There Is Healing When You Give Someone Voice

It is my pleasure to present to my dear readers a great Christian friend and sister in Christ, Susan Smith, as our guest blogger here at Talk Wisdom this evening. May her wonderful words of wisdom, brought to us all by the power of the Holy Spirit of God through her, be a special blessing to each of you tonight. I know that what she has shared in this wonderful message has truly blessed me!

Love in Christ,
Christine

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Susan Smith's Newsletter, July 29, 2011


There is healing when you give someone voice. Listening to a hurting heart can be therapeutic when the time is right. Silence can speak volumes, but then again words are powerful too if they come from the Lord via the Holy Spirit. Sometimes it is difficult for me to hear clearly and to see with a pure heart. Often I pray for God to open the eyes of my heart and others who are hurting. I also have learned that pain can draw me closer to God, and when I am hurting deeply it tends to draw me closer to God, almost as though he is watching me closer than before.






The words that are written tell me it is good for me to draw near to God (Psalm 73:28). For me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made him my refuge so that I can tell of all his works. I like David Stern’s translation from Psalm 73:






Whom do I have in heaven but you? And with you, I lack nothing on earth. My mind and body may fail; but God is the rock for my mind and my portion forever. Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who adulterously leave you. But for me, the nearness of God is my good.






My friend, you are in the kingdom of heaven now, if you believe the truth. I am not talking about relative or comparative truth that we hear so much about during this season in the world. I am talking about absolute truth. The Messiah is the truth (John 14:6). He is the way we must go in order to come unto the father, and he is the life we must live if we want to choose life instead of death (John 14:6).






When Joshua led the Israelites across the Jordan River, there were still wars in the Promised Land. We are in spiritual battles today, every day we breathe. The battlefield is the mind! We are all experiencing the oppression and what appears to be destruction by the enemy in and on the earth today. What can we do? Nothing, we must BE what we are, by his GRACE! When we are focused and following Jesus, then the Lord directs our path.






We must trust in the Lord with all our corporate heart and lean not on our own individual understanding. In all our ways the ONE body must acknowledge the ONE God of heaven and earth, the ONE God of ISRAEL, and he will make level our individual paths and make them straight (Proverbs 3:5-6).






By God’s grace I am what I am, and his grace towards me was not in vain (1 Corinthians 15:10). We have ONE enemy. We are created in the image of God; therefore, we are spiritual people. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). The spiritual realm is real. We are slaves to the one we obey (Romans 6:16). We must be sober and be watchful. Our enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8).






In union with the Messiah, through his faithfulness, we have boldness and confidence when we approach God. When we suffer for others, it is for their glory. For this reason, I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name (Ephesians 3:12-15). There is ONE body (Ephesians 4:4). My prayer this day is that the eyes of your heart and mine may be enlightened, so that we both will know what is the hope of his calling (Ephesians 1:18). Do you have hope this day?






I received a personal phone call from a pastor I love last week. He knew I was traveling to Israel for the three-week study tour, and he called to tell me he missed me in worship the first Sunday I was back. My custom is to worship with several congregations throughout each year. I enjoy the variety of the spiritual food I receive from different circles of worshipers.






It made me feel good to receive the call. I told the pastor I wanted to worship with a congregation that I know loves Israel my first Sunday back. He understood and showed me God’s grace when he said he did not want me to feel pressured to attend the religious service where he speaks most every Sunday unless there is a guest speaker. Then I told him I was very interested in attending the Wednesday night bible study he will be teaching later this year.






The study I hope to attend should show me more of the pastor’s heart concerning Israel. I was pleased to hear him call Jesus the “Messiah” not long ago. The study is called a “Precept Bible Study” and the advertisement for the study says this:






Do you know that our relationship with Jesus Christ is built on an Old Testament covenant with Abraham? Do you know that the Covenant bridges the Old and New Testament? Do you know that our Lord and Savior is the fulfillment of that covenant? Do you know that everyone who is not a part of that covenant is not among God's chosen people? Would you like to learn why God chose you for His Kingdom and not others?






God’s people are beautiful all over the earth and in the world where we live in the flesh today. On the sixth day of creation, God saw all that he had made, and indeed it was very good (Genesis 1:31). I am in love with the family of God, the ONE body. Of course even they can be discouraging and even disappointing at times to my fleshly desires.






You see, the Bible study sounds good to my ears; however my hope is not in the written Word of God. My hope is in the Living Word. When I draw near to him, I realize he is keeping a closer eye on me than ever before. I begin to realize his eyes are like a flaming fire; he is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called The Word of God (Revelation 19:12-13). It is a fearful and terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10:31).






Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down nations—“He will break them with an iron rod; shatter them like a clay pot” (Psalm 2:9). It is he who treads the winepress from which flows the wine of the furious wrath of God, the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written: King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 19:15-16).






As a believer, I am not very interested anymore in learning more facts and what other people might think. I want to know God and the ONE he sent (John 17:3). I want to believe the Spirit of Truth is guiding me into all truth (John 16:13). Hmmm… if God’s chosen people are made in his image and we are ONE body, then maybe somehow, someway we can learn from one another. I believe I am purely and simply following Jesus. Want to join me? After all, we are ONE! (Colossian 2:9-11 and Colossians 3:9-11). Think about these things… ~ Susan Smith

Hat Tip and many thanks to Susan Smith!

Urgency and Necessity of The Truth War

Chapter Three of John MacArthur's book, The Truth War: Fighting for Certainty in an Age of Deception is entitled "Constrained Into Conflict: Why We Must Fight for the Faith."

I have had this book for a long time. Every so often, I go back and read some of the chapters. If you do a search on this blog, you will find at least four blog posts about the book. Recently, I ran across a link to several John MacArthur Videos. Many of them are excerpts from his book The Truth War.

Years ago, I bookmarked the final three pages of chapter three. It is subtitled, "When It's Time To Go To War." I found it very interesting that the verse in Jude 3, which contains the phrase "contend earnestly for the faith" is actually stronger in meaning when translated from the Greek. MacArthur writes:

The expression "contend earnestly" is translated from a strong Greek verb epagonizomai,literally meaning "agonize against." The word describes an intensive, arduous, drawn-out fight. There is nothing passive, peaceful, or easy about it. Jude "exhorted" them - meaning he urged and commanded them - to wage a mighty battle on behalf of the true faith.

So then literally, we are to "agonize against" the falsehoods that creep up into Christianity that often, quite frankly, turn Christian truth into something unrecognizable. I could cite dozens of examples. But two of the most contentious moral problems of our time are the acceptance of homosexual behavior and abortion of children in the womb.

There will always be people who try and twist the truth to their own advantage. Many times it is used as an excuse to cover their sins. But there is only One Provision for the forgiveness of sins - and that is Jesus Christ's sacrificial death on the cross. Christ is the only way to be reconciled unto the Father.

MacArthur continues:

Jude himself says he felt the necessity to write this command. He employs a verb that speaks of pressure. In other words, he sensed a strong, God-given compulsion to write these things. He was not writing them because he took some kind of perverse glee in being militant. He was not responding to a momentary whimsy or personal anger. This was critical, and since the writers of Scripture never wrote by human self-will, but only as they were moved by the Spirit of God (2 Peter 1:21), the extreme urgency of Jude reflects the sovereign influence of the Holy Spirit, and therefore also the mind of Christ.

I love that last line - "This was critical, and since the writers of Scripture never wrote by human self-will, but only as they were moved by the Spirit of God (2 Peter 1:21), the extreme urgency of Jude reflects the sovereign influence of the Holy Spirit, and therefore also the mind of Christ."

