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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

THE SINFUL WOMAN

  HER CHARACTER: She was a notorious sinner, possibly a prostitute or adulteress. Rather than trying to defend what was indefensible in her life, she admitted her sin and made a spectacle of herself in a passionate display of love and gratitude. STORY IN BRIEF: She was a notorious prostitute or adulterous woman that followed Jesus to Simon's house. There, she kissed The Lord's feet, mobbed it with her tears, wipped wit her hair and finally perfumed it. Simon, surprised at Jesus' silence, loudly thought, " would the son of our holy Father just watch on without repelling this sinful woman? " Jesus quickly narrated to Simon - a creditor cancelled his debtors debt( one 50 denarri, the other 500 denarri). Then, He asked Simon which of the two debtors he thought would be most appreciative. When Simon judged right, saying it would be the debtor with much debt, Jesus explained that it was the reason the woman did as much; she perceived that her much sins would be forgiven...

DORCAS

  HER CHARACTER:  An inhabitant of Joppa, a town on the Mediterranean coast, thirty-five miles northwest of Jerusalem, she belonged to one of the earliest Chris tian congrega-tions. She was a disciple known for her practical works of mercy. HER SORROW:  To have suffered a grave illness. HER JOY: To serve Jesus by serving the poor. STORY IN BRIEF: Dorcas, whose Hebrew is " Tabitha" or " Gazelle", was a disciple of The Lord Jesus - Dorcas learned of The Lord, and followed Him, forsaking her world, previous jobs and lifestyle. Dorcas was a kind - hearted lady who demonstrated her belief in Jesus by her generosity - she sewed to clothe the poor and baked to feed them. One day, she fell sick to death. So Peter's attention had been drawn to this. Peter had just healed a crippled in a city close by. Peter successfully prayed for Tabitha and she was revived.  REFERENCE SCRIPTURES: ACTS 9:36-43

REAPING THE HARVEST

  To everything, there is a season - a time to sow, and a time to reap; the farmer ( sower ) certainly has his time of harvest but until he waters his seeds, rids the wheats of the tares and applies the fertilizer he is not guaranteed a good yield. So also is every other sower. Until harvest time comes, there is always something we must do in order to maximize our yield. Some of these are explained below: 1. Clear the weeds from your field “And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.”—Genesis 2:15, KJV The word translated keep in Hebrew means “to put a hedge of thorns around, to watch over; to guard, protect and safeguard.” When a farmer plants seed in a garden, he doesn’t just walk away and hope for the best. No! He has much to do to protect his crop. And so do you. What can choke your crop? Walking outside of love. This includes unforgiveness, bitterness and strife. So, keep a watch on your heart, pull the “weeds” out by the root...

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 you do good or bad.

“So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised” (Heb. 10:35-36, NIV).

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