Christian

God First

Christian, Christian Life, General, Guide, Life, Relationship, Thoughts, , , , , , , One comment

re-post
This is stated in the Bible, not actually directly, but when you think upon it does say that. In Matthew (22:37), Mark (12:30) and Luke (10:27), Jesus states that He is adding to the commandment. For He states two things that He calls the greatest commandments. It is also important to state that Jesus said in Matthew 5:17 that He came to fully the law and the prophets not to replace them. This means that the rules that were established in the Old Testament still have power, just in some areas modified since Jesus Himself by dying upon the cross took the need for sacrifices away.
So what I am going to do in this article is define “first” and then I am going to break down the three verses in which Jesus states to place God first. I will then discuss the implication for follow this commandment.
First – Merriam-Webster – preceding all others in time, order, or importance.
Dictionary.com – being before all others with respect to time, order, rank, importance; before some other thing; in preference to something else; rather; sooner.
To be first is to precede and have more importance than anything else.
Matthew 22:37 – Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Love – agapao – to love – I love, wish well to, take pleasure in, long for; denotes the love of reason, esteem
Here is a quote from the Theological Dictionary of the New Testament:
“The possibility of love for God stands under a radical Either/Or:…… (Matthew 6:24). To love God is to exist for Him as a slave for his lord (cf. Luke 17:7). It is to listen faithfully and obediently to His orders, to place oneself under His lordship, to value above all else the realization of this lordship (cf. Matthew 6:33). It also means, however, to base one’s whole being on God, to cling to Him with unreserved confidence, to leave with Him all care and final responsibility, to live by His hand. It is to hate and despise all that does not serve God nor come from Him, to break with all other ties, to cut away all that hinders (Matthew 5:29), to snap all bonds except that which binds to God alone.” (p.45 vol. 1)
All – holos – “whole” or “all;” all, the whole, entire, complete. NTD – “whole,” “complete,” “undivided,”…. In the NT mostly with a noun, and to express its totality.
Heart – kardia – (Latin cor, “heart”); the heart; lit: the heart; mind, character, inner self, will, intention, center. NTD – The use of this word in the Greek agrees with the OT use and concentrates on the heart as the main organ of psychic and spiritual life, the place in man at which God bears witness to Himself…..
2. That the heart is the center of the inner life of man and the source or seat of all the forces and functions of soul and spirit is attested in many different ways in the NT.
Soul – psuche – life, mind, soul; the soul, life, self. (a) the vital breath, breath of life, (b) the human soul, (c) the soul as the seat of affections and will, (d) the self, (e) a human person, an individual. NTD – the “soul” is the part of the human trinity that was created by God to live beyond the body we now live within. In the Theological Dictionary fifty-two pages is spent discussing the various elements within the meaning in the word “psuche” and breaks it down to each usage within the NT, but this is the key element it boils down to.
Mind – dianoia – imagination, mind, understanding; intellect, insight. In the NTD the use of this word is used to signify the actual using of the mind to formulate a thought or decision.
These words are all used by all three gospels and so have the same meaning.
So Jesus is stating that we are to use our complete and undivided attention with our heart, our inner self; our soul that which is destine to stand in the presence of God; and our thoughts, our mind. To give anything, our complete and undivided attention means it is to be first and thus presiding anything else in our lives even in the exclusion of those things that would become more important than God.
This is what many do not wish to do. They wish to place themselves and their desires before God. They say we must change the teaching of Jesus to fit their definition of what they wish the Bible to say. They say if we do not do this we are the ones in the wrong and the problem.
Here is the problem with that mentality. These are the words of Jesus Christ Himself, and per them we are to place God above all and we are to do it completely. Those that follow this and insist it be followed for it is what Jesus Himself taught are the ones being honest to the Bible and following just as Jesus desired all willing to do so to do. So those trying to change the Bible to allow them to live in sin are the real problem and so we need to stay steadfast to the Bible and continue to follow its literal meanings. For to do otherwise would not place God first, but lower than first which is not where Jesus stated He is ever to be.
Placing God first prepares us for the eternal life that is to come. For God will be the center for all that choose to follow Him and His Son. They command we follow without question, even to the far side of the universe in His service. If you do not place God first you live in sin, for it is counter to the words of Jesus our Savior.

