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Category: Blog Posts (Page 65 of 95)

Why Suicide Bombing?

July 20, 2015 / / 0 Comments

It has always been difficult for me to understand the impulse to end one’s life. Today, we hear a lot about how religious beliefs can lead a person to suicide. We are told that those who kill innocent people in the name of their religion are promised a place in the afterlife of eternal bliss if their own life is also sacrificed.

There must be more to it than that. For one thing, no one can prove this promise to be true and certainly fulfilled. Given the natural instinct for survival, I believe there must be multiple factors involved.

One of the most pessimistic books ever to be written is the biblical Ecclesiastes. In it, the man who calls himself the Preacher declares that all things under the sun are vain and meaningless. The reason he could say this confidently is that he claims to have tried it all. While most people spend their lives in pursuit of pleasure, material wealth, fame, etc., he had it all from the beginning.

In the end, he learned that real meaning can only be found in a relationship with God Who created us all, and that all human activities can be satisfying as we find wholeness, completeness in Him.

Where are you in this journey? Are you still believing that if you get this particular job, find this perfect mate, fulfill this special dream some day that you will finally be satisfied and content? Thankfully, many of us have the opportunity to better our situation, and that is a good thing. But according to the Preacher, all will be disappointed if and when they reach their chosen destination apart from God.

People who delight in killing themselves and others as terrorists often are those who have already discovered the vanity of their existence. Not having the opportunities of a free society, they not only develop a hatred for the wealthy and free, but also a longing to escape their own misery.

Only the affluent cultures can continue longer in the illusion that there is happiness to be found, for like the carrot before the horse, it yet dangles before them. We in the West in our smug superiority do not really know how we would respond to the dark reality that people around the world experience every day.

Those who in despair turn to Christ and His mercy can endure the vanity and seeming hopelessness of the world around them. Their desire is not to destroy life but to share it with others. Their hope is not in this life alone, but this life most certainly has meaning, comfort, love, joy, peace and purpose because of Him.

Let us pray that Christ will be seen and received by potential terrorists in oppressed societies, as well as by the street gangs, the drug lords, the corporate pirates, the educated and elite, the working class, and the homeless in our communities. In Him we can find the true nobility of humanity, that was created by God to reflect His very beauty, glory, wisdom, grace and love!

Is the Bible the Word of God?

July 16, 2015 / / 4 Comments

These days I have been hearing that the Bible is not the Word of God, because Jesus is the Word of God. The statement that Jesus is the Word of God made flesh is actually found in the Bible. But did Jesus Himself believe that the Bible is not the Word of God? When being tempted of the devil for 40 days, Matthew and Luke record for us how Jesus resisted temptation.

Satan challenged Jesus’s sonship to God by telling Him He could satisfy His hunger by changing stones into bread. Jesus answered by quoting scripture:

“It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD’.”
Matthew 4:4 NASU

To what was Jesus referring? Was He saying that He would satisfy His hunger by eating Himself, since He was the Word? Or is He saying that everything that God has and is communicating to us is our spiritual bread?

Consider Hebrews 1:1-3:

“God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power.”
NASU

God spoke through His prophets, as recorded in the Hebrew Bible, which to Christians is the Old Testament. At the very least, the writer claims that the Bible is the record of what God spoke through the prophets. But both the Hebrews and the Early Church believed that even the record of His statements were breathed by God the Holy Spirit as they were recorded.

God communicates both through the spoken word and through His actions. Psalms 33:6: “By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.” The very act of creation communicates to us the nature of God. (Romans 1:20). Certainly God is not limited to communicating to us in writing alone, but writing is to be included and is to our benefit. (2 Timothy 3:16, Romans 15:4).

In this example from Matthew 4, Jesus used the scripture as a weapon against temptation, “the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.” (Ephesians 6:17, Hebrews 4:12).

Yes, Jesus is the Word of God, eternally. It was He who created all things, saying “let there be light.” (John 1:3, Colossians 1:16). So why do we find it difficult to see that Jesus, the Word of God spoke through Moses, Samuel, Isaiah, David, and others when the Spirit of Christ was in them? (1 Peter 1:10-11). Just get out your concordance and see how many times you can find the phrase, “the word of the Lord came to Samuel, Jeremiah, Amos etc.” every time God had something to say to His people.

That is why Jesus Himself called the scripture, the Word of God. (Mark 7:13)

In Acts, Luke calls the Gospel the Word of God:

Acts 6:7: “And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly;”

See also 8:14, 11:1, 12:24, 13:5,7,44,46, 17:13, 18:11, 19:20.

So was Jesus increasing and growing? Or was the message He told the apostles to preach spreading?

To recap, both the things God has said, and His gracious and mighty acts as recording in the Bible, communicate God’s Word to us. Jesus is the Word of God in eternity, and also as revealed in a human being who lived 2,000 years ago, the full and complete revelation of the person and nature of Almighty God. (1 Timothy 3:16)

In these modern times, fewer people believe as they did a generation ago, that this collection of 66 books we have today are the authentic message from God which testifies of who Jesus is. Could it be because they are uncomfortable with the truth it contains concerning our situation, and our need to totally depend upon Someone greater than us?

Kingdom Authority

June 14, 2015 / / 0 Comments

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(Original radio broadcast from April 10,1998)

In these past few weeks we have been underscoring the fact that the great emphasis of Jesus in His earthly ministry was the Good News of the Kingdom of God.

