What Makes Jesus Unique? No one else made the claims that He did, He is alive...............
All the great religious leaders of history have one thing in common: they are dead. Only one man has risen from a grave never again to taste death. Jesus Christ died, was buried, remained in the grave for 3 days, then was raised to life again.
Jesus is unique. He is the only one proven to be the Son of God because God validated His Kingship and accepted His payment for our sins all with one incredible stroke: He raised Jesus from the dead!
Paul opens his letter to the Romans with this evidence about who Jesus is:
Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, which He had promised before by His prophets in the holy scriptures, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was made of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. Romans 1:1-4
Because Jesus Christ is very much alive, five things are true right now that wouldn’t be true if He were just another dead religious leader like Confucius, Mohammed or Buddha.
Because Jesus was raised from the dead and is alive…Prayers are answered, We can talk to Jesus 24/7
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It began with the funniest, yet ended with the best
We need fresh eyes for our faith’s basic teachings, no matter how long we’ve studied the Bible.
JARVIS J. WILLIAMS, MARCH 13, 2023
One warm April night, my high school baseball team was celebrating a big win. Then one of our coaches gathered us together. In a serious tone, he told us that Merri Kathryn Prater, a good friend, and classmate, had passed away a few days after her tragic road accident. My teammates and I immediately erupted with loud cries of lament. One classmate in the stands told a few of us that the sudden sound of our grief was like an explosion of shotguns as it echoed around the mountains surrounding our Eastern Kentucky baseball field.
When we calmed down, many of my teammates and I headed to Merri Kathryn’s church. There, her pastor, Mike Caudill (known to his parishioners as Brother Mike), and members of the church were gathering to help local teenagers process the news of her death.
I remember sitting down in a pew in the pristine sanctuary of Hindman First Baptist Church with my teammates. One of them, a Christian like Merri Kathryn, turned the pages of a pew Bible to John 3:16, and he slowly began to read the verse to me.
“Jarvis, this is what life is all about,” he said. That was the first time I remember hearing John 3:16. At that moment, while stricken with grief and shock, I had no clue what the verse would mean to me throughout my life. My teammate’s exposition both shook me and left me silent.
In subsequent days, I considered the reality of my own mortality and my need to give my life to Jesus Christ in light of Merri Kathryn’s faith, her death, and the truth of John 3:16. Members of Merri Kathryn’s church had already told me about the gospel several times during my visits to see her at the hospital.
A few weeks later, on a phone call on April 22, 1996, Brother Mike led me to the Lord. I was 17. Brother Mike baptized me, and I became a member of Merri Kathryn’s church. I was the first African American to join this church in its history.
This fellowship deeply loved me—even more than some people in my own family. They taught me much about the love of God, the love of neighbor, the gospel, and what I now call redemptive kingdom diversity. I was not the only one at my high school to become a Christian that year. Merri Kathryn’s death led to dozens of professions of faith in my county of a few thousand. For several months, new believers kept asking to be baptized.
The content of John 3:16 was fresh and baffling to me at first when I was a nonbeliever, and it still was in different ways when I was a new believer in Christ. During the revival in Hindman, I preached and shared my testimony, still in wonder at the verse. But perhaps there are many of us who forget the power, the truth, and the implications of verses like John 3:16 as we grow older in the faith.
Familiar verses can seem like the ABCs of the Christian faith—things to move beyond in order to drink from deeper wells. But if we have this attitude, we may forget key elements of the Christian gospel and miss the deeper, varied truths that are right there.
After my conversion, I began sharing my faith and the truth of John 3:16 with close family and friends. I often spoke about becoming a Christian to my uncle who raised me. One night he looked at me with a straight face and said, “Jarvis, I know John 3:16.” Then he quoted it to me verbatim. “That is exactly right!
What is the spirit of security but a deep belief in yourself?
What is insecurity but a lack of faith in one's own ability?
How do you give people a sense of security? By giving them a chance to build
faith in themselves! Self-reliance and self-confidence are real security. When
Communism collects people together and spares them from the possibility of
poverty, is it really offering security? It is perhaps eliminating the fear of
poverty and starvation, but the absence of fear is no proof of courage.
Play-it-safe people may not be afraid. But this does not mean that they are brave.
What would happen if they had to face danger? Suddenly they would discover that
they lacked real courage. Communism offers a counterfeit security, for real
security is self-confidence.
The priceless gift of self-confidence can only be acquired when you suceed after
being exposed to possible failure. Exposure to risk is the only route to real self-
confidence. Self-confidence cannot be inherited. It must be earned by each
individual, each generation, each new regime. And the only way to earn it is by
taking a noble risk, and honorable chance, a glorified gamble. Self-confidence
cannot be taught; it must be caught! And risk-running, chance-taking, is the only
way to catch it. Mountain-moving faith succeeds in building self-confidence through
chance-taking. Without self-confidence, faith will never muster and demonstrate
mountain-moving power.
-Author: Dr. Robert H. Schuller-
From "The Hour of Power" copyright (c) 2004 by Robert H. Schuller
Used with permission of the Crystal Cathedral
The moment we pray, God set things in motion
She were the believer, him... not so.
After she was tiring of his questions, she just said...
God is not information, he's a feeling ... like so is love.
I quiet liked that, her words were simple yet said so much
Does experiencing love, prove its existence anymore than lack of it, proves not
To me, it is a belief a knowing that He is who He says He is.
The Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.
He is alive and that is why we can come to Him and talk to him in prayer.
The Lord already knows what we need/want but has set it up so we must ask Him.
I really wonder if we would get things automatically would we talk to Him as much?
It is very humbling that the Lord wants to hear from us and wants us to communicate with His children.
