Rapid-Onset Gender Dysphoria Research Vindicated – Family & Society – WORLD

https://world.wng.org/content/rapid_onset_gender_dysphoria_research_vindicated

The Complete Incompatibility of Islamic Theocracy with Democracy – Islam’s 1400 Year Quest to Fulfill Muhammad’s Prophecy to Dominate the World

John Quincy Adams, President of the United States, served on the Board of Trustees in 1832. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

6th President of the United States of America John Quincy Adams on Islam: 1824-1829

“In the seventh century of the Christian era, a wandering Arab of the lineage of Hagar [i.e., Muhammad], the Egyptian, […..] Adopting from the new Revelation of Jesus, the faith and hope of immortal life, and of future retribution, he humbled it to the dust by adapting all the rewards and sanctions of his religion to the gratification of the sexual passion. He poisoned the sources of human felicity at the fountain, by degrading the condition of the female sex, and the allowance of polygamy; and he declared undistinguishing and exterminating war, as a part of his religion, against all the rest of mankind. THE ESSENCE OF HIS DOCTRINE WAS VIOLENCE AND LUST.- TO EXALT THE BRUTAL OVER THE SPIRITUAL PART OF HUMAN NATURE…. Between these two religions, thus contrasted in their characters, a war of twelve hundred years has already raged. The war is yet flagrant … While the merciless and dissolute dogmas of the false prophet shall furnish motives to human action, there can never be peace upon earth, and good will towards men.”   

Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 and from 1951 to 1955. Deutsch: Winston Churchill, 1940 bis 1945 sowie 1951 bis 1955 Premier des Vereinigten Königreichs und Literaturnobelpreisträger des Jahres 1953. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Winston Churchill on Islam:

“How dreadful are the curses which Mohammedanism lays on its votaries! Besides the fanatical frenzy, which is as dangerous in a man as hydrophobia in a dog, there is this fearful fatalistic apathy. The effects are apparent in many countries. Improvident habits, slovenly systems of agriculture, sluggish methods of commerce, and insecurity of property exist wherever the followers of the Prophet rule or live.”

“A degraded sensualism deprives this life of its grace and refinement; the next of its dignity and sanctity. The fact that in Mohammedan law every woman must belong to some man as his absolute property, either as a child, a wife, or a concubine, must delay the final extinction of slavery until the faith of Islam has ceased to be a great power among men.”

“Individual Moslems may show splendid qualities, but the influence of the religion paralyzes the social development of those who follow it.”

“No stronger retrograde force exists in the world. Far from being moribund, Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytizing faith. It has already spread throughout Central Africa, raising fearless warriors at every step; and were it not that Christianity is sheltered in the strong arms of science, the science against which it had vainly struggled, the civilization of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilization of ancient Rome.”

— Sir Winston Spencer Churchill (The River War, first edition, Vol. II, pages 248-50 (London: Longmans, Green & Co., 1899)

These were not uneducated men who knew nothing of their subject and had simply spoken recklessly. 

Rather, both of these great leaders of the free countries of Great Britton and of the United States of America spoke the real truth.

The word Islam means ,”Submit”. (Choice is ultimately not respected, and force is doctrine).

Qur’an (3:151) “We will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve”

In America we do not understand that Islamic doctrine demands NO SEPARATION between church and state. All Muslims believe Islam must advance until all the world submits to Allah, that apostates must be killed, and what the Quran says must be followed. Unlike old Testament violence in the Bible only in a couple of special circumstances, the Quranic verses that call for violence in the name of Allah do so under all circumstances, even today.
There is no new testament in the Quran.

But in the Bible Jesus said, 

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

“He,(Jesus), stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
    because he has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
    and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. 

The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 

He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

(Luke 4:17-21)

One religion will bind you, the other resonates, defines, and inspires freedom.

filled in your hearing.”

(Luke 4:17-21)

One religion will bind you, the other resonates, defines, and inspires freedom.

One rules by fear, the other by faith and love.

These representations are based on the central tenets of the religions compared here and not the misrepresentations of said core beliefs. In short, it is when Christianity is misrepresented that violence is perpetrated. Islam is genuine when violence is perpetrated. The confusion comes when we mistake the natural tendancy for evil in human nature with religion in general. Islam is specifically designed to appeal to the darkness in men’s hearts. Genuine Christianity displaces the darkness.

