...and may God open ur eyes, in Jesus' name, amen.

in Job the Bible says that God is the Potter, and we are the clay. when i thot on this today, the Lord opened my eyes and i saw this: does the clay mold itself? no, of course not. does the clay open its own eyes? no, of course not. does the clay Save itself? NO! therefore it struck me as rock solid, abundantly clear - the Messiah MUST be the LORD in the form of flesh! so when Christ said: "...before Abraham, I AM." He did NOT blaspheme! He *IS* the Son of God, He is the Holy One of Israel, He is the Anointed One!!!

in case u need more... in Psalms 49:7 God says: "No man can redeem another or give to God a ransom for him - ..." In fact, later on in this same Psalm, it is made clear that no man can redeem another from the grave. Instead only God alone can redeem *from* the grave.

this is why the Messiah MUST b from God, and not born of man's will, but of God's Holy Will. the Messiah is therefore the Son of God. this is why the Jewish rabbis asked Christ: "Are you the Son of God?" - He replied: "There, you've said it."

the 'Holy One of Israel' and 'Redeemeer' are two titles which refer to the Messiah. in Psalm 2:7, the Messiah is called the Son, and God is called the Father. He made man after all in His image.

the following verses identify that God IS the Messiah -

Isaiah 41:14
Do not be afraid, O worm Jacob, O little Israel, for I myself will help you," declares the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.

Isaiah 43:3
For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead.

Isaiah 43:14
This is what the LORD says-- your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: "For your sake I will send to Babylon and bring down as fugitives all the Babylonians, in the ships in which they took pride.

Isaiah 48:17
This is what the LORD says-- your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: "I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go."

...if u still need more, in Zechariah 2:10, God says this:

and in the next two verses Zech. 2:11-12, God says that many nations (goyem) will come to Him. these are the gentile people that found only this one Jewish Rabbi to be True!

and finally in Zechariah 9:9 God says:

so to summarize this section: He is the Redeemer; He is the Messiah; He will live among us; He will also be a light to the gentiles; and He will come riding the colt of a donkey. and Jesus entered the City riding on a colt while the people shouted: "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD!" and "Peace in Heaven and Glory in the Highest!"

how clear can it be... Jesus did NOT blaspheme when the Jewish rabbis asked Him if He is the Son of God - if He did, then y didnt they stone Him as the Law requires?!? - because it was to fulfill another prohpecy that none of His bones will be broken. "He protects all His bones, not one of them will be broken." -Psalms 34:20

when Christ spoke at all, He always did so in a parable... just yesterday i found this verse in the OT:

it's so clear to me, everything old was made new - He is the LORD, He is the Messiah, He IS Yeshua Hamashiach. Jesus Christ is the Messiah.

i waited to find something like this for a long time... these r the verses in the prophets that point directly to the Messiah. as Jesus was asked "how will they know?," He said: "They have Moses and the prophets." so here r all the verses i found in my NIV. God Bless u, may He open up ur eyes, in Jesus' name, amen.

the wedding ceremony to our Lord, Rabbi Yeshua Hamashiach, that is mentioned in Revelation, is also mentioned in the OT in Hosea 2:19

a long time ago i had a discussion with an Orthodox Jewish young man. the discussion revolved around the word "virgin" in Isaiah 7:14. he said the word means "young woman." later i told him that i read something regarding the Septuagint. in it the Greek word used is a word having only one meaning - *virgin*. naturally he didnt care about that reference since, he replied, it was a Greek text. so i was at a loss.

several weeks passed and we met each other and i reiterated my point, and he his. but i then said: "i dont care whether she was a virgin, or just a young woman, He had to be born." he seemed slightly taken aback from this, but we talked some more, and then parted.

...how clear can i b now? - i spoke like a fool. the Messiah must b born of the Spirit, not of flesh, or of man's will - but *only* of God's Holy Will. (Holy = separate and above) so i couldn't have been more wrong when i told him "i didnt care..." but here's the real rub...

recently i got into this same issue with another OJ and i came to know something i never knew b4... the Septuagint is ***NOT*** a "Greek" text. it's as Jewish as 70 Jewish scholars. it turns out that the writers of the Septuagint was not the Apostles, as i thought, nor converted Greeks, as i thought, but was in fact: 70 Jewish scholars translating the OT for Alexander the Great!!! i was elated! :) ALL GLORY TO GOD!!!

what happened is that the Hebrew word "almah" was translated, by these 70 Jewish scholars, into the ancient Greek word "parthenos," which has only one meaning: "virgin." these *70* men knew that the Messiah's birth must b miraculous. also, it was written ~250 B.C., so no one can say they were influenced by Christian notions.

i just started reading Acts... in it all the converts r Jews. so, indeed, the first Christians are Jews. Jesus, the Rabbi, taught we r adopted into the true Tree if we follow him. thus, by God's Grace, through the faith He has given me, i have hope that i am saved - an adopted Jew.

many ppl ask us "well what happened to all those tribes? r they going to hell b/c they didnt know Christ???" i would say "yes." knowing only he is the Perfect Judge... now there is an answer that is Biblical.

may i refer u 2 these verses:

so now, no longer do we have to say: "yes, they all went to hell." this is y i always say...

my Rabbi started His ministry by reading Isaiah 61:1 - and stopping in the middle:

indeed, though we have all knowledge, though we have all understanding, though we have the very faith that moves mountains - if we dont have love then we r nothing. (1 Cor 13:2)

after all, aim for perfection: be like God, and God is life, light, and *love*.

...and this morning, in my daily reading, the Lord encouraged me by finding even more: "...The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love." (Gal. 5:6b)

...and how much more do u need than this - which was my greatest Blessing on this point: "The entire law is summed up in a single command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" (Gal. 5:14)

Galatians 3:10-12 "All who rely on observing the Law are under a curse, for it is written: 'Cursed is everyonewho does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.' Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, 'The righteous will live by faith.' The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, 'The man who does these things will live by them.'" (see Deut.27:26, and Hab.2:4)

indeed, this is the faith we profess - the name of the Lord, Yeshua Hamashiach. and we live by this promise. (see Galatians 3:8-9, below)

Galatians 3:8-9 "The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: 'All nations will be blessed through you.' So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith."

indeed, for there was no Book of the Law for Abraham, just the faith credited to him by God, who alone is our Salvation - and not the law.

in fact if that were true, then the promise made to Abraham is erased by following the law. "For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on a promise; but God, in His grace gave it to Abraham." (Gal. 3:18-19)

and God keeps His promises... and so we can c that the law is subordinate to grace, and not grace to the law. "What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come." (Gal. 3:19a, also Gen. 3:15)

this is y its religion vs faith - religion is external, faith is internal; religion is made by man, faith is given by God.

i wondered for a while now, (since starting the NT) y Paul always mentions "Paul, an apostle..."? indeed, the Lord blessed me with an understanding. it means that Paul is in everyway appointed by the Sovereign Lord to be an apostle - with the same spiritual authority, wisdom and understanding, as the original 11. (sans Judas = NT:Paul is the add-on, OT: Dan was cutoff just as Judas was.)

thus, this gives the words of Paul the full authority as the rest of the Word of God - every word of which is spirit breathed.

"I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness-- ", Colossians 1:25

im sorry this seems so new to me, but it was something i needed pinning down. afterall we have the Lord's word on the OT: Genesis - Malachi. and now i c we indeed have the Lord's word on the NT! :) thus when Paul says: "Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,..." he means that it was *God's* will, and not his. (indeed - which of us seek God?! :)

i have wondered about Genesis 1:27 ever since i read it in the NIV. many times i thot ther wer 2 creations, that Adam was a second, and therefore different creation from the rest. indeed, no. for in the NT the Lord says that there was one Adam, and so then ther is one creation.

however, the tone of Gen. 1:26-30 is diametrically opposed to the tone of Gen. 3:15-24. in chap 1 man is blessed, in chap 3 he is cursed. indeed, this makes sense chronologically, but Adam and Eve wernt fruitful in the Garden - it was only until man was cursed that child-bearing was ordered.

and so in fact it is throughout the Bible - two parallel lines of thot: one leads to salvation, the other to damnation; one is by faith, the other is by law; one is by the heart, the other is by the position; one is internal, the other is external; one is by the Spirit, the other is by the flesh.

