This Is Who Jesus Christ Is to Me – An Easter Reflection for All Year

What is it like to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? 

I’m not talking about merely knowing a lot facts about Jesus.

The point of this article is WHO Jesus is to Me, not merely what.

The HOW of Jesus is the Gospel story, but the WHO is the untold reward.

Greater than the gift is the love that gave the gift, but the Giver is greater still.

You can know Jesus, and He abides IN the hearts of all who put their trust in Him.

I will fail to tell all that Jesus is.

But I will make an attempt to share ,as best I can, just who Jesus is to me.

———————-

Jesus Christ is my best thought, my most cherished possession, He is God and man, Savior and Creator, and to know Him more is my greatest ambition.

Oh the height, depth, and breadth of all that Jesus is!

He is the only way , the only truth, the meaning and purpose of life, and the only hope for eternity.

He is the author of the language of the information of life we call DNA, and the undesigned-Designer, eternal and ever-existing, who orchestrated the fine-tuned Big Bang so that our universe could sustain life.

He is the wonder in nature and science, each reflecting His infinite beauty, order, and intelligibility.

His courage to face a grievous death and torture was driven by a boundless love for everyone.
He endured rejection so we could be accepted.

He has borne our shame and by His stripes we are healed.

He died so we could live.

He defeated death for us and rose from the grave victorious.

He hears our most distant thoughts and our most earnest prayers.

He longs for us to know and love Him with all our heart, mind, and strength and all that is in us.

Christ’s love is stronger than sin and death, and mightier than any bonds known to ensnare the hearts and minds of mankind.

Only Christ’s Spirit and love can evoke love so strong in the hearts of sinners that it burns away all other passions.

Jesus is hope when all else is hopeless.  He is love when all around us is hate.  He is the reason to live when faith in all else is gone.

Nothing can drive Him away from any who truly trust Him.
He will never leave us or forsake us.

No desire, temptation, or affection can compare to knowing Christ; and anyone who truly knows Him would never choose to leave His presence – for nothing else compares to knowing Jesus Christ who is God and who is Love.

Though I walk through the Valley Of The Shadow Of Death I will fear no evil, for He is with me.

He so loved us that He came down from His glorious throne and became one of us.
He left majesty to live in humility.

 He humbly worked as one of us with the same hands that formed the universe,

all to save us, even before we knew Him.

He is all powerful, yet for the joy before Him, He endured death on a cross for those who loved Him and those who hated Him.

After three days He opened the tomb they laid Him in and rose from death.
Even now He opens His arms to beckon to all who labor and are heavy laden to give us life and rest.

My heart is bound and accountable to Christ’s heart who gave His blood to cleanse my soul of sin.

Duty as motivation is not worthy of comparison to the intimate resolve to love Christ.
Christ’s love, when realized, goes beyond motivation, discipline, and dedication.

Christ’s love is limitless and the one who knows such love is confident in trials and courageous in tribulation.

The human mind may seek in vain to grasp the full scope of God’s love, but we should continually endeavor to do so.

Jesus Christ is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, and everything in between.

His promises are sure and are anchored in His great love, which He publicly demonstrated on the cross for you and me.

And, believe me, when I say this; words can’t even begin to express to others this inexpressible love Christ is in the hearts of those who know Him.

Jesus is the Most Sacred Flame, the Light of the World, inextinguishable and inexhaustible, burning in the hearts of all who trust Him as Savior.

The totality of who Jesus is to all who know Him cannot be fully expressed because He transcends measure, time, and space.

He alone is worthy of our eternal praise.

 

Jesus Christ – His Divine Union of Contrasts – King of Kings – Yet He was the meekest and lowliest of all the sons of men

The Crucifixion (1622) by Simon Vouet; Church of Jesus, Genoa

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

Look no further than the Gospels of Jesus Christ in the Bible for proof of His existence. Mankind could not have conceived the embodiment of such extremes in the leader of a man made religion.
Only Christianity has a founder who embodies the full spectrum of what it means to be human and does so in Holy perfection.

James Stewart said it well.

“He was the meekest and lowliest of all the sons of men, yet he spoke of coming on the clouds of heaven with the glory of God.

 

He was so austere that evil spirits and demons cried out in terror at his coming, yet he was so genial and winsome and approachable that the children loved to play with him, and the little ones nestled in his arms.

 

His presence at the innocent gaiety of a village wedding was like the presence of sunshine.

 

No one was half so compassionate to sinners, yet no one ever spoke such red hot scorching words about sin.

 

A bruised reed he would not break, his whole life was love, yet on one occasion he demanded of the Pharisees how they ever expected to escape the damnation of hell.

 

He was a dreamer of dreams and a seer of visions, yet for sheer stark realism He has all of our stark realists soundly beaten.

 

He was a servant of all, washing the disciples feet, yet masterfully He strode into the temple, and the hucksters and moneychangers fell over one another to get away from the mad rush and the fire they saw blazing in His eyes.

 

He saved others, yet at the last Himself He did not save. There is nothing in history like the union of contrasts which confronts us in the gospels. The mystery of Jesus is the mystery of divine personality.”

 

– James Stewart, Scottish theologian

 

Jesus Christ – Crown Him King of My Life – Why Can’t Sermons Be More Like Songs?

Why can’t more sermons be this Christ Centered ?
How often do our songs contain Christ Centered richness, but our sermons barely mention, let alone celebrate, the One who loved us with His own life?

Simply Crown Him The King of Life.

Crown him with many crowns,
the Lamb upon his throne,
Hark! how the heavenly anthem drowns
all music but its own.
Awake, my soul, and sing
of him who died for thee,
and hail him as thy matchless King
through all eternity.