One rules by fear, the other by faith and love. 

Related articles

• http://www.pewforum.org/Muslim/the-worlds-muslims-religion-politics-society-exec.aspx
• Sharia Law versus the U.S. Constitution, No Room Here for a Theocracy! (dcclothesline.com)
• Islamophile Apologist UK PM Cameron On Woolwich Jihad: “Nothing In Islam Justifies This” “A Betrayal of Islam” (ironicsurrealism.com)
• UnMasking Islam: What You Need to Know (thedailysheeple.com)
• Arab Writer: Islam’s Uncivilized ‘Civilization’ Has Accomplished Nothing, ‘Philosophy And Logic Are Considered Heresy In Islam’ (midnightwatcher.wordpress.com)
• Muslims Force Islamic Prayer into Dearborn Public Schools (independentsentinel.com)
• Islam Falsifies All Other Religions: “Jesus is a Slave to Allah” (atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com)
• Michigan Muslims Attack Off-Campus Bible Studies and Get Permission to PRAY IN SCHOOLS (dcclothesline.com)
• MICHIGAN: On its way to becoming the first Islamic sharia-compliant state in America (iranaware.com)
• At King’s Islamic hearings, Muslim victims warn Congress while Dems question their very participation, and Hamas-CAIR says, “No such thing as Islamism,” Islam is Islam (atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com)

http://www.salon.com/2015/11/14/it_was_probably_not_the_amish_bill_maher_urges_liberals_to_wake_up_about_islam_after_paris_attacks
http://wikiislam.net/wiki/The_Story_of_Umm_Qirfa

80+ dead’ after truck crashes into crowd at Bastille Day celebrations in Nice ‘terror attack’. http://tiny.iavian.net/b8cx

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.

 

The Only Fire Able to Temper the Firmest Resolve

“We love Him because He first loved us.”
(1John 4:19 NKJV)

“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)

To Know the Love of Christ – A Sure Cure for Two Dimensional Religion

The real Jesus Christ draws people to Himself and is continually intriguing.

The personage and love of Jesus is unlimited in width and length and depth and height. Jesus is multi – dimensionally infinite.

“that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” (Eph 3:17-19 NKJV)

Why are so many people not drawn to church ?

Have so many of our churches become so shallow and uninteresting?

Perhaps we have adopted the world’s shallow 2 dimensional philosophy of the heart and mind. A mind devoid of a transformed heart is shallow by comparison with the renewed heart and mind.

To truly know Christ is to experience love that transcends that which the mind is even able to comprehend.

If the church can reflect Jesus Christ and God’s love to the world, people will be drawn to worship Christ as they were drawn to Him during His earthly ministry.

The transformed mind and heart will come to know Christ and His unlimited personage, divine personality, and infinite love.

Then we will be able to introduce Jesus to others.

To know Him and experience Him we must be rooted and grounded in love with Him through faith in Him.

“For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Rom 10:10 NKJV)

And then we must continually be, “grounded in love, “”that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” This is the path to transformation and then to ongoing discipleship.

Father God please help us know the width and length and depth and height of Jesus and His love so we can better share Him with everyone.

“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)

Discovering that God is Love While in a Nazi Concentration Camp – Viktor Frankl “Man’s Search for Meaning”

Deutsch: Viktor Frankl (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Vitor Frankl was a psychologist who was trained in Vienna.  and was imprisoned in Auschwitz, and other Nazi Germany death camps, as well as his wife and family.

Even though the Nazi prison camp meant facing death, and surrounded by constant threat and hatred, Victor Frankl found the meaning of life there.

From  “Man’s Search for Meaning”- Experiences in a Concentration Camp”

“A thought transfixed me: for the first time in my life I saw the truth as it is set into song by so many poets, proclaimed as the final wisdom by so many thinkers. The truth — that love is the ultimate and the highest goal to which man can aspire. Then I grasped the meaning of the greatest secret that human poetry and human thought and belief have to impart: The salvation of man is through love and in love. I understood how a man who has nothing left in this world still may know bliss, be it only for a brief moment, in the contemplation of his beloved. In a position of utter desolation, when man cannot express himself in positive action, when his only achievement may consist in enduring his sufferings in the right way — an honorable way — in such a position man can, through loving contemplation of the image he carries of his beloved, achieve fulfillment. For the first time in my life I was able to understand the meaning of the words,

“The angels are lost in perpetual contemplation of an infinite glory.”

