Showing posts with label Christos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christos. Show all posts
Sunday, February 9, 2014
Lenny Kravitz's Father's Deathbed Conversion (WOW!)
A Borrowed Post from Fr. Longenecker, Patheos / Catholic
UPDATE: For an example of the influence of the demonic in ordinary life. Read this astounding account of the deathbed of musician Lenny Kravitz’ father. His father, Sy Kravitz had lived a sinful life of promiscuity and adultery, then he had an amazing spiritual experience. This story is from a long interview with Kravitz here in the Daily Telegraph. H/T to Rod Dreher who also comments on the story here.
Eventually, his father had to go to hospital. That’s where it happened.
‘It sounds like…’ Kravitz begins, and then says, ‘It’s going to sound like whatever it sounds like, but this is what it was. I mean, spiritually hospitals are very intense places. It’s like death’s doorstep. And he was in his bed one night and he looked at me, and he wasn’t on drugs, and he said to me, “There are these things flying around my bed, and these things crawling on the floor.” I said, “What are you talking about?” This is from my dad. He doesn’t do with any kind of spiritual thing. No heebie-jeebie kind of thing. And he’s, “There’s black-winged things and they’re flying around my bed… the things that are crawling on the ground, they look like they’re rats and they’re not… I see them.” I didn’t quite know how to take it. And he then began having this revelation and he accepted Christ – this is a non-religious Jewish man – and somehow the spirit world opened up to him. Almost like he had spiritually been bound his whole life and now this thing was released.’
After this spiritual experience, his father started answering some of the questions Kravitz would never get answers for. When Kravitz asked him before, “Why did you do what you did? Why did you do this to Mom?”, his father would stonewall. ‘That’s just the way it is,’ he would say. But a couple of nights after the experience, sitting in hospital with Lenny and his two half-sisters, Sy started talking. ‘He apologised to us in the most sincere, heartfelt manner. “I am sorry for what I’ve done, how I’ve been, how I’ve treated you, and I love you.” Real. And it was shocking… And what he said to me is that he always wanted to change his life, and he felt there was this thing on his back and he couldn’t get it off. His whole life, he knew inside himself that he wanted to change. But, he said, “I couldn’t.”?’
There would be one further unexpected moment: ‘As he got closer to his death, another night in the hospital, he was really tired and he looked over at me and he goes, “There’s angels all around the room. Because of Jesus.” And that was it. He turned and looked away. If you knew my dad – it was the furthest thing from him.’
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
Who Can See a Messiah in Jesus?
Although disputed by some modern Jews, the Jews did expect a Messiah. Messiah was not just the 'anointed ONE'' but the ''anointed one'' as any king was anointed.
All kings of the house of David were seen as 'anointed.' This is to say that all kings of Israel were seen as God's anointed leaders of Israel, but it is not to be mistaken!, one Messiah, one Savior was expected in 1rst century Judaea.
An interesting topic of debate is, ''Did Jesus of Nazareth, son of Mary and Joseph, fulfill the role of Messiah?''
This question I will not directly address. It take much more scholarship to make a sufficient post on such a question. What I will do is address this with some common sense, not to prove whether Jesus fulfilled the role of Messiah, but why one would even use this title on Jesus based on the story we have.
Jesus Christ.
Christ is the English derivative of the Greek word used for the Hebrew word for Messiah. So when we use the title, ''Christ,'' we invoke the title of the Jewish expectations of a King who was sent by God as THE anointed one.
Most have come across the idea that Jesus was not what the Jews expected. This is elementary, but let's take this very simple, general understanding and pose some questions to see if we can not establish Jesus as who He said He was.
One has to know, at least generally, what the Jews were expecting. They were expecting the Anointed One to defeat the Romans and establish a kingdom which ruled all nations, that is, the whole world.
Many interpret this as expecting a warrior, an Alexander the Great type, but Jewish.
Jesus was not this, He was a teacher, a healer, and a professor of peace, love, and unity.
So let us examine what this means, not to us, but for those who want to negate Christianity all together.
Why in an era of great expectation, would men boast the death of a man who taught peace and love?
Wouldn't this sound ridiculous to claim one as the Messiah, who was neither a crowned royal or a warrior hero?
These were Jews who proclaimed the life of Jesus! Didn't they want what all Jews wanted? Didn't they want to see Rome defeated and the Jews triumphant!
In fact, it was quite opposite! After the fall of the temple, Christianity spread even more rapidly, and Jesus' name was more affirmed by the many in the pagan Empire.
Reflect on it, swallow it, and realize: this makes no sense for someone to make up a story about a man in Israel, to be not only a peacemaker, but to be put to death, with what to show for it?
Let me answer myself! One could surmise that this was a movement to glorify the deaths of the fallen brothers.
That this Messianic-type of hero in the body of Jesus of Nazareth was a archetype to illustrate the great struggle and heroism which prevailed in the day against the tyranny of the Roman superiors.
I like the effort, but good try, this would mean that this message was for Jews, and only Jews!
What would the pagan Greeks and Roman slaves care about the heroism of the Jewish spirit?
Please tell me! I tried to reflect on it! Can you give me one reason why someone would conjure up a story of such glorious meaning (i.e. of a Messiah), and not give the audience a convincing rendition?
I mean, why boast the death of a hero who failed? What sense is in that?
