Desire to Know Truth No Matter Where It Leads You

My wife and I were sitting in the office of a marriage counselor as he gave us an, “interview”.

We had hit the proverbial bump in the road and had just agreed to seek counseling after two months of separation.

I asked the counselor what purpose an interview with him would serve towards the reconciliation of our marriage.
He told me the purpose of the interview was to determine if the two of us sincerely wanted to know the truth about our relationship with one another, and how to mend it, and whether or not he was willing to be our marriage counselor.

I was shocked.

He continued to tell us how most people don’t really want to know the truth in regard to what is wrong with their marriage.

“I estimate about 90 percent of the people who come to me for help don’t really want to know the truth about what’s wrong and how to fix it,” he said.

That was twenty years ago and I still remember the feeling of shock I had at the thought that most of us, more often than not, are reluctant to know the truth even when our very lives depend on it.

Yes, it has been tough at times. But we’re still married after 37 years.
And we owe a great debt of gratitude to a counselor who dared to be painfully honest with us even though we could have easily been offended and walked out of the office that day.

We have learned a great lesson;

The truth is often hard to take, but is always best for us.
We should always follow the truth no matter where it leads us.

C. S. Lewis reflected on his conversion to Christianity in a similar way in his book, “Surprised by Joy”.

“You must picture me alone in that room in Magdalen, night after night, feeling, whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of Him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet. That which I greatly feared had at last come upon me. In the Trinity Term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England.”
~C.S.Lewis~

Consider what Jesus said in regards to the truth ;

“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
(John 8:32 NKJV)

“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 NKJV)

The truth is that we all need Jesus as Savior before this life ends, reluctant as we may be to accept that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Follow Jesus.

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.

Oxford Scientists Confirm Biblical Account of the Human Conscience – C.S.Lewis said it -“You Don’t Have a Soul – You Are a Soul – You Have a Body”

“Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image,”
(Genesis 1, The Bible)

Oxford scientists have discovered humans are unique from all species of living things.

The researchers identified two areas of the human brain that are both physically and functionality unique to humans.

Humans alone have physical portions of our brain designated to diserning good and evil.

Discribed as ,”Shaped like small stems of broccoli”, these areas are active when people are asked questions that challenge disernment between good and evil.

The significance of the fact that humans alone have the ability to judge good and evil has literally rocked the scientific and philosophical worlds.

But knowing the difference between good and evil does not mean that we can always choose to do good.

And that is where the issue of responsibility for our actions come becomes Biblical. That is what shows why only a Messiah, Jesus Christ, was necessary. Only Jesus could choose to do good and only the perfect and sinless One could pay for our sin.

The fact that we are physically different a major way confirms our Biblical description and need, and gives even more credence to the Jesus of the Bible.

Humans alone are designed to sense differences between good and evil, sin and righteousness.

We have the capacity to recognize Holiness even though we incapable of perfection ourselves.

Evolutionary theorists can no longer use animal behavior as a model for justification of human behavior and human cultural trends or sexual behavior.

Chimpanzees, Apes and Bonobo monkeys don’t have these uniquely human portions of the brain, nore do and other species of animal or mammal.

“And you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis in The Bible)

This new discovery supports the Biblical account of creation of the world and all that is in it.

Mankind was created by God and unique from all other species of creation to uniquely reflect the image of the Creator.

This new finding supports a non-evolutionary, Biblical account of creation, not primordial soup theory, or evolution at in any way.

The implications of a physical character of the human brain that is constructed to relate to a being who is the source of all that is good, holy, and righteous, is confirmation that humanity is unique in recognizing God for who and what He is. This is at the core of the truth most important to humanity.

The most important thing to humanity is to know we were created by God and for a relationship with God. And that sin separated us from God, but Christ died in our place to pay for our sin, and offers redemption to all who will only choose to receive Him as Lord and Savior.
“Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image,
according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”
(Gen 1:26-27 NKJV)

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/you-say-lateral-frontal-pole-i-say-that-little-devilangel-that-whispers-in-my-ear-9094043.html

Lost in Translation – Hebrews 4:2- The Essence of Believing the Bible – Faith or Intellect ?

“For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.”
(Heb 4:2 NKJV)

18 inches is approximately the distance between the human heart and head.

It has been described as the longest distance we will ever travel.

And in the twenty first century western humanity is suffering from a pandemic of decapitation between our hearts and heads.

That is why this verse was very important to understanding the supremacy of faith in relation to how we grasp God’s truths from the Bible.