Who is Christ?

Jesus taught us that He alone is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. a long time ago, maybe when i was ~6mos. old in my faith, i knew this paralleled the attributes of God: He is Life, Light, and Love. i knew the two were connected in some way - afterall, look at how one phrase ends and the other begins - both on "Life" - as if to say: "one leads to the other"!

but even more than this, the Lord let me c them as parallel -

u c how clear? one is the image of the other. i hope that the Lord opens ur eyes, in Jesus' name, amen.

Hebrews 12:11
No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

Luke 17:3
So watch yourselves. "If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.

my hope

that was a long time 56 days ago... last night i fell again. yesterday evening i prayed for someone and said to God Almighty: "look how i havent sinned in so long..." i spoke as a total fool. i can do NOTHING w/o Him. He - alone - is the Potter, and we r the clay... can the clay say to the Potter: "look what i have done!" ? no, and then this morning i realized that.

"Blessed rather is he who hears and obeys." Luke 11:27

i hear, but dont obey...

"Many are invited, but few are chosen."

i clearly have been invited, but... well, Ecc 9:1... i must wait and hope on the Lord.

i am crushed by the weight of my own sins... Lord save me - be merciful to me, in Jesus' name, amen.

in the OT the Israelites r told to pray facing the Temple of the LORD... Christ, as the Son of God, is the True Temple - the One that will stand forever.

thus when we pray "...in Jesus' name." we pray facing the Temple of God Almighty the LORD.

The Lord God Almighty richly blessed me today (11/23/02). I once thought that John was the promised prophet Elijah mentioned in Malachi. But in John 1:21 he flatly says "No." when asked if he is. And thus I see that there will be another prophet proclaiming that the day of the Lord is near.

Malachi 4:5-6

bind
The Lord God Almighty blessed me today (11/30/02). This word eluded me for quite some time for two reasons: [1] the simple reason is that my vocabulary is weak, and [2] the passage in Matthew 16:24 where Jesus tells Peter that "...whatsoever you bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven."

[1] the word means to bring two things together. there are three possibilities for its use: 1) object to object, 2) person to object, and 3) person to person.

The Lord God Almighty richly blessed me today (12/7/02). I once thought that the passage in 2 Timothy 2:3-4, where Christ is mentioned as the commander in chief of God's army, was the only place. I remember wondering about that ("is it in the Old Testament"?) and just now the Lord God Almighty opened my eyes to let me see that indeed it is:

Josh 5:14-15
14 "Neither," he replied, "but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come." Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, "What message does my Lord have for his servant?"
15 The commander of the LORD's army replied, "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy." And Joshua did so.

This is significant for another reason because: 1) no angel is ever to be worshipped, and so this is not an angel, but 2) this is the Lord, the Son of the LORD God Almighty. He alone deserves the worship that Joshua showed Him, because 3) the gorund where the Lord was standing, was Holy - just as it was when the Holy Spirit spoke to Moses.

In Matthew 2:1-2, 11 this is validated:
1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem
2 and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him."
...
11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.

here is a complete list where the word "worship" appears...

Once again today (12/7/02), the Lord God Almighty blessed me to see that indeed the Sabbath is on Saturday. I was wondering about this too - which day is the Sabbath? (Of course I think you all might realize that the LORD's Day of Rest is truly the seventh day - the day when God is done with His work. And that this day is yet to come. "Come, Lord Jesus." - Revelation 22:20)

Matthew 28:1
1 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

The verse says "...after the Sabbath..." Amen! For the first day of the week is Sunday and the last day, the day of rest, the LORD's Day, is Saturday.

Matthew 7:21-23
21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
22 Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?'
23Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'

Although this verse belongs at the top of my page (hope) I thought to put it here since I found it today, 12/14/02.

It clearly agrees with Ecc. 9:1-4, and the above verses (hope). Christ is our Lord and Savior, of this there is no doubt. But our knowing Him is not a garauntee that He knows us.

Matthew 1:17, 21 (the footnotes [2] and [3])
2/15/03: So I started this Sabbath with a simple thought - "I want to read God's Word." not expecting anything much or any new incite. I just wanted to read His Holy Word. I opened the Bible (gospelcom.net) to where I left off - at the end of the geneology of our Lord, Jesus Christ. So I read: "...17 Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Christ.^[2] It occurred to me I should look at the footnote on "Christ." The first sentence was plain to me:

• 2. 1:17 Or Messiah. "The Christ" (Greek) and "the Messiah" (Hebrew) both mean "the Anointed One."

• 3. 1:21 Jesus is the Greek form of Joshua, which means the LORD saves.

But it was the second, when combined with the first, that I was wonderfully surprised. It reads:

Indeed! God is saving those He annoints (aka "elects") to His Peace (aka "Salvation"). And so once again I saw that Christ is also the living "symbol" of (a "pointing-to") the LORD God Almighty - EVEN IN HIS NAME!

2/22/03
God allowed me to see the harmony between these two passages:
Isiah 8:13

3/1/03
I was wondering about everything being God's will... even our own skills and talents - Lord, are they also from you? Here is the answer:
Deuteronomy 8:16-18
16 He gave you manna to eat in the desert, something your fathers had never known, to humble and to test you so that in the end it might go well with you.
17 You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me."
18 But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.

Also, I wondered last week about proof of Israel's destruction. Here, in the next passage is the answer to that:
Deuteronomy 8:19-20
19 If you ever forget the LORD your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed.
20 Like the nations the LORD destroyed before you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying the LORD your God.

One of the criticisms is the question of the order of creation in Genesis. Here is a chronological order comparing scientific knowledge to God's Word from Genesis 1.

It is possible (I mean it seems consistent in my view) that God created Adam separate from the 'man' He created in Genesis 1. Because in Genesis 2 the creation scheme is repeated, but (it could be that) Adam is mentioned (created) in specific. I am not sure about this - my faith in Christ does not hindge on it - but nonetheless there seems to be a degree of plausibility.

I will leave it to God to open my eyes, if He is willing, in Jesus' name, amen. Also, I repeat Genesis 2:1-9 for anyone to peruse and maybe God will open your eys and then you could let me know via my email address. God bless you, in Jesus' name, amen.

Genesis 2

1. Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
2. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.
3. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
4. This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created. When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens
5. and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no man to work the ground,
6. but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground
7. the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
8. Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed.
9. And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground-trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

This is the reason that we (Bible believing Christians) give all the glory to God - we had our eyes openned to this fact. All is God's will; no will is done by man.

Matthew 19:26
Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (See also Mark 10:27, Luke 1:27, and Luke 18:37.) That's why, at the end of each note, I put "All Glory to God!" It is man who receives the blessing (gift of a skill, object, love, etc.) from God, and so it is God who receives all the glory.

3/9/03

1. Jeremiah 51:46
   Do not lose heart or be afraid when rumors are heard in the land; one rumor comes this year, another the next, rumors of violence in the land and of ruler against ruler.
   Matthew 24:6
   You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.
   Mark 13:7
   When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.
   
2. 2 Timothy 2:3-4
   Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs--he wants to please his commanding officer.
   
3. 2 Timothy 2:16
   Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly.

3/14/03
Today I had to wait for my computer to be fixed. Funny how much I take for granted how much I rely on my computer, things, etc. God willing that will diminish. Nonetheless, God blessed me this morning to read two verses which were very reassuring.