Viktor Frankl

1 John 4:10

“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)

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?

Pascal on Mankind and God

“Man would desire to be great and sees that he is little; would desire to be happy and sees that he is miserable; would desire to be perfect and sees that he is full of imperfections; would desire to be the object of the love and esteem of men, and sees that his faults merit only aversion and contempt. The embarrassment wherein he finds himself produces in him the most unjust and criminal passions imaginable, for he conceives a mortal hatred against that truth which blames him and convinces him of his faults.” ~Blaise Pascal~ (Pensees)

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

Related articles

• Thankful for the Grace through Righteousness (loopyloo305.com)
• The Lord Reigneth (savedbygraceblogdotcom.wordpress.com)

Come to Jesus and Obtain the Fullness of Love and of Grace

“The best way to come to Christ is to come meaning to get everything, and to obtain all the plenitude of grace, which he has laid up in store, and promised freely to give. Some poor souls who come to Jesus Christ seem as if they wanted a little relief from fear, a hope that they may just get saved, and a fair chance of going to heaven when they die. Pray do not come in that way, my dear friend. Come intending to obtain the fullness of love, the uttermost of grace.” C.H.Spurgeon

Ephesians 1:13,14 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”

“Counterfeit Gods”- Video Summary of Tim Keller’s Book By The Same Title – Jeff Bethke – 5 min.

Based on Tim Keller’s book ,”Counterfeit Gods”, this may be Jefferson Bethke’s best work yet.

They say ,”Counterfeit God’s”,may be Tim Keller’s best work yet.

And the two combined make for a powerful video with a strong Christian message.

We all worship something. We are hope based creatures, and all place our hope or happiness in something or someone.

But even the best of us will let you down.

But Jesus never will.

If we pin our hopes or happiness on it, that is a clue it is a counterfeit god.

If we can’t give it up, we don’t own it, it owns us, and is a counterfeit god.

Counterfeit Gods take many forms like jobs, money, possessions, duty,style,sex,drugs, pleasure,ease,companionship, power, accomplishment,even religion.

None of these things would die for us.

None of these things give ultimate hope.

But Jesus did die for us.

All other things, if you serve them, will take everything from you.

He is the only God who gave everything for you.
Why not give everything to the only true God who will never betray you?

You Shall Love The Lord Your God

“Whatever your heart clings to and confides in, that is really your God.” ~MartinLuther~

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.” (Deuteronomy 6:3-6)

We are commanded to love God.

The command is actually the context for the Ten Commandments.

As Martin Luther pointed out,“We do not disobey any of the other commandments until we first disobey this, “You shall love the Lord your God.”

God gave this command in the old testament. God gave Christ, the ultimate reason to love Him, in the new testament.

“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

If an all-powerful, all-knowing God would give everything for, why would you not trust Him and love Him?

He knows suffering, because He suffered.

What more could He do?

Cling to Jesus Christ.

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.

This Is Love; Not That We Loved God, But That He Loved Us. John 4:10

A great Christ Centered post from Bummyla, a Christian Brother in Nigeria!

Enjoy!

 

This Is Love; Not That We Loved God, But That He Loved Us. John 4:10.

The Truth Spoken in Love Leads Us to the Compassion of Christ

“Christians are in themselves no wiser than are other men. What they have, they have by grace. They must be ‘all things to all men.’ But it is not kindness to tell patients that need strong medicine that nothing serious is wrong with them. Christians are bound to tell men the truth about themselves; that is the only way of bringing them to recognize the mercy, the compassion, of Christ. For if men are told the truth about themselves, and if they are warned against the false remedies that establish men in their wickedness, then, by the power of the Spirit of God, they will flee to the Christ through whom alone they must be saved” (The Intellectual Challenge of the Gospel).