I remember how this scripture impacted me when I first realized that I was accustomed to filtering truth from error by intellect alone!

But God lives above this realm we live in. He created the natural realm with all it entails,but He is not subject to the laws of nature, for God is Supernatural.

Even our minds stumble at the thought of the miraculous.
But what is miraculous to us is quite simple to God.

Indeed, it is pure intellectual contempt and out right denial to even judge the possibility of the existence of an all powerful God by the laws of the natural realm that a true God could transcend in the first place.

God’s truths transcend the laws of logic and reason, just as God’s limitless power transcends the laws of physics ,nature and science in general.

All our science, truth, and natural laws coincide with God’s and even point back to Him as the single source of everything, but even science has repeatedly hit it’s head against the undeniable fact of the miraculous in all disciplines of nature from DNA to the Cosmos.

Our greatest science has only yielded greater questions that repeatedly defy scientific explanations and can only be explained by a transcendent miraculous being, the same being known for eons as God,Yahweh, Jehovah.

In light of the possibility of existence of a miraculous being, miracles make perfect sense.

Why has this verse been changed in so many new translations when it’s truth is so vitally important and needed?

The ESV, NIV 2011, and many others have caved to evolutionary science influences and a general Christlessness that has permeated western Christianity.

This can only attributed to the continued downward slide of western Christianity into the prophetic apostasy of the last days before Christ’s return.

But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
(2Tim 3:1-4 NKJV)

Christ Centered Teaching hopes to serve as a reminder to both this teacher and all seekers of truth that Christ alone is the source of all truth, the way to live.
Jesus is the life everlasting, and the only way to an eternal destiny of all we ever sought and hoped for.

Jesus Christ is the Divine God, Creator, Saviour, and Lover of Lost Souls who died for them, was buried and in three days He rose in victory over death. He gives eternal life to all who believe by faith and ask Him to come into their hearts.

Christ fills those hearts to overflowing.

Simply ask and by FAITH receive the gift of eternal life from the all knowing , all powerful, miraculous Lover of our souls.

Christ is more than words can describe, but I will continue to try to give readers a glimpse of who He is, but the one absolutely essential ingredient in knowing Jesus Christ is faith.

Without faith we cannot know Him or hope to know God.
With faith, we become family of God.

Christ is the Gospel – He Must Be Our Constant Theme

By C.H.Spurgeon

“Beloved, because Jesus is the sum of the gospel he must be our constant theme.

“God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

“I determined not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and him crucified.”

So spake men of old, and so say we. 

When we have done preaching Christ we had better have done preaching; when you have done teaching in your classes Jesus Christ himself, give up Sunday school work, for nothing else is worthy of your pains.

Put out the sun, and light is gone, life is gone, all is gone.

When Jesus is pushed into the background or left out of a minister’s teaching, the darkness is darkness that might be felt, and the people escape from it into gospel light as soon as they can.

A sermon without Jesus in it is savourless, and worthless to God’s tried saints, and they soon seek other food.

The more of Christ in our testimony the more of light and life and power to save.”

The devil’s Hordes Greatest Defeat

Christus op kruis – Vlissegem (Photo credit: PhilFlickr2)

 “The devil’s hordes thought, at first, that the crucifixion of Christ was their triumph. 

But their very triumphs, God used for their defeat. 

They thought they had God with His back to the wall,

pinned and helpless and defeated. 

They did not know it was God Himself who had dragged them down to that point. 

He did not conquer in spite of the dark mystery of evil,

He conquered through it.” 

Scottish Theologian James Stewart

 

Ethos,Pathos,Logos – The Image of God

Bust of Aristotle. Marble, Roman copy after a Greek bronze original by Lysippos from 330 BC; the alabaster mantle is a modern addition. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

God created man in His image.

Aristotle identified three primary areas of influence and response that comprise the mind, heart, and soul of mankind.

He called them Ethos, Pathos, and logos.

God is sovereign and all Powerful- this is Ethos

God is the author of wisdom and is all knowing- this is Logos

God is Love and so loved the world He gave His Son – this is Pathos

The Psalms puts it this way;

Psalms 139:1-4 “O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways. For there  is not a word on my tongue,
But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.”

God knows us, understands us, comprehends us altogether because He loves us.

His pathos brought His ethos and logos to our rescue.

His pathos / love bridged the gap between us and God through Christ.

God wants our love as well.

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” (Deuteronomy 6)

The most remarkable thing about what God requires from us is that He gave all of himself for us in Christ first.

