Recognizing God’s voice through the Bible

Being able to recognize how God speak is a crucial thing for every human to know. There are a number of ways in which God speaks.

The most important and only infallible way that God speaks to people is through the Holy bible. Even though the writers of the Bible were not infallible, the inspired words and teaching of the Bible, the Holy Scriptures, are.

The Bible to the Christian is the Word of God. It is God communicating His thoughts to you through the printed page. If you wish to know what God thinks about anything, seek the answer in the words of the Holy Scriptures.

The Bible is God’s revelation of Himself through the writings of the Prophets, Apostles and other writers of the Old and New Testaments.

Jesus and the Apostles never relied on the teachings of theologians or philosophers or the religious experiences of other persons as the authority and basis of their teachings.

It is clear in the New Testament that Jesus and the Apostles constantly quoted the Old Testament Scriptures as their source of authority and teaching.

In the Gospels and the Book of Acts and see how many times Jesus and the Apostles quote the Old Testament Scriptures. The Apostles also regarded every word of Jesus as later recorded in the New Testament as being the Word of God.

Graham Fitzpatrick, How to Recognize God’s Voice (NSW Australia: Spiritual Growth Books, 1985), p 7-8.

Discipleship according to Mark: a summary

Mark’s story of Jesus is vitally concerned with discipleship. There is ample sayings material in which Jesus instructs and inspires the Twelve and subsequent disciples. Jesus’ disciples, especially the Twelve, are memorably presented in a complex role as representing the calling and equipping of Jesus’ followers for discipleship, and as demonstrating the difficulties and failures to which disciples are subject.

Mark also boldly and dramatically counter poses the shortcomings and failures of the Twelve to Jesus’ exemplary behavior in order to portray the demands of discipleship, with Jesus himself as the object and paradigm of discipleship. Jesus’ authoritative promise of the restoration of the Twelve to fellowship after their shameful collapse makes Jesus’ calling the sole basis of the Christian life and offers paradigmatic hope to subsequent disciples who may fail their Master.

Finally, embedded within Mark’s explicit narrative are pointers and invitations ot participate in a continuation of the narrative in the pos-Easter fellowship of Christian disciples, who, like the Twelve, are summoned to mission, witness, servant dedication and faithfulness empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Source:

Larry W,Hurtado, “Following Jesus in the Gospel of Mark and Beyond,” in Patterns of Discipleship in the New Testament, ed. Richard N.Longenecker (Grand Rapid Michigan: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1996), p 27-28

Is there any archaeological evidence that disapprove the resurrection of Christ?

In his documentary The Lost Tomb of Jesus, Simcha Jacobovici claims archaeological evidence that disproves the resurrection of Christ. He says that the words “Jesus son of Joseph” found on a burial container near Jerusalem refer to Jesus of Nazareth. He also claims to have identified Jesus’ DNA.

How valid are these conclusions? The Israel Antiquities Authority calls them “nonsense.” Other secular and religious scholars agree. Jesus and Joseph were common names in first century Judea. And Jacobovici needs DNA samples from Jesus to compare with the bones in the tomb. Obviously, that’s imposible!

But there are strong arguments in favor of Jesus’ resurrection. Most compelling is the fact that every disciple except John died a martyr’s death. Central to their message was Jesus’ resurrection. If Christ had not been raised from the dead why did the disciples choose to die rather than deny it?

Assaults on our faith and on the Scriptures come and go. Don’t be shaken by these baseless attacks. Two thousand years ago, the disciples were eyewitnesses to the real tomb of Jesus. The angels told them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen!” (Luke 24:5-6)

Dennis Fisher from RBC.

Jesus Christ: The Unchanging God

Who made God? You’ve heard the question, probably from the lips of a child, or for that matter, from the lips of a skeptic who wanted to argue that believing the universe is eternal is just as rational as believing that God is eternal. If we don’t know where God came from, the argument goes then we don’t have to know where the universe came from.

Of course there is a difference; the universe does not have within itself the cause of its own existence, for He is, as theologians say, “the uncaused cause.” We can’t get our minds around the concept of an uncaused being, but both the Bible and logic teach if there were no “uncaused being,” nothing would ever have existed, for out of nothing, nothing can arise.

Scripture tells us, “Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God” (Psalm 90:2). From eternity past to eternity future, God exists, and as we shall se, He does not change.

God’s Nature Does Not Change

God cannot grow older; he does not gain new powers nor lose ones He once had. He does not grow wiser, for He already knows all things. He does not become stronger; He already is omnipotent, powerful to an infinite degree. “He cannot change for the better,” wrote A.W. Pink, “for he is already perfect; and being perfect, he cannot change for the worse.” “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows” (James 1:17)

God’s Truth Does Not Change

Sometimes we say things we do not mean, or we make promises we can not keep. Unforeseen circumstances make our words worthless. Not so with God: “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our Gods stand forever” (Isa 40:8)

David agreed when he wrote, “Your word, O Lord is eternal; it stand firm in the heavens … Long ago I learned from your statures that you established them to last forever” (Ps 119:89, 152). God never has to revise His opinions or update His plans. He never has had to revamp His schedule.

Yes, there are a few passages of Scripture that speak of God as regretting a decision and changing His mind (Gen 6:6-7; 1 Sam 15). In these passages Scripture shows God changing His response to people because of their behavior, but there was no reason to think that this reaction was either unforeseen or not a part of His eternal plan. As J.I Packer put it, “No change in His eternal purpose is implied when He begins to deal with a man in a new way.”

God’s standards do not Change

The Ten Commandments are not just an arbitrary list of rules; they are a reflection of the character of God and the world that He chose to create. We should not bear false witness because God and the world that He chose to create. We should not bear false witness because God is a God of truth; we should not commit adultery because the Creator established the integrity of the family. “Be holy, because I am Holy” is a command in both Testaments (Lev 11:44; 1 Pet 1:16). God intended that the commandments hold His standard before us. “Love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will bo sons of the most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.” (Luke 6:35). The command to love the unlovable is rooted in the very character of God.

