We are coming toward the end of our look at the life of Jesus through scripture. The first section of His life was seen through verses focused on prophecy, arrival, and early life.
The next section of verses looked at Him as the Son, second person of the Trinity, by looking at Jesus as the Son and His preeminence, His works, and His ministry.
Under ministry & works, I chose verses showing His attributes and aspects of being servant, teacher, shepherd, intercessor, and compassionate healer; and His attributes of omniscience, having all authority and power, and sinlessness.
With the New Year upon us, many people are either finishing a previous Bible reading plan and perhaps looking for a different one for next year, or starting one for the first time. There are a lot of plans out there!
I’ve done several myself with I enjoyed. I liked the M’Cheyne plan, the Professor Horner plan, a plan my seminary friend devised where the Bible is read from the aspect of when each book was written (Job was 1st).
How to Eat your Bible: A Simple Approach to Learning and Loving the Word of God, book by Nate Pickowicz. Nate is a pastor in Gilmanton Iron Works, NH, plowing hard New England ground. He is the author of several books, including The American Puritans with Dustin Benge. Here is a synopsis of the book:
If you’re feeling distant from God, could it be because you’re ignoring His Word? But maybe you don’t know where to start. Maybe the long books and strange names feel overwhelming. Maybe you just don’t like reading. Whatever the case, How to Eat Your Bible will help you cultivate an appetite for life-long study of God’s Word. Find practical guidance for overcoming the hurdles that have kept you from making Bible study a regular part of your life...
Post-Its and Bible study go together like Mac & cheese
John MacArthur has an article on How to Enjoy Bible Study: “There’s nothing I enjoy more than studying the Bible. Yet it has not always been that way. My real passion for studying Scripture began when as a college student, I made a commitment to explore the Bible in earnest. I found that the more I studied, the more my hunger for Scripture grew. Here are three simple guidelines that have helped me to make the most of my study time.”
Ligonier lists 20 Reading Plans for 2025, saying, “To grow in the knowledge of God and to live in light of His truth, it’s important that we set aside focused time to study His Word.”
Michelle Lesley has listed a huge variety of plans with a short synopsis of each and links to each. Worth checking out. Bible Reading Plans for the New Year.
Pastor Jacob Abshire has an essay on Why I Ditched Bible Reading Plans with reasonable cautions and personal experience. Some people don’t connect with a ‘plan’ and that’s OK. This time of year one begins to see lots of talk about plans and you might be feeling guilty if you’re not on one. Don’t be. You can absolutely create something for yourself. As long as you’re reading progressively and steadily in some kind of structure, you will grow.
Abshire, while ditching a standard plan, absolutely advocates for reading the Bible. He devised a way to read it that was comfortable to him, and shares the specifics. His approach is kind of like the G3 “Six Ribbons” plan in Michelle’s list above.
If you start the year with a Bible Reading Plan and find it’s just not for you, that is OK too! Don’t wait until 2026 to begin a new one. Meeting with God every day is a blessing, so just read, or pick a new plan, or devise one yourself.
All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
For the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, even penetrating as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12).
This section of verses that show Jesus’ life are focused on His attributes and earthly ministry. We’ve seen Him through what He does, as servant, teacher, shepherd, intercessor, and healer. Now we look at who He is by looking at His attributes. We looked at His omniscience yesterday and today we ponder His authority.
How to represent the authority of Jesus over life, in pictorial form, since this series is mainly pictorial? That was a tough one. I settled on the notion of the dock being the long journey of finite earthly life in the flesh, then we come to an inevitable end and launch up and into the eternal heavens. Jesus has authority over every step.
I recently wrote an essay focusing on the authority of Jesus. It is linked below if you’re interested, along with a couple of additional essays from credible sources.
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The End Time: Jesus Has the Authority What does this mean, exactly? Let’s look into the nature of the word authority and what it means when Jesus says He has been given all of it.
AIG: What is the extent of Jesus’ authority? When Jesus told His disciples He has full authority in heaven and earth, His declaration came before giving them a direction: “make disciples of all the nations.” … Yet we easily forget that the implication of biblical authority is much more than defending truth. In the case of Matthew 28:18–19, upholding the authority of the Bible is about doing. If God’s Word is authoritative, we must not overlook any directive in it. We should never consider one passage more authoritative than another.