I am sure the Lord loves more than anything for us to say; "Thank you Lord for being who You are"
“You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?” (Galatians 3:1)
Don’t you love how kind and gentle Paul’s letters are?
What was it that got the apostle so worked up? It was because the Galatians had the wrong idea about the importance of the Holy Spirit.
They understood the role that the Spirit played in their conversion, but they were missing out on his role as a Helper in the ongoing life of a believer. Their new life in Christ had begun by responding to the Holy Spirit through faith, but they were now trying to maintain it by human effort, rather than relying on him.
Many Christians today get caught in the same trap as the Galatians: we forget why the Holy Spirit is so important. If we want to avoid being “foolish Galatians,” we need to respond to the Holy Spirit and the way he moves in our lives.
Here are five key roles that the Holy Spirit plays;
1. HE GUIDES YOU INTO JESUS’ TRUTH
Jesus was clear on the importance of the Holy Spirit: “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth... he will glorify Me because it is from Me that he will receive what he will make known to you” (John 16:13-14). Do you want to know what Jesus is saying to you as you journey through this life?
Do you want to be able to hear God’s voice as you read through the pages of the Bible? It is the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, who communicates all of that to you.
2. HE DIRECTS YOUR STEPS;
The Holy Spirit not only speaks the words of Jesus to you, but he actually is the one who leads and directs your steps into the abundant life that Jesus promised. Paul wrote, “You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit…. And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you” (Romans 8:9, 11).
The Holy Spirit is the conduit of life from God into your heart. He is the one who controls your thoughts, attitudes, words, and actions as you follow his lead. He will direct your steps through all the complicated paths of life and keep you from sin. That is abundant life!
3. HE GIVES YOU SPIRITUAL GIFTS;
The Holy Spirit is also the one who gives spiritual gifts to all followers of Jesus so that we all can play our role in the Body of Christ. Paul gave us a sampling of those gifts in his first letter to the Corinthian church:
“Now to each one, the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to other gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous power, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines” (1 Corinthians 12:7-11).
It is through these gifts of the Spirit that we function best as the Church, and it is through these gifts that we are able to proclaim the power of Jesus to people who desperately need to know our Savior.
4. HE EMPOWERS YOU TO PROCLAIM;
In Acts, Luke recalls over and over the crucial role the Holy Spirit played in the early Church’s proclamation of the Gospel. When Peter and John stood accused before powerful leaders, Luke reported that Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit and boldly proclaimed that Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the One they had crucified, was the only way to salvation (Acts 4:5-12). This is the same Peter who only two months earlier had denied Jesus. And now, standing in the very place where Jesus had been condemned,
Godhead.
God the Father, God the Son, we all know very well, what about the third part of the Godhead the Holy Spirit?
He is the one left with us as Jesus is now sitting on the right hand of His Father.
As Jesus told us He would leave us not as orphans but leave us the Comforter, the Holy Spirit.
It is the Holy Spirit who convicts people of their sins.........
We are told we can ask the Holy Spirit for gifts, knowledge, healing power, speaking in tongues,
casting our demons, prophecy, and wisdom.
Yes, all we need to do is ask for these gifts is that not mindblowing for sure?
I know the gifts I would like to have, do you? If so, then please ask the Holy Spirit for them now.
Believers are not to speak directly, or pray, to the Holy Spirit. There are a number of reasons why this is so. They can be summed up as follows;
The Holy Spirit Does Not Speak of Himself;
For one thing, it is the ministry of the Holy Spirit to speak of Jesus Christ. He does not speak of Himself. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit was given to remind His disciples of the things which He said.
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you (John 14:26 NASB).
The Holy Spirit which was sent by the authority of God the Father was given to testify to Jesus Christ, not Himself.
In addition, we are told that He will not speak on His own initiative. Jesus said.
When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth. For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak whatever He hears. He will also declare to you what is to come.
He will glorify Me because He will take from what is Mine and declare it to you (John 16:13, 14.
Jesus made it clear that the Holy Spirit is His representative. He does not present His own ideas or speak on His initiative. Instead, He carries out the plan of God the Father and God the Son. This is His role among the members of the Trinity.
While the Holy Spirit is fully God, His role is one of representing the wishes of the Father and the Son. Thus, while the Holy Spirit is not subordinate in nature or character to God the Father or God the Son, He is subordinate in His position.
The Holy Spirit Helps Us Pray the Right Things;
Thus, the Holy Spirit is not the member of the Trinity to whom we address our prayers. We should pray to God the Father, through the Person of Jesus Christ.
The Holy Spirit is the one who guides our prayers and helps us to pray the right things.
Paul wrote about this to the Romans. He put it this way;
And the Holy Spirit helps us in our distress. For we don’t even know what we should pray for, or how we should pray. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words (Romans 8:26.
The Holy Spirit helps us pray to the Father through the Son – He does not help us pray to Himself! This is the plain teaching of Scripture.
We Are Commanded to Pray in Jesus’ Name or Authority;
In fact, we are commanded to pray in Jesus’ name or authority. Jesus made this clear to His disciples on the night that He was betrayed. He said.
On that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete. “Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father.
On that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf” (John 16:23-26.
It is in the authority of Jesus that we pray. We are to ask for things using Him as our access to God the Father.
There Are Direct Prayers to Jesus;
We also find that people directly prayed to Jesus. Stephen the martyr was filled with the Holy Spirit as he was dying. At that time, he directed his prayer to Jesus.
The Bible records what took place n this manner.
And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep (Acts 7:59-60).
Direct prayers can be made to Jesus. Indeed, we have a biblical example of this.
There Are No Direct Prayers to the Holy Spirit;
As we search the Scriptures, we find no prayers addressed directly to the Holy Spirit.