“Only Jesus Christ and His death on the cross can wash away all our sins. Jesus died and rose again. No one else has done that for you. Van Til asserts: “If God was to continue communication with His creature, it was either to be by condemnation or by atonement.” God, through His mercy, provided a perfect and effectual atonement through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. Believe in Him and you will be saved.”

Corneilus Van Til

Its Not Always Easy To Love Others

Jesus loves us even though it cost Him His life. We would perish without His kind of love.

Isaiah 53:5 But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He  was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.   (NKJV)

God is so good

This is a wonderful Song of Praise by fellow Christian Blogger David Bibee.

Powerful Praise indeed.

click on the highlighted link below.

God is so good.

“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)

St. Francis Of Assisi’s Radical Love For Jesus – The Huffington Post ?

Image via Wikipedia

I am commending The Huffington Post on a great article about the radical reformer St.Francis of Assisi.

(who says miracles never happen?)

St. Francis engaged his culture in a way that we could all learn from.

He reflected the love of God in order to,”overcome evil with good.” ( Romans 12:21)

It worked back then and it still works today.

God’s love is supreme in power and influence to change our hearts.

Click on the link below.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mobileweb/jamie-arpinricci/st-francis-of-assisi-religious-radical_b_1332912.html

Enjoy!

About The Author of Christ Centered Teaching – www.godcamedown.com

About The Author of Christ Centered Teaching – www.godcamedown.com.  A little about me and a lot about God’s love!

Infinite Love – Christ’s Sacrifice To Save Us Was The Ultimate Expression Of Love To An Infinite Degree

“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name.  I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,  so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,  and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. “ (Ephesians 3:14-19)

“to know this love that surpasses knowledge”.

That seems like an impossible  statement because it is.

The love of God is infinite and our minds are finite.

Faith becomes logical when we consider that God is limitless in all virtue and strength and that we, His creation ,are limited in our capacity to grasp ,”this love that surpasses knowledge”.

But we are curious by nature and intrigued by the unknown.

Yet our text says we can by God’s indwelling Spirit grasp this love that passes knowledge.

His love is infinite love.

“I Will Draw All Men To Myself”

What God most desires from men is heartfelt love and worship for Him to the full measure of all of our capacities. ( The Bible,Deuteronomy 6)

God desires love that does not hold anything back.

Our plight is that hate is easy and love is most often difficult.

Many of us are not even sure what love is. That is because love is caught and not taught. We have to experience it for the light to go on inside.

God showed mankind what it means to be loved fully by coming to die for mankind in the personage of Jesus Christ on the cross.

Are you drawn to Him by His act of love?

” But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.” John 12:32

“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.

Many people believe that the Bible is simply at set of rules and guidelines from God for acceptable behavior.

But being Biblically right does not in and of itself make you right with God. That happens in our heart, not our head.

 “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 10:9-10)

God came down to mankind in the form of Jesus Christ to both show us His great love for us and to make a way for us to once again be in relationship with Him. 

Belief in Christ as the God sent Savior starts with the heart, and the love of God is the finishing mark of genuine conversion.

In this Rare and doctrinally beautiful sermon, Dr.Keller addresses a subject that many will not face until they stand before thier maker on judment day.

Do we simply know about God, or do we genuinely know God? 

“The Bible – End or Means” will serve as a “Truth Filter “, for your heart and head on this subject. Listen to it at least 6 or 7 times.

(Click the link below)

http://sermons2.redeemer.com/sermons/bible-end-or-means

Free online.

Enjoy!

Love for God – The All Consuming Fire the Burns Away All Other Passions

 “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony;

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

Therefore rejoice, you heavens
and you who dwell in them!

But woe to the earth and the sea,
because the devil has gone down to you!

He is filled with fury,because he knows that his time is short.”(Rev12.11.NIV84 )

Courage.

Can there possibly be a more masculine word? (Ladies, I’m speaking primarily to the guys in our culture who seem to have a problem with the word love. Just to avoid any possible misunderstanding).

How about Love? Could love be more masculine than courage?

Consider what the Bible says about believers who are tested by fiery trials.

“They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.” Rev. 12:11

The believers in this text obviously loved Christ more than their own lives.

They loved God with all their heart and all their soul, and all their mind.