NTD = Theological Dictionary of the New Testament

The Greatest Commandments (Re-re-visited)

Christian, Christian Life, General, Guide, Life, Relationship, Thoughts, , , , , View all 2 comments

Why is it that I keep coming back to this teaching of Christ?
Mainly because Jesus Himself placed so much emphasis upon it. To love God first and always.
This is a very simple statement, but it is one of the hardest of all things to do. To place God before yourself ESPECIALLY in today’s society is one daunting effort. How do I know this? Because I struggle with it every single day. So since I know how hard it is, is it any different for anyone else? I am just an average guy, if you saw me on the street you would walk right passed me. I am in no way special. That means I know how others respond to this. I see how they act and compare it to how I act. We all do this. Some might call it judging, but that is not what I am doing. I am just comparing how we act to how we are told to act in the Bible.
How can you place God first if you are more interested in what is on the television?
How can you place God first if you are more concerned about how you look when you go out?
These are just two examples. There are thousands more and would take too long to list them out.
When you place life before God you are worshiping it. This is something that has been done for thousands of year and has caused thousands of wars, murders and other types of bloodshed and mayhem. All of which leads to a selfishness and desire to be the center or ruler of it all, in one form or another.
An excellent example is how people perceived the universe just before the Renaissance period of our history.
At this time, most not only thought of the world as flat, but that the sun, the moon and stars all revolved about this planet we live upon. This is mass selfishness. A selfishness that made people to build castles and fight one another for dominion over one another.
Well we again live in an era of mass selfishness. Are we due for a new renaissance? Maybe. Ever since we found out that the earth revolved about the sun it cause a change in how we thought for a time being. It enabled Martin Luther to post his thesis on the door, which in turn caused the church which was then solely the Catholic Church, which selfishly desire to control the teachings of the Bible to splinter and so protestants came into being in the formation of the Lutheran Church.
Now we are in an era where we find not only is our sun, even though the center of our solar system, is just one of a million stars that make up the Milky Way Galaxy and that there are millions of other galaxies out there. Within them their own solar systems and within them their own planets that circle that a sun.
This has caused a rift in faith. It has caused many to run from God thinking that He is not real since we are just a speck within a huge universe, some place off to the side and we have no meaning.
I beg to differ with this thinking. One of the greatest qualities we can have is humility. If you are the center of it all are you truly able to become humble? The answer to that is no.
So to me, God placing this tiny speck of a planet on the edge of a galaxy is to teach us that it is not us that is important, but God. It is meant to make us look at the universe, even though we are in a small part of it and see that it is His creation. To see that WE are His creation. This universe is so vast and it expanse so big that it is immeasurable, yet here we are living, thinking beings. How can people even consider we are here as a random accident caused “maybe” by a comet that “maybe” carried the right combination of cells to “maybe” cause life? That entire thought process is laughable when you really consider it, yet millions are buying into it. Why? Because Christians do not understand their true existence themselves. They themselves question how and where they come from. Why? Because they are human.
Humanity is not perfect. All of us have doubts. All of us question, which results in a misunderstand of the teaching of the Bible. Which resulted in for example a Lutheran priest to tell his congregation the book of Revelation is nothing but a story made up to scare people. Yet at this very moment elements of the last book of the Bible are coming true at this very moment. A book in the Bible that is also witnessed by the book of Daniel reaffirming that in reality it is not a fairy tale but like the entire Bible the words of God given to us to know that we are His creation and that even though we are but a speck within this huge and wondrous universe. A universe so filled with beauty, that God sees us as something beautiful and wonderful. For we are His creation, something that He said is worthy of existing.
Think upon this, and become humble, and realize that if you seek to be the center of it all you are in reality denying God, since time and again He tells humans that they are not the center of the universe, but that HE is.
So as the second of the greatest commandments tells us to do. We are to love our fellow human beings as we love ourselves, but to do that we my first humble ourselves. For when you humble yourself you realize that you could never be at the center of anything and we are to treat ALL humanity as not only our equals, but as our brothers and sisters in this wondrous creation of the Creator our Lord God, the Father of our Savior the Christ, Jesus.