Why make the Messiah a peacemaker and not a champion of great human privileges and honor?
Jesus was betrayed, denied, and accused! Is this the Messiah one would make up to convince the masses? Hello! I found the Messiah, he hasn't taken over the world, he actually died before he could do that, but boy! he sure was a great guy!
Reflect on it! There is something utterly unique in this tale. A Messiah promised! And wait, here is the best part, he has died as a common criminal! He manifested no ill against the enemy, His friends denied Him, can you believe it! The Messiah! A carpenter! A man condemned to death after three years of a bunch of chit chat and roaming around!
There were others running around claiming to be a Messiah, their movements died at their death. I think it easy to imagine without studying them that they were revolutionaries, bearing arms and rallying militias. That is, playing to what was expected of them, taking up a role and not commanding understanding.
This proclaimed Messiah, Jesus Christ, He came and claimed not the thrown of worldliness, but a thrown greater than that of the universe. Who saw that coming? And who would dare believe it?
Imagine in World War II if the occupied French were expecting liberation, and they got a Huckleberry Finn telling them, ''Give on to the Nazis what are the Nazis, and give on to me your greatest trust, as I will redeem you not through arms but through the spirit.''
Lovely! Doesn't sound plausible for a second! Jesus is no Huckleberry Finn, but he is closer to that than Alexander the Great!
Almost like Ghandi, but even Ghandi saw immediate societal success in his day. Jesus did not, not as the proclaimed Messiah would have been expected!
Other instances of the like:
1) Women as witnesses -- In this day in Judaea, women were not seen as legitimate witnesses, yet their testimony is conveyed in the Resurrection story. Again, poor job trying to convince people! Didn't they learn that if they wanted to make an argument they needed to speak to their audience!
2) Paul, a Jew, who was a persecutor of the Christians, suddenly makes a radical change and becomes on the of the primary evangelists of this message. We have his letters and his testimony.
3) Peter, who in John 21 was told to feed Jesus' sheep and flock, denied Jesus three times, even was accused of being a hypocrite by Paul when Peter first tried to appease the Jewish Christians in the question of the Gentiles. Yet, it was Peter who Jesus chose.
What a marvelous narration, time after time, we do not see heroes, we see follies and failure, outcasts and underachievers, denials and turn aways, and weakness and hesitance.
What are they trying to convince us of again?
I hope when reflected on, you will see that this idea of the Messiah doesn't really seem legitimate if based on fiction. I propose, there is more reason to believe in the ''lack'' of Messiah than the expected Messiah in the embodiment of Jesus, as the story would not seem in the least believable to fit in the context of what the Messiah was to be. I find it hard to deceiver through why anyone would lay claim to the anti-messiah, if you will, in positioning a witness to the True Messiah, if it wasn't true!
This is just one exercise in defending Jesus as Christ, the Messiah. There are several more, such as:
All kings of the house of David were seen as 'anointed.' This is to say that all kings of Israel were seen as God's anointed leaders of Israel, but it is not to be mistaken!, one Messiah, one Savior was expected in 1rst century Judaea.
An interesting topic of debate is, ''Did Jesus of Nazareth, son of Mary and Joseph, fulfill the role of Messiah?''
This question I will not directly address. It take much more scholarship to make a sufficient post on such a question. What I will do is address this with some common sense, not to prove whether Jesus fulfilled the role of Messiah, but why one would even use this title on Jesus based on the story we have.
Jesus Christ.
Christ is the English derivative of the Greek word used for the Hebrew word for Messiah. So when we use the title, ''Christ,'' we invoke the title of the Jewish expectations of a King who was sent by God as THE anointed one.
Most have come across the idea that Jesus was not what the Jews expected. This is elementary, but let's take this very simple, general understanding and pose some questions to see if we can not establish Jesus as who He said He was.
One has to know, at least generally, what the Jews were expecting. They were expecting the Anointed One to defeat the Romans and establish a kingdom which ruled all nations, that is, the whole world.
Many interpret this as expecting a warrior, an Alexander the Great type, but Jewish.
Jesus was not this, He was a teacher, a healer, and a professor of peace, love, and unity.
So let us examine what this means, not to us, but for those who want to negate Christianity all together.
Why in an era of great expectation, would men boast the death of a man who taught peace and love?
Wouldn't this sound ridiculous to claim one as the Messiah, who was neither a crowned royal or a warrior hero?
These were Jews who proclaimed the life of Jesus! Didn't they want what all Jews wanted? Didn't they want to see Rome defeated and the Jews triumphant!
In fact, it was quite opposite! After the fall of the temple, Christianity spread even more rapidly, and Jesus' name was more affirmed by the many in the pagan Empire.
Reflect on it, swallow it, and realize: this makes no sense for someone to make up a story about a man in Israel, to be not only a peacemaker, but to be put to death, with what to show for it?
Let me answer myself! One could surmise that this was a movement to glorify the deaths of the fallen brothers.
That this Messianic-type of hero in the body of Jesus of Nazareth was a archetype to illustrate the great struggle and heroism which prevailed in the day against the tyranny of the Roman superiors.
I like the effort, but good try, this would mean that this message was for Jews, and only Jews!
What would the pagan Greeks and Roman slaves care about the heroism of the Jewish spirit?