James 5:14
"...pray...in the name of the Lord."
I was wondering about this (that we Christians should pray in the name of the Lord) because I couldn't find Jesus saying that specifically. However, I know that Christ is our everlasting spiritual temple. As such, just as Israel prayed facing the temple it makes perfect sense that we (who have been blessed with faith) should too pray facing our spiritual temple.

Obadiah 1:4
Here is another answer to something I wondered about - if (when) man moves into outer space and lives there, will the Lord also punish those who refused to believe who don't live on the earth?
"Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down."

1 Peter 1:2
I was wondering about another example of the trinity of our One LORD God besides the fact that Christ spoke directly of it (and in the OT "Elohim" is plural!).
"...the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by His blood."

Finally I have found another passage where the word is clear that we have hope in God's promised salvation. (Because seemingly so many believe that they know they are saved I feel urged to make this point - that we have hope. It is a real hope - not the fake pseudo-hope of the world/non-believer.) In short, we have a living hope.

1 Peter 1:3
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth with a living hope."

3/20/03
Matthew 24:6
You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.

Mark 13:7
When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.

3/22/03
Why read the bible? Why believe the bible?
Do you all remember who David Koresch was? He told people in Texas that he was the Lord. It is ironic that he used God's word to deceive people, yet those same people did not read in Matthew 24:4-5 or Mark 13:5-6 what Jesus said:

Matthew 24:4-5
4 Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you.
5 For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.

Mark 13:5-6
5 Jesus said to them: "Watch out that no one deceives you.
6 Many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am he,' and will deceive many.

If those poor people would have read these verses they might have seen that this man was not the Lord at all, but one deceiving them.

Besides that Koresch would often quote from Revelation. However, it says so clearly how the Lord will return - on a white horse (figurative or literal?) in the sky. So I suppose it was indeed impossible for them to have seen the truth - since it all was God's will.

As I read the verses which followed the two above, I wondered "Are they present in the Old Testament? Can it be that these verses are not present at all?" First the verses I am referring to:

Matthew 24:6
6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.

Mark 13:7
7 When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.

And now the harmonizing verse in the Old Testament:
Jeremiah 51:46
"Do not lose heart or be afraid when rumors are heard in the land; one rumor comes this year, another the next, rumors of violence in the land and of ruler against ruler."

While shopping earlier today I realized that Jesus is the "face" of God.

1. Jesus is the image of God. (He is also the glory of God Almighty.)
2. In Genesis 32:30, Jacob, the father of the twelves sons who were the leaders of the 12 tribes of *ancient* Israel, wrestled with God. He (Jacob) then proclaimed: " ...I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared."
3. The logical conclusion is that Jesus is indeed the face of our Lord God Almighty.

3/25/03
I always wondered about the meaning of the passage where snakes will bite the believer and they will feel no harm... just now the Lord blessed me with understanding. First the verse I am refering to:

Mark 16:18
"...they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all;..."

The meaning is that believers will be hurt by non-believers. When this happens the believer will not be damaged in their Salvation. Granted people can hurt you very easily, but spiritually our Salvation is secured by the Lord. Nothing a non-believer does can take that away.

Acts 28:4-5
When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, "This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live." But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects.

And this also today:
John 3:14
"Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,..."

The Lord allowed me to see this passage again. The snake is the symbol of the devil. (It's only the symbol - the actual animal is just an animal.) Here Jesus is mentioning the fact that the Jews love the world, posessions, power, money, etc. - they do not love God. As such this act was a precursor to the fact that Jesus, not recognized by the Jewish teachers of the law, told them that His Father is God, while their's is the devil.

John 8:44 (added 3/29/03)
"You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies."

3/29/02
I was wondering about expelling the sexually immoral from the church. IN 1 Corinthians 5 Paul makes this abundantly clear. So here are the verses which prevent me from attending church meetings on the Sabbath day:

1 Corinthians 5

1. It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: A man has his father's wife.
   
2. And you are proud! Shouldn't you rather have been filled with grief and have put out of your fellowship the man who did this?
   
3. Even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. And I have already passed judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present.
   4 When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present,
   
4. hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.
   
5. Your boasting is not good. Don't you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough?
   
6. Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast--as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.
   
7. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth.
   
8. I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people--
   
9. not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world.
   
10. But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat.
    
11. What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?
    
12. God will judge those outside. "Expel the wicked man from among you."

3/30/03
Some people say that we are all God's children. This is a misunderstanding. We are all God's creatures. Indeed, God created us and so we are His in that sense. However, God makes it abundantly clear in the Bible that only some people will be saved (blessed through His grace, elected for Salvation). As such, only those people are God's children. The rest will be forgotten just as the refuse at a construction site is thrown away and forgotten.

4/5/03
This is what I learned today: the difference between what is clean and what is unclean. (Although I knew it, what is different is that it was brought to my full awareness.)

In Matthew 15 our Lord explains that there are two kinds of "cleanliness": 1) the "outside," or physical, kind, and 2) the "inside," or spiritual, kind.

The "outside," or physical, kind:
This kind of "clean" has to do with laundry, soap and water, and even food. We get dirt, soil, what have you, on our clothes. We get our hands or body dirty from the same - or even just by sweating. We eat food which we digest and then expell it as waste. All these processes are cleansed by some kind of soap and water solution. We do the laundry, or wash our hands, or even bathe. None of this activity is against God and so none of it is sinful.

The "inside," or spiritual, kind:
This kind of "clean" has to do with our heart - not the physical heart - rather the 'heart' of a person. It is the center of our being, of our belonging to God (or not). So when you speak, those words come from your 'heart'. Now if your 'heart' belongs to the world, then you will speak as the world speaks - cursing, lusting, etc. But if your 'heart' belongs to God, then you will speak what belongs to God.

For in verse 13: "He replied, 'Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots.'" And so (clearly) the implication is that the believers are those who God, our Father, has planted. (I should remind you all that from Ecc. 9:1, we know that we do not know if we are one of God's "plants." That is to say, we believers have the profound hope that we are indeed elected.

Ecc. 9:1 "So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God's hands, but no man knows whether love or hate awaits him."

Meaning:

• righteous and wise = the believers
• God's hands = God's will is done
• no man knows = no man knows (i.e. this is obvious)
• love = God's salvation
• hate = God's damnation (aka rejection by the Lord God Almighty)
• awaits him = a man's death, and then God's judgement

In Matthew 15 our Lord makes this abundantly clear. The religious leaders come to Him with their rules and how others are breaking them. Christ points out that their rules are unimportant because what only matters is obeying God.

Matthew 15

1. Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked,
2. "Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don't wash their hands before they eat!"
3. Jesus replied, "And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?
4. For God said, 'Honor your father and mother' and 'Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.'
5. But you say that if a man says to his father or mother, 'Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is a gift devoted to God,'
6. he is not to 'honor his father' with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition.
7. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
8. "'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.
9. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.'"
10. Jesus called the crowd to him and said, "Listen and understand.
11. What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean.'"
12. Then the disciples came to him and asked, "Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?"
13. He replied, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots.
14. Leave them; they are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit."
15. Peter said, "Explain the parable to us."
16. "Are you still so dull?" Jesus asked them.
17. "Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body?
18. But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.'
19. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.
20. These are what make a man 'unclean'; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him 'unclean.'"

And this too came to me. It was a reminder that God knows my situation and that I should therefore not worry about what His will is for my life. (Again the idea is do not put the physical, which is fleeting and of now permenant value, ahead of the spiritual, which is permanent and of greatest value. All Glory to God!) I have many bills from college and from my credit cards (mostly) when I was a non-believer. So I played the Lotto in hopes that the Lord will bless me with some financial relief. (I am still not sure if gambling is sinful.)

Luke 12

22. Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear.
23. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.
24. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!
25. Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
26. Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?
27. "Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.
28. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!
29. And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it.
30. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them.
31. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.
32. "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.
33. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.
34. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

And this also today. I was reading Psalm 22 because I wanted to check that it proves Jesus is the Lord. I ask non-believers to read it in the hopes they too will see that Jesus was written about in the Old Testament.

