Lost Life in Flesh
Lost Soul In Sin
Selfless in Jesus
New & True Holy Spirit
Jesus is not only saving people from hell and the punishment of sin. Yes, He took the punishment, and the weight and died and suffered for our sin, but it is more than that. What He has provided, in following Him and being with Him, is that the old version of yourself also essentially dies, and the enslavement to sin is no more. If that alone were not already the most beautiful gift, it keeps on giving.
The next part of this is that you are reborn in Jesus, and your new heart is enslaved to righteousness. The Spirit of God, and life and truth, have bound you to the many joys that come within this loving, good new life in Jesus. It is an interesting challenge and a joy that, every day, loving my enemy extends into trying to help them also be healed — that they may hear the truth from me, find their way to repentance, join in Jesus, and be rebirthed in the good grazing of our Good Shepherd, Jesus.
I truly hold so much joy and hope. If I can honestly say this, it is not just loving them — it is true Love. Something else that makes me very happy to read, and brings absolute smiles and joy, is that joining in Jesus is also to become children of God.
There is clarity and deeper insight based on who I am today. I will be quite different tomorrow. If I were to travel back in time even three years, I would shock and surprise myself. I have so much love — endless and without condition. I love everyone.
NOTE: I thought to myself I wonder if people understand when I say the Holy Spirit is excited that is actually me saying God is excited and there is a father the son and the Holy Spirit.
Luke 6:39-40
“Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into a pit? The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher.” Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?
Romans 8:13-14
For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.
Naming, Anonymity, and Redemption
The Biblical Pattern of Healing Over Condemnation
The purpose of this message is not punishment, exposure, or judgment of anyone. The objective is healing, repentance, truth, and restoration. The lessons learned are what matter. The truth is shared so people may turn back to God and so others may heal. Any reprisal, justice, or judgment belongs to God alone. I do not have the energy to judge the world, nor even myself. I have made mistakes and repented, and my sincere hope even for those who opposed or harmed me is not that they suffer, but that they come into the good grace and love of God. This is the way Jesus loved us, and He explicitly commands us to love others as He loved us.
With this understanding, the question arises: if a story contains harmful or sinful actions, but the goal is healing rather than punishment, can the names of those involved be omitted without changing the truth of the story? Biblically, this is not only acceptable — it closely follows the pattern Jesus Himself used.
In Jesus’ teaching stories (parables), harmful or sinful figures are almost always left unnamed. They are presented as roles — a rich man, a judge, a servant, a debtor — rather than individuals. This preserves the lesson while preventing condemnation of a specific person and allows the listener to see themselves in the warning. The one clear exception in Jesus’ parables is that He names a righteous sufferer, not the wrongdoer: Lazarus in Luke 16. Even there, the sinful rich man remains anonymous. This shows that Jesus’ teaching emphasis was never on exposing villains but on revealing truth and calling hearts to repentance.
In the New Testament more broadly, names are most often used not to shame but to reveal redemption and transformed identity. The clearest example is Paul the Apostle, formerly Saul. Scripture deliberately preserves both names so readers see the contrast: persecutor became apostle. The naming records transformation, not condemnation. The same pattern appears in Simon being renamed Peter and Joseph being renamed Barnabas. In each case, the new name marks calling, grace, and new life.
By contrast, when Scripture recounts historical wrongdoing that forms part of the witness of events, individuals may be named — such as Judas Iscariot — not as moral archetypes but as part of testimony about what occurred. This differs from teaching stories, where anonymity is the norm.
The biblical pattern is therefore consistent: in moral teaching, wrongdoers are usually unnamed so the lesson applies to all; in redemption accounts, former sinners are named to show transformation; in historical witness, names may appear to record events. Naming in Scripture is thus primarily associated with identity, calling, and redemption — not humiliation. Even when past sin is recorded, it is often preserved precisely to show the power of grace.
For this reason, telling a true story while omitting the names of harmful actors does not weaken truth or meaning. It actually aligns with Jesus’ own teaching method. The story remains intact, the lesson remains clear, and the focus stays where it belongs: repentance, healing, and return to God. Judgment is left to God, and hope remains even for those who did wrong. This reflects the command of Christ to love others as He loved us.
Matthew 16:22-26
Jesus Predicts His Death
Peter said “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?”
John 21:17
Jesus Reinstates Peter
The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.”
Jesus restored Peter by the Sea of Galilee, asking him three times, “Do you love me?” (John 21:15-17). This act directly countered Peter’s three denials during the crucifixion, allowing him to publicly reaffirm his devotion. Each time Peter answered “Yes,” Jesus commanded him to “feed my sheep,” Following his denial, Peter returned to fishing until Jesus appeared to the disciples, preparing breakfast for them. By asking “Do you love me?” three times, Jesus gave Peter the opportunity to address each of his three denials, alleviating his guilt. Each of Peter’s affirmations was met with a charge: “Feed my lambs,” “Take care of my sheep,” and “Feed my sheep”. Peter was reinstated by Jesus and subsequently became the first pope is a central tenet of Roman Catholic tradition, based on interpretations of the New Testament and early church history.
Matthew 16
The Demand for a Sign
The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven.
He replied, “When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Jesus then left them and went away.
The Yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees
When they went across the lake, the disciples forgot to take bread. “Be careful,” Jesus said to them. “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
They discussed this among themselves and said, “It is because we didn’t bring any bread.”
Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked, “You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread? Do you still not understand? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? How is it you don’t understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
Jesus Predicts His Death
From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”
Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.
Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
John 21
Jesus and the Miraculous Catch of Fish
Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. “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. The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.
Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.
Jesus Reinstates Peter
When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”
“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”
Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”
The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. 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?”
Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.”
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.
Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.