Ligonier Devotional: The Authority of Jesus In today’s passage, Mark highlights the matter of Jesus’ authority by recording an exchange our Lord had in the temple with “the chief priests and the scribes and the elders” not long before He went to the cross.
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Thirty Days of Jesus Series-
Introduction/Background
Prophecies:
Day 1: The Virgin shall conceive Day 2: A shoot from Jesse Day 3: God sent His Son in the fullness of time Day 4: Marry her, she will bear a Son
Birth & Early Life-
Day 5: The Babe has arrived! Day 6: The Glory of Jesus Day 7: Magi seek the Child Day 8: The Magi Offer gifts & worship Day 9: The Child Grew Day 10- the Boy Jesus at the Temple Day 11: He was Obedient Day 12: The Son! Day 13: God is pleased with His Son
The Second Person of the Trinity-
Day 14: Propitiation Day 15: The Gift of Eternal Life Day 16: Kingdom of Darkness to Light Day 17: Jesus’ Preeminence Day 18: The Highest King Day 19: He emptied Himself Day 20: Jesus as The Teacher Day 21: The Good Shepherd Day 22: The Intercessor Day 23: The Compassionate Healer Day 24: Jesus’ Omniscience
Now here is another piece of biblical art that I’ve discovered, thanks to Facebook. I’m so thrilled. Julius Gari Melchers’ The Nativity is beautiful and tender. It takes the scene from a different perspective and a different moment in time. We know that usually a nativity scene shows the babe being adored by his parents, the shepherds, animals and sometimes the Wise Men, though they didn’t arrive until a year or two later.
But Melchers, a painter of German descent, took the scene from the point of view of immediately after the birth of the Savior. His aim is to paint “true and clear” and so we are viewing naturalism in a scene that is usually romanticized.
In looking at Mary’s pose, one can almost feel her exhaustion, both emotional and physical. Joseph’s expression is one of concern and perturbation and near overwhelming responsibility. All among a dirty hallway…and yet the Babe’s head is aglow with the promise of God having sent the Light into the world. What were Mary and Joseph thinking and feeling then? We can ask them when we get there, but meanwhile, please enjoy this representation of the glorious moment when all was quiet, before heaven shouted with joy and all hell broke loose…of the coming of Jesus Christ the Lamb.
This section of verses that show Jesus’ life are focused on His earthly ministry. We’ve seen Him as servant, teacher, shepherd, intercessor, and now healer.
Jesus healed people of their afflictions and diseases. He healed Mary who had 7 demons. He healed the woman who’d had a blood issue for 12 years. He healed lepers, even touching them, a dramatic departure from protocol. He healed the Centurion’s servant from a distance. Whether with a word or a touch, the power of Jesus to heal was demonstrated. He healed the blind, the sick, even the dead. He healed Peter’s Mother-in-Law. Strangers or friends, he healed. He did this to show who He was who He said He was- from God and Son of God, Messiah, the prophesied one.
He did this to show His omnipotence. He healed to show His compassion. The word Splagchnizomai, meaning compassion, is used 12 times in the New Testament, and each time it’s used it’s Jesus who is experiencing it. Prior to the NT, the word when used meant courage. Splanchnizomai is not the only word used for compassion in the NT but it is distinctly used with Jesus and in the context of His healings.
Jesus took the term a step further and used it to define the attitude that should capture the life of every believer. In the parable of the unforgiving servant, the master had compassion and forgave the servant’s debt (Matt. 18:27). The prodigal son’s father had compassion on him (Luke 15:20). The good Samaritan had compassion on the injured traveler (Luke 10:33). Jesus had compassion on the crowd (Mark 6:34). People needing help asked Jesus for compassion (Mark 9:22; cp. Matt. 9:36; 20:34). Source: Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary
People who need help are the ones who need compassion. Jesus is a God of compassion and He demonstrated this in His willingness to heal.