He expressed all His ethos, pathos, and logos for our benefit through the cross.

Is God not worthy of all our love in return?

2012 in Review for Christ Centered Teaching – Sharing Christ’s Good News With The World

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 9,700 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 16 years to get that many views.

Click here to see the complete report.

Share God’s Gift With Others – His Grace

Grace is its own reason for doing good to those deserving the opposite.

We did not and cannot earn favor with Holy God.

God’s very nature, which is love and righteousness, satisfied our sin natured disconnect with Him by personally bridging the gap between us.

The only reason for this given in the Bible is ,”God so loved the world.” (John 3:16)

The sacrifice of God’s Son on the cross 2,000 years ago for the sin debt of all mankind was purely motivated by a God whose nature is love.

God’s righteousness stood in stark contrast and condemnation to the imperfection of mankind.

The love of God satisfied what was lacking for each of us to know God by the gracious gift of Christ’s imputed righteous nature in all who believe in Christ as Savior.

This year, in a world that is growing increasingly dark, let God’s Gift of love through Christ shine in you and through you in the same way God’s love came to us,.. even though we were undeserving and in desperate need, He came to save us.

 “Freely you have received, freely give.” ~Jesus Christ~ (Matthew 10:8)

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.”

(Ephesians 2:8,9)

God Bless, and Happy New Year

Christ Centered Teaching and God Came Down

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The First Christmas Gift – God Came Down To Us

 

 

The First Christmas Gift – God Came Down To Us

Click on this link above to watch an amazing Christmas pageant by Kensington Church in Troy Michigan.

The humorous intro includes NFL ,(American), Pro Football Detroit Lions players Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson.

Following that is ,”The Christmas Song”, an original Jazz/Rock piece by the Kensington praise musicians that about blew me away.

Most or all of this stage performance was recorded live, so the video includes a 1 minute intercession after the initial song.

What follows is an amazing  theatrical story that illustrates how when God came to be with us , He brought life and light into our dark and dead world.

The Bible says that we didn’t understand who Christ,why He came, or what He was doing.

When the story begins, everything is in shades of black, white , and gray.

Interestingly, the color red is used, the color of blood, to symbolize how Christ gave His life in order to give us life.

Then everything bursts into vibrant color to symbolize new life through Christ.

The video is 86 minutes long but can be started or stopped at any point.

If you wonder what Christmas is all about, or if you feel like you have lost the joy for Christmas, this video will help you find your joy.

The pageant is filled with amazing original music and a simple yet profound message.

I recommend watching this regardless of your condition in life.

Whether alone or with family,..

this message is meant for each one of us no matter where we are in life.

God came down to us!

The first Christmas gift was to us!

The Mayan Apocalypse Will Not Occur – But Bible Prophecy Will – Dates Withholding

The Mayan Apocalypse will not be happening on December 21.

I don’t want to make light of what has become a major concern for many, so don’t misinterpret my condensed and direct tone concerning this issue.

I’ve not written on this subject before, but recent events have convinced me it may be a good time to do so.

A side story to the Sandy Hook killings is that the mother of the killer was preoccupied with what has become known as ,”dooms day prepping.”

My main goal is to write to make Christ known.

End times or its formal name,eschatology, is demanding and super involved, and the bottom line in life is, Do you know Jesus as your Savior?

“neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:39)

So if you have a comment ,critique or a question about anything written on this subject, let me know and I’ll try to get you a reply.

If I put everything into this post I would have a book instead of blog, so even Bible references are withheld unless you request them.

Why I am saying that the Mayan Apocalypse will not be happening on December 21?

According to Biblical prophecy,and my understanding of Biblical eschatology,  the world will endure at least another 1,000 years before God transforms it and the City of Heaven comes down to Earth.

This is also called the end of the age and the beginning of eternity with God for those who have trusted Christ as their Lord and Savior.

A Little Background First, for those of us who are only now becoming acquainted with this subject of end times eschatology.

Most of my reformed theology friends call this ,”Dispensationalism,” and discount it out of hand.

Incidentally, I have never met one reformed theologian who also had a well-informed eschatology.

The most common reformed eschatology is that Christians will bring about the,”Kingdom Age”, through winning everybody to Christ.

The only problem with that eschatology is that it is based on only a few passages and has to omit and ignore many passages that don’t fit it.