I don't know about you, but in my lifetime I have NEVER seen so many liars getting away with their sin and corruption than over the past two and a half years. It seems that ever since the Obama administration got into office, any semblance of a reasonable government was out the window. As one example, we only need to turn on the T.V. each day and hear the bad news about the current debt crisis to understand how fallen man has gotten us into such a mess. Then, in the next news segment we find out that Obama has raised 86 million dollars for his re-election campaign. Why would anyone in their right mind want to re-elect this monster?? Answer: money, power, influence, and the desire to "fundamentally transform America" which is code word for collapsing our Constitutional Republic Capitalist system and bringing in a cesspool combination of communism, socialism, Islamo-fascism and sharia law. What could go wrong? But all of that is for another blog post.

MacArthur continues:

We thus have an urgent mandate from God Himself to do our part in the Truth War. The Holy Spirit, through the pen of Jude, is urging Christians to exercise caution, discernment, courage, and the will to contend earnestly for the truth.

Notice what we are supposed to be fighting for. It is not anything petty, personal, mundane, or ego related. This warfare has a very narrow objective. What we are called to defend is no less than "the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints."

Jude is speaking of apostolic doctrine (Acts 2:42) - objective Christian truth - the faith, as delivered from Jesus through the agency of the Holy Spirit by the apostles to the church. As he says in verse 17: "Remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Notice: no one discovered or invented the Christian faith. It was delivered to us. It was not as if someone mystically ascended into the transcendental realm and drew down an understanding of the truth. We don't need an enlightened guru to open the mysteries of the faith for us (cf. 1 John 2:27). The truth was entrusted by God to the whole church - intact and "once for all." It came by revelation, through the teaching of the apostles as preserved for us in Scripture. Jude speaks of "the faith" as a complete body of truth already delivered - so there is no need to seek additional revelation or to embellish the substance of "the faith" in any way. Our task is simply to interpret, understand, publish, and defend the truth God has once and for all delivered to the church.

The fact that the Bible is the Written Word of God, Jesus is the Living Word of God, and the Holy Spirit of God guides us into all truth allows born again believers in Jesus Christ to "interpret, understand, publish, and defend the truth God has once and for all delivered to the church." How can we spot untruths, heresy, apostasy and lies? By making sure that what is being espoused by any preacher, teacher, or layperson is not contradictory to what the Bible teaches!

John MacArthur explains:

That is what the Truth War is ultimately all about. It is not mere wrangling between competing earthly ideologies. It is not simply a campaign to refine someones religious creed or win a denominational spitting contest. It is not a battle of wits over arcane theological fine points. It is not an argument for sport. It is not like a school debate, staged to see who is more skilled or more clever in the art of argumentation. It is not merely academic in any sense. And it is certainly not a game. It is a very serious struggle to safeguard the heart and soul of truth itself and to unleash that truth against the powers of darkness - in hopes of rescuing the eternal souls of men and women who have been unwittingly ensnared by the trap of devilish deception.

This is a battle we cannot wage effectively if we always try to come across to the world as merely nice, nonchalant, docile, agreeable, and fun-loving people. We must not take our cues from people who are perfectly happy to compromise the truth wherever possible "for harmony's sake." Friendly dialogue may sound affable and pleasant. But neither Christ or the apostles ever confronted serious, soul-destroying error by building collegial relationships with false teachers. In fact, we are expressly forbidden to do that (Romans 16:17; 2 Corinthians 6:14-15; 2 Thessalonians 3:6; 2 Timothy 3:5; 2 John 10-11). Scripture is clear about how we are to respond when the very foundations of the Christian faith are under attack, and Jude states it succinctly: it is our bounden duty to contend earnestly for the faith.

I have to chuckle each time I see someones car with the bumper sticker that says "COEXIST" where each letter represents a different religion. It seems to me that the liberal/progressive advocates of such a symbol often hate those who adhere to true Christian faith and they tend not to hide their disdain. Just watch some of the alphabet soup news programs and commentary shows out there and you will see what I mean!

Why is there such hatred for Christians? I think that it is because of what Jesus told us in these verses:

Jhn 15:18 "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before [it hated] you.

Jhn 15:19 "If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

Jhn 15:25 "But [this happened] that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, 'They hated Me without a cause.'

Read the entire chapter of John 15. It starts out Jhn 15:1 "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser." Jesus is speaking in these verses and He goes on to reveal that Jhn 15:5 "I am the vine, you [are] the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing."

John 15 is such a comfort these days. Why? Because Jesus has warned us that followers of him will be hated. It is part of the "turf" in the warfare we are in for the souls of men.

John MacArthur continues:

Notice carefully: Jude is not suggesting (nor am I) that Christians should contend among themselves over every petty disagreement or divide into factions over every personality conflict. In fact, that is the very thing the apostle Paul condemned in 1 Corinthians 3:3-7. Divisiveness and sectarianism are terrible sins that hurt the church when major divisions are manufactured out of petty differences over trivial, doubtful, indifferent, or less-than-vital matter (Romans 14:1).

We cannot include differences over abortion or homosexual practice. They are not in the "petty disagreement" categories. Both of them break at least one, if not more of the Ten Commandments. However, a difference over whether a hard Christian rock band sings a Christmas song or a more traditional choir sings it better would be a petty argument. Such a thing is a matter of taste.

John MacArthur continues:

Now, you might think that the difference between a picayune disagreement and a serious threat to some core truth of Christianity would always be obvious and clear-cut. Usually, it is. Most of the time, it is easy enough to see the distinction between a peripheral issue and a matter of urgent and fundamental importance. But not always. And here is where mature wisdom and careful discernment become absolutely crucial for every Christian: sometimes serious threats to our faith come in subtle disguise so that they are barely noticeable. And false teachers like to surround their deadly error with some truth. Therein lies the seduction. We must never assume that things like the teacher's reputation, the warmth of his personality, or majority opinion about him are perfectly safe barometers of whether his teaching is really dangerous or not. We also shouldn't imagine that common sense, intuition, or first impressions are reliable ways of determining whether this or that error poses a serious threat or not. Scripture, and Scripture alone, is the only safe guide in this area.

As Dr. MacArthur states in that last paragraph sentence, "Scripture, and Scripture alone, is the only safe guide in this area."

Amen!!!

The term "Scripture" itself appears in the Bible 32 times!

This is a beautiful verse:

Gal 3:22 But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

Hat Tips:

Grace To You.org - The Truth War pp. 74-77

Blue Letter Bible and all links.

He Is Risen!

Just as he said!

I love the fact that Jesus told his disciples, in advance, that he would rise again three days later after being crucified. On the dreadful day when Jesus was beaten and nailed to the cross at Calvary, his followers must have been in deep grief. But even in this, he told them that their grief would turn to joy! And it did!! On that first Resurrection Day almost 2,000 years ago, the promises of Jesus came to fruition and we can have the ultimate confidence that all he has promised in the Scriptures regarding his second coming will also be fulfilled!

Today's message at church discussed 1 Corinthians 15:14-25, Within these verses is the fact that if Christ had not risen, then our faith is futile. But the fact of history is that Christ did rise from the dead, so our faith is secure and absolute truth. Whether a person believes this or not is up to him/her. Free will and all that.

1 Corinthians 15:20-28 - 20But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. 24Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. 25For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27For he "has put everything under his feet." Now when it says that "everything" has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. 28When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.

Looking Back, Looking Forward

Looking Back, Looking Forward

. . . saying, “The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.”
Luke 24:7  

Recommended Reading Matthew 16:21-28

  
Suppose someone told you of two unlikely events that would happen in the future—one in a few days, the other at an undetermined time in the future. In spite of the details he gave about each event, you found it hard to believe that he could predict the future with that kind of accuracy. Within a few days you learn that the first predicted event took place exactly as the man said. How would that change your thinking about the likelihood of the second event?

