Angie Benjamin

Jesus' Authority is challenged {Luke 20}

3:43 AM




The religious and political leaders question Jesus.
Now it happened on one of those days, as He taught the people in the temple and preached the gospel, that the chief priests and the scribes, together with the elders, confronted Him and spoke to Him, saying, "Tell us, by what authority are You doing these things? Or who is he who gave You this authority?" (vs 1-2)
We read in the previous chapter how Jesus boldly entered Jerusalem and drove out the corrupt merchants from the temple courts. This action, made the religious leaders want to know what right or authority He had to do such things.

Jesus replied by asking them yet another question. 

Jesus was not trying to evade the question of the religious leaders. Instead, He used the question to explain who He is and to expose the hypocrisy of the leaders. If John was from God, then he was right in proclaiming Jesus as the Messiah-and if this is true, then Jesus had all authority.

Jesus then proceeds to tell them a story, a parable about a vineyard.

Then He began to tell the people this parable: "A certain man planted a vineyard, leased it to vinedressers, and went into a far country for a long time. Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that they might give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the vinedressers beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Again he sent another servant; and they beat him also, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. And again he sent a third; and they wounded him also and cast him out. Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do? I will send my beloved son. Probably they will respect him when they see him.' But when the vinedressers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.' So they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to others.”-(vs 9-16)

Through Scripture, a “vineyard” is used as a metaphor for the nation of Israel. In Luke 20, the crowd listening to Jesus’s parable would have recognised that symbol. With this story, Jesus proclaimed that if the Israelites rejected Jesus, the promises and inheritance of God would go to new owners. In other words, God was about to offer His grace, kindness, and salvation to the Gentiles. The chief priests, scribes, and elders reacted quickly, shouting, “That must never happen!” (v.16).

I think in all these cases the lesson is the same.

If we want answers from Jesus, we must deal rightly with the truth that has already been revealed. These men knew that John said Jesus was the Messiah, and were not willing to accept it. Are you willing to accept Him today? Are you willing to receive the testimony of His glory in your life??

For more on Luke chapter 20, you can follow this link for a previous study we made.

Looking forward to hearing your comments!

Have a blessed weekend
Angie

Angie Benjamin

On being a good neighbor {Luke 10}

3:21 AM




We read in today’s passage (Luke 10) that Jesus was asked what the most important commandment was, to what He responded that the greatest commandment is to "love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind" and the second to "love your neighbor as yourself".  Jesus was then immediately asked who counts as a neighbor and he responded with a parable, or a story lesson that is an example for everyday life. 
The story of the good Samaritan is the story of a man who had been beaten, robbed and left for dead. It is of a story that must have been familiar to Jesus' hearers for it was common for thieves and muggers to hide along the road between Jerusalem and Jericho. A priest and a Levite coming across the beaten man but didn’t want to help. I believe they might have had some excuses (and some of them quite understandable), such as:
"This road is too dangerous for me to stop and help the man."

"He might be a decoy for an ambush."

"I've got to get to the temple and perform my service for the Lord."
"I've got to get home and see my family."
"Someone really should help that man."
"If I'm going to serve at the temple I can't get my clothes bloody."
"I don't know first aid."
"It's a hopeless case."
"I'm only one person; the job is too big."
"I can pray for him."
"He brought it on himself, he should have never been alone on such a dangerous road."
"He never asked for help"


Instead, it is a Samaritan, (one despised in Jewish society), who had mercy and compassion upon the beaten man and went out of his way (even at personal cost to himself) to see that this man is healed and taken care of.

Some few great lessons we can all learn from the story:

1. The good samaritan was willing to get involved.
We may quote scripture and recite platitudes on love and God, but unless we are willing to get involved in other people’s lives, we are only blowing smoke. The Samaritan treated and bandaged the wounds. He set the injured man on his donkey. He took him to an inn and cared for him throughout the night. The Samaritan could have said to himself, “I give regularly to my church.  I donate to the Salvation Army every Christmas. I have done my part.” But he didn’t. As the scriptures say, he had compassion...and he acted on it.
2. The good samaritan ignored racism.
Even though he was considered a “despised Samaritan,” or part of a minority race” he rose above such shallowness to care for a fellow human being. I compare the Samaritan’s actions to an American 19th century slave showing compassion to a plantation owner or a Jewish prisoner demonstrating concern for a Nazi guard during WWII.

