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JOANNA

  MEANING OF NAME: The Lord gives graciously. STORY IN BRIEF: A wealthy woman who worked in the courts of Herod Antipas. Her husband, Cuza, was also the estate manager of Herod Antipas. Joanna followed The Lord on missions, supported His Ministry with her gifts, and was privileged to have witnessed the resurrection of Jesus. These happened after The Lord delivered her from demonic obsessions. Obviously, Joanna would have attempted winning Herod Antipas over to Jesus. But her Spirit probably was dared when Herod beheaded John for Herodias and Salomey. SHORT BACKGROUND ON HEALING: Healing, from ancient Bible days, was seen more as spiritual than physical. Egyptian physicians would often drill holes in the heads of patients in order to create an exit for these "ailment-causing spirits". There were medical doctors, yet most patients were rather sent to the priest-physicians. REFERENCE SCRIPTURES: Luke 8:1 – 3; 24:10 (and Matthew 14:1 – 12) Luke 23:7 – 12

ESTHER

  NAME MEANING: Ishtar,” - the Babylonian Goddess of Love; Persian - “Star”; Hebrew - “Hadassah,” Means “Myrtle”    CHARACTER:  An orphan in a foreign land, she was willing to conceal her Jewish identity in a bid for a pagan king’s affection.  Esther seemed willing to made moral compromises by sleeping with the king and then taking part in a wedding that would necessarily have required her to pay homage to foreign gods. Even so, she displayed great courage in the midst of a crisis. Prior to risking her life for her people, she humbled herself by fasting and then put her considerable beauty, social grace, and wisdom in the ser vice of God’s plan. STORY IN BRIEF: Vashti - Queen of Persia, disobeyed Xerses' order that she presented herself before the noble festive gathering in Persia. So the King banished her. Now is the time for her replacement. Esther, a Jewish orphan and cousin to Modecai, was part of the King's harem. She successfully won the King's heart and b...

LYDIA

  CHARACTERISTICS: A Gentile adherent of Judaism, she was a successful businesswoman who sold a type of cloth prized for its purple color. As head of her household, she may have been either widowed or single. So strong was her faith that her entire household followed her example and was baptized. She extended hospitality to Paul and his companions, even after their imprisonment. Her Sorrow: To see Paul and Silas beaten and thrown into prison for the sake of the gospel she had embraced. Her Joy:  That God’s Spirit directed Paul and his companions to Macedonia, enabling her and others at Philippi to hear the gospel for the first time. STORY IN BRIEF: Lydia, a business woman who made her living by selling clothes, lived in Philippi, Macedonia. She was a gentile but Judaism-addict. Paul had a vision where a man pleaded that he came to Macedonia with the gospel. So he headed there. After sharing the good news with the Philippines along the coast, Lydia and her household believed an...

SHUN DISTRACTIONS !

  “And still the Christians in the churches in Judea didn’t know me personally. All they knew was that people were saying, “The one who used to persecute us is now preaching the very faith he tried to destroy!” And they praised God because of me” (Gal. 1:22-24, NLT). Many people have been held captive by what others think of them. They are afraid to stand for the truth. When people criticize you for one thing or the other, do you forsake your calling? Don’t forget you are not accountable to man but to God. Paul persecuted and killed the Christians in his day. But he became a new person after his encounter with Jesus on the way to Damascus. Some of the people found it difficult to admit that he had changed. And even when he spoke and preached about Christ, some were not convinced. But that did not prevent him from standing for the truth. What are you doing that people are talking so much about, that is making you lose focus? Remember people will always have something to say whether ...

ELI

 


MEANING OF NAME: Jehovah is high or my God 


HIS JOY: His good personality earned him admiration and corporation from his fellow Israelites during his ministry.


HIS REGRET: His two sons let him down by their low quality characters.


STORY IN BRIEF:

Eli, a Levi, was from the family of Ithamar. He served as the priest and a high judge of Israel for about 40years.


Though Eli himself was a good man, his two sons were not. Yet He made them occupy the Priestly positions. And when they went wrong, Eli would only warn them. He did not rebuke them. 


Eli paid deerly for lack of proper parental control when his two sons were slaid in the battle with the Philistines, where the Israelites also lost the ark.


Eli, on hearing this, fell over his back and died breaking his neck. And because that Glory was departed from Israel, Eli's daughter-in-Law  named the son she immediately brought forth, " Ichabod " which means, " without Glory ".


SCRIPTURE REFERENCES:

I Sam. 1–4; 14:3

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