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Natural Born Sinners
A Youtube friend sent me one of the most awesome sermons I have read for a person to choose Life in Christ Jesus the Redeemer-Savior.
Even if you are a Christian this is a good refresher of the reason you are Born Again. At the end of the sermon CBYakima has a video by TheAbaloneKid. The two may be one and the same person or two good friends. I am uncertain; nevertheless be sure to read and grasp the sermon that is a road map to Salvation in Christ.
JRH 7/7/14
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Natural Born Sinners
By CBYakima
Sent: 7/3/12
From Here To Eternity, my friend on You Tube.
By God’s command I send you the most important message you will ever receive in this life. Take it seriously. Choose the way of God this very day and receive Godly life now and forever.
It’s the heart condition that exists which is our problem that stops us. We are natural born sinners. Sinners by nature who have no connection to God who is our maker. It is our inherited condition. Because of this God is strange to us. Jesus Christ on the bloody stick (often called a “cross”) is strange to us! This is our condition. We are born separated from God spiritually. Thus God cannot be the leader in our lives. God cannot shed grace upon grace on us. God loves all humans but cannot act in our lives until by His grace and through faith God gives, we believe God, and then, by faith!, receive all God has for each of us in this life, which is in Jesus Christ.
Sin has deceived us, because it is just as natural to us as looking at our face in a mirror. We do not see what our heart, and mind and soul cannot see is our lost condition. Only God can wake us up. Only God can bring life to us from the spiritually dead condition and separation from God we suffer in our lost state. If God would appear right now God would be a total stranger to us.
The proof of our fallen and dead spiritual condition is in our sins. God cannot accept sins and receive a sinner for GOD is perfect and Holy. ONLY JESUS CHRIST CAN STAND IN FOR US BEFORE ALMIGHTY GOD! We are God’s creation. God has given us a way to overcome this condition. Like symptoms of a disease, our sin is the evidence of our lost condition. And even after we are “born again” we will sin because our old nature remains. But when we truly BELIEVE GOD and His WORD, we will be given a new nature through the Spirit of God who will come and reside in us and we will slowly but surely change and understand God more and more.
That’s why God has said we MUST be born again by Spirit and through His word in the Bible which is the truth. He is our physician. Jesus Christ has told us of our condition. Left unattended we will die in our sins and be judged one day by Him.
This is the TRUTH OF GOD, not our thoughts about life but His TRUTHS. Now they seem foreign to us.
In order to overcome it we must be “Born Again”! Jesus Christ is our only sure hope. He paid the price for our sins. He is God the Son with full authority to pay that price in His perfect life and sinless being. Under false accusations and judgment, HE DIED FOR US AND SHED HIS BLOOD ON THE CROSS THAT IS THE PAYMENT for all our sins. And He rose from the dead to guarantee us eternal life in Him.
By receiving this free gift of God’s grace is the only way GOD can have direct communication with us. This is how we become God’s adopted children: through Jesus Christ who is our Savior. He has saved us from the penalty of our sins. He has delivered us from death which is spiritual separation from GOD that already exists, into a new relationship, as children of GOD, FOREVER!
Pick up a Bible and reread the passages I quoted in my message. Read the other verses that accompany those scriptures. It will help you understand more.
I know it’s strange to hear these things. That is natural to our STATE OF BEING. Our life and the society around us encourage our attitude of being “better”, and “Getting more out of life”, “success” “YES WE CAN!” , and taking “our place” as another sucker for all the lost ways, apart from Christ, of the different world orders and their beliefs and philosophies. But we were made BY GOD a long time ago. God gave His human family LIFE! God owns us and all that makes up the earth and Heavens and Galaxies.
God is not mocked by the lost of the world! Mankind is already under judgment for sin. It turned it’s collective back on God a long time ago. And civilizations have come and they have gone into the graveyard of NO returns. And all types of people that make up nations and states are under judgment excepting those who believe on Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior which is who He is. Let me repeat a short but most powerful verse all should learn:
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
God has a ironclad plan for His creation. GOD WILL HAVE HIS WAY. God calls His human creation! That is God’s way. He is calling you. God is telling you the truth. ONLY JESUS CHRIST SAVES. You must believe WHY AND HOW. If you are destined to be a child of GOD through the Son of God, you WILL understand! GOD will open your eyes and you will see and understand by the Spirit of God. Only the Spirit of God can inform you by the Word of God which is revealed to this world, in the Bible, through Jesus Christ who is God.
May God bless you to be His. I am here to help.
Chaim,
AbaloneKid
VIDEO: This I Believe
Does God Make Wicked People Just too Damn them to Hell?
