Tree that was hammered into a Rock resembling a SKULL, a bald headed man like him.
This man I love was brought up with people who believed Jesus was flogged, stripped naked, suffered horribly, died on the Cross, was buried in a rock hewn cave, and then on the third day, the Rock sealing the tomb rolled away, leaving the Woman Jesus called Mary in tears in the Garden “supposing” the Rabboni was the Gardener and had spirited away her Lord’s body. 40 days later when Jesus disappears into a cloud, people assume the Ascension is the final chapter, rather than the beginning of a new chapter where all those “watching” and paying attention to John and Simon aka Peter will “walk” the talk and enter by the Gate called Beautiful.
Oh but you’ll say the Man Peter healed was Lame from birth. Aren’t we all?
As Peter said 2000 years ago, people need to pay attention to Peter “and” John standing in front of the Beautiful Gate (Acts: 3:1-6). Both of these men were changed as I was and all who follow Jesus are. We are born again, when our eyes and our hearts are opened to the I AM Moses encountered as the ever-burning bush.
At the very moment, I saw the Amygdala blooming in front of a “weathered” yet “white washed” stone window frame posted on INSTAGRAM by a friend of the Orthodox Academy of Crete who posted also resistance poetry, my eyes were opened. With that iconic vision, I heard Jeremiah speaking and suddenly realized that it was Moses, the TEACHER OF ISRAEL the forerunner of Christ (John 3:29; Hebrew 6:20) who smithed and hammered the Golden Lamp Stand in the image of the Bush–the I AM–he encountered on the Mountain of the Lord (Exodus 25:31; Numbers 8:4).
Upon seeing and reading the Greek word Amygdala accompanying that iconic image in a quote from the late Nikos Kanzantzakis, I knew for certain, the Teacher of Israel, John’s Gospel calls Nicodemus was indeed the Rabboni aka Barabbas aka the Baptist. Further to this I knew that the Woman Jesus identified as the Magdalene was the Bride of Christ, the I AM of John’s Testimony who said.
I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life (John 8:12).
I am the gate. If anyone enters through Me, he will be saved. He will come in and go out and find pasture (John 10:9).
And I knew the Lord she had chosen was a Simon, a man who heeds the Word of God and a gift of God who like many people needed to see the smithy’s nails binding Jesus to the Tree.
And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
Thus John’s Gospel stands to remind us all, the Man Jesus chose and called Simon Bar Jonah aka Peter, as the Rock the foundation stone of the Church, the family of God, finally heard the voice of the disciple Jesus loved and stopped working by the sea in the dark. His spiritual eyes were opened to God’s Truth and Purpose for his life and he obeyed the call to change the way he was living…working at night. Working in the dark he was binding himself and others, keeping them from entering the Gate of Heaven. Make no mistake. The miracle of Jonah that Jesus had said would happen, happened (Matthew 12:38-41) despite the fact that the disciples did not understand what Jesus meant by the Third Day (Matthew 18: 33-34).
Spoiler! The Third Day is the Day God spoke and thereby breathed life into the trees and other plants (Genesis 1:11). On the SIXTH day, God spoke and breathed life into Man.
Linda Vogt Turner 