When does your day begin and when begins God His day

All over the world, we can find several calendars which have the week beginning on another day. But when wants one to start a day?

In a certain way, we need some agreement on an arrangement for choosing a system for dividing time over extended periods, such as days, months, or years, and arranging such divisions in a definite order.
Here in West Europe for practical reasons, the standard week begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, and for the Catholics and most Protestant denominations, Sunday is considered the day of rest and ‘Day of the Lord’.

For the majority, the day also commences when they wake up and go to do their daily busyness. Getting up in time is for most of us the most important event of the day. When we hear our alarm clock, that means we are still alive, and we can face again another day.

Frank Hubeny is a Christian who moved to Miami Beach, Florida. He voted for Donald Trump in 2020 and is a pro-life and pro-Israel, and loves Catholics. By hearing those things, we may assume he is one of those conservative and perhaps fundamentalist American Christians. He suspects most people are aware that the biblical day begins at sunset

or early evening sometime if one can’t see the sun actually set. {Exploration 103 – The Day Begins At Sunset}

Though, I think most people do not relate the day setting to something which is indicated in the Bible or any other ‘holy Scriptures‘. But he agrees that

Skyline of Kaohsiung harbour, Taiwan at sunrise.

there are people who would disagree with this biblical interpretation promoting sunrise rather than sunset as the starting point. {Exploration 103 – The Day Begins At Sunset}

There are those who refer to Jeshua, the Messiah who would have brought some new ‘Covenant Calendar’ or would have done away with the Torah, which is not so at all.

Jeshua, or Jesus as a Jew held himself to the Torah and was very well aware of God’s Law given to mankind for good reason. He went to the synagogue on Friday night, which is at the beginning of the Sabbath. From sunset on Friday to nightfall of the following day Jeshua or Jesus also kept himself to the regulations for that day of the week, which was the closing day of the week. The day after was the first day of the week and would be our Sunday. By most Christians, that day is considered to be “the Lord’s Day”, or the weekly memorial of Jesus Christ’s Resurrection from the dead. The title of that day can be very misleading because it can insinuate that it is God His day, though all days belong to God and those Christians holding on to that Day of the Lord mean with it that it is the day of Christ, or even worse, as their day of their god, namely having Jesus as their god.

In our present time or modern culture, most people have been raised to believe that a new day begins at midnight. The majority of people are not interested in the Bible and as such never looked for being in agreement with such a book, which is taken by others as their guide for life. Not following an Al-Haadi or such Guide for life, they just go by their feeling and custom to stand up after a night’s rest.

For them, there is no reason to think about a Scriptural reason and as such, there is no scriptural precedent for their belief, and the way that midnight is reckoned today would be impossible without mechanical clocks.

Others, such as myself, are more than willing to set them straight since fixing the other guy is more entertaining than fixing oneself. {Exploration 103 – The Day Begins At Sunset}

EliYah Ministries claims to be a place for people to read more about the Hebrew Roots of their faith, and has its name chosen because YLiYah means it means “My Mighty One is Yahweh” and this is the message that they seem to want to proclaim. Strangely enough they give the impression that they are Jewish but seem to take Jeshua or Jesus also as their god Yahweh. Though Jesus or Jeshua is not Jehovah, the God of Israel, but is the son of God and son of man, a human being.

“40 ولكنكم الآن تطلبون ان تقتلوني وانا انسان قد كلمكم بالحق الذي سمعه من الله.هذا لم يعمله ابراهيم. 41 انتم تعملون اعمال ابيكم.فقالوا له اننا لم نولد من زنا.لنا اب واحد وهو الله.” (يو 8:40-41 Arabic)

“40 But now you seek to kill me, a man that has told you the truth, which I have heard from God: this did not Abraham. 41 You do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We are not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.” (Joh 8:40-41 KJBPNV)

Funny also that those writers of that site also recognise that

the translators admit they substituted Yahweh’s name for a title. All for the sake of an tradition. Yahweh’s name is in scripture nearly 7000 times. And nearly 7000 times they replaced it (not translated it) with “the LORD”, or “GOD”. Imagine that? They took His name out of His own book! {Yahushua is the True Name of the Messiah}

Also, they agree with Matthew Henry’s Commentary (on Matthew 1:21)

“Jesus is the same name with Joshua, the termination only being changed, for the sake of conforming it to the greek.” {Yahushua is the True Name of the Messiah}

Though somehow they begin to use those two different names Jehovah/Yahweh and Yahushua/Yahusha/Jeshua/Jesus interchangeably and say that Jeshua – for them: god –  changed the ‘day’. Even when they say themselves

I wouldn’t want someone to change my name unless it was Yahweh, and it is clear that according to the third commandment Yahweh doesn’t want anyone to change or falsify His name either.

Think about this for a moment. What makes man think he has the authority to change the name of the one who created him, and who created all things? We don’t have that right! For instance, in the scriptures we see that one who changes the name of another is always in authority over them. The Messiah renamed Simon. Yahweh renamed Abram to Abraham. He renamed Jacob to Israel. Adam named the animals. Even we name our children, not the other way around. Yahweh, our Heavenly Father, named His Son ‘Yahushua’ in Matt 1:22. {Why people of all languages must call upon the name of Yahweh}

So, why do they change the name of Jehovah in Yahwe and in Yahushua? Clearly, they themselves say God named His son Yahushua or (in short or as a call sign) Jeshua. Furthermore, that site indicates:

Also, notice that Matthew 28:1 says it is “after the Sabbath” which indicates the first day of the week has begun. The sun had not yet risen though because it says that it was “toward dawn.”

Matthew 28:1(ISR) Now after the Sabbath, toward dawn on the first day of the week, Miryam from Magdala and the other Miryam came to see the tomb. {When Does the Sabbath Start?}

Toward dawn, means close to dawn, which is after the darkest point of night; and that moment they considered already to be the first day of the week. They also notice

the word used in Matthew 28:1 “toward dawn” describes same period of time as John 20:1– the time when they started heading toward the tomb. It was still technically dark outside, but the light of dawn was on the horizon. {When Does the Sabbath Start?}

We should remember:

So based on the … accounts, it is evident that the chronology was that the women started heading to the tomb before the sun rose on the first day of the week, they bought spices “after the Sabbath” yet before sunrise, and they arrived at the tomb at sunrise.

Here is a summary of how these accounts actually contradict “sunrise to sunrise” Sabbath keeping:

1. John 20:1 says that it was “on the first day of the week”, yet it was “still dark.” Therefore the first day of the week had already begun prior to sunrise.
2. Mark 16:1 says that they bought spices “when the Sabbath was passed,” yet it was before the sun had risen, proving the Sabbath ended at sundown.
3. Matthew 28:1 says that it was “after the Sabbath” during the period of time that it began to “grow light,” a word that describes the period of time just before sunrise.

Therefore, these verses clearly support the fact that the Sabbath ends at sundown and the first day of the week was already in motion prior to sunrise.

EVENING TO EVENING

Scripture plainly commands “from evening to evening you shall celebrate your Sabbath.”

Leviticus 23:27-Also the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh. 28 – And you shall do no work on that same day, for it is the Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before Yahweh your Elohim. 29 – For any person who is not afflicted in soul on that same day shall be cut off from his people. 30 – And any person who does any work on that same day, that person I will destroy from among his people. 31 – You shall do no manner of work; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. 32 – It shall be to you a sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict your souls; on the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall celebrate your sabbath.”

Numbers 29:7- On the tenth day of this seventh month you shall have a holy convocation. You shall afflict your souls; you shall not do any work.

Since Yahweh doesn’t contradict Himself, it is no contradiction that the 10th day of the month is “Yom Kippur/Day of Atonement” while also commanding that we begin and end this day at evening. Since the 10th day began and ended at evening, the days surrounding it would need to begin and end at evening as well. Thus, all days begin and end at evening.

Another example:

Exodus 12:15-Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. 16 – On the first day there shall be a holy convocation, and on the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation for you. No manner of work shall be done on them; but that which everyone must eat — that only may be prepared by you. 17 – So you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this same day I will have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as an everlasting ordinance. 18 – In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. 19 – For seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses, since whoever eats what is leavened, that same person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a stranger or a native of the land.

Notice that the same language which described the timing of the tenth day of the seventh month (Day of Atonement) is also used to describe when the fifteenth day of the first month (the Feast of Unleavened Bread).

EliYah Ministries agrees with the fact that we should best look at a day from evening to evening.

The scriptures seem pretty clear to me that Yahweh reckons days from evening to evening. While modern reckoning is from midnight to midnight, we need to submit ourselves to the daily heavenly clock that Yahweh Himself established at creation. It makes perfect sense that a day ends when a day ends…at evening. {When Does the Sabbath Start?}

That seems very clear, though several Messianic groups have their Sabbath service on Saturday afternoon. But in Wintertime than the sun has already gone down (like in West of Europe or in the Northern Hemisphere from October to March). For us, it is then no Sabbath anymore but the first day of the week, the Sunday.

There are also groups which say Jeshua/Jesus with his blood made a new covenant so that the old covenant is of no value anymore.

The studies of Covenant Calendar must take time to reflect how this full and complete understanding was born – basically through the most important study of the Melchizedek Priesthood.  The Priesthood study provided the platform that declares this Covenant Calendar is indeed blood-ratified and eternally sealed by Yahusha in His witness through the gospel – especially in His death, burial, resurrection and two ascensions.  Therefore, our most sincere thanks go out to the Supreme Provider Yahusha Ha Mashiach for His guidance and direction through this incredible study.  {What in the world is a Biblical the Torah Yahuwah’s Covenant Calendar}

Seemingly in the United States, there are many groups who find people have to keep the Sabbath, but their interpretation of what has to be the Sabbath seems so different from what we can find in the bible and by standard Jewish people.

Frank Hubeny writes

However, the fourth commandment expects us to keep the Sabbath (aka Sunday) holy. How are we going to do that if we don’t know when He wants the Sabbath to start and end? It is after all His commandment, not ours, to get some rest. Others think their acceptance of Yeshua (Jesus) allows them do what they want. They might be right. It might not be a salvation issue, but we may still be making a mess of our lives by not doing what He wants while we have the opportunity. {Exploration 103 – The Day Begins At Sunset}

That are the big questions:

How can we keep a holy day before God?

&

What is a holy day in God’s Eyes?

Next to the question:

When is the holy day for God?

Or

When is the Sabbath?

Another question may arise as well. According to many Jehudim or Jews and Jeshuaists the Day of God must start with prayer, and as such has to start with prayers at home, followed by prayers at the synagogue or temple. For them, it is not that

Every day begins with the first LIGHT in the “dawn” sky called twilight.  While the sunrise may be very close behind, the day does NOT begin with sunrise, but with light.  Everything on Day 1 of Creation began with LIGHT … and do remember there was no sunrise “or” sunset until the 4^th day of creation.   {What in the world is a Biblical the Torah Yahuwah’s Covenant Calendar}

That looks like twisting the words of the bible. It was out of the void that the world was created. And when there was chaos there was also darkness.

“و“And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” (Ge 1:2 KJBPNV)

So first, the formless earth had darkness around it. A few verses later we come to read that there came to be evening, and as such came to pass a first day by the rising of the morning.

“And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.” (Ge 1:5 KJBPNV)

You see:

the Evening and the morning formded the first day

and not

the morning and the evening formde the day.

It is Jehovah God Who starts with everything; He starts His moment of creation by bringing order in the chaos. It was God Who said to have luminaries come to be in the expanse of the heavens, to make a division between the day and the night.

“14  And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: 15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. 16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. 17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, 18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. 19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.” (Ge 1:14-19 KJBPNV)

For God it came to completion after He had giving vegetation to man. By the sun going down, heavens and the earth and all their army had come to completion. So God proceeded to rest on the seventh day, from all His work that He had made.

“31  And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. 2:1  Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.” (Ge 1:31-2:1 KJBPNV)

“And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.” (Ge 2:2 KJBPNV)

It was that seventh day that God blessed and made sacred, not the first day.

“And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.” (Ge 2:3 KJBPNV)

The Bible present us by God doing its first Work, when there is darkness. Light came only afterwards. We have a set of periods which always end by darkness coming in again. And as such to me that looks clearly like a new period to come into the picture. A new day.

The sunset-start day puts what God does first. It makes sure what we do later during daylight hours is subordinate to what He wants, not what we want, not even what we think is possible for us to do. {Exploration 103 – The Day Begins At Sunset}

writes Hubeny. And for him, that’s the main reason why he favours having the day begin at sunset,

the time we stop working and acknowledge He is in control to begin  the new day as the old one ends. {Exploration 103 – The Day Begins At Sunset}

This also seems logical, when you consider that at the moment of creation, one is busy. During the day, we have to do our daily job. Often we do not find enough time to honour God (except with our work). But when we have done our daily duties, then comes the moment we can take more time for God. As such, there is also the Friday night, when most of us can put work down and forget it for one or two days.

At sunset, we can come to rest, like God also came to rest. Then arrives the moment we can give all our time to Allah Al-Aliyy, in recognition and respect for all the things He has done and still does for us.

