Dr. John C. Reddy

Home  “ Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai:  “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish."”   [Esther 4:15-16]    "...And if I perish, I perish" T he Jewish population was stunned as the news broke through out the land, as the execution order for all the Jews was decreed. There is always sadness where evil regins. Mordecai put on mourner's garb and lamented through the city until he came to the king's gate, beyond which he could not go because sackcloth was not allowed in his majesty's presence. He knew that he was the main object of Haman's hatred. The fate awaiting his nation had been unwittingly prompted by him. Since custom forbade Ester to leave her confinement in the palace...

Home  “ David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the LORD his God. ”   [1 Samuel 30:6]    David inquired of the LORD  D avid and his men reached Ziklag on the third day. Now the Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and burned it, and had taken captive the women and everyone else in it, both young and old. They killed none of them, but carried them off as they went on their way.  When David and his men reached Ziklag, they found it destroyed by fire and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive.  So David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep.  David’s two wives had been captured. David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughter...

Home  “ But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”   [1 John 1:7 ]    Light and Darkness  I f we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us. Now it follows that in order for a person to be in fellowship with God, there can be no hiding of sin. Light and darkness cannot exist in a person's life at the same time, any more than they can exist together in the room of a home. If a man is walking in darkness, he is not in fellowship with God. A man who says he has fellowship with Him and habitually walks in darkness was never saved at all. On the other hand, if one walks in the ...

Home  “ Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to set before the people.”   [Luke 9:16 ]    Jesus feeds the five thousand  W hen the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida, but the crowds learned about it and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing. Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said, “Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here.” He replied, “You give them something to eat.” They answered, “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish—unless we go and buy food for all this crowd.”  (About five thousand men were there.) B...

Home  “ I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.”   [1 Corinthians 15:50]    Born Again-Born of the SPIRIT   N ow there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.” Nicodemus was recognized a s a teacher among his people.  The Bible does not say why Nicodemus came to Jesus by night. The most obvious explanation is that he would have been embarrassed to be seen going to Jesus, since the Lord had by n o means been accepted by the majority of the Jewish people. Nicodemus acknowledge the Lord to be a teacher sent by God, since no one could perform such miracles without the direct help of God. In spite of all his l...