Crown him the Lord of life,
who triumphed o’er the grave,
and rose victorious in the strife
for those he came to save.
His glories now we sing,
who died, and rose on high,
who died, eternal life to bring,
and lives that death may die.

Crown him the Lord of peace,
whose power a scepter sways
from pole to pole, that wars may cease,
and all be prayer and praise.
His reign shall know no end,
and round his pierced feet
fair flowers of paradise extend
their fragrance ever sweet.

   Crown him the Lord of love;
behold his hands and side,
those wounds, yet visible above,
in beauty glorified.
All hail, Redeemer, hail!
For thou hast died for me;
thy praise and glory shall not fail
throughout eternity.

They Gave Christ a Cross, Not Guessing that He Would Make it a Throne

“He did not conquer in spite of the dark mystery of evil. He conquered through it.”

~James Stewart~

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“It is a glorious phrase of the New Testament, that ‘he led captivity captive.’ 

The very triumphs of His foes, it means, he used for their defeat. He compelled their dark achievements to sub-serve his end, not theirs.

They nailed him to the tree, not knowing that by that very act they were bringing the world to his feet.

They gave him a cross, not guessing that he would make it a throne.

They flung him outside the gates to die, not knowing that in that very moment they were lifting up all the gates of the universe, to let the King of Glory come in.

They thought to root out his doctrines, not understanding that they were implanting imperishably in the hearts of men the very name they intended to destroy.

They thought they had defeated God with His back the wall, pinned and helpless and defeated: they did not know that it was God Himself who had tracked them down.

He did not conquer in spite of the dark mystery of evil. He conquered through it.”

James Stewart (1896–1990) was a minister of the Church of Scotland

—————-

” And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh,

He has made alive together with Him,

having forgiven you all trespasses,

having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us,

which was contrary to us.

And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

 Having disarmed principalities and powers,

He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.”

(Colossians 2:13-15)

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

(John 3:16)

“Jesus alone founded His empire upon love”- Napoleon Bonaparte

“In a statement about Jesus Christ, Napoleon while he was exiled on the rock of St. Helena he called Count Montholon to his side and asked him,”

“Can you tell me who Jesus Christ was?” Upon the Count declining to respond Napoleon countered.”

“Well then, I will tell you. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne and I myself have founded great empires; but upon what did these creations of our genius depend?”

“Upon force.”

“Jesus alone founded His empire upon love, and to this very day millions will die for Him.”

“I think I understand something of human nature; and I tell you, all these were men, and I am a man: none else is like Him; Jesus Christ was more than a man. I have inspired multitudes with such an enthusiastic devotion that they would have died for me but to do this it was necessary that I should be visibly present with the electric influence of my looks, my words, of my voice. When I saw men and spoke to them, I lighted up the flame of self-devotion in their hearts. Christ alone has succeeded in so raising the mind of man toward the unseen, that it becomes insensible to the barriers of time and space. Across a chasm of eighteen hundred years, Jesus Christ makes a demand which is beyond all others difficult to satisfy; He asks for that which a philosopher may often seek in vain at the hands of his friends, or a father of his children, or a bride of her spouse, or a man of his brother. He asks for the human heart; He will have it entirely to Himself. He demands it unconditionally; and forthwith His demand is granted. Wonderful! In defiance of time and space, the soul of man, with all its powers and faculties, becomes an annexation to the empire of Christ. All who sincerely believe in Him, experience that remarkable, supernatural love toward Him. This phenomenon is unaccountable; it is altogether beyond the scope of man’s creative powers. Time, the great destroyer, is powerless to extinguish this sacred flame; time can neither exhaust its strength nor put a limit to its range. This is it, which strikes me most; I have often thought of it. This it is which proves to me quite convincingly the Divinity of Jesus Christ.”

~Napoleon Bonaparte~

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

(John 3:16 NKJV)

We Acknowledge a King Men did not Crown and Cannot Destroy

” Our western civilization, like all others before it, must some time or other decompose and disappear. The world’s way of regarding intimations that this is happening is to engage equally in idiot hopes and idiot despair. On the one hand, some new policy or discovery is confidently expected to put everything to rights: a new fuel, a new drug, détente, world government, a common market, North Sea oil, revolution or counter-revolution. On the other hand, some disaster is as confidently expected to prove our undoing: Capitalism will break down, communism take over, or vice versa; fuel will run out, atomic wastes will kill us all, plutonium will lay us low, overpopulation will suffocate us.In Christian terms, such hopes and fears are equally beside the point. As Christians we know that here we have no continuing city, that crowns roll in the dust, and that every earthly kingdom must some time founder. As Christians, too, we acknowledge a King men did not crown and cannot destroy, just as we are citizens of a city men did not build and cannot destroy. It was in these terms that the apostle Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome and in Corinth, living as they did in a society as depraved and dissolute as ours—under a ruler, the emperor Nero, who makes even some of our rulers seem positively enlightened—with the games, which, like television, specialized in spectacles of violence and eroticism: “Be steadfast, unmoveable,” he exhorted them, “always abounding in God’s work and concerning yourselves with the things that are not seen; for the things that are seen are temporal, and the things that are not seen are eternal.” It was in the breakdown of Rome that Christendom was born, and now in the breakdown of Christendom there are the same requirements and the same possibilities to eschew the fantasy of a disintegrating world and seek the reality of what is not seen and is eternal—the reality of Christ. In this reality we see our only hope, our only prospect in a darkening world.”

Malcolm Muggeridge

The Deconstruction of Absolute Truth and Unity – The Reason Society Can No Longer Reason

 

Brumidi, Constantino – Apotheosis of Washington, detail E Pluribus Unum – 1865 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them:

“Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.”