+++

Related

1. Rav Avigdor Miller on Shabbos and Yetzias Mitzrayim
2. Shabbat Rest – The Completion of Creation
3. Rav Avigdor Miller on The Additional Shabbos Soul
4. Refuah on Shabbos
5. Hatzolah on Shabbos
6. Menachem Bluming Muses: How To Welcome Shabbat
7. Seder Night on Shabbos
8. A Restful Day with God
9. Understanding Sunday and the Sabbath
10. Responsible Rest
11. Biblical Foundations for Sabbatical
12. Worshipping a Holy God
13. Remember the Sabbath Day to Keep it Holy
14. Christians and the Sabbath
15. The Pastor’s Personal Life – Part 6 – Your Sabbath
16. LORD’s Day #26 (2022)
17. Remember the Sabbath and Keep it Holy
18. Sabbath and Sailing
19. The God of Rest (1/3)
20. Sabbath Part 2
21. Sabbath for the Whole Congregation
22. July 3: Community Sabbath (No Gathering)
23. The Sabbath–Our Gift from God
24. The Necessity of Rest
25. LORD’s Day #27 (2022)
26. Christ Our Sabbath Rest
27. A Sabbath Practice
28. Why Sabbaticals are Good for Your Church
29. Restoration of the Sabbath
30. LORD’s Day #28 (2022)
31. The Fourth Commandment
32. For God’s sake (and Yours) Stop!
33. Principles of Work: Rest.
34. The God of Rest (2/3)
35. Heritage Baptist Church Service 7-10-22 (Sabbath)
36. Keeping Sabbath
37. Twilight of The World, Gross Darkness The People
38. Sabbath, Feasts, Kosher Will Be What Aids the End-Time Saints? – Today’s McKee Moment
39. Reflections – Summer Sabbath, 2: Where Are You?
40. Just Checking…
41. Resting
42. Jesus Is Our Sabbath
43. LORD’s Day #29 (2022)
44. What is Your (Pharisaical) Sabbath?
45. Rabbi Jesus
46. Sabbath Gift
47. Shabbos Wrap
48. Sensible negroes agree
49. Babylon is Fallen: Pope Francis Participates in a Pure Pagan Celebration of Mother Earth
50. The Transfer of Sabbath to LORD’s Day
51. AY Program Idea: The Call by the Sea, God’s Call for You
52. Rome Speaks Again: Away with Digital Publishings, up with candles; away with Bibles, and up with beads;Away with KJV up with James Webb Telescope: The Role of Art in a Time of War
53. Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem: Leading churches of the United States, unite in common points of doctrine, influence the state to enforce their decrees and to sustain their institutions: IMAGE of the Roman hierarchy, civil penalties upon dissenters result

Religion and the essence of devotion

Necessary parts in the daily walk with God

A proud Christ-follower who believes that we are all on a journey in life writes:

Religion is the essence of devotion. Our religious activities are to be an outpouring our our absolute devotion to God. Religion and relationship are necessary parts in the daily walk with God. And in speaking of religion in this way we can get a better glimpse at Christianity in a global sense. There are many traditions throughout Christendom that seem quite strikingly different than what any one of us may be used to, but they are simply unique ways to express the relational devotion we have to God. {The R&R of Christianity}

In the previous two writings, we talked about people who have a very restricted view of what a Christian would or should be. Lots of Christians are convinced that people who do not believe the human doctrine of the Trinity may not or can not call themselves Christian. They forget that the word Christian is made up of “Christ” and the suffix” ian”, denoting a follower of Christ. Then they should come to see and know who Christ is. For non-Trinitarians Christ is the Nazarene Jewish master teacher (or rebbe) Jeshua ben Yosef, Jesus the son of Mary (Miriam) and Joseph, born in Bethlehem. The word Christian gives an indication that it is about a follower of Christ or Kristos, the anointed Messiah. Naturally, it depends on what or whom, one wants to accept as a “follower”.

Christians, Lutherans, Wesleyans, and other followers

Normally a follower is considered to be someone who believes in a particular system of ideas, or who supports a leader who teaches these ideas. In the case of Christians it are people who follow the opinions or teachings of Christ Jesus, in particular, those teachings notated in the Messianic Scriptures (or New Testament: the four gospels and writings of the apostles and the revelation of St. John).

As the world accepts a Lutheran is a follower of Luther or a ‘belonger’ or accessory and supporter of the Lutheran community or Lutheranism, around that what was started by the German theologian and religious reformer who was the catalyst of the 16th-century Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther. When we speak about a Lutheran we think of a person of or relating to the religious doctrines of Martin Luther, or relating to the Protestant denomination adhering to these doctrines. especially the doctrine of Sola fide or justification by faith alone.

According to similar usage, a Christian is a follower or someone who has a strong interest or pays close attention to Jesus Christ and is willing to follow his guidance, command, or leadership. For that guidance of Christ the person must Not follow the rules of other human beings, but can follow the trusted Word like it is notated in the Holy Scriptures.

A Lutheran should follow the writings of Luther, but when we look at the Lutheran Church we can see there are a lot of changes in that church which would not be liked by Luther (take for example the role of the women in that church today.) With Christians we see a similar gross deviation from the teachings of the teacher Jesus of Nazareth.

Jesus leading his followers out of a system of oppression

It should not be forgotten that Jesus came along to lead his followers out of the ungodly Roman system. He also wanted to show to Jews and non-Jews how important it is to come back to the Divine Creator and to worship only One True God instead of the many gods of that time. Jesus was a very devout Jew, who did not worship himself (as several name Christians want us to believe). Jesus remained faithful all his life to the God of Israel, Who is a Singular Eternal Omniscient Supreme Spirit Being. No man can see God, but Jesus wanted everybody to figuratively come to see God and to accept Him as their heavenly Father.

There was not only the Roman oppressor; there were also the priests, Pharisees and Sadducees, who wanted to have power over the people. Like many theologians today, they too wanted to make Scriptures more complicated than they really are. Jesus explained the scrolls and showed how people have to live more to the spirit of the letter, than to the interpretation of those temple workers. Jesus also preached an alternative form of government, speaking of a jurisdiction outside the Roman state, based on the perfect law of freedom, outside the tyranny of men who would rule over their brothers and neighbours. He first chose Jewish people who believed in One Singular God, (the God of the Jews), the God of Abraham, Who is One and not two or three. A real Jew never would agree with the Trinity. At first, the people who joined the Jewish sect (or group) the Way, were all Jehudiem or Jews who did not betray their Jewish faith. It was only later when goyim or people from other nations, cultures and other faiths started joining the group of followers of Christ, problems raised under the Jewish community, of which many did not want non-Jews in their ranks and in their synagogues or prayer houses.

First-century Christians

The Way to God

Jesus always said people had not to thank him but God. He always said he was less than God, but that he was the way for people to come to God and the way to life, and that people should believe in him and be in union with him, like he is in union with God.

“I am the door; by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.” (Joh 10:9 KJ21)

“But if I do, though ye believe not Me, believe the works, that ye may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.”” (Joh 10:38 KJ21)

“Jesus said unto him, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.” (Joh 14:6 KJ21)

“9 Jesus said unto him, “Have I been so long a time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me, Philip? He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak unto you I speak not of Myself; but the Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works. 11 Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me; or else believe Me for the very works’ sake.”

“12  Verily, verily I say unto you, he that believeth in Me, the works that I do he shall do also; and greater works than these shall he do, because I go unto My Father. 13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If ye shall ask anything in My name, I will do it.”

“15  “If ye love Me, keep My commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever” 17 even the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him. But ye know Him, for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.”

“18  “I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you. 19 Yet a little while and the world seeth Me no more, but ye see Me. Because I live, ye shall live also. 20 At that day ye shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. 21 He that hath My commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me; and he that loveth Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will manifest Myself to him.”” (Joh 14:9-21 KJ21)

“that they all may be one, as Thou, Father, art in Me and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me.” (Joh 17:21 KJ21)

“by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” (Ro 5:2 KJ21)

“for through Him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.” (Eph 2:18 KJ21)

“by a new and living Way, which He hath consecrated for us through the veil (that is to say, His flesh),” (Heb 10:20 KJ21)

Following teachings based on Jesus his teachings

In the first century of this common era, more and more people came to follow the apostles their teachings, which were based on those of their master teacher Jeshua (Jesus Christ). They all agreed with the teachings of Jesus and became unified, forming the early Christian church with a system of charity, hope and respect for the rights of each other, requiring that each person would love their neighbour as themselves in a system of mutual, not governmental support.
Those joining the movement of The Way did agree to those Jewish teachings of Jesus and his apostles. For them, it was also clear that Jesus was showing a way to untangle people from the captivity of the social contracts they had made with the state of Rome and Judea, and the tribute and obligations they had become snared by. He proclaimed to call no man “Father”, as they called their Roman benefactors, but stated that the One Who made them alive is their Father Who is in heaven. The perfect law of freedom indicated that man’s unalienable rights stemmed from God and nature, and not governments of men. This was a system of anarchy, by strict definition, without the complex system of tribute that led to the decadence and decline of society, and the corruptible force of the state to back it up.

Not believing in a different God than the Jews

The early Christian church was not persecuted for their belief in a different God or a Kingdom in Heaven, but for their opting out of the mutual taxation system and seeking to live apart from the kings and overlords, the gods many, who demanded their tribute.

Path to walk

For those early followers of Christ it was important to give worship to the same God Jesus worshipped and to leave all those other gods at the side, non touched and not glorified. For them, it was clear that all glory belonged to God. They knew they had not to bow down in front of graven images, and always had to keep their soul diligently, all the time loving Jehovah as their God of gods, and not somebody else. It was also clear they, like God’s People (the Jews), had to walk in God His ways and not following human traditions which were not according to God’s Will,  for they had to keep Jehovah God His commandments and His statutes and His ordinances. Their devotion should fully be for Jehovah God and not for any other god, be it the Caesar, Baal, Apollo, Zeus or any other.  Those who were drawn away, and came to worship other gods, and came to serve them, were turning aside from the way which Jesus and his God have commanded mankind. Though God warned already in the past that the world would turn away from God and shall have false worship. He warned that evil will befall mankind in the latter days; because they will do that which is evil in the sight of Jehovah, to provoke Him to anger through the work of their hands.

“”Only take heed to thyself and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life; but teach them to thy sons and thy sons’ sons,” (De 4:9 KJ21)

“16 in that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply; and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it. 17 But if thine heart turn away so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away and worship other gods and serve them,” (De 30:16-17 KJ21)

“For I know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt yourselves and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you. And evil will befall you in the latter days, because ye will do evil in the sight of the LORD to provoke Him to anger through the work of your hands.”” (De 31:29 KJ21)

“For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the LORD made the heavens.” (Ps 96:5 KJ21)

“He that keepeth the commandment keepeth his own soul, but he that despiseth His ways shall die.” (Pr 19:16 KJ21)

“Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but what matters is the keeping of the commandments of God.” (1Co 7:19 KJ21)

A God demanding exclusive devotion

Today we see how lots of people have made or taken themselves other gods than the Only One True God, the Elohim Hashem Jehovah. Even from those who call themselves “Christian” there are many who bow down in front to graven images or kisses books and pictures as a sign of their devotion. They should know that Jehovah God requires exclusive devotion.

“But I had pity for Mine holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen whither they went.” (Eze 36:21 KJ21)

“”Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: Now will I bring back the captives of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for My holy name” (Eze 39:25 KJ21)

“God is jealous, and the LORD avengeth; the LORD avengeth and is furious. The LORD will take vengeance on His adversaries, and He reserveth wrath for His enemies.” (Na 1:2 KJ21)

“Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them; for I, the LORD thy God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me,” (Ex 20:5 KJ21)

“For thou shalt worship no other god; for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God,” (Ex 34:14 KJ21)

“For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.” (De 4:24 KJ21)

“And Joshua said unto the people, “Ye cannot serve the LORD, for He is a holy God; He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins:” (Jos 24:19 KJ21)

“And further, my son, by these words be admonished: of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness to the flesh.” (Ec 12:12 KJ21)

“For as I passed by and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription: ‘To the Unknown God’. Whom therefore ye worship in ignorance, Him I declare unto you.” (Ac 17:23 KJ21)

The God greater than Jesus

Jesus not able to do anything without God

Jesus, his talmidim and the apostle Paul declared The God Who is greater than Jesus and without Him Jesus could not do anything.

“Then answered Jesus 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.” (Joh 5:19 KJ21)

“Ye have heard how I said unto you, ‘I go away and come again unto you.’ If ye loved Me, ye would rejoice because I said, ‘I go unto the Father,’ for My Father is greater than I.” (Joh 14:28 KJ21)

Jesus submissive to his God

Jesus his disciples also knew and wanted others to know that even their master was submissive to God and also submitted to Him whom he beheld as the only True God.

“5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in the fashion of a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death—even the death of the cross.” (Php 2:5-8 KJ21)

“But I would have you know that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is the man, and the head of Christ is God.” (1Co 11:3 KJ21)

“And when all things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son Himself also be subject unto Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.” (1Co 15:28 KJ21)

The churches and gods of man

But today many have several gods, like “material possession” (Mammon) or find themselves under slothful tribute to an emperor and a system that is not for their benefit. For many, their eye and worship is on material goods or on people who can gloriously show off their acquired wealth. Many covet their neighbour’s goods in a vain pursuit of “free” health care, education, welfare, unemployment benefits, social security and government protection. They have traded their inalienable God-given rights through social contracts both implied and explicit. Their churches are not ordained by God, but are corporations granted status by the state. Many want even bigger churches and want to spread hate for those churches which do not want to align with them. In many of those main churches they denounce the followers of whom they consider an anarchist, because for them Jesus is God and all who contradict that are not just contradictors but objectionable individuals. Those Trinitarians do not want to see that real followers of Christ have to be like Christ, united with Jesus and be one with him the same way as Jesus is one with God.

