Urban Prophet began as a tee shirt brand geared towards enabling wearers proclaim the Kingdom of God and related concepts without having to say a word, or as means to begin a conversation about God, Jesus, Holy Spirit or related topics. I explain this in more detail in the video below –

This part of the blog post came from bible study that wasn’t really structured to any particular theme or topic. I was going through the 4 gospels and as I read, the personality of Yeshua (Jesus Christ) shone through His words. These are some verses that I found quite intriguing. 

Some of the things He said are jarring, thought-provoking and go against human inclination and/or intuition. Every time I read these verses they are impactful and I do hope that you, the reader, are enriched by them, one way or another (in the Name of Yeshua and by the power of the Spirit of God,amen).

The verses are taken from the Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) found on www.BIBLEGATEWAY.com

Mark 4: 24 and 25

24 And He said to them, Be careful what you are hearing. The measure [of thought and study] you give [to the truth you hear] will be the measure [of virtue and knowledge] that comes back to you—and more [besides] will be given to you who hear.

25 For to him who has will more be given; and from him who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away [by force],

Mark 7: 18 -20

18 And He said to them, Then are you also unintelligent and dull and without understanding? Do you not discern and see that whatever goes into a man from the outside cannot make him unhallowed or unclean,

19 Since it does not reach and enter his heart but [only his] digestive tract, and so passes on [into the place designed to receive waste]? Thus He was making and declaring all foods [ceremonially] clean [that is, abolishing the ceremonial distinctions of the Levitical Law].

20 And He said, What comes out of a man is what makes a man unclean and renders [him] unhallowed.

Mark 8: 15

15 And Jesus [repeatedly and expressly] charged and admonished them, saying, Look out; keep on your guard and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod and the Herodians.

My comment – Structured religion and corrupt government and/or officials is a big NO NO.

Mark 9 : 1 

And Jesus said to them, Truly and solemnly I say to you, there are some standing here who will in no way taste death before they see the kingdom of God come in [its] power.

My comment –  I understand now, when Holy Spirit came at Pentecost, that was the Kingdom of God come with power.

Mark 9: 12 

And He said to them, Elijah, it is true, does come first to restore all things and set them to rights. And how is it written of the Son of Man that He will suffer many things and be utterly despised and be treated with contempt and rejected?

My comment – Interesting , but I have no idea what it means.

Mark 9 : 36-39

 36 And He took a little child and put him in the center of their group; and taking him in [His] arms, He said to them,

 37 Whoever in My name and for My sake accepts and receives and welcomes one such child also accepts and receives and welcomes Me; and whoever so receives Me receives not only Me but Him Who sent Me.

38 John said to Him, Teacher, we saw a man who does not follow along with us driving out demons in Your name, and we forbade him to do it, because he ^[a]is not one of our band [of Your disciples].

39 But Jesus said, Do not restrain or hinder or forbid him; for no one who does a mighty work in My name will soon afterward be able to speak evil of Me.

Mark 11:25 

25 And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him and let it drop (leave it, let it go), in order that your Father Who is in heaven may also forgive you your [own] failings and shortcomings and let them drop.

 My comment – This is related to the Lord’s prayer in Luke 11.

Mark 12:17

17 Jesus said to them, Pay to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s. And they stood marveling and greatly amazed at Him.

Mark 13:22

22 False Christs (Messiahs) and false prophets will arise and show signs and [work] miracles to deceive and lead astray, if possible, even the elect (those God has chosen out for Himself).

Luke 5:39 

39 And no one after drinking old wine immediately desires new wine, for he says, The old is good or better.

Luke 11: 34 – 36, vs 42

34 Your eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye (your conscience) is sound and fulfilling its office, your whole body is full of light; but when it is not sound and is not fulfilling its office, your body is full of darkness.

35 Be careful, therefore, that the light that is in you is not darkness.

36 If then your entire body is illuminated, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright [with light], as when a lamp with its bright rays gives you light.

42 But woe to you, Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every [little] herb, but disregard and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done without leaving the others undone.

Luke 12:25 -26, 35 -38, 47 – 48

25 And which of you by being overly anxious and troubled with cares can add a cubit to his stature or a moment [unit] of time to his age [the length of his life]?

26 If then you are not able to do such a little thing as that, why are you anxious and troubled with cares about the rest?

35 Keep your loins girded and your lamps burning,

36 And be like men who are waiting for their master to return home from the marriage feast, so that when he returns from the wedding and comes and knocks, they may open to him immediately.

37 Blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied) are those servants whom the master finds awake and alert and watching when he comes. Truly I say to you, he will gird himself and have them recline at table and will come and serve them!

38 If he comes in the second watch (before midnight) or the third watch (after midnight), and finds them so, blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied) are those servants!

