Posted in advent, theology

Advent: Thirty Days of Jesus: Day 27, He Rises

By Elizabeth Prata

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.

Of course this doesn’t cover all of it. If one were to record all about Jesus all the books of the world could not contain the information. I selected verses and attributes that were on my heart and what seemed logical.

Continue reading “Advent: Thirty Days of Jesus: Day 27, He Rises”
Posted in encouragement, Uncategorized

Advent: Thirty Days of Jesus: Day 26, Jesus’ sinlessness

By Elizabeth Prata

This section of verses that show Jesus’ life are focused on His attributes. In His earthly ministry we’ve seen Him as servant, teacher, shepherd, intercessor, and healer. We then looked at His attributes of omniscience, His authority, and now His sinlessness.

He came from glory where righteousness reigns. He descended to an earth that’s cursed where every single human is depraved, thoroughly drenched with a sin nature. He lived among us, sinlessly and perfectly fulfilling the Father’s commands for righteous living. He did this at every moment in every way. Not one blot, not one thought, not one act of anything less than perfection.

For this, He was reviled, mocked, hated, and killed.

He did it for us.

thirty daysof jesus 26

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Further Reading:

The Cripplegate/Nate Busenitz: In what way was Jesus ‘made sin’ on the cross? Excerpt:

In what sense did Jesus become “sin on our behalf”? Does that phrase mean that Jesus literally became a sinner on the cross? …

Based on the above passages, we can safely determine what 2 Corinthians 5:21 does not mean. It cannot mean that Jesus became unrighteous, or that He became a sinner, or that He took on a sin nature, or that He literally embodied sin. … So, then what does it mean? This brings us to our third point. … 3. The best way to understand Paul’s statement (that Jesus became sin on our behalf) is in terms of imputation. Our sin was imputed to Christ, such that He became a substitutionary sacrifice or sin offering for all who would believe in Him.

GotQuestions: Why does Christ’s righteousness need to be imputed to us?

On the cross, Jesus took our sin upon Himself and purchased our salvation. We have “been justified by his blood” (Romans 5:9), and part of that justification is an imputation of His own righteousness. Paul puts it this way: “For our sake [God] made [Jesus] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus is righteous by virtue of His very nature—He is the Son of God. By God’s grace, “through faith in Jesus Christ,” that righteousness is given “to all who believe” (Romans 3:22). That’s imputation: the giving of Christ’s righteousness to sinners.

Ligonier: Jesus’ Sinless Life
Jesus lived a representative life. Jesus lived a sinless life, and it was, therefore, a life of representative sinlessness. Our Lord’s obedience stands in the place of His people’s sin. His law-keeping is counted as the law-keeping of those who have faith in Him.

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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

The Second Person of the Trinity-

Day 12: The Son!
Day 13: God is pleased with His Son
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

Attributes

Day 24: Jesus’ Omniscience
Day 25: Jesus’ Authority

Posted in theology, thirty Days of Jesus

Advent- Thirty Days of Jesus: Day 25, Jesus’ Authority

By Elizabeth Prata

This section of verses that show Jesus’ life are focused on His attributes. 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.

thirty days of jesus day 25

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Further Reading

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

Posted in theology

Reiner & Sykes: Two Lives, Two Deaths, One Eternity

By Elizabeth Prata

SYNOPSIS
The text reflects on the recent deaths of two well-known men—Christian opera singer Jubilant Sykes and actor-director Rob Reiner—both allegedly killed by their adult sons in similar stabbing incidents in California. The author contrasts the two men’s lives and legacies: Sykes is portrayed as a devoted Christian who used his musical talent to glorify God, while Reiner is described primarily through his political activism, Democratic influence, and secular beliefs.
The piece emphasizes core Christian doctrines about sin, repentance, salvation through Jesus Christ, and the belief in only two eternal destinies—heaven or hell. It argues that merely admiring Jesus’ teachings is insufficient without true faith and repentance. While expressing some hope that Reiner may have converted before death, the author concludes by urging readers to reflect on mortality, eternal judgment, and the necessity of confessing Jesus as Lord, citing Romans 10:9. The text ends by noting similar reflections shared by Pastor Don Green.


Continue reading “Reiner & Sykes: Two Lives, Two Deaths, One Eternity”
Posted in encouragement, Uncategorized

Advent- Thirty Days of Jesus: Day 24, Attributes- His Omniscience

By Elizabeth Prata

We have been through a section of verses that show Jesus’ life in His earthly ministry. We’ve seen Him as servant, teacher, shepherd, intercessor, and healer.

Now we look at His attributes. Today- Omniscience.

thirty days of Jesus day 24

CARM.org: The sovereignty of God: His omniscience, omnipresence, omnipotence
Omniscience is an attribute of God alone. It is the quality of having all knowledge (Isaiah 40:14). God knows all things possible as well as actual because He has ordained whatsoever will come to pass according to the counsel of His will (Eph. 1:11). He does not need to experience something to know about it completely. 

Ligonier: Scripture and the Two Natures of Christ
The historic Christian understanding of the person of Christ is that He is one person who possesses two natures: a divine nature and a human nature. Each nature retains its unique properties, and the two natures remain distinct, though inseparably united in Christ’s person. Thus, according to His divine nature, as the second person of the Trinity, the Son of God is omniscient, omnipotent, and so forth. According to His human nature, the incarnate Christ needs to eat food to survive, grows in knowledge, and so forth.

GotQuestions: What does it mean that Jesus is omniscient?
Despite the condescension of the Son of God to empty Himself and make Himself nothing (Philippians 2:7), His omniscience is clearly seen in the New Testament writings. The first prayer of the apostles in Acts 1:24, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart,” implies Jesus’ omniscience, which is necessary if He is to be able to receive petitions and intercede at God’s right hand.

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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

His attributes

Omniscience

Posted in advent, theology

Advent- Thirty Days of Jesus: Day 23, Compassionate Healer

By Elizabeth Prata

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,”
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…”
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

Health is a good thing; but sickness is far better, if it leads us to God.” JC Ryle

Further Reading

S. Lewis Johnson The Healing of the Blind Man

“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”

Sermon: Does God Still Heal?

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.

Joni Earickson Tada: A Deeper Healing

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

Posted in theology

Do representations of Jesus in Nativity scenes violate the 2nd Commandment?

By Elizabeth Prata

SYNOPSIS
The essay explores whether Nativity depictions violate the Second Commandment, emphasizing idolatry as the true prohibition. Drawing on Scripture and RC Sproul, ultimately deciding that conscience and worship—not nativity images themselves—determine faithfulness, urging grace toward differing convictions among believers.

Continue reading “Do representations of Jesus in Nativity scenes violate the 2nd Commandment?”
Posted in theology, thirty Days of Jesus

Advent- Thirty Days of Jesus: Day 22, Jesus as Intercessor

By Elizabeth Prata

This section of verses that show Jesus’ life are focused on His earthly ministry. We’ve seen Him as servant, teacher, shepherd, and now intercessor.

thirty days of Jesus day 22

Grace To You sermon: Jesus Christ: The Perfect Priest

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


Posted in advent, theology

Advent- Thirty Days of Jesus: Day 20, Jesus as the Teacher

By Elizabeth Prata

thirty days of Jesus day 20

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.

Continue reading “Advent- Thirty Days of Jesus: Day 20, Jesus as the Teacher”