The eviction notice is posted

Christian, Christian Life, General, Guide, Life, Relationship, Thoughts, , , , , Leave a comment

re-post
The eviction notice for the human race has been posted. Time is running out for humanity in this current temporal format. But what was the eviction notice. It came in two parts. The first was the acceptance of carnal sin and its legalization. The second, which in a way was the true first, but its actions being exposed after the first can make it the second, was the slaughtering of unborn infants for their body parts.
A huge celebration went across this nation for the first and the second has been buried into silence or over shadowed by the death of a wild lion. The mere fact that people celebrated the former and cared more for an animal over the slaughter of innocence showed God that the human race has crossed a threshold that has been crossed before. This time it took nearly a thousand year to cross, which was an improvement, but it has been crossed none the same. From here it is all downhill for humanity and it is time to choose your eternal fate.
But what are our options?
This is what the Bible states. Those that accept God and follow His teaching will most likely be persecuted, ridiculed and hated in the time remaining to those that are upon this planet at this time, but in return we will be rewarded by being allowed to explore the universe and all it wonders by doing this task or that task for the Lord God Almighty.
For those that accept this world and enjoy its pleasures will receive a pit of fire as worms eat upon their eternal flesh for all eternity.
Just for the record I have chosen the former and have embraced that fact that I may have my own head cut from my body with a dull knife. It is something that I know will hurt but I have accepted it and willing to die for my faith, my beliefs and my God.
I am willing to stand for the teaching of God and that the murder of an unborn child that is more important than a lion. I am willing to say you must not live in a sin to the point of “legitimizing” it by a ceremony you think God will accept and acknowledge when in fact it is compounding the sin and making it worse. You are actually sinning worse and so the result will be worse.
God knew us before we were conceived. If God can know us before the sperm and the egg join then our souls are present within the womb, and the child within the womb is a living human being. All this body we live within is just a vessel to carry our souls about till God says our time is finished in this temporal reality. We either have severed God and our task for Him is finished or God has seen enough and wishes our sins to end before they are made even more compounded as others have chosen to do.
Here is the thing. God may know who will make it and who will not, but we don’t. If we turn from God there is still a chance to return to Him.
God may count you as one of His, but you will only know this if you make the choice. If you make the effort to turn to God. We are governed by free-will. It is our choices that we must make. We are making them because how we choose will ultimately teach us and allow us to be able to serve God in whatever task we are to be assigned in the eternal future that is to come. What these tasks will be is unknown for we are not to know at this time.
But what we do know without any doubt is the fate of those that turn away from God and embrace the pleasures of this short and temporal life we all live within. The fate is listed in the Bible in Isaiah and in Revelation. It is within the pit of fire where those that will be sent there will always be thirsty, will be burned and will have their flesh eaten by undying worms, as undying as they themselves will be having been given an eternal body just as those that serve God will receive. It will be real, as real as you looking at this computer screen or cell phone as your read this right this moment. Just this real but never-ending.
This is the fate of those that do not turn from their sin. This is the fate for those that commit human sacrifices by crushing the skull of an unborn child and then cutting his or her flesh apart for their organs. Just as was the fashion for those that gave sacrifices unto gods of stone and gold. The animal’s organs were cut out of them and each given in a further sacrifices to these carved blocks of stone, but that is not how these abominations are done now. They are done for the greed and glorification of humanity instead of a stone idol it is for Lamborghinis and fancy homes and vacations. This shows that this humanity that is so corrupt that these children’s deaths is seen has nothing when compared to the death of a wild animal in the middle of Africa. Weep. Weep for if you do not change, now your fate is sealed and it is going to be horrifying and ever eternal.

Which is more important? The person sitting in the pew or the soul of the person

Christian, Christian Life, General, Guide, Life, Relationship, Thoughts, , , , , Leave a comment

