Blind Bartimaeus

 

The Story of Blind Bartimaeus is Really About Spiritual Blindness

The names of people, places, rivers, mountains, etc. all have a hidden meaning for those with "eyes to see". The name Bartimaeus means Honorable Son.  

 

Jesus Heals Blind Bartimaeus 

~ Mark 10:46-52

Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus (meaning "to honour"), sat by the road begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called.

Then they called the blind man, saying to him, “Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you.”

And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus.

So Jesus answered and said to him, “What do you want Me to do for you?”

The blind man said to Him, “Rabboni (master, teacher —used as a title of respect applied especially to spiritual instructors and learned persons), that I may receive my sight.”

Then Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.

Let's apply the spiritual side of this story to America, or any other nation, and understand how we as an individual and/or a nation can be healed of our blindness. Neither Bartimaeus nor America were born blind. We are not told how Bartimaeus lost his sight.

America's blindness was caused by a disease called "political correctness." Slowly, over a long period of time the PC disease began to dim America's founding principles. The public schools and universities began to teach humanism as a viable lifestyle. The government and court systems changed God's Laws of Right and Wrong to "legal and illegal."

Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil ~Isaiah 5:20  

Because America says, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’ (not even God)—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked (her evil is exposed). ~ Revelation 3:17 

 

After Jesus Christ ascended to heaven and all the people who walked and talked with Him died, generations of people have had to depend on the eyewitness accounts in the Bible.

Most people have no problem accepting as fact the reports of other historical figures, but when it comes to Jesus they are blinded by religious tradition, ignorance, or unbelief.

 

America lost her sight and became a beggar and now sits by the road begging. Begging for peace and safety, begging for lost freedoms, begging for health, and begging for mercy. “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Then many (of the PC crowd and cancel culture) warn us to be quiet. However, Jesus is still the Master Teacher and with love and compassion, commanded America to be called. “Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you.” Blind America said to Him, “Please restore my sight.”

And America throwing aside the garment (of political correctness), rose and came to Jesus.

Then Jesus said to America, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately America received her sight and followed Jesus on the road to righteousness.

As Christians, are we Honorable Sons? America once had fathers like Timaeus who honored God. As it is written: "Blessed is the nation whose God is YAHWEH." ~Psalm 33:12

To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the prison (of political correctness), Those who sit in darkness (self imposed ignorance) from the prison house. ~Isaiah 42:7

 

I, the LORD, have called you as a light to the Nations. The LORD opens the eyes of the blind; The LORD raises those who are bowed down; The LORD loves the righteous. ~Psalm 146:1-8

Amen! (let it be so)

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Groups

 

What Do You Believe About The Bible... and Why Do You Believe It?

Most adult Christians believe only what they learned in Sunday School as children, or what their parents taught them. Many Christians believe mega Churches are "proof" of God's endorsement and blessings. God deals with individuals, not organizations or group consensus.

 

No Church organization has a franchise on God or a monopoly on the Truth

The Bible warns of organizations getting too large. "Some have strayed from the faith in their greediness and "turned God's Church into a house of merchandise. ~ 1 Timothy 6:10 & John 2:16.  

 

As it is written, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it." ~ Matthew 7:13-14 

 

We are not to judge or condemn people, but we are allowed to be "fruit inspectors" ~ Matthew 7:1-3 and Verses 15 & 16

EIGHT (8) GROUPS OF PRETENDERS AND DANGEROUS PEOPLE YOU NEED TO KNOW AND HANDLE WITH WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE (NOT TO HATE THEM - REMEMBER THE WORDS OF JESUS, PRAY FOR THEM)

(1) *Thomas Group*- They walk with you, eat with you and possibly live with you but don't really believe in you. They keep on delaying your vision and mission. (John 20:24-29)

(2) *Judas Group*- They walk with you, eat with you and possibly live with you but are after what they can get from you or elsewhere. They are not loyal and can easily betray you. (Matthew 26:14-16)

(3) *Demas Group* - They walk with you and possibly live with you; but once you start facing challenges and difficulties, they run away and forsake you. (2 Timothy 4:10)

(4) *Korah Group* - They pretend to be walking with you but when GOD begins to bless you, they will be jealous of your success. They challenge your influence and authority. They have issues when others acknowledge you. (Numbers 16:1-3)

(5) *Ham Group* - They are close to you, yet they expose your secrets and nakedness. The day you make a mistake or commit an error and find yourself in a sinful situation, they tell everyone of your weaknesses and expose you to ridicule. (Genesis 9:20-24)

(6) *Absalom Group* - They are very close to you. They are impatiently ambitious. They detest your rising profile. They secretly position themselves to hijack and cut off those who believe in you and win them over by saying that they are better than you. They say all things about you, as being unfair, insensitive, wicked and incompetent. (2 Samuel 15:1-6)

(7) *Gehazi Group* - They are excessively greedy and insatiable. They collect money behind your back. They ask for financial assistance and make people feel you are not taking good care of them. (2 Kings 5:20-24)

(8) *Diotrephes Group*- This is the most dangerous group. They have a voice and influence amongst the people. They can come up with fabricated stories that could destroy your reputation and position. They are highly territorial. They are the false accusers and forgers of lies. (3 John 9-10)

NOTE: These groups of people are found everywhere: In Families, Friends, Businesses, Offices, Workplace and most of all, in Churches.

Do you belong to any of these groups? If you do, kindly remove yourself from such a group through prayer and fasting because these groups are not for decent and righteous people. God loves you and the Holy Spirit will guide you.