(Matthew 12:25)

 

E pluribus unum

E Pluribus Unum, (Out of  Many ,One), is part of the history that made us a great nation and that made the world a better place for many.

We need an anthem of basic truths that inspires us to live in unity again.

These basic truths once formed a general basis for consensus,unity, and resolve for improving our society.

Without a clear definition of right and wrong, truth and error, everything will be a blend of gray without clear meaning.

~Reasoning is based on what is known, such as truth and facts~

To solve problems, reach solutions, make a diagnosis,theory, hypothesis, create, and improve anything, we need known truths to build upon.

(Educated guesses if you will, things we can say we are confident we know).

And the more sure we are, the bolder we will be in our attempts to make solutions to problems.

And the more of us who agree on basic truths, the more frequent and soon we will come to consensus on issues that demand our solution.

But without basic fundamental truths to unite us, we will remain divided, and will fall.

Without a basic assumption that anything can be known, we cannot hope to begin to reason solutions to our problems

by building educated guesses upon known fact and truth

because we deny that truth even exists!

 (such as presuppositions, ideological underpinnings, hierarchical values, and frames of reference)

Truth activates belief, and belief attempts things that doubt ignores.

This is the heart of realizing new realities and achievement.

Related terms are postmodernism, existentialism, and deconstructionism, but what all of these terms have in common is the abandonment of surety in truth.

Without the ability to say with can be confident of anything, we will likely lack the confidence to do or achieve anything.

This is also true in our attempts to create art or theater, be it novel or feature-length movie.

Is it any wonder that good theater seems more miss than hit?

Is it any wonder that the great art, theater and literature is in the past, or is based upon older literature or re-made movies ?

Is it any wonder that the overall approval ratings of government and officials is at an all time low?

Is it any wonder that the greater portion of change our politicians bring is for the worse?

Is it any wonder that political parties almost always make decisions down party lines ?

Is it any wonder that scientific and political debate quickly degrades into personal attacks?

Is it any wonder that thoughtless and absurd political dealings threaten the fabric and integrity of our American government ?

(These men and women are supposed to represent our finest leaders and patriots).

Is it any wonder that ,”we the people”, are often called,” we the sheeple”?

(If we deny the ability to absolutely believe anything we will likely fall for anything).

Is it any wonder that the best days of American ingenuity seem to be behind us?

Yet,we can rediscover truth as a nation and a people.

We can build the basic absolute truths that serve as a basis for consensus.

“Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except through Me.”

(John 14:6)

Jesus is the truth.

If we reject Jesus, we reject the truth, we lose the way, and we forfeit life as a people, and a nation.

If we know Him we know truth.

Jesus is the way. If we know Him we know the way.

Jesus is life. If we know Him we know life.

This is where you can start.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

(John 3:16)

Jesus Falls Beneath the Cross (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

(Yes. It is that simple. Jesus did all the heavy lifting on the cross).

Just believe and receive Him and His love gift of life that He bought with His blood for you.

Pray ,and He will hear you.

Write me, and I will rejoice with you.

And I pray  that we all can one day soon, rejoice in unity as a nation.

Out of many, one.

Where the Battle Rages, there the Loyalty of the Soldier is Proved

 

Battle Map (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

“If I proclaim in the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at the moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved and to be steady on all the battle front besides, is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point.”

Martin Luther

“To the distinguished Character of Patriot, it should be our highest Glory to add the more distinguished Character of Christian.” ~George Washington~

1795 – 1823 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“To the distinguished Character of Patriot, it should be our highest Glory to add the more distinguished Character of Christian.”

~George Washington~

(May 2, 1778, at Valley Forge)

“The blessed Religion revealed in the word of God will remain an eternal and awful monument to prove that the best Institutions may be abused by human depravity; and that they may even, in some instances be made subservient to the vilest of purposes.”     

   ~George Washington~

 Moral Principal is no longer a mutually forgone conclusion, and no longer frames healthy debate to the degree that our politicians can agree on anything enough to affectively govern.

Without a clear definition of right and wrong there is no basis for healthy reasoning.

Right and wrong look more like shades of gray instead of black and white.

Instead of civil discourse, power struggles, gridlock, and underhanded dealings rife with slander have become the means of politics of our once great nation.

Hollywood no longer has a clear definition of right and wrong and therefore finds it difficult to effectively tell a good story. Every artist knows contrast gives definition, be it photography,paintings,storytelling, and movie making.

And the church, not the Bride of Christ whom God alone can confirm, but the small ,”c”, institutions church in America, have turned many away through not proclaiming Christ above all else. And moralism drives those seeking genuine compassion away, and likely never to return.

If you want to view a true reflection of what Christianity should be, look at the life of Jesus in the Bible.

You will find nothing wrong with Him.

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

(Matthew 11:28-30)

“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

(John 14:6)

Jesus is everything Christianity should be.

DON’T FOLLOW CHRISTIANS, FOLLOW CHRIST.

CHRIST WILL SHOW YOU THE WAY.

CHRIST WILL SHOW YOU THE TRUTH,

CHRIST WILL SHOW YOU THE LIFE.

The Reformers Missed The Supreme Sola – The Sixth Sola – Sola Christus Emphainein – Emphasize Christ Alone – Christ Centered

English: John Calvin Deutsch: Maße: 41 x 29,5 cm, Johannes Calvin (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.” ~Jesus Christ speaking to the Pharisees~ John 5:39

Christ is due the supreme preeminence in everything befitting His supreme nature over everything.

This is what it means to be Christ Centered. To emphasize Christ Alone. Jesus is the center of our spiritual universe.

It is up to today’s reformers to have the courage to influence a more Christ-like Church as the reformers of 500 years ago.

But we will only become more Christ-like if we hear and are told about Christ.