3. The good samaritan was generous.
The Samaritan didn’t know how long the injured man would be laid up, but I am guessing (because the text said the attack left him “half dead”), that it could be a long stay. At any rate, the wellbeing of this stranger was more important to our Good Samaritan than whatever the cost might be.

Jesus was showing that if you really want to be a neighbor to people then it is also to those that you normally don’t want to help (Samaritan’s and Jews despised each other). 

It is easy to be a neighbor to your own friends and those close to you. What about those that you don’t normally like? It is easy to turn a blind eye but Jesus was showing that true love is like that of the Samaritan who loved and helped even those they normally stay away from.
I pray that the story of the Good Samaritan change our  thoughts and actions towards people who are not like us! God tells us to love everyone without discrimination!

Blessed weekend sisters!
In Christ
Angie

Angie Benjamin

Guilt Free Life {Revelations 12:1-14:20}

1:35 AM





Revelation 12:10 New International Version (NIV)


Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:“Now have come the salvation and the power    and the kingdom of our God,    and the authority of his Messiah.For the accuser of our brothers and sisters,    who accuses them before our God day and night,    has been hurled down.



Has it happened to you? Do you often fall into the trap of thinking you are the worst person on the face of the earth and that nobody else does the things that you do?

Romans 3:23 says that WE HAVE ALL fallen short of the glory of God (excellence). This means that every man, woman or child that was ever born or will ever be has a problem with sin. But the GOOD NEWS is that God provided and answer to our problem.

Just as we have all sinned, we have been justified and made righteous through the redemption provided through Christ, as a result, as believers in Jesus we now have the "rightness" instead of the "wrongness".

Satan wants us to feel wrong, unworthy and like helpless messes. He knows that without confidence we will never step out in faith to fulfull God destinies for our lives. He wants to keep us captives in the prison of self-hatred, self-rejection to prevent us from making progress or even being a thread to him and his kingdom of darkness.

We must believe we have made righteous in God's eyes, so we may actually start behave rightly. Believe it first, so you can live it. For we cannot produce the fruit of something for which no seed as been sown.

2 Corinthians 5:21 New International Version (NIV)
God made him who had no sin to be sin[a] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.



Satan is called "the accuser". He tries to make us feel guilty and condemned. When we feel like that we must remember that God does not make us feel that way, instead, God wants us to experience His love and feel the freeing power of His forgiveness.
Guilt depresses us and makes us feel as we're under a heavy burden. But Jesus came to lift us up and to bring the good news that our sins... all of them have been forgiven and forgotten!
Resist the guilt and condemnation by embracing the salvation and authority of Christ in your life!!


Angie Benjamin

Practical Wisdom for life {James 3-5}

3:20 AM


The Book of James is filled with practical wisdom for Christians, calling us to live out genuine faith through good works, but it is also rooted in rich theology. James is that “how-to” book on Christian living.  

Perhaps more than any other book in the New Testament, James emphasises the application of Christian belief.

Today's reading is James from chapters 3-5

This Portion of Scripture deals with:
  • Our Speech
  • How we should relate to the World
  • How we should Pray


Chapter 3- Life and Death are in the POWER of the TONGUE



Encourages us to seek God's wisdom in the way we speak. In our speech.
James mentions the terrible consequences of speaking words that do not edify, but destroy: “The tongue is a fire, a world of evil. Placed among the parts of our bodies, the tongue contaminates the whole body and sets on fire the course of life, and is itself set on fire by hell” (3:6 AMP)