re-post
From what I have witnessed throughout my involvement in many “churches” is they say the latter but it is really the former that is more important to them.
If they really sought to help the person to Christ they would have established long ago a method of outreach to those asking for God’s help and salvation. This lack of outreach is a major reason “churches” are shrinking and also why many look down upon Christianity as a whole.
I am reminded of the line from the movie “God is not dead” in which the professor says “The most ardent Atheist was once a Christian” (this may be paraphrased so forgive the inaccuracy). The reason behind this falling away is these people come into a “church” and they see people saying one thing and then living a life totally opposite that which they say they are doing in “church.” This is called hypocrisy and is the core of what is called a “lukewarm.”
In Revelation 3:15-16 we see what Christ thinks of the “lukewarm.” He said it would be best to be cold or against God then to be lukewarm. For He would spit out from His body those that are lukewarm.
This hypocrisy is not limited to those that go to many places that call themselves “churches.” It is also found within their leadership who have become no better than the Pharisees of the time when Christ walked upon this planet. For what is more important to them is not their congregation, but the money in the tithing. The almighty dollar is now their god, not the true God they feign to represent.
This is extremely noticeable in large churches where it is easy to have nonsense sermons that do not give any real growth for those listening. They encourage any and all to attend for their goal is not the soul but a new house or car or even more bling.
Many of today’s “churches” really aren’t. They are simply a type of social club and within them are their clichés and status structure, but no real nourishment of the soul and its need to connect with the Creator of the universe, God.
People use them to network and plan events meant for the world but not God. Instead of teaching what is sin and the need to stop sinning these social clubs encourage and even celebrate sin. All the time thinking they are one with God, but in reality are on the highway to hell.
This is what those truly seeking Christ come into these places and all they see is the world and so they turn their back upon God not realizing that what they witness was not Christianity, but what it actually was…. the world. So they leave disheartened and discouraged not realizing that it was not true Christianity they had witnessed, but the lukewarm.
To Christ the lukewarm are so distasteful to him that He rejects them yet they go on living as if they are fine with God living in their hypocritical lives.
This is exactly what Satan wants to see and so makes it easy for the lukewarm to be placated and content in their fantasy they call “Christianity” For they have fallen for the fable and are happy to be one with it. These social clubs are worse than prosperity churches, for at least with prosperity churches you can easily see the lie, but in the social clubs it isn’t that easy for the lie is just under the surface hidden just under true scripture, but these scriptures never tell those going that they are sinning against God for to say anything bad would make people leave and with them their money.
What is really sad is that there are more social clubs then real churches and so those that see the hypocrisy and have found the Lord leave them. Seeking to find a true church home, but rarely do. So those that can truly help those seeking to find Christ are not brought together as they once were when a church was the church which causes those that could have been saved or saved sooner to suffer in their loneliness and sorrow.

Confessions of a screwed up middle ages man: Negative consequences

Christian, Christian Life, General, Guide, Life, Relationship, Thoughts, , , , , Leave a comment

Over the past several decades as we hear from the pulpit and dais of most churches. The statement that there is a negative consequence if you do not accept Christ as your Savior and live a holy life, is non-existent.
I actually believe that this omission is a form of lying. It has caused the inclusion to the point of allowing those that live in sin to be able to stand in the pulpit and upon the dais, thus killing this body of Christ they stand before once it occurs. For they only reach this point with the approval of all within this group.
The trail to heaven is narrow and filled with many obstacles. The road to negative consequences is wide and well-traveled.
Still people contact me and say: “hey you need to be more positive in your message.”
I hear this. However, I must ask this. If people do not understand that Hades is real, that the pit of fire will hold those that are told without question that live in sin. Why not let them know this?
Is not letting them know that their actions have negative consequences the most pure type of love?
Do I desire any to go to hell? NO!!!!!
Yet if all I say is God loves you. What have they learned?
They will live their lives as they see fit and how they wish to live. They will even rise up to be leaders in the church and say that God loves us all as we are.
I say this:
Yes God loves all of humanity, and He desires all to come to heaven. But He only gives one path to Him. It is through His Son Jesus Christ and the abandonment of living in sin. You cannot say Christ is my Savior and still live in sin. This is made clear within the Bible. It is made clear you can never get into heaven or enter into the eternal life in His service if you live entirely in sin.
I say this out of love. For I desire that which Jesus Christ desires, that all should make it into Heaven. Yet both and I Christ are realistic and know that most will not make. That most will enter into the Pity of Fire beside Satan Himself, and they will know eternal sorrow. For these are the negative consequences to living a life in sin.
This is what happens when you spare the rod. Without fearing negative consequences they become spoiled, selfish and self-serving. This is why knowing and understanding the Bible is so essential. If they do not know what is the correct way they should strive to live. How can they know what will lead to the ultimate of negative consequences.