The very first thing to notice from this prayer is who we should be directing all of our prayers. Notice Jesus tells us to direct this prayer direct to God the Father – not to Him, the Holy Spirit, any of His angels, or to any of the dead saints who are now living up in heaven.
We believe that all of our main prayers should be directed to God the Father. We can talk with, fellowship with, and worship and praise both Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
When Jesus tells us to specifically direct our prayers to God the Father in this verse, then I feel we should abide by what He is telling us to do.
Both Jesus and the Holy Spirit always pray to God the Father. And if They are both praying direct to God the Father, then we should all do the exact same thing in our personal prayer lives with the Lord. Again, we have more commentary on this revelation in the above article.
2. Your Kingdom Come;
The next thing to pick up from this model prayer is the words, “Your Kingdom come.”
The Kingdom Jesus is referring to is His Father’s Kingdom up in heaven. As we have explained to you in all of the articles in our End Times Section, the final two chapters in our eternal destinies with the Lord is that first Jesus Himself will be coming back down to our earth to establish a 1000-year Millennium Kingdom from which He will rule this entire earth from the city of Jerusalem in Israel.
After this 1000-year millennial reign has ended, then God the Father will be bringing down both Himself and the new city of Jerusalem to our earth from His heaven, where He and Jesus will then be ruling this entire earth under what is called the New Heaven and New Earth.
So when everything is all finally said and done, God’s eternal kingdom will eventually be coming down to our earth where we will all live happily ever after with God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, all of God’s good angels, and all of the saved and born again in the Lord.
The above words, “Your kingdom come,” should always be a constant reminder to all of us that eventually all of the demons and bad and unsaved people will eventually be taken out of this world – and God’s kingdom will then be literally coming down to our earth so we can all have perfect peace and a perfect environment in which to live in with both God, Jesus, and all of our saved ones forever and ever.
In the crazy and tumultuous world, we all now live in, this one powerful phrase alone should help keep us focused on the real big picture.
BY DR. ANDREW SWAFFORD | AUG 5, 2020 | FORMATION | 1 COMMENT
The Transfiguration—perhaps like the Ascension—is a mystery of faith that often receives too little of our attention and meditation. But in truth, it is a mystery at the very center of our faith. When St. John Paul II gave us the Luminous Mysteries, he considered the Transfiguration the mystery of light par excellence.
Why does this mystery strike at the heart of the Christian faith?
Because it shows forth the full divine glorification of humanity.
God’s plan has never been merely about redemption and forgiveness of sins; God desires not only to forgive but to heal and transform our fallen nature—to make us radiate through and through with his divinity.
What happens to Jesus is exactly the template for what the Holy Spirit wants to do in each of us.
In this respect, the Transfiguration of Jesus is a foreshadowing of our own resurrection—the divine glorification not just of our souls, but of our bodies as well.
And not coincidentally, the Transfiguration occurs right on the heels of Christ’s first Passion prediction—teaching us that the suffering of the Cross culminates in triumphant glory and victory (see Matthew 16:21 and 17:1-5).
What do Moses and Elijah have to do with divine glory?
Often, the presence of Moses and Elijah with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration is explained in terms of their representing the Law (Moses) and the prophets (Elijah), as the Old Testament bearing witness to Jesus. Surely, this is part of what is going on; but there seems to be more.
Intriguingly, both of these Old Testament characters experienced theophanies—manifest encounters with God’s holy presence.
In Exodus 33, Moses famously requests to see the very glory of God (see Exodus 33:18); and eventually, God’s glory manifests itself to him, even revealing divine attributes:
“And the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. The Lord passed before him, and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy and faithfulness.’”
Exodus 34:5-6
However, the Lord tells Moses before this amazing encounter that he cannot see all of God’s glory—he can only see the Lord’s “back,” not his “face” (see Exodus 33:20, 23).
Elijah, after defeating the prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18, sets out for Horeb—that is, Mt. Sinai, the very place where Moses had the above encounter with the Lord (see 1 Kings 19:8).
Here, the Lord appears to Elijah—not in wind, earthquake, or fire, but in a still small voice (1 Kings 19:11).
In both episodes with Moses and Elijah, we have the curious expression “the Lord passed by/passed before” (see 1 Kings 19:11; Exodus 33:19, 22; 34:6). The Hebrew and the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament) use the same expression in all these passages—abar in Hebrew, erchomai in Greek.
In the Gospel accounts, after foretelling his death and Resurrection, Jesus and his three disciples went to “a high mountain” to be away from the crowds. There, Jesus’ face began to shine like the sun and his clothes became miraculously white. As the disciples looked on, Elijah and Moses suddenly appeared in glory and talked with the transfigured Jesus. Peter then offered to make three dwellings, one for Jesus and one for each of the two supernatural guests, but was interrupted by a voice from a bright cloud that said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him, I am well pleased; listen to him!” (Matthew 17:5). Having collapsed in fear, the disciples were comforted by Jesus, who then urged them to keep silent about these events until after his Resurrection (Mark 9:9; Matthew 17:9). According to tradition, the event took place on Mount Tabor. The Transfiguration is also referenced in the Second Letter of Peter, where Peter’s presence as an eyewitness to Christ’s majesty is used to assure the readers that his message is true (1:16–18).
The Transfiguration;
There is a long history of Christian art depicting the Transfiguration. By the 6th century, scenes of the event frequently featured Christ enshrined in a mandorla, an almond-shaped aureole of light surrounding the entire figure of a holy person. In the 15th century, however, with the growth of naturalism in art, the mandorla became less popular, being incongruous in a naturalistic context, and it was abandoned by the painters of the Renaissance.