In the words of one well-respected Presbyterian pastor,“Most reformers don’t have a well-developed eschatology because Calvin never wrote a commentary on the book of Revelation from the Bible. Calvin didn’t understand the Book of Revelation.” (That is the main prophetic book in the Bible that foretells times yet to come and the end of the age, also called prophecy).

Some have said that if anyone tells you they understand the book of Revelation they are either fools or liars.

I think that’s a cop-out for those who either follow Calvin and their fellow reformers without question, or are too afraid of the subject to study it.

I’ve seen equal amounts of both.

Problem is, a lot of people are thinking about what may or may not happen concerning the end of the age , but almost nobody is telling people what they need to hear.

That is, except for a few guys who just seem to want to fleece the flock, like Harold Camping did.

Granted, some end times ,”experts,” have made fools of themselves and those that followed them.

Anytime a teacher of the Bible talks more about anything other than Jesus, even if they talk more about Christ’s return more than they talk about Christ, we should be skeptical.

The bottom line in all that involves all of life, death, and eternity is if you have Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, NOTHING can ever separate you from God.

So how can I know from the Bible that the Mayan apocalypse will not happen?

Firstly, the Great 7 year Tribulation has not begun yet, and it does not get really bad until about half way ,or 3 1/2 years from its beginning.

The signal of the beginning of the Great Tribulation is when a world leader mediates a 7 year treaty between Israel and her enemies.

That hasn’t happened yet either. (All though things do seem to be getting worse in the Middle East, setting the stage for this important end times event).

This mediator will also become the one world leader who becomes possessed by the devil 3 1/2 years into that treaty.

Then all hell breaks loose.

They will call him ,”The Beast”, because he will first try to win over all religions into one, and then he will decide he wants to be worshipped.

Because of this, he will persecute all religions who do not worship him.

I also firmly believe that all true believers will be removed from this world before judgement is allowed to be unleashed on it. (The pre-tribulation rapture).

 So enjoy Christmas on the 25th, because December 21st will come and go, and so will all the other dates that are associated with the Mayan calendar for that matter.

The only warning I will give is the same one Christians have been giving all along.

The times will get dark, but agin,the only prepping that will ultimately matter is ,Do you know Jesus as Savior?

Don’t wait until the night comes to trust  ,”The Light of The World,” who is Jesus Christ.

He died on the cross for our sins and rose from the dead to show He has power over life and death and has power to give life to any who will place their trust in Him.

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

 Seek him while it is day.

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Why? – Jesus and Innocent Suffering

The question of suffering is one of life’s biggest questions.

Any loss, loss of livelihood, health, loved ones is shocking to us, as it should be.

 

 

The unspeakable tragedy of loss is compounded by the loss of innocent life and the suffering of innocent people.

Men, women and children needlessly suffer and die amidst violence, cruelty and neglect.

We are left to ask,”Why did God allow this to happen?”

When we experience loss,”Why!”,is the first thing that comes to mind.

There are no pat answers,… but we can find deeper reason and comfort in knowing we are not alone.

God chose to experience loss for our sakes.

God came down to us in the personage of Jesus Christ and suffered and died for us to spare us eternal suffering.

God the Father turned away from Christ on the Cross, prompting Jesus Christ to cry out,”My God, My God,WHY have you forsaken me?”

God as the man Jesus Christ felt the agony of loss and asked WHY?

The Bible tells us God did this because He loves us.He became one of us, struggled like we do, tempted in every way as us yet without giving in to sin.

And He suffered to a degree that we have not, and can not, for He alone was perfect and worthy to carry all the sins of our entire human race.

Christ paid for the sins all mankind from Adam to the last of our kind who will be born.

Christ carried every sin ever committed, or that will be committed, by every victim and by every perpetrator, who ever lived or has yet live, upon Him on the cross.

And the punishment of us all was upon Him.

“Surely he took up our infirmities
    and carried our sorrows, 
yet we considered him stricken by God, 
    smitten by him, and afflicted. 
 But he was pierced for our transgressions, 
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
    and by his wounds we are healed. 
 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, 
    each of us has turned to his own way; 
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.”

(Isaiah 53:4-6)

Because of Christ we know that the reason suffering exists can NOT be that God is insensitive to our condition.

Perhaps part of the reason is to make us what C.S.Lewis called, “Free Lovers.” We love God not for what He gives , but simply for the sake of whom He is.

If , like the old testament figure from the Bible, Job, we can love God regardless of total tragedy and loss, then our love for God will be like the love God has for us! Unconditional.

“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

(1 John 4:10)

God’s love is Unconditional love.

