STICKY POST
Wednesday, 23. September 2009, 13:07:05
Undoubtedly the best Christian radio program on the air today .....
Tuesday, 1. December 2009, 13:36:46
Luke 2:2 says ....
This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.
Now today in the U.S.A. and some other countries the taking of a census is important because it determines how we will be repersented in our government and how government aid for many different programs will be divided up.
The people of Isreal knew about a census, they had gone through many since Old Testament times. There was the census taken at Mount Sinai after God delivered His people out of Egypt. Then there were the censuses conducted by king David that God disapproved of and were followed by pestilence that caused many to die.
At this time Joseph and Mary who was pregnant with Jesus our Lord and Savior lived in the town of Nazareth. Now just as any mother then or now Mary had no intention of having her baby anywhere else but in Nazareth where they lived. After all it was nearly time for the baby to be born so why would she want to travel any where? But Caesar Augustus had ordered a census and everyone Must be recorded in the town in which they were born. So without knowing it Ceasar Augustus had started to bring the Old Testament Prophecy true. As now Joseph and Mary must travel to Bethlehem because that is where Joseph was from and according to scripture, where the messiah was to be born. I can't help but think how difficult that journey from Nazareth to Bethelhem must have been for Mary. After all they had no cars or trains or buses. Only a donkey for her to ride on.
This is one of the first signs that God gave us that this was His Son that He was sending into the world. Unknowingly Ceasar Augustus was putting Gods perfect plan to save His people in motion.
Glory to God in the highest !
I pray that whoever reads these devotions finds peace in their life and is able to find or deepen their faith in the one True God. In Jesus name, Amen.
Sunday, 29. November 2009, 19:01:09
What is Advent you may ask? Well quite simply it starts on the fourth Sunday before Christmas Day. It is a period of time when Christians prepare their hearts and minds for the birth of Gods one and only Son, The One and Only Savior of the World, Jesus Christ!
We are entering the Christmas Season! Yes the Christmas Season! not THE "holiday season". Why you may ask? Because all other religious and non religious observances during the period of time between the fourth Sunday before Christmas Day and Christmas Day itself ignore THE One and Only True event when our One and only Loving God sent His one and Only Son into this World through His birth in a lowly manger among sheep and oxen some two thousand years ago to save from eternal damnation everyone who would and will today believe in him.
So ....
MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!!
Let our Advent Journey begin !!!! Hallelulia !
The road we must journey to the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ really begins in Rome, yes Rome Italy.
During the time of Mary, Mother of our Savior Jesus and her husband Joseph, Isreal was under the rule of the Roman Empire. In those days Ceasar Augustus ruled over the Roman Empire.
Ceasar Augustus was concerned about the declining population within the Roman Empire due to Roman men not marrying and thus not having children. So, Augustus imposed penalties for not marrying and in order to monitor population growth he ordered a census to be taken throughout the entire Roman world. As part of the census all were ordered to return to the town where they were born, so that all may be counted. This was one of the top items on Ceasar Augustus list of things to be remembered for when he died, increasing the population across the Roman Empire.
Luke 2:1-3
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register.
Unfortunately for Ceasar Augustus his death would not be marked by his acomplishment of growing the population. Instead it would be marked by the birth of the baby Jesus in Bethlehem. One of Gods awsome signs of his love toward his people. This is because by ordering the census Joseph and Mary who was pregnant with baby Jesus would have to journy from Nazareth to Bethlehem which was Joseph's hometown. Thus fulfilling the prophesy that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem as recorded in the book of Micah in the Old Testament.
Micah 5:2-5
"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me
one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,
from ancient times."
Therefore Israel will be abandoned
until the time when she who is in labor gives birth
and the rest of his brothers return
to join the Israelites.
He will stand and shepherd his flock
in the strength of the LORD,
in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God.
And they will live securely, for then his greatness
will reach to the ends of the earth.
And he will be their peace.
Thursday, 26. November 2009, 13:01:13
Today is Thanksgiving Day in the United States. A day that for most is filled with watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade on TV as well as watching football(American football). It also is a day when most americans gather with family and share in a feast that centers around a Turkey prepared in any of a multitude of ways along with countless side dishes to round the meal out.
This Thanksgiving holiday tradition beganm almost 400 years ago when the colony of Pilgrims, who were the first settlers from Europe in this New Land that would become the United States of America gathered for a feast to celebrate a bountiful havest of crops after they had survived a very brutal winter.