Melissa Petruzzello
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Jesus Christ was crucified on Good Friday. So why is it called ‘good’?
Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. This year, it is observed on April 7.
Good Friday, Jesus Christ;
Good Friday is considered to be a day of penance and remembrance
Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. According to the New Testament accounts, Jesus was crucified on a Friday, which is now commemorated as Good Friday by Christians around the world. It is a solemn day for Christians, typically observed with somber and reflective activities that focus on the suffering and death of Jesus Christ.
Good Friday is considered to be a day of sorrow, penance, and fasting. In many Christian communities, Good Friday services are held in churches where Jesus' crucifixion is remembered through readings, hymns, and prayers. A reading of the Passion narrative is often included in these services as it describes the events leading up to Jesus' death, as well as his last words from the cross. Some Christians choose to fast or abstain from meat as a form of penance on Good Friday.
If Good Friday is a day of sorrow and remembrance, it begs the question – why is it called “Good” Friday?
Good Friday is called "good" because of the religious significance of the day for Christians, who believe that Jesus’s death on the cross was the ultimate sacrifice for humanity's sins. For Christians, this sacrifice represents the ultimate act of love and redemption, and it is good because it marks the start of his resurrection on Easter, which is the most important religious holiday for Christians.
Another theory is that the “good” in Good Friday refers to the word’s original Old English meaning, where it means holy. Therefore, Good Friday is also sometimes called Holy Friday.
by Gregory M. Lousig-Nont, Ph.D.
TODAY, WHEN I AWOKE,
I suddenly realized that this is the best day of my life, ever!
There were times when I wondered if I would make it to
today, but I did! And because I did I'm going to celebrate!
Today, I'm going to celebrate what an unbelievable life I
have had so far: the accomplishments, the many blessings,
and, yes, even the hardships because they have served to
make me stronger.
I will go through this day with my head held high, and a
happy heart.
I will marvel at God's seemingly simple gifts: the morning
dew, the sun, the clouds, the trees, the flowers, the birds.
Today, none of these miraculous creations will escape my
notice.
Today, I will share my excitement for life with other
people. I'll make someone smile.
I'll go out of my way to perform an unexpected act of
kindness for someone I don't even know.
Today, I'll give a sincere compliment to someone who
seems down. I'll tell a child how special he is, and I'll
tell someone I love just how deeply I care for her/him
and how much she/he means to me.
Today is the day I quit worrying about what I don't have
and start being grateful for all the wonderful things God
has already given me. I'll remember that to worry is just
a waste of time because my faith in the Divine Plan
ensures everything will be just fine.
And tonight, before I go to bed,
I'll go outside and raise my eyes to the heavens.
I will stand in awe at the beauty of the stars and the
moon, and I will give thanks for these magnificent
treasures.
As the day ends and I lay my head down on my pillow,
I will thank the Almighty for the best day of my life.
And I will sleep the sleep of a contented child,
excited with expectation because I know
tomorrow is going to be the best day of my life, ever!
HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY!
Jesus Christ, You are alive. You have given the good news. Life is
abundant, and now life is eternal to those who know You and that includes me.
"God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten, Son, that whoever
believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
You have promised it, Lord. "I am the resurrection and the life. He who
believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live." You have promised that if I
have faith as the grain of a mustard seed, I can say to my mountain, "move
and nothing will be impossible. Jesus Christ, look at me. You know who I am.
You know where I come from. You know what problems I carry in my heart,
and my mind, and in my physical, organic body.
O Lord, you know a lot more about me than I do. A lot more about me than any
doctor, any psychiatrist, or any counselor knows.
O God, give me the gift of faith. I receive this gift, and I feel a warm glow. Your
faith is flowing from my mind, across my face, across my lips, down my neck,
and through my body. I am feeling the healing prescence of the God of all
eternity. In the name of my Lord, I praise You, and I thank You, Jesus Christ.
Amen.
With Permission from
The Possibility Thinkers Bible (NKJV)
Eagles Club Edition
Prayers for Positive Faith
Copyright 1996, 1984
by Robert H. Schuller and Paul David Dunn
“Come, see.” These words recorded in John 4:29 were spoken by a Samaritan woman with a sense of wonderment and awe. She had just met a Man at the village well who said He was the Messiah. Something about this Man convinced her that He knew all about her although not many words were spoken. She felt his love and compassion even though she was living in sin. With a sense of urgency, she hurried back to her village, her water pot forgotten. “Come,” she said, “come see and hear for yourselves.”
Jesus came to earth with a message of hope. His love and compassion reached out to everyone, including the outcasts of society. He healed the sick, comforted the distressed, and preached salvation. Many received His teachings and followed Him. The religious leaders felt threatened by his message of love and humility and plotted to kill Him. He was betrayed, arrested, and sentenced to die. As the angry mob followed, Roman soldiers took Jesus up the hill of Golgotha and nailed Him to a wooden cross between two thieves.
Jesus was crucified at nine o’clock in the morning. At noon the sky darkened for three hours. Afterward, Jesus cried with a loud voice, “It is finished,” and gave up his life. There was a mighty earthquake that rent the rocks and opened many graves.
Jesus’s disciples took his body down from the cross. They lovingly placed it in a new tomb and closed the entrance with a large stone. Early in the morning of the third day, there was a great earthquake. An angel came down from heaven and rolled the stone away from the tomb. Some women who loved Him came to anoint his body, and they were surprised to find the tomb empty. They were met by angels who told them, “He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. And they remembered his words” (Luke 24:6-8).
Following his resurrection Jesus met his disciples in an upper room. He showed them the wounds in his hands and his side and blessed them with the peace of God. He spent forty days teaching and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. With his death and resurrection, the plan of salvation was completed.