However, I came across the second verse: "O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, and am not silent." and was perplexed by the phrase: "...and am not silent." It made absoultely no sense to me. So then I went to the bible gateway and did a search for "silence."

The results returned were about being silenced. Ok. I know the meaning of silence. However, there was one small meaning I didn't think important - it turned out to be the key to understanding the above verse (Psalm 22:2). There are several passages which speak of "being silenced by darkness." This was not significant to me. The wicked were dead and in the darkness they are silenced (e.g. 1 Samuel 2:9). "Ok." I thought.

But when I returned to the passage I then suddenly applied that meaning (being silenced by darkness) to the verse and it struck, shocked, and amazed me quite profoundly.

1. I cry out ...
2. I cry out at night (aka darkness) ...
3. ...and am not silent.

Utterly amazing! Our Lord is *NOT* silenced by darkness! This points to His holiness - and so I realized that here too - even in this little phrase - the Bible speaks directly to and about our Lord Jesus Christ being holy - being the Son of God.

4/18/03
In and Of the world
Amazing how the distinction between the elect and those who aren't can be summarized by just two words: "in" and "of." There are three passages which point out this distinction:

John 8:23
But he continued, "You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world."

John 12:25
"The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life."

Mark 10:21
Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." (Also in Luke 18:22.)

I seem to recall hearing that we are to be in the world and not of the world. This might have been from a minister paraphrasing what the Lord taught us, or a direct quote. In either case the point is that believers have their hope set on God's kingdom - not the world. And so even though we are in the world (we buy food, clothing, shelter, etc.) we should not be part of the world - (participate in its politics, power, money, etc.).

And this too came to me. The Lord did not deal with the world except in this one instance - when it was His time.

John 18:28 - 38

28. Then the Jews led Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness the Jews did not enter the palace; they wanted to be able to eat the Passover.
29. So Pilate came out to them and asked, "What charges are you bringing against this man?"
30. "If he were not a criminal," they replied, "we would not have handed him over to you."
31. Pilate said, "Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law."
32. "But we have no right to execute anyone," the Jews objected. This happened so that the words Jesus had spoken indicating the kind of death he was going to die would be fulfilled.
33. Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?"
34. "Is that your own idea," Jesus asked, "or did others talk to you about me?"
35. "Am I a Jew?" Pilate replied. "It was your people and your chief priests who handed you over to me. What is it you have done?"
36. Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place."
37. "You are a king, then!" said Pilate. Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me."
38. "What is truth?" Pilate asked. With this he went out again to the Jews and said, "I find no basis for a charge against him.

About this passage:

• In verse 32 the Jews say that they have no right to execute anyone, but by the law of Moses they were told to stone a blasphemer, of whom they accused Christ. However, this may mean that the Jews were not allowed by Roman law. In either case they disobey God - to say nothing of mentioning handing an innocent man over to the world for execution. (Yet of course this was all meant to be. "... This happened so that the words Jesus had spoken indicating the kind of death he was going to die would be fulfilled. ..." Also, read Psalm 22.)
• "Jesus answered, '... Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.' 38 'What is truth?' Pilate asked." Here Pilate is lost because he doesn't know that the Truth is standing before him. Amazing considering the proximity of the Lord to Pilate. But not amazing when one sees that it is only God who opens our eyes, who allows us to see the Truth and so have hope out of this dark world.

4/22/03
"My Statement of faith"
I have believed these truths for a long time now. However I just realized that I should post my "statement of faith" so people will know how God has exactly opened my eyes (beyond the fact that Jesus is the promised Messiah).

• Do not get involved in any form of military. He who lives by the sword will die by the sword.
• Do not get involved in any civilian affairs. Obey Christ as your commander-in-chief.
• Do not allow women to speak in the congregation.
• Do not allow women who wear jewelry or fancy clothes.
• Do not allow women to teach men the meaning of God's word.
• Do not listen to prophecies. All we have now is God's word.
• Do not desire anything of the world. Seek God's kingdom alone.
• Do not seek revenge of any form. God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
• Do not believe in your own strength (aka "free will"); trust in God alone.
• Do not accept the sexually immoral into your congregation.
• Do not criticise other Christians for their faith. For they are also in God's hands.

5/3/03
Luke 17:6
He replied, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you."

I don't know what this means. Is Christ implying that believers have no faith? Or is it that our faith is so small that we cannot do a simple task. I think this may be the answer, for we do have faith. So this must be a point about how small our faith is.

In the following verses Christ points out how truly lowly we are.
Luke 17:7 - 10
"Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, 'Come along now and sit down to eat'?
Would he not rather say, 'Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink'?
Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do?
So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.' "

This seems to be a mild rebuke by way of reminding us that we are utterly nothing - in fact we are creatures created by the Creator! It is all a good lesson which points the way to humility in the face of our faith.

5/17/03
I wanted to do something today. It seemed like a nice idea. A pleasant time would be had and I could relax. However, someone got in the way and was as immovable as any immovable obstacle. So I had to stop what I planned - fortunately all the preparations could be returned to their shelves.

So I went back in my room and felt the pain. It was all I could do. I couldn't concentrate; I couldn't read; all I could do was sit in my chair and feel the pain that filled my being.

So I turned to my computer to look up the verse where I remember reading "God is a hard man." (It makes sense since only God's will is done, then only what God allows is done.) But nonetheless I wanted to find the verse I remember reading - it would make it a certainty.

I typed in "hard man" to the search engine at the biblegateway.com which returned several verses, none of which were the one I was looking for. Regardless I started to read and came across two that were of particular help: Job 7:1, and Jeremiah 32:27.

Job 7:1
"Does not man have hard service on earth? Are not his days like those of a hired man?..."

Jeremiah 32:27
"I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?..."

It was only after a short while that both of these verses answered questions I asked of the Lord. [1] why?, and [2] does God have no mercy for me... at least to stop that other person?

Job 7:1 made me realize that as Christians we are put on earth as suffering servants, not to man, but to God. Christ is our perfect example - the perfect image of God - the suffering Messiah.

Jeremiah 32:27 God alone can do whatever is in His will - His will cannot be denied. His will alone is done on earth as it is in heaven. And so I was given some peace: 1) knowing that the Lord allowed me to see, and 2) seeing those particular verses made me understand that we are not to love this world. For God is a jealous God, and we should have no other loves before us - not doing what we want, not relaxing how we want, not even when we want.

5/24/03
"go red 'iSh'" i thot. i didn't want her playing on my side. she wasn't a good player, and her switching sides would ruin the team's chance i was on of winning. but i stopped myself and realized that what i might have said would be hurtful (be as gentile as doves). so i didn't say it.

Then I realized that what I was doing was going my own way. I wanted to shape the world in my image. I wanted what I wanted and I was going to get it done my way.

That's when it hit me: "not my way, but Yours." I suddenly and profoundly realized that this way is wrong. I am not allowing God His Sovereignty. I was going my way and NOT following God.

Many verses say: trust in God, wait on God, be patient with God. All three ideas point to one central theme, namely: make God the center of your life. What I was doing, in short, was pushing God aside.

It was an epiphany. If I would like to see something done in my life, then I must pray to God asking, with humility, the He allow the thing I would like to happen.

So no more "get out of my way" but rather "dear God, if You are willing, please allow this to happen." It's really clear since God *IS* our strength - just as it plainly says in the Bible.

6/24/03
So here it is a month later and the Lord blessed me to make an addition to my site about how God has openned my eyes.

Daniel 9 and Psalm 22 are, for me, the two most powerful prophetic books in God's word. Daniel 9 prophecises to the exact time of the Messiah's arrival in Israel. Psalm 22 prophecises how He will be killed. Christ fulfilled both. Christ is the Lord... of this there is no doubt. May God richly bless you (by pouring His Spirit into your heart), in Jesus' name, amen.

