Thursday, March 28, 2013
What really happened during the Last Supper?
The Last Supper we usually remember as breaking and sharing the bread and sharing the cup of wine as remembrance of Jesus body broken and Hid blood shed for forgiveness of sin..We see twelve apostles sitting at the table with Jesus among them.
What else was taking place at the table when the cup of new covenant in Jesus' blood was passed from hands to hands?
"When the hour came, Jesus and His apostles reclined at the table. And He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you,
I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.” Luke 22;14-16
Have you ever thought about what Jesus said at the table before the Passover meal started? He said He 'eagerly desired ' to eat that Passover before He was to suffer.
He had desire to spend the last hours with His disciples. Knowing that the worst was just a few hours away, that the 'pain' was waiting at the door, He wanted to use that time for the fellowship with His friends.
Think about it how would you feel knowing you are going to be betrayed and suffer soon? Would you withdraw into yourself and have pity on you and feel too upset to hang out anybody around?
I can imagine I would definitely feel like that. I would be too stressed up to enjoy any party.
But let's look at Jesus. Of course He was feeling stressed up but the main thing is- He was focusing on the well-being and good spirit of His friends.
He talks about praying for Simon Peter;
"Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”Luke 22;31-32
He gives the privilege for His people to ask in prayer for what they need;
"And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it." John 14;13-14
"If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." John 15;7
He is promising the Holy Spirit to come as a Helper and Comforter;
"And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever." John 14 ;16
He is promising His presence;
"I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live." John 14;18-19
He is encouraging His friends' hearts. He wants them to have joy and peace.;
v.27 " Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."
"These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full." John 15;.11
“I am coming to you( Father) now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them."
John 17;13
What an encouragement! He is preparing His disciples to have hope, to have faith. Notice -He is praying both for them and for.... YOU!.
" I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message". John 17;20
His focus are the people who responded to God and who believe His words. He makes sure they know the way to follow; " You know the way to the place where I am going.” John 14;4
“I am the way and the truth and the life(...) v.7
He makes sure they have His promise they are not left abandon that one day He is coming for them;
"And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." John 14;3
He is encouraging them not to give up and to be aware of the hard times to come;
"These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace.
In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." John 16;33
He is washing His disciples' feet, showing them to serve one another, as He served them. He gave them a command for having love for each other.
Before He leaves to pray for the strength for Himself to endure the cross, His main focus is you! It is not only those twelve people at the table but also YOU. If you know Him, He wants to leave you fully equipped in the knowledge you should have, in the things you should understand, in the hope you should hold on, and in the promised return to look forward to!
All for those whom He loves. But among all these people at the table there is somebody who 'kills' the joy of fellowship.
There is a betrayer - Judas- whose eyes are too blind to see Jesus' love and his heart to hardened to understand the need for the Savior! He chooses what looks good for the eyes. Money for which he will later loose his soul forever.
After the disciples are all 'set' there came time to Jesus to pray for His own strength and asking the Father if it was possible to remove that coming suffering from Him. Jesus surely knew what He was going to face so His sweat ( we read) was like the drops of blood. But He didn't turn back. He didn't give up. He didn't ask His father for legions of angels for His protection. ( as He said He could have! Matthew 26;53)
He also might have said, 'that is too much! You guys cost me too much!' But there was no ' too much' for God. His love is great enough. He wanted our redemption at all costs! That is how much He didn't want you to die with eternal death. He doesn't want you to end up like Judas with his soul lost. He wants you to choose life that will be completely new with Him and He offers beyond that. Jesus' resurrection was a sign of a triumph over death. From that time on, death has no power any more over those who are safe in Jesus.
He promised; “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die, and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” John 11;25-26
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
What keeps you from God?
What really takes place in the first 'experience' of God? For sure there is a peace and joy but before that any comfortable feeling there comes something disturbing, uprooting. Someone noticed that before we 'experience' peaceful God's presence either in prayer or any other situation, God has to do some 'cleaning' in us. Comparing with His greatness we notice our 'miserable' heart. We are lead to the admitting the fact that our nature is sinful.
Let's look at Peter and his first encounter with Jesus' greatness;
"One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God,
He saw at the water's edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets.
He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then He sat down and taught the people
from the boat. When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch."
Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets."
When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break.
