Tag Archives: God of Israel

A biblical answer to your question: following our belief that Jesus was not God from the beginning, but the Son of God

The words in Isaiah 9 are often cited as “proof” that the promised child is God Himself:

“and he is called: Wonderful Counsellor, Strong God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isa 9:5, NBG’51 translated).

“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder. And His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” (Isa 9:6 KJ21)

But the words just before that:

“A child is born to us, a son is given to us”

can surely hardly refer to Jehovah the God of gods.

For just as a son must be distinguished from a father, this child must be distinguished from God the Father. Surely it would be unclean of you to ask that you believe that Jehovah or Yahweh, the LORD, the mighty Creator and God of Israel, made the promise that He would appear as Son (of Himself?)?

No, what is meant is the son from the dynasty of David, who by faith and obedience is entitled to the throne (Isa 9:6; Ezek 21:27; Luke 1:32). This son is called elsewhere in Isaiah the servant or servant of Jehovah/Yahweh ()Isa. 53:11).

“He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied. By His knowledge shall My righteous Servant justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities.” (Isa 53:11 KJ21)

God and His servant are clearly distinguished.

Jesus himself also makes this distinction (John 17:3).

“And this is life eternal: that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent.” (Joh 17:3 KJ21)

Isaiah calls him

“Wonderful Counsellor, Godly Hero, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (Isa 9:5 NBV).

Jesus represents his God and may be called ‘God’ or ‘Divine Hero’ in that sense. Obviously not in an absolute sense, otherwise Isaiah would have believed in several Gods – which is completely contrary to his message (see also Isa 45:5).

“I am the LORD, and there is none else; there is no God besides Me. I girded thee, though thou hast not known Me,” (Isa 45:5 KJ21)

The servant of God was obedient to the death at the stake (or as many Christians believe: on the cross), proving that he was not God but man (see also the preaching of Peter and Paul, Acts 2:22,23,32; 17:31).

Jesus will be like a ‘father’ to his people. He has been given power of attorney to lead his people. As God is the Shepherd of His people, Jesus has received power to be shepherd of all who believe in him. It was more common for a king to be ‘father’ to God’s people (Isa 22:21).

“And I will clothe him with thy robe and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand; and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.” (Isa 22:21 KJ21)

A son honours his father, a servant his lord (Mal. 1:6).

“”A son honoreth his father, and a servant his master. If then I be a father, where is Mine honor? And if I be a master, where is the fear of Me? saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, who despise My name. And ye say, ‘Wherein have we despised Thy name?’” (Mal 1:6 KJ21)

Eventually, there is only one God, one Father (Jehovah/Yahweh).

“Do we not all have the same father, has not one and the same God created us?” (Mal. 2:10).

Jesus is God’s son and that is how all New Testament writers paint him! Not surprisingly, Jesus never called himself ‘God’!

 

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Please come also to read

  1. God of gods
  2. Only One God
  3. God is one
  4. The Almighty Lord, God above all gods
  5. The “I am” statement
  6. Foretold Messiah 2 a Voice giving The Word to His servants
  7. God’s Face shining on His servant
  8. The wrong hero
  9. The Climax of Matthew’s story
  10. The saviour Jesus his human side
  11. Authority from the One God to one mediator between God and men
  12. Entrance of a king to question our position #1 Coming in the Name of the Lord
  13. The Servant’s Prayer
  14. Looking for a shepherd for the sheep and goats

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Filed under Questions asked, Religious affairs

Praise to God the Most High King Who is above all gods

There is only one to whom we want to proclaim His salvation from day to day throughout the whole earth, and that is the mighty God, the Eternal Father. His gift is eternal life to those who will honour Him. It is not the dead that we should praise, but the living God. Everything that has breath must ultimately praise Jehovah, Who takes pleasure in His People.

Glorious is our God His Name in all the earth! He who has set His majesty above the heavens and the earth. Many do not want to know about Him. But the day will come when they will be terrified and see that He is the Supreme King who rules the earth.

Let us sing praises and honours to the Most High, that He may make Himself known and exalt Himself so that His glory may encompass the earth. We look forward to the day to come when Jehovah God all on earth will be worshipped by all and praised with praise. All will sing in praise of His Name, and all will know and acknowledge that He alone, whose name is Jehovah, is the Lord of lords and of all the earth Who is seated on the Most High Throne.

All will recognise that Jehovah is the Only God, the Sovereign Lord, rising high above all the gods over all the earth. Before That God Whose Works are great, numberless, and created with His wisdom, we behold the earth filled with His riches.

To that God we pray that His majestic glory will encompass the earth and that He will remember our name and take us to Himself, that we may go on living in joy.


“Concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but One.” (1Co 8:4 KJ21)“Sing unto the LORD, all the earth; show forth from day to day His salvation.” (1Ch 16:23 KJ21)

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Ro 6:23 KJ21)

“Therefore the LORD God of Israel saith: ‘I said indeed that thy house and the house of thy father should walk before Me for ever.’ But now the LORD saith, ‘Be it far from Me; for them that honor Me I will honor, and they that despise Me shall be lightly esteemed.” (1Sa 2:30 KJ21)

“Honor the LORD with thy substance and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:” (Pr 3:9 KJ21)

“The dead praise not the LORD, neither do any that go down into silence.” (Ps 115:17 KJ21)

“1  Praise ye the LORD! Sing unto the LORD a new song, and His praise in the congregation of saints! 2 Let Israel rejoice in Him that made him; let the children of Zion be joyful in their King. 3 Let them praise His name in the dance; let them sing praises unto Him with the timbrel and harp. 4 For the LORD taketh pleasure in His people; He will beautify the meek with salvation. 5 Let the saints be joyful in glory; let them sing aloud upon their beds.” (Ps 149:1-5 KJ21)

“1  Praise ye the LORD! Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in the firmament of His power! 2 Praise Him for His mighty acts; praise Him according to His excellent greatness! 3 Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; praise Him with the psaltery and harp! 4 Praise Him with the timbrel and dance; praise Him with stringed instruments and organs! 5 Praise Him upon the loud cymbals; praise Him upon the high sounding cymbals! 6 Let everything that hath breath praise the LORD! Praise ye the LORD!” (Ps 150:1-6 KJ21)

“And I heard every creature which is in heaven and on the earth, and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, saying, “Blessing and honor and glory and power be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever!”” (Re 5:13 KJ21)

“Praise ye the LORD! Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in His commandments.” (Ps 112:1 KJ21)

“And again they said, “Alleluia!” And her smoke rose up for ever and ever.” (Re 19:3 KJ21)

“«To the chief musician: Upon Gittith. A Psalm of David.» O LORD, our Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the earth, who hast set Thy glory above the heavens!” (Ps 8:1 KJ21)

“Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.” (Ps 33:8 KJ21)

“For God is the King of all the earth; sing ye praises with understanding.” (Ps 47:7 KJ21)

“Be Thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let Thy glory be above all the earth.” (Ps 57:5 KJ21)

“«To the chief musician: A song or Psalm.» Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands!” (Ps 66:1 KJ21)

“All the earth shall worship Thee and shall sing unto Thee; they shall sing to Thy name.” Selah” (Ps 66:4 KJ21)

“that men may know that Thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the Most High over all the earth.” (Ps 83:18 KJ21)

“O sing unto the LORD a new song; sing unto the LORD, all the earth.” (Ps 96:1 KJ21)

“O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness; fear before Him, all the earth.” (Ps 96:9 KJ21)

“For Thou, LORD, art high above all the earth; Thou art exalted far above all gods.” (Ps 97:9 KJ21)

“Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth! Make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise!” (Ps 98:4 KJ21)

“«A Psalm of praise.» Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands!” (Ps 100:1 KJ21)

“O LORD, how manifold are Thy works! In wisdom hast Thou made them all; the earth is full of Thy riches.” (Ps 104:24 KJ21)

“He is the LORD our God; His judgments are over all the earth.” (Ps 105:7 KJ21)

“Be Thou exalted, O God, above the heavens, and Thy glory above all the earth.” (Ps 108:5 KJ21)

“But My faithfulness and My mercy shall be with him, and in My name shall his horn be exalted.” (Ps 89:24 KJ21)

“”Because he hath set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him; I will set him on high, because he hath known My name.” (Ps 91:14 KJ21)

“As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the LORD is round about His people from henceforth, even for ever.” (Ps 125:2 KJ21)

“«A song of degrees.» They that trust in the LORD shall be as Mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever.” (Ps 125:1 KJ21)

“The LORD hath done great things for us, whereof we are glad.” (Ps 126:3 KJ21)

“The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear Him, in those that hope in His mercy.” (Ps 147:11 KJ21)

“For the LORD taketh pleasure in His people; He will beautify the meek with salvation.” (Ps 149:4 KJ21)

“even every one that is called by My name: For I have created him for My glory; I have formed him; yea, I have made him.”” (Isa 43:7 KJ21)

“For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same, My name shall be great among the Gentiles. And in every place incense shall be offered unto My name, and a pure offering; for My name shall be great among the heathen,” saith the LORD of hosts.” (Mal 1:11 KJ21)

“But unto you that fear My name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in His wings; and ye shall go forth and grow up as calves from the stall.” (Mal 4:2 KJ21)



 

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Additional reading

  1. Only One God
  2. God is one
  3. The Almighty Lord, God above all gods
  4. Recognising Jehovah’s sovereignty
  5. Paying vows to Jehovah God
  6. Bring praise to the Creator
  7. Praise Jehovah, the Only One God
  8. Psalm 150 Praise Jah, You people!
  9. Song of Praise for the Elohim Set-Apart
  10. Praise Jehovah
  11. Praise Jehovah, ​You people
  12. Praise and give thanks to God the Most Highest
  13. Lifting up hands towards the Most High
  14. To Jehovah be all praise and glory
  15. Today’s thought “Thanksgiving for God’s Justice” (January 04)
  16. 1st thought for today “The world may be wicked” (January 16)
  17. 2nd thought for today “Praise Jehovah God Who Creates and Saves” (January 16)
  18. Today’s thought “Thanksgiving for God’s Justice” (January 04)
  19. Today’s thought “To all who call upon him in truth” (March 21)
  20. Today’s thought “I will extol you, my God and King” (March 21)
  21. God, come into me and be me to assistance so that I shall be able to declare Your Name and praise

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Filed under Quotations from Holy Scriptures, Religious affairs

Culture War Christianity in American history

In this article, you might find our comments on our previously published articles about Culture War Christians

What Are The Culture Wars?

A History Of The Culture Wars

A Theology of Culture War Christianity

Beyond the Culture Wars


 

What are the Culture Wars?

Think of “culture” as a way of life. It is the sum total of all values, beliefs, and practices making up a communal existence. When God commissions newly formed humanity in Genesis 1 to “fill the earth and subdue it”, he sets men and women into the world with a cultural mandate. His plan was for a human society, united under his rule in the world, ruling with him over the Cosmos as his vice-regents. {What Are The Culture Wars?}

Karl Marx saw how main religion tried to lure people in the ban of the church by false doctrines. It is because the majority of people did not take the time to read the Bible that so many religious groups were able to get people following their false doctrines.

Regularly, people were so prayed for by those doctrines of those churches that they no longer faced the real thing because they preferred to float on those ideas of those churches. It had become so bad that Marx also realised that for many, religion was like an ‘opium for the people’. In lots of Christian and Islamic denominations, their church leaders managed to have their followers, following and worshipping a wrong god and not following the real Christ. since his time still not much has been changed, and there are still lots of false teachers and false prophets around. Marx was disturbed by the knowledge that he saw so many people around him falling for those false human teachings and giving their money away to those churches when there were so many people around them suffering. Marx also noted few dared to question, let alone challenge, church doctrines.

It also bothered several thinkers in the 19th century that the church made no attempt to defend the majority of their churchgoers or parishioners, and did not stand up against the exploitation of parishioners. For far too many centuries, the Roman Catholic Church itself had done everything possible to trot out money from the poorer population.

The German revolutionary, sociologist, historian, and economist, Karl Marx and his closest collaborator, the German socialist philosopher Friedrich Engels’ answer to the ills of society was according to some, just the opposite of the utopian dreamers’ answers. Mainly this, because the ideas of utopists (like Mr. Ampe) seem for many too far-fetched and unreachable. Though Marx and Engels found enough people who, like them, believed that one could change the way people lived and could come to a better world with less inequality. They, too, went for a better world.

Since World War I the world has evolved incredibly on all levels. Politically it was a time of trying out several political systems, getting more than once in a lot of problems and crises. The Western world clinched at the industrialisation and experienced mixed economies floating between all kinds of political thoughts. Even as the western world became less religious and the church got less of a grip on its citizens, the rich continued to control everything and did everything they could to maintain their power.

For

For him it is clear that Christ should be at the centre of Christianity. But he also expects something for those who call themselves Christian. He

When Jesus prayed,

“on earth as it is on heaven”

he was indicating his expectation and desire that the culture of Heaven becomes the culture of Earth by way of his Church. But does Culture War Christianity, the sort launched in the ’70s, contradict the nature of Jesus’ Kingdom?

So many people had looked forward to the 20th century, hoping that because of all the new inventions, brought forward by the Industrial Revolution, they would be able to create a world where everything would be much easier and giving them more time to relax. The century opened with great hope but also with some apprehension, for the new century marked the final approach to a new millennium. For many, humankind was entering upon an unprecedented era. The English novelist, journalist, sociologist, and historian H.G. Wells’s utopian studies, the aptly titled Anticipations of the Reaction of Mechanical and Scientific Progress upon Human Life and Thought (1901) and A Modern Utopia (1905), both captured and qualified this optimistic mood and gave expression to a common conviction that science and technology would transform the world in the century ahead.

Already before the seventies of the previous century there was something going wrong in the industrialised world. Even though many countries were allowed to offer independence back to their colonies, they continued to exploit people in their own countries. Even when churches wanted to present God in different ways over the years, people should know That God never changes. He will always be the same and keep to the same Plan He had already from the beginning of times.