6/28/03
Praise God! The Lord blessed me today by allowing me to find another verse which speaks (only) of our hope. (Many Christians say they know they are going to heaven. But the Bible only speaks of our hope. Please see above discussion on 'our hope.') Romans 12:12, which states:

But even more ('more' seems inappropriate) than this the Lord allowed me to see what the meaning of love is (sincere love) since recently I was cynical about what it means... all I can say is that God is the One True Living Lord God Almighty.

Romans 9

9. Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.
10. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.
11. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.
12. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
13. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
14. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
15. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.
16. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
17. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody.
18. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
19. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord.
20. On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head."
21. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

1. In the OT, God says "Woe to those who trust in their own strength." (Isaiah 31:1, et.al.)
2. Christ prayed in the garden: "...not my will, but Yours."
3. Christ taught us to pray: "...Thy will be done,..."
4. God chastized Job by reminding Job how much God does.
5. Both David and Christ said to the effect: 'man is but a worm'.
6. If God is our strength, then what strength can I have beyond that of God's? Clearly, none.
7. The Spirit tells us for what to pray.
8. Only God opens our eyes.

   So we neither know how to pray or know how to find Christ. We need God for everything at all times in our lives. This makes perfect sense since God is to be the center of our lives.

9. No where in the Bible is the words "free will" mentioned. I don't know when, where, or who invented this phrase, but I think that it separates us from being sheep.
10. John (the baptiser) had nothing to do with the world and he is described as the highest one in heaven of those who are woman born. Christ had truly nothing to do with this world (job, money, etc.) is the Son of God, God's image and glory, born of the Spirit of God, is the King of kings.

8/16/03
Today I learned a very valuable lesson, thanks be to God. It is about games, competition, and life (aka "being in the world, but not of the world") in general. Last night was very sinful for me. I was playing my usual multiplayer game on the internet and not doing well. I suddenly got very angry at many of the opposing team yelling all kinds of things at them. I was beside myself. I didn't care about sinning against God - all I cared about was winning.

After my side lost the game I quit and started to curse my life, saying: "I am a looser," and "I am trapped to be a looser," "God allows me to be ruined everytime I do something or have something good." It was a very bad night for me.

This morning I woke up and asked God for forgiveness. Unfortunately since I lose my self-control (see My Rebuke above) I have no church to go to where I can confess my sins to the other men. (At the same time let me say that there are no churches which follow God's way in the way God has opened my eyes. IOW, I and other churches see God's words differently. (see my statement of faith above.)

So off I went to play the games only on my computer when suddenly I realized that winning is not important. Loosing is not important. Living in this world is not important. I gave up on my desire to win, and realized that competing - in any form of competition, aka dealing with the world, forces me to want to have things of this world. I felt totally foolish in all of my previous endeavors. I also felt relieved of the grief of trying to succeed in this world.

So here is the point: we are not to want anything in this world whatsoever, we are only to seek God's Kingdom, i.e. obedience to Him alone is all that really matters. Whether we win or we loose is totally meaningless - whether we win or loose is totally meaningless. (Ecc. 9:1) The only thing that matters is obeying God's commands (1 Cor. 7:19) - being obedient to Him alone.

8/16/03 Addendum
I just realized a simpler, more clear, way to articulate what was posted above (8/16/03). Namely, I put value on winning, on getting ahead in THIS world. When all along this world has no value (Ecc. 1:1-2)!

So where is the real value? - it is in obeying God.

8/18/03
If you read Psalms 22 and 78 you will see things in their that are abundantly true of our Lord Jesus Christ (Hebrew: Yeshua Hamashiach; Greek: Iesus Xristos). In short Psalm 22 is about the crucifixion, and Psalm 78 is about the Lord's wonderous signs and miracles before the people. In spite of all this clear evidence people cannot see that Jesus is Lord.

The reason is that there is a veil placed before our eyes which blinds us from the Way, the Truth, and the Life - the image and glory of our LORD God Almighty, the Lord Jesus Christ. Only God may lift the veil (remember Paul had "scales" removed from his eyes which caused his blindness? these represented a snake, in other words, the world, aka the devil and so it is with all people) from our eyes. We have eyes but are blind. With God all things are possible, without God nothing is possible.

May God richly bless you by opening your eyes so you too may see beyond the veil that is this world, the flesh, the devil - in Jesus' name, amen.

Also, how amazing is this? Psalm 12 is exactly analogous to the verse in the New Testament (2 Timothy 3) that says in the end times, men will be lovers of themsleves, but have no love in them.

11/9/03
Yesterday (Saturday, 11/8/03) the Lord allowed me to see that the world is as a drug to which man is addicted. We always go to it for our pleasure, our entertainment, our salvation, our sustenance, et.al. When I broke away from its "magnetic" pull I realized that the world draws us near it and therefore away from God. So I then understood that the world is as a drug to which man is addicted.

Since we should put God at the center of our lives we should not hold the world up in any esteem. It is there, we are in it, but we should not be of it.

1/26/04
I just realized something - all men lead you to death, but only Christ leads you to life. So if any man tells you "follow me" then you know - automatically - that they are bringing you to death. This is true of any man of any occupation.

Only Christ leads you to life. Remember that since the meaning of life is that God is building His church, then all matter of this world are insignificant - they are meaningless. (Ecc. 1:1) Follow Christ and you have hope of salvation. (See notes above.)

2/14/04

Romans 12

1. Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship.
2. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.
3. For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.
4. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function,
5. so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
6. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith.
7. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach;
8. if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
9. Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.
10. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.
11. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.
12. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
13. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
14. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
15. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.
16. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
17. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody.
18. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
19. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord.
20. On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
    if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
    In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head."
21. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

2/28/04
An email. (All names removed to ensure the privacy of the authors. In the case of my name I placed my alias: 'sweet.')

>From: (a friend)
>To: (sweet)
>Subject: Re: Heb. 2:17-18
>Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2004 13:27:29 -0800 (PST)
>
>OK (sweet). But I totally forgot our original discussion.

No problem - the only reason I remember it is b/c of my lame answer.

>One of the points I suppose I was trying to make then, or at least one
>that comes to mind again today is that many people were crucified, his
>case isn't unique or special. There were two others crucified along with
>Christ according to the Bible. No one seems to care much about their
>suffering.

In Luke 23:41 (see below) the one criminal says they deserved what they got.

Christ was innocent - he did nothing wrong. In fact he fed the hungry, healed the sick,
made the lame walk, made the blind see, and only spoke of God and God's Kingdom. Is this
someone who deserves crucifixion??

Psalm 22:16
"Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From Mark 15:
6 Now it was the custom at the Feast to release a prisoner whom the people requested.
7 A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising.
8 The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did.
9 "Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?" asked Pilate,
10 knowing it was out of envy that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him.
11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.
12 "What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?" Pilate asked them.
13 "Crucify him!" they shouted.
14 "Why? What crime has he committed?" asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, "Crucify him!"
15 Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.
16 The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers.
17 They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him.
18 And they began to call out to him, "Hail, king of the Jews!"
19 Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him.
20 And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.
...
24 And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get.

Psalm 22:18
"They divided my garments among themselves and cast lots for my clothing."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mark 15:
27 They crucified two robbers with him, one on his right and one on his left.
...
29 Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, "So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days,
30 come down from the cross and save yourself!"
31 In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. "He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself!

Psalm 22:
6 But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads:
8 "He trusts in the LORD; let the LORD rescue him. Let Him deliver him, since he delights in Him."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mark 15:32
Let this Christ, this King of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe." Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

Isaiah 53:12
"He was counted with the lawless ones"

Luke 23:
39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!"
40 But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence?
41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong."
42 Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."
43 Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mark 15:34
And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"

Psalm 22:1
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Many people say that Christ didn't fulfill the prophecies. The amazing thing I have learned here is that some of these prophecies (from the Old Testament) are about the people around him. And they are the ones who fulfilled them.