God’s attributes are uniquely balance. He combines compassion with a commitment to strict justice, describing Himself as “the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation” (Exodus 34:6-7)

Though we die, nothing in God dies; He unites the past and the future. The God who called Abraham form Ur of the Chaldees called me into the ministry. The Christ who appeared to Paul en route to Damascus saved me. The Holy Spirit who visited the early church with great blessing and power indwells those of us who have received salvation from Christ. The Bible could not state it more clearly; God has not changed and will not change in the future. The prophet Malachi recorded it in six words: “I the Lord do not change” (Mal 3:6).

“Jesus Christ; the same yesterday, today and forever” (Hebrew 13:8).

The way to happiness: your true wealth in Jesus

Wall Street Journal columnist Jonathan Clements offered his readers “Nine Tips for Investing in Happiness.” Interestingly, one of his suggestions was precisely the same as that given in the favorite old hymns by Johnson C.Oatman, “Count Your Many Blessings.” Clements urges us not to brood over the riches of our neighbors but to focus on the many blessings we actually do possess. That’s wise counsel, provided that we realize our spiritual wealth in Jesus is immeasurably more valuable than any material possessions.

God didn’t give us the Bible as a guidebook for happiness. Yet it tells us how we can be eternally joyful and how we can experience joy on our way to that eternal happiness. So it’s enlightening to compare biblical truth with commonsense advice.

“Godliness with contentment is great gain,” Paul wrote to Timothy (1 Tim 6:6). The apostle wanted his protégé to understand that being grateful for the basics of life would help keep him from the trap of covetousness.

So let’s focus on the wonders of God’s grace, training ourselves to make a spirit of gratitude pervade our lives. That’s the way to experience joy today and to be forever joyful.

From

Vermon Grounds

Jesus cries with you

In C.S Lewis’ story The Magician’s Nephew, Digory recalled his terminally ill mother and how his hopes were all dying away. With a lump in his throat and tears in his eyes, he blurted out to Aslan, the great lion who represents Christ, “Please, please won’t you … can’t you give me something that will cure Mother?”

Then in his despair, Digory looked up at Aslan’s face. “Great shining tears stood in the Lion’s eyes. They were such big, bright tears compared with Digory’s own that for a moment he felt as if the Lion must really be sorrier about his Mother than he was himself. “My son, my son,” said Aslan. “I know. Grief is great. Only you and I in this land know that yet. Let us be good to one another.”

Jesus also wept, at Lazarus’s grave. He wept for Lazarus as well as for Mary and Martha and their grief. Later, Jesus wept over Jerusalem. And He knows and shares our grief today. But as He promised, we will see Him again in the place He’s preparing for us (John 14:3). In heaven, our grief will end. “God will wipe away every tear from our eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying” (Revelation 21:4)

Until then, know that Jesus Christ weeps with you.

From:

David Roper

How can Genesis 1 be reconciled with theistic evolution?

In dealing with this question, we must carefully define our terms, for “evolution” is used in various senses by various people. We must distinguish between evolution as a philosophy and evolution as a descriptive mechanism for the development of species from the more primitive to the higher or more complex stages in the course of geological history. Furthermore, we must establish what is meant by theistic evolution. Then we will be in a better position to deal with its relationship to the creationism of Genesis 1.

Evolution as a Philosophy

Evolution as a philosophy seeks to explain the physical and especially the biological universe as a self directed development from primeval matter, the origin of which is unknown but which may be regarded as eternally existing without ever having had a beginning. Philosophical evolution rules out any direction or intervention by a personal God and casts doubt on the existence of even an impersonal Higher Power. All reality is governed by unchangeable physical laws, and ultimately it is the product of mere chance. There is no reason for existence or a real purpose for life. Man has to operate as an end in him self. He is his own ultimate lawgiver and has no moral accountability except to human society. The basis of law and ethics is basically utilitarian that which produces the greatest good for the greatest number.

Not all these positions were advance by Charles Darwin himself in his 1859 classing The Origin of Species. And yet the consistent atheism of philosophic evolution was a position he would not espouse, for he believed that a creating God was logically necessary to explain the prior existence of the original primordial ooze out of which the earliest forms of life emerged. It would be more accurate to call him a deist rather than an atheist, even though his system was taken over by those who denied the existence of God.

But it should be pointed out that consistent atheism, which represents itself to be the most rational and logical of all approaches to reality, is in actuality completely self defeating and incapable of logical defense. That is to say, if indeed all matter has combined by mere chance, unguided by any Higher Power of Transcendental Intelligence, then it necessarily follows that the molecules of the human brain are also the product of mere chance. In other words, we think the way we do simply because the atoms and molecules of our brain tissue happen to have combined in the way they have, totally without transcendental guidance or control. So then even the philosophies of men, their system of logic and all their approaches to reality are the result of mere fortuity. There is no absolute validity to any argument advanced by the atheist against the position of theism.

On the basis of his won presuppositions, the atheist completely cancels himself out, for on his own premises his arguments are without any absolute validity. By his own confession he thinks the way he does simply because the atoms in his brain happen to combine the way they do. If this is so, he cannot honestly say that his view is any more valid than the contrary view of his opponent. His basic postulates are self contradictory and self defeating; for when he asserts that there are no absolutes, he thereby is asserting a very dogmatic absolute. Nor can he logically disprove the existence of God without resorting to a logic that depends on the existence of God for its validity. Apart from such a transcendent guarantor of the validity of logic, any attempts at logic or argumentation are simply manifestations of the behavior of the collocation of molecules that make up the thinker’s brain.

From

Gleason L.Archer Jr., New International Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties (Grand Rapids Michigan: Zondervan, 1982), p 55-56.