It is interesting to note that in the New Testament, the phrase “Kingdom of God” is found 69 times, while the phrase “Kingdom of Heaven” occurs 32 times and all in the Gospel according to Matthew.

While neither of these phrases are found in the Old Testament, there are numerous references to the subject. In fact, the prophecies in Daniel are very important in showing how both phrases developed.

Consider Dan 2:44: “And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.”

Here we see the fact of the one Kingdom. It is the Kingdom of God, for He alone reigns over it. It is the Kingdom of Heaven, for Heaven is the location of His throne, and the sphere in which all of His subjects actually dwell! In Ephesians 2:6 we read how we who were dead in trespasses and sins, have been made alive in Christ, and even now are seated in heavenly places in Him!

When Jesus prayed, “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done in earth, as it is in heaven,” He knew that God was calling His children unto a heavenly life, which would actually have profound affects on the earthly plane. This is the nature of Kingdom authority. In one sense it is the ability to manifest heaven on earth!

This is in stark contrast with worldly authority, which is a forcing of one’s will over another. Jesus exemplified this authority that was of a heavenly nature, and He also instructed his disciples to follow suit. No mistake can be made concerning His attitude towards human authority, in favor of the power of the Life-giving Word of God!

Mat 20:25-28: “But Jesus called them unto him, and said, “You know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.'”

Luke 22:24-27: “And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest. And he said unto them, ‘The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. But you shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that does serve. For whether is greater, he that sits at the table, or he that serves? is not he that sits at the table? but I am among you as he that serves.'”

Kingdom authority is the ability to serve and give life, but never to control or coerce!

An example of this is found in the sixth chapter of the Gospel according to John. This was a point in time when many of His followers left Him. They said His teachings were just too hard. And so Jesus put to the twelve who remained:

“Will you also go away?”

Then Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life?”(John 6:68).

Jesus never violated anyone’s freedom of choice, but He did wield an authority such as no man has ever known! His authority was in the life that He possessed, and in His ability to share it with others!

To Peter and the others, no other choice would have been reasonable. There was nowhere else to go to satisfy that hunger for true divine, abundant and eternal life!

Reigning with Christ

It is important that we fully understand Biblical rulership. It is based on one’s inner light. Remember when in Genesis the greater light was to rule the day, and the lesser light the night? How does light rule? By giving illumination of course!

Oh how we on earth depend on the sun to give us the light and warmth we need to sustain us! And oh how we need the illumination of the Word and Spirit of God to survive spiritually!

And furthermore, Jesus offered this same Kingdom authority to anyone who received Him and became His disciple. In other words, we too can hold the words of eternal life, and also impart the same life to anyone who will receive them! But we first must humble ourselves to be trained and instructed for servanthood. Your degree of authority in God’s Kingdom will only be equal to your submission unto Him, and your willingness to serve others.

Oh the depth of the wisdom of God! It is so amazing in its simplicity, and wonderful in its working. What mystery revealed! What power released to heal and mend, to deliver and save! No wonder Jesus could go about doing good, healing all those who were sick and oppressed of the devil, for God was with Him! He possessed the authority of a King, but the heart of a servant!

He is the Light of the world, and we are His sons of Light! As we live together under His reign of righteousness, peace and joy, we also become the Light of the world, a city set on a hill that cannot be hid!

Micah 4:1-5: “But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it. For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the LORD our God for ever and ever.”

Can you see how liberating this truth can actually be in your every day experience? No longer do we need to control or pressure others to our will. We merely yield to the wonderful will of our Heavenly Father, and become His Light bearers! Yes, some will resist and reject the Light we offer, but those who run into it will receive grace and wisdom and freedom in Christ!

Believe it! Trust Him! He is giving to you and me the keys to the Kingdom of heaven! You can receive a Word of Life from the Lord to pass on to others! They too can enter into His Kingdom, and know of heavenly places in Christ! You and I can know the joy of serving others — this is Kingdom authority!

But let us never forget: any giving, any sacrifice, any time spent in helping people is not to place them under obligation unto you or the Lord. Some selfless acts will be disregarded and unappreciated, but both you and the Lord will honor that person’s right to choose. Your reward will be found in the gratitude of your Heavenly Father, Who will never forget your love and devotion unto Him.

Your seeds of faith are not limited to financial donations! Every kindness done in the Love of God has kingdom potential! These produce the authority of Kingdom life in others, and work to expand His glorious reign in the earth!

Phil 2:14-16: “Do all things without murmurings and disputings: That you may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom you shine as lights in the world; Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain”.

Do you really want to rule and reign with Christ? Then you must accept the life of humility and service that Jesus offers! Herein is found the power to change the world! And while we have the promise of seeing the fullness of His Kingdom in the days ahead, our reign with Him can begin today, as we understand and apply the principles of His Kingdom authority in our every circumstance even now.

Heavenly Father, often we feel so helpless and powerless to deal with even the kingdoms that war within our own souls. Our fears, our pride, our selfishness often cloud our view of your power and Lordship in our circumstances, preventing us from fully reigning in Life by Christ Jesus.

Forgive us, and grant us the faith and confidence we need to commit our lives and our future into your capable Hands. Give us a fresh vision of your glory, and your purpose in this earth. And then may we trust you to empower us in every battle against sin and unrighteousness, together as one in your Spirit.

Give us the strength to rise up in the earth and shine for you! That others will see our good works and glorify your Name!

Let our every thought word and deed become an expression of this wonderful truth:

Jesus Christ is Lord!

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