So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said;
"Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord." Luke 5;1-8
Also when Isaiah entered the temple, God gave him such an experience of His holiness that the prophet cried out; 'Woe to me! for I am undone, for I am a man of unclean lips and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."Isaiah 6;5
This kind of ' disturbing' comes from the fact that God is holy and we are not. He is of a pure heart while ours is not. He is light that discloses any piece of 'dust' in our heart. That's why when we are approaching God for the first time we have a feeling of us being ' unworthy', 'unclean'. We would rather hide and not lift up our face.
But God doesn't want to reject us. He wants to have fellowship with us and wants to forgive you as soon as you admit you are a sinner. Then He wants to offer us a new life with a great ministry.
"Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up". James 4;10
And so happened to Peter. Jesus didn't answer, " Oh, you right Peter you better stay away from me as you are such a sinner." But Jesus' response was:
"Do not be afraid. From now on you will be catching men."
After Peter humbled himself before Jesus, He offered him a ministry! The same was with Isaiah.
We read that Isaiah' guilt was taken away and his sin atoned for.
Isaiah says; "Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” Isaiah 6;8
God also offered a ministry to Isaiah.He was forgiven and he was to bring God's message to the nation of Israel.
You can either humble yourself before the Lord and receive His forgiveness and His righteousness
or you can keep your own righteousness and that will keep you from God!
Jesus said ;"I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." Luke 5;32
Our righteousness surely keeps us from God. So was the reason the Pharisees were upset hearing Jesus speaking, as their own righteousness seemed fine and Jesus was simply disturbing their peace!
That's why so many people would rather have their 'own ' God who doesn't 'disturb' them!
The one who says; it is ok what you are doing, you are a good person. No one is perfect. This type of God 'feels' very comfortable to be with at any moment..
But there is a different situation when it comes to the real God who created heavens and earth. The One who is Holy and just. The real One existing, not the one created in our own mind.
We can easily create our own God if we don't come to Jesus as only He is the image of the true invisible God. Colossians 1;15
Any 'god' around, apart from coming through Jesus, is not a true God! No other gods will 'disturb' us, no other gods will 'shake' us.They can't accuse, they can't forgive, they can't do anything!
Facing the real holy God is what will change you.
Jesus said He is the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through Him. John 14;6
There is no other way around.
And what keeps so many people from coming to Jesus? Knowing He offers life, more- He offers everlasting life.He can save you from God's coming judgement and He can wipe away your quilt.
What keeps then so many of people from Jesus?
As God is holy, so is His Son and He will bring the same feeling in our hearts. He will reveal the truth about us, He will help us to see the truth about ourselves- sometimes might be a 'shocking truth', He will let us see our sinful nature.
He will let you see that' What you really think you are, you are not. What you do NOT think you are , that is the real YOU. He turns you around.
If He is the Lord , the light in the midst of our darkness, He must show us the reality.
He says " Do not commit murder; anyone who commits murder must be brought to judgement." Then I would think "Oh I don't belong to those, I never killed anyone." Good, but
He also says " Anyone who nurses anger against his brother must be brought to judgement." After these words I would actually admit, I have nothing for my defense, I am guilty as well.
The same would be true in other aspects of our life. Jesus would reveal the truth about us that we are in a deep trouble We can't carry on like that without the Savior!
The only hope is only in Him, so don't stay away. You need Christ in your life.
Before you come to Him, you might think you don't like your 'bad side' to be exposed. Jesus seems too far disturbing. He wouldn't approve my love for the money, my dishonest thoughts.So you feel more comfortable to stay away.
"Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed" John 3;20
Nobody likes to be exposed. But if you like your ' darkness' you will keep from the light and you won't see God..
That is what many people in the world choose. But for whatever reason you hide before God, you will lost in the end. Whatever you are trying to gain in this life and you live without God, you will loose in the end.
Does it pay off to live without God? Definitely not! And rejecting the Savior is the worst decision a person can make!
"For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation;
of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels." Mark 8;36-38
Our life is really short comparing with all the eternity. In that short time of our existence on earth we are to find God. Whatever decision we make now, it will decide about the place where we will spend eternity.
If you chose the life with God, you made the best decision of your life, as He is to bring you abundant life. You saved yourselves from the trouble that is facing eternal punishment.
You inherited all the God's blessings that for His children. Offer your life to Him and He will guide you. His ways are always the best. He is the living God, He will surely make a difference in your life.
"I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly" John 10;10
"Those whom He predestined He also called, and those whom He called He also justified, and those whom He justified He also glorified." Romans 8;30
"Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." Jeremiah 33;3
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We welcome any questions and comments that can be sent to study_b@rocketmail.com
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
How much do we care?
Do you know that most people who are perishing and going to hell are the ones who don't care? Those who simply don't care what will happen after they die.