It would probably change your thinking radically. Strangely enough, even though Jesus Christ predicted His own death and resurrection on the third day—both of which were fulfilled in detail—many people don’t take seriously His promise to return to earth. On the same occasion in which Jesus told His disciples of His impending death and resurrection, He said, “For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works” (Matthew 16:27).

It would be unwise to look back at Christ’s death and resurrection in belief, and not look forward to His Second Coming with expectation.

The future is as bright as the promises of God. Adoniram Judson

Read-thru-the-Bible 
2 Kings 18:1 - 20:21

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Today is Holy Thursday, a.k.a. Maundy Thursday. It is the day where Christians commemorate the Last Supper when Jesus shared the Passover meal with his disciples on the night before he was crucified.


Tomorrow is Good Friday, which is the day we remember and commemorate when Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross to save mankind from their sins. Upon confession and repentance of sin and belief in Jesus as Lord and Savior of our lives because of what he did for us on the cross of Calvary, we can be united to our Savior and ask for the Holy Spirit of God to indwell our hearts. The Holy Spirit leads us into all truth, helping us to read and study the Bible, do good works because we love God, and have the desire to please and serve him.  The Holy Spirit helps us to discern good vs. evil.


While reading through the March/April/May, 2002 devotional booklet called "Our Daily Bread" this morning, I was trying to decide which daily devotional to present on my blog today. I had bookmarked at least five of them as possibilities, until I turned the page once again and found THE ONE that I thought was perfect for this time of year. After reading through the devotional, I started to turn back the pages to find out the name of the author so I could give credit to him. You see, typically only the initials appear at the end of each devotional, but the authors are listed at the beginning of the booklet so we can know who they are. When I turned back, I noticed that I had skipped one page (two devotionals) that I may have most likely chosen to share today. They are so good - as are most of the devotionals - but because the pages stuck together, I didn't see them at first. One is called "Murphy's Laws," the other "The Good Life." Needless to say, I can always present them here at a later date. The one that I already made up my mind to share  (or, maybe the Holy Spirit's leading brought me there?) is the one that is best for today. It is called "Compelling Love."
~Christine

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Compelling Love

Read: 2 Corinthians 5:9-15

The love of Christ compels us.
-2 Corinthians 5:14

I read a story some time ago about an aspiring young golfer who spent hours in his backyard practicing his golf swing. He wasn't allowed to use a real golf ball close to the house, only a plastic, practice ball.

One day, when he thought both his parents were gone, he longed to hear the sweet click of a club head meeting a real golf ball. So he went outside, teed one up, took a mighty swing, and accidentally hit the ball through his parents' bedroom window.

I'll let him tell the rest of the story: "I heard the glass shatter, and then I heard my mother cray out. I ran into the house and up the stairs to her bedroom. She was standing there in front of the broken window and she was bleeding. I started to cry and I couldn't stop. All I could say was 'Mom, what have I done! What have I done! I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!' Her response was to hug me and say, 'It's all right; every thing's going to be all right.' After that I never wanted to take a real golf ball into the backyard."

When we think about our Lord suffering for us on the cross, we want too live "for Him who died for [us] and rose again" (2 Corinthians 5:15). After we've heard His words of forgiveness, there are things we just never want to do again--in the backyard, or in any other place. - DHR (David H. Roper)

Down from His splendor in glory He came,
Into a world of woe;
Took on Himself all my guilt and my shame,
Why should He love me so? - Roth

 WHEN WE PONDER CHRIST'S LOVE FOR US,
WE'LL WANT TO LIVE FOR HIM.

Hat Tips:

David Jeremiah.org

Our Daily Bread Devotional, March/April/May 2002, May 22nd reading.

Have A Merry and Blessed Christmas!

Dear Friends and Visitors,

Christmas Eve is almost here! This is often a busy day for most people. It certainly is for me so I just wanted to take a moment and wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! May the blessings of Jesus Christ be upon you and your loved ones during the celebration of the miraculous occasion almost 2,000 years ago - the birth of the Savior of the world - JESUS CHRIST!

In the previous blog post entitled If Our Greatest Need Was... I wrote about the fact that the "politically correct" greetings around this time of year generally do not include the mention of the name of Jesus Christ or why he came to earth for our salvation.

Noooo!

Can't say that!

It's deemed "too religious" or a host of other excuses are used.

In the comment thread, Stevex09 shared:

Hey Christine;
I couldn't agree with you more. A person is very hard pressed to find anything about Jesus Christ or at least the mention of his name at this time of year. It saddens me immensely. Last week I took Sandy and went to a friend's home where about 7 others were gathered and we read the Christmas story from Luke and Matthew. What a great and edifying time I had. (Sandy is my Shi-Tzu). Take comfort that not all of us has forgotten what Christmas is all about.

I sincerely wish you and your family a wonderful and blessed Christmas day.

In my reply to Steve I wrote:


Hi Steve,

It warms my heart to hear about fellow Christians gathering and sharing the TRUE meaning of Christmas together - the Person Jesus Christ. He is the Light of the world!

Someone recently asked me, "why do people put Christmas lights up on their homes."

The answer is that it originally was meant to recognize that Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, is the Light of the World!

Of course, many people who do not know Him would probably have other reasons for putting the lights up. But how ironic it is to realize that they inadvertently are recognizing Jesus Christ through their actions.

I have a great post coming up that I can't wait to share with everyone!

As each busy day passes, I find that my time on the computer has been very limited! Right now, I only have about 10 minutes to spend online.

I am really looking forward to creating the new post! I'll give you a hint - it is about studying the word "power" in the Bible. It occurred to me that people probably wouldn't care less about other's belief in Jesus [and the outward expressions of the true meaning of Christmas] if they truly believed, in their heart of hearts, that there wasn't any power in His Holy Name!

I will be working on the essay over the next day or so until it gets done!

Anyway, have a Merry and Blessed Christmas! All the best to you and yours in the coming New Year!

Sincerely,
Christine

As Roy Lessin wrote in his wonderful piece of prose:

...But our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a Saviour.

If Our Greatest Need Was...

How sad it is to realize that certain magazines have to be so "politically correct" that their December issue does not even mention the true meaning for the celebration of Christmas?

In this example, I am referring to the fact that Prevention magazine (one that I consider as a good resource for health issues) could not see fit to mention the name of Jesus Christ anywhere in their publication!

Why is that?


The December issue is filled with "holiday" articles. However, the only time that the term "Christmas" is mentioned is within an article entitled "Why puppies make poor presents."

Not to be a Scrooge, but a Christmas canine can be a holiday hazard.

The article goes on to say:

Christmas litters may not be healthy...

Perhaps this is good advice, but is this the only article that warrants the use of the term "Christmas?"

The year that my daughter wanted a puggle puppy for Christmas ended up being fine. We bought the dog three months before Christmas so she was further along in the training schedule by the time Christmas Day was here. Of course, we were fortunate enough to be able to barricade the puppy in the kitchen when we were out and didn't have to leave her cooped up in the dog crate for hours.

Back to the topic.

Another interesting article was entitled,

"Everything you think you know about beating stress is wrong."*

*Read on for six smart new strategies to start now.

I had to laugh when I read that the authors wrote:

Yesterday's Wisdom: "OM" your way to calmness.

How ironic it was to read that some people find meditation as a "fast track to frayed nerves." According to a study published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 54% of participants reported feeling anxious while meditating!

