#SpreadTheGospel

Ninjas of the Lord,

How thou do-eth?

I was watching the Puss in Boots series with my babies when there’s a part Puss said, “I will jump-eth when thou says jump-eth” I said the cat was speaking in KJV but my niece and nephew looked at me wondering what I meant. Sigh. They will soon understand though. KJV is for the elite. 😉

Onto another random thing; is it just me or is time moving so fast these days? Geez! I blink and it is already midnight. I wanted to post on Tuesday the 17th then the day got ahead of me. 17th September 2024 was pure wildin’ for me … God has a sense of humour. Today is 24.09.24 and since I do not want to wait till the 27th to post (I like odd numbers), I felt the alliteration of 24 on today’s date was pretty neat.

Class, we started off with part one of The Wild, Wild West in the Bible and I hope you followed up and read those stories on your own like the church of Berea would do.

As soon as night came, the believers sent Paul and Silas to Berea. When they arrived, they went to the synagogue. The people there were more open-minded than the people in Thessalonica. They listened to the message with great eagerness, and every day they studied the Scriptures to see if what Paul said was really true.

Acts 17:10-11 GNT

Yes, I know you trust my teachings and all the good stuff; but read the Bible for YOURSELF! You need to grow your OWN spiritual muscles.

I will go into the second part of some of the Biblical stories and events I find funny or interesting. Disclaimer: this is not a comprehensive list. I will keep going as the Holy Spirit leads me.

Peter and John Rivalry

These two ninjas were always head to head competing on who was better, who was right, who was faster and who Jesus loved the most. Ha-ha! Jesus had twelve disciples then from the twelve, He had three close disciples one could consider His inner circle; Peter, James and John. Jesus sent only Peter and John into the city to make the preparation for the final Passover meal (the Last Supper). James seems to be a chill guy because we don’t read about him haggling with Peter, John or the rest of the disciples and neither do we read about him doing crazy things like chopping off a soldier’s ear!

Coming to think of it, Peter’s antics add spice to the synoptic Gospels. He is the one getting tax from the fish, he was the only one who dared to walk on water albeit briefly. C’mon, let’s appreciate Peter for being the unhinged guy.

So unhinged was Peter that even Apostle Paul rebuked him for not acting right at some point (Read Galatians 2:11-21). Lol!

Over to John now.

John was a cantankerous one as well; let’s see below:

Jesus called John and James, sons of Zebedee; the sons of thunder. (Who called for fire to come from heaven and consume the Samaritans? Luke 9:54)

 James son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, and He surnamed them Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder;

Mark 3:17 AMPC

We all know the attributes of thunder and John clearly exhibited those. Left alone, the ninja would leave no hostages! Luke 9:54 says it all. Thank God for Jesus. Human beings can be a bunch of crazies.

John was also the disciple who reported to Jesus that they had ‘forbidden’ a non-disciple from casting out demons in Jesus’ name, prompting Jesus to state that ‘he who is not against us is on our side‘. Territorial much, John?

Now that we have profiled Peter and John individually, let us look at how they behaved when together:

• Jesus appearing to His disciples at the Sea of Tiberias

““I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” “No,” they answered. He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water.”

‭‭John‬ ‭21‬:‭3‬-‭7‬ ‭NIV‬

John just had to let you know that he was the one who recognized Jesus before Peter did. However, Peter was so excited that he couldn’t wait in the boat any longer but jumped into the water and swam to Jesus.

• Last Supper: Peter asking Jesus who would betray Him

“Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, 😂😂😂and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?””

‭‭John‬ ‭21‬:‭20‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

I am pretty sure Peter was hoping Jesus would answer that John would betray Him, because why else did Peter look at John BEFORE asking the question?

• Peter asking Jesus whether John was to follow Jesus

“Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!” Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”) When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?””

‭‭John‬ ‭21‬:‭18‬-‭21‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Looool! John is funny.

Let’s see what Jesus tells Peter:

“Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.””

‭‭John‬ ‭21‬:‭22‬ ‭NIV

Jesus with the clap backs though…🥶

Then John had to add some spice to let the sting marinate well:

“Because of this, the rumor spread among the believers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?” This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true.”

‭‭John‬ ‭21‬:‭23‬-‭24‬ ‭NIV‬‬

John is pretty much saying, “I said what I said. Bee-lee dat.😎”

John and Paul

I am referring to John the Beloved once again, not John the Elder.

John is the level of self assured that we all need to be. Compare John 21:24 with 2 Corinthians 2:13 and 18

“We, however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the sphere of service God himself has assigned to us, a sphere that also includes you. For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭10‬:‭13‬, 18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

John needed no approval to call himself the one whom Jesus loved. 😅 Key lesson: Write your own narrative!!

I don’t think John would ever utter the words Paul did…

“I hope you will put up with me in a little foolishness. Yes, please put up with me! I may indeed be untrained as a speaker, but I do have knowledge. We have made this perfectly clear to you in every way. Was it a sin for me to lower myself in order to elevate you by preaching the gospel of God to you free of charge?”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭11‬:‭1‬, ‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

John lower himself? I doubt it!😅

Also, John never referred to himself as John, rather, as the disciple whom Jesus loved. Paul however, would always identify himself in his epistles:

“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus:”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus,”

‭‭II Timothy‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,”

‭‭Colossians‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Peter would introduce himself in his letters too:

“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, …..,”

‭‭I Peter‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, ….”

‭‭II Peter‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

For John, it was more of, “…there’s no need to say my name because there’s only one disciple whom Jesus loved.😎”

John affirming himself in the mirror every morning: “I am loved. I am Jesus’ favourite. I am the one Jesus loves the most. I am the apple of Jesus’ eyes.‬“

The more I learn/read about John, the more I am intrigued by him. I would like to know which stories you find fascinating. Comment below. 🙂

If you are not born again, please say this prayer out loud:

Dear Lord,

Thank You for dying on the cross for me. I believe in my heart that you died and rose again and I confess with my mouth that You are Lord and Saviour in my heart and in my life. I denounce my former ways and choose to be Your child. Thank You for setting me free. I am now born again. In Jesus’ Name, Amen

God loves you despite your craziness.

XO,

That Lady