Salvation is a complex notion

According to Alister E.McGrath, salvation is really a complex notion, because it does not necessarily have any specifically Christian reference. The term can be used in a thoroughly secular manner. For example, it was common for Soviet writers, especially during the late 1920s, to speak of Lenis as the savior of the Soviet peoples.

Salvation can be a purely secular notion, concerned with political emancipation or the general human quest for liberation. Even at the religious level, salvation is not a specifically Christian idea.

Many – but not all – of the world’s religions have concepts of salvation. They differ enormously, in relation to both their understanding of how that salvation is achieved, and the shape or form which it is understood to take. One of the most difficult tasks facing those in the past who, in the tradition of the Enlightenment, wished to argue that “all religions were basically the same” has been to show that there is an underlying unity amongst the religions, despite all their obvious differences in relation to these two questions. It is generally thought that this quest has failed, on account of the astonishing variety of the phenomena in question.

If the term salvation is understood to mean some benefit conferred upon of achieved by members of a community, whether individually or corporately,” all religions offer “salvation.” However, this is such a general statement that it is devoid of significant theological value: All religions – along with political theories such as Marxism and psychotherapeutic schools such as Rogerian therapy – may legitimately be styled “salvific,” in that they offer something to those who accept them. Yet it does not follow that all religions can be said to offer the same salvation. Respect for the integrity of the world’s religions demands that the distinctive shape of a religion’s understanding of salvation (including its basis, its mode of conveyance and appropriation, and its inherent nature) must be respected. It is therefore important to note the distinctive character of each religion in relation to the salvation which is offered.

Buddhism offers one style of salvation, just as Christianity offers another. These differences reflect the simple fact that Christianity is not Buddhism. It is essential to respect and honor differences here, and resist the ever-present temptation to force them all into the same mold.

Christianity is, therefore, not in any sense distinctive or unique in attaching importance to the idea of salvation. The distinctiveness of the Christian approach to salvation lies in two distinct area; In the first place, salvation is understood to be grounded in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ; in the second, the specific shape of salvation, within the Christian tradition, is itself formed by Christ. These ideas are complex, and require further exploration before we can proceed.

The hunger of God

One day a man was a little boy drawing a picture on a sheet of paper.

“What are you drawing?” the man asked curiously

“I’m drawing a picture of God,” Replied the little boy

“Nobody knows what God looks like, how could you draw a picture of Him?” demand the man.

“You will know when I’m finished,” in confident the boy answered him.

This little conversation is picturing the hunger of us all about getting to know God. What does He look like? Can we really draw our own portrait of Him?

Throughout the ages, some of the greatest minds have believed that humankind could experience something more only by finding God.

Blaise Pascal for example, he is a philosopher who added his voice to those who knew that only God can satisfy the human heart. He said that man tries ineffectually to fill the empty void of his soul by his surroundings. Man vainly searches, but finds nothing to help him, other than to see an infinite abyss that can only be filled by One who is Infinite and immutable. Man, in other words, can only be billed by God himself.

Centuries earlier, Augustine had said to God, “The though of you stirs him so deeply that he cannot be content unless he praises you, because you made us for yourself and our hearts find no peace until they rest in you. Obviously, Augustine wrote that from his experience. As a result of the prayers of his mother and the reading of Scripture, Augustine, an immoral hardened sinner, was soundly converted. And he discovered in God the answer for the restlessness within.

The Psalms give us the most eloquent description of this thirst of human soul. “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.” (Ps 42:1).

Mankind through the centuries has always sought God. However, in this pluralistic age, we must also ask, which God shall we seek? Where shall we find Him? And how shall we know that we have found Him?

Six important theologians

There are six important theologians who helped us understand Jesus’ teaching. They are:

Justin Martyr (100 – 165 AD)

He is the greatest Christian writers of the second century who were concerned to defend Christianity in the face of intense criticism from pagan sources. In his “First Apology” Justin argued that traces of Christian truth were to be found in the great pagan writers. His doctrine of the logos spermatikos (seed-bearing word) allowed him to affirm that God had prepared the way for his final revelation in Christ through hints of its truth in classical philosophy. Justin provides us with an important early example of a theologian who attempts to relate the gospel to the outlook of Greek philosophy, a trend especially associated with the Eastern Church.

Iranaeus of Lyons (130-200 AD)

This man is believed to have been born in Smyrna, modern-day Turkey, although he subsequently settled in Rome. He became Bishop of Lyons around 178, a position which he held until his death two decades later. Iranaeus is noted especially for his vigorous defense of Christian orthodoxy in the face of a challenge from Gnosticism. Iranaeus’ most significant work, “Against the Heresies” represents a major defense of the Christian understanding of salvation, and especially of the role of tradition in remaining faithful to the apostolic witness in the face of non Christian interpretations.

Origen (185-254 AD)

One of the most important defenders of Christianity in the third century, Origen provided an important foundation for the development of eastern Christian thought. His major contributions to development of Christian theology can be seen in tow general areas. In the field of Christology, Origen established a tradition of distinguishing between the full divinity of the Father, and a lesser divinity of the Son. Some scholars see Arianism as a natural consequence of this approach. Origen also adopted with some enthusiasm the idea of apocatastasis, according to which every creature including both humanity and Satan will be saved.

Tertullian (160 – 225 AD)

Tertullian was originally a pagan from the North African city of Carthage, who converted to Christianity in his thirties. He is often regarded as a father of Latin theology, on account of the major impact which he had upon the western church. He defended the unity of the Old and New Testaments against Marcion, who had argued that they related to different gods. In doing so, he laid the foundations for a doctrine of the Trinity. Tertullian was strongly opposed to making Christian theology or apologetics dependent upon extra scriptural sources. He is amongst the most forceful early exponents of the principle of the sufficiency of Scripture, denouncing those who appeal to secular philosophies for a true knowledge of God.

