I would rather live my life as if there is a God, and die to find out there isn’t, than live my life as if there isn’t, and die to find out there is!


Sunday, December 21, 2014

A Christmas Message

English: Christmas postcard picture with Santa...
English: Christmas postcard picture with Santa Claus and holly, with message, "I bring you a Merry Xmas from" (Photo credit: Wikipedia)


Because we are celebrating the birthday of our Lord. I thought it would be meaningful to look at Isaiah's prophecy, made more than 700 years  before the birth of Jesus, and then the fulfillment of that prophecy in the New Testament. Enjoy.


A Child Is Born
Isaiah 9:6,7

6 For to us a child is born,  to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called  Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  7 Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne  and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness  from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.


Commentary
Isaiah includes many direct predictions of the coming Messiah, including this passage, which established  that the Messiah will come from Galilee (read
verse 1). The lands Isaiah mentions as "humbled" in verse 1 are the very regions devastated by Assyria's armies (2 Kings 15:29). Thus Isaiah offers a
word of distant hope for those parts of his nation most  affected by war.



Matthew 1:18-25
18 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to  Joseph, but before they came together, she was
found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19  Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.  20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the
Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from
the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you  are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save  his people from their sins."  22 All this took place to
fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a  son, and they will call him Immanuel" --which means, "God with us."  24 When Joseph woke up, he  did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he  gave him the name Jesus.

Commentary
1:18   pledged to be married. There were no sexual relations during a Jewish betrothal period, but it was a much more binding relationship than a modern
engagement and could be broken only by divorce (see v. 19). In Dt. 22:24 a betrothed woman is called  a "wife," though the preceding verse speaks of her as
being "pledged to be married." Matthew uses the terms "husband" (v. 19) and "wife" (v. 24) of Joseph and Mary before they were married.  1:19   righteous. To Jews this meant being zealous in keeping the law. Divorce her quietly. He would sign  the necessary legal papers but not have her judged  publicly and stoned (see Dt. 22:23-24). 1:20   in a dream. The phrase occurs five times in the  first two chapters of Matthew (here; 2:12-13,19,22) and indicates the means the Lord used for speaking to Joseph. son of David. Perhaps a hint that  the message of the angel related to the expected  Messiah. take Mary home as your wife. They were legally bound to each other, but not yet living together as husband and wife. What is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. This agrees perfectly with the
announcement to Mary (Lk 1:35), except that the latter is more specific.

A Decision for Eternity... Click the link below
 



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Tuesday, December 16, 2014

How can three "persons" be in one God?

QUESTION:
How can three "persons" be in one God?

I think most theologians would agree that the word "person" is not a perfect expression of what the Bible is attempting to communicate. But, it’s the most correct expressive word we have. Some believe the word tends to distract from the unity of the Trinity. We know that in God there are not separate individuals as we understand separate individuals. Matthew, Mark and Luke, for example, being separate individuals have different characteristics. Within the Godhead the "persons," the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit have the same characteristics but personal self-distinctions. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are "persons" in the sense that each has the personal attributes of mind, emotions, and will, and each of the three is aware of the others, speaks to the others, and carries on a loving relationship with the others. We must accept God's revelation to us that He is triune in nature and that He has infinite perfections. With our finite minds we cannot fully understand everything about God.  Our God is an awesome God. Celebrate His birthday!

RELEVANT SCRIPTURE:

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  Matthew 28:19

Want to make wine?  Check this out: http://goodvinesgreatwines.blogspot.com/

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Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Police in America today...

President Barack Obama listens as Vice Preside...
President Barack Obama listens as Vice President Joe Biden (left) presents the report on the Roadmap to Recovery as he meets with his Cabinet in the State Dining Room of the White House, Monday, June 8, 2009. Looking on at right are Attorney General Eric Holder and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Does anyone remember Detective Melvin Santiago?  He was a Jersey City police officer who was shot to death just a month ago, on July 13th.  Santiago was white.  His killer, Lawrence Campbell, was black.  Does anyone recall Obama appearing before national television and calling for justice for Officer Santiagos family?  Does anyone recall Eric Holder rushing to Jersey City to see that justice was done?

How about Officer Jeffrey Westerfield? He was a Gary, Indiana police officer who was shot to death on July 6, 2014. Officer Westerfield was white, his killer, Carl LeEllis Blount, Jr. was black. where was Obama? Where was Holder?

Officer Perry Renn was an Indianapolis, Indiana police officer who was shot to death July 5, 2014, the day before Officer Westerfield was killed. Officer Renn was white. His killer, Major Davis, was black. I don't recall any mention by Obama about the untimely death of Officer Renn. and, I doubt that Eric Holder rushed to Indianapolis to make sure justice was served.

Vermillion Parish Deputy Sheriff Allen Bares was gunned down by two men June 23, 2014 in Louisiana. Deputy Bares was white. His two killers, Quintlan Richard and Baylon Taylor were black. was Obama outraged? Did Eric Holder rush to Louisiana to make sure that the family of Deputy Bares found justice?