 James also describes the tongue as: “… a restless evil [undisciplined, unstable], full of deadly poison.” (3:8) How can it be that we profess our faith on Sunday–for example-  by praising our Father and blessing our brethren and the rest of the week we lie, we boast, gossip, judge, etc. James says it is contradictory, and it shouldn’t be this way! We’ve been redeemed from the power of sin! A great price was paid for our Salvation! We should reflect in our speech and all our ways that we fear God and we respect His precepts (3:9-10)

Read more on how to get WISDOM IN OUR SPEECH HERE 


Chapter 4- On Becoming friends with the WORLD





Today’s society encourages us to live for our individual glory. It tells us that it’s not wrong to pursue a life dedicated to pleasing the lust of the flesh. A mentality of, “if it feels good, do it” is not only encouraged, but celebrated. We are fed lies that say we are god in our lives and it is us who deserves worship. And if we don’t agree with the sinful and destructive ways of the world, we are regarded as bigots and close minded. We are laughed at, ridiculed, and in some parts of the world even tortured and killed. It’s not a good feeling to be constantly told that our beliefs are wrong. To be ostracized from those around us. Standing in faith can be hard, especially when faced with persecution, or when the people you love and care about turn away from you. The pain is real, and so it’s easy to see why many Christians fall into the trap of compromise and spiritual adultery. But as James tell us in verse 4, “Whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

Read more on Becoming friends with the WORLD HERE


Chapter 5- The Power of Prayer



James ends  yet with another reminder to BE Jesus, not just admire or adore Him.  When we pray the “prayer of faith”, we are not referring to the sick person’s faith, but the person who is praying.  God heals, faith doesn’t, and all prayers are subject to God’s will.  But our prayers are part of God’s healing process.  That is why God often waits for our prayers of faith before intervening to heal a person.  

Read more on the Prayer of the Righteous Person HERE

Have a lovely weekend.

Angie

Africa

He is able {Ephesians 3:1-4:32}

2:33 AM




Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,- Ephesians 3:20

This verse, teaches us that God is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above and beyond all we could dare to hope, ask, or think, according to His great power that is in work in us.

it's important to remember that it's His Power but it's THROUGH US, so it implies that we must cooperate with Him.

This means that we need to be daring in our faith, taking steps out of our comfort zone and stretch our faith out!

This has been such a beautiful reality in my life.

Let me share with you a little bit of what God has done in my life and how this Scripture has turned into a reality in my life.

When I was about 8 years-old, I remember being taught in school about continents in the world in my geography class.

 The moment we studied Africa, something sparked inside of me. Not sure what it was, but all of the sudden I knew I wanted to go to Africa. I wasn't sure if I was to go as a missionary or just as a tourist, the main goal was to visit Africa...from there I dedicated my young years to watch every single documentary from National Geographic or Discovery Channel, I would buy books (even recipe books about African Cuisine), magazines , etc.

Little did I know that fast forward the years, I would meet a young handsome African man online, whom I would start a friendship with and later after would become my husband and father to my children! my African children!!

How we meet, what we went through in our Long Distance relationship, the trials and joys are way to many to put here in a single blog post... it's a different story! 

What I really want to highlight... or what relates to today's scripture is the fact that God gave me that dream and desire for Africa, He created me for Africa, but leaving my country (Mexico), culture and most importantly my family was not easy at all... it's still not easy. There's not a single day in which I don't miss my parents and my siblings... I also miss my friends, and my food!! But when I left home God promised to take good care of me. He promised me to surround me with family, with moms, aunts and sisters to look after me. and it blows my mind away to see that He has not only done that but He has exceeded all my wildest dreams and expectations.

Every time I have gone through trials, difficulties, pregnancies and birth of my children God has always surrounded me with beautiful and God fearing ladies, whom have looked after me with so much love and care...whom have adopted me just as part of the family, just because!....just because of God's grace and promises that are YES AND AMEN!

God has a way for us to do everything He places in our hearts. He doesn't put dreams and desires in us just to frustrate us. We must trust in God all the way through the end, not just for a little while and then give us and the mountain looks way to big for us!

God does not usually call people who are capable; if he did, He would not get all the glory, but He usually chooses those, who, are ready to stand up and take bold steps of faith as they receive direction from the Lord.