Athanasius (296 - 373 AD)

Athanasius’ significance relates primarily to Christological issues, which became of major importance during the fourth century. Possible while still in his twenties, Athanasius wrote the treatise “On the incarnation,” a powerful defense of the idea that God assumed human nature in the person of Jesus Christ. Athanasius pointed out that if Christ was not fully God, a series of devastating implication followed. First, it was impossible for God to redeem humanity, as no creature could redeem another creature. And second, it followed that the Christian church was guilty of idolatry, as Christians regularly worshipped and prayed to Christ.

Augustine of Hippo (354 – 430 AD)

Augustine is probably the greatest and most influential mind of the Christian church throughout its long history. Attracted to the Christian faith by the preaching of Bishop Ambrose of Milan, Augustine underwent a dramatic conversion experience. Having reached the age of 32 without satisfying his burning wish to know the truth, Augustine was agonizing over the great questions of human nature and destiny in a garden in Milan. He heard some children singing “take up and read” nearby. Feeling that this was divine guidance, he found the New Testament document nearest to hand Paul’s letter to the Romans, as it happened. This was the final straw for Augustine, whose paganism ha become increasingly difficult to maintain. As he later recalled, “a light of certainty entered my heart, and every shadow of doubt vanished.” From that moment onward, Augustine dedicated his enormous intellectual abilities to the defense and consolidation of the Christian faith, writing in a style which was both passionate and intelligent, appealing to both heart and mind.

Source: Alister E.McGrath, Christian Theology: An Introduction, p 10-13.

God and Natural Disaster

Earthquake in California, tidal wave in Aceh, cyclone in Myanmar and many more of natural disaster happened in our planet and in our time. “Where is God when all this is happening?” we cry. Sometimes we are tempted to know about what God would have in mind about all of this suffering. We even want to know about His involvement in our natural world. “Did He have anything to do with natural disaster?”

The Scripture has told us about this fallen world we are living in. In Genesis 3:17-18, God told Adam, “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you and you will eat the plants of the field.” God would not allow sinful man to continue to live in a sinless paradise.

It is obvious, when God cursed man for his sin, He also cursed nature. Therefore the nature has its good side as well as its dark side, just like we are. Tidal waves, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes and floods are just the result of that curse. And just like we are, the nature too awaits our redemption so that it can be redeemed along with us.

With the inspiration from the Holy Spirit, Apostle Paul has stated: “The creation waits in eager expectation for the son of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.” (Rom 8:19-21)

God has not removed Himself from the nature. We must distinguish between the immediate cause of these events and their ultimate cause. The immediate cause of a tornado is the huge different of temperature patterns but the ultimate cause of it is God.

God rules nature directly or through secondary causes, but either way, He is in charge of everything in our nature. He is the Creator, the sustainer of all things. There are three things we must bear in mind about the relation between God and nature.

First, God who permits natural disasters to happen could choose not to permit them to happen. In the very act of allowing them, He demonstrates that they fall within the boundaries of His providence and will. In the story of Job, Satan brought about the natural calamities of lightning and wind. But he could do this only when God signed off on it; he did it because God permitted it.

Second, the Scripture sometimes picture God as being in control of nature, even without secondary causes. Scripture has clearly described us about Jesus’ power to calm down the wind with only His words. The same Christ could have spoken similar words and the tidal wave would have obeyed Him.

Third, the nature declares the glory of God, His intelligence, His beauties as well as His anger toward sins and His judgment.

So what does natural disaster tell us about God? We cannot pretend to understand all that God has in mind when tragedies come to a country, to a single family or person. But natural disasters are God’s megaphone, shouting to us messages that we should be quick to learn. Learning on what lesson?

First, death is inevitable. When you read obituaries of those who have died you should visualize your own name in it. We know someone has been died, unexpectedly, unwarned sometimes. At such moments death is so real to us that we remember that we, too, could die without warning. Natural disasters are a reminder of our mortality.

Second, natural disasters remind us that judgment is coming. Whether we like it or not, Jesus predicted that end time calamities were a sign of the end of the age. “There will be famines and earthquakes in various palaces. All these are the beginning of birth pains” (Mat 24:7-8).

Many people will not like to believe in God who judges the world. In their imagination, God is the One who only seek happiness of His creation to the best of His ability. God will never send us to hell. Unfortunately, such God that people “has made” is not the real God in the Scripture.

God does not delight in human suffering, but He does delight in the triumph of truth and justice and the completion of His hidden purposes.

Third, we can escape from the coming judgment by repentance from our sin and accept Jesus as our God and personal Savior.

Jesus Christ and His Claim to be God

Jesus Christ is actually not an unfamiliar Person for many people around the world who live today. In fact, Jesus is so popular that we cannot imagine of someone yelling “Clinton!” or “Bush!” whenever he hit his thumb with a hammer mistakenly. Instead, they will shout “Jesus! That’s hurt!!”

But pretty sadly to know that most of people who say His name don’t actually know who He is. Most of people around the world may have heard about His claim as being God the Almighty but only a few parts of people will believe or pay attention on His unique claim.

Martin R De Haan II, a dedicated author from RBC Ministries, once declared: “No one would argue the identity of people like Lincoln, Michelangelo or Aristotle. They wear history-book labels that are indisputable. But the man called Jesus is different. If you were to run a man on the street survey about Him, you would likely get as many different responses as you would get odd looks. Jesus isn’t known for the things that usually make people famous. He wasn’t into politics, business, or publishing. His expertise was in what normally call religion – He knew a lot about God. In fact, He claimed to be God. But who is He?”

Martin has given an accurate observation upon the issue regarding Jesus. Jesus is well known but only a few seem really knows Him. In other words, people like to know Jesus according to what they think about Him, not according to what Jesus has claimed about Himself. They don’t care on what He’s been saying. They only care about what their mind is telling them.