One day while speaking with his disciples, Jesus told them to wait at Jerusalem until they received the power of the Holy Spirit. This would enable them to witness Him wherever they went. When He finished speaking, He lifted up His hands, blessed them, and ascended into heaven. As the disciples watched Him ascend, two men in white clothing appeared and said, “Ye men of Galilee, why to stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11).
So when the people of Samaria heard Jesus’s message, they believed in Him. They told the woman, “Now we believe, not because of what you said, but because we have heard Him ourselves and know that He really is the Christ.” The gospel of Jesus Christ, which is his teachings, death, and resurrection, is the power of God unto salvation. To experience salvation, come to Jesus, repent, and forsake sin. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and commit your life to Him. Then through the power of the Holy Spirit, you can love and forgive all people, even your enemies. As Christians continue in faithful obedience, Jesus gives the power to live victoriously over sin.
Jesus is now in heaven interceding for mankind and preparing a place for the faithful (John 14:2-3). Someday soon He will return to judge the world. The apostle John wrote about that day. “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it... And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God, and the books were opened... and the dead were judged out of those things which were written
Do you know the One who knows everything about you? Are you experiencing the power of the resurrection today? If not, then come. Come and see the risen Lord............
Jesus is Lord, He is My Lord, is He yours?
He could be yours right now.
Open your heart, Ask Jesus to forgive your sins and take over your heart.
He will come in, as promised, and from now on He will be your Savior.................
How often have I heard people tell me how much good they do for others. Give to the poor, help wherever they can.
That is wonderful and it makes you a good person but not necessarily a Christian.
You can NOT earn your Salvation. (Not by works lest anyone could boast)
This seems too easy for some to accept, how easy it is to become a Christian!
Yes indeed it is that easy, but..............the hard work comes later when we need/want to stay a good Christian. Then we can get help from the Holy Spirit, who is there to keep us on the straight and narrow.
Your heart is willing? The Holy Spirit is always there for us, to do His part..............
September 3, 2022 · The Verge of Revival
Jonah set out on the first day of his walk in the city and proclaimed, “In forty days Nineveh will be demolished!” Then the people of Nineveh believed God (Jonah 3:4–5, CSB).
Jonah is a prophet we find in the Bible who, when given a divine assignment from God, chose at first to flee from that word rather than submit to it. But when he did submit, when he said “yes” to God, revival broke out in a rebellious land.
I wonder, what is on the other side of your “yes” to God today. You could be on the verge of revival, of breakthrough, or victory in your home, workplace, school, or community.
My prayer is that you will choose to accept your daily divine assignments by valuing the small conversations, the small interactions, and the small acts of obedience that lead to a life lived on a mission, producing great fruit for the glory of God.
Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection were the most important and crucial series of events in the history of the world and eternity. Jesus staked His claim as Son of God, Christ and Messiah on His resurrection.
How crazy would it be that Jesus would claim to be “The Truth,” if His resurrection were based on a myth? How absurd would it be that Jesus would base His claims of speaking God’s truth upon a lie?
Here’s the deal. Jesus used the story of Jonah’s three days in the belly of the big fish because it was true. Jesus used Jonah’s story as a sign that, after His crucifixion, He’d be in the heart of the earth for three days and nights and then be “spit back out” because both were true.
Discount the story of Jonah and you discount Jesus’ account of His own resurrection. Jonah, the big fish, and Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection: ....................
While Jeremiah was prophesying the coming destruction, he denounced a number of other prophets who were prophesying peace.[Jeremiah 6:13–15]
According to the book of Jeremiah, during the reign of King Zedekiah, the Lord instructed Jeremiah to make a yoke with the message that the nation would be subject to the king of Babylon. The false prophet Hananiah took the yoke off Jeremiah's neck and broke it, prophesying that within two years the Lord would break the yoke of the king of Babylon, but Jeremiah prophesied in return: "You have broken the yoke of wood, but you have made instead a yoke of iron."[Jeremiah 28:13]
Relationship with the Northern Kingdom (Samaria)
Jeremiah was sympathetic to, as well as descended from, the northern Kingdom of Israel. Many of his first reported oracles are about and addressed to, the Israelites at Samaria. He resembles the northern prophet Hosea in his use of language and examples of God's relationship to Israel. Hosea seems to have been the first prophet to describe the desired relationship as an example of ancient Israelite marriage, where a man might be polygamous, while a woman was only permitted one husband. Jeremiah often repeats Hosea's marital imagery.
What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.
Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged; take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness; take it to the Lord in prayer.
Are we weak and heavy-laden, cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge, take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do your friends despise, forsake you? Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In His arms He'll take and shield you; you will find solace there.
Blessed Savior, Thou hast promised Thou wilt all our burdens bear
May we ever, Lord, be bringing all to Thee in earnest prayer.
Soon in glory bright unclouded there will be no need for prayer
Rapture, praise and endless worship will be our sweet portion there.
Source: Musixmatch Songwriters: C. Converse / J Scriven
Perhaps the best known story of his wisdom is the Judgment of Solomon; two women each lay claim to being the mother of the same child. Solomon easily resolved the dispute by commanding the child to be cut in half and shared between the two. One woman promptly renounced her claim, proving that she would rather give the child up than see it killed. Solomon declared the woman who showed compassion to be the true mother, entitled to the whole child.
Solomon was traditionally considered the author of several biblical books, "including not only the collections of Proverbs, but also of Ecclesiastes and the Song of Solomon and the later apocryphal book the Wisdom of Solomon."