Confessions of a screwed up middle aged man: The lame excuse

Christian, Christian Life, General, Guide, Life, Relationship, Thoughts, , , , , Leave a comment

Now I must start this article with referring to 2 Timothy 4:1-5 (KJV)
“I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; 2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. 5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.
Now as can be seen, Christians are to use the Bible to reprove, rebuke, and exhort; at the very least our fellows, at the most everyone else.
Now why bring this up?
As I have mentioned in the past postings. I work with someone whose interpretation of the Bible is extremely questionable.
Well once again he came in late to work, and actually someone else pointed out that he was not being a good “Christian.” I couldn’t resist and confirmed. He asked where in the Bible does it state that to be late to work you are not being faithful to God. I told him:
Ephesians 6:5 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ. 6 Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. As slaves of Christ, do the will of God with all your heart. 7 Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. 8 Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do, whether we are slaves or free.
This angered him. He questioned,
“Are you perfect?”
I had no choice but to reply, “No.”
“Then you worry about you and you let me worry about me.”
This is the lame excuse. Throwing our imperfections at us just so they can continue to live in sin. Only one person is perfect and at this time He is not in this temporal reality. So any with a real understanding of the Bible can only respond in one way. This leaves the door open to allow those that wish to live a sinful live to do so.
Choosing to live in sin is everyone choice as I covered in yesterday’s post. However, when we say to the world we are “Christian.” We must attempt to live our lives in a reflection of Jesus Christ. We must attempt not to sin and to overcome sin when we have fallen on our face in your effort.
As you can see from 2 Timothy. We are required to help our true brethren in Christ. That is why we are to fellowship. To encourage and help us when we are in need. Our lives once we accept Jesus as our Savior are no longer ours. They are God’s. We are His tools to use as He see fit, which is one reason we are to live in moderation and not excess. If we spend all our money on ourselves we are not following God but our own desires and lust. Living in moderation we have money left that allows us if need be to up root our lives in short notice so that we can go where the Lord commands us to go. Yet most do not, because they live in the lame excuse that their sins are their problem. When the Bible has shown that their sins is the problem of the entire Body of Christ. For we are to work together to seek after the perfection we shall truly never achieve until we meet Christ in heavens above when we are given our immortal bodies. However, we must strive to accomplish just that, perfection.
So if someone chooses to use the lame excuse, pity them. For they might not make it to the blessed moment of true and eternal perfection. Only time and God will tell for us all.

Choice

Christian, Christian Life, General, Guide, Life, Relationship, Thoughts, , , , Leave a comment

This is the focal point of free-will. The ability to choose to sin or not to sin. This is the gift and the curse humanity was given by God when we were created.
However, good choices are something that is becoming difficult if not impossible to make in today’s world. One example: Islam does not allow choice. It is either the Quran or death. It is this not being able to have a choice that draws those on the left toward. They think that the few should tell the masses how to think. Many not realizing that the “few” means a few hundred people at the most. While the masses is millions if not billions of people, including themselves. What is even more amazing is this “love” they have for this religion of Islam, is that when it comes to power. Most within the left will die at the hands of those that are the most ardent followers of it.
A prime example: the entire LGBTQ community.
Now here is the kicker. Those that truly follow the Bible do not agree with, nor support this lifestyle. However, they fully understand that these people’s choices to live their lives in this temporal life in sin. That Christianity as a whole offends those within the LGBTQ community, because it is made clear within the Bible that they are not welcome in Heaven. Islam says the same, but they don’t make it as visible as Christians do. Why?
Those in Islam just kill you, so you don’t see it because if it is found out it is permanently removed. Christians are just vocal about it. Saying that they need to stop living in this manner. It is this constant reminder that gets under their skin. For they keep hearing they are not living correctly in their choice.
Choice, is a very complex thing and most hardly think about its consequences on any level. Every single choice you make no matter how little can affect your relationship with God. This is why it is made clear within the Bible that the parents are fully informing their children of the Bible. Leviticus and Deuteronomy showed the ancient Jewish nation how to live their lives under the law and what was required to live a wholesome and pure live. These books are now totally ignored for the most part. They should not be.
Matthew 5: 17 “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. 18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved. 19 So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. 20 “But I warn you—unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!
Having faith and doing the all the commandments of the Bible, which are in the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy. Yes it is not just the core Ten Commandments, or more accurately twelve, since Jesus added two.
Matthew 22:37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
The choice not to teach our children the Bible has led more than an entire generation down a path where they are not even aware that how they simply live is leading them not toward God but away from Him. These choices over the last one hundred years at the least has gotten us to where there is a LGBTQ community. A community that by its very nature should not exist if they were truly taught the Bible. For they would realize that they are those of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Yes the need for the scarify was removed, but all other matters within these two books technically have not. Within these books is how we should live our lives, adjusted to today’s advance in technology, but still how we should choose to live. In moderation, caring for God and His Son than which sport team is doing best this month, or which movie or TV show is best to distract us. Watching sports and TV and movies are also choices. A choice to ignore the truth. That we are not living our lives as we should in the eyes of the Lord.
It is these choices that are truly sad. However we can change this. We can start to live our lives by choosing to truly follow the Bible. By choosing to live with both faith and by doing the works taught within the Bible, both equally. For that is what the Bible says what we are to do. Living only in faith is death, while living solely in works is also death. It is the choice to live both faith and works that is life. A life that may lead to an eternal life in the service of God our Creator.