Some people would say that Jesus is a man who achieved great things. With this paradigm they argue that we too may achieve things just like Jesus did. People in this group will focus their life on moral teaching. The hope if they are good enough while living in this world or if they are doing exactly what their religion has told them to do they will in the end achieve an enlightenment.

The others would say “Jesus is god, but not the Almighty God. Jesus is only a created individual” People from this group acknowledge God as a Person but they refuse Jesus as God who has become Man.

The other groups of people believe that Jesus is a man no better than we are. Sun Myung Moon from Unification Church once stated: “It is plain that Jesus is not God Himself.” The followers of Moon’s teaching say that Jesus’ work was a failure.

Those who believe in atheism have a very low point of view of Jesus. Bertrand Russell, a famous apologist of the atheistic viewpoint, said, “I cannot myself feel that either in the matter of wisdom or in the matter of virtue Christ stand quite as high as some other people known to history.”

Some other groups of people will agree that Jesus is a great moral teacher. Moslem people recognize Jesus as a messenger of Allah. Even though they believe that Jesus was sinless prophet, they also declared that Jesus never achieved the greatness of the prophet Muhammad.

Among these many different argumentations about who Jesus is, we can sure of one thing: they cannot be right all together. Someone must be wrong with their point of view.

The one who say Jesus is God is substantially different with those who say Jesus is not God. Those who believe that Jesus is just an ordinary human just like we are; is substantially different with those who think that Jesus is a sinless messenger from Allah.

The temptations of Jesus Christ

According to the Bible, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.

The devil, which is also called Satan, was described in the Bible as the one who likes to test human. The devil’s objection is to get human to live in their way rather than God’s way.

Satan tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden in the beginning of history and he was succeeding there. Human race fell into sin since then. Unlike most people think about Satan as being only a symbol of evil, the Bible clearly teaches that Satan is a real spiritual being. And as the opponent of Heaven Satan constantly fights against those who follow and obey God.

Jesus will one day reign over all creation, but Satan tried to force His hand and get Him to declare His kingship prematurely. If Jesus had given in, his mission on earth – to die for our sins and give us the opportunity to have eternal life – would have been lost.

This temptation by the devil shows us that Jesus was human, and it gave Jesus the opportunity to reaffirm God’s plan for his ministry.

One important thing that differentiates us and Jesus is that even though Jesus was tempted by the devil, He never sinned.

The devil’s temptations upon Jesus focused on three crucial areas, they are:

Physical needs and desires

Possessions and power

Pride

Jesus did not give in to these temptations. Hebrews 4:15 says that Jesus “has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin.”

Jesus was able to resist all of the devil’s temptations because He not only knew Scripture, but He also obeyed it.

Temptation is often the combination of a real need and a possible doubt that create an inappropriate desire. Jesus demonstrates both the importance and effectiveness of knowing and applying Scripture to combat temptation.

This temptation has shown us that Jesus really was the Son of God. He is able to overcome the devil and his temptations. We too must learn from Him about that. We too must learn to know more about Scripture’s teachings and give a lot of efforts to apply those teachings in our daily life. In this way, we have learnt to live as Jesus has lived.

Jesus has authority to send out angels

Sometimes when we are thinking about the Deity of Jesus Christ we are curious about what Jesus has thought and believed about himself. Why should we consider Him as God if Jesus himself denied it? To answer this we need to look through the Bible.

Some people argue that Jesus did not himself make any claim to be God. According to them; Jesus’ message was entirely about the Father, not about himself.

What does the Scripture say about the Deity of Jesus Christ?

It is true that Jesus never mentioned an explicit claim to deity like saying “I am God” anywhere in the Bible. However, the Bible clearly stated many claims from Jesus which would be inappropriate if made by someone who is less than God.

Jesus’ statement is recorded Matthew 13:41 saying: “The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.”

Even though Jesus introduced himself as The Son of Man but we can observe clearly that this is not an ordinary human Jesus was talking about. Jesus was talking about himself and as we can clearly see that Jesus told his hearers that he has authority to send out angels.

By declaring his authority upon angels Jesus declared his deity.

Initiate a new face of mission: a respond to Jesus’ call

By izartirta

On responding to Jesus’ calling to all disciples, Christians today answer it by developing many kinds of ministry.

Dr Howard Brant is one of a good example for this type of ministry initiator. According to Dr Brant there are many church that used to be built on SIM basis has now grown up to a well established church which encourage their congregation for practicing the mission.

Dr Brant has encouraged, preaching and teaching the emerging mission. Emerging mission is a kind of ministry which encouraged many people to engage into a mission ministry. Including in emerging mission is outreach ministry.

The idea is to get as many people as possible to join in a mission. For the believers, the main concern is to get them join in a mission ministry or at least to encourage them to have mission spirit for non believers.

For the non believers, this ministry is to find a way on how to grab them.

Up to now there are at least 23 native missionaries in Kenya. They don’t just serve in their own country but has also sent out some missionaries to other countries like Asia and South America. Most of them are placed in Asia.

This is wonderful because many years ago, Africa is a country that no one will ever link to Christian ministry with. Instead of being a source of missionary country Africa is a country where missionaries go.

What I’m trying to say with “initiate a new face of mission” is that in this new era the mission direction is not from the west to the east but the other way around.

From time to time Jesus’ calling is still the same that is to save the lost souls. Let’s just hope that we as the believers will still have this mission spirit.

Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd

By izartirta

As the Bible recorded; Jesus acknowledged Himself as the Good Shepherd to reveal how He would act to protect His sheep. Jesus’ way is much different from the false teachers who tend to leave their sheep when danger comes.

A sheep is a weak creature. They are easily killed by predators and are very vulnerable to any small danger. They don’t have any weapon like claws or horns to protect themselves from the coming danger. Even their sight is so limited that they cannot see something clearly at the distance. A sheep therefore is very dependent on its shepherd.

