I found this article on 3/3/04 (unknown author):
Analogies for reading God’s Word:
1. Did you study (read and actively learn) history in school, or did you simply sit and believe what ever your history teacher said?
2. If you were a newspaper publisher would you publish a story by a columnist without checking the facts?
3. Would you buy a car without looking under the hood?
4. Would you buy a house without ever seeing it or having a home inspection done?
5. Would you take medicine without ever reading the directions?
6. Would you take a test without ever going to class or reading and studying the material?
7. Would you switch jobs or careers without knowing anything about the new job or career?
8. Would you fly a plane, sail a boat, or operate heavy machinery without the proper training?
9. Would you marry a perfect stranger; someone neither you nor anyone in your life knew anything about?
Isaiah 55:8 “’For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord.”
Mark 12:24 “Jesus replied ‘Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?’”
Analogies for preaching God’s Word:
1. Would you blindly follow someone off of a cliff?
2. If your best friend, sister, brother, mom, or dad were drowning would you save them? What about a perfect stranger or your worst enemy?
Do unto others as you would have them do to you applies across the board. If you saw someone in physical danger you would help them.
Why then, would you not help someone in spiritual danger? Did Jesus not mean it when He said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6)?
Luke 9:26 “If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angles.”
Isaiah 9-11 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”
Neither you nor I can say what God has in store for our lives. All we can do is give our lives over to His will and do as He asks us; if we say “No, Lord, that is not for me” then we are defying the will of God (a good biblical example is the story of the prophet Jonah).
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Jesus was Jewish
I found this on 3/9/04 - unknown origin. Enjoy...
Not only was Jesus a Jew, so were all of His disciples, His earthly mom, His earthly dad, and the people who ultimately had him crucified.
Jesus is Who the Jews had been waiting for, He is Who the Old Testament prophets spoke of when they prophesied about the coming Messiah.
Jews and Christians believe in the same God.
Jews, however, do not recognize Jesus as the Messiah and the start of a new covenant between God and His people.
Christians believe Jesus to be God incarnate, the Son of God, and the Messiah that was prophesied about in the Old Testament (Matthew 5:17-20).
In the time of Moses God gave Israel, the Jewish people, the Law to make them righteous so that they might live in eternity with God, rather than separated from God for eternity in hell. The Law used sacrifices of animals and the blood of these animals to purify the Israelites, atone for their sins, to make them acceptable in God’s eyes.
Since the introduction of sin in the Garden of Eden, Heaven has been closed to all mankind. We automatically get a free ticket to hell; it is only through Jesus’ blood that we are able to gain entrance to Heaven and eternity with God. And then, only if you believe in Jesus, accept Him as your personal Savior, and repent of your sins, asking Him for forgiveness.
We are all sinners separated from God. Our only hope is Jesus. John 14:6 (NIV) “Jesus answered ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Jesus lived a completely sinless life on this earth; something He was able to do because He is the Son of God. He tells us “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Jesus called us not only to believe in him but also to live like Him. However, because we are human we are unable to live a completely sinless life, like He did.
Jesus also says, when asked which is the greatest and most important commandment, “‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
The Case for Faith, page 156 “…no matter how well we live, we cannot live up to the standard and character of God.”
There is no righteousness without redemption. You cannot be righteous enough to earn yourself a place in heaven. You must have redemption or forgiveness of sins to enter the Kingdom of God.
Not only was Jesus a Jew, so were all of His disciples, His earthly mom, His earthly dad, and the people who ultimately had him crucified.
Jesus is Who the Jews had been waiting for, He is Who the Old Testament prophets spoke of when they prophesied about the coming Messiah.
Jews and Christians believe in the same God.
Jews, however, do not recognize Jesus as the Messiah and the start of a new covenant between God and His people.
Christians believe Jesus to be God incarnate, the Son of God, and the Messiah that was prophesied about in the Old Testament (Matthew 5:17-20).
In the time of Moses God gave Israel, the Jewish people, the Law to make them righteous so that they might live in eternity with God, rather than separated from God for eternity in hell. The Law used sacrifices of animals and the blood of these animals to purify the Israelites, atone for their sins, to make them acceptable in God’s eyes.
Since the introduction of sin in the Garden of Eden, Heaven has been closed to all mankind. We automatically get a free ticket to hell; it is only through Jesus’ blood that we are able to gain entrance to Heaven and eternity with God. And then, only if you believe in Jesus, accept Him as your personal Savior, and repent of your sins, asking Him for forgiveness.
We are all sinners separated from God. Our only hope is Jesus. John 14:6 (NIV) “Jesus answered ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Jesus lived a completely sinless life on this earth; something He was able to do because He is the Son of God. He tells us “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Jesus called us not only to believe in him but also to live like Him. However, because we are human we are unable to live a completely sinless life, like He did.
Jesus also says, when asked which is the greatest and most important commandment, “‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
The Case for Faith, page 156 “…no matter how well we live, we cannot live up to the standard and character of God.”
There is no righteousness without redemption. You cannot be righteous enough to earn yourself a place in heaven. You must have redemption or forgiveness of sins to enter the Kingdom of God.
Thursday, July 05, 2007
The love God has for us
I'm not really one for keeping a journal, but over the past couple of years I've jotted down a few bible verses that happen to speak to me at that moment. One particular passage is from the book of 1 John: "We know that we live in Him and He in us, because He has given us His Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us" (1Jn 4:13-16).
Monday, July 02, 2007
The Full Armor of God
I enjoy reading Paul's letter to the church at Ephesus. Especially where he describes putting on the "full armor of God" in chapter 6. This 'armor' includes:
THE BELT OF TRUTH,
THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS,
FEET FITTED WITH READINESS,
THE SHIELD OF FAITH,
THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and
THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT.
Most importantly, these items need to be accompanied by prayer: "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests" (Eph 6:18a).
Be prepared for spiritual battle!
THE BELT OF TRUTH,
THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS,
FEET FITTED WITH READINESS,
THE SHIELD OF FAITH,
THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and
THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT.
Most importantly, these items need to be accompanied by prayer: "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests" (Eph 6:18a).
Be prepared for spiritual battle!
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