47 And that servant who knew his master’s will but did not get ready or act as he would wish him to act shall be beaten with many [lashes].

48 But he who did not know and did things worthy of a beating shall be beaten with few [lashes]. For everyone to whom much is given, of him shall much be required; and of him to whom men entrust much, they will require and demand all the more.

Luke 14: 8 – 14

8 When you are invited by anyone to a marriage feast, do not recline on the chief seat [in the place of honor], lest a more distinguished person than you has been invited by him,

9 And he who invited both of you will come to you and say, Let this man have the place [you have taken]. Then, with humiliation and a guilty sense of impropriety, you will begin to take the lowest place.

10 But when you are invited, go and recline in the lowest place, so that when your host comes in, he may say to you, Friend, go up higher! Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit [at table] with you.

11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled (ranked below others who are honored or rewarded), and he who humbles himself (keeps a modest opinion of himself and behaves accordingly) will be exalted (elevated in rank).

12 Jesus also said to the man who had invited Him, When you give a dinner or a supper, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, lest perhaps they also invite you in return, and so you are paid back.

13 But when you give a banquet or a reception, invite the poor, the disabled, the lame, and the blind.

14 Then you will be blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied), because they have no way of repaying you, and you will be recompensed at the resurrection of the just (upright).

Luke 16: 8-10 and 13

8 And [his] master praised the dishonest (unjust) manager for acting shrewdly and prudently; for the sons of this age are shrewder and more prudent and wiser in [relation to] their own generation [to their own age and kind] than are the sons of light.

9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous mammon (deceitful riches, money, possessions), so that when it fails, they [those you have favored] may receive and welcome you into the everlasting habitations (dwellings).

10 He who is faithful in a very little [thing] is faithful also in much, and he who is dishonest and unjust in a very little [thing] is dishonest and unjust also in much

13 No servant is able to serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will stand by and be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon (riches, or anything in which you trust and on which you rely).

Luke 17:4

4 And even if he sins against you seven times in a day, and turns to you seven times and says, I repent [I am sorry], you must forgive him (give up resentment and consider the offense as recalled and annulled).

Luke 18: 6 – 8

Then the Lord said, Listen to what the unjust judge says!

7 And will not [our just] God defend and protect and avenge His elect (His chosen ones), who cry to Him day and night? Will He defer them and delay help on their behalf?

8 I tell you, He will defend and protect and avenge them speedily. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find [persistence in] faith on the earth?

Luke 21: 34 – 36, emphasis on vs 36

34 But take heed to yourselves and be on your guard, lest your hearts be overburdened and depressed (weighed down) with the giddiness and headache and nausea of self-indulgence, drunkenness, and worldly worries and cares pertaining to [the business of] this life, and [lest] that day come upon you suddenly like a trap or a noose;

35 For it will come upon all who live upon the face of the entire earth.

36 Keep awake then and watch at all times [be discreet, attentive, and ready], praying that you may have the full strength and ability and be accounted worthy to escape all these things [taken together] that will take place, and to stand in the presence of the Son of Man.

Luke 22: 24 – 30

24 Now an eager contention arose among them [as to] which of them was considered and reputed to be the greatest.

25 But Jesus said to them, The kings of the Gentiles are deified by them and exercise lordship [ruling as emperor-gods] over them; and those in authority over them are called benefactors and well-doers.

26 But this is not to be so with you; on the contrary, let him who is the greatest among you become like the youngest, and him who is the chief and leader like one who serves.

27 For who is the greater, the one who reclines at table (the master), or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am in your midst as One Who serves.

28 And you are those who have remained [throughout] and persevered with Me in My trials;

29 And as My Father has appointed a kingdom and conferred it on Me, so do I confer on you [the privilege and decree],

30 That you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Grace,Peace and Love to all!

It’s not that Genesis is my favorite book, but I think origin stories are cool. It shows the beginnings of our history as Christians, the simple demonstrations of faith in those times and how ultimately those simple forms hold true today. It lets us see truly how unchanging and faithful God is, how pivotal obedience to God’s word is and how immutable the Word is.

In Genesis chapter 12 vs 10, there was a famine in the land, of such epic proportions that Abraham packed up his worldly goods and headed to Egypt to hunker down for “winter was coming” (so to speak). He survived the winter, but not without some drama. In the end, it all worked out for his good. This too, is a story for another day. For now, I want to draw our attention to the concept of obedience to God’s instructions.

Now, a few chapters later, in Genesis chapter 26 vs 1,
another famine showed its terrible face in the land and this was more gruesome than the one that had been in Abraham’s time. Isaac prepped to head south (metaphorically speaking of course) for the winter, like every individual with commonsense would, and again the location for this was Egypt. I imagined that his father had told him the story of his own famine days along with the “she is my sister antics” but that is another tale for another day. God came to Isaac and instructed Isaac not to go… God showed up and gave him RHEMA.

