John 20 deals with the resurrection, and Jesus was not there, only his grave clothes, strips of cloth, not the “Turin Shroud.” It was the first day of the week and Jesus showed himself to all the disciples except Thomas. He doubted their testimony, and it is from this we have the expression “Doubting Thomas.” Later, when even he saw Jesus, he bowed down and worshiped him saying “My Lord, and my God”. Jesus also gave the promise they would receive the Holy Spirit.
Exodus 10: Two more plagues, the plague of locusts and the plague of darkness. For these two plagues the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart.
In Exodus 11 Moses and Aaron proclaimed the tenth and final plague: The death of the firstborn. Interestingly enough the plagues of Egypt are also in the Quran, four are the same, five are different, and one is missing altogether. Guess which one!
Psalm 11 has the phrase “flee as a bird to the mountain”, which bring back memories of songs we used to sing in choir.
Yes, it was a long time ago, and our pastor wanted us to sing it, but our choir director thought otherwise. However, in obedience we sang it, and it was well received. The disagreement centered around: We are supposed to be in the world, but not of it. To flee to avoid all sin is not in the Gospel commandment.
When Jesus breathed on the disciples, they received the Holy Spirit, but they still had to wait until they received power from above. The Holy Spirit dwells in us, but the power of the Holy Spirit is still given only by God and only to do His will in His opportune time. This is why daily communication with God is so important, in thanksgiving , prayer, and yes ; in spiritual songs.
Len Bilén's blog, a blog about faith, politics and the environment. 