Who is Christ?

Christ is King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. (Revelation 19:16)

He is Immanuel, meaning ,God with us. (Matthew 1:23)

The Five Solus came from the early reformers in response to doctrinal errors that had crept into the Catholic faith.

That is not the best way to define your doctrinal distinctions because you are limited to the perceived errors you are responding to and will likely miss something.

The early church fathers and reformers missed the need to state with absolute certainty that,”in all things Christ might have the preeminence.”

Did the reformers assume that everyone would know Christ was supreme and it need not be said?

I think a close examination of the Five Solas support that theory because they come close to making that statement.

But as they say,”good enough never is.”

The fact is that mankind is prone to selfish pride that wars against our humble Savior’s rightful place in our hearts.

Christ is our religion, it’s all about Him, yet many, maybe most sermons I hear fall short of giving Christ supreme preeminence .

A popular radio preacher, Dr.D.J. can preach about Grace for 20 minutes on the radio without mentioning Christ more than once or twice.

Does D.J. take it for granted we all know Christ brought Grace to mankind?

Or a ministry who primarily focuses on family instead of  Christ will talk about relationship issues without mentioning Christ.

Do they imply Christ is not the answer to all that ails mankind?

Do they just assume we all know that only Jesus can fix all that is wrong with society?

Practical advice should be part of the answer, but in Christianity, it should never be the preeminent answer.

Jesus saves, Jesus transforms and Jesus makes all things new.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

(2 Corinthians 5:17)

Here is a short summary of the Five Solus:

Sola Scriptura – Scripture Alone
Sola Christus – Christ Alone
Sola Gratia – Grace Alone
Sola Fide – Faith Alone
Sola Deo Gloria – The Glory of God Alone

Each of the Five existing Solas depend on Christ.
Jesus is the Lliving Word of God, the Way, the Truth and the Life. He is the Living Scriptura.
Christ is the one mediator between God and man, the Sola Christos.
Christ’s death and resurrection made God’s Grace available to mankind. Jesus is the Sola Gratia.
Christ said, “believe in Him whom God has sent.” Christ is the Sole Fide, in whom we place our Faith Alone.
Jesus is our bridge to Sola Deo Gloria, Christ is also our one mediator between God and man as we approach the Father in worship, thanksgiving, and praise. Without Christ, we could not know the Father.

“Unwarranted confidence in human ability is a product of fallen human nature … God’s grace in Christ is not merely necessary but is the sole efficient cause of salvation. We confess that human beings are born spiritually dead and are incapable even of cooperating with regenerating grace. We reaffirm that in salvation we are rescued from God’s wrath by his grace alone. It is the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit that brings us to Christ by releasing us from our bondage to sin and raising us from spiritual death to spiritual life. We deny that salvation is in any sense a human work. Human methods, techniques or strategies by themselves cannot accomplish this transformation. Faith is not produced by our unregenerated human nature.” – Cambridge Declaration

(Source , http://www.monergism.com/directory/link_category/Five-Solas/)

Christ must take the place of preeminence in all that is Christian.

Our doctrine must relate to Christ and be founded in Christ who is the Author and Finisher of our faith. 

“looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”(Hebrews 12:2)

Our problems must find their solutions in Christ, and in knowing Him, and becoming like Him as we grow.

“And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.” (Colossians 1:18)

To give preeminence is to place supreme emphasis upon.

The Five Solus deal primarily with redemption and the Biblical basis and authority concerning redemption.

The reformers came very close to making a complete distinction of Christ in this regard, but we cannot afford to assume people know the critical importance of giving Christ preeminence in all things.

We must emphasize Christ as completely as we are called to love Him completely.

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”

(Deuteronomy 6:5)

“We love Him because He first loved us.”

(1 John 4:19)

That is why we need The Supreme Sola – The Sixth Sola – Sola Christus Emphainein – Emphasize Christ Alone.

 ^“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

(John 3:16)

(As always, I welcome any and all insights regarding this subject.)

Watch “WHO IS THIS MAN?” – Set To “The Passion of The Christ”

“Give Me Jesus” – Fernando Ortega – Ruth Graham Tribute” Video – 4 min.

“For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?” 

~Jesus ~ (Luke 9:25 NKJV)

“…you can have the whole world, give me Jesus….”

To say this tribute video to the life and faith of Ruth Graham, the wife of the famous Christian evangelist Billy Graham, is  moving is an understatement. 

This is one of my favorite Christian songs if not my absolute favorite .

Click the link below.the 

“Perhaps you could know Him today? ” ~Billy Graham ~

16″ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.  21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.” 

(John 3:16-21 NKJV)         Jesus is waiting now.  Only believe and ask Him. He hears you. 

Stand You’re Gospel Ground – Don’t Be Moved

Jesus (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“Take your stand on the Rock of Ages. Let death, let the judgment come: the victory is Christ’s and yours through Him.” ~DL Moody

So many subjects and issues seem to govern what Pastors preach.
But only one subject can have lasting impact in this life ,and in the next.

Pastor, if your three-point sermon isn’t about Jesus, you are missing The Point.

Case in point– One particularly hot topic is marriage. To be fair, the Bible covers marriage, and we need to listen to what God says about the Holy union he established between man and women. God made us to uniquely compliment each other physically, emotionally,and so on.

But the Bible has an overall theme of man’s redemption through Christ.

Both the old and most obviously the New Testament reveal Christ and His purpose,the Gospel, as central to all that is written in them.

Jesus heals marriages because He alone makes sinners into saints, and saved sinners make Christian couples.

If the issues that plague secular marriage are as prevalent in the Church it is because the church is filled with unchanged sinners.