This text reveals the root and heart of courage.

Courage is when we love someone or some higher purpose more than we love our own lives or circumstances.

Such was the courageous love of Christ sacrifice for us on the cross.

God’s love through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross was not weakness.

When God came down to save us in the personage of Jesus Christ and gave himself as the only perfect and worthy sacrifice that could pay for our sins, He did not display weakness as it may appear.

The All Powerfull Creator and One God of All that is and all that live could have sent ,“ten legions of angels”, yet for His great love for us He suffered and died, the just for the unjust.

He suffered for our benefit and withheld retribution though it was justified because of His limitless divine love.

God showed more than courage, God is love!

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

God’s love is the flame that feeds the fire of courageous believers,…

because He first loved us.

I say this because Christianity is suffering from a serious disconnect in a loving delivery of our message.

I think men typically think of love as a liberal, mushy, soft,sentimental feeling without any rational basis or theological application.

God’s love is the strongest force there is.

Related articles

• Legalism,License, and The Love of God (christcenteredteaching.wordpress.com)

The Love of God – The Supreme Apologetic – The Context of The Gospel

“I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,” Ephesians 1:18

What is the love of God and why is it important?

Where do the doctrines of God’s love and God’s Holiness rank in importance in Christian theology ?

The love of God is the heart of the gospel and represents the linkage between all of God’s attributes as they relate to mankind .

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

(John 3:16)

 The love of God is the supreme apologetic of all our theology.

So why is it that Christianity has always been in peril from legalism?

The book of Galatians is a wonderful rendition of God’s grace, but it was written to Christians who had wandered from the pure truth of the gospel.

Moral-ism, the idea that we earn favor with God by our good works, had taken hold of the Galatians church.

In a world that seems to be growing darker by the day, we need to shine as beacons of light like never before.

We need to embrace and then reflect God’s love to the world as revealed in Christ.

Our message must be the fullness of all the purity and brilliance found in Christ’s expression of love to us on the cross.

Our self centeredness desires moral-ism, pride, legalism and self-righteous exaltation.

The tendency toward Legalism among Christians is , as one brave pastor has put it, “not only prevalent, but it is the norm.” ( Dr. Tim Keller)

We need to revisit the gospel continually in order to be reminded of the cost, so we will remember what we owed, in order to love Him as He deserves, …

with our all.

Not because our salvation can be lost, but because we can loose sight of the fullness of what Christ did for us.

MAY GOD GRANT US A REVIVAL OF THE AWARENESS OF HIS GREAT LOVE.

MAY WE REFLECT GOD’S GREAT LOVE TO A WORLD THAT IS LITERALLY DIEING FOR LACK OF AWARENESS OF HIS LOVE.

We are told we need the GOSPELIZATION of all our theology.

That everything needs to point to Christ and His Supremacy.

Supremacy is a matter of emphasis, supreme emphasis in this case.

The following is an outline of  Christian theology as represented with Biblical Emphasis as the context.

Biblical Emphasis is what God has revealed in the Bible as a whole to be of greatest importance.

First and of foremost importance is the fact that God is love.

The second is like the first in that it is how God showed His love for us when He sent His one and only Son. (John 3:16)

Christian Theology in the Context of Biblical Emphasis – Gospelization

God Is Love.  – 1 John 4:8 , 1John 4:16

“Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

God Created Us To Have A Relationship With Him. – Genesis 1:27

“So God created man in his own image,
   in the image of God he created him;
   male and female he created them”

Sin Separated Us From Our Perfect And Holy Creator.  – Isaiah 53:5,6

“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.”

God Loved Us And Came To Save Us In The Personage Of Jesus Christ. – 1 John 4:10

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

Christ Died For Us And Then Conquered Death For Us Before We Knew Him. – Romans 5:8

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

God Offers Salvation As A Gift To All Who Receive It By Faith In Christ As Lord And Savior. – Ephesians 2:8,9

“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.”

God’s Salvation For Us Takes Place In Our Hearts. – Romans 10:9,10

“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. ¹⁰ For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”

God Comes Into The Heart Of The Believer To Seal Us As His Own Forever. – Ephesians 1:13,14 – Ephesians 4:30 – II Corinthians 1:21,22 – 2 John 1:2

“Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, ²² set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.”