God in Christians

For real followers of Christ, there is the belief that God is in all of them, and that they have to attract others to come also under Christ, to become children of God.

“3 Know ye not that as many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, so we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this: that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.” (Ro 6:3-7 KJ21)

“And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.” (1Co 15:49 KJ21)

“But because of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who from God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness, and sanctification and redemption,” (1Co 1:30 KJ21)

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (2Co 5:17 KJ21)

“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.” (Ga 6:15 KJ21)

United in Christ serving the God of Christ

Those in Christ should be united and serve the same God Jesus served. They should fully be devoted to Jehovah God, having no other gods than Him. Real Christians are those willing to have only One God and to study His Word, His ordinances so that they too can do God’s Will, like Jesus did not his own will but did the Will of his heavenly Father and asked his followers also to do the Will of his heavenly Father, Jehovah God. In case Jesus is God he naturally would always have done his own will and then he was all the time misleading people and praying to himself.

Jesus not knowing many who call themself Christian

Several people, calling themselves Christian forget that at the end times, when they would be coming in front of Christ, there could be a possibility that Jesus shall say not to know them, because they did not do the Will of his Father. To call oneself Christian or to become part of the Body of Christ one has to do the Will of God and be as a brother or sister of Christ Jesus and those following him.

“But the field, when it goeth out in the jubilee, shall be holy unto the LORD, as a field devoted; the possession thereof shall be the priest’s.” (Le 27:21 KJ21)

“And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven. This sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith.” (Ec 1:13 KJ21)

“”Not every one that saith unto Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, but he that doeth the will of My Father who is in Heaven.” (Mt 7:21 KJ21)

“For whosoever shall do the will of My Father who is in Heaven, the same is My brother, and sister, and mother.”” (Mt 12:50 KJ21)

“And He went a little farther, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt.”” (Mt 26:39 KJ21)

“He went away again the second time and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if this cup may not pass away from Me, unless I drink it, Thy will be done.”” (Mt 26:42 KJ21)

“For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is My brother, and My sister, and mother.”” (Mr 3:35 KJ21)

“And He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible unto Thee. Take away this cup from Me; nevertheless not what I will, but what Thou wilt.”” (Mr 14:36 KJ21)

“And that servant, who knew his lord’s will and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.” (Lu 12:47 KJ21)

“saying, “Father, if Thou be willing, remove this cup from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Thine be done.”” (Lu 22:42 KJ21)

“Jesus said unto them, “My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to finish His work.” (Joh 4:34 KJ21)

“38 For I came down from Heaven, not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me. 39 And this is the Father’s will who hath sent Me, that of all which He hath given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the Last Day. 40 And this is the will of Him that sent Me: that every one who seeth the Son and believeth in Him may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the Last Day.”” (Joh 6:38-40 KJ21)

“but bade them farewell, saying, “I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem, but I will return again unto you, if God wills.” And he sailed from Ephesus.” (Ac 18:21 KJ21)

“Take them and purify thyself with them, and bear their charges with them, that they may shave their heads; and all may know that those things of which they have been informed concerning thee are nothing, but that thou thyself also walkest orderly and keepest the law.” (Ac 21:24 KJ21)

Picking and choosing like a kid

Lots of people who call themselves “Christian” not at all follow the teachings of Jesus and pick and choose texts from Sriptures how it soots them best.

But you don’t pay attention to that do you my little lambs? No, you pick and choose like a kid going through a candy store deciding what to spend his quarters on. You choose what fits your sick sense of morality, and then toss the rest like it never existed. The fact that you become utter hypocrites apparently doesn’t bother you. Neither does the fact that it doesn’t fit my morality. But you care just as much about my definition of morality as I do yours. The only difference between us, is I’m not forcing you to try to live by my morality. {Of Christianity and Modern Morality}

rightly remarks someone who calls himself The Bastards 2013 (Where The Bastards come to share the word!) He, like lots of atheists saw how a bunch of Evangelical pastors were laying hands on Donald Trump in the White House and how one prominent evangelical leader immediately tweeted out the image with the caption:

“President Trump is bringing God back to America.” {In God We Obfuscate}

This “Bastards 2013” also wrote:

You talk about love and tolerance and yet your actions speak of hate and seclusion. You talk about America needing to find it’s moral center and returning to respecting one another and finding joys in the diversity of America. Then you back a man who is none of those. Donald Trump is your reflecting God. He is the face of your fake bullshit religion and from this day forth you will be forever known as the frauds and charlatans you are. Your speeches about god and love will be laughed at and ignored. Your attempts to say that this is Christianity will be endlessly mocked by those of us who know better. More importantly, when your god falls, and his presidency is nothing but a pile of ashes, you will have nowhere to run. Your sins will be laid bare and the scarlet letter of hypocrisy will be forever tattoed onto your forehead. While you preach the word of a megalomaniac, he is busy mocking Puerto Ricans as they struggle to survive after back to back hurricanes. As you attempt to speak about love and kindness (which you know nothing about) your god calls black men who are peacefully protesting inequality “Sons of bitches” and “traitors.” Meanwhile he speaks in front of a group of neo nazis and homophobes and says “It’s so nice to be around friends. So many friends.” You are the lowest form of human. ISIS is evil and should be eradicated, but at least they own who they are. They make no false speeches about love and acceptance when they don’t believe in it. They don’t shake the hands of the people while silently prepping to stab them in the back. You are nothing but low level talentless snake oil salesmen. You prey upon those who have been stricken desperate by your shitty unethical policies. You sell them a cure and make them believe that you and only you can help them. Then you sit back in your six homes, watching the peasants stumble around trying to find some sort of relief. {The Reflecting God}

This shows how careful Christians have to be with their actions, because by their words and deeds others shall make a portrait of them, often thinking all Christians are “so”. Often Trinitarians show to be very intolerant and often take very awful actions against those who do not want to accept their Trinity.

Traditions of man

Throughout the ages, mankind had several gods and had celebrations for them. The Roman Catholic Church willing to capture as many heathen as they could, integrated many heathen festivals in their system. Christmas and Easter are the two most important ones still celebrated by the majority of Christians.

Lots of human traditions entered the life of those who call themselves Christian, though not many of them seem to wonder if they would be all right in the Eyes of God. That way Christendom became totally different from first-century Christianity.

A Religion of a relationship

Bringing a “Thought from a Pilgrim of Truth”, Perry Tripp, a father, husband, and a pastor writes

There is another thing that tends to happen when someone views Christianity as a relationship rather than a religion. The terms of the relationship begin to get a bit blurry. God and King, Master and Lord, get discarded for the much easier to handle Friend. When God becomes solely our friend, we lose the fear of the LORD, and our relationship with Him becomes unbiblical. Again, this is where religious devotion comes in. We are His servants, His children even. We must remember that God has been and will always be great, higher and holier than we are. {The R&R of Christianity}

Christianity should be a religion of a relationship with Jesus Christ and with Christ his God, Jehovah the God above all kings and gods, but also about the relationship with others and other things (human beings, nature – plants and animals).

Fear God

Many who have made Jesus as their god have lost the fear of God or fear for God. Our religion should be an expression of that fear for God. In the end it will be Him that preserves the faithful, and plentifully shall reward him that deals proudly with the Truth, having the courage to speak out and show the world That Only One True God, the God of the kings David, Solomon and Christ. Strangely enough Trinitarians are giving the word Christian an othe meaning than then “ian” to the “Christ” would suggest. They do not see the fundamentals connected to being a Christian, nor the need to know about the God of Christ, Who is the God of the Bible. Those Trinitarians minimalise the act of Christ and do not value Jesus his act of submission to God and his complete sacrifice for humanity. Strangely enough many who call themselves Christian but worship a three-headed god dare to say, like the pharmacy student Teni:

God wanted His people to stand out from the people around them.
…
The bible makes us understand that God Almighty the creator of the whole universe is the One and Only true God. That means, every other god, is actually non-existent and made up by people’s imagination and craftiness. {4 Mmisconceptions that need to be cleared about being a christian}

though they do not believe in that Only One True God.

Bringing honour to the Only Right God

Bringing honour to such false gods is at the same time dishonouring God and misusing God’s Name and God’s Title. those who call themselves Christian should witness to the goodness of God in a world that has ceased to acknowledge His existence, let alone His sovereignty over the Cosmos. It was God’s son, Jesus who gave his followers an assignment to tell those around them about the Divine Creator and His promises, the good news of the Gospel of the coming Kingdom of God.

Those calling themselves Christian, should as followers of Jesus Christ, not only keep to his teachings, but follow the example of Christ, being servants of God, Jesus and others, and this even to their own peril. We should have a friendship realtionship with Christ as our brotherbut we are not to consider ourselves as equals with God, in the same way Jesus never considered himself equal with God. We owe only Jesus his God, the Elohim Hashem Jehovah, all of our devotion and allegiance.

 

+

Preceding

Not About The Name Of The Godhead Of Jesus

Rhetoric and Biblical Truth

Confrontation by people telling lies to force others to avoid the targetted groups

Religions and Mainliners

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Additional reading

1. People are turning their back on Christianity
2. Blindness in the Christian world
3. Not liking your Christians
4. Not all christians are followers of a Greco-Roman culture
5. Christian in Christendom or in Christianity
6. Christianity is a love affair
7. To be chained by love for another one
8. Many forgot how Christ should be our anchor and our focus
9. Jesus and God
10. Only one God
11. A Father Who begat a son
12. Jahushua, Joshua, Jeshua or Jesus an Immanuel or God with us an incarnated God or a human being?
13. The sent one from God
14. Knowing Jesus Rabboni
15. Jesus son of God or God the son
16. Jesus son of God
17. Jesus Christ the Messiah
18. Seeing Jesus
19. Focussing on oneness with Jesus like Jesus is one with God
20. Reasons that Jesus is Not God
21. God son king and his subjects
22. Not saying Jeshua is God
23. Sayings of Jesus, what to believe and being or not of the devil
24. Jesus begotten Son of God #19 Compromising fact
25. On the Nature of Christ
26. The Son can do nothing of his own accord
27. The son of man given authority by God
28. The Nazarene master teacher learning people how they should behave
29. Doctrine of Christ
30. One Mediator
31. Commandements of Christ
32. Statutes given unto us
33. Relationship with God, Jesus and each other
34. Memorizing wonderfully – Additional verses: Psalm 34 Tasting and blessing Jehovah God
35. Extra verses to remember by the reading of Psalm 45 A Great name to Praise God
36. Not words of any organisation should bind you, but the Word of God
37. A learning process for each of us
38. Paul’s warning about false stories and his call to quit touching the unclean thing
39. Matthew 15 Calvin’s view
40. Matthew 20 It is never too late
41. Matthew 20 Are you willing to work for Jesus?
42. Matthew 25 Jesus ministry drawing to its dramatic conclusion and warning to be ready
43. A strange thing might happen when you come under Christ
44. As brothers and sisters showing that you are followers of the real Jesus or being a Jeshuaist sharing responsibilities
45. Demanding signs or denying yourself
46. Attitude of a Christian
47. As Christ’s slaves doing the Will of God in gratitude
48. A heart full of love is a fundamental requirement
49. Christianity without the Trinity
50. Doubting and going astray
51. Main churches losing population share
52. How do trinitarians equate divine nature
53. Europe and much-vaunted bastions of multiculturalism becoming No God Zones
54. Thought for today November the 6th: Indifference
55. Is it a Jewish or a Christian faith
56. Religious imagery used by pop artists
57. Avoiding friction and distraction in the body of Christ
58. Today’s thought “Fools despise wisdom” (March 23)
59. False opposite true worship which exalts the God of Israel
60. How should we worship God? #14 True worship
61. In a time when we must remain in our place
62. Memorizing wonderfully 18 Proverbs – Fear of God, Wisdom and instruction
63. Symptom of tzara’at a white spot on the flesh
64. Today’s thought “Folly and Wickedness of Men” (January 06)
65. Today’s thought “Sound an alarm for the day of Jehovah that comes” (November 19)

 

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Further related

1. Pouring Into Others (comeawake.org)
2. Being Christian
3. Being Christian Takes Practice
4. Being Christian On Day One
5. What Does It Mean to be a True Christian?
6. Being A Cultural Christian Is Not Enough
7. The Quiet in the Land
8. Martin Luther’s Seal
9. Today in Church History Erasmus Loaded the Reformation Cannon
10. ROFLMAO — what would Luther’s 95 Theses sound like in an corporate office email memo to all staff?
11. Swedish Lutherans: Synodical and congregational minutes on baptism and membership in the 1850s
12. A Bonhoeffer moment and a barstool conversation between Luther, Bonhoeffer and a Finnish theologian — links and quotes for future reference
13. Lutheran Women and Their Impact on History
14. Luther an’ Me‘
15. Dear Church’: A tapestry of discipleship and a call for white folks to ‘do good white folk work’ to help dismantle racism
16. Progressive Christianity
17. Check Yourself, Christian
18. Unchurched
19. Come To Me To Have Life
20. Sheep and Goats, Faith and Mercy
21. Reformation 2020. The Righteousness of God at the Present Time
22. It Matters
23. Commitment to Christ Means Commitment to His Church (Blogs Revisited)
24. What the Coronavirus Reveals about Protestant Piety
25. Lutherans vs. Coronavirus
26. Attitude is Everything
27. Is the Trinity scriptural – or is it pagan nonsense
28. Fully God and Fully Man
29. December 11,2020: Finding the “O’s” in God’s message
    Satan’s Lie: You Can Become God
30. Is Jesus God? – Adnan Rashid vs Samuel Green
31. Proof that the disciples did not preach the trinity!
32. How the Trinity Debate has Influenced Our Reading
33. A Trinitarian Christian claims he can explain the trinity…guess what happens next?
34. Mohammed Hijab vs David Wood, Tawheed vs Trinity
35. Is Jesus God? Debate between Pastor Stanley Sjoberg and Sheikh Ahmed Deedat
36. Trinity vs Tawheed, Adnan Rashid vs Samuel Green (Part 1)
37. Trinity vs Tawheed – Adnan Rashid vs Samuel Green (Part 2)
38. Of Christianity and Modern Morality
39. 4 Mmisconceptions that need to be cleared about being a christian
40. Matthew 20:26
41. Psalm 56 – Fear and Trust
42. Heaven, work, and duty
43. The Church – Body of Christ
44. Funhouse God
45. Our Heavenly Home 
46. Listening While White: Respecting the Image of God in People of Color
47. Deepening our Faith: 2nd Sunday of Advent 2020
48. He is Faithful
49. Catholicism – a False religion based on idolatry man made doctrines pagan traditions
50. Completing the great commission
51. Where is wisdom found?
52. the high cost of not trusting God
53. Above the voice of men
54. Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid
55. Fear of God – Temor de Dios
56. The Fear of God
57. Fear Brings Contentment
58. Pleasing and Not Pleasing People for the Glory of God
59. You´ve overcome

For Jews wanting to learn more about Jeshua and of other Jews following Jeshua

Many Jews prefer to stay in the background or in the shadow. Some Jews become curious in the Nazarene rebbe Jeshua and would love to come to know more about him and his followers.