When the night falls, sheep are often gathered into a sheep pen to protect them from thieves, weather or predators. The sheep pen could be a cave, sheds or open areas surrounded by walls made of stones or branches.

Usually a good shepherd sleeps in the pen to protect those sheep. This kind of shepherd really cares for his sheep. On the contrary, the hired men don’t really care for the sheep. They do the job only for money. If danger came in, they would just run away for their life and left the flocks behind scattered and killed by wild animals.

I am sure that Jesus took the relationship between sheep and its shepherd as a model of our relationship with Him for nothing but a good reason. Just like a weak sheep depends on its shepherd; Jesus intended us to depend ourselves only upon Him.

John 10:11-18 clearly stated:

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me just as the Father knows me and I know the Father and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life only to take it up again. No one take it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

From these verses we can learn about the characteristic of Jesus’ service for us as the good shepherd.

As the good shepherd, Jesus:

Lays down His life

No other religion founders ever gave their life for the sake of their followers. Even if there were, their sacrifice will never be the same with what Jesus has done. Jesus died for us not because He was too weak in facing Roman Empire or the evil power of this world. As Jesus Himself said, “I lay down my life only to take it up again.” He did that on purpose, that is our own good. Then Jesus continued, “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again.” Jesus did die for us on His own free willingness. He did that on His own authority. Surely He did that because He loves us and cares for us.

Knows His flocks

As we can read in verse 14 there is a strong relationship between us and Jesus. He knows us and we know Him. It is pretty obvious to me that Christianity is not like other religion in the world. World’s religions build their faith on good deeds and hoping those deeds would help them saved from bad condition, hell for instance. Christianity on the other hand builds its faith on the new private relationship with Jesus Christ. We know Jesus as much as He is revealed in the Bible; and we are expected to keep our relationship with Him. Christianity is about relationship with God and with other people.

Brings the flocks to the pen

Jews think that they are the only chosen nation which will be specially saved by God. In verse 16, Jesus revealed that there will be another flocks to bring into the relationship with Him. Those other flocks represent other nations existing on this earth. Jesus’ salvation is not merely for one nation but for everybody God has chosen to be saved from any nations. The message in this verse is also clear to me that Jesus will play the active role by bringing us into His home. This is not because we are strong enough or good enough to enter His home. Only because of what He’s been doing that we could be in such relationship.

Gives eternal life

As we can read in verse 28, Jesus lays down His life to give us the eternal life. No one in this world can do this to anyone because no one in this world has the same authority with God. Jesus is God and He has the authority upon life and death. Jesus is eternal and therefore He is able to give us the eternal life. Other religion’s founders died and never came to life just like Jesus did. They don’t have authority at all over their life.

Holds His sheep in eternal life

Some people think that we still may loose our chance for eternal life even though we are saved by Jesus. In verse 28, Jesus clearly stated that our salvation is once and for all because Jesus guarantees it with His hand. Jesus has promised us that “no one can snatch them out of my hand.” And He also added, “My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.” Our eternal life is guaranteed by Jesus’ hand and word. If we are counting our eternal life on ourselves, we may find it loose. But as Jesus said, even His Father cares for us and holding on our eternal life. We should be sure that we will never loose it.

Jesus is the good shepherd. No body can be compared to Him.

Come to Jesus right away as He loves you very much.

The teaching of Jesus Christ:

Our relationship with God reflects in our relationship with others

By Izar

I have mentioned in my previous posting about the danger of having hatred in our heart, for it is also considered the same in danger as murder.

In here I want to show what Jesus has taught us about the importance of having good relationship with others for the way we relate to others also reflects the way we maintain our relationship with God. Both are considered as equal.

Broken relationships can hinder our relationship with God. If we have a problem or grievance with a friend, we should resolve the problem as soon as possible. According to the Bible, it seems impossible for us to say that we love God while in the same time we hate other people. The way we act to others tells the way we relate ourselves to God.

Jesus Christ clearly said:

“If you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.” (Matthew 5:23)

It is not enough to give our regular offerings at the church we must also have right relationships with God and others.

Our offerings can be useful for the church in serving people and implementing Jesus’ love for the people. However as the subject of this good deed we should also have the right motivation. We should understand that in a way giving an offering is just a symbolic way of our relationship with God. God is not so poor that should beg us for money. He can create universe just by saying things. It is not difficult at all for Him to complete His works in this world. But He wants us to take part with His jobs. Further more He even wants to use us as His tool of loving for this world.

Our money is also just a tool in front of God and God wants His tool is pure. The money should come from pure resources and the giver should also be pure in motivation.

How good is your relationship with God lately?

How about your relationship with others? Is there anyone that you hate?

Consider what Jesus is saying to us through this teaching.

What would Jesus Christ think about murder?

By izartirta

If we look further on the way Jesus think about something and comparing it to our own way, we would see that there is a gap or even a huge difference.

I’m going to show you here one example about how different our way of seeing thing than that of Jesus. We think that if we have never killed someone then we are a good person, at least better than a murderer. We live our way while having a good image about ourselves. We see someone who ever killed somebody as a bad person (he is a bad person actually!) and see ourselves as good one. What would Jesus think about this?

Jesus’ opinion about this was recorded in Matthew 5:21:

“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.

In this verse we see how Jesus explains us the actual meaning and motivation behind the laws of Moses. People usually feel satisfy whenever they think they have obeyed one rule without seeing further to the actual meaning and motivation or even main purpose of that rule. This verse here clearly exposes that situation. There is misunderstanding in everybody’s mind about this rule. Therefore Jesus teaching them and giving them proper meaning.