God’s Spirit In Us Is Love. – John 7:38

“Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”

God’s Spirit Works In Our Hearts To Change Our Desires And The Result Is Growth In Love For Him.  – Philippians 2:13

“for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.”

We Love And Serve God Because He First Loved Us. – 1 John 4:19

“We love because he first loved us.”

Genuine Love For God Results In Motives That Please God.- 1 Corinthians 4:5 and 16:14

“Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.”

“Do everything in love.”

Motives That Please God Result In Works That Honor God. – 1 John 5:2-5

“This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome,  for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.”

Related articles

• Legalism,License, and The Love of God (christcenteredteaching.wordpress.com)

The Mark of the Christian by Francis Schaeffer – 100th Birthday 1/30/2012

Cover of The Mark of the Christian

This is one my favorite books by one of the greatest Christian minds of our time, Francis Schaeffer, (1912-1984)

THE MARK OF A CHRISTIAN – A touchstone reading experience for me.

I hope it will be for you as well.

Free online.

Click on the link below –

http://www.ccel.us/schaeffer.html

Only 38 pages long, this powerful and compelling essay is published as part of Schaeffer’s complete works, but is also available as a separate publication.

Christian love for fellow believers and the world is what Schaeffer called,”The Final Apologetic”.

Enjoy!

Update – Christianity Today Carried an article with Chuck Colson  on Schaeffer and “The Mark Of The Christian”- Click on the link below.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2012/february/remembering-francis-schaeffer.html

Related articles

• Schaeffer Energized Evangelical Thought and Action (calvinistview.com)

Motives Matter – God’s Word is in Your Head – But Is His Love in Your Heart?

One of my favorite passages in the Bible is John 5:39-42.

“You search the scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.”
“But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.”
“I do not receive honor from men. But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you.”

I like that verse because it reminds me of me when I was a young Christian and believed all I had to do was read and memorize the Bible and I would be fine. But what I really like about this passage is how Jesus contrasted knowing the Word to knowing the Word Made Flesh, Himself. I think this is something that a vast number of Christians also need to have an awakening to.

“I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”
Psalm 119:11

I stocked my head full of scripture, as all Christians should, and I started to notice a theme. That theme is God’s love for mankind through Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah / Savior.

So after a Sunday sermon that focussed on how terrible sin was and was meant to guilt us into right behavior, I asked the Pastor this question:

“Pastor, do you think the problem with Christians is that there is too much worldliness in the church?”

“Absolutely!”, was his immediate response.

To which I replied,”Well I think the problem with Christians is that there is not enough Jesus in the church.”

A quote by Martin luther king illustrates this principle well:
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.”

The path of least resistance for all mankind is to assume we can earn all or some of our salvation, and our pride will also keep us from an intimate relationship with God. Knowing scripture, rules and principles, and correct doctrine are all great, but we should take care we don’t make the same mistake as those Christ was speaking to in our text by becoming pridefull about what we know and letting self righteous knowledge of the Word take the place of faith in Christ alone for our righteousness.

The Jews that Jesus spoke to in John 5:39-42 could have just as easily been me when I was younger, and many of my Christian friends and pastors today.

When a person realizes his or her predicament without a savior, they are typically afraid of death and suffering without Christ.
Thats why its called “salvation” or “saved”, so it makes sense at that point. The problem comes from not growing into a close relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

The goal is for us to become accountable to love for God and our relationship to Him through Jesus Christ His Son.

Our love for God will replace our fear of God as we realize the depths of God’s love for us.

“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” 1 John 4:18

Why do we love Him?
“We love Him because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:19

How did He love us?
The Cross.

“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 53:5-6

Why does it matter?
Because motives matter to God.

“Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.” 1 Corinthians 4:5

I used to read the Bible just because it has power to change me.

“For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”Hebrews 4:12

Now I read God’s word in anticipation of getting to know Him better and for what a His word has for me to grow closer to Him.

“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name,I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide, and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,and to know this love that passes knowledge- that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:14-19

Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, but love for God is our destination.

Because motives matter.