Please tell me! I tried to reflect on it! Can you give me one reason why someone would conjure up a story of such glorious meaning (i.e. of a Messiah), and not give the audience a convincing rendition?
I mean, why boast the death of a hero who failed? What sense is in that?
Why make the Messiah a peacemaker and not a champion of great human privileges and honor?
Jesus was betrayed, denied, and accused! Is this the Messiah one would make up to convince the masses? Hello! I found the Messiah, he hasn't taken over the world, he actually died before he could do that, but boy! he sure was a great guy!
Reflect on it! There is something utterly unique in this tale. A Messiah promised! And wait, here is the best part, he has died as a common criminal! He manifested no ill against the enemy, His friends denied Him, can you believe it! The Messiah! A carpenter! A man condemned to death after three years of a bunch of chit chat and roaming around!
There were others running around claiming to be a Messiah, their movements died at their death. I think it easy to imagine without studying them that they were revolutionaries, bearing arms and rallying militias. That is, playing to what was expected of them, taking up a role and not commanding understanding.
This proclaimed Messiah, Jesus Christ, He came and claimed not the thrown of worldliness, but a thrown greater than that of the universe. Who saw that coming? And who would dare believe it?
Imagine in World War II if the occupied French were expecting liberation, and they got a Huckleberry Finn telling them, ''Give on to the Nazis what are the Nazis, and give on to me your greatest trust, as I will redeem you not through arms but through the spirit.''
Lovely! Doesn't sound plausible for a second! Jesus is no Huckleberry Finn, but he is closer to that than Alexander the Great!
Almost like Ghandi, but even Ghandi saw immediate societal success in his day. Jesus did not, not as the proclaimed Messiah would have been expected!
Other instances of the like:
1) Women as witnesses -- In this day in Judaea, women were not seen as legitimate witnesses, yet their testimony is conveyed in the Resurrection story. Again, poor job trying to convince people! Didn't they learn that if they wanted to make an argument they needed to speak to their audience!
2) Paul, a Jew, who was a persecutor of the Christians, suddenly makes a radical change and becomes on the of the primary evangelists of this message. We have his letters and his testimony.
3) Peter, who in John 21 was told to feed Jesus' sheep and flock, denied Jesus three times, even was accused of being a hypocrite by Paul when Peter first tried to appease the Jewish Christians in the question of the Gentiles. Yet, it was Peter who Jesus chose.
What a marvelous narration, time after time, we do not see heroes, we see follies and failure, outcasts and underachievers, denials and turn aways, and weakness and hesitance.
What are they trying to convince us of again?
I hope when reflected on, you will see that this idea of the Messiah doesn't really seem legitimate if based on fiction. I propose, there is more reason to believe in the ''lack'' of Messiah than the expected Messiah in the embodiment of Jesus, as the story would not seem in the least believable to fit in the context of what the Messiah was to be. I find it hard to deceiver through why anyone would lay claim to the anti-messiah, if you will, in positioning a witness to the True Messiah, if it wasn't true!
This is just one exercise in defending Jesus as Christ, the Messiah. There are several more, such as:
Did the Jews Expect a 1rst Century Messiah?
A link to a in depth study on 1rst century Jewish expectations of the Messiah
EXAMPLES FROM JOSEPHUS
EXAMPLES FROM JOSEPHUS
- [Josephus gives us much historical detail about self-proclaimed and
popularly-embraced 'messiahs' of the period. As such, these would only
document the popular belief in messianix, not necessarily his own. But
this will suffice for my point here--that there WERE significant (if
ill-formed) expectations of heaven-sent deliverance by one 'anointed'
and/or 'inspired by God' to the task. I will cite two texts from J. that
show BOTH the claimants' use of an appeal to being
'inspired/anointed/selected by God' for the task AS WELL AS a more
'legitimate' understanding of sovereignly-appointed leadership.
- Jewish War 2.258-60: "Besides these there arose
another body of villains, with purer hands but more impious intentions,
who no less that the assassins ruined the peace of the city. Deceivers
and impostors, under the pretense of divine inspiration fostering revolutionary changes,
they persuaded the multitude to act like madmen, and led them out into
the desert under the belief that God would give them tokens of
deliverance."
- Jewish War 6.312-13: "What more than all else
incited them to the war was an ambiguous oracle, likewise found in their
sacred scriptures, to the effect that at that time one from their
country would become ruler of the world. This they understood to mean
someone of their own race, and many of their wise men went astray in
their interpretation of it. The oracle, however, in reality signified
the sovereignty of Vespasian, who was proclaimed Emperor on Jewish
soil."
- [Notice in the above quote that J. HELD TO the belief of a prophesied emperor, but differed on the identification of the figure(!), and that the phrase 'many of their wise men' probably indicates that the messianic expectation was (a) widespread and (b) not confined to the less-educated populace.]
Monday, February 3, 2014
Friday, January 31, 2014
Jesus's Bible
Jesus Bible: Where is it?
Well are we talking about the book of Jesus' followers, containing His Words, parts of His life, and His mission? We know where to find it, don't we.
OR!
Is it the book He wrote Himself? His own work, very literally, ''the words of the Lord.''
Where is it? Let's examine what this non-existence means.
Let's be straight forward and brief about what this means, it means that Jesus intended men to carry out His work. It means that the very act of writing a Gospel or a letter preaching the teachings of Christ is done by work. It means that salvation is not by faith alone, it means the word must be given, something must be done for all to share in the salvation. It is a mission of man, commissioned by God.
