Sunday, 29. November 2009, 06:07:25
Jesus
Here are some more facts about Jesus:
He spoke Aramaic as His native language.
Was found innocent by secular authorities (Luke 23:4,14,15)
Earned the respect of His enemies. (Matthew 27:19)
Did NOT approve of Crusades, Inquisitions, genocides, forced conversions, etc. (Matthew 5:43-48 and 7:12)
Commanded change in the lifestyles and attitudes of His followers (Luke 13:3,5)
Makes kings and priests of His disciples (Revelation 1:6 and 5:10)
Showed love to the outcasts of society (Luke 7:36-50, 19:1-10)
Provided leadership to people (Matthew 9:36-38 and John 10:11)
Welcomed all who came to Him (John 6:37)
Was against organized religion (Matthew 23:1-36)
Jesus did NOT have a political agenda, and was NOT judgmental, negative, xenophobic, or homophobic.
Keep on reading and studying your Bible consistently, and you will discover many more truths to be applied to daily life. May God enrich your studies. Peace.
Friday, 27. November 2009, 03:38:09
serve, ask
"Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." John F. Kennedy
You do not have to ask what America can do for its citizens, if you just do a little research. Now look at this in a spiritual, Biblical context. All you have to do is read your Bible to see what God did for those who obeyed Him. Look up Abraham, Gideon, Samson, Moses, Joshua, Elijah, Elisha, all the way up to Jesus, Paul, and John. God demonstrated His power thru them-all they did was believe and obey. We need to be asking God in prayer what we can do for Him. Here is a list of what we can do:
Feed the hungry. Clothe the naked. Put shoes on the barefooted. Seek justice for the oppressed. Comfort the afflicted. Help the widows and orphans. Do unto others, as you would have others do unto you. Love God, and one another.
Matthew 25:34-40, James 1:27, Isaiah 59:4, Genesis 18:19, Matthew 7:12, and Isaiah 58:10
Wednesday, 18. November 2009, 16:19:40
Jesus
Here are some interesting facts about Jesus Christ. I discovered these while reading my Bible over the past three years.
Hometown: Nazareth, Israel
Occupation: Rabbi, carpenter
Accepted all who came to Him. (John 6:37)
Allowed other people to have their own opinion. (Matthew 16:13-16)
Paid taxes (Matthew 17:24-27)
Allowed others to question Him openly (Matthew 21:23-27)
His enemies acknowledged Him as the Son of God (Matthew 27:54)
He did not approve of denominations (Luke 9:49, 50)
He lived for 33 years
Took care of His family (John 19:25-27)
Threw people out of the Temple (John 2:13-17)
Used a weapon (John 2:15)
Ministered to people of other races (John 4:5-26, Matthew 15:21-28, and Luke 7:1-10)
I hope this will enrich you in your walk with God. You can find out more by reading your Bible, especially the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). Remember to always seek Him daily, and He will supply all your needs. This includes answers to your questions about the Bible. That is part of the purpose of this blog.
Peace.
Monday, 9. November 2009, 17:15:23
salvation, believe
What does it mean to really believe in something?
What does "believe" really mean?
According to Webster's Dictionary, it means to have confidence in the truth, existence, or reliability of something. What does the Word of God say about believing in Him?
Read 2 Chronicles 20:20, "...Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe His prophets, so shall ye prosper".(KJV)
To believe in God means to accept His existence, and also to accept His messengers, preachers, teachers, prophets, etc. I have seen people who say they believe in God, but live very questionable lifestyles in light of the Bible. Our salvation comes from believing in the One whom god has sent to us, Jesus Christ. He said in John 6:29, "This is the work of God, that you believe on Him who He has sent". The work of God here is that you are convinced and persuaded that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that He came to save us. If you believe, then ask Him to come into your life, and follow Him whole-heartedly. Romans 10:9 says, "That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved". Your salvation comes from believing Jesus by faith. One prayer will is all that it takes.
Use this as a guide: Father God, I ask you to forgive me of all my sins. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that He died for us, and rose from the dead. Cleanse me, Lord, with His precious blood, that I may stand righteous before you. I promise to serve you until my dying day. Save me, Lord. In Jesus Name I pray. Amen.
See also Luke 23:42, 43, John 9:35-38, and Acts 8:37
Wednesday, 4. November 2009, 16:58:14
individual, ethics
Does God favor the individual, or the group consensus?
Luke 15 and Exodus 23:2
1 lost sheep, 1 lost coin, and 1 lost son.
When God created man, He made an individual-not just another cog in the machine.
Do we have to "go along,to get along"?
According to Deuteronomy 23:2, the answer is no.