Not necessary the bad ones as lots of sinners in the time of Jesus repented and came to Him for forgiveness. Also the " apparently" 'good' ones are the most 'endangered'. I say 'apparently' as they give all the impression of being good and think of themselves as good people.
Luke 18;11-14 talks about one example
"The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
The Bible says no one of us is good enough on our own, and the 'righteous' to themselves need to see they also need a Savior. The other careless group of people is the one enjoying only the present time and for whom all the worldly things seem to take over.
Happy as long as there is a good retirement plan, but what about the eternal plan of salvation ? Nobody said you will die at the age of 90 so you have time to wait, God can call you earlier at the age of 40 or 50 or any other time. It might be by surprise.
We read that those who don't know Christ will pay the price. A severe, terrible price. In referring to this price Jesus is talking in Matthew 24;38-20
"For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man."
The parable is clear. A message of judgement was proclaimed at the times of Noah as it is now. People didn't listen much at that time, people don't care much in these days. People could be saved in Noah' s ark, people can be saved in Jesus now. There came judgement of flood, next there will come the judgement of fire.
"In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power." 2 Thessalonians 1;8-9
Whoever was to hide in the wooden ark was to be saved, whoever will hide in Jesus and His cross will be saved.
If God didn't give up the judgement in Noah's generation, He is also not going to give it up at Christ's return. In both situations people had enough time to change and choose life with God Until Christ comes it is your time to get right with God. Don't put it off so you wouldn't have to be taken by surprise.
"But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment." 2 Peter 3;10
The era of Noah was a sad one. People on earth did what God said was evil, and violence was everywhere.. Gen 6;11
Such rebellion was breaking God's heart. He even regretted creating it.
Only Noah and his family responded to His call and they and the animals were saved. Whoever responds to Christ's call will be saved also.
When the door of the ark was closed and it started to rain- it was too late for anybody else. When Christ will come second time, the door will be closed as well.If you don't know Him you will pay the severe price.
You would ask, why should I know Him? Are you sure there is such a place as hell? Isn't God love? How would He sent anybody there?
His justice and holiness requires the punishment of sin.
When Christ was teaching thirteen percent of the of His teaching is about judgement and hell. More than half of His parables refer to God's eternal judgement of sinners. No one spoke of hell more than Christ did. He spoke about it so much to let you know where you don't have to go if you put your trust in Him!
He is our high priest interceding for us. You need to be forgiven to be able to avoid God's eternal punishment. And that sin- forgiveness is only from Jesus.
God is giving everybody a chance, a chance to escape the horror of eternal hell, and if you choose to ignore it, there will be no mercy after Christ return.
We all celebrate Easter, we all know what happened before Easter, we know Jesus had to go through lots of pain, cross and experience of separation from God. If God's judgement wasn't real and wasn't terrible, Christ wouldn't have to worry about saving us from that. We would die for our sin, God would resurrect us and say, " I forgive you" and that's it. If God's Son experienced the separation from God and pain, surely will those who will die without Him.
Don't choose the worldly things to captivate your minds so much and become careless person.
You might know Jesus ' dead' only on the cross and you don't know how much your life depends on Him. Get to know the real resurrected Christ who has been given all authority in heaven and on earth.
When John saw Jesus on the island of Patmos, he was amazed. John's encounter was far too different from any in Galilee. The impression was so powerful that John was knocked out cold." When I saw Him I fell in a dead faint at his feet." Rev 1;17
John describes; "He was dressed in a long robe and had a gold band around His chest.". The significance of the robe and band is great. Jesus is wearing the clothing of a priest who presents people to God and God to people. He is at the right hand of God interceding. Rom 8;34
He is the one who can wipe away your guilt. He is the one who doesn't want you to perish.
We also see absolute strength. "His feet were like bronze that glows hot in a furnace" Rev 1;15
He comes to you gentle.
"His voice like a noise of a flooding water." The sound of His voice soothes a soul.
"Coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword" Rev 1;16
The truth of His voice pierces a soul.
He knows everything about you, He knows your heart, every thought, every sin of yours and wants to wipe it away when you come to Him. "For the word of God is alive 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." Hebrew 4;12
He doesn't want you to experience judgement;
"Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life." John 5;24
He wants to give you life;John 10;10
"I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full" John 10;10
He laid His life for you;
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep" John 10;11
He is alive and He is definitely coming again;
“Look, he is coming with the clouds,
and “every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him;
and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.