The American pastor and current PhD candidate in Theological Ethics at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, Jared Stacy 
wants to call our attention to this basic theological ethic:

The work of God’s rule spreading throughout the world in individual lives and communities will never contradict who God is.

We would have loved that, but reality shows something totally different. For centuries, the main Christian churches have chosen another path than the disciples of Christ. The majority of people preferred to keep to their heathen traditions and festivals and the Catholic and several Protestant churches followed them and made Jesus Christ (the Messiah) their god. As such, we must say there is a lot of contradiction in what people say God is. For many, He is not the God of Christ, Who is the God of Israel, but is a god who is part of a three-headed godship, the Trinity.

It is not just that difference of who God is and who Christ is that has brought division in the world of believers. The diversity of religious groups has also brought both confusion and discord. Coming closer to the 21st-century tension or strife resulting from a lack of agreement came to bring even more separation between the true followers of the Nazarene Jewish masterteacher Jeshua  ben Joseph (Jesus Christ) and the name-Christians who worship Jesus as their god and do not shy away from also worshipping all kinds of people they call saints, this while the One True God desires full recognition and worship.

We have the impression that the blog writer who also writes for platforms like NPR, the BBC, Current, and For the Church, does not see (or does not know) the multiple camps in Christendom. He only mentions two of them. He writes

To speak generally, mischaracterizations come from two camps. Let’s call one group “conscientious objectors” and the other, “vocal advocates”.

Some accuse conscientious objectors to the Culture Wars of believing that Christianity should have no influence in the public square. They slander these conscientious objectors as faithless & godless, or misrepresent them as conspiratorially hypocritical, secretly harboring a progressive political agenda.

On the other end of the spectrum, some conscientious objectors accuse vocal advocates of conflating Christianity with cultural power. This often leads them to slander vocal advocates as compromising sell-outs, or mischaracterize their advocacy & well-connected influence as grounded in an inherently complicit conservative agenda. No doubt, I believe there are instances of legitimate criticisms from boths sides in Christian spaces. But polarity abounds.

For him the polarizing gap between vocal advocates and conscientious objectors reveals a vast “no man’s land” in American evangelicalism. This is why he believes his series has pastoral and personal implications for all of us.

Because either you or someone you know is wandering the no man’s land as a refugee from the Culture Wars.

Many American evangelicals are proud that they (so-called) keep to The 10 Commandments, though all of them already sin against the first commandment, not keeping to The Only One True God, the Elohim Hashem Jehovah of hosts, the God above all gods.

David Hansen correctly says

“The majority of Americans will tell any pollster that they believe in the Ten Commandments. But only a small percentage of those people could even recite the Ten Commandment; and even a smaller percentage have any genuine interest in following them.” {The 10 Commandments in American Culture}

Lots of North Americans should seriously think about their religion and their faith. About that faith Stacy says there is a danger.

On a day of hope, we need a fresh reminder of the danger inherent in an embrace of Christian faith. {The Danger of Faith}

He points out the trap many Americans have fallen into.

It is American consumer Christianity that invites us to “make Jesus Lord of our lives”. This pitch makes Christ a commodity, leaving us—the consumer—with control. The resurrection and ascension is a coronation that happens apart from our consumer choice & control. {The Danger of Faith}

1909 painting The Worship of Mammon, the god of material wealth, by Evelyn De Morgan

The great part of the US population, as well as in other developed countries, is that believers have deviated from Biblical truth as well as become wedded to matter and thus actually honour the god Mammon. Several denominations in the United States make clever use of asking people for money all the time, pretending that they will then have a better life. It has also become so ingrained in people that one can only be successful if one has acquired a lot of money. Consequently, many do everything possible to be as rich as possible (on the material plane) while completely neglecting spiritual wealth. Many have forgotten that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.

Stacy writes

It is hard to deny today that for many, the supposed downfall of America is synonymous with the collapse of Christianity. Jesus confronts this idolatry with his Kingdom. {The Danger of Faith}

Lots of Americans are even not aware of how they participate in idolatry, which they prove by continually clinging to pagan festivals such as Candlemas, Easter, Halloween and Christmas, to name only the main ones, and to cling to money and material gain.

He reigns over a Kingdom that cannot be shaken through the rising and falling empires of this world. {The Danger of Faith}

And throughout history, many kingships or kingdoms and principalities as well as republics have risen and fallen. Never before has man succeeded in creating a nation or empire in which everyone was comfortable and where justice was done to everyone. Several Christians, in imitation of Christ, have tried to make people understand how best to live in unity with fellow human beings, plants and animals.

Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C. (Leaders marching from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial) - NARA - 542010.tif

The 1963 March on Washington participants and leaders marching from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial, as mass protest movement against racial segregation and discrimination in the southern United States that came to national prominence during the mid-1950s.

When we look at the German culture struggle of the 1870’s (kulturkampf) it’s clear that the American Civil Rights movement was a “Culture War” too. King’s commitment to non-violence laid a distinct Christian foundation for the Civil Rights movement. But white evangelicals of the time either distanced themselves from King, or denounced the Civil Rights movement entirely, with calls to “just preach the gospel.”  {A History Of The Culture Wars}

writes Stacy.

But not many white Americans were really willing to go to preach what was really written in the gospel. They prefer just to take some phrases out of context to repeat them so that people come to believe them.

The forty odd years from this origin point until today witnessed the end of the Cold War and an insurrection at the US Capitol. Between these bookends, Culture War Christianity made itself known & felt in American society through movements. (See, Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne; Stan Gall, Borderlines: Reflections on Sex, War, and the Church; Frances Fitzgerald, The Evangelicals; Tim Gloege, Guaranteed Pure; historical treatments on these movements) {A History Of The Culture Wars}

Stacy reminds his readers:

The arguments and relationships in the antebellum South were transported via Lost Cause theology 100 years into the future, seen in white evangelical responses to the Civil Rights Movement. But these leaders could not ignore the impact of King’s kulturkampf. {A History Of The Culture Wars}

He assures his readers that

Culture War Christianity started after the Civil Rights Movement, not before. It borrows the playbook of the CRM. Ironically, it thrives on a sort of “persecuted minority” mindset, borrowed from the Civil Rights movement, but not actually indicative of the communal experience in its main constituents: white evangelicals. A minority mindset is a prominent characteristic of God’s people in the Scriptures. However, this mindset is not characteristic of evangelical experience in the United States. Race relations and evangelical’s historic participation in the moral establishment offer two historical keys that present a necessary critique of modern Culture War Christianity. {A History Of The Culture Wars}

He believes it is impossible to understand the history behind Culture War Christianity apart from race relations in the United States. So, we begin where we left off, with this statement:

The Culture Wars began when white American evangelicals took the activist playbook from the very Civil Rights leaders they opposed, to advance a moral agenda they could support.

Some were overtly political, like the Moral Majority or Christian Coalition. Others would serve the notion of family values, yet retain political influence, like Focus on the Family or Promise Keepers. Local churches and expansive media (books, radio, television) formed the local grassroots communities made these movements possible.

While this all may seem quite familiar, especially if you inhabited spaces within white American Christianity during the last 40 years, a history of the Culture Wars would be best served by going back 2 centuries to look at the phrase “Culture War” itself. {A History Of The Culture Wars}

In his blog he then goes back to the 19th century, across the Atlantic Ocean where the Germans provide us with a glimpse into a framework upstream to both the Civil Rights Movement and “Culture War Christianity” at a time when a new world order was being born. In that era, he recognises the central position of the Catholic Church, facing new threats to its grasp on power.

From the political power of the nation- state to the intellectual frameworks of liberalism and Darwinism, the winds were shifting. In response, the Church produced a flurry of theological statements and denouncements meant to stem the tide of ideas that threatened its hold on the Old World Order. {A History Of The Culture Wars}

File:Portrait pius ix.jpg

Portrait of Pope Pius IX circa 1864

The Holy See under Pope Pius IX on 8 December 1864, brought an appendix to the Quanta cura encyclical, with a syllabus where the church wanted to have the people see that it was with the times and recognised 80 of the

“principal errors of our times.”

As the errors listed had already been condemned in allocutions, encyclicals, and other apostolic letters, the Syllabus said nothing new and so could not be contested. Its importance lay in the fact that it published to the world what had previously been preached in the main only to the bishops, and that it made general what had been previously specific denunciations concerned with particular events. Perhaps the most famous article, the 80th, stigmatising as an error the view that

“the Roman Pontiff can and should reconcile himself to and agree with progress, liberalism, and modern civilisation,”

sought its authority in the pope’s refusal, in Jamdudum Cernimus, to have any dealings with the new Italian kingdom. On both scores, the Syllabus undermined the liberal Catholics’ position, for it destroyed their following among intellectuals and placed their program out of court.

The Church denounced religious liberty, the nation-state, and other consequences stemming from the “threat of liberalism.” {A History Of The Culture Wars}

For some time there had been bumbling or difficulty in having a good relationship with the Catholic Church. More thinkers also came to speak out about the huge profits the Church was making on the backs of the faithful. Increasingly, there was also the idea of going back to the basics of Christ’s teachings where simplicity was preached and people were taught how to stand up for and care for each other. In the gospel, Jesus set a good example of how not only Christians should live, but actually every human being.

In the 1870’s, the German people, specifically within the Kingdom of Prussia, found themselves in conflict with the Catholic Church over their own Reformation roots and a rapidly secularizing order. This conflict had ramifications for both the Church and the separated German states. As a result of this conflict swirling around the German peoples, individual German States united along highly Protestant lines under Otto Von Bismark of Prussia. (See, Helmut Walser Smith, editor, The Oxford Handbook of Modern German History) This period of conflict and change was given a name: Kulturkampf, or “Culture Struggle”. This German kulturkampf shows us how struggles between competing visions for human existence are sparked by complex reactions between religion, politics, and power. {A History Of The Culture Wars}

It is the clash between people of the common people, as well as philosophers and political thinkers, with the church, that caused very animated conversations in several places in the German Empire about faith, church, and the way we as human beings should choose to arrive at a better world.

After World War II several American religious groups tried to have the power over the American people. They tried to convince them that they were the sole church which preached the truth. Some even went so far to tell the people they were chosen by God and that their church is the only one that can bring them in heaven. For those churches, it is certain that one can only be accepted by God if one follows their rules. Of course, such a saying is absurd, but a large majority of Americans follow that false statement. In the life of faith, it is also certain that no particular church by Jesus was ever designated as the only one to follow.

By studying German kulturkampf, we can begin to see the American Culture War’s false claim to exclusivity and authority by claiming itself to be the sole representative and defender of orthodox Christianity. When we realize this — that American Culture War Christianity is not the single defender of the faith —  it trains us to adopt a healthy critical filter every time a Christian leader describes the “very survival of Christianity at stake” as a smoke screen for unChristian agreements with power. On the other hand, conscientious objectors to Culture War Christianity would do well to consider how “culture struggle” might be a positive expression of Christian faith. There is space to consider positive “culture struggle”. {A History Of The Culture Wars}

King’s kulturkampf was rooted in Christian principles, and sought to dismantle the injustices of racial segregation, subjugation and discrimination within America. With the upcoming of the more conservative Christians, and/or conservative evangelicals, the position between coloured people worsened again and nationalism and (far) right-wing ideas came to the forefront in the States, the same way they did in the 1930s in Europe. Thus, from Europe, we could see the very dangerous development of right-wing rule and the glorification of such despots as Donald Trump, who is a danger to the world.

What would come to define and shape Culture War Christianity in 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s in the US is not at all what King and several serious preachers had in mind. The growing conservatism by the Americans brought forward people who are against equality and who find the white man is the pure race. Even Billy Graham came to criticise segregation but also denounced the non-violent demonstrations as contributing to further violence.

Others denounced calls for desegregation entirely. Back in 1960, Bob Jones Sr. took harder lines at Christians supporting an end to segregation by referring to them as “religious infidels”. {A History Of The Culture Wars}

Several pastors of mega-churches, especially in white neighbourhoods, succeeded in shifting all the faults of the system onto the backs of the blacks and refugees who just’ came and invaded America’, without the government doing enough to stop them. One would think the religious leaders would have their moral reasoning to flow from a theological calculus, but it (for sure) did not come from Biblical teaching.

Stacy writes

Charles Ivory’s masterful Proslavery Christianity examines the white evangelical relationship with black evangelicals before the Civil War. He looks at how these interactions between white and black Christians, slave and free, actually came to shape the white evangelical theological defense of slavery. If we want to understand the Culture War Christianity of Falwell, and other white evangelicals, we need to examine their response to the Civil Rights Movement. I believe their response has its source in the theological calculus of white evangelicals in the antebellum South. {A History Of The Culture Wars}

Ivory writes it was not uncommon for white and black evangelicals to worship within the same church. Indeed, the revival of the late 18th century did not discriminate on the basis of cultural background. But the theological conflict in evangelical churches pre-Civil War centered around conversion. Namely, does Christian conversion necessitate manumission? Today, Christians would argue chattel slavery is indefensible regardless of a slave’s conversion to Christianity. Humanity is not property. However, the historical context of the time made the question of conversion and manumission the frontline theological conflict regarding chattel slavery within evangelical churches. {A History Of The Culture Wars}

In West Europe the people had gone already through that process, knowing that slavery was something one could not accept in a civilised society. On this, several speakers came to draw attention to a system to bring more equality among all people. The road to socialism and communism was thus promoted by several enthusiasts.

Culture War Christianity has long since ossified into the de facto expression of faith for many white American evangelicals.

But those white American Christians have come to love themselves more than someone else and consider themselves as the only ones worthy to govern America. They do not have an eye at all for the indigenous people, because they consider themselves as the rightful founders and owners of America.

For 200 years, white evangelicalism has been an insider. No where has the minority mindset been more pervasive in our modern conception of Culture War Christianity than rhetoric. Phrases like “drain the swamp”, “make America great again”, and “take back America for God” in evangelical politics go right next to “that’s too political” and “just preach the gospel” in evangelical churches. {A History Of The Culture Wars}

We can wonder from who those evangelicals have to take back ‘their country’! Those evangelicals seem not to have any idea what the ‘founders’ of America had in mind and why they wanted religion and government separated.