For Jesus, it is not enough to avoid killing but we must too avoid anger and hatred. The one who says Raca to his brother is also subject to judgment. Raca is an Aramaic term of contempt. By saying this word to anyone we are despising him intentionally and this act is clearly exposing our hatred heart to him. Do we ever think about their feeling after hearing our word to them? Even if they don’t feel hurt for what we have said or even if we don’t say this word right before their face, the existence of hatred in our heart is undeniable. And Jesus considers this as sin. Hatred is not better than murder. If we think that a murderer is a bad person, now we must realize that the one who hates is no better than a murderer. We should also realize that the root of murder in the hate in our heart.

I have never killed anyone in my life but honestly I can’t 100% clean myself from the feeling of hate. It just appears in my heart, sometimes I don’t even realize it until that feeling consume me or even destroy me. I have to admit that – seeing from Jesus’ point of view – I’m not a good person and subject to punishment because of this.

I’m not trying to judge you or anyone but I think this problem is not just happening with me. I think, and I’m quite sure about this, that this is the problem that all human is facing, off course according to their own spiritual level and capacity. That is why I believe that no one is good enough to enter heaven. Instead, we all deserve hell because of our sin (Remember that I was just talking about one example here; that is murder. The Bible pointed out many problems like this just to give us the picture of our spiritually dead condition). We have sinned more badly to God than we could even realize or imagine it.

However, as the one who belief in Jesus Christ I also know that I have hope to enter heaven. This is not just an empty hope because the Bible has told us that in Jesus Christ there will be no punishment.

I know I will go to heaven but this is not because I consider myself as a perfect man but merely because I know that Jesus Christ has died for my sin.

Through His redemption alone I know that I’m loved and accepted and someday He will let me enter His dwelling place in heaven forever. Thank you Jesus you are the Lord and my Savior.

My friend, come to Him while you still can, Jesus Christ loves you.

Jesus, the meaning of His name

By izartirta

The name Jesus means “The LORD saves.” He came to earth to save us because he knew that we can’t save ourselves from sin and all its consequences.

Unlike the other religion’s point of view, we – as the follower of Jesus Christ - are taught that no matter how good we are, we still won’t be able to eliminate the sinful nature within our very humanity. Only Jesus can do such thing because He is not an ordinary human being but God Himself. As apostle John has put it: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1)

Jesus didn’t come to help people save themselves; instead He sacrificed Himself for the penalty of our sin.

As we can read in Jesus’ Gospel according to Matthew: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel which means, God with us.” (Mat 1:23) This is not something that any human could make up, because this very nature of the birth of Jesus has already predicted by the prophet Isaiah seven hundred years earlier.

Jesus was God in the flesh; thus God was literally among us, “with us.” Through the Holy Spirit, Christ is present today in the life of every believer. Perhaps not even Isaiah understood how far-reaching the meaning of “Immanuel” would be.

Thank Jesus for his death on the cross for our sin and thank Him for being with us from now to eternity. God Bless You.

Jesus and the beginning of creation

By izartirta

It is not a coincidence if the Book of Genesis placed at the first book in the Bible because the Genesis itself means “beginnings” or “origin.”

This first book reveals the beginning of the world, the process of how the world was created, the beginning of human history, the first family, the beginning of civilization and also the beginning of salvation. And these are not all, because the most important aspect is not on its process but rather on the origin of everything.

Some scientist think that the Bible has nothing to do with the actual event occurred in our physical world. According to these kinds of scientist, this world is just a product of blind chance and probability, but it certainly took a bigger faith to believe it than believe that there is a Creator of the universe.

The Biblical view of creation is not in conflict with science; rather, it is in conflict with any worldview that starts without a Creator. The most important aspect of the continuing discussion is not the process of creation, but the origin of creation. The world is not a product of blind chance and probability; God created it.

Apostle John revealed the truth when he pointed at Jesus as the Creator of the universe. John declared: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” (John 1:1-3)

Jesus indeed the Creator of every thing ever existed in our material and non material world. Someday each one of us should come before Him.

Jesus Christ Is Real God

By izartirta

When I was still a teenage I used to think that Jesus was only one of many holly persons which taught people who lived in his time to be a good person. I didn’t realize Jesus’ uniqueness among the others. I didn’t even know what the significance of his claim about himself during his work on this planet was. I just thought that those realities has happened sometime in the past and have nothing to do with my life today. But then I know I was wrong.

Here I put Lee Stroble’s thinking of Jesus’ claim about himself. And I also put some of my comments, placed in a bracket. I hope that we too can be sure that Jesus is real God and if he is God, then everything that he said is actually God’s word.

Lee Stroble gained his Master degree of Law from Yale Law School. He also was a journalist graduated from University of Missouri. He was once a skeptical to any spiritual subject of discussion. But then God turned this once-an-atheist person to someone who fights for Jesus. He then uses his knowledge of law and journalism to trace the identity of Jesus Christ. His spiritual journey from an atheist into a keen believer is documented in his book: The Case for Christ.

So, here he is…

Did Jesus Ever Claim To Be God?

By Lee Strobel

I hear the objection all the time: Jesus never really claimed he was the Son of God; instead, this belief was superimposed on the Jesus tradition by overzealous Jesus’ follower years after his death. The real Jesus saw himself as nothing more than a rabbi, a sage, an iconoclastic rabble-rouser – anything but God. Or, at least, this is what critics claim. But this is not what the evidence clearly shows. The truth was summarized by Scottish theologian H.R.Macintosth: “The self-consciousness of Jesus … is the greatest fact in history.”

Kevin Vanhoozer, research professor of systematic theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, put the issue this way; “Jesus understood himself to be the beloved Son of God, chosen by God to bring about the kingdom of God and the forgiveness of sins. Our understanding of who Jesus was must correspond to Jesus’ own self-understanding. If we do not confess Jesus as the Christ, then either he was deluded about his identity or we are.”

(Our confession of Jesus as the Christ is so important and I think this is the basis which his church built upon. – addition from izartirta)

At least ten factors point toward Jesus as believing he was the one and only Son of God.