We usually want to wait until we feel "ready" to take action but if we feel "ready" then we will tend to lean on ourselves rather that in God.

Let us learn to know our weaknesses and know God... His strength and faithfulness.

He is definitely able to do "superabundantly, far above and over" everything we could ever dare to ask or think...if only, believe and take a step out of obedience and faith.

Let Him surprise you :-)

Here some of my favourite pictures of my African- Mexican family... and my African life :-)

To give testimony and glory to my father who has definitely been faithful to His Word and promises.







Also, I pray this song ministers to you today, He alone is able!




Angie Benjamin

The Balance between pleasing God and Pleasing People {Romans 14-16}

3:02 PM



Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up. 3 For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me. 

Romans 15:2-3

Romans 15:2,3 teaches us to make a practice of pleasing our neighbors but we clearly need to find some balance.

After all we are called to be God-pleasers, not self-pleasers nor people-pleasers.

Through the experiences we go through in life we learn that if we don't make an effort to please people then they will not approve of us, but reject us.

The apostle Paul said in Galatians that he didn't seek to be popular with people yet in 1 Corinthians he said that he tried to please people and accommodate himself to their opinions and desires in order that they might be saved.

Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ. - Galatians 1:10

Even as I try to please everyone in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.- 1 Corinthians 10:33




Even though these verses may seem to contradict each other, it is important that we understand Paul's motives or his heart behind them.

What Paul meant by pleasing people is to maintain a good relationship with them in order to them to accept Jesus Christ as their Saviour BUT at the same time and most importantly, while pleasing God in order to fulfil the calling on his life.

It's all about balance.

I Have lived in a foreign country for almost 8 years, and I have had to accommodate to many things that I was never taught in my own culture. Some things have not been easy or comfortable...yet I have had to do so in order to show the locals Christ's love. 

On the other hand, this culture (as all others) also offers things that are not Scriptural...or actually contradict God's Word.

It's about pleasing people as long as it does not cause us to displease the Lord.

The Bible is very clear in this aspect. Acts 5:29 says that we must obey God rather than Men.

We cannot please people at the cost of compromising our consciences to do so.

We cannot please people based on the fear of rejection judgement or on what people may think. 

Instead we should be grace- based God pleased who strive to follow God with all of our hearts while seeking to serve and minister others without compromising our consciences.



Acts

Choosing your battles wisely {Acts 5:17-7:60}

3:32 AM




Acts 6:2-4 English Standard Version (ESV)
 And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

This Bible passage teaches us that it's not wise to be involved in everything that is going on around us. Instead, we should select our activities cautiously so we can remain calm and steady in life.
As the early church was increasing in size, so were its needs.
One of the greatest needs was to organize the food distribution to the needy. The apostles chose to focus on preaching, so they left others to run the food distribution program. Each person in a church has a vital role to play in the life of the church.
I believe those in a leadership position in church should never find themselves overwhelmed by responsibilities beyond their callings or skills, but should determine their God-given abilities and priorities and ask or assign others to help.
Another important thing to notice from this portion of Scripture is the requirements for the men who were to handle the food program: they needed to be full of the Holy Spirit and Wisdom.
People who work closely with others should have these qualities. On the other hand the apostles' priorities were correct. They did not neglect the ministry of the Word because of the administrative operations.


“Choose your battles wisely. After all, life isn't measured by how many times you stood up to fight. It's not winning battles that makes you happy, but it's how many times you turned away and chose to look into a better direction. Life is too short to spend it on warring. Fight only the most, most, most important ones, let the rest go.” 
― C. JoyBell C.



Acts 6:2-4 gives us an example of wisdom. The apostles recognized their need for help in order for their priorities to keep in line and their true assignment to be fulfilled.

God provides for whatever He assigns to us. He will make sure we have all the people we need to help us, but it is not their fault if we will not rely on them. I mean, why would God ask us to do something, to only sit and watch us be frustrated and miserable because the burden is too much? God meets all of our needs including the people we need to work with.