In 1868, Charles Warren identified Tell es-Sultan as the site of biblical Jericho. Ernst Sellin and Carl Watzinger excavated the site between 1907–1909 and 1911, finding the remains of two walls which they initially suggested supported the biblical account of the Battle of Jericho. They later revised this conclusion and dated their findings to the Middle Bronze Age (-1550 BCE). In 1930–1936, John Garstang conducted excavations there and discovered the remains of a network of collapsed walls which he dated to about 1400 BCE. Kathleen Kenyon re-excavated the site over 1952–1958 and demonstrated that the destruction occurred at an earlier time, during a well-attested Egyptian campaign against the Hyksos of that period, and that Jericho had been deserted throughout the mid-late 13th century BCE, the supposed time of Joshua's battle. Sources differ as to what date Kenyon instead proposed; either c. 1500 BCE or c. 1580 BCE. Kenyon's work was corroborated in 1995 by radiocarbon tests which dated the destruction level to the late 17th or 16th centuries BCE. A small unwalled settlement was rebuilt in the 15th century BCE, but it has been agreed that the tell was unoccupied from the late 15th century until the 10th/9th centuries BCE.
More recently, Lorenzo Nigro from the Italian-Palestinian Expedition to Tell es-Sultan has argued that there was some sort of settlement at the site during the 14th and 13th centuries BCE.n He states that the expedition has detected Late Bronze II layers in several parts of the tell, although its top layers were heavily cut by leveling operations during the Iron Age, which explains the scarcity of 13th-century materials. Nigro rejects the idea that these discoveries give credence to the biblical narrative about the conquest of Canaan by Joshua.
As to their evidence, Dr. Bryant Wood, Director of the Associates for Biblical Research and one of the leading experts on the archaeology of Jericho, recently responded.
“It matters little what the Italian archaeologists did not find in their month-long dig. The evidence is already in. Three major expeditions to the site over the past 90 years uncovered abundant evidence to support the Biblical account.”
As Wood went on to point out, John Garstang (1930-1936) and Kathleen Kenyon (1952-1958) both dug at Jericho for six seasons and a German excavation directed by Ernst Sellin and Carl Watzinger dug for three. All found abundant evidence of the city’s destruction by fire in a layer related to the Biblical date of 1400 BC.
In September 1997, Dr. Wood visited Jericho and examined the results of the Italian excavation first hand. Incredibly, he found the Italians had uncovered the stone outer revetment wall at the base of the tell with part of the mudbrick wall built on top of it still intact. In the balk of the Italian excavation, at the outer base of the revetment wall, Wood noticed the remains of the collapsed mudbrick city walls which had tumbled. Not only did the Italians find the same evidence uncovered in the earlier excavations, it fits the Biblical story perfectly!
Although Daniel’s three friends also served with him in King Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylonian government, they are likely best known for their example of faith in refusing to bow down to an image created by the king.
After being told that they would be thrown into a fiery furnace if they did not worship the image, the three respectfully told the monarch that they would not do so. They explained that their God could save them, but even if He did not, they would not bow down to the king’s image.
While understanding the background of the names of Daniel’s friends is interesting information, these men’s outstanding examples of faith are much more important. Their tests of faith in regard to their diets and threats of the loss of their lives remain a timeless encouragement for us today to live similarly.
Nebuchadnezzar’s statue;
The book of Daniel contains many prophecies—some that have been fulfilled and some that will be fulfilled in the future. The prophecy in this book begins in chapter 2 with King Nebuchadnezzar of the Babylonian Empire receiving a strange dream of a great image. God, through Daniel, revealed that this dream meant that three great world-ruling empires would follow after the Babylonian Empire.
Daniel 12: End-time events;
While previous prophecies in the book of Daniel have touched upon end-time events, the final chapter gives special emphasis to this time period. Even though this will be “a time of trouble” unlike any other, the encouragement for God’s people is that after Christ returns they will receive eternal life and be glorified (verses 1-3).
A brief reference to the resurrections is found in verse 2. Verse 4 shows that indications of the end time will be mankind’s ability to travel and an explosion of knowledge.
For further explanation of these prophecies, how long this time of trouble will last, and the correlation of these prophecies with Christ’s teaching, see the article “Daniel 12: End-Time Events.”
Angels;
Angels are spoken of in at least 34 books of the Bible, including the book of Daniel. While there are a vast number of angels, we know very few of their names. The Bible provides the names of only three of these spirit beings, and the Book of Daniel provides two of these.
Here is a good way to think about the Second Coming: "We plan as though Jesus isn't coming for 1,000 years, but we live as if He is coming in the next 10 minutes." Israel's immediate future is desperate, but she will repent and turn to God, trust in the blood of Christ, and have a glorious future with the Lord. By the way, the same future is available to all who apply the blood of Christ to themselves.
Hopefully, this overview will help you to make sense of Bible prophecy and how it applies to what is going on in the world today, as well as to remind you that God is in control of our future, and has been since the beginning of time.
Another temple destruction;
Secondly, during this interim period, it would also happen that “the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary, and the end thereof shall be with a flood.…” The city and the temple that was to be rebuilt because of the decree by which the 70 sevens began would now be destroyed. So sometime after the Messiah was cut off, Jerusalem and the temple would suffer another destruction. Our knowledge of history during this period is extremely clear: the people responsible for this deed were the Romans, and Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed in the year 70 C. E. Based upon this verse, it is also clear that the Messiah should have both come and died prior to the year 70 C.E. If such an event did not take place, then Daniel was a false prophet. If such an event did occur, then the question must be answered, who was that Messiah who was killed before 70 C.E.?
All this would set the stage for the final, or 70th, seven.