If that is true, then you need to ask yourself if three or four Gospel messages per year are enough.
(Selah)

Pastor, you should consider making Jesus and the Great Commission the central theme of every message.

Christ can show you how all subjects begin and end with Him.

“Without Me you can do nothing.”, is an all-encompassing statement.
” I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,”is another all-encompassing statement.

Both of theses Biblical truths point to the central truth of Christ’s supremacy.

It really is all about Jesus.

Isn’t it time you plugged your sermons into that power?
The ONLY power to change us forever is Jesus.

Jesus! The Savior Of My Soul!

Jesus!

The Savior of my soul,
He is the promise of eternal tomorrows,
the fact that He resides in me,
and the thought that He will never leave me,

He lives in me as the promise of life unending,

A promise that God who cannot lie, has made!

He is the seal of an eternity of tomorrows!

His Spirit in me!
His Spirit teaches me,
His Spirit guides me,

His Spirit changes me,

His Spirit comforts me,
and gives me peace that passes understanding,…

theses are only a few reasons I worship my Jesus.

A Sign of The Times

Does anyone still believe politics can save America?

We are way beyond anything politicians can fix.

Many of our politicians need help themselves, so how can they help us?

Jesus is the reason we were blessed.

Only Jesus can save us.

Pastor Mike Says

We have to do something and soon, or God‘s house will surely fall.

Confidence in organized religion hits all-time low in Gallup poll

gallup.com

By Jason White, msnbc.com

Americans’ confidence in religious institutions has hit an all-time low, with only 44 percent expressing a “great deal” of confidence in organized religion, according to a new Gallup survey.

This follows a downward trend since the 1970s, when 68 percent of Americans had a high degree of confidence.

Gallup cites two big blows to confidence in organized religion: 1980s scandals involving televangelists like Jim Bakker and the Catholic sex abuse scandal in the 2000s.

Perhaps as an outgrowth of the abuse scandal, Catholics lag far behind Protestants in their confidence in the church, by a margin of 10 percentage points.

But the scandals of recent decades, and the ensuing lack of confidence in organized religion, are not necessarily affecting…

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Even the Wind and the Waves Obey Him

“Even the wind and the waves obey Him!”

Christians.

We are the Church.

The Church is a building but not one made by human hands, but by the Spirit of God.

When we meet for the purpose of knowing Jesus Christ or serving Him, He tells us He is present with us.

 ^“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:20)

To further that point, it is also true that Christ is present in all who believe and receive Christ as Lord and Savior.

Jesus is IN the individual believer and IN and WITH those who are gathered in His name.

This is also true for our online community.

We are having an impact. People from countries all over the world are receiving the Gospel as a result of the faithful witness of online writers who take the Great Commission to heart and see blogging as an additional resource to meet those needs.

Our ancient foe knows this as well.

Which is why I pray for all my followers and online friends in spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ.

I would encourage all who are like hearted to do the same because Satan makes attempts to get us off message in several ways.

If you are worth the devil’s time then you are having an impact!

Keep doing what you are doing and don’t stop.

Find several ways, but don’t stop telling others about Jesus.

(JESUS),”He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.”

 ^“He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

 ^“They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” (Mark 4:39-40)

Perfect Freedom – We Are All Slaves to Something – A Sermon by Tim Keller of Redeemer Presbyterian Church – Manhattan N.Y.

 

 

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36)

We are all enslaved to something.

Most of these things are a source of temporary fulfilment.

The obvious ones are sex, alcohol, drugs, and we all know people who are enslaved to such.

But the less obvious things we also seek to find our ultimate identity and fulfillment in are status, achievement, career, relationships, children, spouses, and countless other things that are not at all bad in and of themselves.

We make these things bad for us when we seek our ultimate identity and fulfillment in them in an inordinate way.

Only Christ is worthy of being the source of fulfillment for our deepest desire for identity.

“Why not give yourself to the one who gave Himself  for you?”

Tim Keller

“Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.”

(John 6:35)

Listen to the free audio sermon – click the link below

http://sermons2.redeemer.com/sermons/perfect-freedom

Related articles

• Better Than Miracles – An Audio Sermon By Dr.Tim Keller of Redeemer Presbyterian Church – Manhattan, NY. (christcenteredteaching.wordpress.com)
• How The Gospel Changes Us – An Audio Sermon By Dr.Tim Keller, Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Manhattan, NY (christcenteredteaching.wordpress.com)
• “The Bible – End Or Means ?” – Is The Bible Simply A Set Of Laws, Morals and Principles From God, Or The Means To A Relationship With Him ? An Audio Sermon By Dr. Tim Keller , Redeemer Presbyterian Church , Manhattan NY. (christcenteredteaching.wordpress.com)
• A Reason For Living – An Audio Sermon By Dr. Tim Keller – Redeemer Presbyterian Church- Manhattan, NY- Keller Answers The Big Question- “What Is The Reason,Meaning, And Purpose For Life?” (christcenteredteaching.wordpress.com)
• The Centrality of The Gospel – Printable Bible Study Outline by Dr. Tim Keller – Redeemer Presbyterian Church – Manhattan New York (christcenteredteaching.wordpress.com)

Eternally Secure In Christ – “I Shall Lose None of All”

These are the Words of our Great God and Savior Jesus Christ.

^“All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.  For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.  And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”

 (John 6:37-40 ,NIV 84,The Holy Bible)

The above words of Christ settle every conceivable scenario a person could imagine for loosing one’s salvation.

ALL the Father gives Jesus Will come to Him.

Jesus will NEVER drive you away.

Jesus SHALL LOSE NONE OF ALL, so that means that if you really know Him you won’t want to leave Him either. NONE of ALL.