>Over the winter break I read a book, 'Palestine in the Time of Christ'.
>This is a scholarly book, not a popular book. It mainly discusses Jewish
>law and tradition at the time. It also discusses crucifiction. The Romans
>used it in many cases.

Crucifixion was the standard form of execution in the Roman empire. However, b/c the Lord had come to witness for God and Psalm 22:16 says his hands and feet will be pierced, it had to be invented by Rome so that this prophecy could be fulfilled.

I keep thinking (sorry, perhaps wrongly) that you don't realize the profound significance of the Old Testament verses. These are foretellings of what the Savior will do, go through, and how the people around him will act.

So when anyone reads how well they match up one could see their significance.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
E.g. when I saw I said I was blind before, but now I see what the Bible means. Many years later as I was doing my daily reading of the Bible I read this: (this is a man who Jesus healed)

John 9:25
He replied, "Whether he is a sinner or not, I don't know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!"

It showed me that nothing has changed about man. That all men are blind until God opens their eyes and pours His Spirit into their hearts.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>The spearing in the side, as far as the book says, was a standard thing.
>The reason it was done (and it was done in all crucifictions) is to
>actually to bring death on quicker, since plain crucifiction takes a very
>long time to kill. So in a sense it was to make the suffering last a
>shorter time, in a sense mercy on the part of the executioners.

John 19:
33 But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs.
34 Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.
35 The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe.
36 These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: "Not one of his bones will be broken,"
37 and, as another scripture says, "They will look on the one they have pierced."

Psalm 34:
19 A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all;
20 He protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken.

Zechariah 12:10
"And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Another thing that I remember is regarding the person who brought him a
>sponge soaked with vinegar water. I thought this was some other cruel part
>of the torture. Who would want to drink vinegar water ever? But it turns
>out that was a very common drink at the time (along with watered-down
>wine). So that person was actually trying to help.

Matthew 27:48
Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink.

Mark 15:36
One man ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. "Now leave him alone. Let's see if Elijah comes to take him down," he said.

Luke 23:36
The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar

John 19:29
A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips.

Numbers 6:
1 The LORD said to Moses,
2 "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'If a man or woman wants to make a special vow, a vow of separation to the LORD as a Nazirite,
3 he must abstain from wine and other fermented drink and must not drink vinegar made from wine or from other fermented drink. He must not drink grape juice or eat grapes or raisins.
4 As long as he is a Nazirite, he must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, not even the seeds or skins.

Matthew 2:
19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt
20 and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child's life are dead."
21 So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel.
22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee,
23 and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: "He will be called a Nazarene."

Judges 13:
3 The angel of the LORD appeared to her and said, "You are sterile and childless, but you are going to conceive and have a son.
4 Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean,
5 because you will conceive and give birth to a son. No razor may be used on his head, because the boy is to be a Nazirite, set apart to God from birth, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines."

(I didn't realize how the announcement of the birth of Samson is so similar to that of the announcement of the birth of Christ. It's in Luke 1:26-37)

Christ is knocking - let him into your heart.

God bless you (dude), in Jesus' name, amen.

Sincerely,
(sweet)

PS: I am slightly concerned that you might think I am telling you all this so you will follow me. No way whatsoever - don't follow me, don't give me anything, don't do nothing for me ("With God all things are possible, with man, nothing is possible."). I am a filthy sinner. My hope is that God opens your eyes and you too will be chosen to share in the riches of Heaven - eternal peace with the Lord God Almighty. Follow Christ. (There is only one intercessor between man and God, the man Jesus Christ.)

______________________________
(sweet)
https://www.angelfire.com/ny5/jbc33/

>On Tue, 24 Feb 2004, (sweet) wrote:
>
> > A while ago (when we discussed Christ) I made it sound like that Christ only
> > went through the motions of suffering. I read Heb. 2:17-18 and realized that
> > this is what I meant to say.
> >
> > 17 For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way,
> > in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest
> > in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the
> > sins of the people.
> >
> > 18 Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to
> > help those who are being tempted.
> >
> > So Christ literally went through his sufferings, i.e. it wasn't a "game."
> > Just the same way as we go through ours when we are in pain. However, being
> > the Son of God, he was able to deal with them.
> >
> > Here's the prime example: after he was taken prisoner by the Roman guard, he
> > was beaten, wiped, nailed to a cross, then laughed at, spit upon, and
> > finally speared in the side he said: "Father, forgive them, for they know
> > not what they do."
> >
> > I hope God opens your eyes (dude) and you accept Christ as your savior in
> > your heart... in Jesus' name, amen.
> >
> > -(sweet)
> > _____________________________________________________________________________
> > (sweet)
> > https://www.angelfire.com/ny5/jbc33/
> >
> > _________________________________________________________________
> > Find and compare great deals on Broadband access at the MSN High-Speed
> > Marketplace. http://click.atdmt.com/AVE/go/onm00200360ave/direct/01/
> >
>

03/06/04
An email continued... (All names removed to ensure the privacy of the authors. In the case of my name I placed my alias: 'sweet.')

>From: (a friend)
>To: (sweet)
>Subject: Re: Heb. 2:17-18
>Date: Thu, 4 Mar 2004 21:24:48 -0800 (PST)
>
>On Thu, 4 Mar 2004, (sweet) wrote:
>
> > >Right, but my point in this paragraph is that that doesn't really count as
> > >prophecy:
> >
> > The Old Testament was completed over 400 years before Christ came into the
> > world.
>
>Did they not have crucifixion at that time?

No. It was a Roman invention... like the aquaducts.

> > >It doesn't matter if Jesus claimed he was a revolutionary or not. The
> > >people wanted to make him king. The people thought he was there to
> > >overthrow the government. He may have walked away from them. But the power
> > >saw how the people were reacting to him and thought he was a threat. To
> > >them he was a revolutionary whether he thought so or claimed so or not,
> > >because he had a lot of people following him who thought he was there to
> > >overthrow the power structure. No surprise he was crucified.
> >
> > You seem to be ignoring Pilot's own words: "I find this man to be innocent.
> > What do you (the Jews) want me to do with him?" So Pilot went to the people
> > for a decision. It was not some big government decision to suppress any
> > perceived "revolution." Since Pilot was the Governor of the area and he said
> > Christ was innocent, then Rome had no interest in Christ or his followers.
>
>The Jews had their own power structure. Certainly, if a large number of
>Jews thought that Jesus was the promised revolutionary messiah, then the
>Jews in power, and Jews in general saw a threat. Power from Rome
>superceeded the local power, but Pilate as the overseer would certainly
>consider their opinion. Why would the crowd want him executed in the first
>place -- they thought he was a threat. He was crowned with thorns and
>called king of the Jews. That means people saw him as a revolutionary.
>This reflects a general opinion that Jesus was a revolutionary. Maybe
>Pilate didn't know or care to hear the evidence in detail. But he knew
>people thought this of Jesus.

Pilate said he was innocent, and the OT said his own people will hand him over. The OT prophecied the Messiah's betrayal. Christ was betrayed by his own people. That's my point.

> > > > >These quotes don't make much sense in comparison. If we're saying the
> > > > >lord delivers a righteous man from all troubles, it doesn't make sense
> > > > >to use this verse to refer to Jesus. He certainly had a lot of
> > > > >troubles, the least of which was the possibility of his bones being
> > > > >broken.
> > > >
> > > > Again, this was a prophecy in the Old Testament.
> > >
> > >Right, so prophecy was not fulfilled. Jesus was not delivered from all
> > >troubles though he was righteous.
> >
> > He rose from the dead. How's that for being delivered?
>
>It doesn't mesh. This quote is about deliverance from troubles, troubles
>like legs being broken, not troubles like life after death. It doesn't
>make sense that part of the quote talks about something as mundane as legs
>being broken, but that the other troubles it talks about is eternal life
>after death! Even so, let's say Jesus rose from the dead. That's
>deliverance from some trouble. But he had a huge amount of others that he
>wasn't delivered from! To be true to this prophecy, God should have
>arranged for Jesus to die from a "humane" lethal injection instead of
>being tortured. Or maybe from old age in his sleep, after having a full
>life. You can't just pick bits and pieces of the book that fit what you
>want to see.

