Issue 13> 11 February 2002
  This site is updated weekly Sat, 9 February, 2002 8:21 PM

Don't Worry!!

Ever wondered which are Jesus' favorite phrases?

Yes, you have got it - they are "Peace", "let not your hearts be troubled", "don't worry", etc. Also it is interesting to note that He only said His favorite phrases to His followers, His disciples, those who believe in Him and it is also exciting for me to learn that there are a total of 365 times those phrases are mentioned in the Bible. It is as if the Lord knows that we need to be reminded of His Presence in our lives at least once a day 365 days a year.

One of the greatest troublemakers that lurk in the background all the time is WORRY. It was precisely the worry that his children may have sinned against God that brought on Job's tragedies. In Job 3:25 we read Job saying, "For the one thing I greatly feared has come upon me, and what I dreaded has happened to me". He lost all seven of his children and all his vast wealth all in one day.

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7 "casting all your care
upon Him, for He cares
for you."
1 Peter 5:7 NKJV

22 "A good man leaves an inheritance to his
children's children,
But the wealth of the
sinner is stored up for the
righteous"
Proverbs 13:22 NKJV
Hard Sayings of the Bible ( IVP Press)
1 Kings 22:20-22: Is God the Author of Falsehood?

Could the God of truth be guilty of sponsoring or condoning falsehood? Some have charged
just that. The passages that are raised to back this charge are 1 Kings 22:20-23, 2 Chronicles
18:18-22, Jeremiah 4:10, 20:7 and Ezekiel 14:9.

Such a charge is possible only if one forgets that many biblical writers dismiss secondary
causes and attribute all that happens directly to God, since he is over all things. Therefore,
statements expressed in the imperative form of the verb often represent only what is
permitted to happen. Accordingly, when the devils begged Jesus to let them enter the swine,
he said, "Go" (Mt 8:31). This did not make him the active sponsor of evil; he merely permitted
the demons to do what they wanted to do. In a similar manner, Jesus commanded Judas,
"What you are about to do, do quickly" (Jn 13:27). But Jesus did not become the author of the
evil perpetrated on himself.

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excerpts from BibleHistory.com
The Law Was Our "Schoolmaster" To Bring Us Unto Christ

Gal 3:24 "Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we
might be justified by faith." (KJV)

Paul, the writer of Galatians, shifts gears in this verse using a metaphor about the Jewish Law,
the Greek word "paedagogos" which was in ancient Greece, a trustworthy attendant for
children.

The "schoolmaster" in the historical context of this Scripture was not the teacher, but rather
the slave, who cared for his master's son's from around the age of 6 or 7 until they reached
puberty. The servant (usually elderly) would escort the child to school and care for his safety in
his immaturity making sure he was instructed, seeing that this child too was his master. Once
the child grew up, he was no longer required to obey his servant.

The technical duty of the attendant, according to historians, was to guard the children from
evil, both physical and moral, rather than instruction. He went with them to and from the
school and the gymnasium, and was personally responsible for their safety and protected
them from any bad company. (See Smith's "Dictionary of Antiquities" about Paedagogus).

This is a striking imagery of how the Law was primarily given for a certain purpose as an
attendant to lead us to Jesus, who is the real teacher. Paul makes it clear that the Law was
never given to teach us (we could never obey it), but rather it was a finger pointing to the One
who is the only teacher, Jesus.

 
All references taken from RBC, Pat Robertson, Ron Rhodes, Kenneth/Gloria Copeland, Charles Slagle, Smith Wigglesworth, Selwyn Hughes, Charles Spurgeon, Manners and Customs of Bible Times, The Complete Bible Handbook, The Spirit Filled Bible(NKJV), The NIV Bible, God's Promises for your every Need, Idiot's Guide to Bible Mysteries, Hard Sayings of The Bible, Articles courtesy of Mr Andrew L W Lee.