While separation of church and state was federally enshrined in the Constitution, it did not play out in those strict terms in state and local governments. This changed in the early 20th century, when the Scopes trial, New Deal politics, and internal theological warring between fundamentalists and modernists left a vacuum in American society that evangelicalism used to fill in common culture. Neo-evangelicals like Billy Graham emerged in this vacuum. But for the long of American history, Christians have not only been influential, but privileged.

How can a privileged majority come to see itself as a minority? Culture War Christianity accomplishes this in part by dressing itself in the Biblical and theological concept of a remnant. A faithful few of God’s people who remain loyal to God and his ways in a foreign, godless land. But this theological adaptation does not line up with the historical participation of white evangelicals in the moral establishment of the United States. Yet, the drums of Culture War for white American Christians implied a greater enemy beyond its borders. {A History Of The Culture Wars}

Though the big problem of those Tea Party and conservative or fundamentalist evangelicals is that they are not at all remaining “loyal to God and his ways in a foreign, godless land” they even have betrayed God and His son on several levels. They have created some three-headed god (or three-une being) and political leaders such as Trump as their gods, and consider their American flag as their religious symbol even a Christian symbol. For sure they can not belong to the faithful few of God’s people, because they do not believe in the Only One True God and because they do not act like People of God. They themselves are part of that ‘dark world’ the Bible is talking about. And now in those times that darkness and of gloominess can be seen everywhere, they also do everything to create division and spread hate, instead of spreading the love of Christ and his great message of a world full of peace. Those evangelicals with other name Christians have made it a sport to make fun of, blacken and curse true Christians. They do everything possible to get people away from those true worshippers of God. They also have some sort of paranoia and consider all people from abroad as dangerous suspects. They fear those coming from outside America would destroy their freedom.

Stacy remarks

the drums of Culture War for white American Christians implied a greater enemy beyond its borders. {A History Of The Culture Wars}

and also see what happened under the influence of certain political figures.

The Culture Wars of white American evangelicalism was not the reaction of the minority against the majority, but the majority against a imagined majority. It is hard to avoid this conclusion given overwhelming support for President Trump. {A History Of The Culture Wars}

Stacy continues writing

In the place of Jesus’ active reign today, we find American Christians given to other reigning power structures: nationalism, racism, misogyny, and bigotry. They are discipled by political—not resurrection—power. This is partly the reason why Culture War Christians took greater issue with Kaepernick’s supposed desecration of the flag than they might with his concerns over police brutality against image bearers. They operate in a power structure other than the Kingdom of Jesus. {A Theology of Culture War Christianity}

Stacys wonders

What if Culture War Christianity long ago bowed the knee to a nationalist, secular conservatism? One with its law & order politics, reticence on issues of race, and idolatry of country? {Beyond the Culture Wars}

Ans says that he has argued this in his series.

Long before white evangelicals told MLK to “just preach the gospel”, there has always been a Christianity domesticated by, and deployed in defense of, the status quo in this country. Frederick Douglass called it before any of us. And in this sort of Christianity, “make disciples” has too often been code for “make people like us” not “make us like Jesus”. {Beyond the Culture Wars}

There lies one of the biggest problems in American Christendom. The majority of Americans does not take time enough to seriously study the Scriptures. For most of them the Bible also only means the New Testament. Lots of those evangelicals also do not understand what that sacrificial offering of Jesus, letting himself be nailed at the stake, means. For them it is very difficult to grasp how a man of flesh and blood could give himself as a lamb for whitewashing the sins of many.

Some of those white evangelicals living in the United States of America are convinced they are the only ones who can  Make America Great Again and build up the most correct state. They forget how so many people before them have tried already to construct an ideal state. They should know it shall only happen under Jesus Christ that we shall be able to live in a perfect world.

Let us also not forget Niebuhr’s saying,

“any good worth doing takes more than one lifetime.”

According to Jared Stacy

This should give us pause before we entertain pragmatism to bring about change in our lifetime. It was Jesus who said,

“what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and lose his soul?”

This should give us pause as we count the cost of pragmatism to reveal the Kingdom of God. {Beyond the Culture Wars}

He ends his article series by saying

After all, the cross is not a symbol of cultural superiority for white America, but of surrender and sacrifice in the Kingdom of God. We must measure our motivations by the Cross, and our methods. Take it from me. A millennial. The generation who was born in and shaped by the ‘Jesus & John Wayne evangelicalism” in its prime. {Beyond the Culture Wars}

And recognises the problem

Culture War Christianity allows you to have a Christian worldview and reject the Cross.   {Beyond the Culture Wars}

By which he hopefully means: rejecting the ransom offering of that Jewish Nazarene master teacher, Jeshua ben Josef, or Jesus Christ, the Messiah.

It substitutes other, more pragmatic means to really get things done. But in the Kingdom of Jesus the only strategy available for implementing a Christian worldview is the Cross.  {Beyond the Culture Wars}

We have to do away with the false teaching in Christendom and have to go back to the Biblical teachings and keep to them, adhering to Biblical Truth and not human doctrine.

We should recognise the danger of that growing conservative evangelism.

For all it’s posturing about the morality of America, Culture War Christianity has stopped its ear to calls for ethnic & economic justice. Has tied its hands in response to sexual scandal and abuse in its ranks. Yet expresses incredulity when the world fails to take its sexual ethic seriously. Culture War Christianity can only provide more entrenchment, more combat, and more pragmatism. But crucified Christianity is growing the world over, and—as it has always done— turning the world upside down.  {Beyond the Culture Wars}

Writing from Scotland, the author of the mentioned articles, wants to suggest a simple but humble invitation to venture into the wilderness as an act of faithfulness. For him,

the wilderness meant stepping out of the American pastorate, and out of America. This was my move made in faith. An attempt to combat the rise of cynicism in my own spirit, channeling it into meaningful, faithful action.  {Beyond the Culture Wars}

From Moses, to Elijah, to Christ. Perhaps the wilderness is the place for those disenchanted and disillusioned, those disowned and disinherited from Culture War Christianity, to begin to see the Cross not as a symbol storming the US Capitol, but again as a place where our power grabs go to die. And where there is death to our ability to bring about change, God brings resurrection that changes everything.  {Beyond the Culture Wars}

The Austrian philosopher and Roman Catholic priest known for his radical polemics arguing that the benefits of many modern technologies and social arrangements were illusory and that, still further, such developments undermined humans’ self-sufficiency, freedom, and dignity, Ivan Illich illumines what it is to be in the world, but not of it — just like Jesus.

Jared Stacy offers his words as a simple reflection in the conclusion to his series:

It is astonishing what the devil says: I have all power, it has been given to me, and I am the one to hand it on — submit, and it is yours. Jesus of course does not submit…Not for a moment, however, does Jesus contradict the devil. He does not question that the devil holds all power, nor that this power has been given to him, nor that he, the devil, gives it to whom he pleases. This is a point which is easily overlooked. By his silence Jesus recognizes power that is established as “devil” and defines Himself as The Powerless. He who cannot accept this view on power cannot look at establishments through the spectacle of the Gospel. This is what clergy and churches often have difficulty doing. They are so strongly motivated by the image of church as a “helping institution” that they are constantly motivated to hold power, share in it or, at least, influence it.  {Beyond the Culture Wars}

++

Please also do find to read

  1. Utopism has not ended
  2. Looking at an Utopism which has not ended
  3. My faith and hope
  4. Utopian dreams
  5. Are Christianity and Capitalism Compatible?
  6. The Upbringing of Ideas and the Extrapolation of Capitalism
  7. A famous individual by the name of Jesus of Nazareth
  8. 19th and 20th Century Shifts in bourgeoisie
  9. All that is solid still melts into air.
  10. Intellectual servility a curse of mankind
  11. The New Imperialist Structure
  12. Is Christianity a Greedy Religion?
  13. Should church members question preachers about the doctrine that is not in the Holy Bible?
  14. A History Of The Culture Wars
  15. Unhappy people in empty churches
  16. Gradual decline by American Christians
  17. Christians are increasingly mixing and matching their faith in unexpected ways
  18. Being Christian in Western Europe at the beginning of the 21st century #1
  19. The decline of religion in the US continues unabated
  20. Liberation, salvation and the Latin American voice entering the Vatican
  21. Eyes on pages and messages on social media
  22. Troubles testing your faith and giving you patience and good prospects
  23. The Most Appropriate teacher and Scoffers in our contemporary age
  24. Social media for Trumpists and changing nature of warfare
  25. Blinded crying blue murder having being made afraid by a bugaboo
  26. False teachers and false prophets still around
  27. The Field is the World #4 Many who leave the church
  28. Unhappy people in empty churches (Our World)
  29. Hardships for choosing to follow the real Christ
  30. Church indeed critical in faith development
  31. Crises of Real, Imaginary, and Symbolic Money
  32. International Proletariat
  33. The killing of capitalism
  34. The Principles of Communism – Friedrich Engels
  35. Ability
  36. Ability (part 2)
  37. Ability (part 3) Thoughts around Ability
  38. Ability (part 4) Thought about the ability to have ability
  39. Ability (part 5) Thought about the abilities to be under God’s Spirit
  40. To whom do we want to be enslaved
  41. Compromise and accomodation
  42. A Living Faith #3 Faith put into action
  43. Not saying Jeshua is God
  44. The 17th annual White Privilege Conference a militantly Christophobic conference held in Philadelphia
  45. Faith, storms and actions to be taken
  46. Christ’s ethical teaching
  47. Obeying God rather than man & A Time to Act
  48. Entering 2022 still Aiming for a society without exploitation or oppression
  49. News that’s fit to print
  50. Beyond the Culture Wars
  51. January 6: A Failed Apocalypse
  52. Hope For, But Not In, Evangelicalism
  53. Presbyterians and Reformed Christians, membership and active involvement is part of a congregation’s DNA
  54. The Guardian’s view on the world 1st week of June

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  2. The Pharaoh and The Worker | From Ancient Egypt to The Communist Manifesto
  3. (Sunday Homily) Christianity Is Communism! Jesus Was a Communist!
  4. Bernie Reminds Us that Christianity Is Communism & Jesus Was a Communist!
  5. 7th Century Madina Economics
  6. Religion and the Rise of Capitalism
  7. Karl Marx
  8. Marx, Labor Rights and Reform in Capitalism
  9. Das Kapital (Karl Marx)
  10. Cultural Marxism versus Marx
  11. Karl Marx – the prophet of goons – Part 3
  12. All that is solid still melts into air.
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  14. Marxists Changed How We Understand History
  15. Finding the Ideal, Perfect Community
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  17. Utopia! 
  18. Utopia – Thomas More ****
  19. Anarchy, State and Utopia
  20. Postalgia / Prostalgia – Is this as Good as it Gets?
  21. The Age of Surveillance Capitalism
  22. Cultural Amnesia
  23. The Future of Governance
  24. False American Dream
  25. Thinking Critically about Marxism, Socialism and Communism (All in fewer than 1000 words!)
  26. The Missing Faith Dimension of the Capitalism vs. Socialism Debate
  27. A Broken system
  28. Psychological Warfare
  29. Humanities Retribution
  30. Walk The Path
  31. Reform or Revolution? A Debate (I)
  32. Reform or Revolution? A Debate (II)
  33. Editorial: what is humane socialism?
  34. The virtues of good, enlightened, accountable elitism
  35. The Radical Left Needs to Call into Question Existing Social Institutions at Every Opportunity, Part Four
  36. End of capitalism as we know it
  37. The Future is History
  38. The true believer
  39. Research Resources: Communism in America
  40. “A Spectre is Haunting Europe…”
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  42. So You Think Capitalism Is Evil
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  47. Veneration (Gilbert and Gilbert)
  48. Christianity and Idealism (Van Til)
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Filed under Being and Feeling, Economical affairs, History, Lifestyle, Political affairs, Religious affairs, Social affairs, Welfare matters, World affairs

So many being afraid – reason enough to step in the boat with Christ

For weeks already in Italy, Spain, France and Belgium the inhabitants are feeling limited with their country in lockdown. All over the world people are confronted with an unseen enemy, and that frightens many of them.

Normally the lovers of God who are worshipping Him alone and not other gods, are accustomed to living in a certain way somewhat isolated. The majority of Christendom worshipping a Trinity does not like those Unitarians and avoid contact with them as if they are affected with a terrible disease. Worship services for those isolated Christians are often followed by the internet, because of the distance between many too far. Those able to share the Breaking of Bread in real life, under normal circumstances only find themselves with a few. The 14th of Nisan is for many the big exception for the year. That day is often the ‘high-mass’ bringing many lovers of God together to commemorate the liberation of mankind. That special commemoration day in several prayer halls or kingdom halls often brings more than a hundred people together, showing how even when they are not with many, they also are not with such a few that they should feel alone. This year it was a totally different experience for many, not having the Memorial Gathering in public. It was nice to have several groups providing for internet sharing, but it is not the same and can not be a surrogate or placebo for the real thing.

Remarkable to notice is how so many expressed their calmness and accepted totally those restrictions the governments gave them. Opposite to many unbelievers most members were convinced the time of quarantine should take as long as necessary to keep everybody safe, no matter of the economic impact. We also can notice the members of those Unitarian denominations respect the social distancing and trust God that everything shall turn out back to normal in a certain time.

On the other hand all over the world, we find certain Christian groups calling to gather for Easter and to ignore such social distancing. They forget they perhaps do not only bring their own life in danger, but worse bring other people, they could encounter also on other days, in great danger. We can only say they have a very selfish attitude.

Around us, we can find unbelievers and believers who express their fear. Normal when one does not know the unseen enemy thoroughly and does not know how it all shall evolve in the near future. People also love to have everything under control and when they feel they loose control they start panicking.

For those with fear, we would like to remind them of a little event which took place some two thousand years ago.

Like on many great lakes and seas the wind can come up forcibly and bring dangerously high waves.