The Bible is much more than a foretelling of the One True God incarnate. It is more than trying to tell or convince one of the existence of God.
The Bible is a lot more than a book which tells one, 'Hey" Don't I have a message for you! Jesus is Lord, if you accept Him, You are saved!''
Much more!
Yes! It is a witness to Christ as incarnate, yes!, it is about God's design for salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
But when you read the letters, understand that these are people who are bringing us Jesus' message, not Jesus Himself. Jesus commissioned men (and 'man') to the obligation to spread the message.
Many non-Catholics look at the Catholic Church and question all claims of authority by a single expression, ''Catholicism is a man's religion.''
The Bible was written by men, guided by the Holy Spirit to claim the Truth.
How could one, on one hand, say that the Catholic Church is 'man made,' but the Bible is 'Holy Spirit guided.
There is an obvious inconsistency there. Could it just so happen to be that this Holy Spirit not only guided men to write a book, but stayed with their communities and guided them as well?
Without getting into the theological disputes on grace, one should surely see that what is salvation without works? What is it without the works of men?
What if the Apostles were just happy to live by faith and did not go out and work on missions around the Mediterranean and Middle East? Where would we be today without the work of men?
Does one not see that men are commissioned to work for God? God's plan is for men to take the seeds of His mission in the works of Jesus Christ and to water and nurture this message.
God commissioned us! God's vision of man is of men!
So what is the beef with the Catholic Church? Is the Church not descendants of the Apostles themselves? Protestants may not want to believe it, but history says otherwise.
This is very evident when reading the New Testament book of the Acts of the Apostles and in the Epistles.
Let's get biblical and show how evident this is: Jesus came to plant the seed, men were commissioned for it to grow.
1 Corin 3 : 6 I planted, Apol′los watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8 He who plants and he who waters are equal, and each shall receive his wages according to his labor. 9 For we are God’s fellow workers;[a] you are God’s field, God’s building.
10 According to the commission of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and another man is building upon it. Let each man take care how he builds upon it. 11 For no other foundation can any one lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if any one builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble— 13 each man’s work will become manifest; for the Day[b] will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14 If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.
Well are we talking about the book of Jesus' followers, containing His Words, parts of His life, and His mission? We know where to find it, don't we.
OR!
Is it the book He wrote Himself? His own work, very literally, ''the words of the Lord.''
Where is it? Let's examine what this non-existence means.
Let's be straight forward and brief about what this means, it means that Jesus intended men to carry out His work. It means that the very act of writing a Gospel or a letter preaching the teachings of Christ is done by work. It means that salvation is not by faith alone, it means the word must be given, something must be done for all to share in the salvation. It is a mission of man, commissioned by God.
The Bible is much more than a foretelling of the One True God incarnate. It is more than trying to tell or convince one of the existence of God.
The Bible is a lot more than a book which tells one, 'Hey" Don't I have a message for you! Jesus is Lord, if you accept Him, You are saved!''
Much more!
Yes! It is a witness to Christ as incarnate, yes!, it is about God's design for salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
But when you read the letters, understand that these are people who are bringing us Jesus' message, not Jesus Himself. Jesus commissioned men (and 'man') to the obligation to spread the message.
Many non-Catholics look at the Catholic Church and question all claims of authority by a single expression, ''Catholicism is a man's religion.''
The Bible was written by men, guided by the Holy Spirit to claim the Truth.
How could one, on one hand, say that the Catholic Church is 'man made,' but the Bible is 'Holy Spirit guided.
There is an obvious inconsistency there. Could it just so happen to be that this Holy Spirit not only guided men to write a book, but stayed with their communities and guided them as well?
Without getting into the theological disputes on grace, one should surely see that what is salvation without works? What is it without the works of men?
What if the Apostles were just happy to live by faith and did not go out and work on missions around the Mediterranean and Middle East? Where would we be today without the work of men?
Does one not see that men are commissioned to work for God? God's plan is for men to take the seeds of His mission in the works of Jesus Christ and to water and nurture this message.
God commissioned us! God's vision of man is of men!
So what is the beef with the Catholic Church? Is the Church not descendants of the Apostles themselves? Protestants may not want to believe it, but history says otherwise.
This is very evident when reading the New Testament book of the Acts of the Apostles and in the Epistles.
Let's get biblical and show how evident this is: Jesus came to plant the seed, men were commissioned for it to grow.
1 Corin 3 : 6 I planted, Apol′los watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8 He who plants and he who waters are equal, and each shall receive his wages according to his labor. 9 For we are God’s fellow workers;[a] you are God’s field, God’s building.
10 According to the commission of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and another man is building upon it. Let each man take care how he builds upon it. 11 For no other foundation can any one lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if any one builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble— 13 each man’s work will become manifest; for the Day[b] will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14 If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.
Galatians 6: 6 Brethren,
if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual should
restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Look to yourself, lest you too be
tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. 3 For if any one thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. 5 For each man will have to bear his own load.
Thursday, April 18, 2013
A Gathering of Humanity
This message is short, but hopefully resonates.