Tim Keller uses the illustration from the Book of Job in the Bible to show that Satan tried to make God question Job’s love for God. Satan accused Job of conditional love.“Take away everything you have blessed him with and he will curse you!”, he said to God.

And God permitted Satan to take all of Job’s children, possessions and wealth.

When Job still blessed God, then Satan insisted if God allowed physical suffering then Job would curse God.

Job did become very bitter, but did not curse God.

…”Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship  and said:

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
    and naked I will depart. 
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; 
    may the name of the Lord be praised.”

^” In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.”

(Job 1:20-22)

It really is all about Love.

Satan tried to convince Job that God did not unconditionally love him, just as Satan tried to convince God that Job didn’t unconditionally love God.

And perhaps then our suffering, like Job’s, has profound reason and eternal purpose.

To refine our love into the kind of love Christ has for us.

For He loved us before we knew Him.

Unconditionally.

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith —and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”

(Ephesians 2:8,9)

Related Sermon by Dr. Tim Keller of Manhattan Presbyterian Church Manhattan N.Y.- 

http://sermons2.redeemer.com/sermons/suffering-if-god-good-why-there-so-much-evil-world

Jesus is The Way – “Romans Road” To Eternal Life – Take The One Way Trip!

Striding on the Roman Road (Photo credit: Bods)

“For whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

                                                    – Romans 10:13

Romans 3:10 tells us, “as it is written, THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;” (Romans 3:10 NASB) As the Scriptures say: “There is no one who always does what is right, not even one.” (Romans 3:10 NCV)

The requirement of God is a perfect life. A sinless selfless life. Who has not sinned?

And Romans 3:23 adds, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” Since we’ve compiled this long and sorry record as sinners (both us and them) and proved that we are utterly incapable of living the glorious lives God wills for us,” (Romans 3:23 MSG)

Why does man sin and where did sin come from?

Romans 5:12 states that sin started with Adam, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned– “(Romans 5:12 NASB) Sin came into the world because of what one man did, and with sin came death. This is why everyone must die — because everyone sinned.

(Romans 5:12 NCV) What happens to those who sin?

Romans 6:23 tells us, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23 NASB) When people sin, they earn what sin pays — death. But God gives us a free gift — life forever in Christ Jesus our Lord.

(Romans 6:23 NCV)

If all have sinned and the penalty for sin is death, what can a person do? How can anyone be saved?

Romans 5:8 tells us how we can be saved from our sin and its penalty, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8 NASB)

1But God shows his great love for us in this way: Christ died for us while we were still sinners. (Romans 5:8 NCV)

If Jesus did die for me and was raised from the dead, how does that save me from sin and its penalty?

Romans 10:9-10 is clear, “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10 NASB)

If you use your mouth to say, “Jesus is Lord,” and if you believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you will be saved. We believe with our hearts, and so we are made right with God. And we use our mouths to say that we believe, and so we are saved. (Romans 10:9-10 NCV)

Any one who realizes he can never live a perfect life can be saved.

Romans 10:13, for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.” (Romans 10:13 NASB) For everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. [Joel 2:32.] (Romans 10:13 AMP)

Salvation is a free gift.

You may be ruled by desires for things contrary to God now. Don’t worry about that, Let Jesus come into your heart and change you. He has the power to change your desires.

Your good works cannot save you. That is why Jesus died for us. Your good works are the result of genuine salvation, not a condition for you to be saved.

Ask Jesus to come into your heart, save you ,and make you His. He is waiting.

The Many Facets of Jesus’ Love – The Gospel of Jesus in Verse – 80 Ways To Know Jesus Loves Us

 

Jesus loved us before we knew Him

Jesus loved us when He came down to us.

Jesus loved us by associating with the most humble.

Jesus loved us by doing without.

Jesus loved us by garnering lowly sinners to follow Him.

Jesus loved us by being bold for the truth.

Jesus loved us by fearlessly facing moralism.

Jesus loved us by enduring rejection.

Jesus loved us by standing up to oppression.

Jesus loved us by giving warnings.

Jesus loved us by showing the way.

Jesus loved us by speaking the truth.

Jesus loved us by fasting 40 days and nights.

Jesus loved us by allowing himself to be tempted by the devil.

Jesus loved us by not giving in to the temptation of the devil.

Jesus loved us by living the life we should have lived.

Jesus loved us by telling stories that make us think.

Jesus loved us by being one of us, only He lived a sinless life.