Detective Charles Dinwiddie of the Killen, Texas Police Department was murdered on May 11, 2014 by Marvin Lewis Guy, a black male. Officer Dinwiddie was white. Do you recall seeing anything abouth that on the news? Certainly, the white citizens of Killeen didn't take to the streets to loot and burn businesses. Do you recall any mention of Obama or Holder here?

Then, there is Officer Kevin Jordan of Griffin, Georgia Police Department. He was gunned down on May 31, 2014. Officer Jordan was black, his killer, Michael Bowman was white. This was a white man murdering a black police officer. Where was Jesse Jackson? Where was "The Reverend" al Sharpton? Was there looting and burning on the streets of Griffin, Georgia? No, in fact, we don't recall hearing about this one in the news as well. Why? You can draw your own conclusions.

Over the past 60 days, there have been five reported deaths of police officers by gunshot in the U.S. Of those, four were white officers who were murdered by black men. Blacks complain that white officers treat black men more aggressively on the street. You can draw your own conclusions on that one, as well.

A US President that tries to divide this republic, needs to be removed from office !

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Sunday, November 30, 2014

WHERE WAS THE GARDEN OF EDEN?

English: The Garden of Eden by Jacob Savery
English: The Garden of Eden by Jacob Savery (Photo credit: Wikipedia)


 


1. The Garden of Eden was in Iraq .

2. Mesopotamia, which is now Iraq, was the cradle of civilization!

3. Noah built the ark in Iraq ...

4. The Tower of Babel was in Iraq ..

5. Abraham was from Ur, which is in Southern Iraq ...

6. Isaac's wife Rebekah is from Nahor, which is in Iraq ...

7. Jacob met Rachel in Iraq .

8. Jonah preached in Nineveh - which is in Iraq ...

9. Assyria, which is in Iraq, conquered the ten tribes of Israel .

10. Amos cried out in Iraq ..

11 Babylon , which is in Iraq ,

destroyed Jerusalem ..

12. Daniel was in the lion's den in Iraq .

13. The three Hebrew children were in the fire in Iraq (Jesus had been in Iraq also as the fourth person in the Fiery Furnace!).

14. Belshazzar, the King of Babylon saw the 'writing on the wall' in Iraq .

15. Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, carried the Jews captive into Iraq

16. Ezekiel preached in Iraq ....

17. The wise men were from Iraq ...

18. Peter preached in Iraq ..

19. The 'Empire of Man' described in Revelation is called Babylon -- which was a city in Iraq.

And you have

probably seen this one: Israel is the nation most often mentioned in the Bible.

But do you know which nation is second?

It is Iraq !

However, that is not the name that is used in the Bible.

The names used in the Bible are Babylon , Land of Shinar , and Mesopotamia ... The word Mesopotamia means between the two rivers, more exactly between the Tigris And Euphrates Rivers

The name Iraq means country with deep roots.

Indeed Iraq is a country with deep roots and is a very significant country in the Bible.

No other nation, except Israel , has more history and prophecy associated
With it than Iraq ..

And also, this is something to think about:

Since America is
Typically represented by an eagle.
Saddam should have read up on his Muslim passages ...

The following verse is

from the Koran, (the Islamic Bible)
Koran (9:11 ) - For it is written that a son of Arabia would awaken a fearsome Eagle.. The wrath of the Eagle would be felt throughout the lands of Allah and lo, while some of the people trembled in despair still more rejoiced; for the wrath of the Eagle  cleansed the lands of Allah;
And there was peace.

(Note the verse number!) Hmmmmmmm?!


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Saturday, November 22, 2014

THANKSGIVING MESSAGE

English: "The First Thanksgiving at Plymo...
English: "The First Thanksgiving at Plymouth" (1914) By Jennie A. Brownscombe (Photo credit: Wikipedia)




It is hard to believe but in a few days, those of us in the United States, will celebrate our annual Thanksgiving Day. A time set aside to remind all of America to once again look up, and thank our Creator for the abundant blessings we all enjoy. Someone once said that the road to degradation and sin begins with an ungrateful spirit. People have abundance but want more, and are not grateful for what they have.  This we have seen in young and old alike. So how can we turn this around? Let me suggest a couple of things that might help: First, look around you and count all the things you have that others might not have. Begin with the tangibles such as job, house, clothing, health, etc., etc.  Next, count the intangibles such as friends, family, purpose, the opportunity to live here in the United States enjoying relative peace and prosperity, and so on.  Now ask yourself how you were able to accumulate all of this. Some might be so arrogant as to say "I earned it myself." That attitude is the first step toward degradation and sin. We need to look to our Creator, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and express our thanks to Him for being so good to us. We don't deserve it, but by His grace we have it, and we ought to thank Him for His goodness towards us. Remember that all assets belong to God. We are simply stewards of His property. It does not belong to us. Thank Him for His trusting you to care for His property.  Thanksgiving means a lot more than eating turkey.



RELEVANT  SCRIPTURE:
For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving,
1 Timothy 4:4

I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way--in all your speaking and in all your knowledge--
1 Corinthians 1:4,5



#Eternity #God #Jesus #Heaven  Includes my personal journey.
 

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