Articles

Nov 18 2013

God the Father’s Endorsement- Part 2

Author: jolulabug@aol.com • Discussion: 2 Comments

God the Father’s Endorsement:

After John the Baptist baptized Jesus, God the Father announces that Jesus is His son:

After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him.  And a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, and I am fully pleased with him” (Matthew 3:16-17)

 There are two things to take note of:

  •  God the Father is identifying Jesus as His Son.  
  • It reveals the three Persons of the Trinity present in one place at one time: God the Father’s voice is heard, Jesus Christ the Son is being baptized, and the Holy Spirit appears in the form of the dove. 

At that Baptism the Holy Spirit came to Jesus and it was made known that He was the Son of God. This is the only time in the life of our Lord that you will see all three of the Godhead manifest at one time. 

Jesus’ Humanity 

The invisible God had appeared on earth. Even though Jesus declared Himself to be God, the Bible describes Jesus Christ being all man.  He referred to Himself as the son of David because He was born into the bloodline of Israel’s famous King David. Jesus referred to Himself as “the Son of Man” (Luke 19:10) and it was revealed in His life:

  • Jesus got hungry (Matthew 4:2)
  • Jesus got thirsty (John 19:28)
  • Jesus grew weary (John 4:6)
  • Jesus loved and had compassion (Matthew 9:36)
  • Jesus wept (John 11:35)
  • Jesus was tempted (Hebrews 4:15) 

Everything about Jesus was human. He had all the human emotions and was just like we are…except for one thing: He knew no sin.  He never did anything that displeased God or violated the Mosaic Law.  He was holy in every way and was declared innocent 11 times:

  •  Six times by Pilate (Matthew 27:24; Luke 24:14; John 18:38; 19:4,6)
  • Once by Herod (Luke 23:15)
  • Once by Pilate’s wife (Matthew 27:19)
  • Once by the repentant thief (Luke 23:19)
  • Once by the Roman centurion (Matthew 27:54)
  • Once by Judas (Matthew 27:4)

 Jesus was without sin; therefore He was the only acceptable sacrifice and died for our sins.  All of Christianity is based on this fact.  Those who knew Him better than anyone else would not have been willing to be persecuted and die for their faith if they knew this was not true.  (1 Peter 2:22, 1 John 3:5, 2 Corinthians 5:21)

Nov 11 2013

JESUS – Who He Was and Is (Part 1)

Author: jolulabug@aol.com • Discussion: No Comments

I had the opportunity to teach a Sunday School class to New Christian Believers. These are the notes from the class.

Who He Was and Is

 Knowing Jesus and having confidence in everything that He did and said will allow Christians to grow in their walk.  Looking at those who were around Him and with Him during His ministry gives us a small glimpse into Jesus’ life.

 Disciples:

The disciples were 12 handpicked ordinary men who, with the exception of one, followed Jesus until their end.  Matthew and John wrote biographies in the Bible. Philip said, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote-Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph (John 1:45).” Nathaniel responded, “You are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel (v. 49).”

 Opposition:

The religious leaders (Matthew 23) hated Jesus more than anyone, yet they could never expose him as a fraud or silence Him because He spoke with authority and truth (Matt 7:29).  The only way they could silence him was by putting Him to death, and this actually fulfilled the prophecies of the coming Messiah and accomplished what Jesus came to do.

 Historians:

The Bible is the most reliable and trustworthy ancient document ever written. No archaeological discovery has ever contradicted the Bible and has even led some to amazing discoveries.  However, there are still some who want more proof. Josephus, a respected Jewish historian, mentions Jesus often.   

 Jesus’ Deity

His birth was prophesized in the Old Testament (Isaiah 7:14) and we were told that he would called Immanuel, meaning God with us.  In John 10:34 Jesus said, “The Father and I are one.” It is this distinction that is the foundation of Christianity and we can believe it for many reasons.

 The Proof:

 Jesus had supernatural powers.

  • He gave sight to the blind (Mark 8:22-26
  • He cured the lame (John 5:1-9)
  • He healed the sick (Luke 7:1-10)
  • He raised the dead to life (Matthew 9:18-26)
  • He fed thousands with a boy’s lunch (Matthew 14:14-21)
  • He calmed a raging storm with one command (Matthew 8:23-27)

Jesus had supernatural qualities.

  • eternal -omnipresent (John 17:5)
  • all-knowing –omniscient (John 16:30)
  • all-powerful- omnipotent (5:19)
  • unchangeable (Hebrews13:8)
  • the Creator of the Universe (Colossians 1:16)

 Fulfillment of the Coming Messiah in the Old Testament Prophecies:

 God promised the Jews that He would send a king who would establish God’s kingdom on earth. He would be God himself; the Messiah. The prophets gave some clues about who the Messiah would be.

  • City of birth-He was going to be born in the little town of Bethlehem (Micah 5:2)
  • Parentage- He would be the direct descendant of King David (Isaiah 11:1)
  • Characteristics- He would be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14)
Nov 05 2013

A Life of Peace and Abundance

Author: jolulabug@aol.com • Discussion: 1 Comment

John 10:10 tells us clearly that we serve a God who came to give us a life better than we could have ever imagined on our own. Then why is it that so many “Christians” live in defeat?

We come to Jesus as we are; broken and tainted from all of the uninvited chaos and filth that has settled in the darkest and deepest crevices of our heart.  He takes us into His arms and begins to wash away the stains of sin. He carefully and lovingly takes the shards created by rejection and puts the pieces of our life back together again. For some it is instantaneous, for others a process. However it comes about, we are a new creation in the truest sense of the word. We come to realize the Peace that surpasses all understanding, as we fall in love with the One who loved us first.

Yet, for many, this perfect peace is short lived. At the first sign of suffering, we want to return to our old fleshly ways. But why? The start of the same verse in John 10 plainly uncovers the answer. It says that the thief comes to kill, steal and destroy. We quickly give up our peace in order to defend ourselves and control the situation our way. The enemy doesn’t even have to put up a real fight with us.

Proverbs 3 tells us to trust in Him and not lean on our own understanding; to acknowledge Him in all our ways and He will direct our paths. There are many things that we can not control, no matter how much we try. There are things that we want to do and can do, but they don’t line up with His truth. When we put Him first and put our trust in Him, we avoid the unrest that comes with worry or selfish manipulation in order to get our way.  When we trust Him, we find the abundant life that Jesus promises. Even when life seems to be falling apart around us, we have a unexplainable peace because we trust that He is in control.