In Israel, Great-Britain, France, Belgium and the Netherlands are Jewish brethren and sisters who would not mind to tell about this incredible master teacher. As followers of Jeshua or Jeshuaists, in the Netherlands also some calling themselves Jesjoeaansen or Jesjoeaist (from another Dutch way of writing Jeshua’s name: Jesjoea), are hoping to bring more people to see that Jeshua or Jesus Christ is the way to God and the long awaited promised sent one from God, the anointed or Messiah (the Moshiach = Kristos or Christ).

On the web you may find

From the Flemish part of Belgium and the Brussels region there is published the general website: Jeshuaisten / Jeshuaists Volgers van de Nazarener Joodse rebbe Jeshua – Followers of the Nazarene Jewish rebbe Jeshua

and additional two more personal sites of a Jeshuaist and of Immanuel Verbondskind

From the Walloon site of Belgium you may find: Jeshuaists (from Genvalin mainly in english and some French) and the site discussing Jeshuaism (from Genval in Dutch)

with its blog

with its blog

and both also with a Forum

Naturally both Jews and non-Jews are very welcome to those sites which want to shed a light on the set apart or Holy Scriptures and our way of life, in the prospect of our hope in the Messiah and the coming Kingdom of God.

Jesus, A way given to find the right way to God

More than once the Nazarene preacher Jeshua asked people around him what they thought he was.

Still today there are people who have never heard about Jesus. These people don’t know anything about Jesus. In our regions most people have somehow already heard about Jesus. They have very different ideas about that person. Lots of people think christians take him as their god. About that idea that all christians would worship Jesus as their god, they are totally wrong. There are loads of Christians who do not consider Jesus to be God, but believe in what the Bible says, that he is the son of God (and not a son god or a god the son).

Around us we may find people who have heard about Jesus. These people have heard about Jesus through Bible stories, their parents, a friend, media, etc., but they did not come to a point to believe  in him and/or to accept him as the son of God or the Way to God. They are also not interested in having a personal relationship with him.

Luckily we also do find people who say they want a personal relationship with Christ and people they say they want a personal relationship with God. Pity that lots of people think it is all right to take Jesus as their god and to have pictures of him in their house and at other places. Many think having Jesus as their god means that they can have a good relationship with God. They are caught in the human doctrines of their church which preaches about a three-headed god. In fact they do not hear enough bible words to convince them who Jesus really is and why it is so important to know him.

Some Christians may think that they know enough about Christ from what is told in their church at service. They think it is sufficient just to hear a few phrases or one or two paragraphs once a week to have some proper idea.

Those from the Roman Catholic Church do not worry so much about the Bible. With reason some say

If you are a life-long Catholic, you think you would be somewhat “fluent” in the Word of God.  {the musings of a Franciscan friar… Knowing Jesus}

Some friars and certain priests of that denomination may have a comfort level with Sacred Scripture, but that can not be said of many Catholics. Also when you ask them about Scripture and their relationship with Jesus, they

get a bit tongue-tied, flummoxed, bewildered, and feel this inner desire to change the subject. Why is that? {the musings of a Franciscan friar… Knowing Jesus}

We should not expect people to be able to quote all particular parts of the Bible. From those who call themself Christian we should think they can at least tell some Biblical stories with their own words.

Fr. George Corrigan, OFM

A Franciscan Friar writes

When you know the stories of Jesus and can tell them in your own words, hitting the high points, now you are truly meeting Jesus in a whole new way.

And that is what is missing today by a lot of people who call themselves Christian. They do not know much about that Jesus. somehow it is a vague figure. They mostly cannot tell much about him. They also feel not or have no relation to him.

Lots of people do not know he is the Way to God. He is the bringer of light in life, the one who took care that we shall have the right to enter the small gate to the Kingdom of God. Though we all are sinners, we shall have the possibility to come before God and say

Abba. (Father)

But to become accepted a children of God we do have to behave as children of Him. And by our willingness to come to God we also should come to recognise the other children of God, our brothers and sisters in Christ. Those who come to recognise Jesus as the sent one from God, should unite under him and follow his path, by worshipping the only One True God, the heavenly Father.

All people should know they may say a lot against people or at the son of man, Jesus Christ, but when they keep saying awful things of his heavenly Father they will be in problems.

Luke 12:8-12 RNT But I tell you every one who confesses me before men, him will the Son of Man confess before the angels of God. (9) And he who disowns me before men will be disowned before the angels of God. (10) Every one who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but he who says profane words against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. (11) When they bring you in before synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not be anxious about how to defend yourselves or what to say. (12) For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that hour what you must say.”

Therefore it is important that people come to know more about that Spirit God, the heavenly Father of Christ. To do that the easiest way is to come to know Christ.

Before Paul came to believe in the Nazarene master-teacher Jeshua (Jesus Christ), he spoke evil of Jesus and went against all who were willing to follow that man. Saul, like he was then called, oppressed the followers of Jesus, and exalted himself.

“I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man.”

he came to admit. Yet, God called Paul from this ungodly religious life and made him a faithful, fruitful servant of the Lord.

Such transitions are possible. No man is lost. God keeps calling people. God gave the world his son to show people the Way to God. It is now up to man to find Jesus and to find that way to the Most High Divine Creator.

Once more we will see this can only happen by exceedingly abundant grace for transformation.
This magnificent transformation process began with mercy, the necessary companion of grace, which came unto man by Jesus putting his own will aside for doing the Will of God.

For Saul there was also the ministry of grace that God eventually gave to him even to become one of the major scribes of the group the Way, whose epistles or letters are still of great importance for the church today. God chose Paul to be a distinctive example of His rich mercy.

1 Timothy 1:16 RNT But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might show all of his long-suffering for an example for those who are to believe in him and gain life eternal.

Nobody is excluded to receive mercy. Like for Saul first Jesus Christ came to show all long-suffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on him for everlasting life, all followers should be grateful they can be under Christ, partakers of a grand project of transformation for people around us.

Paul told the people around him that they should ask for insight, wisdom and revelation, so that they could come to know Jesus and his God better. He tried to convince others to do like him and to put the world aside and to come to follow Jesus. He also tried to convince them that in knowing Jesus better every day people could come to wisdom. Jesus had his focus on his heavenly Father and only did what he saw his Father doing. He set the clear example for all people, who from his public life onwards have the free choice to become his followers.

Being called Christian one should be a follower of Christ, keeping to his teachings and to his commands; One command being to go out into the world and spreading the Good News. When having found Christ Jesus, one shall feel him in the ‘soul’ and be conscious of the bountiful grace having brought two spiritual blessings (faith and love).

Being reborn when one got baptised does not mean it ends there. Several Christians do think they have not to study any more. They forget that the Christian’s experience is a continual schooling. Every day we should be ready to be ready for Christ and be ready for those around us, willing to show them Jesus in us. Being under Christ we should be willing to listen to his words regularly and be prepared to learn each day.

The Book of books God has given mankind is the ideal tool for man to learn about God and about his only begotten beloved son. In Jesus we should find our example. Looking at him each day we should give ourself the opportunity to reprobate and correct in ourselves. In thus discovering our own imperfections, we should learn, as a matter of course, not to expect perfection in others; and we should give them credit for doing their best to exemplify the highest ideals which they have in respect to the unity and perfection required for membership in the body of Christ.

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Preceding article

Are we sometimes like Peter and say we do not know Jesus

Witnesses of Christ and of his gospel

May we have doubts

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Additional reading

1. The saviour Jesus his human side
2. To know Christ is filling life with meaning
3. The Son can do nothing of his own accord
4. Redemption #7 Christ alive in the faithful
5. Through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe
6. Luck
7. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love
8. Omniscient God opposite a not knowing Jesus
9. Relating to God is it possible
10. Several Christians fail to recognise the Chosen ones of God and are not taking on a Christian attitude
11. Beautiful feet of those who announce the good news

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Related

1. Barely knowing Jesus …
2. Knowing Jesus
3. Know Jesus Know Peace
4. The Biggest Lie I Ever Told
5. Knowing Jesus Christ gives you a completely new attitude
6. The Kingdom Of God: Luke’s Gospel
7. “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus the Messiah may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.” ~Apostle Paul
8. Knowing the bible isn’t knowing Jesus
9.  Ephesians 5:1-2
10. An Ordinary Person
11. Following Jesus…

For ever changed by spiritual experience

Often people do not think much about God until something happens in their life. In life we have to face different circumstances and have to undergo different circumstances. Often whenever something serious happens and we have to face a life threatening experience, than we’re confronted with the Highest Being. Once we have had a spiritual experience, we are forever changed. We may try to forget, ignore, or run away from it, but our contact with the Divine realm will never again allow us to completely immerse ourselves in mundane life, whether to indulge in empty diversions or to try to improve the world through purely secular means.

In the time before the offering of Jeshua as a Lamb of God people had to bring offers to the altar, and everything whatever touched the Altar became sanctified when it where really things that were worthy of being brought upon the Altar in the first place. Today too we can say that everything or every one which or who comes before God or to the Altar of God must be worthy to come before God.

Easter postcard circa early 20th century (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Normally every Jew, Christian and Muslim should be clean, not taking part to pagan festivals or pagan rites. Though in Christendom we find a majority not bothering about God’s Laws. They seem not to bother if what they do would be against the Will of God. For many Christians Spring has started yesterday and soon they shall celebrate Easter, the feast for the pagan god Eostre, the god of fertility which they shall honour by the rites of offering eggs and honouring the fertile bunnies. Those eggs and Easter bunnies have nothing to do with Jesus his resurrection. Their resurrected god is also not the Elohim Who cannot die, God being an Eternal Spirit. Also the Easter fires have nothing to do with the sacrificial offering of Christ, nor his standing up from the dead.

A Cute Little Bunny With Some Eggs (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

By taking part to such pagan rites, their hands are defiled and should they know that they may not come clear to the altar of God. In the weeks going up to that most important day of the year they should have had moments of reflection, having been conscious about the necessity to please God and not to please the world. Schools, workplaces, clubs, may all want to have the pagan symbols of the Spring time and may love the festival decorations, but real lovers of God should abstain from them. They should have cleansed their soul, and should have meditated on the Word of God and His mitzvah.

From Land to Land – Going to shul (synagogue). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Every person who calls himself Christian, should be a follower of rabbi Jeshua, the Kristos or Christ, who worshipped not himself but his heavenly Father, the only One true God. Like he went up to God His Altar really offering himself for the sins of all, he came up to the mountain out of the walls of the city Jerusalem, to be slaughtered as a Lamb. Though we probably shall never be able to be as pure as him, we should try to do our utmost best to become like Christ, pure and clean. But spiritually, each of us should fall into that accepted category, for every child of God possesses intrinsic holiness; the true desire of every Jew and every Christian should be to do what the Most High God commands.

