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Protected: The Four Seasons of Life by Mr Raru ((((Full Audiobook))))

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Claudia Procula New Testament Character Study

R4E130830 – Claudia Procula (New Testament Character Study) by Douglas Jacoby

You can download the full audiobook recording on qobuz or amazon or itunes.

The wife of Pilate

  • Note: If you haven’t yet listened to the podcast on Pontius Pilate, please do so now, as this will provide helpful background information so that you may better understand Claudia.
  • What was it like to relocate because of your husband’s career?
  • What was it like to move to a distant land?
  • What was it like to move where people didn’t speak your language?

The text & Claudia’s dream

  • Matthew 27:19: Besides, while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today in a dream.”
  • The dream was Thursday night / Friday morning of the Passion Week.
  • Some early Christians said that her dream was sent by God to help her become a Christian.
  • Others suggested that this was a scheme of Satan to thwart the crucifixion.
  • In fact, God spoke through dreams to several other people in the course of biblical history. In particular, non-believers to whom he spoke include:
    • Pharaoh (Genesis 40-41)
    • Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 2)
    • Xerxes (Esther 6:1)
    • The list is not exhaustive; the Lord spoke to many believers and non-believers alike, though it is not easy to discern whether or to what extent he still speaks to us by this means in our time.

In later legend:

  • Orthodox saint!
  • 4th C. Acts of Pilate — more elaborate. She appears in the earlier 2nd C. literature also.
  • These documents tended to paint Christianity and Rome as relating positively. That is, they may have propaganda.
  • Could she have become a Christian? In Acts we see several upper-class women responding to the gospel, so it cannot be ruled out. Yet there is no direct evidence for this speculation.

Lessons for us

  • Learn from all the character of the Bible: major, minor; believer, non-believer; male, female…
  • Be sensitive to subtle cues God may be giving us.
  • [Repeated from Pilate lesson:] Don’t ignore your wife’s counsel. After all, women are often more spiritually attuned than men.
  • If your husband is a knucklehead, do share spiritual input. Yet make it count; be strategic:
    • The right subject.
    • The right time.
    • The right tone.
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#Thanksgiving (Special Days #Study Lesson)

R4E130828 –  Thanksgiving by Douglas Jacoby

1 Thanksgiving Origins of the American Celebration
2 Forgiveness Loves More Thanksgiving
3 Revelation Blessing Glory Wisdom Thanksgiving Honor Power

You can download the full audiobook recording on qobuz or amazon or itunes.

Biblical sidelights on Thanksgiving

  • Many of the Psalms express gratitude
    • Psalm 69:30 — “I will praise the name of God with a song / I will magnify him with thanksgiving.”
    • Psalm 100:4 — “Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! / Give thanks to him; bless his name!”
  • Thanksgiving is a special theme in Luke’s gospel
    • Luke is full of stories of people responding appropriately / inappropriately, with or without gratitude (such as the rich man and Zacchaeus, in Luke 18 and 19).
    • Luke 7 — the sinful woman loves much.
      • It is easy to despise those who effusively express their gratitude (like Michal, 2 Samuel 6). Do I look down on those more expressive than me? (Or on those less expressive than I am?)
      • How expressive am I? In thanking others, thanking God, sharing the good news…?
      • Further study: take a look at other versions of this story, for example in John 12.
    • Luke 17 — the 10 lepers
      • Forgetfulness, inattention, loss of focus — perhaps the failure of the 9 was inadvertent.
      • Returning to show thanks will cost us thought, energy, money, time (change of plans?)
      • Thanksgiving is a characteristic of authentic spirituality.
      • 2 Kings 5 — Naaman the leper.
    • Revelation 7:12 — “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”
  • For further thought:
    • Notice the emphasis on gratitude in the epistles. Make a list of verses, and commit one to memory.
    • Do you agree that only 10% of Christians have the “gift of evangelism”? Why or why not? Either way, what are the implications?
    • If I am a parent, are my children grateful? Or do they seem to behave in an “entitled” way?
    • I preached a Thanksgiving sermon at the North River Church of Christ (Marietta, Georgia) on 27 November 2011, inspired by my study underlying this podcast. Perhaps you’ll want to listen to it (26 minutes).

 

Music from https://relate4ever.com/letter-for-children