So shall it be! Amen." Rev 1;7
Not necessary the bad ones as lots of sinners in the time of Jesus repented and came to Him for forgiveness. Also the " apparently" 'good' ones are the most 'endangered'. I say 'apparently' as they give all the impression of being good and think of themselves as good people.
Luke 18;11-14 talks about one example
"The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
The Bible says no one of us is good enough on our own, and the 'righteous' to themselves need to see they also need a Savior. The other careless group of people is the one enjoying only the present time and for whom all the worldly things seem to take over.
Happy as long as there is a good retirement plan, but what about the eternal plan of salvation ? Nobody said you will die at the age of 90 so you have time to wait, God can call you earlier at the age of 40 or 50 or any other time. It might be by surprise.
We read that those who don't know Christ will pay the price. A severe, terrible price. In referring to this price Jesus is talking in Matthew 24;38-20
"For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man."
The parable is clear. A message of judgement was proclaimed at the times of Noah as it is now. People didn't listen much at that time, people don't care much in these days. People could be saved in Noah' s ark, people can be saved in Jesus now. There came judgement of flood, next there will come the judgement of fire.
"In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power." 2 Thessalonians 1;8-9
Whoever was to hide in the wooden ark was to be saved, whoever will hide in Jesus and His cross will be saved.
If God didn't give up the judgement in Noah's generation, He is also not going to give it up at Christ's return. In both situations people had enough time to change and choose life with God Until Christ comes it is your time to get right with God. Don't put it off so you wouldn't have to be taken by surprise.
"But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment." 2 Peter 3;10
The era of Noah was a sad one. People on earth did what God said was evil, and violence was everywhere.. Gen 6;11
Such rebellion was breaking God's heart. He even regretted creating it.
Only Noah and his family responded to His call and they and the animals were saved. Whoever responds to Christ's call will be saved also.
When the door of the ark was closed and it started to rain- it was too late for anybody else. When Christ will come second time, the door will be closed as well.If you don't know Him you will pay the severe price.
You would ask, why should I know Him? Are you sure there is such a place as hell? Isn't God love? How would He sent anybody there?
His justice and holiness requires the punishment of sin.
When Christ was teaching thirteen percent of the of His teaching is about judgement and hell. More than half of His parables refer to God's eternal judgement of sinners. No one spoke of hell more than Christ did. He spoke about it so much to let you know where you don't have to go if you put your trust in Him!
He is our high priest interceding for us. You need to be forgiven to be able to avoid God's eternal punishment. And that sin- forgiveness is only from Jesus.
God is giving everybody a chance, a chance to escape the horror of eternal hell, and if you choose to ignore it, there will be no mercy after Christ return.
We all celebrate Easter, we all know what happened before Easter, we know Jesus had to go through lots of pain, cross and experience of separation from God. If God's judgement wasn't real and wasn't terrible, Christ wouldn't have to worry about saving us from that. We would die for our sin, God would resurrect us and say, " I forgive you" and that's it. If God's Son experienced the separation from God and pain, surely will those who will die without Him.
Don't choose the worldly things to captivate your minds so much and become careless person.
You might know Jesus ' dead' only on the cross and you don't know how much your life depends on Him. Get to know the real resurrected Christ who has been given all authority in heaven and on earth.
When John saw Jesus on the island of Patmos, he was amazed. John's encounter was far too different from any in Galilee. The impression was so powerful that John was knocked out cold." When I saw Him I fell in a dead faint at his feet." Rev 1;17
John describes; "He was dressed in a long robe and had a gold band around His chest.". The significance of the robe and band is great. Jesus is wearing the clothing of a priest who presents people to God and God to people. He is at the right hand of God interceding. Rom 8;34
He is the one who can wipe away your guilt. He is the one who doesn't want you to perish.
We also see absolute strength. "His feet were like bronze that glows hot in a furnace" Rev 1;15
He comes to you gentle.
"His voice like a noise of a flooding water." The sound of His voice soothes a soul.
"Coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword" Rev 1;16
The truth of His voice pierces a soul.
He knows everything about you, He knows your heart, every thought, every sin of yours and wants to wipe it away when you come to Him. "For the word of God is alive 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." Hebrew 4;12
He doesn't want you to experience judgement;
"Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life." John 5;24
He wants to give you life;John 10;10
"I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full" John 10;10
He laid His life for you;
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep" John 10;11
He is alive and He is definitely coming again;
“Look, he is coming with the clouds,
and “every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him;
and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.