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Preceding articles

Making sure we express kedusha for 14-16 Nisan

Reciting the Aleinu as a warning against temptation of idolatry

More on Grace and Spiritual Fruit – Abide in Me, and I in you

Broken, coming before God

Easter: Origins in a pagan Christ

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Additional reading

1. Eostre, Easter, White god, chocolate eggs, Easter bunnies and metaphorical resurrection
2. High Holidays not only for Israel
3. 14-15 Nisan and Easter
4. Death of Christ on the day of preparation
5. Seven days of Passover
6. Altered to fit a Trinity or Ishtar the fertility goddess
7. Peter Cottontail and a Bunny laying Eastereggs
8. Risen With Him
9. Creation of the earth out of something
10. Ember and light the ransomed of Jehovah
11. Because men choose to go their own way

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Further reading

1. Behind the Scene
2. Spiritual experience
3. A Mammoth & Moving Spiritual Experience
4. Is your spirituality speaking the unspeakable, scruting the inscrutable & effing the ineffable?
5. Understanding Trauma
6. Absence of light
7. Friday: The Language of the Heart
8. Thank-You Lou Riley: An Unexpected, Powerful Spiritual Experience
9. Different Ways of Approaching the Problem of Evil

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Related articles

• Easter 2017: Dates and the meaning behind Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday
• Easter Dinner: The Roots Of Our Traditional Feast
• Forgiveness and new starts
• Expectations of the Christian Life
• New strategy for Christians?
• The More Difficult Task
• Sanballat Lives
• Sunday reflection: John 4:5-42
• Who Are The Christians?
• Ask Me Anything (Catechisms, Images of God, that Book/Movie)

American Christians have to think twice before going to vote

Money opening doors

In Europe we can see how un-democratic the voting system is in the United States of America. Big problem for the citizens of those states is that the people without enough money never make a change to become a candidate in the running or even spoken off.

Mud fights

This year it might have been the candidates looked previously to the Belgian politicians throwing with mud regularly and wanted to continue the way they had chosen in 2012. But it must be said, the Americans won with big lead of unheard and unseen denigration of each other. The man with the big mouth stretched the crown by having it all the time more about Hillary Clinton than explaining to the public what he was planning to do to help the country.

Turning winds

Trump on several occasions showed clearly that he twisted and turned like the wind, but to our surprise his public did not seem to notice and cheer him all the time, whatever this man raved. He could talk any nonsense and it was glutted like ‘Starbucks coffee’ and ‘American dream’.

He never proposed a plan to address the African-American community and minorities. First he hated all the ‘fags’ and told transgender, coloured people, Hispanics and all non Americans better could be somewhere else, and those who are not the main American citizen man or woman could best be determinated in a camp. Though suddenly he said on the convention he would also have an eye to the trangenders and other feeling men and women (whatever that might mean).

Republicans have constructed the most overtly anti-LGBT platform in history, but Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump is doing his best to show he is sympathetic towards the LGBT community. {Trump Extends Olive Branch to LGBT Community}

Naturally Trump is not going to say he ever made mistakes or did anything wrong. As a born business man he knows how to play his customers. He knows the tricks of his trade and the primary rules of a politician. As such he is never to

“allow the public to cool off; never admit a fault or wrong; never concede that there may be some good in your enemy; never leave room for alternatives; never accept blame; concentrate on one enemy at a time and blame him for everything that goes wrong; people will believe a big lie sooner than a little one; and if you repeat it frequently enough people will sooner or later believe it.” {After the Acceptance Speech}

Chances or opportunities

At first nobody would ever given this billionaire the chance of winning the president candidacy. Most people would have thought all Americans would see his mounting a campaign of snarl and sneer, not substance, because he had nothing to offer. All the mistakes about names and places, you would think would have dismantled and unmasked him. Any educated person, we would think, would have come to see this man has views which are concocted and are wrong in their diagnosis of America’s problems and dangerous in their proposed solutions and that he has no clear view of the world situation and is not a diplomatic figure to solve problems which could endanger not only the American nation but also the whole world. Take just one of his last expressions; with the present situation going on in Europe, he would already have started a world war.

Nobody of his entourage and fans ever questioned his plans or asked his sayings to make hard.

Like auditor for Franklin County, Ohio, we are 

“still waiting to see a very prominent Republican have a national dialogue about why White Americans and Black Americans still can’t seem to communicate and understand each other’s perspectives.” {Does Donald Trump Have Any Real Policy Plans?}

Weapon of fear

You would expect a candidate for presidency having his main speech at a convention centred on what he really plans to do for all people living in the nation he has to steer to a better future. At the tumultuous Republican National Convention Trump had a few words about restoring what he called, “law and order.”

He not only did not stop to make the people afraid of and angry on Hilary Clinton, he continued fearing those American citizens for the

Nearly 180,000 illegal immigrants with criminal records, ordered deported from /the U.S.A./ /who/, are tonight roaming free to threaten peaceful citizens

Out of the 925,000 immigrants who received an order of deportation last year, 20 percent (185,000) had at least one criminal conviction, charged with non-violent crimes, but that is not difficult because it is already a crime to enter the country illegally, so when caught they always will have a conviction. Hooked ones always shall have to face one or an other (non violent) conviction and may be considered ‘criminals’ according to some.

Also to call a person a criminal because he or she has done something stupid, like Hilary Clinton with the e-mails, is far over the top. Who does not stupid things in his or her life. Does that mean he or she is a criminal?

There may be enough in Hillary Clinton’s background to give the appearance of wrong-doing.  Trump gives his public the impression he believes it to be true and that it must be so. Therefore those who want a criminal fee America should believe it too and should make sure to get that  “Crooked Hillary” out of the way.

Who would not believe that man with so much charisma and conviction, who has proven he can do everything he wants.

He believes everything he says, as he’s saying it.  It makes it easier to gather followers, and for them to believe it too, no matter how outrageous the statement.  This is why he could win- the simple force of his personality.

writes Freelance Journalist in the Milton Ontario area Laura Steiner in her article “Donald Trump Could Be President”

All christians should like a-religious people be aware of the wolf in sheepskin. For those who are crying to have America going to come back (to what?) we also would like to give some warning.

The United States of America may have lots of people who sincerely love their country. There are also some who love it so much they would do everything for it (and that can become dangerous.). In that country which was build up a European dream of freedom, there are enough people who sincerely protect many, even protesters who mock them,  because the love the nation where freedom of thought has to be every ones part.

Stories braking the heart

Ted Cruz talked about Michael Smith’s story which weighed on his heart perhaps that’s because his daughter Caroline is about the same age as his eldest daughter, and happens to share the same name. Maybe it’s because he saw a video of that dear, sweet child choking back sobs as she remembered her Daddy’s last question to her.  He said

Maybe it’s because we live in a world where so many others have had their lives destroyed by evil in places like Orlando, and Paris, and Nice, and Baton Rouge. Maybe it’s because of the simple question itself. What if this right now is our last time? Our last moment to do something for our families, and our country? Did we live up to the values we say we believe? Did we do all we really could?

That’s really what elections should be about. That’s why you and millions like you devoted so much time and sacrifice to this campaign. We’re fighting not for one particular candidate, or one campaign, but because each of wants to be able to tell our kids and grandkids, our own Caroline’s, that we did our best for their future and our country.  {see transcript Ted Cruz convention-speech}

Party division and no unity in the states

That country is now very clearly divided and even in the parties there is so much division they should come to see that much more political parties should exist because they are their but do not receive a voice. The republicans themselves are not only an amalgamation of very conservatives, fanatical christians, the gap between the majority and the one who got the most votes now is very huge.

It looked like the Republican party was willing to offer lots of his ideas just to beat Hillary Clinton. It also looks like the GOP assured herself that if they fail and Trump will not beat Hillary Clinton, they shall have a scapegoat. The whipping boy shall quietly slink whilst the very party leaders Trump’s supporters loathe will remain in their jobs come January helping Hillary Clinton orchestrate her inauguration.

“Since February I have been warning both that Trump could not beat Hillary Clinton in November and that there is no way I or many conservatives of faith could actually support him.”

writes Erick Erickson, who was convinced that Trump was a passing fad, at The Resurgent and ads

“There is no grand and elaborate conspiracy of pollsters in America. Trump has only been ahead in nine polls since January and the majority of those are Rasmussen polls, which are not worth the paper they are printed on.

The warnings have all fallen on deaf ears.”

“The Trump supporters have become the very Republican establishment they oppose and the very leaders of the party they hate will remain once Trump is gone. The GOP is now led by a Clinton donor and friend and party leaders bow before him pretending he is something other than what he is.”

That Putin cheers Trump is no wonder both having two peas in a pod.

For those who see both as unqualified for office and feel they should let their voice be heard and act now when there is still time to bring change.

Only one perfect government

But all people should know there does not exist such a thing as a perfect government in our present world. It only shall be at the return of Christ that we shall be able to get the most perfect government, under the leadership of Jesus Christ. Until that time will come we do have to manage and steer with what we have.

Not voting is also bringing out your vote, because it is also a declaration. Not talking to others about is is also keeping distance and bringing out your vote (though in silence and perhaps also in conscience).

In case you want to go to the ballot station or meet people who have an opinion of one or the other candidate, make sure your Christian voice is also heard. Whoever is a candidate and goes for president should be a person who is willing to accept Judeo Christian values and have an open mind concerning freedom of thought, this also meaning that people who feel different, like homo’s, transgender, are people to be accepted in our community. No matter what colour, race, religion, or no religion, every human being should be able to receive an equal place in our society and has to be free to speak and walk everywhere in the nation.

In such a nation of freedom of speech should be no place for tackiness and below-the-belt punches, and certainly not by the people who should be an example to the nation.

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Preceding articles

Children of Men

Hillary Clinton Says Religious Beliefs About Abortion Have to be Changed

Mountains of information, disinformation and breaking away

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Become a Peaceblogger

Click on the picture to know more

Additional reading

1. 150 Years after the 13th Amendment
2. Refugee crisis, terrorist attacks and created fear
3. Vatican against Opponents of immigration
4. Peppered Speeches at Republican National Convention
5. Bumpy road to success
6. Bridge builder Obama
7. Coming closer to the end of 2015 and the end for Donald Trump as presidential candidate
8. 2015 In the Picture
9. Summary for the year 2015 # 2 Strewn with corpses and refugees
10. Wrong choices made to get rid of Assad
11. Trump brand of migrant demonization #1
12. Trump brand of migrant demonization #2
13. Cowardly governors give ISIS a propaganda victory: Refusing refugees is a moral outrage & a strategic blunder
14. Blinded crying blue murder having being made afraid by a bugaboo

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Find out more

1. Fact Or Fiction? Donald Trump On Minorities, Immigrants, & The LGBT Community
2. Eight years after hope and change, voters are angry, anxious
3. Kaine brings steady hand, confidence to Clinton ticket
4. Barack Obama’s half-brother says he will vote for Republican candidate Donald Trump
5. Hillary Clinton Has Chosen Her V.P.!
6. Watch and read the speeches yourself …
7. “Donald Trump is a unique threat to American democracy”
8. Republican Party Bends Knee to Trump
9. After the Acceptance Speech
10. Republican National Convention Actually Goes Fine
11. #TrumpYourself – Feel the Wrath of Donald Trump
12. Trump Extends Olive Branch to LGBT Community
13. Convention as theater
14. Modern Good Samaritan parable

The Last Supper was a Passover meal

Passover Seder Table, Jewish holidays עברית: שולחן הסדר, Original Image Name:סדר פסח, Location:חיפה (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Too often Christians do forget rabbi Jeshua wanted to conclude the study time of his disciples as a seudat sium or concluding meal after the intensive 3 years of going around discussing the Holy Scrolls.

Intentionally this preparation meal was to show the offering of a new unblemished lamb and offering the world symbols for a new world of which Jeshua is the first new born, the 2nd Adam or the first of the New Creation.

By his demand to break the bread in remembrance of him the world was given a new sign for the doorpost, bringing liberation to all people who are willing to accept Jeshua as the sent one from God.

The apostles bring us a good report of what happened on the day Jesus asked to prepare everything to celebrate Passover. At the gathering taking in remembrance why we have to celebrate Passover those present thought Judas was going to buy something for the group for Passover.

The importance in this “Last Passover” narrative, like nelson says,

  is Yeshua saying of the cup after supper

“This cup is the new-quality covenant in my blood, the one being poured out in behalf of you.”

Now; Messiah is our Passover:

1Corinthians 5:7 “YOU-purge-out the old leaven, in-order-that YOU-might-be (a) new lump, according-as YOU-are unleavened-breads.

For even our passover was-sacrificed, Messiah. v8 So-that let-us-be-keeping-the-feast not with old leaven neither with leaven of-malice and of-evil, BUT with unleavened-breads of-sincerity and of-truth.” Hallelujah!

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Please do find additional reading for this most important weekend of the year:

1. Most important weekend of the year 2016
2. 1 -15 Nisan
3. Yom Hey, Eve of Passover and liberation of many people
4. This day shall be unto you for a memorial and you shall keep it a feast to the Most High God
5. 14-15 Nisan and Easter
6. Days of Nisan, Pesach, Pasach, Pascha and Easter
7. Getting out of the dark corners of this world
8. A Holy week in remembrance of the Blood of life
9. Around the feast of Unleavened Bread
10. The son of David and the first day of the feast of unleavened bread
11. Day of remembrance coming near
12. A new exodus and offering of a Lamb
13. Observance of a day to Remember
14. Jesus memorial
15. Holidays, holy days and traditions
16. Seven Bible Feasts of JHWH
17. High Holidays not only for Israel

18. White Privilege Conference (WPC) wanting to keep the press out for obvious reasons
19. First month of the year and predictions
20. Entrance of a king to question our position #2 Who do we want to see and to be
21. Death of Christ on the day of preparation
22. A Great Gift commemorated
23. Shabbat Pesach service reading 1/2
24. Passover and Liberation Theology
25. Seven days of Passover
26. Kingdom Visions of Rainbowed angel, Lamb in Mount Zion
27. Kingdom Visions of God’s judgements and Marriage of the Lamb
28. The Song of The Lamb #2 Sevens
29. The Song of The Lamb #7 Revelation 15
30. Why we do not keep to a Sabbath or a Sunday or Lord’s Day #3 Days to be kept holy or set apart
31. Easter holiday, fun and rejoicing
32. Like grasshoppers
33. Peter Cottontail and a Bunny laying Eastereggs
34. Who Would You Rather Listen To?
35. Focus on outward appearances
36. After darkness a moment of life renewal
37. Deliverance and establishment of a theocracy

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Related articles

• Christmas, Good Friday, Lady Day and How the Early Church Thought
• Why Determining Easter’s Date is So Confusing
• [1]: What is the dispensation of Innocence?
• Good Friday
• Editorial: Faith
• Easter Retold: Part 4 – The Last Supper
• When’s Easter?
• ‘Good Friday’ Is A Roman Catholic Invention, Jesus Went To The Cross On A Wednesday
• Shabbat Pesach service reading 1/2
• Solution for Willing hearts filled with gifts

Romans 4 and the Sacraments

In our series looking at “Faith and works” yesterday (January 28) we looked at the letter from Paul to the Romans, chapters 3 and  4. the 4th chapter often being referred to to support the doctrine of justification by faith alone.