John R. Houk
© June 21, 2012
Here is a query from a person who has listened to the question of Christian faith’s validity or has entertained doubt them self:
Subject: read and let me know ASAP
OK Bible Scholars. It’s been awhile since I posted a question. See if you can explain this.
Proverbs 16:1 says “We can make our plans, but the final outcome is in God’s hands.” Prov. 16:9 says “In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.” Proverbs 19:21 “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.”
[Editor: either the email was sent incomplete by the questioner or my lovely wife who forwarded this to me did not copy and paste the entire query she found on Facebook.]
[…] at God gives us free will. He doesn’t force His will on us; He wants us to choose to accept and serve Him.
I read tonight, but can’t find it now, where it says that God even created sinners for punishment. That seems intentionally cruel that God would create people, knowing He was doing it with the intention of purposely punishing them; as [if] though He created certain people as a “bad seed” so to speak.
Here’s my question: If He doesn’t force His will, then how do these verses make sense? These verses suggest that we choose a path, but God will determine a different one for us if it’s not His will. Or that we were created with a specific purpose, even perhaps an evil one, and no matter what we decide, He will make sure we fulfill that purpose.
Anyone want to tackle those questions?
So let’s begin to answer the query by looking at the New Testament rather than the Old Testament. The Old Testament relates to The Law as given through Moses for the Hebrew Tribes pointing to the coming of the Messiah that would be a better Prophet than Moses. As Christians we know that Prophet that Moses envisioned was Jesus Christ the Son of God who is the Redeemer not only of the Jews but of all who believe in the power of the Lord Jesus’ death, burial and Resurrection that redeems humanity by delivering them from the power of the dark age of Satan’s grasp; i.e. Salvation. That is the New Testament fulfilling The Law and being a better covenant and promise that brings Salvation to all humanity from the bloodline of the Jews. (Side Note: That is why the Jews are still special in the eyes of God. Salvation is of the Jews the Chosen People that were delivered by Moses who in turn bring deliverance to humanity from the slavery of Satan’s age through the Blood of Jesus.)
Let’s set the foundation from 1 Timothy 2: 1-6 and 2 Peter 3: 9-12.
1 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. 3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time, (Bold Italic emphasis mine)
9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us,[a] not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.[b] 11 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? 13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
14 Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; 15 and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, 16 as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.
17 You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; 18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen. (Bold Italic emphasis mine)
Now let’s reprise the question:
I read tonight, but can’t find it now, where it says that God even created sinners for punishment. …
… If He doesn’t force His will, then how do these verses make sense? These verses suggest that we choose a path, but God will determine a different one for us if it’s not His will. Or that we were created with a specific purpose, even perhaps an evil one, and no matter what we decide, He will make sure we fulfill that purpose.
The Scripture that person could not recall is from the Old Testament and is probably Proverbs 16: 4 in the King James Version:
The Lord hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.
I like this examination of verse 4 from GreatBibleStudy.com:
In the above passage, the phrase, “things for Himself” takes us back to the Hebrew word maaneh, which to answer to, or to give a reply to. What is being said in the first part of this verse is, “The Lord hath made all things to answer or give an account unto Him.” With that said, we could accurately read Proverbs 16:4 like this:
The LORD hath made all things to give account unto Him: yea, even the wicked, who think they are off His hook, have to give an account unto Him on the day of judgment.
Doesn’t that make a lot more sense? Now let’s put that verse into context with verses 2 through 5:
16:2 All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits.
16:3 Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.
16:4 [The LORD hath made all things to give account unto Him: yea, even the wicked, who think they are off His hook, have to give an account unto Him on the day of judgment.] (Bold Emphasis Mine)
16:5 Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.
Proverbs 16:2-5
And there you have it! God did NOT create the wicked so that He could punish them. He created all things to give an account unto Him, even those who think they are getting away with their sins now, are going to give an account to Him on the day of judgment.
Typically when such a Scripture is read as a stand-alone thought, the message seems pretty straight forward. That stand-alone message is that God made all that exists and He made the wicked (i.e. sinners) for the “day of evil” which is a reference to the Last Judgment. The Judgment Day for the wicked and devoted sinners will be an evil pronouncement for them.
But does God actually create wicked sinners just so there are some people to give an eternal spanking?
No!
Let’s read the context of Proverbs 16: 1-6 in the New King James Version:
1 The preparations of the heart belong to man,
But the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.
2 All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes,
But the Lord weighs the spirits.
3 Commit your works to the Lord,
And your thoughts will be established.
4 The Lord has made all for Himself,
Yes, even the wicked for the day of doom.