So shall it be! Amen." Rev 1;7
Saturday, March 16, 2013
The Kingdom of Heaven
There are so many books that are coming out about heaven and peoples' experiences ' while they died for a short time' and these books attract the most attention and sell the most. Recently a friend of mine gave me her old Kindle. There were so many of those books there with different titles; "5 minutes in heaven" ,
"2 minutes beyond the body", and many many more of that type. As I listened to some of them one thing struck me the most. People are talking about their experience while seeing heaven , seeing all their relatives but not seeing God, not seeing Jesus. What kind of hope these books give to you? I wondered. Knowing that heaven is for real should be our hope? Of course there are so many people who are looking for any sign of life beyond the grave and these books might give some evidence -yes- there is a sign, somebody experienced death and saw heaven. Personal experience , but how much of it is true? Don't satisfy your faith by only believing in heaven. The Bible tells us clearly such place exists, there is no secret, Jesus Himself talked about it many times; " my Father in heaven",
"(...) there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents (...) Luke 15;7
"But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” Act 7;55-56
These are just a few examples of reading in the Bible that there is a place called heaven. The thing is we should be more concerned about whether we are on the way to it or not!
Just believing in heaven doesn't make a person saved, knowing how the place looks like doesn't either.
Jesus said “The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone forces his way into it."
Luke 16;16
He also says; "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven."
Matthew 7;21
We read here about two important things; " everyone forces his way into it" and that " not everyone who says Lord, Lord will enter it.
Our concerns should be whether we are doing the will of the Father who is in heaven. Some people weren't sure what does it mean and asked Jesus;
" Therefore they said to Him, What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God? Jesus answered and said to them, This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”
John 6;28-29
If you already heard what the Bible talks about salvation, how to be saved you will see it is all in agreement with the verse above; "believing in Him whom He ( Father) sent" which is believing in His Son Jesus Christ.
He said in many ways how we should respond to Him; "come to me" " repent",
"Truly, truly, I say unto you, He that believes on me has everlasting life." John 6;47
"You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life." John 5;39-40
He is a point. Without coming to Jesus we can't have everlasting life, we can't get to heaven.
When we come to Him, then we will understand how much He did for us, we will understand the significance of the cross and His blood shed for our sin. That will open the way.
Heaven is for people who came to Jesus, who responded to His call.
Jesus said to those who believe in Him
" And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." John 14;3
He doesn't say this to the whole world, to people who go to church or trying to work their way to heaven by good deeds. No such thing.
The verse 1 of John 14 says " Believe in God, believe also in Me". You have to be a believer in Jesus. You have to know the way to heaven . And the way is Jesus.
"You know the way to the place where I am going.” He said;.
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14;6
One day Jesus told people a parable about the Kingdom of Heaven.The end of that story is really interesting.
"The Kingdom of heaven is like a King who arranged a wedding for his son..."
The king prepares the banquet He wants us to be His guests He sends out an invitation and with that invitation he provides the proper wedding clothes. Then the wedding day comes. The guests arrive . There the man enters who is not properly dressed. He is asked why he is dressed like that.? Did he not get an invitation? Yes, he received an invitation, in fact " I was asked to come so I came". Why then did he not put on the proper wedding clothes? Did he not receive the clothes with the invitation? Yes, he received the clothes but but was it really necessary for him to wear them? Was` it not far more important that he was here and had accepted the invitation? After all, the King did invite him.
Then just the King arrives. And that is what they have all been waiting for, to see the king. A silence falls over the assembly. The king spots the man not properly dressed.
" How did you come in here?" he asked " Without being properly dressed for the wedding? The man stumbles about for words , but can find none.
" Tie him up and throw him into darkness outside. There will be weeping and gnashing teeth"
The end for that person is really terrifying
.
You can not play with God's invitation. You can not come shamelessly with your sins on you. You need to humble yourself. Your sins have to be ashed away, so your clothes are white. That can only happen if you come to Jesus and receive His forgiveness. Somebody said " You can not play a little game with the grace of God." You either received it or not. You might know a lot about heaven, read lots of books, forced your way into it, but the question of the King will stop you. " How did you come in here?" " Where are your clean clothes?" You might be disappointed about heaven if you newer knew Jesus.
The King of the universe invites you.
The Kingdom of Heaven is for those who" have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb."
Thursday, March 7, 2013
The living Jesus
I remember first time somebody told me about Jesus and salvation. I thought my friend was really 'religious'. Just because I had never heard before anybody talking about Jesus so much I thought the person must have been super 'religious'.