If you are unaffiliated with any church organization, or just plain tired of playing church, You're Invited to Join Renew Your Strength Bible Study Group

 

Cowboy

 

A cowboy named Bud was overseeing his herd in a remote mountainous pasture in Montana when suddenly a brand-new BMW advanced toward him out of a cloud of dust.

The driver, a young man in a Brioni® suit, Gucci® shoes, RayBan® sunglasses and YSL® tie, leaned out the window and asked the cowboy, "If I tell you exactly how many cows and calves you have in your herd, will you give me a calf?"

Bud looks at the man, who obviously is a yuppie, then looks at his peacefully grazing herd and calmly answers, "Sure, why not?"

The yuppie parks his car, whips out his Dell® notebook computer, connects it to his Cingular RAZR V3® cell phone, and surfs to a NASA page on the Internet, where he calls up a GPS satellite to get an exact fix on his location which he then feeds to another NASA satellite that scans the area in an ultra-high-resolution photo.

The young man then opens the digital photo in Adobe Photoshop® and exports it to an image processing facility in Hamburg, Germany ...Within seconds, he receives an email on his Palm Pilot® that the image has been processed and the data stored. He then accesses an MS-SQL® database through an ODBC connected Excel® spreadsheet with email on his Blackberry® and, after a few minutes, receives a response.

Finally, he prints out a full-color, 150-page report on his hi-tech, miniaturized HP LaserJet® printer, turns to the cowboy and says, "You have exactly 1,586 cows and calves."

"That's right. Well, I guess you can take one of my calves," says Bud.

He watches the young man select one of the animals and looks on with amusement as the young man stuffs it into the trunk of his car.

Then Bud says to the young man, "Hey, if I can tell you exactly what your business is, will you give me back my calf?"

The young man thinks about it for a second and then says, "Okay, why not?"

"You're a Congressman for the U.S. Government", says Bud.

"Wow! That's correct," says the yuppie, "but how did you guess that?"

"No guessing required." answered the cowboy. "You showed up here even though nobody called you; you want to get paid for an answer I already knew, to a question I never asked. You used millions of dollars worth of equipment trying to show me how much smarter than me you are; and you don't know a thing about how working people make a living - or about cows, for that matter.

This is a herd of sheep. Now give me back my dog.

AND THAT FOLKS IS WHAT THE PROBLEM IS ALL ABOUT

 

The Apostles

 

HOW THE APOSTLES DIED

1. Matthew. Suffered martyrdom in Ethiopia, Killed by a sword wound.

2. Mark. Died in Alexandria, Egypt, after being dragged by Horses through the streets until he was dead.

3. Luke. Was hanged in Greece as a result of his tremendous Preaching to the lost.

4. John. Faced martyrdom when he was boiled in a huge Basin of boiling oil during a wave of persecution In Rome. However, he was miraculously delivered From death. John was then sentenced to the mines on the prison Island of Patmos. He wrote his prophetic Book of Revelation on Patmos . The apostle John was later freed and returned to serve As Bishop of Edessa in modern Turkey. He died as an old man, the only apostle to die peacefully.

5. Peter. He was crucified upside down on an x shaped cross. According to church tradition it was because he told his tormentors that he felt unworthy to die In the same way that Jesus Christ had died.

6. James. The leader of the church in Jerusalem, was thrown over a hundred feet down from the southeast pinnacle of the Temple when he refused to deny his faith in Christ. When they discovered that he survived the fall, his enemies beat James to death with a fuller's club. This was the same pinnacle where Satan had taken Jesus during the Temptation.

7. James the Son of Zebedee was a fisherman by trade when Jesus Called him to a lifetime of ministry. As a strong leader of the church, James was beheaded at Jerusalem. The Roman officer who guarded James watched amazed as James defended his faith at his trial. Later, the officer Walked beside James to the place of execution. Overcome by conviction, he declared his new faith to the judge and Knelt beside James to accept beheading as a Christian.

8. Bartholomew. Also known as Nathaniel. He Was a missionary to Asia. He witnessed for our Lord in present day Turkey. Bartholomew was martyred for his preaching in Armenia where he was flayed to death by a whip.

9. Andrew. He Was crucified on an x-shaped cross in Patras, Greece. After being whipped severely by seven soldiers they tied his body to the cross with cords to prolong his agony. His followers reported that, when he was led toward the cross, Andrew saluted it in these words, "I have long desired and expected this happy hour. The cross has been consecrated by the body of Christ hanging on it". He continued to preach to his tormentors for two days until he expired.

10. Thomas. He Was stabbed with a spear in India during one of his missionary trips to establish the church in the Subcontinent.

11. Jude. He Was killed with arrows when he refused to deny his faith in Christ.

12. Matthias. The apostle chosen to replace the traitor Judas Iscariot. He was stoned and then beheaded.

13. Paul. He Was tortured and then beheaded by the evil Emperor Nero at Rome in A.D. 67. Paul endured a lengthy imprisonment, which allowed him to write his many epistles to the churches he had formed throughout the Roman Empire. These letters, which taught many of the foundational Doctrines of Christianity, form a large portion of the New Testament.

Perhaps this is a reminder to us that our sufferings here are indeed minor compared to the intense persecution and cold cruelty faced by the apostles and disciples during their times for the sake of the Faith. "And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: But he that endures to the end shall be saved". ~ Mark 13:13

 

 

You are cordially invited to join Renew Your Strength Bible Study Group