[Verse 4 GreatBibleStudy.com: The LORD hath made all things to give account unto Him: yea, even the wicked, who think they are off His hook, have to give an account unto Him on the day of judgment.]
5 Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord;
Though they join forces,[a] none will go unpunished.
6 In mercy and truth
Atonement is provided for iniquity;
And by the fear of the Lord one departs from evil.
God did not make the wicked so much as a person chooses to live a wicked sinning lifestyle. I am not a Universalist so I don’t believe the wicked will someday make it to Heaven. I do believe the Blood of Jesus Redeems all who believe in Christ’s Resurrection and Lordship will be Saved even if it one’s dying breathe. AND YET, if one’s dying breathe is made out of insincere fear I also believe the wages of sin will be received for the one who believes one can fool God with a trickster lie. God knows the intentions and the state of every male and female’s heart.
So this is my stand to the query: “If He doesn’t force His will, then how do these verses make sense?”
God does not force His Will. God holds one accountable according to the Redemptive Blood of Jesus or the refusal to be covered by the Blood of Jesus.
JRH 6/21/12
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SlantRight Editor: My wife has informed me there is more to the person’s query as I had suspected. I am following with this post without the full status of the query of Diana’s friend.
GOD SPEAKS: NOW IS THE DAY OF SALVATION 2 Cor.6:2.
On Youtube I am friends with AbaloneKid. He is a Christian that looks a bit like a New Age character. Nonetheless the AbaloneKid offers remarkable nugget of truth in the Christian faith.
Below is a video he uploaded that comes with a message of living a Christ-Like lifestyle. Meditate and be blessed.
JRH 6/17/12
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GOD SPEAKS: NOW IS THE DAY OF SALVATION 2 Cor.6:2.
Uploaded by AbaloneKid
Uploaded: Oct 30, 2011
God speaks to us through His Word (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Isaiah 55:11 tells us, “So is my word that goes out from my mouth: it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” The Bible records God’s words, everything we need to know in order to be saved and live the Christian life. Second Peter 1:3 declares, “According as his divine power has given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who has called us to glory and virtue.”
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). When we have a question about a certain topic or decision in our lives, we should see what the Bible has to say about it. God will never lead us or direct us contrary to what He has taught or promised in His Word (Titus 1:2).
Second, to hear God’s voice we must recognize it. Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27). Those who hear God’s voice are those who belong to Him—those who have been saved by His grace through faith in the Lord Jesus. These are the sheep who hear and recognize His voice, because they know Him as their Shepherd and they know His voice. If we are to recognize God’s voice, we must belong to Him. AND WHAT WE HEAR WILL BE ACCORDING TO HIS WORD.
Third, we hear His voice when we spend time in prayer, Bible study, and quiet contemplation of His Word. The more time we spend intimately with God and His Word, the easier it is to recognize His voice and His leading in our lives. We should be so familiar with God’s Word that when God does speak to us or lead us, it is clear that it is God. God speaks to us so that we may understand truth. While God can speak audibly to people, once again: He speaks primarily through His Word, and sometimes through the Holy Spirit to our consciences, through circumstances, and through other people. By applying what we hear to the truth of Scripture, we can learn to recognize His voice.
GOD’S WILL FOR US
Pray, especially when you’re unsure of God’s will for your life. “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him” (James 1:5). “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him” (Psalm 37:7). If you don’t know what to pray, you can always personalize & pray verses such as, “Show me the way I should go, for to You I lift up my soul” (Psalm 143:8) and, “Guide me in Your truth and teach me” (Psalm 25:5).
Christians also have the Holy Spirit to discern what is, or is not, God’s will for our lives. “The Spirit of truth . . . will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13). Sometimes the Holy Spirit will either agitate our conscience if we’re making a wrong decision, or He will pacify and encourage us when we’re leaning toward the right decision. Even if He doesn’t intervene in such noticeable ways, we can have confidence that He’s always in charge. Sometimes God can alter a situation without us even realizing He has acted. “The Lord will guide you always” (Isaiah 58:11).
If God is calling you to take a leap of faith, be encouraged by His presence. “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9). And remember, “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).
God’s Word is our ultimate authority for Christian faith and practice. If you believe you have had a vision and feel that perhaps God gave it to you, prayerfully examine the Word of God and make sure your vision is in agreement with Scripture. Then prayerfully consider what God would have you do in response to the vision (James 1:5). God would not give a vision to a person and then keep the meaning of the vision hidden. In Scripture, whenever a person asked God for the meaning of a vision, God made sure it was explained to the person (Daniel 8:15-17).