In contrast to "yesterday's wisdom", the magazine claims that

Today's Smart Strategy says, "do something you love."

I'm surprised that reading or playing with your pets wasn't mentioned. They are great stress reduction activities. Our dogs are a great joy in our lives.

The article goes on to explain "anything that allows you to disengage from your thoughts can help you relax." They mention several activities, like jogging, swimming, knitting, etc. and surprisingly, the author wrote,

"or praying, will work just as well, he says."

I would have to say that praying, Bible and devotional reading are far more superior than the other suggestions. It is unfortunate that the author either doesn't know about how calming Bible reading can be, or he didn't want to get too "religious." At least he did mention "praying."

I suppose mentioning Bible reading would have been to "divisive" in this current age of anti-Christian bigotry. It's O.K. to mention other religions, but Christianity? At Christmastime? Apparently, that's off limits at Prevention.

I dislike having to complain here but what ticked me off the most was the "Give Yourself the Gift of Holiday Healing" pages that listed "putting happiness and health, joy and inspiration on your calendar every day of December" list.

Want to know what was listed for December 25, 2010?

Window-shop. The same brain chemicals that make sex so pleasurable rise sharply when you're window-shopping. (No wonder Sex and the City had such a winning formula!) To avoid overspending, peek through the glass when stores are closed or you've left your wallet home.

WHAT????? THIS IS WHAT THEY RECOMMEND TO DO ON CHRISTMAS DAY?

How utterly sad it is to realize that the Greatest Gift of all given to mankind was ignored on this calendar list!

In closing, I would like to share a copy of what is written on this year's Christmas cards that were sent out by our family:

God Sent Us a Saviour

If our greatest need had been information,
God would have sent us an educator.

If our greatest need had been technology,
God would have sent us a scientist.

If our greatest need had been money,
God would have sent us an economist.

If our greatest need had been pleasure,
God would have sent us an entertainer.

But our greatest need was forgiveness,
so God sent us a Saviour.

- Roy Lessin

Inside the card:

This Christmas may you see and know anew how great His love is toward you.

For unto you is born this day...a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

Luke 2:11 KJV

The Question of Goodness

An "Anonymous" blogger has been quite bothered by the blog post of September 21, 2010 entitled: What Yes on CA Prop. 8 & Restore Honor Rally Have in Common

You can read the comments at the link to catch up on the controversy.

In Anonymous' latest comment, he/she wrote:

Anonymous said...
Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold fast the profession of [our] faith without wavering ("without bending"-Vines); (for he [is] faithful that promised;)

"Without wavering" means "without bending". It is talking about picking up some other hope. Like picking up the hope of Glenn Beck instead of keeping Jesus.

1 Peter 1:3 ¶ Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

1 Peter 1:4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,

Our inheritance is incorruptible, undefiled and fadeth not away. Glenn Beck is not my hope.

September 30, 2010 9:47:00 PM PDT

My response:

Christinewjc said...
Anonymous @ September 30, 2010 9:47:00 PM PDT (That you, Sothenes?)

You seem highly bothered by this post. I thought that I explained WHY I included Dr. Garlow's article very well. It is NOT because I agree with his conclusion about Beck being a born again Christian. It is because the CAUSES that evangelical Christians, and Mormons, and Jews etc. see as important (e.g. the Prop. 8 issue and the need to restore out nation back to the Constitutional Republic that our Founders intended) are political/social/moral issues that we can all agree on.

You ended your comment with two sentences that I agree with - and I would guess most people who genuinely follow Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior would also agree with:

Quote: "Our inheritance is incorruptible, undefiled and fadeth not away."

Absolutely true.

Quote: "Glenn Beck is not my hope."

Beck isn't my hope, either! Jesus Christ is the only true hope in this world and in eternity.

October 1, 2010 9:57:00 AM PDT

*******

One of the reasons why I cannot personally support Dr. Garlow's conclusion that Glenn Beck is genuinely saved is because:

1. Only God knows for certain - but we can "know them by their fruits."
2. Beck continually says that "most people are good."

But then again, I could be wrong.

Now, this post will not be an extensive expose' on "the question of goodness." That would take many pages. However, what I want to share here may help explain why what man regards as "goodness" within himself, may not be in line with what God describes as Good in His Word.

I realize that Beck's claim of people being good may be more of a socially acceptable, politically correct motivated comment which is meant to bring people together in a positive way. I mean, people DO good things in this life. However, the Bible says something very different about our "goodness."

Please see The Good Test in order to understand the details about our spiritual condition without Christ.

This week, I started reading Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God written by Francis Chan. I have only completed reading chapter one, but the message fits with this post.

Chan encourages us to stop talking at God for a while and instead, take a long, hard look at Him before you speak another word.

I read that section on Wednesday night. By Thursday evening, I was on my way, in traffic and in the rain, to pick up something that I would much rather have picked up on another day. The situation was such that I was told that I must get these items today. [Grrr....!]

During the drive, I said to myself, "If the person asks me 'how are you today?' I thought about saying, 'Do you want a typical response of fine or the truth about how I'm really feeling?'" I had a complete diatribe ready to be unleashed towards the unfortunate person who would be handing me the items that I really didn't want to pick up in the first place.

My trip already started out bad. First, the road to the freeway was jammed and backed up. Who leaves their house at 5:00 p.m. during rush hour traffic and expects not to hit traffic? Then, it started to rain again on the way there. Next, the sun started to break through the clouds and the glare into the car and on the wet pavement as I was driving west on a side road made it difficult to see. I proceeded to turn left again and traveled the speed limit of 25 mph around a park playground area. My final turn approached and I headed up the hill to my destination. I had just about completed what I was going to say in my mind, but became absolutely awestruck when I witnessed one of the most beautiful (and complete!) rainbows I have ever seen! I chuckled to myself. My heart melted my pride, anger, and annoyance that had built up over the 35 minute ride to my destination. I got out of my car and tried to take a picture of the rainbow with my old and crappy cell phone camera (small voice: complaining again, Chris?) Of course, I could not capture the beauty in a photograph that I was witnessing! A man approached and was saying how awesome the rainbow looked! He asked me my name and went inside to get the items that I came to pick up.

When he and an assistant came back out to the car to put the items in my trunk, he asked, "so how are you today?" "How is your family?" My planned diatribe turned into a confession that some individuals in my family were experiencing difficulty, but God is so good! Look at that rainbow! It is a symbol of His eternal promises for us."

God -- He's something isn't He??? He keeps teaching me every single day. That rainbow was a gentle reminder that I am slow to listen, quick to speak, and quick to become angry.

Francis Chan writes:

The wise man comes to God without saying a word and stands in awe of Him. It may seem a hopeless endeavor, to gaze at the invisible God. But Romans 1:20 tells us that through creation, we see His "invisible qualities" and "divine nature."

I realize that how a rainbow forms can be explained scientifically. But can its beauty be explained? Or, is it a representation of God's "invisible qualities" and "divine nature?"

Chan goes on to describe how God is holy, God is eternal, God is all-knowing, God is all-powerful and God is fair and just. He quotes Colossians 1:16 - which tells us that everything was created for God: "For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him."

Chan asks:

Can you worship a God who isn't obligated to explain His actions to you? Could it be your arrogance that makes you think God owes you an explanation?

Wow. That gives each of us a verbal whoopin' - doesn't it?!

But the Bible takes it even further:

All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: "What have you done?" - Daniel 4:35

Chan asks:

Do you really believe that compared to God, "all the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing," including you?

These are hard sayings. But some might wonder, can it get any worse?