The disciples and Jesus were on passage on a boat and when the master teacher went to sleep, and a violent storm came.  The wind was howling, the boat was taking on water, these men felt that their lives were in danger from forces they could not control.  Take note, these were not inexperienced Saturday afternoon boaters.  Most of these men were professional fishermen.  These men were of strong hand and backs, they had been in a storm or two in their years of fishing.

If you have ever met a sailor, they often pride themselves on the storms they have endured on the seas.  However; this was not the same kind of storm that these men had endured before.  This storm frightened them to the point of fearing death.  It was pretty easy for them to see that the boat would likely be crushed in the waves, the wind and water was overtaking the boat.  They had no control over their circumstances.  All of their lives were passing before their eyes.  Wives lips that would never be kissed again, children that would never be played with again.  The sunrises they would miss.  Songs that they would never sing again.  As they looked over their possessions, their homes, their clothes, money, land, and more they began to realize how little value those things actually had.  They could see that they had focused their whole lives on things that really didn’t matter.  Their children, their spouses, their families, and their God are the things that mattered. As devout Jews they knew they could trust their God, the God of Abraham. Though it looked like as if they feared That God would not be with them.

On land they would know who to turn to when they had doubts of certain matters or fear for certain things. But far from any temple, no synagogue at hand, to whom had they to turn? Where could they find a rabbi or rebbe who could help them?

In want of having a Rabbi there now they turned their eyes toward their friend Jeshua (Jesus) who was lying quietly sleeping.  In all of this storming wind, spraying of water, beating of the waves, screaming of the men, he seemed steadfast asleep.  It looked like he was in a place of safety and comfort.  Peacefully like a baby he was there sleeping, probably laying in a puddle of water, soaked from head to toe, but asleep none the less.

A few decades ago Lenny LeBlanc released a song with the name “Asleep in the Boat”.  It talks about a promise God made, and that He is always there, just as Jesus was here with his disciples.  Just like when we are in the storm, He is here for us.

In these times of trouble we better look at how Jesus cope with difficulties and uncertainties. We do know many Christians take him as their god. God does know everything, but Jesus, not being God, did not know everything and like us just had to trust his heavenly Father.
Jesus has encountered several very difficult moments, and we should know that also he, even doubted God and asked Him why He had abandoned him. From the stake, Jesus cried out loud to His heavenly Father, the Only One True God.

46 And about the ninth hour Yahushua cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My Elohim, my Elohim, why hast thou forsaken me? (Matt 27:46, NRKJV)

But God never had abandoned or had forsaken His only beloved son. Nobody can do anything to God and God is the only Being that can not die. But Jesus could be hurt by men and he knew very well that those people could kill him. His death was a certainty, but what would happen after his death was not so sure. For that he had to trust his heavenly Father to Whom he cried that he would not be forsaken. Only by having enough faith in his heavenly Father Jesus could face those difficult moments. The Nazarene Jew had enough faith in his heavenly Father, the God of Israel, Who had already for centuries guided His People.

Jesus so much trusted his God, that he was willing to put his own will aside to do the Will of his heavenly Father, Whom Jesus considered to be the Only One True God, the God above all gods and above all kings. Like his ancestor King David, Jesus trusted his God.

We too, should have the same trust in God like the son of God had in his heavenly Father, Who is also our heavenly Father. In the Elohim Hashem Jehovah, we should find security and peace at heart, not having to have fear for what might come.

When we are children of God let us behave like it, and show others what a good Father we have. Let us take this period of more free time, to let Jehovah’s Name resound in many more places. That we who believe in Him show others how the Elohim has given the world the opportunity to be free of all worldly matters and that this time on this earth is only a temporary period. Let us take the opportunity to witness over the beauties of the Highest and how He has given the world a solution to be free of all worries.

We should step in the boat of Christ and be aware that even when he would be asleep, we still shall be safe, because he is with us and his God is with us.
When we feel abandoned by the world, them not liking we do not adhere to their god or gods, do not worry. One is better to worship the True God of the Bible instead of the many gods human beings love to worship. The God of Jesus, Hosea, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Solomon, David, Nehemiah, Abraham, Moses and Adam is the Best God we can have and Who can make sure we shall be able to receive the best life, “is it not today than tomorrow” ….

When we feel the pains of this world, and lost dear friends or family members, let us always remember that once they died their pain would be gone, and all worries would be over for them. Let us also put everything in the right perspective, comparing our luxury life with the millions of people in worse circumstances. And let us not forget how there was once a man who had not done any fault in his life, but was tortured and nailed at a wooden stake, giving his life for so many people he did not even know, so that they could live unto righteousness.

30 The Elohim of our fathers raised up Yahushua, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. (Acts 5:30, NRKJV)

24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. (1Pet 2:24, NRKJV)

Let us remember that event when the apostles were afraid and think about the storm in which we landed today.

23 And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him. 24 And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep. 25 And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, My master, save us: we perish. 26 And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. 27 But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him! (Matt 8:23-27, NRKJV)

It would be wrong to think Jesus had no fear. He, like his brothers and sisters, also had many fears. Though Jesus feared more God than people and therefore was not afraid to speak out. Jesus very well knew his humble position and that he could do nothing without his heavenly Father, His God. Only by listening to his God, and doing what God wanted from him, Jesus could do exceptional things.

19 Then answered Yahushua and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. (John 5:19, NRKJV)

From those around him, Jesus asked them to come to him and to his God, so that what God had given to His son also could come unto us. Jesus knew that his God was the Only One to trust and knew that those who have complete trust in God will be kept in perfect peace by keeping their minds focused on Gods promises.

3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. (Isa 26:3, NRKJV)

Like so many before Christ let us also the same as Jesus did, trust the Divine Creator and give ourselves in His Hands. Even if we fear others or such disease as CoViD-19, we should have more fear for the God of Christ, the God of Abraham and should pray to Him and trust HIm, in the same way as Jesus and Isaiah trusted their heavenly Father.

9 With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. 10 Let favour be shewed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of יהוה. 11 יהוה, when thy hand is lifted up, they will not see: but they shall see, and be ashamed for their envy at the people; yea, the fire of thine enemies shall devour them. 12 יהוה, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought all our works in us. 13 O יהוה our Elohim, masters instead of thee have had dominion over us: but by thee only will we make mention of thy name. (Isa 26:9-13, NRKJV)

While we may not know what tomorrow holds for us, we have chosen to follow Jesus and to have the same trust in his heavenly Father and as such should not have to worry about the future. In Christ Jesus lies our hope for the future, because he gave his life for us and God accepted his sacrificial offering as a ransom for once and for all.
When we believe who Jesus is and what he really has done and how God has now taken him out of the dead as an example for what might happen to us, we should not be afraid because in such resurrection is our hope and future.
It is in our belief in the promises of God and in the certainty of salvation that we have a present peace.

We just have to be patient and trust the Most High God. By following This God His only begotten beloved son, we have the assurance that one day there shall come a Kingdom which surpasses all other kingdoms and where there shall be peace for all without any pain or sorrow. Let us look forward to such days in the coming Kingdom of God.

 

**

Let us thank God for everything that we got for good things in our life
and let us trust Him as our Guide and Helper in difficult days
as well for Him being a Stormstiller

From Sticky Note to God ~03.31.20~

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Preceding

Why are you afraid?

Fear in your own heart or outside of it

Our life depending on faith

The Struggle Ends When Gratitude Begins

Many opportunities given by God

If you keep your faith and trust in God

++

Additional reading

  1. Matthew 8:23-27 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Jesus Calms a Stormy Sea
  2. Matthew 9:32-34 – How others look at the blind, speechless and demoniac being healed
  3. The unseen enemy
  4. Fear of failure, and fear of the unknown
  5. 8 fears caused by the fear of Man
  6. Fearmongering succeeded and got the bugaboo a victory
  7. A Living Faith #9 Our Manner of Life
  8. Thanksgiving wisdom: Why gratitude is good for your health
  9. Problems on a dark road and A look at our ego-centric world
  10. Not fear or dread or blind compulsion
  11. The chosen ones to fear or not to fear
  12. What is life?
  13. Greatest single cause of atheism
  14. Whom Shall I Fear (God of Angel Armies) by Chris Tomlin
  15. Control and change
  16. We find by losing. We hold fast by letting go.
  17. A treasure which can give me everything I need
  18. I Am Not Alone – By: Kari Jobe
  19. Necessity of a revelation of creation 3 Getting understanding by Word of God 1
  20. Entrance of a king to question our position #2 Who do we want to see and to be
  21. Today’s thought “Faith in Troubled Times” (January 14)
  22. Today’s thought “Crying to God” (August 04)
  23. The Wrath of God
  24. Today’s thought “Plea for Vindication or for Protection against Oppressors” (January 07)
  25. Today’s thought “My times are in your hand” (January 14)
  26. Today’s Thought “You will keep … in perfect peace” (May 03)
  27. Kingdom of God what will it be like

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Related

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  3. Isaiah 26: Content in God alone.
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  5. Sonnets For My Savior 24
  6. “In The Midst Of The Storm”
  7. Jesus Feared God, Not Circumstances
  8. Pandemic: Be Calm During the Storm
  9. Praying the Bible with Gratitude
  10. The Wind and Sea Obey Him
  11. Today’s Theme Song: Above All
  12. Hide Yourself
  13. Isaiah Chapter 26
  14. 100 Blessings for Pandemic
  15. Podcast #299: “Thank You, Lord” by Dennis Jernigan
  16. The rock on which we stand

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Filed under Being and Feeling, Crimes & Atrocities, Headlines - News, Health affairs, Lifestyle, Religious affairs, Social affairs, Welfare matters, World affairs

O God, How Long? ~ Psalm 74

In this godless world there are also people who think they think they can ask their god or gods for things to happen. There are also people who call themselves ‘Christian‘ and wonder why God does not answer their prayers, though they do not see they have not taken them the right God of gods but pray to a man made god, a god son, and to people they call saints. Though the Elohim Hashem Jehovah is very clear that we should only have and worship the One True God of Israel, the God of Abraham, Jesus and his disciples, Who is an eternal Spirit God and not a fleshy god.

If you feel as though God is not watching or that He does not care you are perhaps better to search your heart, to see if you are really worshipping the right god, and not for example Jesus or any other human being or idols.

Today we can find lots of people who make a mockery of the God of Israel, also not willing to see the Biblical Truth. They most often see the false teachings of human ‘spiritual’ leaders or theologians, be it from Islamic or Christian groups, who destroy everything on their path, leaving nothing but pain and misery in their wake.

More people should follow Asaph his example, coming to look up at the real Only One True God, Jehovah the Elohim Hashem Divine Creator, and to cry out to that God of the universe, the Maker of heaven and earth, summer and winter. We all should know that it is That eternal God Who is prepared to be our rock and refuge, to defend Himself and those who really love Him and worship Him alone, that no matter what the enemy would love to do. They shall always come to know that This One True God is always the Most Mightiest god of all.

– Note: a pity the guest-writer of today, who calls herself a Born-again believer in Christ, wife, mother, teacher, artist, poet, blogger, pianist, singer, telling us she has praised God with her music ever since 1980, makes a strange twist at the end of the article, writing

“Then boldly make your requests known to Him, praising His name and trusting Him for the answer in His time.”

as if she thinks Jesus is God, and as such is forgetting that Jesus is the son of God and the Way to God.
But all the rest of the article, when you keep that only One God Who is One, in your mind is a worthy collection of words to remind people of that greatness of the Most High and how in the ancient times people looked up at Him.

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To remember

  • Asaph felt lonely + alone > God silent => remembered days of old + God redeemed Israel from out of the hand of the enemy in Egypt, + brought them to Canaan, +gave them land for an inheritance, + established His name in their midst.
  • enemy had attempted to wipe out religion of Israelites by destroying their places of worship > temple + synagogue destroyed by the enemy
  • we can trust Jehovah God to know when enough is enough <=  God = never early, never late; always right on time, not limited by our calendar or clock.
  • God’s purposes are ever so much bigger than anything we can imagine.
  • Asaph did not ask God to defend His people, but His own holy and righteous name => to be preserved holy and blameless in the eyes of the enemy.
  • Asaph wanted deliverance, not for his own sake, or for the sake of his countrymen =  for the testimony of the God of mercy and grace.
  • not forget that God = still in control in affairs of men.
  • elements of Asaph’s prayer in psalm 74 should be present in all of our prayers
  • our guest writer compares Psalm 74 to the Model Prayer as recorded in Matthew 6:9-13.
  • When you pray > do not be afraid to let God know how you feel <= He already knows anyway
  • When you pray > Praise Him for who He is + for His will to be done, + for provision + forgiveness, deliverance

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Additional reading

  1. Are you looking for answers and Are you looking for God
  2. The truth is very plain to see and God can be clearly seen
  3. God of gods
  4. God is One
  5. Attributes to God
  6. God should be your hope
  7. The Almighty Lord God of gods King above all gods
  8. God Helper and Deliverer
  9. Gods promises
  10. Belief of the things that God has promised
  11. God’s never-ending stream of much-needed mercies
  12. Gods salvation
  13. Believing in the send one and understanding that one does not live by bread alone
  14. Today’s thought “They did as Jehovah God commanded Moses” (April 17)
  15. Today’s thought “nonsense surrounding the many gods” (July 28)
  16. Have you also been deceived
  17. Walking alone?
  18. Does God hear prayer?
  19. Work with joy and pray with love
  20. Give your worries to God
  21. Praying For What We Want or Don’t Want
  22. Genuine prayer
  23. Does God answer prayer?
  24. People who know how to pray to move God to take hold of our affairs in a mighty way
  25. Gods measure not our measure
  26. God showing how far He is willing to go to save His children
  27. Extra verses to remember by The Name to be proclaimed
  28. Listening and Praying to the Father
  29. Trusting, Faith, calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #3 Voice of God #6 Words to feed and communicate
  30. Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #4 Transitoriness #2 Purity
  31. Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #7 Prayer #5 Listening Ear
  32. Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #10 Prayer #8 Condition
  33. Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #16 Benefits of praying
  34. Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #18 Fulfilment
  35. God Feeds The Birds
  36. Displeasures and Actions of the Almighty God
  37. Prayer, important aspect in our life
  38. Worship and worshipping
  39. Praise and give thanks to God the Most Highest
  40. Praise the God with His Name
  41. Gods non answer
  42. Faithful to the leastening ear
  43. Wishing to do the will of God
  44. Observing the commandments and becoming doers of the Word
  45. Golden rule for understanding in spiritual matters obedience
  46. Happy who’s delight is only in the law of Jehovah
  47. Rest thy delight on Jehovah
  48. 7000 to 20000 words spoken each day
  49. Biblical Prayer at Tabernacle Site Shilo
  50. Own Private Words to bring into a good relationship
  51. Old Man of Prayer
  52. Sometimes we face trials
  53. Being sure of their deliverance
  54. Prayer for the day

The Abundant Heart

sunset-over-lake God rules the day and the night, and He can be trusted with the details of my life too.