EVERYONE who looks to the Son AND believes in Him SHALL have ETERNAL LIFE

Anyone who can see that God has loved them completely is now free to also love God completely in return for His matchless, incomparable love!

href=”https://christcenteredteaching.wordpress.com/2012/06/02/the-secret-ingredient-to-eternal-life/” target=”_blank”>The Secret Ingredient To Eternal Life (christcenteredteaching.wordpress.com)

Final Events – The Signing of a Treaty With Israel Reveals The “Beast” and Day One of the Great Tribulation

 “because they did not receive the love of the truth”

 “Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come.

Let no one deceive you by any means; for that  Day  will  not  come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

 “Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time.For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.

And then the lawless one will be revealed,

whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.

The coming of the lawless  one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”

(II Thessalonians 2:1-12)

“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:” (John 1:12)

Related articles

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• The Apostle Paul (sharingodslove.wordpress.com)

The Secret To Revival Found In Christ’s High Priestly Prayer-“that the love you have for Me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”

~The Secret To Revival~

Salvation, Sanctification, Revival, and Renewal of The Church are Not Dependent on Eliminating Evil ,But rather on Embracing God Through Christ.

This misconception is the most common mistake we make in our efforts to change ourselves and  in seeking renewal in the Church.

The most troubling condition is present in many or most churches across America today.

I was troubled as I read a devotional by a man of God whom I greatly respect who wrote a critique using John 17:26 in an effort to identify and correct our disunity in the church.

As he listed the issues to correct he omitted Christ as the answer.

His focus was on the illness and he ignored the cure.

I find no error in his comments, only in who he did not embrace as the answer.

Our answer is a who not a what, personal not mere intellectual assent, the One who Rules the hearts of men, not simply rules themselves, involving both the risen Christ and His truth, not one or the other.

All our problems represent an absence of God’s love through Jesus Christ in us, a void within each of us who claim to comprise the Church in our age.

I have read a series of book reviews on the Gospel Coalition site about Renewal of The Church in America,

and so far each book talks all about the problems we face and almost never mentions the only real solution, who is Christ in us!

I assure you I’m nobody, but I know who my God and Father is

and I know He has loved me with an everlasting love

and I need to tell everyone I can how much He loves them and how much they need to know His love personally.

Omission of sin comes after Christ comes in.

He alone has the power to transform.

Embrace Christ to displace death, and be saved, for He alone can save.

Embrace Christ to displace sin, because He alone, by His indwelling Spirit, can empower you overcome.

Embrace Christ to displace self,and become Christ like, for He has loved us before we knew Him.

Embrace Christ to displace your desires, for He alone is the most beautiful entity in the universe to be desired and you will trade everything for more of Him.

Embrace Christ to displace all the things that entice the Church away from It’s first love, for Christ alone is worthy of all glory, power and praise!

Embrace Christ to change the world, for if any man is in Christ he is a new creation, old things are passes away, behold all have become new, and that is the only real social reform.

Christ’s High Priestly Prayer ends with the following summary of His desire for all who believe.

 ^“I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”

(John 17:26)

His love is the context for all our theology and that context must be given preeminence .

When the early Church Fathers made the Nicene Creed they  did not clearly set the context for all truth

which is God’s love in us through  Jesus Christ.

Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

If Christ is no longer supreme in my heart and daily living, then I have lost the Way, neglected the Truth, and turned away from Life.
A very simple theology in the context of God’s love, for he indwells the true believer and love grows and shows.

We must be one IN Christ, or we will become like the church in Ephesus.

 ^“Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen;

repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.”

(Revelation 2:4,5)

Christ is our first love, and His arms are ever wide open to embrace us.

https://christcenteredteaching.wordpress.com/2012/05/05/the-simplicity-that-is-in-christ/

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2012/05/04/an-agenda-for-recovering-christianity-in-america/?comments#comments#comment-29950

Related articles and updates

9-27-2012 Update- Dr. Tim Keller of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan New York has released a new book called,”Center Church”, a road map for renewal for the church in which the focus is The Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Keller has also called for renewed emphasis on the Gospel of Jesus Christ in all our theology in a 54 minute video you can watch here. http://wp.me/p1Lr49-MG

Tim Keller is an awesome Christ Centered teacher. I highly recommend him.

Free Sermons

http://sermons2.redeemer.com

Tim Keller delivered this challenge to church leaders to be ,”Gospel Shaped”, in all our ministry.

“Every sermon should ultimately be about Jesus.” Tim Keller

• Gospel Shaped Ministry By Tim Keller (christcenteredteaching.wordpress.com)

Stephen – A Man Full of God’s Grace and Power

Reading the story of Stephen is like reading a condensed summary of the old Testament and the early New Testament of the Bible.

It is an exciting and inspiring account of being brave and even bold in the face of imminent danger.

Stephen knew God’s word ,and he knew the God of the word.

 “Because your love is better than life, 
   my lips will glorify you.”

(The Bible – Psalm 63:3)

Acts 6:8 Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people. 6:9 Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen —Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia—who began to argue with Stephen. 6:10 But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke. 6:11 Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, “We have heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.” 6:12 So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. 6:13 They produced false witnesses, who testified, “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. 6:14 For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.”

6:15 All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

7:1 Then the high priest asked Stephen, “Are these charges true?” 7:2 To this he replied:

“Brothers and fathers, listen to me!