It depends on us to be guided by His Spirit and discern the battles that belong to us and the ones we need to let go. For the sake of our calling and purpose and also for the sake of our peace.

May the Lord guide us with His wisdom in order to discern as well, may He give us the humility to reach out for help when we need to.

Have a lovely blessed weekend,

Love from Botswana

Angie

Angie Benjamin

History Maker {John 1:1- 2:12}

3:25 AM



John 1:45-47 New International Version (NIV)

45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth,the son of Joseph.”
46 “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked.
“Come and see,” said Philip.
47 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”
In this passage we see Nathanael having a negative opinion of Nazareth because of the sentiment of his day, that there was nothing good that could ever happen there. He doubted Jesus was the true Messiah simply because of where He came from.
So often we are like Nathanael. We decide that a person cannot be any good because of where he lives or where he comes from. We can be so biased and opinionated, even without realising it. 
We often fall into the trap of believing or "buying" what other people say or conclude. 
That's why we need to examine our hearts to see if they are truly open or just full of prejudice.


Can I share with you a story?
This passage really reminds me of what my husband went through when growing up.
You see, my husband, David, was born and raised in a very poor traditional African family.
The father would be away most of the time working for mines in South Africa, while the mom would try to raise 8 children on her own. The mom would also try to work small "piece jobs" like picking veggies from nearby farms and doing cleaning and cooking for farm owners.
They lived in the poorest neighborhood of town; in the "ghetto"
Resources were always very limited. They would have to eat some staple food every single day... no meat (perhaps they could have some chicken once a month). He only had one pair of shoes (the ones and old ones to wear to school, so most of the times he would be barefoot. He has so many scars on his feet). He didn't  have a winter uniform or clothes.
They lived at some point in a mud house and then a little later the family managed to build two rooms (two small rooms for the big family, sometimes even hosting extended family members). No electricity, No running water. The only water they could get was in buckets to cook and bathe, and they would use a pit latrine.
Nevertheless, David the little boy, was always excelling at school. Always first place in his class and in his school. Always stuck in his books (as one of his neighbors told me), studying by the light of candles (if they could afford them).
 At a young age he was determined to be someone different. He was determined to take his family out of the same cycle of poverty.
He came to Christ, when he was 15 years-old. Before that, he would just follow the family traditional religion or customs.
After finishing high school, with flying colors, he was offered a scholarship...actually several by the government in his country. One of them, the one he went for, was in England. He continued to excel in his studies, and not only that...but with the money of the scholarship he was receiving he would only keep a little amount to survive and send the rest back home to start building a proper house for his parents.
He built a 3 bed-room house, with bathroom and kitchen (before that, they would cook outside with fire), he connected electricity and water utilities. He did all this while studying for his degree.
After finishing his degree (with honors) , he was also received an offer to study a masters degree, which he did... and not only that, he also won a competition representing his British University in Russia, which awarded him with a P.h.D scholarship which unfortunately he couldn't take because of the language it was offered in (Russian).
Soon after he came back to his home country to work in a very good position for the most important mining company in the nation. We got married, had children, etc etc.
Even at this point, to this day, God has blessed our finances enough to continue providing for his parents and to help his youngest siblings through school.
It's funny, because David's story relates to today's passage as many of his peers and neighbors would often tell him that nothing good could come out of that neighborhood; out of the ghetto. They would try to discourage him, they would ask him to stop "dreaming" as he would be just up for disappointment.
Why am I sharing all this with you? I'm so proud of my husband. I'm so grateful to God for what He has done in his life and through him. I'm grateful for the grace and favor He has always given him.
I'm thankful I get to make a life with such an inspiring man as David.
But I'm also sharing this story to encourage you to have an open heart toward everyone you meet.
Think of it. If Nathaniel had been unwilling to open his heart to Jesus, he would have missed the greatest blessing of his life- a great relationship with the Lord.
God has blessings in store for you, through relationships too... keep your heart open. Do not give up on people, do not give up on yourself.

Have a great weekend, 
love from Botswana
Angie