Luther’s work

In our previous posting we saw how the German theologian and religious reformer who was the catalyst of the 16th-century Protestant Reformation Martin Luther gave enough food for the Antitrinitarians. He is one of the most to go against their idea we still have to do works to be able to enter the Kingdom of God.

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It is thanks to his marvellous work of translating of the Bible into the vernacular (instead of Latin) that so many more people could read and find out what was really written in the Holy Scriptures, which had a tremendous impact on the church and West European culture.

From 1510 to 1520, Luther lectured on the Psalms, the books of Hebrews, Romans, and Galatians. As he studied these portions of the Bible, he came to view the use of terms such as penance and righteousness by the Catholic Church in new ways. He became convinced that the church was corrupt in its ways and had lost sight of what he saw as several of the central truths of Christianity.

The most important for Luther was the doctrine of justification – God’s act of declaring a sinner righteous – by faith alone through God’s grace. He taught that salvation or redemption is a gift of God’s grace, attainable only through faith in Jesus as the Messiah.

Looking at Paul’s teachings

The blog “Washed, sanctified and justified” also looks at Paul’s teachings in the knowledge that lots of protestants refer to Romans 3:26-28 as their conclusion that a man is justified by faith. Some will say

Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from works. {Analysis of St. Paul’s Teachings on Justification and Faith}

Many Christians forget to notice “of the law” which indicates something more and something different than just the “Blood of Christ” or “the Blood of the Lamb“.  The Jewish scholar knew very much the importance of “The Law” or the “Torah” in God’s Plan. And these words are very important to the idea that the apostle Paul is expressing. In the previous articles we have seen that the apostle is speaking of works of the law because that is what he was speaking of in the last chapter.

He didn’t suddenly change subjects. However, he has omitted the words of the law at this point. {Analysis of St. Paul’s Teachings on Justification and Faith}

Some Catholics may say the Jews did not have ‘Sacraments’, but they had a Covenant and arrangements (or sarcaments in the wider interpretation), also having their own religious signs or symbols and practices as forms of worship.

Paul was very well aware how men of God were justified in the past. Abram (Abraham), born way before God made the covenant with the Israelites, had come in the faith. When he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed, and he went out, not knowing whither he went. Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. (Genesis 12:1-4; Hebrews 11:8; Romans 4:3) He also had not forgotten, like today many Christians do, that Abraham became the father of many, justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar. (James 2:20-22)

Covenants given to man

The Abrahamic Covnenant may have been interchanged with the Messianic or New Covenant this did not make done with The Law. Too many people forget the terms of the New Covenant.

De Maria in “Romans 4 and the Sacraments” looks further at the misunderstanding of Faith without works.

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We remember from it:

Romans 4 = a dissertation on justification by the Sacraments.

1. Abraham = our father, according to the flesh
2. if Abraham > justified by works = he hath whereof to glory > not before God.
3. if Abraham justified himself = more power to him => it is not of God.
4. Abraham believed God => counted unto him for righteousness.

=>  that means.

1. him that works = reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt > obey God’s voice + keep His covenant => a peculiar treasure unto God above all people
2. to him that works not, but believes on him that justifies the ungodly > faith is counted for righteousness.
3. Abraham was => did not work for debt
4. Abraham did work for faith

He also looks at David, one of the circumcised =>  covenant of reconciliation

• No one can deny David did many works <= all he did was believe in God’s mercy

reconciliation not only offered to Israelites (Abraham not an Israelite + not even circumcised yet) ===> God saw his faith at work => reckoned in uncircumcision to receive sign of circumcision=  seal of the righteousness of the faith

=> = prophecy which showed that even gentiles would be justified by faith.

=> We, like Abraham, believe and are imputed righteousness, in the Sacraments of Jesus Christ.

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St. Paul contrasting Old Testament with New Testament.

• Old Testament = the Law.
• New Testament = the Faith.

no ministry of reconciliation in Old Testament. ~~~ David’s reconciliation exception = foreshadowing of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

=> Just as it is imputed to the Catholic, who believing the promises of God, approaches the font of grace and submits to the Sacraments, calling on His name.

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Preceding articles

Luther’s misunderstanding

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

Our life depending on faith

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• Instead of Sanctification: The crossless gospel spirit
• The Spirit Speaks – of Spiritual Attention Deficit Disorder (SADD)
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CatholicBibleTalk

 Romans 4 is frequently used to support the doctrine of justification by faith alone. But it is actually a dissertation on justification by the Sacraments.  Let’s go through it.

King James Version (KJV)

1 What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?Abraham is our father, according to the flesh. The Apostle asks, “what has he found”?

2 For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.

Now, he asks, “did Abraham justify himself?” If he did, then more power to him, but it is not of God.

3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

Now, he quotes Gen 15:6, Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

and he begins to explain what that means.

4 Now to him that…

View original post 1,559 more words

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.

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)

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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Related articles

• Can Faithful Living Exempt Me From Suffering?
• How Apostle Paul distorted biblical view of Torah observance and righteousness
• Rabbi Schochet echoes Paul: dead are free from Law & resurrected born-again Jews live in new reality
• Vatican: Jews don’t need Christ to be saved
• Jews for Jesus Denounces Vatican Statement on Jewish Evangelism
• Daily Devotion – Friday, December 18, 2015
• Serving the Saints
• Love & Leadership
• Beyond the Manger
• 12-16-2015 Whose Denominations Are They?

Continued nostalgic Christmas memories

In Christmas in the 1950s we looked a first time at the way we and Equipping The Saints experienced the Winter holidays and enjoyed watching the movies.

When Equipping The Saints had started sixth grade in Gretna, Louisiana to spend the next three years at the same “Grammar School” his life was common to those of his school mates.

Cover of one of the books of the Robert L. May story by Maxton Publishers, Inc. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Like in our country he had also real Christmas holidays, and had real Christmas programs at school. When we do hear our grand children and see what is done at schools for the Christmas holiday we do not see such nice activities like we had in school. Though, Today there are more people stressing that this is the Season of the Year, and several Christians are shouting that Christmas should be the Reason of the Season. But when they want to celebrate the birth of Christ, not much seems to remind people to that birth of the Jewish rabbi who is our saviour. On the streets and in the shops the so called Christmas songs do not really mention Jesus Christ but go on about reindeer, Santa(s), jingle bells and present, though not that special present or precious gift you could call Jesus Christ. The winter-related songs celebrate the climatic season, with all its snow, dressing up for the cold, sleighing, etc. and with the years all the pagan elements came more and more to the forefront, new mythical characters created, defined, and popularised by these songs; “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “Frosty the Snowman” both introduced by Gene Autry a year apart (1949 and 1950 respectively).

In the previous century we gathered and special presentations were offered to sing carols.

Equipping The Saints remembers

We would sing Christmas carols, which included biblical songs. The school would give the children song sheets that showed the words to those biblical songs. Teachers were free to talk to their classes about their church lives. {120714 – Christmas Of Simpler Times}

Today lots of teachers are not allowed to speak about their religious life. They are not allowed to talk about Jesus Christ being the saviour. church live and talks about God are in many schools not authorised any more.

The kids have also nothing to share about church life, because most of them never go to church or just have some periods of church activity to prepare them for the first and/or second communion. they are not really interested in anything to do with church or with religion. The talk of the day is the new smartphone or any other new electronic gadget, plus laughing with one or the other posting on Facebook. Television lost grace in the hand of our grandchildren. The present generation does not watch so much television as we did or do, but have their eyes focused on the computer screen, watching al sorts of postings or games.

Most of my friends watched the same television programs. {120714 – Christmas Of Simpler Times}

writes Equipping The Saints

We didn’t have cable tv or dish types, so our selection was limited to traditional network programming. The programs were family oriented and were not restricted to “church and state” limitations.The Cleaver family went to church and Sunday School. Andy, Barney, Aunt Bea, Opie, and Gomer were shown in their church, even when Gomer might fall asleep and snore during the “Reverend’s” sermons.
The Christmas programs that were produced and shown by ABC, NBC, and CBS did not hide the fact that “Jesus was the reason for the season.” Television hosts did not omit “Jesus” from their discussions when they were talking about Christmas. Jesus was truly “God with us” during those programs. {120714 – Christmas Of Simpler Times}

Jesus nor God are the subject of this season. It is time that those who call themselves Christian and find that this should be a time to think about Christ Jesus, perhaps should do better to have others thinking about that special man who was sent by God for a specific reason.

In Belgium we listened, behind frosted windows, to songs like the one of Frank Sinatra who sung about the songs for you and me, but were told that this was all about that heathen character the Americans loved so much, because their country had become slave of consumption. Today we in Europe are not better off. Most people are slave of money and consumption. As in the previous article told, they even get so much stress that we have already time spend in the media about that ‘Christmas stress‘.

Of the time when every one falls in love there is not so much to see. In some American writings we hear that it is now fashionable to have a divorce around Christmas. Many have new years dreams of having some extramarital adventures with some delicious unknown and some even think it can be good fun to have some extra sex with somebody of their own gender. Those same gender relations are also promoted extra in this time of year. This week for example we had on television some gays who prepared meals for each other and talked every episode about the ‘Christmas kitsch’.

Merry Christmas (Bing Crosby album) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In the 1950ies and 1960ies from the States we got Andy Williams and Bing Crosby who be the must haves and must hears at the Winter holiday season. You may wonder what glow it is when snow would appear these days. But even the snow has given it up and Winter does not want to let see her face. Bing Crosby reminded people about what happened in Bethlehem and asked people to remember it not just in this particular season but the whole year through.

Judi Harbin remarked

Just as we cannot benefit from a wrapped gift under the Christmas tree until we open it, so gratitude can be seen as our way of opening the gift of God’s love intended by all the small and big positive events of our lives

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One of the Biggest Christmas hits in several families for years

“White christmas” by Bing Crosby (1942) Original

Later he made a more fluent, faster version, which I like more

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O Little Town Of Bethlehem – Bing Crosby

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Bing Crosby “The Secret Of Christmas”

“The Secret Of Christmas” was written by Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn for Bing Crosby, and was first performed by Bing in the 1959 film, ‘Say One For Me’. Bing recorded “The Secret Of Christmas” with an arrangement by Frank DeVol for a single that year released by Columbia Records. Bing recorded the song again in 1964 for the album 12 Songs Of Christmas with Fred Waring and His Orchestra.

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It may well be that after World War II our families had to overcome the shocks of the Great War and the last atrocity which showed the cruelty of man and made it so much more important to focus on the better soul of mankind. Perhaps it was truly a much simpler time of Christmas in our nation’s not too distant history.

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Preceding articles

Solstice, Saturnalia and Christmas-stress

Christmas in the 1950s

The Proper Place of Excess

Looking for the consummation of presents

One can buy a lot in the supermarket, but not hope

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Additional reading

1. Creator and Blogger God 11 Old and New Blog 1 Aimed at one man
2. Objects around the birth and death of Jesus
3. Our love for Jesus – A Christian Science perspective
4. Isaiah 55-56, Revelation 11
5. God’s wrath and sanctification

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Further reading and listening

1. Celebrating 365 Days of Legends, Folklore & Spirituality for December 17 – 23 – Saturnalia
2. Countdown to Christmas 17: Saturnalia
3. War On Christmas Memes: Saturnalia
4. Christmas: it’s all about money, not messiahs.
5. Why Did He Come?
6. What Really Happened?
7. He Loves You So
8. 10 Tips for Maintaining a Healthy, Happy, Glow Over Christmas and Into the New Year
9. Cancer survivor supports others battling the disease with massive Christmas light display
10. Giving money for Christmas: When and how to do it right
11. Carols by Candlelight
12. “Hush, now listen…”
13. Hymn, ‘Mary, Did You Know?’
14. Carol, ‘I Saw Three Ships Come Sailing on Christmas Day’
15. Joy to the World, Not Just Another Christmas Carol
16. Christmas Carol Day 17
17. Jubilation
18. Manifestation
19. “For hate is strong and mocks the song”–A Civil war Christmas carol
20. Celebrating Christmas as a Family
21. Holiday Decoration: Celebrate Christmas in Style
22. Dec 18: My somewhere peaceful is Christmas magic
23. New trending GIF tagged 80s christmas vhs 1987…

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Related articles

• Bring Crosby and David Bowie Sing ‘The Little Drummer Boy’… Together
• Countdown to Christmas: Little Saint Nick Plus the 1957 Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby Christmas Special
• Yello80s Advent Countdown day 19: G-d Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
• When Hollywood Celebrated Christmas And Marriage
• Christmas Home Tour {Part One} – and a $500 Giveaway!
• Movie Review – White Christmas with Bing Crosby (1954)
• Unkind not to point
• You’re a good show, Charlie Brown Christmas!
• You need God
• How the world looked when Jesus was born, according to Roman geographers…

Looking for the consummation of presents

When the end of the year is coming
people are looking for the consummation of presents

the sexy santa assistants were there to take a photo of you in front of the xmas tree or you could just ask them to take a photo with you and pretend that your girlfriend is a sexy santa assistant See where this picture was taken. [?] (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We are coming closer to the Winter holidays and in the down side of this globe the Summer holidays. The holidays can be an unsettling time for atheists and the Christmas holidays may be an stressing times for trinitarian Christians. Those Christians also often want to know how atheists can cope with what those Christians call the Season of the Greatest Gift on earth.