The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Harran. 7:3 ‘Leave your country and your people,’ God said, ‘and go to the land I will show you.’ 7:4 “So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Harran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land where you are now living. 7:5 He gave him no inheritance here, not even enough ground to set his foot on. But God promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land, even though at that time Abraham had no child. 7:6 God spoke to him in this way: ‘For four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated. 7:7 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves,’ God said, ‘and afterward they will come out of that country and worship me in this place.’ 7:8

Then he gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision. And Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him eight days after his birth. Later Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs. 7:9 “Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him 7:10 and rescued him from all his troubles. He gave Joseph wisdom and enabled him to gain the goodwill of Pharaoh king of Egypt. So Pharaoh made him ruler over Egypt and all his palace. 7:11

“Then a famine struck all Egypt and Canaan, bringing great suffering, and our ancestors could not find food. 7:12 When Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our forefathers on their first visit. 7:13 On their second visit, Joseph told his brothers who he was, and Pharaoh learned about Joseph’s family. 7:14 After this, Joseph sent for his father Jacob and his whole family, seventy-five in all. 7:15 Then Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and our ancestors died. 7:16 Their bodies were brought back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem for a certain sum of money. 7:17 “As the time drew near for God to fulfill his promise to Abraham, the number of our people in Egypt had greatly increased. 7:18 Then ‘a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt.’ 7:19 He dealt treacherously with our people and oppressed our ancestors by forcing them to throw out their newborn babies so that they would die. 7:20 “At that time Moses was born, and he was no ordinary child. For three months he was cared for by his family. 7:21 When he was placed outside, Pharaoh’s daughter took him and brought him up as her own son. 7:22 Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action. 7:23 “When Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his own people, the Israelites. 7:24 He saw one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian, so he went to his defense and avenged him by killing the Egyptian. 7:25 Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not. 7:26 The next day Moses came upon two Israelites who were fighting. He tried to reconcile them by saying, ‘Men, you are brothers; why do you want to hurt each other?’ 7:27 “But the man who was mistreating the other pushed Moses aside and said, ‘Who made you ruler and judge over us? 7:28 Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ 7:29 When Moses heard this, he fled to Midian, where he settled as a foreigner and had two sons. 7:31 When he saw this, he was amazed at the sight. As he went over to get a closer look, he heard the Lord say: 7:32 ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.’ Moses trembled with fear and did not dare to look. 7:33

“Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. 7:34 I have indeed seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their groaning and have come down to set them free. Now come, I will send you back to Egypt.’ 7:35 “This is the same Moses they had rejected with the words, ‘Who made you ruler and judge?’ He was sent to be their ruler and deliverer by God himself, through the angel who appeared to him in the bush. 7:36 He led them out of Egypt and performed wonders and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea and for forty years in the wilderness. 7:37 “This is the Moses who told the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your own people.’ 7:38 He was in the assembly in the wilderness, with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors; and he received living words to pass on to us. 7:39 “But our ancestors refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt. 7:40 They told Aaron, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who led us out of Egypt—we don’t know what has happened to him!’ 7:41 That was the time they made an idol in the form of a calf. They brought sacrifices to it and reveled in what their own hands had made. 7:42 But God turned away from them and gave them over to the worship of the sun, moon and stars. This agrees with what is written in the book of the prophets: “ ‘Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings forty years in the wilderness, people of Israel? 7:43 You have taken up the tabernacle of Molek and the star of your god Rephan, the idols you made to worship. Therefore I will send you into exile’ beyond Babylon. 7:44 “Our ancestors had the tabernacle of the covenant law with them in the wilderness. It had been made as God directed Moses, according to the pattern he had seen.

7:45 After receiving the tabernacle, our ancestors under Joshua brought it with them when they took the land from the nations God drove out before them. It remained in the land until the time of David, 7:46 who enjoyed God’s favor and asked that he might provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob. 7:47 But it was Solomon who built a house for him. 7:48 “However, the Most High does not live in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says: 7:49 “ ‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me? says the Lord. Or where will my resting place be? 7:50 Has not my hand made all these things?’

7:51 “You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! 7:52 Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him— 7:53 you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.”

The Stoning of Stephen

7:54 When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. 7:55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 7:56 “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” 7:57 At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, 7:58 dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. 7:59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 7:60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep. (NIV)

“they did not love their lives so much 
   as to shrink from death.” 

Revelation 12:11

“O Shepherds, Hear The Word Of The LORD”

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

(Jesus Christ  in the Book of John 10:11)

“Woe to the preacher who would continue to preach the Law to a famished sinner!”

C.F.W. Walther

Ezekiel 34

Shepherds and Sheep

 ¹ The word of the LORD came to me: ² “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? ³ You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. ⁴ You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally.⁵ So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals. ⁶ My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered over the whole earth, and no one searched or looked for them.

 ⁷ “‘Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: ⁸ As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, because my flock lacks a shepherd and so has been plundered and has become food for all the wild animals, and because my shepherds did not search for my flock but cared for themselves rather than for my flock, ⁹ therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: ¹⁰ This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. I will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.

 ¹¹ “‘For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. ¹² As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. ¹³ I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land. ¹⁴ I will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. ¹⁵I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign LORD. ¹⁶ I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.

 ¹⁷ “‘As for you, my flock, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will judge between one sheep and another, and between rams and goats. ¹⁸ Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of your pasture with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink clear water? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet? ¹⁹ Must my flock feed on what you have trampled and drink what you have muddied with your feet?

 ²⁰ “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says to them: See, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. ²¹ Because you shove with flank and shoulder, butting all the weak sheep with your horns until you have driven them away, ²² I will save my flock, and they will no longer be plundered. I will judge between one sheep and another. ²³ I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them; he will tend them and be their shepherd. ²⁴ I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them. I the LORD have spoken.