Jesus loved us by praying often.

Jesus loved us by praying for us.

Jesus loved us by being gentle with real seekers of truth.

Jesus loved us by being hard on leaders who thought they knew it all.

Jesus loved us by enduring unjust shame, accusations, and insults.

Jesus loved us by enduring being despised and rejected by men.

Jesus loved us by publicly railing against corruption of God’s house.

Jesus loved us by doing miracles.

Jesus loved us by challenging our lack of faith.

Jesus loved us loved us by becoming the Bread of life.

Jesus loved us by warning us about hell.

Jesus loved us by telling us about heaven.

Jesus loved us by accepting His reason for coming down to us.

Jesus loved us by enduring the rejection and unbelief of family.

Jesus loved us by going to Jerusalem even after being threatened.

Jesus loved us by riding a lowly donkey instead of a horse.

Jesus loved us by washing the disciples feet as a leadership example.

Jesus loved us by loving everyone even though Judas was there.

Jesus loved us by devoting himself to even more prayer.

Jesus loved us by waiting for His capture.
.
Jesus loved us by allowing Himself to be betrayed by Judas.

Jesus loved us by not calling His father to send Angels to his rescue.

Jesus loved us by suffering being forsaken by all His disciples.

Jesus loved us by His silence before His own people and captors.

Jesus loved us by withstanding beatings from His own people.

Jesus loved us by being disrobed and whipped.

Jesus loved us by enduring a crown of thorns.

Jesus loved us by suffering mockery.

Jesus loved us by allowing His beard to be plucked from His face.

Jesus loved us by not defending Himself against lies and false accusations.

Jesus loved us by enduring more whips and beatings from Pilate.

Jesus loved us by facing an angry,merciless crowd.

Jesus loved us by enduring rejection by His own.

Jesus loved us by submitting Himself to angry cries to crucify Him.

Jesus loved us by carrying the cross that He would die on.

Jesus loved us though the heavy load of the cross made Him stumble.

Jesus loved us by letting soldiers nail His hands and feet to the cross.

Jesus loved us as He was crucified between two thieves.

Jesus loved us as He watched them cast lots for His clothing.

Jesus loved us as He endured pain and physical suffering.

Jesus loved us as He continued ongoing mockery and accusation.

Jesus loved us as He watched His mother agonizing for Him.

Jesus loved us as His mouth was to dry to speak.

Jesus loved us as He refused Gal, a drink with a sedative in it.

Jesus loved us they gave Him vinegar instead of water.

Jesus loved us He carried the sins of all mankind.

Jesus loved us as the Father turned away from Him.

Jesus loved us as He agonized over why God had forsaken Him.

Jesus loved us as He cried out,”it is finished!”

Jesus loved us as He passed from life to death for us.

Jesus loved us as His side was pierced and blood and water flowed down.

Jesus loved us as His body was placed in a tomb and a stone was rolled over the doorway.

Jesus loved us as He died our death so He could give us life.

Jesus loved us as He conquered death and rose from the grave.

Jesus loves us as He went back to Heaven to prepare a place for us.

Jesus loves us as He freely gives life to all who believe in Him as Savior.

Jesus loves us as He comes into the believer and changes us.

Jesus loves us as He promises He will make all things new.

Jesus loves us as He promises to never leave or forsake us.

Jesus loves us as He gives us The Comforter, His Spirit in us.

Jesus loves us and He promised to come back for us.

All I really know in life is…

Jesus loves us…

Augustine on “Hope has two beautiful daughters” Christian Anger and Courage

“Hope has two beautiful daughters. Their names are anger and courage; anger at the way things are, and courage to see that they do not remain the way they are.” Augustine

Augustine is of course talking about getting angry at the problem,…and people are not the problem!

The people have a problem,…they need Jesus.

But not everybody thinks they need to be saved.

“From what?”‘they might say.

And that is when we give them the ,”Bad News,” and say, “You need Jesus, without Him you will spend eternity in Hell. ”

How could the truth always be what we want to hear?
It can’t be.Life isn’t that way.

But still, anyone who speaks the truth when needed is showing more love than a dozen people who say nothing simply because they don’t want to ,”be negative.”

Is it love to not say what someone you love needs to hear?

If a bridge is out on a road, would you even think of taking down the big yellow warning sign that reads,”Bridge is Out”, because your opinion is that people don’t want to hear that negative stuff ?

That is just what living without Jesus is like.

Without Jesus, we are on a road that leads to certain and eternal death!