RHEMA – a specific word to a specific person regarding a specific situation. This is the instruction of what to do in a situation delivered in real-time.

Isaac stayed in the land as instructed. He LIED about his wife being his sister because he was afraid that the men of Gerar would kill him for her hand, because she was beautiful, he tried to save his head. I’m pretty sure his actions were not without cause. However, the King of the Gerar happened to have seen him with ‘’his sister’’ in a way and manner that was ‘’clearly not sisterly’. Abimelech basically berated Isaac for this dastardly action and gave an edict protecting him from any such molestation that he, Isaac, had earlier imagined.

Picture that event, replay it in our time-

News Flash!

Instagram!

Twitter!

‘’ISAAC, ‘’SHE’S MY SISTER’’

“The construction mogul Isaac lied about his marital status, claiming his wife was his sister!’’ etc …

He would become known as a dishonest man, and nobody would ever want to do business with him!

Yet, we have the Bible telling us in Verse 12 that Isaac sowed in the land with the odds against him and he reaped a hundred-fold!

Rhema works regardless of the bumbling we may have done. The word of grace named upon one’s life is sure regardless of prior misdemeanors. Praise the Lord!

The key is obedience to the rhema God has given!
Observe also that the Lord relates to us as individuals.

Out of the blue, God speaks to him, tells him “ Take your son”, (and just so Abraham doesn’t become lawyer-like and look for loopholes in God’s statement, God adds) “… your only son and sacrifice him on a mountain I will show you”. Now Isaac, Abraham’s son by Sarah, was a special child. He was a child of promise, spoken about when Abraham was 75 years old and Sarah his wife was 65. It took 25 years for Isaac to be born, and suddenly God showed up to collect!!!.

It would have been easy, OK scratch that…it would have been EASIER to handle if God asked for him when he was still a toddler. But the guy was probably in his teens (some bible scholars argue that Isaac was probably in his 30’s, which adds to the wonder of it all, but I lean towards late teens to early 20’s because a child would not be able to carry the wood for burning the sacrifice up the designated mountain).

God asked for Isaac at that point in time and life that Abraham could begin to see the fine young man taking shape within this youth. He could see his dreams coalescing in this fine specimen. Then “Sacrifice him on a mountain I will show you” hits Abraham like an arrow.

Dude (I use this word not in a bid to disrespect Abraham but in awe of him) didn’t flinch. He was packed and heading in the direction he was told…
He had three nights to bail on the thought! Three nights of battling this evil idea (how else would you term it! 3 nights of waiting to hear God say, its fine, you can go back home now).

I excluded the days, not because he wasn’t thinking about it, its just that when you have a task at hand, you can subsume yourself into it, like walking to the said mountain. At night, however, the words and pictures it conjures come out to play.

It didn’t make sense! This was a child of promise! He was supposed to be the source of the world’s blessing and he is about to sacrificed! Or maybe that very reason was what kept him going “You can’t bless the world if you are dead and God doesn’t break his word, I’m sure he has a plan”.

He gets there… and in his heart he had already sacrificed Isaac.

The doing so impressed God that he swore by Himself! Abraham had God repeating Himself “Because you have not withheld your son, thine only son… I will bless you… Your descendants”. Gen 22 vs 12-19

When I meet Abraham in heaven, I will walk up to him, and shake him with two hands and ask him

“Sir, what kept you going those three days?”

The Holy Spirit asked me to study the book of Ecclesiastes, so I did. I noted the verses that jumped out at me and I took them with me to meditate, to beat out its true meaning as it were. The verse below is one of such verses …

Chapter 1 verse 13 specifies the fact that the focus of his (the Preacher) study was “human business”. In much human wisdom is much vexation. Human knowledge has no “hope” in it. Ax heads made of iron do not float. Seas do not part, you cannot walk 40 years in the desert without one person dying, your clothes growing with you and other strange things…this is not human knowledge. Human knowledge is about learning limits…and pushing those limits…the knowledge of God is understanding how limitless His love and power towards us is.

Chapter 1 speaks about the futility in hard work and quest for knowledge, considering that those deeds and wealth will not last forever. Nothing new is born under the sun, what we simply have is a revamp of the old with a thin veneer of newness. I understood the very despondency of human wisdom, there is no ultimate truth, only the continuous trek up the dune, and upon breasting it, you find there is yet another crest. You might say, the journey, not the destination is the important thing. I agree, but there is no hope in this journey for the culmination of man’s wisdom. Only the Word of God and the Works of God are eternal. His stance on a matter bears the stamp of eternity and perfection, you cannot improve on it! You cannot 2.0 it!

We seek to better our surrounding by learning of them, but let us be reminded that God is the author of eternity and the pursuit of the knowledge of Him holds more value than man himself.