The whole world is nothing but trouble. The whole world is in decay. Christ was delivered from all of his worldly troubles into eternal peace with God the Father.

>"I will deliver you from all troubles. Specifically, you won't have your
>legs broken, and you will rise from the dead. BUT you will have to undergo
>excruciating torture, which will lead to your death." I guess the rest of
>the torture didn't count to God as "troubles". God did not deliver Jesus
>from all troubles, so I don't see how this can be counted a prophecy.

If anyone is not obedient to God, then after this life they will spend an eternity in hell. The idea is that an eternity in hell is trouble - forever. But Christ loved God more than this worl, so God lifted him up to Heaven.

> > > > My point was to reply to your question about "why did Christ refuse the
> > > > drink?"
> > > > 1) because he was a Nazarine, and
> > > > 2) it was a prophecy in in the Old Testament
> > >
> > >Did Jesus refuse the drink? Jesus refused to drink here, but he did drink
> > >at the last supper.
> >
> > I really don't know if Christ drank wine at the last supper. I will have to
> > look into this closely. Thanks for pointing this out to me. Indeed, what is
> > recorded about the last supper?
>
>Let me know what you find.

I emailed two other believers and ask them for verses in the Bible. One is more scholarly about the Bible than I am and the other is more like me - just a believer. I will also do my own search.

> > >I am the opposite. When I first started reading the bible I thought, well,
> > >maybe there's something in here. I thought there was really something deep
> > >there. The more I read the less I thought this.
> >
> > Well, I didn't understand any of it. My point was that only once I accepted
> > Christ in my heart did the Bible suddenly make sense. While I was an atheist
> > it never made any sense to me. I am not saying we are alike - we couldn't be
> > more different. What I am saying is that all men have this same inability to
> > understand the Bible as long as they remain non-believers. So in that
> > general sense we - as are all men - were alike. Of course, now I see the
> > truth - as I've said before.
>
>Sure, once you decide you believe something to be true, it's not very hard
>to rationalize anything that doesn't fit with it. Even if you can't find a
>rationalization, you can just say that that's part of the 'mystery' and
>can't be explained rationally. That seems kind of a cheap way to deal with
>things to me.

I agree. I said the same thing to believers I met when I was an atheist. Remember, the verse says "I once was blind, but now I see." So you are in a state of "blindness" and it is impossible for me to either convinve you of anything, or even open your eyes. That comes from God alone.

Of course you could ask - that wouldn't hurt would it?

> > [2] (My ex-boss) asked me: "You say that the Catholic Church does not believe the
> > Bible. If so then why do you believe the New Testament when they were the
> > ones who decided which books belong in it?"
> >
> > This question had me searching for a long time. Two years later I finally
> > found the answer. In the NT Paul goes to Berea and witnesses to them about
> > Christ being the promised Messiah. The first thing they did was go to the
> > Old Testament. After that he taught that we followers should "... be like
> > the Bereans."
> >
> > Finally I had an answer for Jon. I told him that the OT is my foundation for
> > knowing whether or not what was included in the NT is true or not.
>
>OK. It WAS decided by a committee though. Do you believe or follow any of
>the non-canonical gospels, such as the gospel of Thomas? There is evidence
>that it should be considered a gospel for the bible. It was discovered
>after the decision by the church about what should and shouldn't be in the
>bible. It probably also fits in well with the OT.

I never heard of it. But if I find it I can read it and if it says something that is contradictory to the OT, then I know it is not part of the Bible.

>You know, the trinity was also decided on by committee. At the time there
>was a split in the church about whether Jesus was divine or not. It was
>decided in council. The Arian debate.

In the OT the Hebrew word "elohim" is plural for God. God is One. There is no other god besides Him. So the meaning to me is clear: God the Father, Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit are 3 different and necessary manifestations of *one* God.

God the Father: creator of Heaven and earth - His will is done on earth as it is in Heaven, to Whom we pray.
Christ the Son: the Lamb of God, who came as the perfect sacrifice to pay for all the sins of those who would believe.
the Holy Spirit: poured into the hearts of those who believe since they now belong to God.

When I was Catholic I was told this is a "mystery." When I came to my faith in Christ I saw that this was no mystery at all. Just a mystery to those who do not have faith.

All religions are made by men to control men - get their money, their vote, their power, their property, etc. I am not religious. I don't follow men. Men want to control the world. They do not seek God. I follow ... ahem, I *try* ... to follow Christ.

Faith is given by God. You suddenly understand the Bible and see Christ in the OT everywhere you read. You suddenly desire to be obedient to God alone and want nothing to do with this world.

I live, work, and play here hoping one day to be freed from all my trouble. Until then I will live my life the best way I know how.

> > I don't know when God will allow me to have an answer for you. It is now my
> > question too. Afterall, since Christ is a Nazarine, and Nazarines abstained
> > from all drink, then did Christ drink or not.
>
>I'm sure you'll find some way to rationalize this too. I remember asking
>you once, hypothetically, if there was a direct contradiction found in the
>bible or in archeological evidence (such as a verified written confession
>from an apostle that they just made most of the stuff up). I forget your
>answer, but I think it was on the side of still believing what you believe
>in the face of the evidence... I'd like to hear what you have to say about
>this again...

The OT is my foundation for validity. Christ fulfilled all the prophecies. There's a book about it.

12 apostles: witness that Christ is the Lord.
1 apostle then admits it's all a lie.

A) 11 to 1 he is a liar.
B) why do you assume the 1 apostle is telling the truth? why not assume that the other *11* are telling the truth?

BTW, Judas was such an apostle - and realizing the mistake he made he committed suicide.

A) This is mentioned in the OT: "His own friend will betray him."
B) If Judas was right, then why was he so dissappointed that he took his own life in embarrassment?

(sweet)
_____________________________________________________________________________
(sweet)
https://www.angelfire.com/ny5/jbc33/

03/08/04 1:42 AM EST USA
I wondered about the Catholic Church's claim that their authority derives from Peter. They misunderstand the "rock" Christ is referring to as Himself - not Peter. (This is clear from the fact that God is referred to as a "rock" in the Old Testament.)

So about 2 weeks(?) ago I asked God if there was a verse in the Bible which clearly states (so all doubt or questionability is removed) that Christ is the rock. I just found this verse searching for something else. Nonetheless, here it is and you can see for yourself that it says the Lord is the "rock."

03/29/04 3:02PM
I did a search for "rock" at gospelcom.net and saw this was the first verse where "rock" is mentioned in the OT. This is significant since God tells us that His Shepherd is the "Rock of Israel." And we all know that only Jesus Christ is our shepherd.

Genesis 49:24
But his bow remained steady, his strong arms stayed limber, because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,...

It is abundantly clear - from the OT to the NT - that only Christ is the rock, and cornerstone, of our faith.

03/29/04 2:52 AM EST USA
How amazing is this passage? I came to it by looking for a verse I thought was in the New Testament. I didn't find it, but rather came to an answer for a question I had.

I was wondering if it is normal to accept the pain we suffer "for a short time" while being alive. Also, if we should, therefore, look forward to life with our Lord in eternal peace - rather than enjoy the pleasures that this world has to offer.

Hebrews 11:24-25 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time.

There is no doubt that this was God answering my un-uttered question. He still heard me and led me to see the truth.

04/11/04 6:18 PM EST USA

I saw a repeat episode of the TV show, "The King of Queens," in which the leading characters want to do a "good deed." Although they donate a relatively large sum of money, it gets confused with smaller donations. Not sure whether they should mention the mistake or not, raised some questions for me.