Don’t Listen to Atheists – God is Love
John R. Houk
© June 6, 2011
Some atheists go to great lengths to find snippets of the Bible or physical science to disprove the existence of God Almighty. I am one that believes that if the Old and New Testament are taken as a whole there is a harmonious explanation to be found. If one chooses to set to find disharmony they will find it easily. Believers seeking harmony will find harmony. Unbelievers seeking disharmony will find disharmony. Seek and you shall is the principle.
Here is a video that atheists like to show with the belief that the God of the Bible is not a God of love or perhaps does not exist at all:
LOL I don’t even have to watch the entire video to answer this. God is love because of the promise in Genesis 3: 14-15.
14 So the LORD God said to the serpent:
“ Because you have done this,
You are cursed more than all cattle,
And more than every beast of the field;
On your belly you shall go,
And you shall eat dust
All the days of your life.
15 And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head,
And you shall bruise His heel.”
Adam fell and turned man into a fallen nature and the earth into a twisted nature because Adam’s stewardship was transferred to the prince of deception that old serpent Satan – aka the adversary.
What is the reason for suffering, natural disasters, and all matters of evil that God is wrongly accused of causing? It is the Fall of Adam.
What is the solution? The Redemptive act of Jesus Christ who emptied Himself of his Divine attributes to become a man not stained with the Adam’s Fall because a part of His DNA was God. Divine DNA trumps human DNA. The LOVE is in that God did not start all over by destroying the rebellious creation and starting over. Furthermore as the centuries passed on, man became more and more corrupt and the earth more and more twisted and awaiting for the promise of Genesis 3:15.
That promise is partially fulfilled in the death, burial and Resurrection of Jesus Christ paying the penalty of Adam’s rebellious Fall. That which is Redeemed is the human spirit. The human mind, body and the Earth await Full Redemption that begins with Christ’s Parousia (i.e. 2nd Coming). The end of the BOOK tells us that Full Redemption does not arrive until Satan has been secured after his last deception upon humanity after the 1,000 year reign of Christ on Earth. Then the ravaged old Earth is changed into the New Earth and the old Heaven is changed into the New Heaven and man and Earth discover FULL Redemption.
The suffering of the Old Testament is the result of Adam’s Fall and a Fallen nature. The promise of Genesis 3: 15 is the demarcation line that divides fallen humanity that results in the blood line that the last child of Promise would be born to begin the Redemption of Christ bruising the Old Serpents head with the Lord’s feet. That bruising began with the unseen battle between Jesus and Satan between the Lord’s death and the Lord’s Resurrection.
17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.
22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. (Ephesians 1: 17 – 23 NKJV)
1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. (Ephesians 2: 1 – 7; 19 – 22 NKJV)
11 In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. 13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, 14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it. (Colossians 2: 11 – 15 NKJV)
1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore He says:
“ When He ascended on high,
He led captivity captive,
And gave gifts to men.”
9 (Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)
17 This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; 19 who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
20 But you have not so learned Christ, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4: 1 – 9; 17 – 24 NKJV)
These verses catch up with the reason evil things happen with a loving God. God is Love and that Love is evidenced of Him emptying the Divine attributes to suffer the same as a man by becoming man and then redeeming to be back on the path to union with God. All that is left is the future of Full Redemption.
1 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. 2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”
5 Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”
6 And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. 7 He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. (Revelation 21: 1 – 7 NKJV)
I know the next criticism from unbelievers is that the Bible is a collection of old myths; However at this point that argument is irrelevant because the whole basis of this response is because of the YouTube video that enjoys utilizing Scriptures out of the context of the Plan of Redemption to prove the premise that God is not a loving God. Ergo, according to the video, God is either non-existent or a lying higher been that is actually evil. This short version of the Plan of Redemption shows the person behind the dialogue to be a deceiver or a deluded individual according the Scriptures chosen.
JRH 6/6/11
When I Survey the Wondrous Cross
Burr Deming is a fellow that I have had an occasional email exchange with. He has sent to me something he has discovered; however Burr does not offer the person to attribute the thoughts he calls an “Anthem.”
JRH 3/28/11
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When I Survey the Wondrous Cross
Sent by Burr Deming
Sent: 3/26/2011 7:14 PM
I discovered the anthem was inspired by a passage in Paul’s letter to the Galatians that says the world is crucified for me, and I to the world. The idea of removal from the world, a liberation for Paul, must have been an expression of hopelessness for the disciples as they fled Jerusalem. The world is dead to me, and I am dead to the world.
I wanted to apply that to our lives today, and the idea that hope is stronger than despair.