The third thing to take note of would be, “and even unto the end shall be war; desolations are determined.” For the remainder of the interval between the 69th seven and the 70th seven, the land would be characterized by war, and its resulting condition would be desolation. All this would set the stage for the final, or 70th, seven.
The 70th seven
Daniel 9:27
From where we stand in time today, the last seven years of Daniel’s prophecy are still prophetic, still future, but it is with their conclusion that all six purposes of verse 24 will reach their fulfillment. The verse’s main points are as follows: First, the 70th seven will begin only with the signing of a seven-year covenant or treaty between Israel and a major Gentile political leader. Secondly, in the middle of that period, that is, after 3 1/2 years, this Gentile leader will break his treaty with Israel and caused a cessation of the sacrificial system. The implication here is that by this time a temple in Jerusalem will have been rebuilt again and the sacrificial system of Moses re-instituted but then will be forcefully ceased. Thirdly, the result of the breaking of this covenant is that the temple will now be abominated. The ” abomination” refers to an image or an idol. As it was in the days of Antiochus Epiphanes, so it will be again in the future when a gentile ruler will abominate the temple by means of idolatry. Fourthly, the abomination is to be followed by wrath and desolation, persecution, and warfare, for the remaining half of the 70th seven (the final 3 1/2 years). This is similar to the trials and tribulations the rabbis spoke of as preparation for the establishment of the messianic kingdom. These terrible days were referred to as “the footsteps of the Messiah.” But once those days have run their course, the last three things predicted in verse 24 will occur: After this period the age of righteousness will be brought in, in which the holiest place will be anointed and every vision and prophecy be fulfilled. At this point, the messianic kingdom for which the prophet Daniel yearned will be set up.
Obviously, the messianic kingdom requires the Messiah to rule as king. This means the Messiah will come after the 70th seven.
That is why it is so important to understand the 70 weeks talked about in the Book of Daniel.
Remarkable how the book of Daniel and Revelation are knit together and should be studied together.
This is why at times I like to bring you articles from different sources.
Also, we will meet again with (Elijah and Enoch), Or (Elijah and Moses), in the last of the 70 weeks.
These two will be killed and the people are so happy they exchange gifts.
Ha ha, the two dead men will come back to life. ..............
God has a purpose for keeping these men re-appearing in the last days.:..........
Being built up in and on the Light of the world, the church testifies to the Light.
Now in Zechariah 4, the light-giving menorah fed by the olive trees is particularly a picture of God’s word to Zerubbabel, the Davidic governor who would lay the foundation of the temple. This Zerubbabel, then, prophetically pictured the person and work of Christ. Christ even acknowledged this fulfillment when he said in John 8:12, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”
Jesus Christ is the One and True Light of the world. He laid the foundation of God’s temple people through his own death and resurrection, and all who come to him in faith are founded upon him. Therefore, being built up in and on the Light of the world, the church testifies to the Light. The Light of Christ shines through us as his temple people.
The two witnesses are covenant prosecutors giving legally valid testimony.
And if anyone would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. If anyone would harm them, this is how he is doomed to be killed. (Rev. 11:5)
What is the effect of the ministry of these two witnesses? What role and power does the church’s menorah-testimony have? What is demonstrated by where the two witnesses stand and what they are able to do?
First, the two menorahs stand before the Lord of the earth (Rev. 11:4). This is a legal and judicial stance. The title “Lord of the Earth” highlights God as the Sovereign Judge; to stand before him is to be his witness, his prosecutor. Their legally valid testimony becomes the basis for the Lord’s judgment.
Second, we learn in verse 5 what the witnesses can do to those who desire to harm them. To harm the witnesses is to reject their message in hatred and hostility so as to desire their end. And what happens to such rejecters? “Fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes.”
The “fire” from the mouth of the witnesses refers to the power and effect of the word.
This is not fire from heaven but from the mouth of the two. This is not literal fire or a physical burning. Rather, fire from the mouth is like the sword issuing forth from the mouth of the Son of Man. It refers to the power and effect of the word.
This imagery is found when the Lord speaks to Jeremiah about his prophetic ministry, as he says in Jeremiah 5:14, “Behold, I am making my words in your mouth a fire, and this people wood, and the fire shall consume them.” This fire refers to the judging and condemning effect of the prophetic word.
So also, for those who reject the testimony of the two witnesses, the church’s preaching condemns and judges them unto death. Their testimony convicts; it leaves the rejecter guilty and under the curse of eternal fire.
It doesn't depend on our successes are failures. But it depends on the fact that you do not ever lose that which belongs to you. And so thank you that in such an uncertain world, we can have this unwavering and certain peace. We belong to you. Thank you, Lord.
We pray for all those in our lives who don't know you and Lord, we want them to come to a knowledge of you now so that they can live for you and bring glory to you with their lives and enjoy the benefits and eternity of living for you. We want them to know the peace and joy and the hope that only you can bring. But, Lord, we also pray for those who are not open right now. Lord, help us to not give up, help us to be faithful, to plant those seeds, to share the gospel, to walk through the doors that you open, to share the truth, to share hope.
Lord God, knowing that the greatest revival of the world has ever seen is yet to come.
So, Lord, we pray, draw many to you, and use us Lord freely to do it. Give us the boldness that the disciples and the early believers had. We pray for boldness Lord, that we might be a light for You in our lifetime. And I just want to say if you're here and you're watching this and you haven't given your life to Jesus. I want to invite you to do that right now by just going to our website at Gospel City. A gospel and watching the gospel video there.
Go do that right now. If you haven't given your life to Jesus yet ,so Lord, we love you. We bless you. We thank you. All of our hope is in you.
And all of our peace comes from you. In your name. We pray. Amen.