Jesus Did All The Heavy Lifting

“Come to Me all you who are burdened and heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly of heart, and you shall find rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11: 28-30

Jesus fully paid our debt to God by His suffering and death on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins.

He was buried and rose from the tomb three days later to defeat death for us.

He gives salvation as a gift all who ask Him and believe.

He gives us His righteousness.

He then comes into the heart of the believer to stay.

He makes us a new creation, the old is gone and everything is made new.

He gave us His Word to live by.

He then teaches us by His indwelling Spirit.

He then empowers the believer for service and personal victory.

He also went to prepare a place for all who believe so we can be with Him.

He promised to come back for us to take us to the place He prepared for us.

No wonder He said, My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Related articles

• An Invitation from Jesus (Reflections on Matthew 11:28-30) (markconner.typepad.com)
• Take My Yoke Upon You (revdrotimi.wordpress.com)

 

Biblical Emphasis in Doctrine – God is Love

No theme of the Bible is so constant as this.
God is love. (1 John 4:8 and 4:16 )

In the old testament book of Micah we read,”He delights in mercy,” (7:18), and in Micah 6:8 we are told that God wants us ,“To love mercy, “.

God is love, and the ultimate Biblical Emphasis is to reflect His love shown to this world in the personage of our Savior Jesus Christ.

Tell them about Jesus. Live like Jesus. Serve like Jesus.

“Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world He loved them to the end.” (John 13:1)

Any doctrinal theme can be emphasised and taken out of it’s Biblically Intended Emphasis.

If any Christian teacher can talk about any subject from the Bible for long without relating it all to Jesus Christ, the teacher is probably teaching mere morals and rules.

But Christianity as Christ instituted it is a relationship.

“Rules without relationship breed resentment,” someone has said.

The famous Scottish Journalist,Thomas Carlyle said it well,
“What this town needs is someone who knows Christ other than by hearsay.”

What is Grace ? – Forgiveness Offered Only Because of Love

What Grace is can be summed up in one word, FORGIVENESS.

We know That God is love. (1 John 4:8,16)

Grace cannot be more than who and what God is, but Grace can be what God is.

God is love and Grace is unearned forgiveness and love,paid for us by Jesus Christ’s sacrifice for us on the cross, the out working of God’s love to us.

All God does for the benefit of mankind and the reason God does them are the substance of what Grace is.

The best example of what Grace is can be found in these words from John 3:16,

“For God so loved”,…

“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.”

God’s love satisfied God’s righteousness for our sake so we can know Him and have a relationship with Him.

FORGIVENESS is not forced upon us, but rather offered to us. Just ask God with your heart, and He will give eternal life to you.

“For by Grace are you saved, through faith, and that not of yourself, it is the gift of God; not of works, so that no one can boast. ” Ephesians 2:8-9

How to Love God With Everything Within You

 

 

Jesus said, He who has been forgiven much loves much, and he that has been forgiven little loves little.
(partial paraphrase}. luke 7:41-47

Therefore the realization that Christ paid all our sin debt should result in the true believer loving God with all his heart.

“We love Him because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:19

The only questions that remain for us to ask ourselves are;

To what degree do we perceive we were in need?

and,

To what degree do we believe that Jesus met that need on the cross?

“For there is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”Romans3:23

Everyone who has ever lived is less than perfect, except Jesus Christ.

We all come short whether by an inch or a mile. Anything less than perfect and Holy is imperfection and unholiness.

So there is no difference, for all come short.
So all of us owes everything to God.

We have all been forgiven much.
We can all love much.

Love Fuels Faith

Love ,”believes all things , hopes all things.” (1 Corinthians 13) 

When faith is present fear is absent.

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.” “We love Him because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:18-19 )

Our faith is fueled by confidence that Christ Jesus paid all our debt, took all our torment, and lives in us. Faith that works by love says, “I know God loves me”.

Faith knows that God will do all He has promised to do because He has proven the extent to which He loves us. And this is the extent of His love.

“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 “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also give us all things?” (Romans 8:32)

Such love should spur confidence in those who call God Father through belief in Christ as Savior. A confidence that is rooted in a love that gave everything for us on the cross because He loved us.

Confidence is faith when it is rooted in God’s love for us. Such love fuels our faith.