Sarah, a dog-faced atheist currently living in North Carolina, writes

Once when talking to a family member who is aware of my atheism and verbal about it, she asked: “Does it bother you when you get Jesus stuff for the holidays?” The truth, yes and no. {Holiday Shopping For Your Token Atheist Friend}

She, like many other atheists and lots of Christians, does not seem to know that all this Christmas event has nothing to do with Christianity or the real Jesus born in Bethlehem. Christmas is a pagan feast of which real Christians should abstain. But many Christians love to think about the true real Greatest Gift on earth mankind received. That was indeed the saviour or the Kristos, Jesus Christ, who was really born in 4BCE, October 17. So, we could wonder why they like to celebrate his so called birthday on the birthday of the goddess of light and on the pagan holy day for that goddess.

Therefore it is strange that as self-proclaimed resident holiday gift adviser, this Sarah gives her guiding rules on how to shop for heathens as follows:

1. Don’t give your atheist friend anything religious.

2. Avoid gifts that use “Christmas” or “Xmas.”

3. Coffee is good. Atheists like coffee. {Holiday Shopping For Your Token Atheist Friend}

When we look in the shop windows we also do not see much that reminds people of the Messiah and what he has given to mankind and why we can look at him as the best gift the world ever got.

Many may say that

“The Word became flesh.”

but do not really know what this means.

A certain Chandy who is also knowing that she is been given a gift, likes to share it, but considers it impossible. she also seems to see the reason.

No one’s bothered, which is fine. People have their own choices and finally, Jesus does love them. Others possibly communicate their theology but I can’t. And in some senses I wish I hadn’t learnt it. {Despairing Resonance}

This December she writes

Blood, bodily fluids, wordless crying are at the heart of Christmas story. It is icky, joyful and fills the senses. {Christmas fragment 1}

When we carefully look around everything turns around getting presents and just making lots of fun. Naturally nothing is wrong with making lots of fun and giving each other presents. Lovely. But to have stress about it?! And to say it is all for Jesus?!

Chandy at WordPress continues

It is icky, joyful and fills the senses.

This is why with so many objects criss crossing the planet it fulfils part of the spirit of Christmas. The handling of the card, the wrapping of the gift, the prising of the plastic, the eating of food, the drinking of wine affirms our bodily humanity; for God affirms bodily humanity in its messy state by taking on a breathing, weeing, gurgling body. {Christmas fragment 1}

Looking at mankind they all seem to look for their luck in stuff.

Everyone seeking love, joy, hope, peace, contentment and seeking to find it in stuff. Anyone who has an eternal perspective sees how silly this is – chasing after wealth and popularity and power. Still the pull of this world is strong. Smell that cheddar? Don’t worry about that spring loaded wire it’s sitting on. “People who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.”  Wealth isn’t the issue.  Idolatry – love of money is.  (But sometimes wealth breeds the other.) {Contented Consumer?}

Even those Christians who say this is the season of peace are arguing that all those refugees better stayed in their country and would leave our developed society on its own, they not coming to take away some food and quality of life. They forget they themselves never brought anything themselves into this life at start, but got everything given to them, life, education, edible plants, sunshine, rain, the earth. Man is so selfish he thinks he has done it all by himself and that everything belongs to himself. To share it with others is difficult. For that reason such a gift season may not be so bad, because than people have to provide something for somebody else, and they have to spend something from their own money for it, which is not so easy for them. but many have fallen in the trap of the ” tyranny of expectations surrounding this so called Holy Day”.

Those who belong to the wealthy better should think about those who have less. This time of gifts should bring them to think about what gifts we all get in our life. Scripture is not against products that make life better for those who produce them.  It is also not against consuming products. but it warns us how we use our money and warns us about the attitude we can take or have to take with the things we can enjoy.

Scriptures does not say at all that luxury would not be allowed, but it gives us an indication that we should be willing to share with others. The Bible tells us the “Love of money” is wrong and corrupting.

Studies show that those with a lot of it are more narcissistic and less generous.  Our tendency is to think – that’s people who are richer than we are – They are self-absorbed and greedy. {Woes and Watch-out Warnings}

In the West we have become a “Consumer driven society”

Buy, buy, buy. Get, get, get. We’re all buyers; consumers of stuff. There are things we need and things we want. Separating our wants from our needs has become more difficult with the growing ideology of consumerism. The encouragement of acquiring more and more stuff at an increasing pace continues to change our society. The “one who dies with the most toys” philosophy has propelled the age of consumerism as our appetite to acquire things has skyrocketed. I wonder though if this is healthy for our society? {Top Risks for a Consumer-Driven Society}

The Spirit of Christmas (short film) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The way people want to consume is changing and shopping becomes for some less a social activity, but a lonesome internet action, not really interested were it comes form at what cost, as long as he can get it the cheapest.

Senior Vice President of Marketing and Sales for Distinguished Programs Joseph DeRosa warns

So as we enter the Holiday season – whatever Holiday you celebrate – think about your own gift giving habits. If it’s cheaper online, I get it. That’s simply being fiscally responsible. But if it’s not, I’d challenge you to go to the store, walk the aisles, smile at others and say hello. Let’s not slip so far into our rabbit holes that we forget that the difference between living and being alive is the amount of interaction and experience we have with one another. Would any of us really want to be walking around this planet alone? Would that be alive? Not me. Make the choice to live alive. Connect with someone. Today.

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Preceding

Family happiness and little things we do

Halloween is Satanist Christmas

He who beams never walks in the dark

The Evolution Of Passover–Past To Present

Welcome to Easter 2014

Next: One can buy a lot in the supermarket, but not hope

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Additional reading

1. A season of gifts
2. Holidays, holy days and traditions
3. Focus on outward appearances
4. Irminsul, dies natalis solis invicti, birthday of light, Christmas and Saturnalia
5. Christmas, Saturnalia and the birth of Jesus
6. Jesus begotten Son of God #1 Christmas and Christians
7. Jesus begotten Son of God #2 Christmas and pagan rites
8. Objects around the birth and death of Jesus
9. Christmas in Ancient Rome (AKA Saturnalia)
10. Wishing lanterns and Christmas
11. The imaginational war against Christmas
12. Hanukkahgiving or Thanksgivvukah
13. Thanksgivukkah and Advent
14. Holiday tolerance
15. Exodus 9: Liar Liar
16. Autumn traditions for 2014 – 1: Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet
17. Traditionalists Vow to Fight Charges of Racism in Netherlands
18. Geert Wilders wants mandatory blackface at Dutch festival
19. Being Religious and Spiritual 8 Spiritual, Mystic and not or well religious
20. Self-development, self-control, meditation, beliefs and spirituality
21. Christian values, traditions, real or false stories, pure and upright belief
22. I believe in you…
23. Ember and light the ransomed of Jehovah
24. Why we do not keep to a Sabbath or a Sunday or Lord’s Day #3 Days to be kept holy or set apart
25. Not bounded by labels but liberated in Christ
26. Nativity scene of the birth of the Bill of Rights
27. Brits believe Santa present at Jesus’ birth, new poll reveals
28. Sancta Claus is not God
29. What Jesus sang
30. Merry Christmas with the King of Kings
31. Weekly World Watch 12th – 18th Sept 2010‏
32. Christmas trees
33. I Only hope we find GOD again before it is too late !
34. God’s Special Gift
35. What do you want for Christmas
36. Speedy Christmas!
37. Don’t Envy the World

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Further related postings on the net

1. Christmas Twinkle and Festive Helsinki City Lights
2. You Lived Your Best Life If You Had These ’90s Toys When You Were A Kid
3. 27 of the best 90s toys that prove Christmas used to be way better
4. Five holiday light displays you can’t miss this holiday season
5. The North Poles’ Secret by Zoey Hart #CinnamonTreats
6. Bending History
7. Advent No.12: Gifting guide for friends…
8. Seventh day of Christmas 
9. Joy to the World
10. Advent Day 12
11. 12 Days Of Christmas… ‘This Time Of Year’ by Only Girl
12. The Twelve Days of Christmas: Preparing Families for Emergencies
13. BoyChild Chooses: The 12 Reviews of Christmas, Day 12–McDuff’s Christmas
14. Bear With Me While I Wait For Santa
15. Christmas Gift Guide
16. It’s beginning to look a lot like…
17. How to find the Christmas gifts for your friends and family?
18. Transcending the Financial Border
19. Prepare ye the way of the Lord
20. He Loves to Hear You Pray
21. Christmas prayers for children
22. Christmas 31 Day Scripture Writing Plan: Day 12 – Malachi 3:1-3
23. Advent 2015 – Day 14 – Perfect Peace
24. Holidays for Earth Part II
25. New Bond Street – Xmas 2015
26. The Culture of Excesses- Losing Humanity
27. The foolish man

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What is the truth asked also Pontius Pilate

In history there have been several moments that people wondered what really happened or what was really the truth.

Christ before Pontius Pilate, Mihály Munkácsy, 1881 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The coming days we also think about a man who was presented with a dilemma. The coming days we think about a man who wanted to come the world a truth for which they had to be very careful. All people had to think seriously of what they wanted to belief and to do. Today about this, nothing has changed yet. The Nazarene his message should still ring in our ears. But about this man it was also said he was or is a king (king of Israel), and that made many anxious or even annoyed, having some one standing in their way. How was the world to cope with this man who said he was the son of God and the one sent to show the world the Way to God?

At the time when this son of man lived there where none who made him to a god, but today many have made him to their god. Though this man told all around him he could not do anything without his heavenly Father Who is greater than him. He always spoke about his heavenly Father being the God of Abraham and also being his God, to Whom he prayed and to Whom we also should pray.

It was questioned by many if what this Nazarene man was telling could be true. the temple servants thought it could not be true and because of him saying he was the son of God by whom the heavenly Father worked in him they sought the more to kill him, because he not only brake the Sabbath, but also called God his own Father, making according to them, himself equal with God. They did not think he said he was God, but thought he considered him equal with God. Therefore Jesus reacted unto them, making it clear he never would think himself equal with or the same as God. He also wanted to assure them he could do nothing of himself. Though him mentioning that he knew that the Father loved him as Son, was not liked by them either. Worse they heard this Nazarene telling folks that he would be able to give life to whom he will.  This was much more than one step too far.

Joh 5:17-24 MKJV  But Jesus answered them, My Father works until now, and I work.  (18)  Then, because of this, the Jews sought the more to kill Him, because He not only had broken the sabbath, but also said that God was His father, making Himself equal with God.  (19)  Then Jesus answered and said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, The Son can do nothing of Himself but what He sees the Father do. For whatever things He does, these also the Son does likewise.  (20)  For the Father loves the Son and shows Him all the things that He Himself does. And He will show Him greater works than these, so that you may marvel.  (21)  For as the Father raises the dead and makes alive, even so the Son of Man makes alive whomever He wills.  (22)  For the Father judges no man, but has committed all judgment to the Son,  (23)  so that all should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.  (24)  Truly, truly, I say to you, He who hears My Word and believes on Him who sent Me has everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation, but has passed from death to life.

Joh 14:28-31 MKJV  You have heard how I said to you, I go away and I am coming to you again. If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, I go to the Father, for My Father is greater than I.  (29)  And now I have told you before it happens, so that when it happens you might believe.  (30)  I shall no longer speak many things with you, for the ruler of this world comes, and he has nothing in Me.  (31)  But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father has given Me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go away from here.

But when he was brought in front of the high priest who asked Jesus of his disciples, and of his teaching, he answered him that he had spoken openly to the world. The truth was that Jeshua (how he was really called) ever taught in synagogues, and in the temple, where the Jews always came together; and in secret spoke he nothing.  Jeshua was not afraid to say what he thought and what he found to be the truth. He also asked others always to tell the truth. Jeshua never hid something so he was surprised they asked him because he knew they knew the things which he said.  Annas sent him bound unto Caiaphas the high priest and they lead Jesus from Caiaphas into the Praetorium: and it was early; and they themselves entered not into the Praetorium, that they might not be defiled, but might eat the passover.  Pontius Pilate wondered about the accusation brought against this man.  They answered and said unto him,

“If this man were not an evildoer, we should not have delivered him up unto thee.”