Does it seem as though this world could not get any more debauched than it is already? Do you feel as though God is not watching? that He does not care? I can assure you that He is, and He does. But perhaps He is waiting for His people to cry out to Him in humble prayer.

Asaph felt the same way. The enemy was having a heyday, making a mockery of the God of Israel and destroying everything in their path, leaving nothing but pain and misery in their wake. Asaph did the one thing he could do—he cried out to the God of the universe, the Maker of heaven and earth, summer and winter, to defend Himself in the presence of the enemy.

from Psalm 74
Maschil of Asaph

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Filed under Being and Feeling, Lifestyle, Re-Blogs and Great Blogs, Religious affairs, World affairs

Americans their stars, pretension, God, Allah and end of times signs #1 Abrahamic religions

2016 was already a year of great dissonance, 2017 was not so much better. It did turn its back unto us, but left a big stamp on what we might expect for this year. The world looked with astonishment to the one who managed to become the 45th president of the United States of America. What most people in the West thought would not ever happen did happen. It shows how mistaken we can be.

Like their leader,who thinks he can decide which place has to be the capital of a certain country, several of the citizens of that so called ‘united’ States think they may decide which word people have to use to speak about their god or how to call God. On many internet platforms and chat-groups or Facebook Groups, those Americans want to forbid people in whose languages already thousands of years before the U.S.A. was founded, the word Allah was used to denote “God” to call the Most High Maker “Allah”. They forgetting that this title’s origin can be traced back to the earliest Semitic writings in which the word for “god” was il or el, the latter being used in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). Allāh is the standard Arabic word for God and is used by Arab speaking people as well as in many other languages by Christians as well as by Muslims .

Those English speaking Americans having the pretentious to decide which word other language speaking people may use for speaking about their God. Worse is that several of those stubborn Americans do not want to see that they commit blasphemy against the Divine Creator. One can wonder if it is because of their education of lack of education that those Americans go so much against the word “Allah” they even do not come to see or understand that it is a common title for “God” in many languages and in many countries outside the United States of America and in many religious groups.

0042_20Just to few some active bloggers, we can find a person living in in Troutdale, Oregon USA, who loves cats and perhaps likes to crawl like one. Though she writes to be a lover of Christ we can not see that expressed in her writings which are a continuous attack on a group of people as well on those who dare to use “Allah” to speak about their “God”. Strange that an “average man who tries to do his best at being the kind of person the Bible tells us we are all suppose to be” likes to follow and duplicate her writings doing just the opposite the Bible tells and also bringing blasphemy to the Divine Creator.  Though both have a writing where they quote (Exodus 20:3 KJV) they both, like many other Americans love an other god, are even not afraid to draw pictures of their god and worship in front of graven images (though that is against the commandments of the Only One True God). In the cartoons they publish they also say umbilical things and want their readers to believe “Jesus is the only one god”, instead of recognising that Jesus is the son of God. Naturally the Old Poet and Kristi Ann are free to take whatever god they want, but they should not forbid others to use the title “Allah” for the Only One True God, the Elohim Hashem Jehovah. If they do not want to see that Jesus is the way to the Only One True God, that is their problem and their right, but they should not hinder those who want to love Christ Jesus and take the God of Jesus as their “Allah“.

Though the

people make the statement that all ‘these religions’ pray to the same God, they just call Him/Her by a different name, so why can’t they all just get along? {Do All 3 Abrahamic Religions Pray To The Same God? That Answer Is Simple: No!}

In a certain way he is right because Jews, real Christians and Muslims worship the Only One True God, Whose Name is Jehovah, whilst the majority of those who call themselves Christian do not worship the same God as Jesus but have made Jesus into their god, and in fact are ‘hidden’ polytheists, having a three-headed god with different qualities as the main god.

But the Old Poet has an other view on that and see other reasons for not believing that they worship the same god. He writes

This statement would be nice, if it were true, but it isn’t at all correct. Mostly the people I have heard say this nonsense have been the Hollywood types or talking heads from the NYC area. People who make this assumption tend to be people who have no knowledge of what the different religions teach and usually have no knowledge of even the teachings of one religion. {Do All 3 Abrahamic Religions Pray To The Same God? That Answer Is Simple: No!}

The Old poet recognises that there are different divisions in the Christian communities, of which he claims that they

have no knowledge of what the different religions teach and usually have no knowledge of even the teachings of one religion. {Do All 3 Abrahamic Religions Pray To The Same God? That Answer Is Simple: No!}

Strange enough he says himself

“Yet I am not going to stone any believers in Jesus Christ whether they are Protestant or Catholic.” {Do All 3 Abrahamic Religions Pray To The Same God? That Answer Is Simple: No!}

Though he condemns all those Catholics and Protestants who use the word “Allah” and condemns all the Bibles and Christian teaching books where the writers use “Allah” when they speak about their God, be it a Trinity or a Binary or Unitarian God. Very strange it becomes, when he continues

One of the many things I have never understood in life is how groups that believe that Jesus Christ is our Saviour and King can raise their weapons against another person who believes the same thing, in the name of Religion, in the name of Christ! This confusion isn’t just among Christian Churches, let God be the Judge, we are not qualified. {Do All 3 Abrahamic Religions Pray To The Same God? That Answer Is Simple: No!}

But he himself and his favourite female writer do throw stones to all those Christians who worship Allah and have Jesus Christ as their saviour. He asks God to be the judge, but he himself judges all those people who do not speak English and use the words of their language to speak about God and not his English title he likes so much. By his writings he also condemns the books which got an imprimatur from the Roman Catholic Church and have the title of God written as “Allah”. By her writings Kristi Ann indicates than that that Roman Catholic Church is the instrument of “Satan”.

Kristi Ann further writes on her website

Only Devout Judaism and Christianity is Right {He is (Yahweh-Jehovah) God!!}

though seems to overlook that no Jew or no real Christian would ever believe in her three gods: a God the Father, god the son and a god the Holy Spirit. For real lovers of the Jewish Nazarene rabbi there is only One and the same God, The God of the Jews and Muslims, namely the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Jeshua (Christ Jesus) and his disciples, the God of Israel, the El Shaddai, Jehovah Jireh.

In her article He is (Yahweh-Jehovah) God!! she brings a lot of quotes from the Holy Scriptures, which she herself does not seem to belief, because she has made herself an other god than the God of the Bible. She may do that, but then she may not throw stones to those who prefer to believe those verses which declare that there is Only One True God.

When she then also attacks those people who use their own language and not English, it becomes to much to bare or to let it circulate the internet without any reaction. It is not up to her, or any other person who calls himself or herself Christian, to dictate that the words to describe the Most High Divine Creator of all things should be their English word “God”. We and all those for which “Allah” is the word to describe the title of the Most High God should not be dictated by American nationalists and/or Neo-Nazis which title to use, or should not be dictated by them to have such or such city as their capital. They may have freedom of speech but should also have others to have the same freedom of speech and the freedom of language.

Several American Christian magazines try also to bring confusion and have those who use the word “Allah” to denounce that God or those using that title

“The key condition behind calling the Christian God Allah is that Allah must refer to the same God as the one in the Bible. However, this requirement presents “a huge problem for both Muslims and Christians….” From its very starting point Islam denies what Christianity takes as its central truth claim – the fact that Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of the Father. If Allah has no Son by definition, Allah is not the God who revealed himself in the Son. How then can the use of Allah by Christians lead to anything but confusion …and worse?” {passage from the ‘Christian Post’, U.S. (Is Calling the Christian God ‘Allah’ Wrong? – August 23, 2007)  Ustaz Azahar A Pluralist?}

That writer like many Muslims seems to forget that lots of Muslims may be confused by the son part, though they still also call Abraham their patriarch and themselves children of Abraham.

From Muslim site there is also a grudge against all those who use the word “Allah” as if they have the sole right to use that word.

“Allah” in the Bible – Two copies of the Bible in Malay (L) and the Iban dialect are seen in this picture illustration taken in Kuala Lumpur January 2, 2014. REUTERS/Samsul Said

In this country, Allah has been used to refer to God, whereas Tuhan, which the ruling party wants Catholics/Christians to use, is a generic term which is non specific, hence the refusal by the Malay/indigenous language speaking Catholics and Christians to budge. {Malaysia: Muslims confiscate Bibles, police threaten arrests if non-Muslims use word “allah”}

To the West and East it is clear the U.S.A. would not love more to have an American take-over. Their president like a little child boasts about having a bigger button than the North Koreans have, and by always shouting about having better and bigger weapons he and his Alt-Right friends and those who call themselves Christian but fight against all who have an other idea or use other words than they, are a danger for world peace.

As we can see what happened in certain Muslim countries wanting to have the sole use for the word of “god” them claiming they alone should be allowed to use “Allah” we now find the opposite by fundamentalist Christians (mainly North American U.S.A. citizens) who claim that everybody should use their word and nobody alse should use the title “god” for any other god, though they forget that the bible itself calls angels, Moses, Pharao, Baal, Apollo; Zeus, “god” (notice the small letter), even when they (according to us) are not their god Jesus , nor the Real Divine Creator God above all gods, the Host of hosts, which has in certain languages also the title “God” (with capital) or “Allah”, the Elohim Hashem Jehovah, the Only One True God.

The smear of certain Christians, their strong reactions against users of the title “Allah” and their strong reactions against those who prefer the Islamic Faith, doing as if all Muslims are Islamic terrorists and haters of God, makes it that we see it coming closer to the times the Bible mentions that religion shall come up against religion.

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Preceding

Crisis man needed in this world

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Additional reading

  1. Today’s thought “Sun, moon and stars” (January 22)
  2. The language of Jesus and the title of God
  3. Government school classroom assignment on world religions in discussion and Islamophobia gone wild
  4. ISIS cannot be presenters of the real Islam
  5. Malaysia requires sole use of God’s title for Muslims
  6. The Divine name of the Creator

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Kristi Ann falsely claiming that the Quran would say “Allah” or “The God”, Whom we take to be Jehovah, is the “Best of deceivers” and Satan

The blasphemous postings: by Kristi Ann “Muslims bow and worship allah / satan Everyday!!” + “allah is NOT a god!!” and the reposting by Old Poet’s ‘Truth troubles’: allah is NOT a god!! are just one of the disturbing postings on the net we encountered the last few months.

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Related articles

  1. Kalimah Allah: The Argument of a (Very) Confused Man
  2. Ustaz Azahar A Pluralist?
  3. Islamic Authorities Seize Bibles Because Christians Use the Word ‘Allah’
  4. For Bumiputera Christians, ‘Allah’ ban akin to cultural ‘genocide’, says archbishop
  5. Malaysia: Muslims confiscate Bibles, police threaten arrests if non-Muslims use word “allah”
  6. Arabic Bibles have been falsified to please Muslim converts
  7. Imam Goes Off Script at Vatican
  8. Pope Francis: Vicar of Allah?
  9. Be good even if you don’t receive good, not because of other’s sake but because Allah loves the good doers. -Ibn al-Qayyim.
  10. 99 Names of Allah: al-Rahman
  11. Part 103: To Allah do we belong…
  12. HumanBeing Can only Dream
  13. Masha Allah! Qur’an offers a clearer understanding of Prophet Isa (Jesus).
  14. What is God?
  15. ​Christianity Vs Islam.
  16. Depression in Islam
  17. Why did Vikings have “Allah” embroidered into funeral clothes?
  18. No issue about using ‘Allah’ for God
  19. The Spheres of Heaven
  20. Eid Reflection: Allah is Beautiful and Loves Beauty (The Beautification of Man by God)
  21. Allah Made Easy #2
  22. Why do so many Muslims hate America?

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Filed under Crimes & Atrocities, Headlines - News, Knowledge & Wisdom, Lifestyle, Political affairs, Religious affairs, Social affairs, Welfare matters, World affairs

Responsibility bigger than those who talk about worldly matters

At Stepping Toes we got a reaction from kriztle34, a girl who has always seen herself as an oddball, though how older she gets, the more she came to find that she is just ordinary. She reacted to one of our postings about the position of Jesus and his God.

She is worried about our position before God concerning our writing “Application of old pagan concept of trinity“.

She reacts:

Be careful what you put up on the internet! God is taking record of everything we do including the things we say on the internet. If you put something on the internet you should ask yourself: am I prepared for the eternal consequences that will result from my actions; because your actions don’t just effect your eternity but it can effect the eternity of every person who reads your heretical doctrine and that’s something that God does not take lightly.

She has good reason to be worried about the souls of those who write on the internet. Those writing things the whole world can read, have a big responsibility, (to themselves, to others, to protect others, to God, and for their resurrection and ability to enter the Kingdom of God), and when they write about God their responsibility is even bigger than those who talk about worldly matters.

When talking about God we should first of all be aware that we are talking about the Most High Divine Creator, Who is the Highest Lord of Lord of lords and Host of hosts. His Name may not be defiled, so those talking about Him should be very careful how they use that Holy Name.

We are fully aware of the seriousness when preaching and know that often we may be put in very difficult positions, not coming to twist the Words of God. That Word of God is set apart or holy and should be kept precious.