Answer: yes. Just take a look at Chan's section about God is fair and just:

One definition of justice is "reward and/or penalty as deserved." If what we truly deserved were up to us, we would end up with as many different answers as people who responded. But it isn't up to us, mostly because none of us are good.

Let's hold up here for just a moment. Going back to Anonymous' concern over my post about Glenn Beck, we can see here that Chan disagrees with Beck's claim that "most people are good." Again, it is possible that Beck was simply using the term "good" as a political term and not in the moral or spiritual sense. We all want to perceive ourselves as good, but compared to Holy God, we are not good.

Chan:

God is the only Being who is good, and the standards are set by Him. Because God hates sin, He has to punish those guilty of sin. Maybe that's not an appealing standard. But to put it bluntly, when you get your own universe, you can make your own standards. When we disagree, let's not assume it's His reasoning that needs correction.

It takes a lot for us to comprehend God's total hatred for sin. We make excuses like, "Yes, I am prideful at times, but everyone struggles with pride." However, God says in Proverbs 8:13, "I hate pride and arrogance." You and I are not allowed to tell Him how much He can hate it. He can hate and punish it as severely as His justice demands.

God never excuses sin. And He is always consistent with that ethic. Whenever we start to question whether God really hates sin, we have only to think of the cross, where His Son was tortured, mocked, and beaten because of sin. Our sin.

No question about it: God hates and must punish sin. And He is totally just and fair in doing so.

In the final segment of Chapter One, Chan describes the reactions of both John in the book of Revelation and Isaiah who saw God on His throne. We learn that there are many facets of God that expand beyond our comprehension. God cannot be contained in this world, explained by our vocabulary, or grasped by our understanding.

I would imagine that each and every one of us will be speechless at first - admiring the King of the Universe with awestruck silence when we see Him! Both John and Isaiah found it difficult to describe seeing God in mere words. They tried to describe Him and the experience in ways that they, and we, could relate to and understand. For example - in Revelation, John describes the One seated on the throne with two gems, "jasper and carnelian," and the area around the throne as a rainbow that looked like an emerald.

Isaiah describes the seraphim appearing above and said they called out to one another saying, "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory."

Yes! It certainly is! And we only get just a glimpse of His glory in all that He has created!

Recall that Isaiah's reaction was, "Woe is me...I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."

Isaiah didn't feel worthy. But as the Scriptures report, one of the seraphim touches Isaiah's mouth with a hot coal and tells him that his guilt is taken away.

Mercy is God withholding what you (we, I) deserve.

Grace is God giving you (us, me) what you don't deserve.

As Isaiah believed in God the Father and was waiting expectantly for the Savior of the world, he reminds us of what our only response to God's provision for our salvation - Jesus Christ should be!

Why Humankind Needs the Savior

Way back in May of 2005, I created a post over at my Talk Wisdom Forum entitled, De-homosexualization of the Catholic Church. Ever since, GMpilot has been obsessed with the subject matter. Read through the thread and you will know what I mean.

The thread began with the following observation (plus a copy of an essay at WorldNetDaily - go to link above to read WND essay):

I have to admit that prior to reading this article, I did not know the genuine reason why Pope John Paul II was not more condemning of the homosexual pedophile priests and the Cardinals who shuffled them around to other churches where such priests, unfortunately, were enabled to molest more and more young boys. This scandal absolutely sickened most of the public and the suffering of the victims was just horrendous!

I just couldn't understand, for the life of me, why Pope John II acted indifferent towards the scandal. I wasn't aware of the genuine reason he refused to believe that it was actually going on. The following certainly explains a lot and helped clear up the mystery:


Quote:

"Whenever Vatican investigators brought the results of their vetting process regarding an individual's candidacy for bishop, cardinal or other office, and they revealed he was a homosexual, John Paul II would refuse to believe it," he writes.


"He did so because accusing someone of homosexuality was a standard practice of the Communist government in his native Poland regarding anyone it regarded as an enemy of the state. From his ordination as a Catholic priest in 1946 to elevation to Archbishop of Krakow in 1963 and Cardinal in 1967, the then Karol Wojtyla witnessed this personal destruction repeatedly. So traumatized, he summarily dismissed such accusations as pope, and would approve the elevation of anyone so accused."

Christine

*******

Since GM was continually talking to himself within the thread, five years and six pages later, I posted the following:

Satan's grip on souls through sexual perversion



Sexual sin/perversion is one of the most difficult sins to overcome. No doubt about it.
__________________
See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. Colossians 2:8

The eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth to show Himself strong to those whose hearts are fully committed to Him. 2 Chronicles 16:9

Then, GMpilot had this to say in reply:

So who needs Satan?

Quote:
admin: Sexual sin/perversion is one of the most difficult sins to overcome. No doubt about it.

But it's all part of The Plan™, isn't it?

God will make it all turn out in the end, won't he?

All that social turmoil, all those disgraced clergymen, all those shattered lives...God will use it all for good, yeah? Isn't that what you always say?

Yet after five years and fifty posts where I point out how widely and deeply and how many decades this has been going on, all you can say is how difficult sexual sin is to overcome? (I wasn't aware that any sin was easy to overcome!)
Your original posts were so full of fire and vinegar, and now they've dwindled to two little sentences that say nothing. Both the Catholic God and yours make it clear, and you've repeated it on this site often enough; they should die. After all, civil laws were broken, too.

When sex is not permitted to express itself in its proper way, it will always eventually express itself in an improper way. The more it's suppressed, the nastier it blooms. No Satan necessary.

I must admit, "So, who needs Satan?" is an interesting question. In reality, an entire book could be written in reply to such a question. Readers, feel free to share your thoughts about that.

Rather than addressing that particular question [mostly because Satan is, unfortunately, often used as an excuse by those who repeatedly choose to sin. You know - the ole' "the devil made me do it" syndrome], I chose to reply utilizing the Gospel message:

GM,

If the priests were after normal sexual relations, they wouldn't be performing homosexual acts with male children or young teenage and pre-teen boys. Why weren't they going after the beautiful women - who were of the age of consent - from the pews of the churches? Answer: because they were in homosexual/pederasty/pedophile lust for teens and boys.

Those priests who went after pre-pubescent girls were also pedophiles.

But all of this is pointless to discuss with you. You seem to think that because there are priests who are fakes - all must be fakes as well. During my childhood, I learned about a pedophile priest in our church. I only knew that he went after pre-pubescent girls, but perhaps he attacked some boys too. It was all hushed up and they named a street after him in town after he had died.

I also knew of a wonderful priest who kept his celibate vows and was wonderful (in an appropriate manner and way) to all parishioners - especially the children. He died 10 years ago and had a monument placed in a small existing park that was later named after him. There were benches there that were donated by members of the church. He was deeply loved.

There are people who try to live good lives, and there are people who don't. We all fall short of the glory of God. Recall the "good" test I told you to take? No one passes that test. If anyone ever claims that they did pass it - then you know that they lied.

This is why humankind needs the Savior. Jesus Christ was the only sinless God-Man who died on the cross for the forgiveness of sins of all who repent of their sins and believe in him.

Jesus Christ is the living example of mercy and grace through God.

Mercy is God withholding what you (we all) deserve.

Grace is God giving you (all) what you (we all) don't deserve.

There is evidence of grace being bestowed upon unbelievers and even the wicked in this temporal world. Some repent and turn to Christ, others don't. However, the choice to reject Christ (and his mercy and grace) prior to dying negates the chance for salvation after death.

Despite the fact that some who don't believe in Christ seem to have success in this life, it is an entirely different story [according to the Bible] when such individuals die without Christ. Why? Because they have chosen to reject God's mercy and grace for salvation. Therefore, they choose to leave this world to live in eternity separated from God forever.