Last evening my wife and I attended church and it really got me to thinking about all the things we have to be thankful for. I don't mean things like this computer I'm typing on to write this blog entry. I'm talking about the basic things in life that let us be here and do Gods work by spreading his word. Things like we have a home withj a roof over us to keep us warm and dry. We have enough clothing to protect us when we go out in the cold. We have food so that we don't have to be hungry. And beyond that we are so blessed to have our health and to have all of our family healthy as well. The blessings from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ are so bountiful that I can't even begin to name them all.
There are so many people around the world and right here in the United States that because of a myriad of reasons are so much less fortunate. They may be unemployed and have lost their home, they may have a problem with alcohol or drugs. They may be living in an abusive relationship, they may have psycological problems or just down on their luck as they say or simply born into poverty and are homeless living on the streets. They may simply be elderly and have no family left. Whatever the reason there are many with much less than most of us have.
So let's first thank our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for all that he has blessed us with and then each of us this Thanksgiving and Christmas Season find some way to come to the aid and help someone less fortunate than are we. That is the true spirit of giving when we give of ourselves to help others.
Friday, 20. November 2009, 13:28:54
Starting on Sunday November 29th I plan to begin a journey here that will lead us up to and beyond the birth of our dear Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Based on the Gospels of Matthew, Luke & John, plus the book of Acts and the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy. I'm looking forward relating the most beautiful event in history to everyone who is willing and wants to read it.
If you would like to read any part or all of the Holy Bible at any time I encourage you to use the following link to the online version of the NIV Holy Bible. I prefer the NIV Bible as it is written in easy to read modern english.
http://www.biblica.com/niv/
Thursday, 12. November 2009, 14:45:13
Wow it's right around the corner ! The Advent season the time of year when Christians around the world prepare their hearts and minds in anticipation of the great celebration of the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ of Nazareth. What a joyous season Advent is every year.
For those that are not familiar with the Advent season, it is a time starting 4 Sundays before December 25th. Then on December 25th we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
But more than 2000 years ago in Isreal the picture was much different. Isreal was occupied by the Roman army and as such waws under Roman rule. King Herod ruled the land, he was a jealous man that ruled with an iron fist.
As we enter the season of Advent I'll try to be vigilant in writing about the time leading up to the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Glory to God in the Highest and Peace to His people on earth
Tuesday, 10. November 2009, 14:16:41
I've been forced to make changes to my blog. I deleted the on going thread in which I had asked "What do you think of Jesus?" Why ? Because I recieved nothing but viscious attacks on my Loving Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and personal attacks as well in the responses to that thread.
I have also turned off the ability to respond to blog entries. This is for the same reason as above, I recieve nothing but personal attacks and attacks on my Lord Jesus. In saying that I also must say that I know that there are other Christians that are members of the Opera community and I feel like I have received almost no support at all from them. As Christians our Lord tells us it is our responsibility as believers to spread the word of his loving Gospels of salvation. But this is not happening here at Opera. I feel like I've stepped into a den of fire breathing vipers with satan fanning the flames.
I know not everyone does or will come to believe in the Bible and the Lord Jesus. That is their choice I can not convince every person I come in contact with that they need to become a Christian. My mission is to spread the word of the Lord as one would sow seed. Just as seed does, some will feel the Holy Spirit sprout and grow within them and some will not.
My Lord is anything but cruel and uncaring, in fact He is Loving and Caring beyond belief. My Christian God, who is the Only true living God past, present and future is the same God of the Catholic church. TYhe Pope is a very fine man I have no doubt. He is the leader of the Catholic church and as such is also a politician. A politician in the sense that it is his calling and duty as leader of the Catrholic church to work at bringing all people no matter what their faith closer together. Yet at the sametime being Christian means he also believes that the only true means of Salvation is through belief in Jesus Christ. So his efforts to bring all people closer is so that as many as possible can be brought to Christianity so that they may have true salvation for eternity when they die.
I have said that that followers of other religions have no hope of salvation through their beliefs. I'm sorry to say that yes this amounts to probably billions of people. But this is not because of an uncaring cruel God. This is because of the sinful nature of people and the inherent evil that fills the earth and works to draw Gods people away from him. Our Lord wants everybody to receive eternal salvation and join him in his heavenly home when they die. That is why he sent His Son Jesus Christ into this world to take upon himself all the sins of everyone who would and will believe in him and follow his teachings. The teachings of Love, Peace and true Happiness that reject satan and al his temptations and all the other evils in this world.