 ^“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.” (Galatians 5:6)

He Will Be Called Mighty God , Everlasting Father

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.”

Isaiah 9:6 was written about 700 years before God came down in the personage of Jesus Christ.

The verse foretells the birth of a child whom Christianity celebrates at Christmas time every year. The child’s birth is hailed as the coming of a savior who would save mankind from the curse of sin and death.

Our sin nature had taken us far from God. He came to us. He became one of us. He lived like one of us. He suffered and died in our place. Then Christ rose from death to prove He is the author and creator of life and offers life to all who choose to receive Him as Lord and Savior. He will not force us, He made a way for us and beckons us to receive Him.

At Christmas time we celebrate the ultimate act of love and humility performed by God for us. May we all remember the gift of eternal life was bought with pain and suffering, shame and rejection, and Christ’s own blood that He gave to pay our debt. God personally paid the debt we owed Him. He did not send another to do His work for him.

Ephesians 2:8-9 “For it is by grace you are saved, through faith – and that not from yourselves , it is the gift of God – not by works , so that no one can boast.”

To receive God’s gift of Eternal Life you need only to ask God to save you and receive Him as your Savior and God.

We were created for fellowship with our Creator God. Our fulfillment is met only through a relationship with God through the personage of Jesus Christ our Savior.

He promises to live in you and to never leave you or forsake you. His Spirit living in the believer will grow our love for Him and for His desires in place of our own.

Remember, Christ is also part of this gift. He is our , “Wonderful Counselor”, and He is love. We are created for a relationship with Him, therefore He alone can fulfill mankind’s greatest desire.

He is love. And it is by His indwelling Spirit of love that we are changed.
So don’t worry about old habits. If you really mean it when you ask Him into your heart, He will live in you forever and will never leave you.

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• Revisiting the Trinity (christcenteredteaching.wordpress.com)

Self Centered Pride – The Plight of All Mankind

How often have we reflected on worldview of Self Centered Pride and how it contributes to the plight of all mankind.

An  examination of selfishness in contrast to selflessness will always reveal still deeper truth.

To more fully understand pride we must go all the way back to the earliest recorded and preserved documents on Earth called the Bible.

In summary,
Lucifer and a third of the Angels where cast out of Heaven because Lucifer wanted to be ,”like the Most High”, and convinced of all the angels to follow him. (Isaiah 14)

Satan, (as he is called since the fall ), recognized self-centered pride as the weakness of mankind as well, and tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden by saying she ,”will be like God”. Mankind is cast from Paradise and God’s presence. ( Genesis 3)

Satan accused Job ,and questioned God’s justice, as recorded in the book of Job.

Satan tried to tempt Jesus for  40 days in the wilderness.  Jesus was Hungary so Satan tempted Christ to turn rocks into bread. The Devil was trying to get Our Lord to think of himself. The Devil then tempted Jesus with offering all the kingdoms of the earth to Jesus if he would only bow down and worship him,( that is, worship him like God). (Matthew 4).

The Devil also turns men’s hearts and minds away from the truth when they hear it. (Mark 4:15).

Satan will be bound and thrown into the bottomless pit, and sealed inside it for one thousand years during Christ’s Kingdom here on Earth, before the Great White Throne of Judgement. ( Revelation 20:2).

The Kingdom age ensues and every day is better than the one before with Christ himself ruling over all the Earth for one thousand years. (also known as the Millennium Age).

Then Satan will be loosed once more to tempt mankind. I think the Devil will be used for the purpose of separating true followers from those whose hearts are not with God.   The purpose is to give all men everywhere the only alternative to serving God. Pride causes us to want to serve self.  Satan will appeal to man’s self-centered pride as he did leading to his own fall and the rebellion in Heaven, and the fall of mankind in the Garden of Eden. he will serve to led a rebellion so that all who are not truly following God because they love Him, will be separated from those who do serve God because they love Him. (Revelation 20:7).

Then the Great judgement Seat of Christ will take place. The books will be opened and all whose names are written in the book of Life, will be welcomed into Heaven. ( Revelation 20:11).

Jesus said,”therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before my Father in Heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him will I also deny before my Father in Heaven”. (Matthew 10:32, 33).