IF any one were to have a dinner, and invite the following for a conversation:
Einstein, Socrates, the pharoah Ramses, Confucius, Simon Bolivar, Martin Luther King, Jr., Napoleon, Shakespeare, and Nelson Mandella
Which topic could you possibly talk about to all of them together without teaching them anything about the modern world? What could you speak about so they understood your positions and influences?
Hydrogen? Social Justice? Communism? Genetic engineering?
NO ! As far as I can think, we can talk about, responsibility, simple mechanics, ideas of community, ideas of the differences of men and women, cute babies, and DEATH and RELIGION.
These things are UNIVERSAL, AGELESS
But it is not what we seem to talk about these days, we seem to talk about things we love which are things that come and go through the ages.
IF any one were to have a dinner, and invite the following for a conversation:
Einstein, Socrates, the pharoah Ramses, Confucius, Simon Bolivar, Martin Luther King, Jr., Napoleon, Shakespeare, and Nelson Mandella
Which topic could you possibly talk about to all of them together without teaching them anything about the modern world? What could you speak about so they understood your positions and influences?
Hydrogen? Social Justice? Communism? Genetic engineering?
NO ! As far as I can think, we can talk about, responsibility, simple mechanics, ideas of community, ideas of the differences of men and women, cute babies, and DEATH and RELIGION.
These things are UNIVERSAL, AGELESS
But it is not what we seem to talk about these days, we seem to talk about things we love which are things that come and go through the ages.
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
God's Love Letter
Father's Love Letter
My Child
~
You may not know me, but I know everything about you ~ Psalm 139:1
I know when you sit down and when you rise up ~ Psalm 139:2
I am familiar with all your ways ~ Psalm 139:3
Even the very hairs on your head are numbered ~ Matthew 10:29-31
For you were made in my image ~ Genesis 1:27
In me you live and move and have your being ~ Acts 17:28
For you are my offspring ~ Acts 17:28
I knew you even before you were conceived ~ Jeremiah 1:4-5
I chose you when I planned creation ~ Ephesians 1:11-12
I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live ~ Acts 17:26
You are fearfully and wonderfully made ~ Psalm 139:14
I knit you together in your mother's womb ~ Psalm 139:13
And brought you forth on the day you were born ~ Psalm 71:6
I have been misrepresented by those who don't know me ~ John 8:41-44
I am not distant and angry, but am the complete expression of love ~ 1 John 4:16
And it is my desire to lavish my love on you ~ 1 John 3:1
Simply because you are my child and I am your father ~ 1 John 3:1
I offer you more than your earthly father ever could ~ Matthew 7:11
For I am the perfect father ~ Matthew 5:48
Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand ~ James 1:17
For I am your provider and I meet all your needs ~ Matthew 6:31-33
My plan for your future has always been filled with hope ~ Jeremiah 29:11
Because I love you with an everlasting love ~ Jeremiah 31:3
My thoughts toward you are countless as the sand on the seashore ~ Psalm 139:17-18
And I rejoice over you with singing ~ Zephaniah 3:17
I will never stop doing good to you ~ Jeremiah 32:40
For you are my treasured possession ~ Exodus 19:5
I desire to establish you with all my heart and all my soul ~ Jeremiah 32:41
And I want to show you great and marvelous things ~ Jeremiah 33:3
If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me ~ Deuteronomy 4:29
Delight in me and I will give you the desires of your heart ~ Psalm 37:4
For it is I who gave you those desires ~ Philippians 2:13
I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine ~ Ephesians 3:20
For I am your greatest encourager ~ 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17
I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles ~ 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
When you are brokenhearted, I am close to you ~ Psalm 34:18
As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart ~ Isaiah 40:11
One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes ~ Revelation 21:3-4
And I'll take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth ~ Revelation 21:3-4
I am your Father, and I love you even as I love my son, Jesus ~ John 17:23
For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed ~ John 17:26
He is the exact representation of my being ~ Hebrews 1:3
He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you ~ Romans 8:31
And to tell you that I am not counting your sins ~ 2 Corinthians 5:18-19
Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled ~ 2 Corinthians 5:18-19
His death was the ultimate expression of my love for you ~ 1 John 4:10
I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love ~ Romans 8:31-32
If you receive the gift of my son Jesus, you receive me ~ 1 John 2:23
And nothing will ever separate you from my love again ~ Romans 8:38-39
Come home and I'll throw the biggest party heaven has ever seen ~ Luke 15:7
I have always been Father, and will always be Father ~ Ephesians 3:14-15
My question is ~ Will you be my child? ~ John 1:12-13
I am waiting for you ~ Luke 15:11-32
Love, Your Dad, Almighty God
You may not know me, but I know everything about you ~ Psalm 139:1
I know when you sit down and when you rise up ~ Psalm 139:2
I am familiar with all your ways ~ Psalm 139:3
Even the very hairs on your head are numbered ~ Matthew 10:29-31
For you were made in my image ~ Genesis 1:27
In me you live and move and have your being ~ Acts 17:28
For you are my offspring ~ Acts 17:28
I knew you even before you were conceived ~ Jeremiah 1:4-5
I chose you when I planned creation ~ Ephesians 1:11-12
I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live ~ Acts 17:26
You are fearfully and wonderfully made ~ Psalm 139:14
I knit you together in your mother's womb ~ Psalm 139:13
And brought you forth on the day you were born ~ Psalm 71:6
I have been misrepresented by those who don't know me ~ John 8:41-44