Usage: This word is used 12 times:
Matthew 9:36: “when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted,” Matthew 14:14: “a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed” Matthew 15:32: “his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because” Matthew 18:27: “lord of that servant was moved with compassion and loosed him, and forgave” Matthew 20:34: “So Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes: and immediately” Mark 1:41: “And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and” Mark 6:34: “much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were” Mark 8:2: ” I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now been with me” Mark 9:22: “him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help” Luke 7:13: “Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said” Luke 10:33: “where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion” Luke 15:20: “his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran,”
Photo by Karen Maes @karen1974 at Unsplash
“When God visits with sickness, we should think (in the use of means) our work is more in heaven with God than with men or with medicine. When David dealt directly and plainly with God and confessed his sins, then God forgave them and healed his body too.” Puritan Richard Sibbes
“It’s a picture of an omnipotent Savior, master of human fate, able to heal, able to give forgiveness of sins, able to save to the uttermost those that come unto God by him. And when he touches the eyes of our blindness we sing, “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me”
Perspectives on faith healing often seem as varied as the number of faith healers around. Some say God wants to heal all sickness. Others come close to conceding that God’s purposes may sometimes be fulfilled in our illness and infirmity. Some equate sickness with sin. Others stop short of that but still find it hard to explain why spiritually strong people get sick. Some people just flat out blame the Devil, and they think if they can tie the Devil up in a knot and send him off to Tibet or something, everybody’ll get well.
He asked him, ‘Do you want to get well?’ Jesus said to him, ‘Get up and walk.’ I cannot tell you how many times I would lie in that bed, straining to make my muscles move, and I would sing a hymn that I had learned as a child, ‘Savior, Savior, hear my humble cry. While on others Thou art calling, Jesus do not pass me by.’” But I never got up out of that bed and walked. And it seemed back then that Jesus had passed me by.
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Thirty Days of Jesus Series, Overview-
Introduction/Background
Prophecies:
Day 1: The Virgin shall conceive Day 2: A shoot from Jesse Day 3: God sent His Son in the fullness of time Day 4: Marry her, she will bear a Son
Birth & Early Life-
Day 5: The Babe has arrived! Day 6: The Glory of Jesus Day 7: Magi seek the Child Day 8: The Magi Offer gifts & worship Day 9: The Child Grew Day 10- the Boy Jesus at the Temple Day 11: He was Obedient Day 12: The Son! Day 13: God is pleased with His Son
The Second Person of the Trinity-
Day 14: Propitiation Day 15: The Gift of Eternal Life Day 16: Kingdom of Darkness to Light Day 17: Jesus’ Preeminence Day 18: The Highest King Day 19: He emptied Himself Day 20: Jesus as The Teacher Day 21: The Good Shepherd Day 22: The Intercessor
And so the sympathetic high priest is Jesus Christ, who in the days of His flesh felt what we feel. And of course, the climax comes when He offered prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears. What incident in His life does that speak to you about? Does that remind you of the Garden of Gethsemane? Sure. That was the greatest climax of His suffering for there He began to bear the sins of the world didn’t He? There He began to feel the crush of sin upon Him. He began to feel Satan bruising Him, and it hurt. Do you remember the Garden of Gethsemane, the night before He went to the cross? He went into the Garden to pray and He agonized there and He sweat as it were great drops of blood and He cried to the Father. And His heart was grieving and broken at the prospect and the pain of bearing sin. And He felt the power of sin and He felt temptation. He felt everything Satan could throw at Him, and He got it all even on the cross. He felt everything you’ll ever feel.
THIS is what makes Jesus the perfect High Priest. Fully God and fully man, He knows the pain, sorrow, temptation, and devastation of sin, closely and intimately.
Ligonier: The Intercession of Christ A time would come when Satan would sift Peter, and he would fall under the weight of temptation and deny his Lord. But what did Jesus say about that time? He comforted Peter by assuring him that he would not lose his faith. And the reason his faith wouldn’t fail was that Jesus had prayed for him. Peter would not fall away from the faith because Jesus had interceded for him.
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Introduction/Background
Prophecies:
Day 1: The Virgin shall conceive Day 2: A shoot from Jesse Day 3: God sent His Son in the fullness of time Day 4: Marry her, she will bear a Son
Birth & Early Life-
Day 5: The Babe has arrived! Day 6: The Glory of Jesus Day 7: Magi seek the Child Day 8: The Magi Offer gifts & worship Day 9: The Child Grew Day 10- the Boy Jesus at the Temple Day 11: He was Obedient Day 12: The Son! Day 13: God is pleased with His Son
The Second Person of the Trinity-
Day 14: Propitiation Day 15: The Gift of Eternal Life Day 16: Kingdom of Darkness to Light Day 17: Jesus’ Preeminence Day 18: The Highest King Day 19: He emptied Himself Day 20: Jesus as The Teacher Day 21: The Good Shepherd
How can we know God unless He reveals Himself to us? The creation confirms His existence, but what does the creature know of His attributes, Person, or Power? Unless He teaches us about Himself, we will not know. God sent His Son Jesus to earth as a born-babe, to live the full life of sinlessness under the Law, and to teach us about Himself. He was prophesied to die as the atoning sacrifice, and then rise again to receive His people through His work on the cross. Grace abounds.