The last part paraphrases part of the original hymn.
Burr
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Is it so hard to imagine the depths of despair
the disciples must have felt in those dark days?
Who will lead us now?
What will happen to us?
How could we have denied him?
When we look to the hardest times in life,
when pain and guilt seem like all we have left,
hope can continue for us, too.
We are not forgotten.
The truth that speaks to the ages,
can touch each of us now.
We are loved no matter what.
Words from centuries ago are sung for us today:
If I could give back the entire universe,
it would not be enough to repay that love.
What Jesus did for me demands my soul, my life.
My all.
In Crisis, Turn to God
Here is a video for those who have lost their faith in Christ or have blamed God for all the evil in their life or in the world. God is good! All the time!
JRH 3/21/11
Salvation Is of the Jews
John R. Houk
© December 14, 2010
Ari Bussel has written an awesome essay with the intended reading audience being Jews. The purpose of the essay is to bring to the forefront practice of Aliyah which was and is the call for Jews to return to the Land of Promise given by God. From the days that Jews faced expulsion from Israel/Judah by Assyria then by Babylonia and again by the Romans; Jews became a people without a national homeland and became known as Diaspora Jews.
From the dispersion of Jews by Romans the Jewish Diaspora grew outside their former homeland renamed Philistia by the Romans. It is from the word Philistia that the word Palestine developed. The Diaspora initially grew in cities outside of Palestine that already had Jewish established populations. Alexandria in Egypt became one of the Jewish religious and economic centers of the Diaspora early on. I am not investigating this now but eventually Jewish populations grew in Europe from Spain to Russia. The persecution of Jews by the increasingly Christian nature of the Roman Empire and Europe undoubtedly led to a strong Jewish desire to return to the city of David; i.e. Jerusalem, the Capitol City of Israel’s greatest King David. Return to Jerusalem the location of God’s Presence on the Temple Mount for Jews.
Jews that observe the traditions of their people regard the Temple Mount as the center of the World because God’s Presence was housed there after Solomon built the First Temple following David’s death. Thus Jews always prayed to return to Jerusalem. Liberal or non-observant Jews perhaps are not so much into the awe of God’s Presence in Jerusalem which may explain there are a significant amount of Jews willing to toss the Old City half of Jerusalem back into Muslim control under the delusion peace will follow from Middle Eastern Muslims and the ones that call themselves Palestinians in particular.
At any rate apart from the Jewish connection to Jerusalem which in my opinion is preeminent. There is a vital Christian connection to Jerusalem. Jesus the son of Mary and the Son of God was descended from the kingly line of the House of Judah which hearkens back to King David. In the Christian perspective the promises to Abraham that followed through the hereditary line of Promise, became available to non-Jewish (i.e. Gentile) people through the Redemptive Sacrificial Blood of Jesus the Christ. Christians do not have the same affinity as Jews about the Presence of God on the Temple Mount because Jesus provides the opportunity of all people to be engrafted to the Natural Seed of Promise. Those that believe in the Risen Savior thus become the adopted sons and daughters of God as part of His Kingdom Family. The concept of adoption should give more meaning as to the reason the Apostle Paul frequently used the phrase about Salvation, “To Jew first and then the Gentile (or to the Greek).” Salvation is of the Jews. As a Christian I consider myself as a friend of Jews even though most Observant Jews may not consider the Christian faith as a group that are friends to Jews. Most Observant Jews frown on Christian evangelism because of the belief that it would be heresy that God would incarnate a human to form the simultaneous human-Divine nature of the Son of God. (Incidentally, the Jewish view of denying Christ’s Sonship is taken up on a militant sentiment by Muslims.)
Here is a paragraph from Ari Bussel’s article, “And They Will be a Nation to Me” (Posted at the end of these thoughts at SlantRight.com):
And it is the word of God, the Almighty: Here I take the Israelites from among the gentiles to where they have departed. And I will collect them from all around and bring them to their land. And I will make them one … and they will be a nation to me and I will be their God. And my servant David will be a king unto them, and one shepherd will be for all. … And they will settle the land that I gave my servant, to Jacob, where your forefathers sat before you, and you will be there, they and their sons and their sons’ sons to the end of day, and my servant David a president to them for eternity.
Bussel’s intent is that one day all of the nation of Israel will be one day collected from its dispersion and returned by the power of God to Eretz Israel. As a Christian I see the return of Diaspora Jews as the plan of God for the Messiah – Jesus Christ – returning for the second time to bring Salvation to all peoples and nations. Salvation is of the Jews.
JRH 12/14/10