My HOPE is that we all heed this warning and tell others as well.

Christian, find your voice.

Be angry at the way things are!

State the ugly truth of the way things are, even if everyone else chooses to ignore it!

If they are blind and cannot see, that is God’s job to open their eyes.

All you must do is be faithful in telling others.

Then have the courage to tell others how it should be!
That Jesus came to seek and to save what was lost.
That Jesus loved them enough to die for their wrongdoing.
That Jesus rose in victory over death and now offers life to as many as receive Him a Lord and Savior.

Jesus is the bridge to life.
Make the turn.
Heed the warning.
And then…
Put up the Big Yellow Warning Sign.

You might save an eternal life from eternal death.

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.

What does Christ Centered Mean?

What does it mean to be Christ Centered?
It means to give all the focus of all your faculties to Christ.
All your heart.
All your mind.
All your strength.
All because He so fully ,and completely loved us with all He is.
Even to suffer and die for us.

Fókuszban az Ige / The Word in Focus

– by Samuel at Gilgal

David Martyn Lloyd-Jones szavaival:

“Ha hisszük, hogy a názáreti Jézus valóban Isten egyszülött Fia, és hogy ebbe a világba jött, és meghalt a Golgotán a mi bűneinkért, és feltámadott, hogy megigazítson bennünket, s hogy új életet adjon, és hogy felkészítsen bennünket a mennyre – ha valóban hisszük ezeket, akkor mindezekből az a szükségszerű következtetés jön, hogy Jézusnak akkor igenis teljes joga van az egész életünkhöz, bármely korlátozások nélkül!”

ENGLISH: 

In the words of David Martyn Lloyd-Jones:

“If we believe that Jesus of Nazareth is the only begotten Son of God and that He came into this world and went to the cross of Calvary and died for our sins and rose again in order to justify us and to give us life anew and prepare us for heaven – if you really believe that, there is only one inevitable deduction, namely that He is entitled…

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Suffering: If God is good, why is there so much evil in the world? A Audio Sermon By Tim Keller of Redeemer Presbyterian Church Manhattan N.Y.

Suffering is one of the biggest questions facing the human race.

Why does God allow evil and suffering?

The why of suffering is also the biggest accusation for atheists who claim God is indifferent to the plight of mankind.

The cross of Christ proves that God cares and has intervened on our behalf through Jesus’s sacrificial death on the cross to pay for our sins and save us from an eternal state of suffering.

The book of Job is considered to be the oldest book in the Bible, yet it is about suffering and loss, and the struggle to maintain hope and belief that God really does loves us despite loss.

The biggest question we should ask is, “do I love God for what is in it for me?”

Or do I love God regardless of if I get anything out of  the situation?”  Isn’t that how God loved me?”

Unconditional?

Isn’t that Grace ?

So suffering is the worst kind of teacher, but also the best kind of teacher, because if we can say that even after suffering the bitterness of loss that we still love God, then our love is truly mature and free, and full of the deepest meaning.

We love Him because He first loved us.

Click on the link below for a 30 minute sermon on this subject by Dr, Tim Keller.

http://sermons2.redeemer.com/sermons/suffering-if-god-good-why-there-so-much-evil-world

How to fill your church! by C. H. Spurgeon

A post by “The Word In Focus”

Hogyan töltsd meg a gyülekezetedet (How to fill your church! by C. H. Spurgeon).

(Excerpt)

“The gospel has a secret charm about it which secures a hearing:
it casts its good spell over human ears, and they must hearken.
It is God’s own word to men; it is precisely what human
necessities require; it commends itself to man’s conscience, and,
sent home by the Holy Spirit, it wakes an echo in every heart.”

C.H.Spurgeon

When I Survey The Wondrous Cross

I have written much about the plight of pride upon mankind and Christ’s humility.

But the sum total of my thoughts are contained in this hymn more succinctly and with more clarity than I will ever achieve.

That is why I wish to share it with you.

When I Survey The Wondrous Cross

“When I survey the wondrous cross On which the Prince of glory died, My richest gain I count but loss, And pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast, Save in the death of Christ my God! All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to His blood.

See from His head, His hands, His feet, Sorrow and love flow mingled down! Did e’er such love and sorrow meet, Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

Were the whole realm of nature mine, That were a present far too small; Love so amazing, so divine, Demands my soul, my life, my all.”