I am not distant and angry, but am the complete expression of love ~ 1 John 4:16
And it is my desire to lavish my love on you ~ 1 John 3:1
Simply because you are my child and I am your father ~ 1 John 3:1
I offer you more than your earthly father ever could ~ Matthew 7:11
For I am the perfect father ~ Matthew 5:48
Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand ~ James 1:17
For I am your provider and I meet all your needs ~ Matthew 6:31-33
My plan for your future has always been filled with hope ~ Jeremiah 29:11
Because I love you with an everlasting love ~ Jeremiah 31:3
My thoughts toward you are countless as the sand on the seashore ~ Psalm 139:17-18
And I rejoice over you with singing ~ Zephaniah 3:17
I will never stop doing good to you ~ Jeremiah 32:40
For you are my treasured possession ~ Exodus 19:5
I desire to establish you with all my heart and all my soul ~ Jeremiah 32:41
And I want to show you great and marvelous things ~ Jeremiah 33:3
If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me ~ Deuteronomy 4:29
Delight in me and I will give you the desires of your heart ~ Psalm 37:4
For it is I who gave you those desires ~ Philippians 2:13
I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine ~ Ephesians 3:20
For I am your greatest encourager ~ 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17
I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles ~ 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
When you are brokenhearted, I am close to you ~ Psalm 34:18
As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart ~ Isaiah 40:11
One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes ~ Revelation 21:3-4
And I'll take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth ~ Revelation 21:3-4
I am your Father, and I love you even as I love my son, Jesus ~ John 17:23
For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed ~ John 17:26
He is the exact representation of my being ~ Hebrews 1:3
He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you ~ Romans 8:31
And to tell you that I am not counting your sins ~ 2 Corinthians 5:18-19
Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled ~ 2 Corinthians 5:18-19
His death was the ultimate expression of my love for you ~ 1 John 4:10
I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love ~ Romans 8:31-32
If you receive the gift of my son Jesus, you receive me ~ 1 John 2:23
And nothing will ever separate you from my love again ~ Romans 8:38-39
Come home and I'll throw the biggest party heaven has ever seen ~ Luke 15:7
I have always been Father, and will always be Father ~ Ephesians 3:14-15
My question is ~ Will you be my child? ~ John 1:12-13
I am waiting for you ~ Luke 15:11-32
Love, Your Dad, Almighty God
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Sharing Christ's Passion
I am a Christian. For a long time I knew that Jesus was a man, who walked the earth, speaking about Goodness and Love.
Don't get your theology from the media.
Oprah for example, as exhibited on youtube, claims that Jesus did not
come to die and save us, as she always believed, but He came to show us
how to live ( a Buddha). To live in ''Christ Consciousness.''
Not have our own consciousness, but His, a God !
Not have our own consciousness, but His, a God !
It is a message which does not completely leave Christianity, as we are to be Christ-like, but not consciousness ''All Knowing'' gods ... It does though emphasize Live in the ethics of love as neighbor and yourself.
But there is much more ! Much more !
One question to ask you ???
If it is indeed Faith alone, why is it that the Jews needed a Messiah? Didn't they have Faith in God???
What sense it is that Jesus came to us to introduce Himself? Why
didn't God the Father tell Moses.... Hey by the way, there is a
trinity....
Well, there is some clues in the Old Testament that there was a Divine Counselor on the way...
But, What then does death of Jesus mean?
To be saved? Why didn't Jesus just come to us and say, Hey! I am Lord
of Lords believe in me and you will be saved.... poof, gone pecan?
I actually never clearly understood the death of Jesus myself, I never
understood what it was He was TRULY doing.. and why it was NEEDED...
Why that way?
There is an answer!
God has a plan.
I do not understand the Fall of Man completely, and do not feel ever
will, but I have heard it said that pain and suffering is God's 'megaphone' to us that there is something greater. As we would be absent minded to think that there was anything greater than a world without pain and suffering. The Bible describes the world as in labor. It is working with labor pains for a new life to come from it. As I understand it, in regards to what happened to make the world a fallen existence, has something to do with God’s plan, and
humans behaving in a way that had little Faith in that plan....
So humans ‘fell’ into a death of sin... thus we are mortal, and we suffer in our mortality.
So I won’t be answering exactly why there is suffering in the world
exactly, but what a Christian should understand about suffering. What are we to do as Christians is to take comfort in
Him in the suffering that we do feel.
One of the greatest expressions of Faith is still having HOPE in a scenario where there seems to none.
To have that HOPE acknowledged.... means to be Rescued
To be rescued, means to be Saved.
Jesus
came to save the sins of the world, that is to place the greatest proof
that we are right in Hoping for the coming of being saved.
He rescued our human incapacity to cope with suffering alone.
Christian Faith is not only a feel good Faith, it is a real faith of the real experience of man.
How Glory is God’s blessings when we feel His blessings, but how frightening is the world when we only see despair.
God wants us to know that He is with us even in despair, not to take
us out of that despair, (although he can), but to say, Hey ! Have faith
in me that I will take you out of your misery when it is time to join me
in my Kingdom of Heaven.
He wants to soothe us in the hardest times we face here on Earth, but the reward is not promised on Earth, but in Heaven.