A look into the transfiguration of Jesus

Christian, Christian Life, General, Guide, Life, Relationship, Thoughts, , , , Leave a comment

Due to some recent things. I felt there was a need to take a close look into the transfiguration of Jesus Christ. It is shown within three of the Gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke.
Matthew 17:1 – Six days later Jesus took Peter and the two brothers, James and John, and led them up a high mountain to be alone. 2 As the men watched, Jesus’ appearance was transformed so that his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light. 3 Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared and began talking with Jesus. 4 Peter exclaimed, “Lord, it’s wonderful for us to be here! If you want, I’ll make three shelters as memorials—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 5 But even as he spoke, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy. Listen to him.” 6 The disciples were terrified and fell face down on the ground. 7 Then Jesus came over and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” 8 And when they looked up, Moses and Elijah were gone, and they saw only Jesus.
The beginning of this in-depth starts with verse three. So let’s look at it in the KJV:
“And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him.”
There appeared – optanomai – become seen (appear), I appear, am seen (by), let myself be seen (by). See horaō – see, often with metaphorical meaning: “to see with the mind” (i.e. spiritually see), i.e. perceive (with inward spiritual perception).
The three humans present at this event, Peter, James and John, by the mere fact that Jesus was transformed to His true appearance allowed them to gain temporary access into the non-temporal plain of existence. This enabled them to see both Moses and Elijah who are in paradise otherwise known as heaven. Jesus in His true form is as powerful as God, and so can breach the veil between realities.
This was the first time John encountered this. The second time was more extensive.
Revelation 1:1 – This is a revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants the events that must soon take place. He sent an angel to present this revelation to his servant John, 2 who faithfully reported everything he saw. This is his report of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Revelation 1:10 – It was the Lord’s Day, and I was worshiping in the Spirit. Suddenly, I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet blast. 11 It said, “Write in a book everything you see, and send it to the seven churches in the cities of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.” 12 When I turned to see who was speaking to me, I saw seven gold lampstands. 13 And standing in the middle of the lampstands was someone like the Son of Man. He was wearing a long robe with a gold sash across his chest. 14 His head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow. And his eyes were like flames of fire. 15 His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and his voice thundered like mighty ocean waves. 16 He held seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp two-edged sword came from his mouth. And his face was like the sun in all its brilliance.
To look further into John extended vision continue to read the book of Revelation. However the main topic here is the transfiguration.
The purpose was to show these three chose men within the disciples, that Jesus truly is the Son of God. Peter however went too far. First he acted like Jesus was His Father, and second he desired to make altars or shelters. This causes God to make His presence known by the appearance of a cloud of light. In Mathew and Mark the words of God are the same. In Luke they are slightly different. So let’s look at these:
Matthew 17:5 – But even as he spoke, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy. Listen to him.” (NLT)
KJV – “While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.”
Mark 9:7 – Then a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my dearly loved Son. Listen to him.” (NLT)
KJV – “And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.”
Luke 9:35 – Then a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, my Chosen One. Listen to him.” 36 When the voice finished, Jesus was there alone. They didn’t tell anyone at that time what they had seen. (NLT)
KJV – “And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.”
This shows the problem with translations of translations. So as should be those that truly seek to know the teachings of the Bible, we go to the Greek.
My beloved Son – mou agapetos huios
Agapetos – divinely-loved; beloved (“loved by God”)
Now the word “son” or “huios” as it is in the Greek opens up a whole range of information. That not only deals with Jesus, but those that chose to follow Him.
These are the definitions of the word “huios:”
(1) A son (by birth or adoption); (figuratively) anyone sharing the same nature as their Father. For the believer, becoming a son of God begins with being reborn (adopted) by the heavenly Father – through Christ (the work of the eternal Son)
(2) (“son”) emphasizes likeness of the believer to the heavenly Father, i.e. resembling His character more and more by living in faith
(3) (“son”) highlights the (legal) right to the Father’s inheritance, i.e. as the believer lives in conformity with the Father’s nature (purpose).
We know that in this instance it is God referring directly to Jesus has His birth son. As we look at these definitions though we gain an insight into how ALL that call themselves “Christian” should behave and relate to God.
It clearly states that once you are a “Christian” your life changes. It starts to become a reflection of not only Jesus, but God Himself.
So those that become “Christian” and seek after worldly wealth and big homes, are in reality NOT becoming Christ like. They are becoming just the opposite.
To become “Christ like” we seek after moderation. We live modestly. We do not seek to bring attention to ourselves, but to God and His Son. We obey the laws of the land, like going the speed limit. We do not join the speed crowd to “go with the flow of traffic.” That is in essence saying I am sinning because everyone else is sinning. Again this is not a reflection of God. However this insight has distracted from true course of this article.
So the words of God make it very clear. Jesus IS His Son and all that he teaches we are to listen to and apply to our lives so that in time, as we grow in our faith, we too can hear the words from God Himself.
“This is my beloved child.”