God has done all that is necessary for salvation. Our job here on this earth is to either accept or reject His provision.
__________________
See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. Colossians 2:8

The eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth to show Himself strong to those whose hearts are fully committed to Him. 2 Chronicles 16:9

To Him That Overcometh

The accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their
testimony.--Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? [It is] God
that justifieth. Who [is] he that condemneth? [It is] Christ that died, yea
rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also
maketh intercession for us.

Having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly,
triumphing over them in it.

--That through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

--In all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.--Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. . . . And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.--But thanks [be] to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Re 12:10,11 Ro 8:33,34 Col 2:15 Heb 2:14,15 Ro 8:37 Eph 6:11,17 1Co 15:57



Evening

The tree of life.

God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.--He gave his
only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life.--As the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth [them];
even so the Son quickeneth whom he will. . . . As the Father hath life in
himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself.

To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the
midst of the paradise of God.--In the midst of the street of it, and on either
side of the river, [was there] the tree of life, which bare twelve [manner of]
fruits, [and] yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree [were]
for the healing of the nations.

Happy [is] the man [that] findeth wisdom. . . . Length of days [is] in her right
hand. . . . She [is] a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy
[is every one] that retaineth her.--Christ Jesus . . . is made unto us wisdom.

Ge 2:9 1Jo 5:11 Joh 3:16 5:21,26 Re 2:7 22:2 Pr 3:13,16,18 1Co 1:30

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Daily Light on the Daily Path Devotional
Saturday August 28, 2010
http://bible.christiansunite.com/devotionals.shtml
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A Glimpse of Reality

I kind of feel like I am experiencing a bit of writers block today. But on further examination, that isn't exactly the case. There is PLENTY to write about today. However, my dilemma is that there is NOTHING in the current evil and corrupt political world out there that I really WANT to write about! When I feel this way, I usually just instruct readers to click on the links in my sidebar. There is a plethora of topics to peruse there.

Since I started reading Dr. David Jeremiah's book/study guide called "Revealing the Mysteries of Heaven," my focus has shifted away from the chaotic world in which we live towards learning more and more about heavenly matters.

A Bible verse spoken by Jesus himself comes to mind:

Jhn 3:12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?

Jesus said that to Nicodemus in the book of John Chapter 3. Nicodemus was a Pharisee - a leader of the Jews at that time in history. If you read the entire chapter, you will notice that Jesus tells Nicodemus that he must be born again in order to see the kingdom of God.

What I love about the Bible is the fact that so much of Scripture can be applied towards the individual who is receiving the instruction at the time, as well as each and every reader (us!) who studies God's Word.

Introduction excerpt from book/study guide:

Thomas Guthrie was a nineteenth century Scottish preacher and theologian who wrote, "If you find yourself loving any pleasure more than your prayers, any book better than the Bible, any house better than the house of the Lord, any table better than the Lord's table, any persons better than Christ, or any indulgence better than the hope of heaven - be alarmed."

That last phrase is in italics because it highlights the focus of the Revealing the Mysteries of Heaven study guide.

Dr. Jeremiah's book/study guide can be used along with his audio lessons or, it can stand on it's own (with your Bible handy by your side) as a great resource to answer so many of the typical questions Christians might have about heaven. I have been enjoying just reading each segment of the book, and answering the questions at the end of each lesson. It gives me the opportunity to apply what has been learned in my own life, as well as providing me the opportunity to share new and exciting information with others that I, and they, may have missed when previously reading the Bible.

In the introduction portion, Dr. Jeremiah writes:

Intentionally or unintentionally, there are far too many Christians who find themselves loving the prospects of heaven less than they do many of the indulgences of this world. And in the words of the Scottish divine [Thomas Guthrie - mentioned in previous paragraph], we should be alarmed at that reality. The writer of the letter to the Hebrews had it right: there are many weights and sins that so easily ensnare us in this world, causing us to take our eyes off Jesus, "the author and finisher of our faith." We fail to see him sitting "at the right hand of the throne of God" in heaven--the very heaven that is the destination of those who believe in Him (Hebrews 12:1-2).

Dr. Jeremiah admits that many things about heaven are not easy to understand. It isn't like earth, which we know, currently experience, and are used to living in. We have never visited heaven. Even the drawings of what heaven might be like (we have no photos of it!) fall short of what it will be like. Our minds eye cannot even fathom it, yet our souls long to be there one day.

Dr. Jeremiah:

We are left with Scripture alone to inform us about our eternal home and answer the many questions that arise.

One of the most impressive things about the study guide is the fact that it is not based on the speculation of a preacher, or even the writer of the guide. It is filled with Scripture references and descriptions about heaven - many of which were difficult for the prophet writing about it to describe.

For example:

The Bible says, "No man shall see [God], and live" (Exodus 33:20). Therefore, when John looked into heaven, he only saw the appearance of God and tried to put it into words as best he could: "...like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald." A jasper stone is what we know as a diamond, and the sardius is our ruby. So John saw a brilliant, multifaceted stone that sparkled in the light. Somehow, what John saw was best described in terms of brilliance, worth, beauty, and light. Who among us could have described it any better? It is hard to find words in any human language to describe the appearance of God. All John could do, and all we can do, is describe the impact of His presence, not His person. Describing God is like describing the wind --the best we can do is describe the presence or impact or appearance of the wind, not the wind itself.

That is so wonderfully stated! John's experience informs us that worship is not about us -- it's about Him [God]! Worship is not about here --it's about there! Our focus should be on God - not ourselves! We worship Him because of Who He Is, and what He has done for us through His Son, Jesus Christ!

There are so many paragraphs from the book that I could include here! But my thoughts suddenly drifted back to my former post, and the comment that Susan made regarding her mentor. She wrote that her mentor, a woman with deep faith in Jesus Christ and the heart to share the Gospel, said "Worthy is the Lamb" to Susan shortly before she passed on to be with the Lord. I commented, "what better words could she have ever uttered?"



The worthiness of Jesus Christ to open the scrolls at the culmination of all of human history is described in Revelation 5:

Rev 5:1 And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals.


Rev 5:2 Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?"


Rev 5:3 And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it.


Rev 5:4 So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read [fn] the scroll, or to look at it.

During his vision, John "wept much" because "no one was found worthy" to open and read the scroll, or to even look at it!

But watch what happens next:

Rev 5:5 But one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose [fn] its seven seals."


Rev 5:6 And I looked, and behold, [fn] in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth.


Rev 5:7 Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.

The Lamb who had been slain was Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. He, and he alone is worthy to open the scroll!

Rev 5:8 Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.


Rev 5:9 And they sang a new song, saying: "You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,


Rev 5:10 And have made us [fn] kings [fn] and priests to our God; And we [fn] shall reign on the earth."

You see, the only way for all of us to have been redeemed was by the shed blood of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. If Christ had not completed his mission, he would have re-entered heaven alone - without "every tribe and tongue, and people and nation." Through what Christ did, we are made "kings and priests to our God" and it is revealed that we shall "reign on the earth" [a reference to the Millennium where Christ rules on the earth for 1,000 years] with Christ!

Rev 5:11 Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands,


Rev 5:12 saying with a loud voice: "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!"


Rev 5:13 And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: "Blessing and honor and glory and power [Be] to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever!" [fn]


Rev 5:14 Then the four living creatures said, "Amen!" And the twenty-four [fn] elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever. [fn]

Seeing Jesus Christ is going to be so awesome. Indescribable, in fact! We will realize the reality of Jesus being "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!" All we could do is fall on our knees in worship and adoration for our King!