The proof is in the Bible .....
John 3:16
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,[a] that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
In John 14:6
Jesus says quite clearly "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
What does this mean? It simply means that faith and following the teacjings of Jesus is the only way for one to reach Heaven and eternal salvation.
Luke 15:7
I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
Once again I say that I know not everyone will be swayed by what I say about Jesus, God and Christianity. But the verse above reaffirms my earlier statement, that if I am able to have just one person I will have accomplished a victory for the Lord!
John 15:18-21
"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me.
As I stated before and the verse above states in Jesus words, I will be persecuted for following Him and that is just fine with me. Because I know the truth and the truth is the Holy Bible.
Thursday, 24. September 2009, 13:50:24
In my last post I asked "What do you think of Jesus?" Well the response was in a word well disappointing. I had hoped to get some dialog going, but I guess that wasn't to be. So here are some of my thoughts on Faith, Christianity and Jesus.
Faith, for only being 5 letters long it's a big powerful and sometimes elusive word. As humans we tend to put faith in many things such as other people and all kinds of devices both hi tech and low tech. Many time staking our very lives on the reliability or structural integrity of our mechanical and electronic inventions. But our faith in these things is short lived and shallow. As soon as we are no longer relying on what ever device it may be we put our faith in it is put aside until the next time we need it.
Unfortunately for too many people who call themselves Christian, their faith in Jesus Christ is just about the same. When they need Him, they stop, pray for whatever it is that they want in their life. Then go on with life as usual. If we did that to another person every time we needed or wanted something it would be said that we're just "using" that person and we would be looked down upon by others for it. But when it comes to Jesus doing the same thing seems to be alright for some people. But lets think about it for a moment, isn't Jesus a person? A person just like you and I? Yes He walked on this earth some 2000 years ago, but that makes Him no less a person than anyone else. So doesn't He deserve the same respect as any other person? Of course He does and more! Because He is the Son of God, the Prince of Peace, the Sacrificial Lamb of God and deserves every ounce of our respect, honor and Faith all of the time. Do we all fall short of that ? Of course we do, it's part of our sinful human nature. But that is why God sent his Son Jesus into this world to live, and die on the cross to take away all the sins of those who will confess their faith and believe in Him.
So that gets us to Christian Faith and this is where it gets messy. Messy in that the Christian Faith is The Only True Faith. There is only one way to eternal life in Heaven and that is through faith in Jesus Christ the only Son of God. Now I know that statement does not sit well with those of the muslim faith, Jewish faith, hindu faith and others. But the truth is the truth as it is written in the Holy Bible. The only Full True inspired written word of God.
The truth is Jesus was not just a "great prophet", Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ, The Son of God incarnate in man on earth and the Redeemer of the Human Race. The proof of this is in the first four books of the New Testament, all of which are accounts of not only his exisitance, but also "Eye Witness" accounts of his ministry, life, persecution and death on the cross at Calvary. The other books of the New Testament were written by Jesus Apostles, those that he filled with his Holy Spirit to spread His message to the whole world. One of those people was St Paul, who had been named Saul, he was a Jewish Pharasee(leader in the Jewish faith) who was determined to rid the world of every last person preaching this new faith called Christianity. Until the day on his way to Damascus when Jesus came to him from Heaven, Saul questioned the Lord and was made blind. But three days later in Damascus Ananias at the Lords command came and laid his hands on Saul and his sight was restored and was filled with the Holy Spirit. And thus became Paul and spent the rest of his life spreading the Gospel of Jesus. This is just one example from the Book of Acts in th New Testament, there are many more, but I believe it shows just how real, alive and powerful Jesus really and truly is.