Those who call themselves Christian should be followers of Christ Jesus and should keep to the doctrines of that Jewish rabbi. As a Jew and descendant form the tribe of King David Jesus only worshipped a singular God, the God of Israel Who is One. Jesus also asked his followers to worship and to pray to that God like he prayed to that God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Every person writing on the net about Jesus and God should be fully aware of the danger of telling the wrong things about those Biblical characters. They also should know the importance of the task the master teacher Jeshua (Jesus Christ) has given his followers.

We as followers of Christ Jesus have the task to preach the Gospel of the coming Kingdom of God but also to show the people the Way to God. Jesus, the sent one from God is the one people should come to believe.

When writing about God, our heart should be close to Him and not close to the world. Jesus asks us to take distance from the world, though it might not always easy. So many people are caught up in the many false teachings and human doctrines so many churches present them.

It is so easy to be caught by those human doctrines and to step into the world with those many human or pagan rites and festivals. But we have to be stronger than many in the world and go for the Biblical Truth and  not human doctrines. We should not believe all those false human doctrines, but should keep to the Biblical doctrines and accept Jesus, the son of man and son of God, being the authorised one from God, who is our Messiah or the Kristos (Christ) and the only one by whom we received the grace of salvation and can find the way to the small gate to the Kingdom of God. In him people should come to believe. About him sincere lovers of God should preach and show the world that Jesus is the Way to God and that Jesus is not God himself, who faked his temptation and death and told lies when He as omniscient God would not have known who would be seated next to Christ or when Jesus would return to earth. That are all matters Jesus did not know but the Only One True God really did know and knows also today and tomorrow, Him always being the Eternal Omniscient Omnipresent Being.

Those writing about The Eternal God should not have any other gods besides Him. When writing on the internet about religious matters the writer should do his or her utmost best always to be determined to stick with the Biblical Truth.

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The article she reacted to: Application of old pagan concept of trinity

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Preceding articles

To find ways of Godly understanding

First man’s task still counting today

About a human being or not and life

Responsibilities of Parenthood for sharing the Word of God

Beautiful feet of those who announce the good news

Helping each other with prayer to start the new academic year

Witnessing because we love

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Additional reading

  1. A multifold of elements in creation and a bad choice made
  2. Mean voices on the Internet and free speech
  3. We are ourselves responsible
  4. If we, in our prosperity, neglect religious instruction and authority
  5. Determined To Stick With Truth.
  6. Atonement And Fellowship 7/8
  7. A Living Faith #10: Our manner of Life #2
  8. Being Religious and Spiritual 4 Philosophical, religious and spiritual people
  9. Being Religious and Spiritual 8 Spiritual, Mystic and not or well religious
  10. No time like the present
  11. Teach children the Bible
  12. Being in isolation #7 Mission work
  13. Training for the kingdom
  14. Resurrectional Responsibility
  15. Rapture articles
  16. Denominationalism exists because?
  17. God’s wrath and sanctification
  18. God is One
  19. With the gift of Jesus comes an awesome responsibility
  20. Oratory Style
  21. Not holding back and getting out of darkness
  22. 138) Cheap Grace
  23. Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #18 Fulfilment
  24. Life is too precious

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Further reading

  1. Responsibility
  2. Courageous people…
  3. Our Choices are Lessons
  4. Taking Responsibility by Anne Beaulieu
  5. Awake! Part 1
  6. The God We Choose
  7. Faith that does not result in good deeds is useless
  8. Spiritual Weight Watchers
  9. Pococurante
  10. Carrying that Heavy Luggage Called Responsibility
  11. Assuming the responsibility
  12. Slogan 34: Don’t Pass the Buck
  13. Protect your players
  14. Responsibility Clause
  15. Authority laughs the last
  16. The Most Valuable Lesson I Ever Learned
  17. Freedom and responsibility
  18. You Are Who You Weren’t
  19. Why We Fail
  20. The scapegoat reply
  21. Blessings
  22. Domestic Factors which Impact a Lived Calling
  23. How to be ethical when Blogging

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Filed under Announcement, Knowledge & Wisdom, Lifestyle, Religious affairs, Spiritual affairs

Which is worse–works without faith, or faith without works?

Rob Heijermans, who says is a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ and believes that God has spoken

— in fact, the universe itself is a product of the voice of the Lord. The phrase, “And God said…,” appears nine times in the first chapter of Genesis alone. {Is Anyone Listening?}

He also knows he has ever deceived himself and looks at James, Jesus’ younger half-brother, who knows all about self-deception.

Though the writer wrongly thinks James deceived himself for many years,

“denying that Jesus was God in the flesh.” {11 Self-Deceit 101}

Having grown up with Jesus in an Essene family he probably got to know Jesus as well as God very well. He also knew what Jesus had told others and to whom Jesus prayed, like they at their family, at home, prayed to the only One true God, the God of Israel. Jesus did not pray to himself, but to the God of Abraham, about Whom he taught people to pray to as well.

The apostle James warns us in Verse 22  of the first chapter that if we are hearers of the word–the Bible–and not doers, we deceive or ensnare ourselves.

James 1:22 EWB-CB  But become ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

Much too often Christians do forget Jesus’ parables and the warning of James. We may not delusively content our selves with being of the audience, but have to put what we hear in practice.

The writer of the blog UpStream writes

James says it’s like looking into the mirror on the morning of an important interview, seeing some serious bed-head, lots of stubble and a smudge of last night’s hot fudge sundae, and just walking away without taking action. {11 Self-Deceit 101}

Too many Christians make it themselves very easy, thinking because they are saved they do not have to do anything any more.

Rob Heijermans is aware that

sitting under the teaching of the Scriptures and not doing what they say is an act of self-deceit. Studying the Scriptures for ourselves, gaining an understanding of their meaning, but not obeying God’s Word, produces knowledge that makes us arrogant but yields no fruit in our lives. It is self-deceit. Even more serious is purporting to be a teacher and either teaching what is false or not doing what is true. James will deal with this more later in his letter. {11 Self-Deceit 101}

We should come to get to know what is written in the Bible and may not twist around the words of it. As such when is written “the son of God” we may not say “god the son“. We should clearly take the Words of God into account and take them serious.

In this world many have made their own gods. A lot also made Jesus in to their god, like Rob Heijermans has done. He also preaches about hell as a sort of place of eternal torture, whilst forgetting that the Divine Creator is a God of Love, who is an eternal Spirit Who can not be seen by man, but is with man, telling them no lies and saying they shall have paid for their sins with their death.

But this God of gods tells also about His sent one, the Nazarene Jew Jeshua, Jesus Christ, the Messiah. Jesus on this earth tried to make his heavenly Father known and showed the way to the Kingdom of God. His brother knew also very well the importance of Jesus’ teaching about that Kingdom. He had to loose his brother at the wooden stake and see his mother cry, being full of grieve. But he had also come into the hope Jesus preached and wanted to share it with others, like his brother had asked it.

That preaching James had taken up is also an act we should do. It is one of the works Jesus asked his followers to do.

Twice, the writer of Hebrews mentions “dead works.” (Heb 6.1, 9.14) Now, James writes of “dead faith.” In the subsequent verses of Chapter 2, he mentions that even the demons believe in God–and tremble before Him!–so simply believing facts about God is not saving faith. James then cites two Old Testament characters whose faith was demonstrated by their works: Abraham, the Iraqi father of the Jewish nation was not content simply to tell God he was willing to sacrifice Isaac. He unsheathed his dagger and was about to plunge it into Isaac’s belly when God stopped him and provided a substitutionary ram. Rahab the whore did not stop at believing that God was conquering His enemies through the Israelites–she protected their spies, knowing the awesome power of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. {14 How to Work Your Way to Hell}

Lots of Christians have forgotten Who that God of the Israelites is and why we should take Him as our Only One True God, like Jesus also took Him as His Only One Most High Almighty God. But not only did they take the ransom offer of Jesus as the final act for them, misleading themselves that they would not have to do anything more because they are saved by the Blood of Christ.

Strangely enough the blog writer seems to know that

On some occasion, James probably heard his Brother say that God is glorified when we prove we are His disciples by producing fruit. (John 15.8) {14 How to Work Your Way to Hell}

In many parables Jesus had told how we have to get a good relationship with the heavenly Father. How He is willing to take us up as His children, but also how we can loose the entrance to the Kingdom of God. James came to understand those teachings of his brother and knew how important it was when people came into the faith how they had to change themselves and had to work on themselves continuously.

We may not assume that it are only our works that can get us some where.

the second half of James 2 demonstrates: just as it is vain to think that my works–religious duty, outward devotion, social activism, neighbourly consideration–could possibly get me to heaven, so also is it vain to suppose I am truly a child of God while my life manifests nothing of my faith. As Jesus said, a fruit tree with no fruit is cut down and burned. {14 How to Work Your Way to Hell}

When having come into the faith we have to water our own tree. (By reading and studying the Bible.) Then we do have to let the food of the earth and food of heaven feed ourselves, so that we can bear good fruits. For getting good fruits we need good pruning. We need to do a lot of work. Without the work there shall be no good fruits and when we are not willing to prepare ourselves for the Kingdom of God we shall be too late like some young girls who did not prepare themselves or thought they had enough time. Please do not postpone. Take care that you are ready for when the day comes.

When procrastinating you will be surprised when the day comes you shall have nothing done what had to be done and will miss the boat.

Some things may be hard or difficult, like changing sides, or putting away human doctrinal teachings, like the trinity a.o.. but God wants from His son an his followers truthful worshippers of God who are faithful to Him, the Adonai Jehovah, and to His commandments. When we do not follow God’s commandments it will be like ignoring God’s Wishes and not wanting a good relationship with Him. Keeping to those commandments shall demand works we shall have to do with pleasure because we do believe in Christ, the son of God, and in his heavenly Father we also want to love.

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Preceding articles:

Leading people astray!

Restitution

Comments to James remarks, about Faith and works

Luther’s misunderstanding

January 27, 417, Pope Innocent I condemning Pelagius about Faith and Works

Our life depending on faith

Romans 4 and the Sacraments

Is Justification a process?

Justification – salvation is by grace through faith – JI Packer

Faith itself not the cause of justification – Louis Berkhof

Letter to the Romans, chapter 3

Letter to the Romans, chapter 4

Additional comments to the 3rd Letter to the Romans

Additional comments to the Letter to the Romans 4

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Please find also to read

  1. God of gods
  2. God is one
  3. Sayings around God
  4. A god who gave his people commandments and laws he knew they never could keep to it
  5. Jesus Messiah
  6. Jesus and His God
  7. the Trinity – the Truth
  8. Our relationship with God, Jesus and eachother
  9. Bearing fruit
  10. Faith Alone Does Not Save . . . No Matter How Many Times Protestants Say It Does
  11. Guard well within yourself that treasure, kindness
  12. Christ’s ethical teaching
  13. Being Justified by faith
  14. A Living Faith #3 Faith put into action
  15. Faith and works
  16. Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #8 Prayer #6 Communication and manifestation
  17. Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #16 Benefits of praying
  18. Observing the commandments and becoming doers of the Word
  19. The first on the list of the concerns of the saint
  20. Be holy
  21. She who sows thistles will reap prickles
  22. Love for each other attracting others

 

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Further related articles

  1. Count on your desire to procrastinate
  2. Sermon Redux – Part 4 of Doing Our Best for God’s Church – “Rejoicing in the Brutal Truth” – 1 Corinthians 12:4-7
  3. Boast in God’s Grace for You- Joseph Prince
  4. The Parable of the Two Sons
  5. Rewarded for Doing Good?
  6. Rewarded for their Labor? (1 Corinthians 3:8)
  7. Judged for What We Have Done
  8. Rewarded for What We’ve Done?
  9. 2:24 – You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.
  10. Chapter 2:23 – And he was called a friend of God.
  11. Four Panel Philosophy
  12. James 2:20-22 — Dynamic Faith
  13. Show Me Your Works

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25 Comments

Filed under Being and Feeling, Lifestyle, Religious affairs

Our life depending on faith

Looking at the Bible reading for January 28

When we look at our bible readings of the day, we do find Genesis 46-47, Psalm 50 and Paul’s letter to the Romans chapter 3-4.

English: Apostle Paul in the apse

Apostle Paul in the apse (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Apostle Paul when he was called Saul had been full of zeal for keeping the law and saw the followers of Christ as appearing to have no respect for keeping the law so he persecuted them – until he was dramatically converted. After his conversion and the maturity gained by the experiences that followed, he wrote his remarkable letter to the Romans, a letter primarily to the Gentiles.

The apostle asks a valid question, which should bring us to wonder what the good might be us of difference between a non believer and a believer doing good works.

People trained in God’s ways

Throughout history we have seen that there have been many people who were so called trained in God’s ways and even got titles of universities, declaring them to be theologians. Lots of people look up at them and think they are the person who best know how everything is about God, gods, religion, man, life and death. Lots of people got frustrated with what they got to know from those scholars  who often said we just had to belief this or that, because it is incomprehensible for a human being to understand. As such lots of human doctrines were introduced in Christendom.

People also got annoyed with certain behaviour of those so called religious men. Some had relationships not only with different wives, but there have also been clerics who had intercourse with children.
On the other hand the world sees lots of unbelievers who are doing very good works and are always ready to help others, plus giving very good examples how we make the best of our life in a good relationship with others.

God not abandoning people

It is true that lots of non-religious people are also good people, but the apostle Paul tells us as it turns out, it makes a lot of difference who is a follower of Christ and a believer in the Only One True God.

In history there have been many people who tried to bring the Word of God to others and make it alive for the future. We had the Jewish scribes who were being put in charge of writing down and caring for God’s revelation, what we call the Holy Scriptures or the Bible. In the course of doing that, when some of those Jews abandoned their post, we can see that God didn’t abandon them.

Throughout the Book of books we can see how God always stayed with His People, even when they did bad things or had moments that they forgot Him. Even the most important of these men of God had one moment of doubt, that he questioned God why He (Jehovah God) had abandoned him (Jesus).

Jesus at one moment also cried to his heavenly Father saying

 Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? (Matthew 27:46)

being a call unto God questioning Him why he had forsaken or had deserted the son of man Jeshua (Jesus Christ), who was willing to do God’s Will instead of his own will. (In case Jesus is God he naturally would always have done his own will and could never have left himself.)