How Great Thou Art
Oh Lord, my God
When I, in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder
Thy power throughout the universe displayed
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art
And when I think that God, His Son not sparing
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in
That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing
He bled and died to take away my sin
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art
When Christ shall come, with shouts of acclamation
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart
Then I shall bow, in humble adoration
And then proclaim, my God, how great Thou art
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art
How great Thou art, how great Thou art
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Stuart K. Hine
How Great Thou Art lyrics © Manna Music Inc, Stuart Hine Trust
The word witness is interesting since it denotes something we are and something we do. One who sees or experiences something is a witness, and one who tells about that is witnessing. It is clear that all who see or experience something are witnesses and it is also clear that not all witnesses are witnessing. If you are a Christian, you are a witness. How good and faithful of a witness are you?
As Christians, we have a responsibility and the privilege to witness to the lost concerning our blessed Redeemer. We have been commanded to “witness to the world” (Mark 16:15) and He has provided us with the privilege of sharing in the delivery of the gospel. Here are a few thoughts intended to help you consider what the Lord has put before us all, and maybe by focusing on one or more of these ideas, you can be a more faithful witness.
The Purpose ;
We are to tell others about Him, nothing more and nothing less. We need not be discouraged if there is little visible fruit in salvation shown from our efforts. Our responsibility is to get the message out clearly and in a reasonable manner to those who are willing to listen. John the baptizer specifically “came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through Him might believe.” (John 1:7-8).
The Person
Focus on the Person we represent and the person to whom we are witnessing. We are messengers of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords (1 Timothy 6:15), the One who created and sustains the universe. He is the Savior, the One who laid down His life for the lost. He is the Lord and we need not be ashamed in any way. And, to whom are you witnessing? Do you have a genuine care and concern, or are you merely going through the motions? Imagine that you came upon a house that was on fire and someone was in the house and unaware of the imminent danger. Would you do all that you could to save them from a horrible death? Would you pull them from the fire? (Jude 20-23). The people to whom you are witnessing who are lost and on the way to eternity and the fires of hell, and the Lord has placed you in their path to tell them of Him. Do so.
The Preparation
Witnesses are open to questions so it is only natural that you will be asked questions about what you believe. You should be prepared with Bible study and prayer, but do not let your lack of knowledge keep you from witnessing. Be ready to provide answers for what you do know, and to get answers for what you do not know (1 Peter 3:15-16). In John chapter 9, the man who was blind from birth was given sight by our Lord. He was questioned by the Pharisees and he simply told them what had happened to him. When the Pharisees would not believe him and asked him the same questions again he states, “I have told you already, and ye did not hear: wherefore would ye hear it again? Will ye also be His disciples?” (John 9:27). He did not have detailed answers to all the questions but he could tell them what happened to him. He was clearly not skilled in the scriptures but was able to tell of his experience. We should be as prepared as possible and we can do that with regular prayer and Bible study (2 Timothy 2:15). But don’t let your lack of Bible knowledge prevent you from witnessing about your Savior.
The Plan
Have a plan and do not do things haphazardly. Are you planning to meet anyone today with whom you can share the gospel or have you asked the Lord to make someone available for you to witness to? Do you carry tracts and other materials to hand out? We are blessed with gifted speakers, gospel meetings, and excellent evangelistic materials. What is your plan today to meet and befriend one who is lost and to witness to them?
Just tell the people up front that you like to visit no one in particular.
The people there are so grateful to have someone to talk to.
So many there who never get a visitor or as one man told me that his daughter already picked up the check so why did I come? Just to visit with him?
You will see that most keep score of when someone came to visit.
I wonder if their family knows that they do this, keep track of the visits.
One man told me that people just come for money.
Finding out that he missed his own music, I bought him a little transistor radio, so now he could listen to his own choice of music in private.
( I made lots of money and no one to spend it on)
You can't tell a hurting person that Jesus loved them they need to see His love.
A visit and a listening ear are so appreciated.
Show you care! Be sensitive, It is very rewarding for sure
When to start talking about the Lord? You will find an opening telling about yourself may be a start. It is difficult to tell you as it is very individual.
Some people like to talk and others like to hear about you.
As I said; Just be sensitive to their needs first......................
I perceived right away that Lee wanted to hear more about Jesus, as this time I started to tell Lee right from the start about the Saviour.
I asked him if he wanted to ask Jesus to come to live in his heart and he shook his head vigorously that yes that is what he wanted to do.
Lee, I will pray, and if you agree you repeat it okay Lee.?
So it happened that Lee asked Jesus to come to live in his heart and become his Saviour
On my next visit, I brought Lee a Bible in Mandarin, His English was pretty good but when it comes to the Gospels it is good to be able to read it in your own language.
(You can get Bibles for free in all languages, just Google it, also Thriftf stores give them to you for free)
I want a big family in the hereafter so you all come.................
He said that he was very scared. I asked him if he was a Christian. He said that he was not. I told him that I cared what happened to him.
He wanted to know, why I would care, as I did not know him at all. I said that I cared because God cared. He then told me that his sister had been talking to him about God, but that he could not stand to listen to her about it. He said that he didn't mind hearing it from me though.
I gave him the gospel of John that day, as it also had the sinner’s prayer in the back of this booklet.
Later I went back to see him, and he told me that he had been praying to the Lord.
I asked him if he wanted to meet the Lord, and he said that he would and we prayed.
He was no sooner saved, than he became an instant missionary.
He told me that he had witnessed to his wife, and she accepted the Lord also.
I had given my new brother in the Lord my phone number.
A few weeks later the wife phoned to tell me that her husband was dying, and would I come to the hospital.
The doctors had decided not to operate anymore, as his cancer was too advanced. That same night my new friend died.
I know that I will one day also meet with him again.....................