The word does not occur elsewhere in the New Testament, except in the passage before us. The essential idea is that of bringing to emptiness, vanity, or nothingness; and, hence, it is applied to a case where one lays aside his rank and dignity, and becomes in respect to that as nothing; that is, he assumes a more humble rank and station. In regard to its meaning here, we may remark:
(1) that it cannot mean that he literally divested himself of his divine nature and perfections, for that was impossible. He could not cease to be omnipotent, and omnipresent, and most holy, and true, and good.
(2) it is conceivable that he might have laid aside, for a time, the symbols or the manifestation of his glory, or that the outward expressions of his majesty in heaven might have been withdrawn. It is conceivable for a divine being to intermit the exercise of his almighty power, since it cannot be supposed that God is always exerting his power to the utmost. And in like manner there might be for a time a laying aside or intermitting of these manifestations or symbols, which were expressive of the divine glory and perfections. Yet,
(3) this supposes no change in the divine nature, or in the essential glory of the divine perfections. When the sun is obscured by a cloud, or in an eclipse, there is no real change of its glory, nor are his beams extinguished, nor is the sun himself in any measure changed. His luster is only for a time obscured.
The Greek verb translated “emptied” (keno[ma]o) is where we get the theological term kenosis: the doctrine of Christ’s self-emptying as a part of His incarnation. The verb expresses Christ’s self-renunciation, His refusal to cling to His advantages and privileges as God. The God who has a right to everything and who is fully satisfied within Himself emptied Himself.
Notice that Philippians 2:7 does not specify what the Son of God “emptied” Himself of. And here we must be careful not to go beyond what Scripture says. Jesus did not empty Himself of His divine attributes—no such attributes are mentioned in the verse, and it is obvious in the gospels that Jesus possessed the power and wisdom of God. Calming the storm is just one display of Jesus’ divine power (Mark 4:39). In coming to earth, the Son of God did not cease to be God, and He did not become a “lesser god.” Whatever the “emptying” entailed, Jesus remained fully God: “in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form” (Colossians 2:9).
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Thirty Days of Jesus Series, Overview-
Introduction/Background
Prophecies:
Day 1: The Virgin shall conceive Day 2: A shoot from Jesse Day 3: God sent His Son in the fullness of time Day 4: Marry her, she will bear a Son
Birth & Early Life-
Day 5: The Babe has arrived! Day 6: The Glory of Jesus Day 7: Magi seek the Child Day 8: The Magi Offer gifts & worship Day 9: The Child Grew Day 10- the Boy Jesus at the Temple Day 11: He was Obedient Day 12: The Son! Day 13: God is pleased with His Son
The Second Person of the Trinity-
Day 14: Propitiation Day 15: The Gift of Eternal Life Day 16: Kingdom of Darkness to Light Day 17: Jesus’ Preeminence Day 18: The Highest King
One night, Nikos Politis was asleep. He began dreaming. He dreamed he saw a warrior angel from heaven in full armor and regalia. Nikos was entranced by the fact that the ‘angel’ had perfect hair. Soon myriads of angels joined the first angel. They began to sing. This song is supposedly to summon angels to fight demonic forces. In the singer’s own words, we read-
This hymn was given with power to break chains and set the captives free and destroy from Jesus Christ! For this reason the words of the hymn are influenced by the Holy Spirit, and convey a message of liberation! They are instruments of divine restoration on the lips of whoever sings them with faith in his heart!
Politis is a Greek man, and part of the worship team at a church in Greece called All Nations Church Thessaloniki. This church is part of the global denomination of a church started in Nigeria by a man named Prophet TB Joshua. The church and its satellites – including the branch in Thessalonica – are all false.
His song “You Are the Almighty God” was published in 2022. Since then it has gained worldwide attention, mainly from the more charismatic quarters, but also elsewhere. If you go to Politis’ Youtube to find the song, these title cards appear before the song begins:
If you go to Politis’ Youtube to learn more about this song, you will see the ‘SCOAN’ logo on older videos. It stands for Synagogue Church of All Nations, the name of the mother church in Lagos, Nigeria and all their satellite branches. In Greece they recently changed their church’s name to ‘Christian Church of All Nations’ Thessalonica, dropping the term synagogue due to Greek government “suggestion”.