Not cancelling out Jehovah his faithfulness

Do you think Jesus and other men of God their faithlessness cancels out Jehovah the Almighty God His faithfulness?

We are told that God keeps his Word even when the whole world is lying through its teeth. Scripture says the same

“God forbid! Yea, let God be true, though every man a liar. As it is written: “That Thou mightest be justified in Thy sayings, and mightest overcome when Thou art judged.”” (Romans 3:4 KJ21)

We are given God’s Word which stand fast and true and is not given to confuse us or to.  We are given commandments in that book of books and are questioned if we make the law of none effect through faith.

The unbelievers can do good and bad like we too can do a lot of bad. But if our wrongdoing only underlines and confirms God’s right-doing, “shouldn’t we be commended for helping out?” remarks Paul. When having come into the faith we should be willing to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ (a work to be done) and should do our uttermost best to comply not only with his teachings but also with the ordnance of God.

Sayings we are saved and have to do no works

The people who do want us to believe we can do whatever we want because salvation is on us by the blood of Christ, must know that it is not by our bad deeds that God would come out better.  It’s simply perverse to say,

“If my lies serve to show off God’s truth all the more gloriously, why blame me? I’m doing God a favour.”

or to say

“The more evil we do, the more good God does, so let’s just do it!”

That’s pure slander. (Romans 3:7-8)

Same start for every one

It is not because we are Jews, Christians or Muslims that we would be we more excellent than the others and are getting a better break than the others. (Romans 3:9) Basically, all of us, whether insiders or outsiders, start out in identical conditions, which is to say that we all start out as sinners. Scripture leaves no doubt about it that there’s nobody living right, not even one, nobody who knows the score, nobody alert for God. They’ve all taken the wrong turn; they’ve all wandered down blind alleys.

It may sound harsh, but there is “No one’s living right”.

“9 What then? Are we better than they? No, in no wise! For we have before proved that both Jews and Gentiles are all under sin. 10 As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; 11 there is none that understandeth; there is none that seeketh after God. 12 They have all gone from the way; they have together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.”” (Romans 3:9-12 KJ21)

Therefore every day we do have to be careful not to have our throats to be gaping graves,our tongues slick as mud slides. (Romans 3:13) With no tongues to deceit we should try to get others to know Jeshua, Jesus Christ, the son of man and the son of God. In him we did receive salvation, but in him we do have to grow (a work) so that we can run a good race, not for the honour of sinner-of-the-year, or for the one who made the most money on the back of others.

Afraid for those coming in

In our land littered with heartbreak and ruin, many of us do not want to know living with others. They are so afraid of the refugees coming into our nation. Are they afraid of them being able to get others to believe what they believe and to come to the same religion as theirs. Should they than not wonder how it comes that those immigrants not come to be surprised by the faith we are having and that they would become interested in the faith that lives in Europe? We think the greatest problem is that there is not so much faith in God living around in our regions. Most people never give God the time of day. This makes it clear, doesn’t it, that whatever is written in these Scriptures is not what God says about others but to us to whom these Scriptures were addressed in the first place! And it’s clear enough, isn’t it, that we’re sinners, every one of us, in the same sinking boat with everybody else?

For sure it is not our involvement with God’s revelation that will  put us right with God. There are also many unbelievers who write about our God and about religion. There are also people who are against God who try to bring others in doubt by throwing lots of discussions at them.

Should we not more question why there would be a danger of Muslims converting people from here unto the Islamic faith? In case there would be enough people standing strong in their faith we should not worry.

Did Jesus also not give the task to his followers to go out and preach? When Christians would do what Jesus Christ ordered them to do we should have enough preachers witnessing about the works of god and about the real faith we should follow.

Man incapable to govern

Throughout history man has proven to be incapable to come to good governments, or to be able to rule this universe. By the Word of God we are forced to face our complicity in our sins. By all our stupidities we do have to come to see we can only have a good government under the jurisdiction of Christ Jesus.

Because by the works of the Law shall no flesh be justified in God His sight (Romans3:20) we should know that for by the Law comes the knowledge of sin and are we given the ways to handle sin. Now we also do not have any excuse because in our time something new has been added. What Moses and the prophets witnessed to all those years has happened. The God-setting-things-right that we read about in our Scriptures, has become Jesus-setting-things-right for us. And not only for us, but for everyone who believes in him. For there is no difference between us and them in this.

“20 Therefore by the deeds of the law, no flesh shall be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. 21 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God, which is by faith in Jesus Christ, unto all and upon all those who believe. For there is no difference, 23 for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God,” (Romans 3:20-23 KJ21)

“30  What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, who followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith; 31 but Israel, who followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness.” (Romans 9:30-31 KJ21)

Since we’ve compiled this long and sorry record as sinners (both us and them) and proved that we are utterly incapable of living the glorious lives God wills for us, God sent us His only begotten son and accepted this man’s ransom offering to pay for our sins. did it for us. The action of God, out of sheer generosity, was taken for the recognizance of the humbleness of  the Nazarene Jew who was willing to put his own will aside for complying totally to God’s Will.

A Freebox in Berlin, Germany 2005, serving as a distribution centre for free donated materials, and where the gratis is really for free.

With Jeshua (Jesus Christ) the world has received a pure gift. With God it is not, like we can see so many times today, that there are offers to people where they say it is gratis, but then they still have to pay so much money. By God Gratis does really means for free. We do not have to pay anything for the Gift of Grace. Salvation is given to everybody in the world. But it is given at one point and then we have to continue from there onwards. And that is what a lot of people seem to forget.

The mess we are in & Setting the world in the clear

God by the action taken, or by the work done by His son, got us out of the mess we’re in and restored us to where God always wanted us to be. In His plan fits a righteous people. Jehovah, the God of gods, did it by means of Jesus Christ. It was God who sacrificed Jesus on the altar of the world to clear that world of sin. Having faith in him sets us in the clear.

God decided on this course of action in full view of the public — to set the world in the clear with himself through the sacrifice of Jesus, finally taking care of the sins he had so patiently endured. For many that does not seem to be clear, but it’s now — this is current history! God sets things right. He also makes it possible for us to live in his rightness.

Working at a relationship

When we come to know that Jesus is the Way to God, we do have to respond (an action to be taken or a work to be done). Our response to what God does for us should create our willingness to do the right works to come to a very good relationship with Him. to come to such a good relationship our lives have to get in step with God.

Jehovah God is the God of outsider non-Jews as well as insider Jews and this God of Abraham should be the Allah, Adonai, Elohim or God of Israel and God of all Jews, Christians, Muslims but also of all those who wander in this world without knowing yet what the purpose and the goal of their life is.

The apostle Paul warns the world to know that there is only one God Who has set right all who welcome His action and enter into it, both those who follow the apostle’s religious system and those who have never heard of his and our religion.

“I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20 KJ21)

“in whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of Him.” (Ephesians 3:12 KJ21)

“knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.” (Galatians 2:16 KJ21)

“And His name, through faith in His name, hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know. Yea, the faith which is by Him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.” (Acts 3:16 KJ21)

“But the Scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.” (Galatians 3:22 KJ21)

“23 for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, 24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:23-24 KJ21)

“30 seeing it is one God who shall justify the Circumcision by faith, and Uncircumcision through faith.” (Romans 3:30 KJ21)

Having stressed “the faithfulness of God” (verse 3) and having told that God reacts to what he sees – seeing “faith” and also faithlessness – we should be fully aware that it is important how we act. Our behaviour is an important factor to our faith-life.

Several people are cross with God and left faith because they did not see any difference between them and the unbelievers. Many do say it is not right God also “inflicts” trouble, pain and sorrow to those who believe in Him.
We must not say,
“God is unrighteous to inflict wrath” (verse 5) on the disobedience he sees in his creation.
What God looks to see, Paul says as he higlights the example of Abraham in the fourth chapter, is – faith, genuine belief and trust in God for “faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness” (verse 9) and it will be “counted” to us also.

“Cometh this blessedness then upon the Circumcision only, or upon the Uncircumcision also? For we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness.” (Romans 4:9 KJ21)

English: Statue of Saint Paul at Bab Kisan, Da...

Statue of Saint Paul at Bab Kisan, Damascus, Syria Français : Statue de Saint-Paul à Bab Kissan, Damas, Syrie (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Paul stresses this was “the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe … so that righteousness would be counted to them as well” (verse 11).

We read in Genesis earlier this month all the things Abraham did – through faith. Paul is stressing that

“For the promise that he should be the heir of the world came not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.” (Romans 4:13 KJ21)

Acting faithfully toward God in our lives is what matters most of all and Abraham is the key example for us to follow. In the past the Jews had a contract or covenant with God. With Christ there was made a new covenant. In the knowledge that a contract drawn up by a hard-nosed lawyer and with plenty of fine print only makes sure that you will never be able to collect, we have been offered a much better contract. Yes, we as human beings do need some contract or written rules. As  such those who follow Christ, believing in him, can live with the promise that God made to our forefathers. God’s promise, though, can not be broken. This is why the fulfilment of God’s promise depends entirely on trusting God and His way, and then simply embracing Him and what He does. God’s promise arrives as pure gift. That’s the only way everyone can be sure to get in on it, those who keep the religious traditions and those who have never heard of them. For Abraham is father of us all. He is not our racial father — that’s reading the story backwards. He is our faith father. Therefore Paul realized that “the law brings wrath” and

“15 because the law worketh wrath; for where there is no law, there is no transgression. 16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be given by grace to the end that the promise might be made sure to all the seed, not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all” (Romans 4:15-16 KJ21)

It depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace.

We should recall God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 17:4,5 and his life of faith beginning from when he left Ur. We must each reflect on our own acts of faith, for it is not just something we talk about! What things have we done, and are doing – that show our faith?

Our eternal future “depends on faith”.

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Preceding article: January 27, 417, Pope Innocent I condemning Pelagius about Faith and Works

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Please do find also to read:

  1. Epicurus’ Problem of Evil
  2. Condemnation of the World and Illustration of Justification
  3. Elul Observances
  4. God’s wrath and sanctification
  5. A god who gave his people commandments and laws he knew they never could keep to it
  6. Self-development, self-control, meditation, beliefs and spirituality
  7. Outflow of foundational relationship based on acceptance of Jesus
  8. Back from gone #4 Your inner feelings and actions
  9. Being Religious and Spiritual 5 Gnostic influences
  10. Being Religious and Spiritual 8 Spiritual, Mystic and not or well religious
  11. Being of good courage running the race
  12. A race not to swift, nor a battle to the strong
  13. The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong
  14. To Soar In The Spirit You Have To Be Hard Core
  15. Being religious has benefits even in this life
  16. Cognizance at the doorstep or at the internet socket
  17. Good and bad things in this world
  18. Salvation and Righteousness
  19. Establish your hearts blameless in holiness
  20. Myth 12: The Hyper-Grace Gospel Makes People Lazy
  21. Faith Alone Does Not Save . . . No Matter How Many Times Protestants Say It Does
  22. A Living Faith #3 Faith put into action
  23. A Living Faith #6 Sacrifice
  24. A Living Faith #10: Our manner of Life #2
  25. Faith and works
  26. Not making yourselves abominable
  27. The attraction of doing something
  28. Re–forming ourselves
  29. Humbleness
  30. Wired to Connect?
  31. Bearing fruit
  32. Our stance against certain religions and immigrating people
  33. Religion, fundamentalism and murder
  34. Whoopi Goldberg commandments and abortion
  35. Daring to speak in multicultural environment
  36. As Christ’s slaves doing the Will of God in gratitude
  37. 2014 Religion
  38. Disobedient man and God’s promises
  39. Crisis man needed in this world
  40. From pain to purpose
  41. Unconditional love
  42. Relying on the Love of God
  43. Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #17 Sorts of prayers
  44. God’s forgotten Word 5 Lost Lawbook 4 The ‘Catholic’ church
  45. Daily Spiritual Food To prepare ourselves for the Kingdom of God
  46. Evangelisation, local preaching opposite overseas evangelism
  47. When not seeing or not finding a biblically sound church

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Further reading

  1. Faith (Heartfixxer)
  2. Embracing the Path
  3. To Soar In The Spirit You Have To Be Hard Core (the Inscribed heart)
  4. See Other with God’s Eyes
  5. Faith is the Key
  6. Wear Your Faith on Your Sleeve
  7. We Need to Water Our Faith
  8. A Date With God
  9. Where is the Church that Christ built?
  10. Actions are the Megaphone of Words
  11. We are justified by faith and works, in a manner of speaking.
  12. Luther’s misunderstanding
  13. Faith-Rooted Practice – Rev. Dr. King and Prophetic Evangelicalism
  14. Declaring what is not as though it is
  15. What is Right?
  16. Thankful Thursday: God’s Faithfulness
  17. Great Faithfulness
  18. Grace Makes All The Difference

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Filed under Being and Feeling, Lifestyle, Religious affairs

Almighty God above all other gods greater than all gods


“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1 RWebster)

“And when Abram was ninety and nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said to him, I [am] the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. {perfect: or, upright, or, sincere}” (Genesis 17:1 RWebster)

“2 And God spoke to Moses, and said to him, I [am] the LORD: {the LORD: or, JEHOVAH} 3 And I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, by [the name of] God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.” (Exodus 6:2-3 RWebster)

“Who [is] like thee, O LORD, among the gods? who [is] like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful [in] praises, doing wonders? {gods: or, mighty ones?}” (Exodus 15:11 RWebster)

“Now I know that the LORD [is] greater than all gods: for in the thing in which they dealt proudly [he was] above them.” (Exodus 18:11 RWebster)

“And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.” (Exodus 33:20 RWebster)

“4 ¶ Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God [is] one LORD: 5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thy heart: 7 And thou shalt teach them diligently to thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. {teach: Heb. whet, or, sharpen} 8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thy hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thy eyes. 9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-9 RWebster)

“Because I will proclaim the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness to our God.” (Deuteronomy 32:3 RWebster)