Dr. Jeremiah writes:

In C.S. Lewis's allegory The Great Divorce, he tells of a man who journeys to heaven and finds it to be grander in scale and more beautiful than he could have imagined. Hell, he discovers, is the opposite, a fleck of dust by comparison with heaven. In the same way, Lewis suggests our lives in this world get smaller and smaller the more we comprehend the grandeur of heaven and eternity. Seeing heaven was for John like us walking up to the edge of the Grand Canyon for the first time--speechless in wonder.

This world is passing away. But heaven will last forever! Before his ascension to the Father, Jesus informed us that he is going "to prepare a place for you [us], so that where I [he] go [goes], there you [we] will be also. If it were not so, I would have told you."

Jesus accomplished all that he said he would during his three year ministry here on earth. His promises can be trusted. Our faith is not a blind faith, for we see through the eyes of faith in a Person - Jesus Christ - who did what no other religious leader could have ever accomplished. He rose from the dead! Therefore, we can have the confidence to believe that God is able to do above and beyond what we can ask and think or expect (see Ephesians 3:20). Nothing is impossible for God (see Luke 1:37).

Dr. Jeremiah writes:

We may not see into heaven with our eyes, but we see the character of God through His Word and our songs of praise that proclaim His worthiness. We can hear Jesus remind us of the same things of which he reminded John: "John, I want you to know that things are not as they appear to be. I'm going to show you how things really are. I'm going to walk you into the throne room of heaven and show you genuine reality. Things are not out of control. Satan has not won. Evil has not triumphed. Peek through the door; get a glimpse of reality. God is on His throne, and such a sight will transform your heart and your mind forever."

Hat Tips:

Revealing the Mysteries of Heaven

Blue Letter Bible

NKJV Footnotes:
(5:4) NU-Text and M-Text omit and read.
(5:5) NU-Text and M-Text omit to loose.
(5:6) NU-Text and M-Text read I saw in the midst . . . a Lamb standing.
(5:10) NU-Text and M-Text read them.
(5:10) NU-Text reads a kingdom.
(5:10) NU-Text and M-Text read they.
(5:13) M-Text adds Amen.
(5:14) NU-Text and M-Text omit twenty-four.
(5:14) NU-Text and M-Text omit Him who lives forever and ever.

An Empty Tomb or an Empty Faith?

From David Jeremiah.com:

Do you ever wonder how your life would be different if certain events hadn’t taken place? Our lives are often full of, “What if’s.” What if we had chosen a different college? What if we had never gotten married? What if we never had children? Some people even question the validity of Jesus Christ. What if Christ never rose from the grave? What then? What would be the implications? Dr. Jeremiah outlines five realities of an unrisen Savior.

View the entire broadcast:

Dr. David Jeremiah: An Empty Tomb or an Empty Faith?

EASTER PROGRAMMING
Dr. David Jeremiah

“An Empty Tomb or an Empty Faith”
1 Corinthians 15:12-19

April 4, 2010
Corinthians 15:14

I. If There Is No Resurrection Our Preaching Is Foolishness

II. If There Is No Resurrection Our Personal Faith Is Futile
1 Corinthians 15:14, 17

III. If There Is No Resurrection Our Profession Is False
1 Corinthians 15:15

Acts 1:22
Acts 2:32
Acts 3:14-15
Acts 5:30, 32
Acts 10: 39

IV. If There Is No Resurrection Our Promise of a Future Is Fraud

1 Corinthians 15:18
John 14:19

V. If There Is No Resurrection Our Prospect for this Life Is a Fantasy

1 Corinthians 15:19
1 Corinthians 15:20
John 1:12

What Was So Good About It?

Yesterday, I attended the 12 noon Good Friday service at my former church. It is good to be in the house of the Lord to commemorate His sacrificial death on the cross. Jesus did what he did for the forgiveness of our sins - the sins we ALL commit and would ultimately die with; staining our souls forever. If not for Christ's greatest act in all of Creation, we would not have any way to be reconciled back unto God.

The pastor asked the question, "What is so good about Good Friday?" After viewing a portion of the movie, The Passion of the Christ where we saw Jesus beaten so severely by the Roman soldiers, and forced to carry that heavy cross to Golgotha (which means "the place of the skull") while the soldiers continued to whip Jesus during the terrible journey; that question has to come into every mind that witnessed such a horrid event.

In previous posts on Good Friday, (see Calvary, Good Friday and The Power of Christ's Cross, I discussed many aspects surrounding the Cross at Calvary and why people who do not yet know Christ, still seek him today:

On a KLOVE radio show back in 2007, the host said, "people fall into two camps; those who know Jesus Christ and those who want to know Him."

Wow. Simple but profound. Even those who won't admit it, still want to know Him. Why? Because to know Him is to know God. Jesus was God in the flesh. That is why it is said in the Bible, "they shall call him Immanuel." "Immanuel" means "God with us."

Some people question why Christ had to endure what he did:

Why was Jesus tortured, maimed, spit upon, beard torn, whipped beyond recognition, stabbed in the side, nailed to a cross, humiliated unto death? Because that is exactly what evil does. God allowed those forces of evil to do what they did in order to send us a message so strong that we couldn't possibly miss it.

The enemy of our souls has the goal of devouring us in our sin. He prowls around like a roaring lion, bringing along with him evil, sin and death. That very thing was conquered by Christ at the cross. Because he was the "sinless Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world," he accomplished what no ordinary man could ever do. He kept the Law while on earth, then paid the penalty for our sin so that we would not suffer an eternity without him! He was bodily resurrected to life on that first Easter morning approximately 2,000 years ago, and that event changed the world forever.

Why would Jesus endure all of this for us? The Bible tells us, "while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Put another way through a popular Christian song that plays on the radio (speaking of Jesus' sacrifice), "You would rather die, than to ever live without me."

As I watched the scourging of Jesus, once again, in church yesterday, I was reminded of the fact that what happened and what we witnessed was exactly "what evil does."

Scripture tells us that for a time, God the Father turned His back from His beloved Son as he hung on the cross with our sins laid upon him. It was the only time that Jesus did not call God "his Father" - he yelled out, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"

Forsake means: "to quit or leave entirely; abandon; desert" and "to give up or renounce."

God cannot look upon sin. He is Holy and Righteous, so at the moment of humanity's sins being laid upon our Savior, Jesus Christ, God the Father forsake his son.

But look at the second part of the meaning of the word "forsake." It says, "to give up or renounce." Christ's body was given up for our sakes, his blood was shed for the forgiveness of our sins. His body was terribly bruised, beaten, and bloodied because that is what evil does. The horror of that event is relived each time we see any depiction of the crucifixion. It was a terrible and horrendous way to die.

Look at it this way. Our sins were nailed to the cross. They were buried in the grave. Only Jesus, risen in holiness and righteousness came out of that tomb!

In another scene from The Passion of the Christ, we see Jesus' earthly mother - Mary - rushing to pick up and comfort her son when he had fallen down as a young child. The scene shifts to the current day, where Mary witnesses her son falling under the heavy weight of the cross on his way to being crucified. She runs towards him, wanting to comfort him once again as she did when he was a child. However, Jesus says to her, "Mother, I am making all things new." After he said those very words, he finds the strength to stand up with that heavy burden of a cross and continue on the journey to death. What a powerful moment! It was as if he was saying, 'I'm doing this for you - and for all mankind.'

He was.

That is exactly why he did this.

It is exactly why he WILLINGLY went to the cross - for our sakes.

We know from Scripture that Jesus could have called down legions of angels from heaven to relieve him from that cross. People who witnessed the crucifixion even mocked Jesus, challenging him to prove that he is the Son of God by coming down from the cross!