I also recall her explanation to me about the difference between trusting in God and religion. At that time I had no clue what she was talking about as it seemed that both topics were pointing to one. Before I really got to know Jesus, believing in God seemed a religion.What made the difference is when I finally put my trust in Him and accepted Him as my Lord and Savior.
He just answered my prayer after I cast all my burden upon Him saying that I didn't have peace in my heart and I wanted to be sure I was saved and that I was following His call. Then the peace came into my heart about which I also read in the Bible;
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. It is not as the world gives that I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, and do not let it be afraid.”
John 14;27
I realized Jesus was true and living.
Then I knew what my friend was talking about. There is a big difference between knowing the true God and religion. Religion is only holing on to man -made regulations or holding on to different man made -rituals, doing different things to impress an unknown God, aiming to your salvation on your own. Religion is for those who want to be religious but Jesus offers life! No rituals to hold on to.Salvation is free.
You are not saved by offering any animal sacrifice to God, you are not saved by fasting or reading the Bible constantly, you are not saved by going to the church or because your parents baptized you as an infant and put a name " Christian" in your documents so you belong somewhere. Jesus doesn't call us to a new 'religion' but to life. He never mentioned a word 'religion' about trusting in Him.
You would say everybody has life so what is the difference? What did Jesus mean by life?
What we think about life -is what relates to out earthly temporary existence. Life in which God has no authority over us. " Let us eat and drink for tomorrow we might die." Death will destroy everything, it is the end. So let's have as much fun now as possible before that end comes. That is how many understand 'life"
"But if there is nothing more to life than that, no meaning, no purpose, no knowledge of God, no Christ, how pathetic life becomes." somebody already said.
We are more than just the bodies, we are also souls Surely life is more than food!
There are many religions but only one person through whom we are saved- Jesus Christ. Only one man who died and rose again- Jesus. Only one person with the given authority over death and life- Jesus. Only one person that can give you peace and meaning in your life- Jesus. Only one person who demonstrated power over the rules of the nature- Jesus.
People throughout the centuries weren't dying for a lie.They weren't dying for an uncertain fact. They were dying for their faith, that they couldn't deny as they experienced real presence of Jesus in their lives. "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;
And The Life was revealed and we perceived and we testify and we proclaim to you the Life Eternal, that which was with The Father and was revealed to us."
1John 1-2
If Christ didn't rose from the dead, if nobody experienced any changing power that gives hope and new life - Christianity would be built on a lie.
If there had been no resurrection, the Christian church would never have come into being.There would be no meaning to life whatsoever. Even the Bible says;
"If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable." 1 Corinthians15;19
There is a true hope beyond the earthly life.First of all there is no fear. Death is no longer the end and time is no longer the enemy. When you know Christ you know life is forever. The purpose of it Jesus stated in His prayer;
"And this is life eternal, that they might know You the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent." John 17;3
Life is yours for taking. You take it by faith in the living Christ. You can't believe in a dead Christ. Only the living Lord can save you. Eternal life - "now and forever." It is offered freely, but how many of us take it seriously?
We care about things like our house to be paid off in 20- 30 years,about our life insurance, but what about eternal insurance in Jesus? We think about our little kids going to college in 20 years, but what about us in 40, 50, 60, 70 years from now? At some point we will face God and eternity. For some it will come sooner, for some later. Eternity either with God, or apart from God in a darkness..
Life without Christ is actually very scary! Very uncertain. You want to hold on to it as much as possible, preserve it with all possible means but no matter how much you try, you won't be able to keep it forever. There is a story in the Bible.
Jesus talked to people who came to Him complaining about ' innocent' people killed in an accident;
"Those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no!
But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” Luke 13;4-5
Without a Savior the future is very uncertain, life very fragile.
Forgiveness and life is offered now. Don't wait, don't put it off before it is too late.
No teacher has ever said anything like that " All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth". Have we ever thought about that?
What does it really mean? All power is His as He is the risen Lord. Because He is the risen Lord, He is the Savior of the world. He said " I am the resurrection and the life"
Do we forget why we celebrate Easter? Put the eggs, and the bunnies aside, it is celebrating victory over death! He is risen, He is alive! Death could not hold Him. He is victor. He is the resurrection. He is triumphant over death.
" I am alive forevermore...and have the keys of hell and death." Revelation 1;18
Remember the knowledge about Jesus doesn't save you. You might know all details about His life and still be missing the life He is offering. Christ is life and gives life to those who take it, but we must want it. We must mean it. This is no gift for which you say ' thank you' and put it away in a closet. Salvation was purchased for you by a very high price, it cost God's Son to shed His blood.