“Thine, O LORD, [is] the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all [that is] in the heaven and on the earth [is thine]; thine [is] the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all.” (1 Chronicles 29:11 RWebster)

“And the house which I build [is] great: for great [is] our God above all gods.” (2 Chronicles 2:5 RWebster)

“Behold, God [is] great, and we know [him] not, neither can the number of his years be searched out.” (Job 36:26 RWebster)

“Be still, and know that I [am] God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.” (Psalms 46:10 RWebster)

“«A Song [and] Psalm for the sons of Korah.» Great [is] the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, [in] the mountain of his holiness. {for: or, of}” (Psalms 48:1 RWebster)

“Thy righteousness also, O God, [is] very high, who hast done great things: O God, who [is] like thee!” (Psalms 71:19 RWebster)

“Blessed [be] the LORD God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things.” (Psalms 72:18 RWebster)

“That [men] may know that thou, whose name alone [is] JEHOVAH, [art] the most high over all the earth.” (Psalms 83:18 RWebster)

“Among the gods [there is] none like thee, O Lord; neither [are there any works] like thy works.” (Psalms 86:8 RWebster)

“For who in the heaven can be compared to the LORD? [who] among the sons of the mighty can be likened to the LORD?” (Psalms 89:6 RWebster)

“O LORD, how great are thy works! [and] thy thoughts are very deep.” (Psalms 92:5 RWebster)

“3 For the LORD [is] a great God, and a great King above all gods. 4 In his hand [are] the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills [is] his also. {In…: Heb. In whose} {the strength…: or, the heights of the hills are his} 5 The sea [is] his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry [land]. {The sea…: Heb. Whose the sea is} 6 O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker. 7 ¶ For he [is] our God; and we [are] the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice, 8 Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, [and] as [in] the day of temptation in the wilderness: {provocation: Heb. contention} 9 When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work.” (Psalms 95:3-9 RWebster)

“For thou, LORD, [art] high above all the earth: thou art exalted far above all gods.” (Psalms 97:9 RWebster)

“He sent redemption to his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend [is] his name.” (Psalms 111:9 RWebster)

“For I know that the LORD [is] great, and [that] our Lord [is] above all gods.” (Psalms 135:5 RWebster)

“Great [is] the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness [is] unsearchable. {and his…: Heb. and of his greatness there is no search}” (Psalms 145:3 RWebster)

“But the LORD of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness. {God…: or, the holy God: Heb. the God the holy}” (Isaiah 5:16 RWebster)

“And one cried to another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, [is] the LORD of hosts: the whole earth [is] full of his glory. {one…: Heb. this cried to this} {the whole…: Heb. his glory is the fulness of the whole earth}” (Isaiah 6:3 RWebster)

“Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and [let] him [be] your fear, and [let] him [be] your dread.” (Isaiah 8:13 RWebster)

“To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare him to?” (Isaiah 40:18 RWebster)

“I, [even] I, [am] the LORD; and besides me [there is] no saviour.” (Isaiah 43:11 RWebster)

“Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared [it]? ye [are] even my witnesses. Is there a God besides me? verily, [there is] no God; I know not [any]. {God; I: Heb. rock, etc}” (Isaiah 44:8 RWebster)

“For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name [is] Holy; I dwell in the high and holy [place], with him also [that is] of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” (Isaiah 57:15 RWebster)

“Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? for to thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise [men] of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, [there is] none like thee. {to…: or, it liketh thee}” (Jeremiah 10:7 RWebster)

“I will accept you with your sweet savour, when I bring you out from the people, and gather you out of the countries in which ye have been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you before the heathen. {sweet…: Heb. savour of rest}” (Ezekiel 20:41 RWebster)

“And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I [am] the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. {their: or, your}” (Ezekiel 36:23 RWebster)

“Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I [am] the LORD.” (Ezekiel 38:23 RWebster)

“The king answered to Daniel, and said, Of a truth [it is], that your God [is] the God of gods, and the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret.” (Daniel 2:47 RWebster)

“And it shall come to pass, [that] whoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.” (Joel 2:32 RWebster)

“For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with one consent. {language: Heb. lip} {consent: Heb. shoulder}” (Zephaniah 3:9 RWebster)

“After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.” (Matthew 6:9 RWebster)

“And Jesus said to him, Why callest thou me good? [there is] none good but one, [that is], God.” (Mark 10:18 RWebster)

“For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy [is] his name.” (Luke 1:49 RWebster)

“God [is] a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship [him] in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24 RWebster)

“1  These words spoke Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: 2 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. 3 And this is life eternal, that they may know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” (John 17:1-3 RWebster)

“I have manifested thy name to the men whom thou gavest to me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them to me; and they have kept thy word.” (John 17:6 RWebster)

“25 O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. 26 And I have declared to them thy name, and will declare [it]: that the love which thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.” (John 17:25-26 RWebster)

“And it shall come to pass, [that] whoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Acts 2:21 RWebster)

“For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, [even] his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: {so…: or, that they may be}” (Romans 1:20 RWebster)

“For whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13 RWebster)

“O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable [are] his judgments, and his ways past finding out!” (Romans 11:33 RWebster)

“4  Therefore as concerning the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice to idols, we know that an idol [is] nothing in the world, and that [there is] no other God but one. 5 For though there are that are called gods, whether in heaven or upon earth, (as there are gods many, and lords many,) 6 Yet to us [there is but] one God, the Father, from whom [are] all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom [are] all things, and we by him. {in: or, for}” (1 Corinthians 8:4-6 RWebster)

“According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.” (1 Timothy 1:11 RWebster)

“For [there is] one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;” (1 Timothy 2:5 RWebster)

“For Christ hath not entered into the holy places made with hands, [which are] the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:” (Hebrews 9:24 RWebster)

“And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.” (1 John 4:16 RWebster)

“And the four living beings had each of them six wings about [him]; and [they were] full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come. {rest…: Gr. have no rest}” (Revelation 4:8 RWebster)

“Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, who art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.” (Revelation 11:17 RWebster)

“And I heard another from the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous [are] thy judgments.” (Revelation 16:7 RWebster)

“Thy righteousness, O God, is very high, thou that doest great things: O God, who is like unto thee?” (Psalms 71:19 TRC)

“Blessed be the LORD God, even the God of Israel, which only doth wonderous things.” (Psalms 72:18 TRC)

“That they may know, that thou art alone, that thy name is the LORD, and that thou onely art the most highest {|hyest|} over all the earth.” (Psalms 83:18 TRC)

“Among the Gods {goddes} there is none like unto thee O Lord, there is not one that can do as thou doest.” (Psalms 86:8 TRC)

“For who is he among the clouds, that may be compared unto the LORD? Yea what is he among the gods, {goddes} that is like unto the LORD?” (Psalms 89:6 TRC)

“O LORD, how glorious are thy works, thy thoughts are very deep.” (Psalms 92:5 TRC)

“3 For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. {goddes} 4 In his hand are all the corners of the earth, and the strength of the hills is his also. 5 The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands prepared the dry land. 6 O come, let us worship and bow down ourselves: Let us kneel before the LORD our maker. 7  For he is our God: and {|<as for us>|} we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hands. 8 Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as when ye provoked in the time of temptation in the wilderness. 9 Where your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works.” (Psalms 95:3-9 TRC)

“For thou LORD art the most highest {|hyest|} over all the earth, thou art exalted far above all gods.” (Psalms 97:9 TRC)

“He sent redemption unto his people, he hath commanded his covenant for ever, holy and reverent is his name.” (Psalms 111:9 TRC)

“For I know that the LORD is great, and that our Lord {|LORDE|} is above all gods. {goddes}” (Psalms 135:5 TRC)

“Great is the LORD, and marvelous worthy to be praised, there is no end to his greatness.” (Psalms 145:3 TRC)

“But the LORD of Hosts, that holy God: shall be exalted and untouched, when he shall declare his equity and righteousness after this manner:” (Isaiah 5:16 TRC)

“They cried also each one to other on this manner: holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of Hosts. The whole world is full of his glory.” (Isaiah 6:3 TRC)

“but sanctify the LORD of Hosts, let him be your fear and dread.” (Isaiah 8:13 TRC)

“To whom then will ye liken God? or what similitude will ye set up unto him?” (Isaiah 40:18 TRC)

“I am only the LORD, and without me is there no Saviour.” (Isaiah 43:11 TRC)

“yea and that without any fear or stop. {stoppe} For have not I ever told you hitherto, and warned you? Ye can bear me record yourselves. Is there any God except me? or any maker, that I should not know him?” (Isaiah 44:8 TRC)

“For thus sayeth the high {|hie|} and excellent, even he that dwelleth in everlastingness, whose name is the holy one: I dwell high above and in the sanctuary, and with him also, that is of a contrite and humble spirit: that I may heal a troubled mind, and a contrite heart.” (Isaiah 57:15 TRC)

“Who would not fear thee? Or what King of the Gentiles would not obey thee? For among all the wise men of the Gentiles, and in all their kingdoms, there is none that may be likened unto thee.” (Jeremiah 10:7 TRC)

“I will accept your sweet savour, when I bring you from the nations, and gather you together out of the lands, wherein ye be scattered: that I may be hallowed in you before the Heathen.” (Ezekiel 20:41 TRC)

“Therefore, I will hallow my great name again, which among the Gentiles is evil spoken of: for ye yourselves have dishonoured it among them. And the Gentiles shall know, that I am the LORD, when I am honoured in you before their eyes, sayeth the Lord GOD. {|LORDE God|} {that the heathen may know that I am the LORD (saith the Lorde Iehouah) when I am sanctified upon you in their sight.}” (Ezekiel 36:23 TRC)

“Thus will I be magnified, honoured, and known among the Heathen: that they may be sure, how that I am the LORD.” (Ezekiel 38:23 TRC)

“The king answered Daniel, and said: Yea of a truth your God is a God above all gods, and Lord {|LORDE|} above all kings, and an opener of secrets: seeing thou canst discover this mystery.” (Daniel 2:47 TRC)

“And the time shall come: that whosoever calleth upon the name of the LORD, shall be saved. For upon the mount Sion and at Jerusalem, there shall be a salvation, like as the LORD hath promised: yea and among the other remnant, whom the LORD shall call.” (Joel 2:32 TRC)

“And then will I cleanse the lips of the people, that they may every each one call upon the name of the LORD, and serve him with one shoulder.” (Zephaniah 3:9 TRC)

“After this manner therefore pray ye. O our father, which art in heaven hallowed be thy name.” (Matthew 6:9 TRC)

“Jesus said to him: why callest thou me good? there is no man good but one, which is God.” (Mark 10:18 TRC)

“For he that is mighty hath done to me great things, and blessed {holy} is his name.” (Luke 1:49 TRC)

“God is a spirit, and they that worship him, must honour {worship} him, in spirit and verity. {trouth, or real fidelity of truth}” (John 4:24 TRC)

“1  These words spake Jesus and lift {lifted} up his eyes to heaven, and said: father the hour is come glorify thy son that thy son may glorify thee. 2 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. 3 This is life eternal {|everlasting|} that they might know thee that only very God: {|that thou onely art the true God|} and whom thou hast sent Jesus Christ.” (John 17:1-3 TRC)

“I have declared thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world. Thine they were, and thou gavest them me, and they have kept thy sayings. {|word|}” (John 17:6 TRC)

“25 O righteous father the very world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. 26 And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it, that the love wherewith thou hast loved me, be in them, and that I be in them.” (John 17:25-26 TRC)

“And the time shall come {it shall be} that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord, shall be saved.” (Acts 2:21 TRC)

“For {So that} his invisible things (that is to say, his eternal power and godhead) are understood and seen, by the works from the creation of the world. So that they are without excuse,” (Romans 1:20 TRC)

“For whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be safe. {|saved|}” (Romans 10:13 TRC)

“O the deepness of the abundant wisdom and knowledge off God: how incomprehensible {unsearchable} are his judgements, and his ways unsearchable. {past finding out.}” (Romans 11:33 TRC)

“4  To speak of meat dedicated unto idols, we are sure that there is none idol {|So are we sure now concerning the meats offered unto Idols, that an Idol is nothing|} in the world: and that there is none other God but one. 5 And though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth (as there be gods many and lords many) 6 but {yet} unto us is there {but} one God, which is the father, of whom are all things, and we in him: and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.” (1 Corinthians 8:4-6 TRC)

“according to the glorious gospel of the holy God, {the gospell of the glory of the blessed God} which gospel {gospell} is committed unto me.” (1 Timothy 1:11 TRC)

“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and man, which is {|men, namely|} the man Christ Jesus,” (1 Timothy 2:5 TRC)

“For Christ is not entered into the holy places, that are made with hands, which are but similitudes of true things: but is entered into very heaven, for to appear now in the sight {|before the face|} of God for us.” (Hebrews 9:24 TRC)

“And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love, and he that dwelleth {abideth} in love dwelleth {abideth} in God, and God in him.” (1 John 4:16 TRC)

“And the four beasts had each one of them six wings about him, and they were full of eyes within. And they had no rest day neither night saying: Holy, holy, holy, Lord {|is the LORDE|} God almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.” (Revelation 4:8 TRC)

“saying: we give thee thanks Lord God omnipotent: {allmighty:} which art and wast, and art to come, for thou hast received thy great might, and hast reigned.” (Revelation 11:17 TRC)

“And I heard another out of the altar say: even so Lord God almighty, true and righteous are thy judgements.” (Revelation 16:7 TRC)

 

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Preceding:

Bible, helmet of salvation, God’s Words put in the mouth of prophets for perfecting, to reprove and correct

De Almachtige God der goden, groter dan en hoog verheven boven alle goden

Der Allmächtige Gott der Götter, größer und mächtiger als alle Götter

Dieu Puissant, Dieu unique des dieux plus grand que tous les dieux

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  1. El-Shaddai God Almighty Who no-one may see and live
  2. No man see the Almighty God and live
  3. The Almighty Lord God of gods King above all gods
English: psalms in Aramaic

Psalms in Aramaic (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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