Hi Brian!

The word for this week is "dawn". We'll be looking at 2 Peter 1:19:

We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto you do well that you take heed, as unto a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: KJV

This is the Greek word "diaugazo". Strong's Concordance says: to glimmer through, break (as day). Thayer's Greek Lexicon says: to shine through. Vine's Expository Dictionary says: it describes the breaking of daylight upon the darkness of night, metaphorically in 2 Peter 1:19 of the shining of spiritual light into the heart. A probable reference is to the day to be ushered in at the second coming of Christ: "until the day gleam through the present darkness, and the Light-bringer dawn in your hearts."  I LOVE that last part! 1 John 3:2 tells us THIS about ourselves:

2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. KJV

We are always looking forward to THAT future as we live THIS life to the fullest, running our race that He has set before us. As the things in the world appear to be getting darker, we KNOW that we still have the Light of HIS Life in us and the authority of Heaven to accomplish what He has called us to do. The more we learn and grow in the Word, the more like Him we become, with the ultimate goal of one day being in His presence! This new song from Hillsong UNITED on their new 'People' album called "Echoes (Til We See The Other Side)" is all about that! 

Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!

Hi Brian!

It was so good to see you all this weekend! The girls are growing up so fast! We are so looking forward to seeing your new home! The word for this week is "strong". We'll be looking at only one of the Greek words translated strong in the New Testament. It's found in these three verses:

Luke 1:80 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel. KJV

Luke 2:40 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him. KJV

1 Corinthians 16:13 Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong. KJV

These are all the Greek word "krataioo". Strong's Concordance says: to empower, to increase in vigor. Thayer's Greek Lexicon says: to strengthen. The Dictionary definition for strong says this: Having or marked by great physical power. Having moral or intellectual power. Having great resources as of wealth or talent. Effective or efficient in specified areas. Extreme, intense. Ardent, zealous. All of these are great assets to possess and to operate in. In the first two verses we are reading about JESUS and how He grew to be strong, as a man and not as God. He was raised as any other Jewish child, especially a boy, would have been. They began training in the Scriptures at a very young age. Here is an excerpt from a site on this subject:

The people of Galilee were the most religious Jews in the world in the time of Jesus. This is quite contrary to the common view that the Galileans were simple, uneducated peasants from an isolated area. This perspective is probably due to the comments made in the Bible, which appear to belittle people from this area. At the Shavuoth feast in the book of Acts for example, the people seem amazed that the Galileans were capable of speaking in other languages. But this is certainly a bias against Galileans by the people of Judea and other countries due to the very strong and passionate religious commitments of the people of Galilee. Besides, the Galileans had more interaction with the world living on the "way of the sea" (the trade route, see Matthew 4:15) than the Jews of Jerusalem who were more isolated in the mountains. The Galilean people were actually more educated in the Bible and its application than most Jews. More famous Jewish teachers come from Galilee than anywhere else in the world. They were known for their great reverence for Scripture and the passionate desire to be faithful to it. This translated into vibrant religious communities, devoted to strong families, their country, whose synagogues echoed the debate and discussions about keeping the Torah. They resisted the pagan influences of Hellenism far more than did their Judean counterparts. When the great revolt against the pagan Romans and their collaborators (66-74 AD) finally occurred, it began among the Galileans.

Jesus was born, grew up, and spent his ministry among people who knew Scripture by memory, who debated its application with enthusiasm, and who loved God with all their hearts, all their souls and all their might (Deuteronomy 6:5). God prepared this environment carefully so that Jesus would have exactly the context he needed to present his message of Malchut Shemayim. "The kingdom of heaven" and his followers would understand and join his new movement. He fit his world perfectly. Understanding this helps to understand the great faith and courage of his followers who left Galilee and went to the whole world to bring the good news. Their courage, their message, the methods they used, and their complete devotion to God and his Word were born in the religious communities in the Galilee

So JESUS, growing up in this environment, would have become 'strong' in every area of life, progressively, step by step. In 1 Corinthians, we, as born again believers, are encouraged to continue to grow in this strength and ability in every area, and we have more tools to do so with the entire New Testament revelation to glean from and to stand on! This is a never ending process of continual growth and development, as long as WE choose to do so! With Holy Spirit as our personal Teacher, the Word of God can come alive for us and become clearer than ever so that we, too can "wax strong" in every area! And then WE can pass on what we have learned to children and grandchildren, giving them a head start on their own growth and development. What an advantage that THEY now have! And THAT was God's great plan all along! GOD is GOOD! Here is Hillsong UNITED with "Who You Say I Am":

Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!