Scenes below are screen shots of Politis’ church members’ reaction when hearing or singing this song. The author and the church itself attributes the physical and emotional reactions to the fact that the Spirit supposedly “influenced” the lyrics. No.
If this is what singing that song does to a person, count me out
Insensate on the floor (but carefully holding his glasses after remembering to remove them first…?)
People have been making all sorts of outlandish testimonies and claims of visions when listening to or singing this song. People in the Youtube comments make all sorts of claims in their comments, too. Here is one man interviewed who made a claim of a vision while the congregation sang Politis’ song-
From THE ANCIENT OF DAYS VISITS CHURCH WHILE THE CONGREGATION SINGS ANOINTED SONG!!! Last Sunday, when our brother Nikos Politis was singing the hymn, as I was praying, all of a sudden, I lifted my eyes and I saw an angel on that corner flapping his wings very powerfully! At first, I thought it was my imagination, but then I realised it was real! How did you feel that moment when you suddenly saw an angel before you? I really wanted to jump out of joy, but I restrained myself. I felt calmness…
Do angels even HAVE wings? No. Do people feel calm when an angel appears? No. Scripture reports they are greatly troubled, fearful, or fall to their feet. (Luke 1:12, Luke 1:29, Revelation 22:8). The first thing an angel usually says to the person is “Fear not”.
From Youtube comments:
One day my son was crying non stop, he wouldn’t stop screaming uncontrollably, once I played the song for the first time, he instantly stopped and started smiling.
I listen to this song on a loop every night and I am convinced that I am being healed from an incurable cancer.
I can’t speak for others but my first experience of singing along was walking into his throne room where he is sitting. Seeing him on his throne… I never had this experience with any Christian songs ever. What I heard was ‘you finally came.’ Thank you.
There are a number of things to be aware of here regarding this song and its ever-widening impact. Of course, false churches and false pastors have been present on earth since the beginning. That is not new. But it is good to remember that they are part of the spiritual warfare Jesus said would occur. The people in those churches are not the enemy, but the power behind them is. The doctrines they put forth are.
Below is a link to a BBC news investigation that exposes the many corruptions of this Synagogue Church of All Nations and its now deceased leader, TB Joshua, a self-proclaimed prophet with a “prophetic birth.”
God did not add to His closed canon by ordering an angel to deliver this song to Politis. The lyrics have no power. The enscripturated word on the page has no power, but the Holy Spirit behind God’s inspired words does. That is why unsaved people who read the Bible do not understand it, (1 Corinthians 2:14). Only the Spirit can illuminate it to minds. The Spirit uses God’s words to transform minds.
So in like manner Politis’ lyrics have no power in and of itself. However, the power behind the words does have a spirit, the demonic, and that IS a force that will alter people’s minds. From the screen shots above and the claims of people in the Youtube comments, we can see how people predisposed to the demonic are affected. If a person is unsaved, you are predisposed due to a sin nature to believing what satan wants you to believe, including things like angels with wings and perfect hair appear randomly to a man and tell him to write a song that will be an ‘instrument of divine restoration’.
Didn’t God already deliver to us an instrument of divine restoration? Yes. That instrument is God’s Son Jesus.
Anything that competes with Jesus as the SOLE deliverer is false. Anything that competes with the Bible as sole word from God is false.
Thirdly, music contains doctrine. We can sing and play solid songs like O Holy Night, or we can play songs that purport to have doctrine but it’s weak or twisted. Or we can play or sing songs that are obviously demonically inspired, like Politis’ You Are the Almighty God.
Here is an extra sad thought- I became aware of this song because a student wanted me to play it. He explained that an angel from heaven gave the song. I demurred, because I always vet anything I play for my students at school, and also because it’s ingrained in me through years of training in discernment (Hebrews 5:14) to check first.
What a tragedy that a child grows up thinking these false things! It’s almost worse than not knowing anything of God at all.
I’m glad I checked. Though the song title initially had me hopeful, upon seeing the first title card above, I shut it down. I never listened to the song, I do not want what it says nor what it stands for entering my soul.
Beware of false doctrine, which can come via any method- sermons, Bible studies, books, youtube or podcasts, and music. God IS the Almighty God and He will judge the people who claim to say things He did not say. (Jeremiah 23:21). It will be a painful judgment.
the-end-time.org 