Isaac Watts (17 July 1674 – 25 November 1748)

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

• The Events Preceding the Day of the Lord 2Thessalonians 2:1-12 (loopyloo305.com)
• You Absolutely MUST Be Born Again If You Want To Go To Heaven After You Die! (Have YOU been Born Again?) (soulrefuge.org)
• The Apostle Paul (sharingodslove.wordpress.com)

Revisiting the Trinity

Isaiah 9:6 ” For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

” Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”Isaiah 7:14
This verse is repeated and explained in Matthew’s Gospel of Jesus Christ.

” The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him, “Immanuel”,( which means, “God with us”). Matthew 1:23

These cannot be explained any other way, the child was the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father.

We are called to child like faith,
That is because God can do anything,
He created all the laws of the universe, yet He only lived under those laws when He came to rescue us.
Because He loved us.
The rest of the time He lives above the laws of the universe, where time does not even exist, for He created time.

I also maintain a domain as a hub for my WordPress blog.
http://www.godcamedown.com

Here is how I see the trinity, (I use the flower known as the Trillium to illustrate.) Followed by this brief explanation.

People often struggle with the idea of the trinity. How can God be a man and a Spirit and God all at the same time?
The answer is easier when we remember He is God. Nothing is too hard for God. He fills all of the universe at the same time, knows all of our thoughts continually, sees perfectly in total darkness. Still His power is no less.
When God had a son he did not create another God. God inhabited flesh and bones. Why? Because He is Holy and Just. A man would have to atone for the sins of mankind. But no man was the perfect offering required for sacrifice. God loved us so much that He personally came to endure the hardships of life and still be able to love His enemies. He allowed them to kill Him on a Roman cross. He bore our punishment and endured our shame because He loved us. Then three days later He overcame the grave to prove He can do the same thing for all who believe in Him as Lord and Savior.

If we refuse to accept Christ as Savior because none of this makes sence then we have misunderstood what faith is. God lives above reason and can do anything,… including all that we would call absurd.

Reason is not how we come to know God, but by faith. Romans 1:17 “The just shall walk by faith.”

Let me leave you with this final word from Hebrews 4:2 of the Bible. It helped transform my life from being unable to rest on what the Bible says by reason and illustrates the necessity of faith,
and speaks of those who perished outside the promised land for lack of faith.

“For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.” Hebrews 4:2

God bless you on your journey for truth, May you take God at His word by faith find rest and peace in Him.

Christ’s Crucifixion According to The Prophet Isaiah – 700 Years Before It Happened

 ¹ Who has believed our message 
   and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? 
² He grew up before him like a tender shoot, 
   and like a root out of dry ground. 
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, 
   nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. 
³ He was despised and rejected by men, 
   a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. 
Like one from whom men hide their faces 
   he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

 ⁴ Surely he took up our infirmities 
   and carried our sorrows, 
yet we considered him stricken by God, 
   smitten by him, and afflicted. 
⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions, 
   he was crushed for our iniquities; 
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, 
   and by his wounds we are healed. 
⁶ We all, like sheep, have gone astray, 
   each of us has turned to his own way; 
and the LORD has laid on him 
   the iniquity of us all.

 ⁷ He was oppressed and afflicted, 
   yet he did not open his mouth; 
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, 
   and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, 
   so he did not open his mouth. 
⁸ By oppression and judgment he was taken away. 
   And who can speak of his descendants? 
For he was cut off from the land of the living; 
   for the transgression of my people he was stricken.
⁹ He was assigned a grave with the wicked, 
   and with the rich in his death, 
though he had done no violence, 
   nor was any deceit in his mouth.

 ¹⁰ Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, 
   and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, 
he will see his offspring and prolong his days, 
   and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. 
¹¹ After the suffering of his soul, 
   he will see the light of life and be satisfied; 
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, 
   and he will bear their iniquities. 
¹² Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
   and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death, 
   and was numbered with the transgressors. 
For he bore the sin of many, 
   and made intercession for the transgressors.

This is Eternal Life

“And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” (John 17:3)

“The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming:  That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” (Romans 10:8-10) 

Related articles

• The Secret Ingredient To Eternal Life (christcenteredteaching.wordpress.com)

They Will Call Him, “Immanuel “, Meaning,”God With Us.”

 

 

This is a prophecy about Jesus was written about 700 years before His birth. Jesus would be called,”Immanuel”, meaning,”God with us.”

” Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”Isaiah 7:14 

This verse is repeated and explained in Matthew’s Gospel of Jesus Christ.

 ” The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him, “Immanuel”,( which means, “God with us”). Matthew 1:23