 ²⁵ “‘I will make a covenant of peace with them and rid the land of wild beasts so that they may live in the desert and sleep in the forests in safety.²⁶ I will bless them and the places surrounding my hill. I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing. ²⁷ The trees of the field will yield their fruit and the ground will yield its crops; the people will be secure in their land. They will know that I am the LORD, when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the hands of those who enslaved them. ²⁸ They will no longer be plundered by the nations, nor will wild animals devour them. They will live in safety, and no one will make them afraid. ²⁹ I will provide for them a land renowned for its crops, and they will no longer be victims of famine in the land or bear the scorn of the nations. ³⁰ Then they will know that I, the LORD their God, am with them and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, declares the Sovereign LORD. ³¹ You my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are people, and I am your God, declares the Sovereign LORD.’”

“Nothing that is God’s is obtainable by money.”- Tertullian

“Nothing that is God’s is obtainable by money.”- Tertullian

“For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s”. ( 1 Corinthians 6:20)

The Greatest of These is Love

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” 

1Cor13.13 

Biblical Emphasis in Doctrine – The Numbers Are In – Its About Jesus

Solus Christas Emphainein – Emphasize Christ Alone

Many Christian denominations share the same foundational doctrinal beliefs and values.

Much has been said about the need to emphasize one doctrine or the other and why to do so.

Not enough is being said about Biblical Emphasis in Doctrine as is demonstrated by a survey of The Bible.

For instance – If we take all the verses of the New Testament, about 7,956, and divide that number by the amount of times the Authors, under divine inspiration of the Holy Spirit mentioned Jesus Christ.

Taking into account there are many different names for Jesus ,some of which are Christ, Son, Savior, Son of Man, Lamb of God, Teacher, Jesus Christ, Master,and Lord. A word search in a digital Bible will reveal about 2,143 such references to our Lord.

7,956 x .2694% = 2,143.34 Which means the New Testament authors under divine inspiration of God’s Spirit reference at least one of Jesus Christ’s names about 27% of the time.

So we should always ask ourselves, “When we teach God’s Word are we using Biblical Emphasis?”

The Bible really is about Jesus. He is the way back to God.

“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

Christ Centered Teaching- Because It’s All About Jesus

Solus Christas Emphainein – Emphasize Christ Alone

Christ Centered Teaching – Initial Post

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

“looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith,” (Hebrews 12:2)

Christian – The word literally means like Christ.

Jesus Christ is the Central Figure of the Christian faith.

Christ is the Founder of the Christian faith.

Christ is the Perfecter of the Christian faith.

True Christianity begins with Jesus and then continues by Jesus Christ IN the believer for all eternity.

Think of Christ as the SUN in the Christian solar system around which everything else revolves.

Christ is the center and core of Christianity. Our life ,growth and power all come from Christ and He starts and then continues the changes in us that make us Christ like.

When we accept His sacrifice on the cross to pay for our sins, God immediately sees us as perfect, and then He puts His Spirit in us to guide and grow us. He changes us.

Some preaching is Christ Centered. Some preaching is not Christ Centered. How we can become more Christ like without becoming more familiar with Jesus?

A term that is useful for all who study Christianity as a way of living is,”Biblical Emphasis.” Biblical Emphasis takes into account that the New Testament has about 8,000 verses. As an example we can ask,How often do the many names given for Jesus,( God’s Son, Messiah, Savior, Lord, Christ), occur in the new Testament?

Answer; about 2,000 times. So if we want to know how Christ Centered a message is in reference to Biblical Emphasis of the Bible, all we need to do is divide 2,000 into 8,000. That means the Holy Spirit inspired the New Testament writers to relate their subject to Jesus Christ about 25% of the time. That is the Biblical standard for being Christ Centered. The writers of the Bible never went more than three steps away from Jesus in reference to anything they talked about. In fact, the actual percentage is closer to 27%.

I’m not willing to accept anything less than Jesus Christ as King in both context and content.

That is what God wants too.This is what is written in God’s word, the Bible –

“And you shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart, and with all of your soul, and with all of your might.” Deuteronomy 6:5

And God does not require that we love Him without reason.

God also gives us a mind-blowing reason to love Him. God sent His Son Jesus Christ to pay for all the things we did wrong. Jesus took our punishment, suffered at the hands of evil men, was subjected to Roman crucifixion, died and was buried for three days, and defeated death when He rose from the tomb to prove He can give life to all who put their trust in Him as Savior.

” For God so loved the world that He gave His only son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have ever lasting life.” John 3:16

Yes I love Jesus. I want to be like Christ. I want to be Christian.

So this is what troubles me. Most often when I visit a church,or listen to a preacher on the radio, or read a Christian article on Christian subjects, tragically, the author hardly makes mention of Christ! How can it be Christian without Christ? How can listeners or readers become Christian when Christ is only mentioned indirectly once or twice in a 20 minute sermon? The average Christ Centered temperature of most speakers seems to be cold.

So what is our problem? Why do people, preachers, churches, religious institutions, organizations,banks, governments, politicians, nations, and societies seem destined to drift into self-centered ruin? Why do messengers of Christ not speak His name?

Let me propose that any time we put God or His Son second we are putting ourselves first.

So the problem can be described in the word PRIDE. The universal problem that leads mankind, nations, governments to drift always in the direction of ruin.

Lucifer, also known as Satan or the Devil, was the first to succumb to this problem . Satan and one-third of the angels where cast out of Heaven and God’s presence as a result of it. (Isaiah 14:12 – 17)

Then Satan tempted mankind with the same thing that lead to his downfall. The result was the fall of mankind as recorded in the book of Genesis. This event brought sin, death, suffering to mankind and separation between us and our perfect, Holy Creator. (Genesis 3:1-6)

The Devil will tempt mankind with pride once more at the very end of the age in man’s final rebellion before Christ judges all of creation, as recorded in the book of Revelation, the final book in the Bible.(Revelation 20:1-10)

• A Simple Rule to Avoid a Christ-less Christianity (christcenteredteaching.wordpress.com)