Hi Brian!

The word for this week is "stretch". We find it in these verses in the New Testament: 

Matthew 12:13 Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other. KJV

Mark 3:5 And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other. KJV

Luke 6:10 And looking round about upon them all, he said unto the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he did so: and his hand was restored whole as the other. KJV

John 21:18 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. KJV

2 Corinthians 10:14 For we stretch not ourselves beyond our measure, as though we reached not unto you: for we are come as far as to you also in preaching the gospel of Christ: KJV

In the four Gospels the Greek word is "ekteino". Strong's Concordance says: to extend. This is a compound word with the first part (ek or ex) meaning 'denoting origin' (the point from which action or motion proceeds); and the second part (teino) means to stretch. Thayer's Greek Lexicon says: to stretch out, stretch forth. The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament says: In the NT the term is always used for stretching out the hand. In 2 Corinthians we see the Greek word "huperekteino". Strong's Concordance says: to extend inordinately. Thayer's Greek Lexicon says: to extend beyond the prescribed bounds, stretch out beyond measure, stretch out overmuch. The Theological Dictionary says: to overextend. In the first examples, JESUS required each of them to do something, reach out for something, when they had a need. We must make the first step toward Him in every situation and them allow Him to direct the next step! Sometimes we can make a faith stand on the promises in the Word. Sometimes we need to pray the prayer of agreement with another believer. Sometimes we will need to have hands laid on us. HE is always the Source we need to 'stretch out' toward. And HE ALWAYS has the answer! The last example is sort of an advisory to NOT over extend ourselves. To not go beyond our area of expertise, but to allow others to shine in their roles. To not take on more than we are able to do well. To not go beyond what He has called us to, even if others may think otherwise! In all of these examples, relying on Holy Spirit is the key! He will never fail and the Word will never fail, so relying on them both, WE will never fail! Here is Hillsong with one of my favorite songs called "Your Word":

Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!

Hi Brian!

The word for this week is "clearly". We find it in these verses:

Luke 6:42 Or how can you say to your brother, Brother, allow me to take out the speck that is in your eye, when you yourself do not see the beam that is in your own eye? You actor (pretender, hypocrite)! First take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye. AMP

Mark 8:25 After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly. KJV

Romans 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: KJV

These are three different Greek words. In Luke we have the Greek word "diablepo". Strong's Concordance says: to look through, to recover full vision. Thayer's Greek Lexicon says: penetrate by vision, to look fixedly, to stare straight before one. In Mark we have the Greek word "telaugos". Strong's Concordance says: in a far shining manner. Thayer's Greek Lexicon says: at a distance and clearly; radiantly, in full light. Vine's Expository Dictionary says: to shine like crystal, to be of crystalline brightness or transparency. In Romans we have the Greek word "kathorao". Strong's Concordance says: to behold fully, distinctly apprehend. Thayer's Greek Lexicon says: to look down, see from above, view from on high, to see thoroughly, perceive clearly, to understand. 

In the first example, we see that our 'vision' as we look at others, can be obstructed by our own thoughts, preconceived ideas, prejudices or even things that we may have heard. The adjustment here is to make the decision to obey the Word and see every person as precious and valuable, which is the way that God sees all of us! When we choose to do this, we are choosing the love way, and love never fails (1 Corinthians 13:8)! 

In the second example, we see that JESUS has just healed a blind man, but the man had not received the full manifestation of his healing. We know that JESUS did not lack the power to completely heal the man from the start, but the man lacked the ability to receive completely the first time. This could be an example for us of the TRUTH that faith, which comes by hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17) takes time and patience to grow strong. It can also be an example of the way that knowledge of the Word grows. Isaiah 28:10 tells us this:

10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:

Growing in the knowledge of the Word takes time and happens little by little, layer upon layer! Continual growth in our understanding of the Word causes our faith to get stronger and stronger until doubt has no place at all! That is our goal, and though it takes time and diligence, it is attainable! 

In the third example, we see that even though we cannot yet see God with our physical eyes, the 'signs' that He IS and that He is active in our lives are all around. That TRUTH tells us that there really are no atheists (people who believe there is no God). Rather, there are people who, even though they can see the proof that God IS, they choose to not have anything to do with Him. My continual prayer for you and Kristine is that God will make His plans and purposes for your lives, your family, your careers, so very clear that there will be no question where He is leading and that He will increase your vision in the spiritual realm so that you will be well prepared ahead of time for anything that the enemy may try! Here is another new song from Hillsong Young and Free called "Love Won't Let Me Down":

Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!