This posting deals with sociology and politics. When I was in school, I heard one of the worst excuses ever-"everybody's doing it". But what does that mean for us today? This is a generation where moral and ethical compromises have become the norm. When I was a child, things like Enron were unheard of. Enron was a corporation known for fraud, and resulted in all of their employees losing their retirement savings. These hard-working people may never see that money again. Why did this happen? Because someone in the company's leadership went along with fixing the financial records, a practice known as "cooking the books". Did anyone stand up to question these practices? Obviously not, or else it would have been stopped a lot sooner. God is telling us, in essence, do not follow the majority to do wrong in His sight, just to "get along". We are not in this life to get ahead by deception, but to promote truth and righteousness for God. When I said sociology and politics, I was referring to things like work, school, family, running a business, dealing with the public, etc. In the New Testament book of James, it says that being a friend of the world, means being an enemy of God. Before you go along with somebody or something, take some time to think things through. How will your actions affect someone else, like your family, friends, or anyone else you care about? When I was in high school, in grades 11 and 12, I noticed something strange. Most of these kids did things because their friends or peers were doing them. It was all about "fitting in". Spend enough time reading your Bible, and you will see that God never told anyone to fit in. He commanded us to obey and serve Him, even if it meant social rejection. Children today need to be taught to think for themselves. It is OK to have your own point of view, as long as you don't force it on other people. But some people today would rather not stand for truth, but rather go along, to get along with the majority opinion. They'll say, "Don't rock the boat". They may even see you as the "party pooper". Jesus Christ said, "If you be ashamed to confess me before men, I will be ashamed to confess you before my Father, which is in Heaven." People also defer to the majority because they are afraid of being a social outcast. Being accepted by God is worth more than anything this world system can offer you. Therefore, based on these above-said Scriptures, God wants us to be individuals for Him. Jesus, Moses, Gideon, Samson, Elijah, and the many heroes of Scripture, were all one person standing against corrupt, worldly systems. If you truly love and respect yourselves, don't throw your lot in with just anybody. Follow God, and keep your eyes on Him only.
Sunday, 1. November 2009, 04:20:41
labor relations, bible study
Hello again, everyone. First, I want to say thank you to everyone who visited my blog here on Opera. I promised more postings, and here is another one.
My greatest passion is the Word of God. I have been doing a study on labor relations. If you have comments or questions, please do not hesitate to email me. I hope this will be enriching to everyone.
Primary texts: Exodus 5-15 and 2 Chronicles 10
Supporting texts: Deuteronomy 24:14,15; Ecclesiastes 10:4-6; James 5:4-6
Does God favor the proletariat(the working class), or the bourgeois (rich employers)?
Based on reading the above selections of Scripture, I say that God pays special attention to the working class. But does that mean He is against the managers, supervisors, and employers we work for? Not necessarily. The Bible repeatedly warns us about exploiting, abusing, and taking unfair advantage of others. Jesus said in Matthew 7:12, "Do unto others, as you would have others do unto you. For this is the Law and the Prophets." If you don't want it done to yourself, why would you do it to somebody else? In both of the primary texts mentioned above, we see that the whole nation fell apart because of maltreatment towards the people. People are the greatest asset to any organization, whether it's on the job, at church, at home, in school, etc. If you do not value the people, you are going to lose them. I have discovered this principle about life: Do not do anything that you are not prepared to answer for. Egypt was not prepared to suffer the consequences for pharaoh's disobedience toward God. Israel was not prepared for a break-up of their country, due to Rehoboam's disrespectful attitude toward the people. Somewhere in the book of Proverbs, it says that if the wicked rule, the people will cry. But if the righteous rule, the people rejoice. This applies to all aspects of life and every social institution. You cannot treat people just any kind of way. If you lose your people, then what do you have? Nothing! Read in the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) and see for yourself how Jesus led people. He led them as a shepherd tends to sheep. He treated people with love, respect, dignity, helpfulness, and took time to teach them. I think we can safely conclude that God favors the working class, and wants us to treat others with dignity and respect. What happened in Exodus and 2 Chronicles, can also happen in our time as well. It may or may not be plagues, locusts, frogs, flies, death of the first-born, etc. You can be sure that division and possibly destruction will come if someone in any type of authority abuses or misuses their power. I leave you with this final thought. Before you dish it out on somebody, stop, think, and ask yourself, "Do I want to be treated this way?".
Tuesday, 20. October 2009, 15:15:10
research, study, Bible, reading
Right now, I'm reading all the Minor Prophets in the Old Testament. It is wonderful to see how it all pieces together when you read it by books. I used to skip around from one part to another. But now, I read it with my Bible dictionary, commentary, concordance, computer software, and other source material. When I first came to Christ in June, 1998, no one told me to anything, except to go out and witness for Christ. I've been loving it ever since. I now have a blog at www.teachyourselfthebible.blogspot.com. Come visit me sometime. I am also on youtube.com at www.youtube.com/bentzu76. See me also on facebook.com. Just look for Benjamin Lassiter. Take it easy. Peace.
Friday, 16. October 2009, 16:46:55
censorship, human rights, Bible, reading
Hello, once again. In case anyone was wondering why I chose the name "freereader", here's why. I chose "free" because that is the most important thing-FREEDOM. I added "reader" is because I love to read. I am against any form of censorship. So far, I have read about 2/3 (two thirds) of the Holy Bible. I have seen that God gave us the freedom to choose for ourselves. We are free moral agents. This goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden, and Adam and Eve. I am convinced that if you withhold information from the people, then you keep them in a state of ignorance. It is a fundamental human right to read and check things out for ourselves. Jesus Christ did not go around censoring anybody, did He? Read the Bible for yourself!
Thursday, 1. October 2009, 15:31:07
Hi. My name is Freereader. I chose this user-name to reflect some of my beliefs. One lesson my father taught me was "Think for yourself". This is part of what I'm all about. I believe that everybody has the right to their own opinion-right or wrong. No one has the right to force their beliefs upon one another. Jesus Christ said, "
Do unto others, as you would have others do unto you". If you don't want it done to yourself, why would you do it to somebody else? I enjoy Bible study, learning from one another, surfing the Internet, and reading. I love God, and would like to hear from other believers out there. Peace to all.
WIDGETIZE