It is a promise of ‘’ you’ll make it if you have Hope in Me’’
And this resonates all throughout our lives...
When we hurt a friend, we need to tell ourselves that things will get better
When we afraid to move on from a boyfriend or a close one, that it will be okay.. Life will go on and I will be ok..
This is how we are rescued from our suffering... because God has given
us a comfort in His resurrection to ensure that He is waiting for us to
join Him.
In the old testament, God knew that His people would constantly struggle in His Mosiac Laws.
He sent prophets, that was not enough for eternal victory, just to get through some tough times... A God of healing...
God KNEW. God knew He wanted to show His people COMPASSION. He knew there would be time for Compassion.
God is consistent in this, that the savior whether prophet or the
Messiah was one to heal the pain by promising a new land, a new age, or a
new testament
He came to the world to SUFFER!
To feel pain and temptation, and experience it Himself. In Compassion..
Which means ''Suffer Together''
The prophets of the Old Testament proclaimed a Coming of the Messiah
... in the time of suffering... They promised VICTORY in the Lord...
that God LOVED them...
even in their suffering....
They were to be patient in their waiting... Patient meaning submit to the pain of yearning ...
Yearning to be relieved of the sufferings of the world,
To CONQUER DEATH
How do we conquer Death? We do not. We are destined to die...
materially. From the Fall of Adam and Eve, we are destined to die.....
die of suffering and choice.
This is especially true of the Jews in the BC years....
They didn't have hope of resurrecting..
So what did that do for them? The suffered in the Law of Moses...
for the sake of the law... not for True faith in God's Divine love...
They didn't understand God's Divine Love...
So their sin was only a sin against the law... the covenant
Covenant by the way is the same word as ''testament''
It is a LEGAL word. Anyone in those days knew it was a legal word.
And the Jews suffered much, in captivity and war even between the time of Moses and Jesus.
But God gave them prophets...
Saying -- You are suffering, BE PATIENT... meaning suffer in your
yearning... God will redeem you, be patient for His Messiah...
So they so yearned for that Messiah... suffering in patience in some of the worst conditions.
Then in the fulfillment of the prophecies, God came...
Suffered, Died, and was Buried....
Out of Compassion and Love He sent His only Son...
To Suffer with Us.. in his ‘Passion’ .. submission to the pain and death He faced
Why do we suffer? Because we do not understand death, we lose our
loved ones to death... and we have No earthly Assurance of its
meaning... so pain is anquish as we do not understand and have hope in
it...
Yet, God in His infinite wisdom and mercy.... Decided He would suffer with us... Compassion through the Passion of Christ
In raising He relieved our suffering showing that there IS more to this world...
You see, in the Jewish theology, some (I think the Sadducees) did not
believe in the afterlife... I think the Pharasees did... I may have it
backward.. but it is in the Bible...
So did Jesus save as the born-again Christians proclaim ...
Did Jesus take away the sins of the world?
Not in the way that there is no sin... that sin is not accomplished by Faith alone...
Jesus conquered Sin by conquering Death.... illustrating to us that there is ''Re Birth'' through death....
There is still sin..
We know this because human's are still not pure in spirit.
We are only in the kingdom when we are pure... Pure of Heart and Pure of Spirit....
We are not, even the strongest believers.
What Faith then do we have? We have faith that DESPITE our
impatience and suffering of our relief... Jesus is coming again...
Jesus is coming again either in our Own Death... Or at the end of Time...
So how did he save the world... BY SHOWING US THAT WE ARE INDEED GOING
TO HIS KINGDOM... HE LIVED IT, BREATHED IT, AND WE ARE SAVED IN
SUFFERING BECAUSE WE HAVE FAITH IN HIS PROMISE TO US... THAT JUST BE
PATIENT!!
JUST SUFFER WITH PATIENCE... BECAUSE WE ARE FALLEN, BUT HE HAS SAVED US
IN HIS EXAMPLE OF PROOF THAT LIFE CONQUERS DEATH, AND LOVE CONQUERS
SUFFERING... HE RESCUES US FROM THE ANQUISH OF NOT KNOWING.
So we in turn have Faith in Him.l
We are like the Jews as we wait for Jesus again.... suffering in impatient, but called to be patient....
The difference? We have assurance that sin is conquered through
death... That in death we are to meet Jesus assuredly, with proof on
Earth.....
So we are to have Faith... not in God will heal us on the Earth.,...
God makes no such promises... Some of the greatest Christians suffered mightily...
Doesn't mean he never helps.... of course he does... But it means there is no promise to help us in our healing
Only a promise of helping us in our suffering ... that He suffered too
to show us that there is a Light at the end of suffering...
In fact, news around the world say Christians are the most persecuted faith in the world TODAY!
Pray for mercy and relief... But do not have complete faith that He will do it... His will be Done.... Not ours...
We see this in the Our Father ! In the our father we ask to be taken
away from sin, not that we are saved by faith from sin. We are human,
God knows our nature.
To say that Jesus came and took away sin is to say that human nature changed at that moment.
It did not, Human suffering changed in the greatest display through
offering us Faith and Hope in the afterlife and demonstrating great
Love...
