Gary Gleans

http://biblehub.com/parallelgospels/The_Annunciation_to_Zacharias_in_the_Temple.htm As we continue our look at the kinds of people God uses, some of the things in today’s text may take us by surprise.  However, as we look at them it should be a source of encouragement to us as well.  Many times we think that the characters presented to us in Scripture were “larger than life.”  In reality, they were simply normal people who are presented in Scripture with all of their failings and flaws.  As we see the reaction of Zacharias and Elizabeth we will clearly be able to see that they were no exception to this rule.  The Lord is able to use people despite of their weaknesses.  That is not to say that we should not be concerned with our failings but it should help us not to become discouraged and just give up when we come face to face with our own limitations.  God has always used real people and continues to do so today.  We are natural but God super...

http://biblehub.com/parallelgospels/The_Annunciation_to_Zacharias_in_the_Temple.htm This is the second section of a three part study on this passage as we look at the type of people God uses.  Yesterday we looked at how God prepared John the Baptist’s parents to be used in the way that they were.  Today we are going to look at how Gabriel described how the ministry of John would be.  We must be careful not to confuse the things that God revealed about John and just automatically assume that the same will be true of us.  However, as we look at the characteristics of the people whom God uses John’s example is certainly worth of our consideration.  This was a prophecy about who John would be.  It is not a promise about how all of us will be.  As we look at these four descriptions of who John was promised to be; we can certainly view them as goals for which to strive and requests for which to pray.  POWERFUL: When Gabriel broke the news of Jo...

http://biblehub.com/parallelgospels/The_Annunciation_to_Zacharias_in_the_Temple.htm What type of people does God use?  How does God work in the lives of those people?  We see that God uses all kinds of different people in all kinds of different ways throughout all of Scripture. However, we can certainly see from the pattern of Scripture the types of people that God desires to use.  As God was fulfilling His plan of redemption He enlisted the participation of many people to bring His plan to fruition.  One such person was John the Baptist.  The Old Testament prophesied that prior to the coming a Messiah, a prophet would be sent to prepare His way.  John the Baptist was that prophet.  Over the next three days we will be looking at the text that narrates the story of how his coming was announced to his parents.   We will seek to gain some insight into who his parents were, who John would be and how his parents responded to this announcement...

http://biblehub.com/parallelgospels/The_Genealogy_of_Joseph_in_Matthew_that_of_Mary_in_Luke.htm When we read through the genealogies of Jesus recorded in Matthew and Luke we can observe a couple of things that appear to be significant.  Perhaps the most significant observation we can make is simply the fact that these family generations were known and seem to be important to the Lord.  God clearly had a plan of redemption that He carried out in a purposeful manner going all the way back to Adam.  He accomplished that plan through the lives of men and women.  These men and women were of very different character and varied abilities but they were used of God in His plan of redemption none the less.  Some of the names listed here are famous and we have entire books of the Bible dedicated to their histories.  Other people listed here we know almost nothing about, besides the fact that they are recorded for us here.  God continues to accomplish His pla...

http://biblehub.com/parallelgospels/Johns_Picture_of_the_Logos.htm AW Tozer defined idolatry as “any wrong idea about God.”  By that definition I am certain that all of us are idolaters because I don’t think any of us have a completely accurate understanding of exactly who God is.  In other words, I think that when we enter into the presence of God for the first time we will be “blown away.”  We will spend all of eternity growing in our understanding of God and marveling at His glory.  If that will be our experience in heaven, it only makes sense that growing in our understanding of God should be one of our principle pursuits in life on earth.  As has been stated before, Jesus came into the world to reveal God to man and reconcile man to God.  Our understanding of God will be in direct proportion to our knowledge of Jesus as He has been revealed in Scripture.  John gives us three descriptions of who Jesus is and thereby helps us understand more co...

http://biblehub.com/parallelgospels/Johns_Picture_of_the_Logos.htm Intentions can be wonderful but they can also be easily frustrated.  We make plans in hopes of achieving a positive result.  We examine our motives to make sure that they are pure.  We execute our project to the best of our ability.  We intend to bless others and be blessed by these efforts.  Unfortunately, that is not always the result.  Sometimes the people we were hoping to bless ignore our efforts or even worse become offended by them.  God is not like us.  He is never frustrated or taken by surprise.  However, as we read today’s text, or large portions of Scripture, for that matter; we cannot help but see that man’s response to God’s redeeming efforts fell far short of what it could have been.  Jesus came into the world to reveal God to man and to reconcile man to God.  Man’s response has ranged from indifference to outright rejection.  However, God’s ...

http://biblehub.com/parallelgospels/Johns_Picture_of_the_Logos.htm Identity is something that we all seek to discover about ourselves.  We want to know who we are, why we are here and what we are supposed to do with our lives.  Many people who struggle with answering these questions are said to be experiencing an “identity crisis.”  As serious as that may sound, there is another type of identity crisis that is much more serious.  Unfortunately, this second type of identity crisis is even much more wide spread than the first.  This “identity crisis” could be defined as a lack of understanding about the identity of Jesus Christ.  Some want to identify Him as a myth that was invented by men like Cinderella.  Some want to identify Him as an influential historical figure like Gandhi.  Some want to identify Him as a role model worthy of emulating like Mother Teresa.  While a personal identity crisis can leave us confused this identity crisis c...