Mat 27:40 And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest [it] in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.

But if he did that, then we would not have had our sins forgiven. There would be no salvation for mankind, no means of reconciliation between sinful, evil men and Holy, Righteous God. Jesus would have re-entered heaven alone.

Why would Jesus endure all of this for us? The Bible tells us, "while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Put another way through a popular Christian song that plays on the radio (speaking of Jesus' sacrifice), "You would rather die, than to ever live without me."

THAT is what is so good about Good Friday.

Recall what Jesus said about "this temple" (he meant his body):

Jhn 2:19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.

Mat 26:61 And said, This [fellow] said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days.

He is ABLE! Jesus was, is, and forever will be ABLE to accomplish what no man or angel in heaven could have EVER achieved!

Christ's resurrection from the dead was the greatest event in human history! When Christ arose, he had a new, resurrected body (to show us what our new bodies will be like when resurrected for the Millennium), but with the markings of the scars of the crucifixion (recall, the risen Christ told doubting Thomas to put his hand in his side - where the Roman soldier's spear pierced him after Jesus was dead on the cross) to remind all of heaven who he is and what he has done for the salvation of men.

Recall that the disciple John was the only one who stayed with Jesus at the cross. He was later sent to the island of Patmos, where he was brought "into the spirit" and saw visions of what will occur at the culmination of human history.

Revelation 5 (NLT) helps explain to us why Christ is worthy to break the seals of the scroll in the end times:

Rev 5:1 And I saw a scroll in the right hand of the one who was sitting on the throne. There was writing on the inside and the outside of the scroll, and it was sealed with seven seals.


Rev 5:2 And I saw a strong angel, who shouted with a loud voice: "Who is worthy to break the seals on this scroll and unroll it?"


Rev 5:3 But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll and read it.


Rev 5:4 Then I wept because no one could be found who was worthy to open the scroll and read it.


Rev 5:5 But one of the twenty-four elders said to me, "Stop weeping! Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the heir to David's throne, [fn] has conquered. He is worthy to open the scroll and break its seven seals."


Rev 5:6 I looked and I saw a Lamb that had been killed but was now standing between the throne and the four living beings and among the twenty-four elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits [fn] of God that are sent out into every part of the earth.


Rev 5:7 He stepped forward and took the scroll from the right hand of the one sitting on the throne.


Rev 5:8 And as he took the scroll, the four living beings and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp, and they held gold bowls filled with incense--the prayers of God's people!


Rev 5:9 And they sang a new song with these words: "You are worthy to take the scroll and break its seals and open it. For you were killed, and your blood has ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.


Rev 5:10 And you have caused them to become God's Kingdom and his priests. And they will reign [fn] on the earth."


Rev 5:11 Then I looked again, and I heard the singing of thousands and millions of angels around the throne and the living beings and the elders.


Rev 5:12 And they sang in a mighty chorus: "The Lamb is worthy--the Lamb who was killed. He is worthy to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing."


Rev 5:13 And then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea. They also sang: "Blessing and honor and glory and power belong to the one sitting on the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever."


Rev 5:14 And the four living beings said, "Amen!" And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped God and the Lamb.

NLT Footnotes:
(5:5) Greek the root of David.
(5:6) See note on 4:5.
(5:10) Some manuscripts read they are reigning.

We Will Rise - Victorious in Jesus

The unrelenting bribes and push for the terrible ObamaSCARE HELLcare bill is enough to drive all of us crazy with grief over what this awful ObaMAO administration and Liberal Dem Congress is doing against the wishes of a great majority of the American people!

While driving home from the grocery store, I was listening to Chris Tomlin's beautiful song "I Will Rise." For some reason, a statement uttered by the actress Olympia Dukakis in the movie Moonstruck came to my mind. Dukakis played the role of an older, married Italian woman (Rose Castorini) who knew that her husband (Cosmo Castorini played by Vincent Gardenia) has been cheating on her with another woman. Knowing that her husband had just come home from being with his mistress, she simply stated, "Cosmo - no matter what you do one day you are going to die, just like everybody else."

Later, she asked the "can't commit" fiancee (Johnny Cammarini played by Danny Aiello) of her daughter Loretta (played by Cher), "Why do men cheat? Why does a man need more than one woman?"

He told her in a questioning fashion, "Because they fear death?"

And Rose Castorini replied, "THAT'S IT! Thank you for answering my question!"

She is correct. One day we all will die. Me, you, Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Rahm Emanuel and all the rest of those who one day will have to answer to God for all that they have said and done - the good, the bad, and the ugly - while on this earth.

Do YOU fear death?

Depending on whether or not a person is born again in Jesus Christ will determine how, where, and when they will each face Jesus Christ - the Lord of the universe. Believers will face Him at the Judgment Seat of Christ, where the Worthy Lamb's shed blood at the cross of Calvary will have saved them from the punishment for their sins. It will be a judgment of rewards.

The unsaved, will meet a different fate. They will face Jesus Christ at the White Throne Judgment. Without Christ's sacrificial death on the cross and Resurrection to life to atone for their sins, they will each have to face eternal judgment with their own sins on their souls. The result of their choice not to believe in Christ will be separation from God forever.

No matter what happens with this gangster government regime while they are in power (for a brief moment in time compared to eternity!), all that they think that they have (or will accomplish) will fall to dust and blow away when the Lamb of God calls his own unto Himself and ushers them into the Kingdom of God.

The fact that Jesus is the ONLY ONE worthy enough to open the scrolls at the end of the age shows how foolish those who do not believe in Him will be.

Listen carefully to the great lyrics (many taken straight from Scripture!) of Chris Tomlin's "I Will Rise" in this music video!

YouTube Video Link: "I Will Rise" by Chris Tomlin

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death. - Revelation 2:11 (NIV)

Christ: Our Mediator Between God and Man

Sothenes has shared a brief but powerful Bible study over at my Talk Wisdom forum. Here are his posts, followed by my recent comment:

Sothenes
Senior Member

Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 869
"one God and one mediator" between "God and men"
1Ti 2:5 For [there is] one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 1st Timothy Chapter 2 When I read this, I read there is "one God and one mediator" between God and man which means that Jesus is God because the one God and mediator is "between God and men".

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Revelation 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Yesterday, 08:09 PM
Sothenes
Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 869

I heard this from Pastor Bill while driving home in the car today so I decided to study this for myself.

John 17:5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

This is a statement of deity based on what we know from other verses. By deduction, if Isaiah 42:8 and Isaiah 48:11 say that "..my glory will I not give" or yield to another then Jesus is claiming to have the same glory with God which makes Him God because God won't yield it to another.

Isaiah 42:8 I [am] the LORD: that [is] my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.

Isaiah 48:11 For mine own sake, [even] for mine own sake, will I do [it]: for how should [my name] be polluted? and I will not give (nathan , yield, H5414) my glory unto another.

And God yielded Jesus' name to be above every name:

Philippians 2:9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
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Revelation 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

My comment:


admin
Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 2,586

Great verses!


Great study, Sothenes. Brief but very powerful! Those verses reveal Jesus' deity so explicitly, how could anyone miss such truth?

Jesus always gives every man and woman a choice. We have the choice of life or death; salvation or slavery to sin, heaven or hell, acceptance of Him or rejection of Him. No wonder He asks us the most pertinent question in all of Creation: "Who do you say that I am?" How each individual person answers that question determines where he or she will spend eternity!
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See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. Colossians 2:8

The eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth to show Himself strong to those whose hearts are fully committed to Him. 2 Chronicles 16:9

Hat Tip:

Sothenes via Talk Wisdom forums.