Monday, 7. September 2009, 13:12:48
I think, no I know this is one of lifes true challenges for me and for many others as well. We get so busy in our lives that we begin to neglect the little things like saying please, thank you and your welcome. pretty soon it begins to snowball beyond that we find oursevles stuck in a little cucoon of sorts that is made out of everything about me. Things like "I was too busy doing my own work to take care of that" or "I just didn't have time" or one of the worst, "I just couldn't think of anything to get". Ever been there? I'm sure we all have, some more than others. The worst part is, if one does't break free of the cucoon it soon starts to get thicker and harden around us making it harder and harder to see what we are doing is wrong. If we are not careful we can literally lose those around us that mean the most because by being in our little "Me" cucoon we choke off the relationships with those around us. Especially those we love the most and most importantly we choke off our realtionship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
really and truly it is a vicious circle when we don't treat others as we would like to be treated because the way we treat others is the way we get treated in return. If we treat others in a less than respectful way so is how we get treated and in the process the realtionship starts to wither. So lets all take a close look inside ourselves and see if we need to break free of our "me" cucuons and take back the relationships we have damaged.
You know we are all imperfect sinful people and our Lord understands that and that is why he sent his son Jesus Christ down from heaven to live, be crucified and die on the cross to take upon himself all the sins of all who will believe in him for all eternity.
So we all need to do our best to follow the path he laid down for us so many years ago.
Jesus and his desciples tell us in the Bible .....
Matthew 7:1-2
1"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
Mark 4:24
24"Consider carefully what you hear," he continued. "With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more.
Luke 6:38
38Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."
John 13:34
34"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
1 John 3:16-20
16This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 17If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 18Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 19This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence 20whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
Thursday, 30. July 2009, 13:19:49
Ok a little background first ... I recently put a copy of the NIV Bible in MP3 format on my MP3 player(it's not an iPod) and I listen during my lunchtime at work. Anyway it just so happens that this weeks Lutheran Old Testament Scripture reading is from the part of the Bible I am currently listening to. The book of Exodus, where God through his prophet Moses leads his people, the Isrealites out of servitude in Egypt into the desert and eventually to the promise land.
So this weeks Old Testament lesson is from
Exodus 16:2-16...
2 In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. 3 The Israelites said to them, "If only we had died by the LORD's hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death."
4 Then the LORD said to Moses, "I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. 5 On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days."
6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, "In the evening you will know that it was the LORD who brought you out of Egypt, 7 and in the morning you will see the glory of the LORD, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we, that you should grumble against us?" 8 Moses also said, "You will know that it was the LORD when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the LORD."
9 Then Moses told Aaron, "Say to the entire Israelite community, 'Come before the LORD, for he has heard your grumbling.' "
10 While Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward the desert, and there was the glory of the LORD appearing in the cloud.
11 The LORD said to Moses, 12 "I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, 'At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.' "
13 That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. 14 When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. 15 When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was.
Moses said to them, "It is the bread the LORD has given you to eat. 16 This is what the LORD has commanded: 'Each one is to gather as much as he needs. Take an omer [a] for each person you have in your tent.' "
Grumbling that's one of the things us humans are experts at. We grumble over the littlest things. In fact all of the grumbling we do is really a complete waste of our time, other than at times it probably makes us feel a bit better because our grumbling has released some of the stress we have put upon ourselves because of whatever it is we just finished grumbling over! It's really quite laughable when you stop to think of it and a good laugh is a much better stress releiver than is grumbling. But none the less many times we seem to find it easier to grumble over what we don't have than to marvel and thank the Lord for all that we do have. For the Lord provides us with everything we need to sustain us and protect us in this life. Not only our physical needs like food and shelter. But our spiritual needs, everything we "need" he provides for us. But it all comes with a price and what is that price? It's a pretty low price, for all our Lord God asks is that we believe and confess our faith in his son Jesus Christ who did all the hard work for our salvation when he died on the cross to take upon himself all the sins of all those who would believe in him.
So how does all this relate to Isrealites in the desert in Exodus chapter 16? Perfectly, I mean they grumbled to Moses that they were hungry and they were probably not far from lynching Moses. But the Lord our God provided. See he was testing his people, testing their fortitude just as he tests us from time to time. And just as the manna and the quail came with rules so does our God ask us to abide by his rules. We have his Ten Commandments which he commands us to live up to every day of our lives and which we fail at some of nearly every day of our lives. His Son Jesus Christ commanded us to love others as you love yourself, it's another monumental challenge that we fail at more times than not. But by continuing to work at it and the Ten Commandments, reading the Bible so we deepen our understanding of His words our faith is strengthened and depend as well.
So let us all give thanks to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, God the Father and the Holy Spirit for providing us with all that we need to sustain us and blessing us with so much more !
1 2 3 Next »
Showing posts 1 -
10 of 21.
WIDGETIZE