First

There was the way he referred to himself. No scholar doubts that the most common way Jesus referred to himself was “the Son of Man” which he applied to himself more than four dozen times, including in Mark, generally considered the earliest gospel. While some critics mistakenly believe this is a mere claim of humanity, the scholarly consensus is that this is a reference to Daniel 7:13-14, where the Son of Man is ushered into the very presence of the Almighty, has “authority, glory and sovereign power,” receives the worship of “all peoples,” and is someone whose dominion is everlasting.

(As far as I know, the Bible never mentioned someone who fears God willing to receive the worship from any other beings. Except for those who -falsely- think that he is god. Even an angel from God refused to receive such action from John at Patmos Island. One question may arise from my statement here is that “Did Jesus falsely think that he is god?” In this case, we should observe other evidence of Jesus as never think falsely. – addition from izartirta)

“The Son of Man was a divine figure in the Old Testament book of Daniel who would come at the end of the world to judge mankind and rule forever,” said theologian an philosopher William Lane Craig. “Thus the claim to be the Son of Man would be in effect a claim to divinity.”

Vanhoozer adds an interesting sidelight: “The curious thing about Jesus’ use of the title … is that he linked it not only with the theme of future glory by also with the theme of suffering and death. In doing so, Jesus was teaching his disciples something new about the long-awaited Messiah, namely, that his suffering would precede his glory (e.g., Luke 9:22)

Second

Vanhoozer points out that Jesus also made a claim of divinity when he applied the “I am” saying to himself, at one point declaring, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was born, I am!” (John 8:58). This obvious allusion to God’s words to Moses put of the burning bush was such an unmistakable declaration of equality with God that his audience picked up stones to hurl at him for blasphemy.”

Third

Jesus made a divine claim when he forgave the sins of the paralytic in Mark 2. “The only person who can say that sort of thing meaningfully is God himself, because sin, even if it is against other people, is first and foremost a defiance of God and his laws,” observed theologian D.A Carson.

Fourth

There was a transcendent claim made by the way Jesus selected his disciples, according to Ben Witherington III, author of The Christology of Jesus. “If the Twelve represent a renewed Israel, where does Jesus fit in?” he asked. “He’s not just part of Israel, not merely part of the redeemed group, he’s forming the group – just as God in the Old Testament formed his people and set up the twelve tribes of Israel. That’s a clue about what Jesus thought of himself.”

Fifth

A clue about Jesus’ self understanding comes through the way he taught. “Jesus begins his teachings with the phrase “Amen I say to you.” Which is to say, “I swear in advance to the truthfulness of what I’m about to say, “This was absolutely revolutionary,” Witherington said.

He went on to explain:

In Judaism, you needed the testimony of two witnesses … but Jesus witnesses to the truth of his own sayings. Instead of basing his teaching on the authority of others, he speaks on his own authority.

So here is someone who considered himself to have authority above and beyond what the Old Testament prophets had. He believed he possessed not only divine inspiration, as King David did, but also divine authority and the power of direct divine utterance.”

Sixth

Jesus used Aramaic term Abba, or “Father dearest,” when relating to God. This reflects an intimacy that was alien in ancient Judaism, in which devout Jews avoided the use of God’s personal name out of fear they may mispronounce it.

Dr. Witherington made this observation:

The significance of “Abba” is that Jesus is the initiator of an intimate relationship that was previously unavailable. The question is: what kind of person can initiate a new covenantal relationship with God?

Jesus is saying that only through having a relationship with himself does this kind of prayer language – this kind of “Abba” relationship with God – become possible. That says volumes about how he regarded himself.

Seventh

A seventh indicator of Jesus’ self-understanding can be seen in his post-resurrection encounter with the apostle Tomas is John 20. Responding to Jesus’ invitation to personally check out the evidence that he had really risen from the dead, Thomas declares in verse 28, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus’ reply was telling. I would have been the height of blasphemy for him to have knowingly received Thomas’s worship unless Jesus really was God. Yet instead of rebuking him, Jesus said in verse 29, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Jesus’ choice to receive Thomas’s worship clearly means he believed he was God and thus worthy of that homage. Similarly, when Simon Peter answered Jesus’ question, “Who do you say I am?” by saying, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” Jesus’ reaction was not to correct him but rather to affirm that this was revealed to him by the Father himself (Matthew 16:15-17)

Eighth

Jesus clearly believed that the eternal destiny of people hinged whether they believed in him. “If you do not believe I am the one I claim to be,” he said in John 8:24, “you will indeed die in your sins.” In addition, he said in Luke 12:8-9: “I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God. But he who disowns me before the angels of God,”

William Lane Craig put the implication this way: “Make no mistake; if Jesus were not the divine Son of God, then this claim could only be regarded as the most narrow and objectionable dogmatism. For Jesus is saying that people’s salvation depends on their confession to Jesus himself.”

Ninth

Jesus declared in John 10:30 “I and the Father are one.” There is no question about whether his listeners understood that Jesus was saying that he and God are one in substance. Promptly, they picked up rocks to attach him “for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God” (verse 33).

Tenth

A tenth factor that should be weighed in assessing Jesus’ belief about his identity is his miracles, which will be discussed in the next section. Jesus stressed that his feats were a sign of the coming of God’s kingdom: “If I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the Kingdom of God has come to you” (Luke 11:20). Ben Witherington observed that even though others in the Bible also performed miracles, this statement showed that Jesus didn’t merely regard himself as a wonder-worker: “He sees himself as the one in whom and through whom the promises of God come to pass. And that’s a not-too-thinly veiled claim of transcendence.”

As we can see at least there are ten argumentations about the deity of Jesus Christ. These are strong evidences about Jesus’ way of regarding himself. There is no more doubt that Jesus is real Christ and real God. (izartirta)