Jesus comes to us when we really mean it. Then we can experience a new transformed life, full of hope with the living Lord.
Then we can say; He is REAL!
I also recall her explanation to me about the difference between trusting in God and religion. At that time I had no clue what she was talking about as it seemed that both topics were pointing to one. Before I really got to know Jesus, believing in God seemed a religion.What made the difference is when I finally put my trust in Him and accepted Him as my Lord and Savior.
He just answered my prayer after I cast all my burden upon Him saying that I didn't have peace in my heart and I wanted to be sure I was saved and that I was following His call. Then the peace came into my heart about which I also read in the Bible;
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. It is not as the world gives that I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, and do not let it be afraid.”
John 14;27
I realized Jesus was true and living.
Then I knew what my friend was talking about. There is a big difference between knowing the true God and religion. Religion is only holing on to man -made regulations or holding on to different man made -rituals, doing different things to impress an unknown God, aiming to your salvation on your own. Religion is for those who want to be religious but Jesus offers life! No rituals to hold on to.Salvation is free.
You are not saved by offering any animal sacrifice to God, you are not saved by fasting or reading the Bible constantly, you are not saved by going to the church or because your parents baptized you as an infant and put a name " Christian" in your documents so you belong somewhere. Jesus doesn't call us to a new 'religion' but to life. He never mentioned a word 'religion' about trusting in Him.
You would say everybody has life so what is the difference? What did Jesus mean by life?
What we think about life -is what relates to out earthly temporary existence. Life in which God has no authority over us. " Let us eat and drink for tomorrow we might die." Death will destroy everything, it is the end. So let's have as much fun now as possible before that end comes. That is how many understand 'life"
"But if there is nothing more to life than that, no meaning, no purpose, no knowledge of God, no Christ, how pathetic life becomes." somebody already said.
We are more than just the bodies, we are also souls Surely life is more than food!
There are many religions but only one person through whom we are saved- Jesus Christ. Only one man who died and rose again- Jesus. Only one person with the given authority over death and life- Jesus. Only one person that can give you peace and meaning in your life- Jesus. Only one person who demonstrated power over the rules of the nature- Jesus.
People throughout the centuries weren't dying for a lie.They weren't dying for an uncertain fact. They were dying for their faith, that they couldn't deny as they experienced real presence of Jesus in their lives. "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;
And The Life was revealed and we perceived and we testify and we proclaim to you the Life Eternal, that which was with The Father and was revealed to us."
1John 1-2
If Christ didn't rose from the dead, if nobody experienced any changing power that gives hope and new life - Christianity would be built on a lie.
If there had been no resurrection, the Christian church would never have come into being.There would be no meaning to life whatsoever. Even the Bible says;
"If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable." 1 Corinthians15;19
There is a true hope beyond the earthly life.First of all there is no fear. Death is no longer the end and time is no longer the enemy. When you know Christ you know life is forever. The purpose of it Jesus stated in His prayer;
"And this is life eternal, that they might know You the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent." John 17;3
Life is yours for taking. You take it by faith in the living Christ. You can't believe in a dead Christ. Only the living Lord can save you. Eternal life - "now and forever." It is offered freely, but how many of us take it seriously?
We care about things like our house to be paid off in 20- 30 years,about our life insurance, but what about eternal insurance in Jesus? We think about our little kids going to college in 20 years, but what about us in 40, 50, 60, 70 years from now? At some point we will face God and eternity. For some it will come sooner, for some later. Eternity either with God, or apart from God in a darkness..
Life without Christ is actually very scary! Very uncertain. You want to hold on to it as much as possible, preserve it with all possible means but no matter how much you try, you won't be able to keep it forever. There is a story in the Bible.
Jesus talked to people who came to Him complaining about ' innocent' people killed in an accident;
"Those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no!
But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” Luke 13;4-5
Without a Savior the future is very uncertain, life very fragile.
Forgiveness and life is offered now. Don't wait, don't put it off before it is too late.
No teacher has ever said anything like that " All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth". Have we ever thought about that?
What does it really mean? All power is His as He is the risen Lord. Because He is the risen Lord, He is the Savior of the world. He said " I am the resurrection and the life"
Do we forget why we celebrate Easter? Put the eggs, and the bunnies aside, it is celebrating victory over death! He is risen, He is alive! Death could not hold Him. He is victor. He is the resurrection. He is triumphant over death.