Pilate asked them to judge Jeshua (Jesus) according to their law, but they escaped having blood on their hand by throwing it into his hands, saying that it is not lawful for them to put any man to death. Asking Jesus if he was the King of the Jews Jesus did not deny it but answered with a question, not making it easier for Pilate. After Pilate asked if Jesus considered Pilate a Jew and what Jesus had done, Jesus answered that his kingdom is not of this world.  Pilate asked him to be a king then, to which Jesus answered that he said that he is a king, and confirmed that he was born to his end and to this end he had come into the world, that he should bear witness unto the truth. but he also added that every one that is of the truth had to hear his voice.  Pilate asked him

What is truth?

Joh 18:33-38 MKJV  Then Pilate entered into the praetorium again and called Jesus and said to him, Are you the king of the Jews?  (34)  Jesus answered him, Do you say this thing of yourself, or did others say it to you about Me?  (35)  Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you to me. What have you done?  (36)  Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would fight so that I might not be delivered to the Jews. But now My kingdom is not from here.  (37)  Pilate then said to Him, Are you a king then? Jesus answered, You say it that I am a king. To this end I was born, and for this cause I came into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.  (38)  Pilate said to Him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews and said to them, I find no fault in him.

Finding no crime in this Nazarene man, Pilate knew the Jews had a custom, that he should release unto them one at the passover. But not as he would have thought the people to answer, to let the man free, the crowd shouted to have the criminal be freed, the one who had robbed also some of them.

Joh 18:39-40 MKJV  But you have a custom that I should release one to you at the Passover. Then do you desire that I release to you the king of the Jews?  (40)  Then they all cried again, saying, Not this man, but Barabbas! But Barabbas was a robber.

Tim Cloyd reads this as Pilate being actually genuinely confused. We also do think that Pilate has heard already many things about the man from Nazareth going through Galilee telling stories and doing wonderful things. The news must have come to his ears as well. Now, at last, he sees the man in real life and wants to know what truth really is.

Truth is not a part of the metric that he is familiar with in making leadership choices and if Jesus is a king this mode of thought makes no sense to Pilate. His leadership model is only one of self interest – expediency or of a kind of utilitarianism.

writes Cloyd and continues:

 “The greatest good for the greatest number” or the good or truth is whatever promotes his interest or cause.

Jesus is speaking truth to earthly power. It is an ethic that looks at things, actions, and choices as true or untrue, good or bad in and of themselves. It is a radical and dangerous way to regard the world in terms of earthly power and decision making.

Today lots of people run away with the truth, they just make a joke of it. Not many are really interested in telling the truth or keeping to the truth. Many also do not mind their relationships being build on dreams and lies. Many also want to use their fantasy words to lure others in their nets. People who tell the truth and point them out to the ethics to which we should keep are not liked, like Jesus was not liked for telling the truth and for showing their crooked way of thinking and misleading others. today we can find many who make it a sport of misleading others. It has become big business.

Many or most of our leaders, CEOs, and politicians are more likely than not it seems to me to be familiar with the leadership ethic of Pontius Pilate. As a leader you are likely to be confronted with demands from friends, board members, shareholders, or other constituencies that pressure you to make decisions that may be popular and wrong, but may be justified by expediency or utility. {The Leadership Ethic of Pontius Pilate – Expediency and Utility}

Think of the CEO asked to kick business back to powerful friends or bosses. Choosing not to do what is asked would be unpopular, but right. The consequences of not doing what was asked would in most cases be bad for that CEO’s career, his family, etc. The ire of scorned friends or others in power could lead to rumors or the release of damaging partial or (dis) information that could harm a CEO who made a decision not to do the wrong thing based on truth and not to agree based on expediency or utility. {The Leadership Ethic of Pontius Pilate – Expediency and Utility}

Liberal arts colleges teach students to reflect on such issues. They allow for both the assertion of truth and for the question “what is truth?” but they teach students no matter their faith tradition that there are better and worse ways to live a life. {The Leadership Ethic of Pontius Pilate – Expediency and Utility}

It is a reality of the day that we do not see many struggling with what is real or with what is the truth. It would be better if more people took Pilate in mind and got to see the problem and the ethic of Pilate, which still troubles the world today.

We also do hope more people come to hear what Tim Cloyd means just as you hear what Jesus means.

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Related articles

• “I go to prepare a place for you.” (christianity201.wordpress.com)
  Some will imagine Jesus as a Master renovator, but that is not really what is happening here. As one Bible scholar points out, Jesus “goes” and His journey begins at the cross. It is there that the preparations begin. It is there that we find, not the Master Renovator, but the Master Redeemer. There is wood and there are nails, but this project is like nothing Mike Holmes has ever tackled. This is not about Jesus making the afterlife fit for us, but about Jesus making us fit for eternal life with God. It is about Jesus dying on the cross so that we could live with God in His home.
• Lord, Have Mercy Upon Us (atimetoshare.wordpress.com)
• ‘Christian Blod Won’t Wash Off’: Ralph Peters Just Called Obama the Reincarnation of ‘Pontius Pilate’ (girlsjustwannahaveguns.com)
  Ralph Peters was on Fox News this morning and really made the case that Christian civilization is being wiped off the map by the Islamo-Nazis in the Middle East, saying this is indeed a holocaust and our president is doing nothing. He then called Obama a reincarnation of Pontius Pilate washing his hands, but he said this blood is not coming off:
• Opinions Are Not Always the Truth (psalmsunday.blogspot.com)
  We should always seek the truth in any disagreement.  Sometimes that truth might lie somewhere between two disagreeing parties and successful resolution can bring them to a happy meeting point.   At other times both sides might cling tenaciously to what they see as the truth.  This is the point when the decision has to be made whether the disagreement is worth the conflict.
• Ralph Peters: Obama is the reincarnation of Pontius Pilate but Christian blood NOT going to wash off (therightscoop.com)
  He is the reincarnation of Pontius Pilate washing his hands, but this blood is not coming off.
• VIDEO: True Blood’s Bill Condemns Jesus in the Trailer for Bill O’Reilly’s Killing Jesus (tvguide.com)
  Killing Jesus is based on the book of the same name by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard and chronicles the life and death of Jesus Christ. Haaz Sleiman plays Jesus, Kelsey Grammer wears the crown of King Herod the Great and True Blood‘s Stephen Moyer portrays Pontius Pilate.
• Reflective Moment ‘Precise Statement’ (mylordmyfriend.com)
  Which we build our faith on, John goes  further to make The Precise statement, to help his readers of the truth of Christ Jesus’ identity, John organizes his entire Gospel around eight miracles. Theses miracles are signs and proof and only God could perform these miracles. And only Christ Jesus the God-man, could die as the Perfect Sacrifice, for the sins of the world.
• What Bethlehem Taught About Marketing Jesus (averageus.com)
  Jesus wouldn’t need tweaking. He would never be re-branded. He didn’t come in multiple, market-sensitive packages.

  He just came. He did His Father’s will. And He trained a few followers to tell the world about it.

• The Sacrifice of Jesus Christ (dailybibleplan.com)
  Jesus sacrifice for us involved a lot more than just His crucifixion and death.

  In today’s key passage, Jesus tells His disciples about the future.  He speaks of the end times and about His return to glory, and tells His disciples (and us) not to be deceived by false teachers.

• The Scripture Holds True Forever (planet.infowars.com)
  It was winter, and the Festival of the Dedication of the Temple was being celebrated in Jerusalem. Jesus was walking in Solomon’s Porch in the Temple, when the people gathered around him and asked, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? Tell us the plain truth: are you the Messiah?”

  Jesus answered, “I have already told you, but you would not believe me. The deeds I do by my Father’s authority speak on my behalf; but you will not believe, for you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never die. No one can snatch them away from me. What my Father has given me is greater[a] than everything, and no one can snatch them away from the Father’s care. The Father and I are one.”

A voice cries out: context

In many countries a new year heaving started in September or October, with the advent, they take time to think about the Nazarene man who was given by his heavenly Father. God can not be tempted nor die, but his son who had a beginning, more than 2000 years ago, was born, was tempted more than once, was tortured to death and was taken out of the dead by his heavenly Father, the Only One Divine God.
The gospel of Marcus let us see the importance for mankind of that figure born in Bethlehem, without his willingness to do not his will, but the will of his heavenly Father, we could not have salvation and the Grace of God coming in this way, he took care of.

We may not overlook the beginning of Mark’s Gospel where we can discover, not the manger scene, but the meaning of a gospel as proclamation, and the importance of the titles “Christ” and “Son of God.”
As the writer of the article says:

“Mark reminds us that gospel originally meant “good news.” “

Too often Christians forget to look at the older books, the Old Testament. By doing that they also miss out very important knowledge and do not come to see clear who Jesus really is and what he really did.

As a Jew Jeshua (Jesus Christ) did not want to bring a new religion. and his disciples did not begin with a “new book”. Though the evangelist John might have looked at it as starting a new Book. At least he wanted to start a “new Chapter”. He looked at the world of Christ as a new world or Renewed world, given by God, made possible by Christ Jesus his ransom.
John started his book as Moses did, by the Voice of God. God speaking made everything in existing. Now the world could hear God’s Voice again. In the Garden of Eden God had already spoken and given His promise that a solution for Adam’s sin would come. As such that speaking from God, in the beginning of the world was also the Word of God which came unto mankind some 2 millennia ago,

Jesus was the fulfilment of that Word from God. As such the evangelist in his gospel (John 1:1) begins with an unmodified “theos” without the article, writing:

“In [the] beginning the Word was, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god.” (NWT)

Denoting Jesus was a special person, like Moses and Pharaoh, who are also called gods (=high placed person). Jeshua, though a simple workman’s son, was so important because he was the only human person who managed to keep the commandments of God and to do only the will of the Most High Elohim. He, as son of man and son of God, knew very well how we human beings felt but also how we should all come closer again to the Creator of heaven and earth, the God of Abraham. Jesus clearly showed the world who is God was and why we also should come to honour only this One and Only True God. He also showed the world his God was a God of Love, prepared to give the world a “New Start” a fresh “New Beginning”. With Christ Jesus the world was given a 2° Adam. This second only begotten son by God brought us a “New Message”, the one that salvation was at hand. He showed us to the Way to the Kingdom of God. We either can keep our ears and eyes closed, or hear the message and see what we can do, to become partakers of that Kingdom of God. It only demands of us making the right choices.
Advent is the time to think about those matters, matters of importance, priority and matters of eternal life.

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Please do read also:

1. Only one God
2. God is one
3. God of gods
4. Plain necessary food of the gospel
5. God’s promises
6. Jesus begotten Son of God #8 Found Divinely Created not Incarnated
7. Jesus begotten Son of God #13 Pre-existence excluding virginal birth of the Only One Transposed
8. The Beginning of the life of Jesus Christ
9. Jesus Messiah
10. Who was Jesus?
11. In the death of Christ, the son of God, is glorification
12. Kingdom of God what would it be like

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• The Messiah (mylordmyfriend.com)
  The Hebrew word means “anointed” a rescuer, sent from God to save His people.

  The Greek word for ‘anointed’ is ‘christos’, from which we get Christ.

  People only need saving when they are in peril, and many times in the history of the Old testament, God people were constantly under attach and oppression. between the New and Old testaments, God’s people were under occupation of foreign powers. Their cries for a Messiah to come, became more and more often.
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  Jesus was recognized by many as the Messiah. Jesus tried to play down those expectations and was reluctant to apply the term to Himself. This was because He was not the figure they wanted Him to be. Jesus had no intention of being connected with violence and insurrection. Jesus preaching was a revolutionary message, and He was setting up a New Kingdom, but it was not the way the people were expecting.

  It was through Christ Jesus crucifixion and resurrection, that His followers understood that He was the Messiah.

• What Is The Gospel? (dailytwocents.com)
  The meaning of the word “Gospel” simply means Good News. A good news for a very bad situation and predicament.

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  It is often confused with the entire Bible. No, the Bible contains the good news, it is not the good news.

  It is sometimes mixed up with the commandments of God. No, the Gospel is Good News. It’s not a good command.

  It is often associated with the gospel records of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Nope. Not everything written by these four writers is the Gospel. They contain the Gospel, but not everything they wrote about is the Gospel.

• Christ in You, the Hope of Glory (theeyesoffaith.wordpress.com)
  Throughout the Word of God, the Bible refers to Jesus Christ with several different comparative names or descriptive titles to help us know and understand Him better.

  The Bible tells us that He is the Messiah, the Christ, the Redeemer, and the Savior.

  Jesus is the Messiah because He is the anointed and consecrated prince whom God promised through Daniel’s prophecy that He would send.

  He is the Christ because He is the anointed fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy in the New Testament.

  Jesus is the Redeemer because He is the kinsman who purchases back the lost possessions in the Old Testament and He is the fulfillment of the kinsman in the New Testament.

• Reading the Old Testament with Martin Luther (cwoznicki.com)
  Why should we read the Old Testament? It seems pretty obvious to us today, but  in 16th century Germany there was a tendency to look down upon the value of the Old Testament. (No doubt Luther’s Law/Grace dichotomy had something to do with this…) Nevertheless Luther advocates for a figural sort of reading of the Old Testament, in other wrods he asks us to read the Old Testament in light of the New

friarmusings

Mark 1:1-8   ¹The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ (the Son of God). ² As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way. ³ A voice of one crying out in the desert: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.’” ⁴ John (the) Baptist appeared in the desert proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ⁵ People of the whole Judean countryside and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins. ⁶ John was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. He fed on locusts and wild honey. ⁷ And this is what he proclaimed: “One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to…

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