The burning hatred

Christian, Christian Life, General, Guide, Life, Relationship, Thoughts, , , , , View all 2 comments

It is something that has plagued Christendom. Here is an example:
Patzia, The Making of the New Testament, 158
“Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judaea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome… Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty: then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind.”
As we know Nero framed the Christians for the burning of Rome. He proceeded to use their persecution as a source of entertainment for the masses. With the rise of ISIS this type of “entertainment” is on the rise once again. We are also seeing this starting to be played out by the behavior of those within groups like the “Antifa” in the United States.
A hatred that has been fed and manipulated by those that wish to remove God from this country. Through the removal of it from the schools and public venue.
The real problem though is that most of those that call themselves “Christian” also are contributing to this hatred. Why? Because they do not truly live a Christian live nor even attempt to try too. However in their eyes they are “Christian,” not realizing they are actually causing and creating the hatred because of their hypocrisy.

Why is there “chance?”

Christian, Christian Life, General, Guide, Life, Relationship, Thoughts, , , , Leave a comment

Not “chance,” as in gambling, but “chance,” as in why something happens beyond what is perceived to be within our control. However, it is in part due to your actions and those of other. This is a byproduct of free-will, and in many cases humanities inherent nature to sin.
Our choices and our actions through free-will is what governs our activities every single day. From getting up in the morning to driving to work and either going straight home or doing something totally different. At the same time those that live about you are doing close to the same as you. Their action may take them in their own direction. You will most likely never see them. You will most likely never encounter them. Yet here is where chance comes in. You meet them in a way in a store, at the gas station, driving down the road. Then one day, one moment, your lives interact through your free-will choices and chance enters your life. You have a wreck for example. You meet your future husband or wife. This is the chance created by free-will.
This explains all the happiness, all the sorrow. All the greatest moments in history to the greatest horrors in human history. All due to the chance of free-will. This alone, this chance, should be enough to confirm the existence of God. This also shows that the teachings within the Bible understands this basic element within God’s instilment of free-will within all of us. Does this fact make God responsible for the best and the worst? No.
What it does show and confirm, that it is up to each individual person, through their free-will to decide where they wish to proceed. To make the right choice, they must be informed of ALL their options. ALL their choices, be it good or evil in result. A choice that shows all aspects of humanity, be that of believing in God of the Bible to those of other religions. To those that deny the existence of God.
The Bible makes it clear that we are to teach all children. However parents for nearly one hundred years have neglected or intentionally failed in this task. So thousands if not millions have no concept of what is the right or wrong choices they make on not only their daily lives and interactions but ultimately their very salvation itself. So as this misinformation continues; the increase in darker, sadder, more horrendous events within chance occur. This is as it has always been. As the cycles of understanding turn to misunderstanding. So too does the cycles of violence, increasing and decreasing as the true teachings of the Bible are learned and then forgotten. Violence increasing as the teachings of the Bible are forgotten and then decreases when they are remembered.
All due to the corruption within us due to both Adam and Eve eating of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. All humanity lives in sin and only through the acceptance of Jesus as our Savior are we cleansed. However even though our souls are clean we still live within a sinful body, and due to free-will we will still have encounters with others in humanity be it good or bad. It is still chance.