" I am alive forevermore...and have the keys of hell and death." Revelation 1;18
Remember the knowledge about Jesus doesn't save you. You might know all details about His life and still be missing the life He is offering. Christ is life and gives life to those who take it, but we must want it. We must mean it. This is no gift for which you say ' thank you' and put it away in a closet. Salvation was purchased for you by a very high price, it cost God's Son to shed His blood.
Jesus comes to us when we really mean it. Then we can experience a new transformed life, full of hope with the living Lord.
Then we can say; He is REAL!
Friday, March 1, 2013
The voice of God
God comes so quietly to Abraham and promises him a son. God makes Himself known to Elijah by a still small voice He calls young Samuel late night in the quietness. He also says " Be still and know that I am God".
He calls no attention to Himself . There is no voice blaring from heaven over a huge loudspeaker. God sends a message to a teenage girl that she will have a baby and that she will name him Jesus. The Savior is born and then his ministry is in small forgotten country in the small corner next to a Roman empire. He has time for women and children and lays his hands on miserable people who live in dirty places. He is telling us that the Kingdom of God is like a hidden treasure. He who wants God will have to desire to find Him. Jesus does not come marching down the streets with bands playing, flying flags, dressed in the king's clothes, waving to a jubilant crowd. He does not come marching in the front of legions of angels to impress us with His strength.
He rebukes the evil spirits who recognized Him as the Holy One of God and tells them to be quiet. He is not showing off. Jesus never tries to impress anyone with Himself.
He has lots of power people never had seen before, He heals every sickness, raises the dead ones to life, orders the storm and wind to calm down, comes in God's authority to forgive sin. He is somebody. He is the king. He knows the truth. If anyone was to brag about himself , He should be the first one to have the right to, yet He does not blow a trumpet before Him.
Even His brothers said "Leave here and go to Judea, where your followers can see your miracles! You can’t become famous if you hide like this! If you can do such wonderful things, show yourself to the world!" John 7; 3-4
Why is He so humble ? As a King He had a right to enter Jerusalem on a horse, but no... He rides a donkey. He doesn't choose influential theologians but very simple people to be His apostles. He is not a nationalistic deliverer. Not the one how most Jews imagined. He is not throwing lightnings to show His power. He is not going to enforce His rule over anybody. His message is righteousness and peace. Why is He not coming to demonstrate His power like many expected of the Messiah?
Then we would only admire Him for His power and we would admire Him in a crowd. As`somebody already said" We would only wave to Him. We could never get close to Him. But the thing we need is to be recognized." Not to have a Savior to admire from the distance but to get close to Him and have a personal relationship with Him. Otherwise we would be lost in the crowd. Religious people whose life was only their 'religion' but not close relationship with God wanted Him to show powerful signs in order to believe Him that He is the Messiah. Jesus refused. That was not the way.
He said " Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls." Matthew 11;29
You have to humble yourself to come to God. He is opposing the pride. He doesn't want to impress you with miracles but wants your faith!
He doesn't want you just to watch Him in the crowd but to be close to Him. He wants to be your personal Savior!
He shows utter humility at the end of His life. He takes the cross to die on. " He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter."
He doesn't protest when Roman soldiers come after Him, He doesn't try to run away or deliver Himself from the cross. He hears the others saying;
"You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!" Matthew 27;40
He does not open his mouth. We would think it is a weakness. Jesus does not submit because He has no other way out.
" Don't you realize that I could appeal to my Father and He would at once send Me more than twelve legions of angels to defend Me?"
He also said about his life; "No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down on My own. I have the right to lay it down, and I have the right to take it up again."
John 10;18
Somebody said " He dies to save the world that does not want to be saved. He forgives sins and yet a few want to be forgiven. He brings a peace that continually will be abused."
The world still doesn't care much what happened on the cross and doesn't feel the need to be forgiven. We tend to rely on ourselves. But if we could save ourselves the cross would not be needed. Jesus wouldn't have to come to deliver us.
We say, we have no time for Jesus, we have our own business. We forget He is the author of life. You are not living out of your own power- even if it seems so to you. Your life is in God's hands.
God gave all the judgement all to His Son. And His Son could say "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth" Matthew 28;18
Jesus is the One who will call your name either to everlasting life with Him or to pitiful judgement and death.
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live." John 5;25
v.28 "Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice "
If you ever wondered how you could hear God and make your life right with Him, come to the cross. " God's forgiveness is a very costly gift. A gift which cost Him unimaginable pain and anguish a gift which cost Jesus unbearable suffering and death." He gave Himself for you!
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