The Theology is in the Our Father
Our Father
Who art in Heaven
Hollowed by thy Name
Thy kingdom come (starting to say, be patient, ‘’suffer in yearning’’)
Thy will be done (When His will is done, there is no sin or fallen nature
On Earth as it is in Heaven (Earth is not Heaven, we are not perfect, but we are called to do His will as best we can even in our imperfections)
Give us this day, our daily bread (We
hunger for Him, He has shown Himself in Jesus who is with us today to
feed our souls in His sacrifice on the cross by the sacrifice of the
bread)
And forgive is our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us
Lead us not into temptation
And Deliver us from evil (Put
it together, deliver us from evil, as it still exist, but let us do
your will, live right, live by our Faith that you are with us in our
daily bread as promised and forgive us when we do not live by your Will
and sin) ... In other words, sin is still here, we are still to live by
His will to help us against sin and temptation
Our faith is in the promise... the covenant/testament... of the
afterlife and heaven, but also that He is with us today, as He did not
come to abandon us again, but give us His Word, and His Body & Blood in sacrifice to remember what He did on the cross...... suffered with us!
That we should find compassion in Him through His Son in all our suffering.....
In our suffering,... We should have faith in Him... that is what Jesus
has said is True... that there is a better life beyond our suffering
here in this world.....
That is HAVING FAITH.... Not that He exist, the Jews believed God exists....
But Having FAITH in the covenant, the promise... That God is there waiting for us...
He is suffering in waiting as well... to pursue Him towards perfection...
We will not go to Heaven unless we are purified...
This is True..... This is where purgatory comes in....
We are ONLY purified through living by His moral codes... his covenant (legal language)
And as Jesus said, as we have Faith in the covenant...
TRULY, TRULY, I say to you... Eat my flesh, drink my blood... and you will have Life...
We are to be perfect in Faith, before we enter the kingdom.... not
perfect in the faith of believing... but perfect in the Faith that if I
do what I am told, He will welcome me into His Kingdom
There is no better time to be faithful in the promises of Christ
(covenant/testament)THAN in our suffering (Beatitudes... happy are the
poor, those who mourn, the hungry, the meek)
Jesus wanted to make clear, there was a way out of suffering, not in this world, but the next.
It
should be JOYOUS to you that you will not suffer forever, that you will
not sleep in darkness after the injustice you experienced in the world.
Do NOT let others tell you your experience of the world. Do not buy
into things that say they will give you Heaven on Earth. Why not?
Because we will all suffer pain, NO MATTER WHAT WE DO! We will lose
friends, family, children, spouses, parents to DEATH!
This is why Jesus died, He didn’t NEED to die, He was God. He died to
scarifice Himself to the same fate we face, to show us that even in
death, there IS life.
In our death, and in our friend’s death.
The MOST Rich and the MOST Powerful will too. So if you pursue those lives..... It is your life !
All
I am saying is that YOU know THIS WORLD. You know what there is as we
get old, IT DOESN’T change whether we are a college student, a mother, a
boss, or a monk..
We will all feel despair and pain in something, at some point, the promises are not for this world.
How ! low are the promises if it is of this world ! as the promises will as it is said be done with at the End of days.
Yet ! Even in the pain and suffering, how beautiful is this world !
stunning ! So stunning that many will admire it and think it must be
greater than accident. As beautiful nature and our friends can be, just
imagine how beautiful a world without sin is !
But it is a lovely message, that not only are we okay after we die, but it is GOOD ! With our long lost family and friends.
That is the message ! There will be an end of days, for suffering and
sin ! That Jesus has come to suffer with us on the cross and in the
Bread ‘’in the hope of rising.’’
This is what the Book of Revelation is ALL about, Jesus will be victorious at the End...
I recommend reading the ending... It is celebrating on and on with the Glorious Victory of Jesus has over the end
End of suffering
End of despair
End of loneliness
End of life
End of sin
End of the world
How does LAW make us perfect???
It is the road map to becoming perfect in Christ .. Belief in His promises...
Law tells is what a perfect Christian is... it does not say we will
accomplish it, for we are not perfect, but to be perfect Christians...
and we have Confession to help us when we fail in our whole lifetime.
The same way we are freed from sin is the way we are freed from grammar mistakes.....
When we learn a language, we learn the grammar and rules so we can FREELY speak...
If we do not obey these rules, we go astray, and it is pointless to
learn and speak the language as no one will understand you....
As in science... only a good scientist is one who learns and
understand the Laws... so they can freely work JUSTIFIABLY as
scientist....
I wouldn't want to be in a room with a chemist who plays with
chemicals with only knowledge of the chemicals exist and not the rules
of the chemistry.....
That is the problem of Protestantism.... too many people are left
alone to make things up that there are sooo many denominations...
SO many that people are commonly becoming Non-denominational...
Indeed, the BIBLE is suppose to be TRUE.. and UNIFYING... not divisive
For 1300 years Christianity was ONE... but after Luther and until today... we have over 30,000.....
Indeed, it was this Unified Christian (Catholic) Church that put the Bible together....
And yet, it is said Catholics don't know the Bible, have no references in the Bible...
Why would they put things (by things i mean books, not words) in the Bible that is contrary to what they teach...
In fact they did... many books were rejected because the Church said it was not consistent with what the apostles taught....
That is all I will say for now.... There is much more to this story.... The Church is rich in spirituality which helps us cope with our realities, celebrate the Good, and live in Faith which is a great gift of the Saints who show us so many things in infinite unique ways.
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