It turns out that the Lord taught His believers what to do - 2000 years ago. Also, during the same time I wondered about praying at the dinner table. I don't recall our Lord praying in front of the apostles, but in fact going off alone to pray. As it turned out both questions were answered in Matthew 6. So here is Matthew 6.

04/16/04 3:49 PM EST USA
Genesis 1:4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.

I always wondered what that passage meant. Yesterday I was looking for a passage in the New Testament and came across this passage: 2 Corinthians 4:6

For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ."

05/08/04 12:42 PM EST USA
Recently, I wondered about the Lord Jesus Christ being the perfect image of the Father. I thought: "If He is the image, then is there something different, or is the Lord identically the same?" I just found this verse which answered my confusion.

Matthew 24:36 "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."

05/08/04 12:45 PM EST USA
Many many months ago I wondered where I read Christ told us to pray in His name. I realized that Christ is our Temple, and ancient Israel was told to pray facing the Temple of the LORD. Well, just now I found the answer:

John 16:23I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.

05/15/04 10:56 AM EST USA
It is clear that God is not satisfied with the sacrificed blood which the priests use. God points this out in the simplest of ways - they wouldn't bring to their own governor what the bring before The LORD God Almighty.

As such, and since God promised salvation, He brings His Own Son into the world to be a holy (meaning separate and above) sacrifice. His blood is worthy to Him.

Malachi 1:6-8
6 "A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?" says the LORD Almighty. "It is you, O priests, who show contempt for my name. "But you ask, 'How have we shown contempt for your name?'
7 "You place defiled food on my altar. "But you ask, 'How have we defiled you?' "By saying that the LORD's table is contemptible.
8 When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?" says the LORD Almighty.

In this verse God is saying that no worship is better than false worship. And indeed it seems that there are so many apostate churches today that this verse applies today just as it did when Malachi was written. Indeed all of God's words are always true for all times and time.

Malachi 1:10
10 "Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you," says the LORD Almighty, "and I will accept no offering from your hands.

From Malachi 2 to Malachi 3 the LORD GOD Almighty points out the wrong doings of Israel. And finally He tells them He will send His messenger who will tell of the coming of the Lord.

v.17 "They will be mine," says the LORD Almighty, "in the day when I make up my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as in compassion a man spares his son who serves him. v.18 And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.

05/15/04 12:15 PM EST USA
Praise God! I just found answers to the questions I had recently. All glory to God!

This first is about why America is so peaceful to live in. I wondered if this was appropriate for Christians (myself) to be born and living in such a pagan, yet blessed, country.

1 Timothy 2:1-2
1 I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone--
2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.

And finally after so much worrying and considering if I was wrong... God's blessed Word let me know the Truth:

1 Timothy 2:9-15
9 I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes,
10 but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.
11 A woman should learn in quietness and full submission.
12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent.
13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve.
14 And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner.
15 But women will be saved through childbearing--if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.

And this harmonizes well with 1 Cor. 14:33-38, which then points back to the OT!

05/15/04 5:06 PM EST USA
And this too. The word of God is all we need. There is no authority outside of the Word of God. For how can it be that Christ and some other is our Lord? It cannot. So we love God's word for it gives us a tatse of the piece we may know in Heaven.

Colossians 2:8
8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.

05/22/04 9:00 AM EST USA
Praise God! I just asked the LORD God Almighty for a verse to understand - something I can put on the website and this is what came up:

2 Corinthians 5:21
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

This is the entire message of the Bible. It says why God created. So this is how I understand it.
God made him: God is the One Who planted the seed in the womb of the Godly woman Mary.
who had no sin: God's son was utterly sinless - utterly clean of any sin.
to be sin for us: God placed onto Christ all the sins - past, present, and future - committed by us.
so that in him: Faith in Christ is the only path. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. All glory to God!
we might: This is the hope we have when we come to faith in Christ.
become the righteousness of God.: Meaning, receive Salvation.

05/29/04 10:25 AM EST USA
In the New Testament it is explained that the OT law leads to condemnation and death because no one man can follow it exactly. [This is why the Messiah must be from God alone and (therefore) why He must be of virgin birth.]

It also says that the law was given to Israel by Moses. (Indeed, even today many Jews pray to Moses as if he is their intercessor for their sins.) And so I always wondered how that can be... here is the answer. (This is part of an incredibly long speech given by Moses which started in Deut. 1:5.)

Deuteronomy 4:8
And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today?

05/29/04 1:29 PM EST USA
Praise God! I always wondered about the meaning of '666'. It is the number of man and the number of the beast. (Now that I think of it what does God mean by: "...the number of man..."?)

Only 4 verses mention the number 666:
1 Kings 10:14 and 2 Chronicles 9:13
The amount of gold Solomon received.
Ezra 2:13
Sons of Adonikam
Revelation 13:16-18
He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name. This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man's number. His number is 666.

06/05/04 7:44 PM EST USA
Praise God! I was in a really bad mood all day. I was angry and it led to much sinning. But at least I was shown this verse: Acts 14:22.

Acts 14:22
"...strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. 'We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,' they said."

06/05/04 7:58 PM EST USA
Yet again. I knew of this verse and it never really hit home: Mark 12:44.

Mark 12:44
For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.

Now I see we are:

• not to want of this world, (Mark 12:44)
• to expect hardships, (Acts 14:22)
• to expect to be hated, (John 15:18-19)
• to die to this world, (Philippians 2:8)
• lose your life to gain your life (Matthew 10:39)

May God help me to forget this life and live only for Him - but His will, not mine - in Jesus' name, amen.

06/21/04 10:23 PM EST USA
What a blessing this was... suddenly, after being insulted and not retaliating, I realized - if God is my strength, then how strong is that?

Exodus 15:2
The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him.

2 Samuel 22
David sang a song...

06/26/04 9:00 AM EST USA
Yesterday I remembered this passage as well. It is about the woman's place with respect to man. I have quoted it verbatum since I may make a mistake in re-wording it. May the Lord God Almighty open your eyes, and pour His Holy Spirit into your hearts so you too may see, in Jesus' name, amen.

1 Corinthians 11:1-16

1. Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.
2. I praise you for remembering me in everything and for holding to the teachings,[1] just as I passed them on to you.
3. Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.
4. Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head.
5. And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head--it is just as though her head were shaved.
6. If a woman does not cover her head, she should have her hair cut off; and if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut or shaved off, she should cover her head.
7. A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man.
8. For man did not come from woman, but woman from man;
9. neither was man created for woman, but woman for man.
10. For this reason, and because of the angels, the woman ought to have a sign of authority on her head.
11. In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman.
12. For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God.
13. Judge for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered?
14. Does not the very nature of things teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him,
15. but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For long hair is given to her as a covering.
16. If anyone wants to be contentious about this, we have no other practice--nor do the churches of God.

06/28/04 5:05 PM EST USA
Although this is not a quote from the Bible, I think that it may be useful if I mention this just in case any non-believer is reading my notes. The Lord blessed me to see an explanation of what it is believers have that non-believers do not.

I was sitting in front of my computer imagining that I was with the group of people who travelled around in tents witnessing for Christ. I met them when I was doing photography in Austin Texas. I was very at ease with them - more so than any other person, people, group, or family ever before or since.

I imagined I was witnessing to someone who insisted that we were all blind - living a life of illusion. So I tried to explain to them what it is that God has done with us and why we think, say, and act the way we do. It was at the conclusion of my explanation that I realized that perhaps this explanation might be a comfort to those who are struggling with why we Christians - we Bible believing and obeying - are the way we are. So I hope this non-Biblical bit of logic helps those who do not believe, and maybe even those believers who have non-believing friends who are frustrated with our faith to God's Holy Word - the Lord Jesus Christ.

Imagine you are standing on one side of 3 people who are lined up next to each other and facing you. Now I go behind them and say to all of you: "What am I doing?" None of you know because none of you can see behind them. Here's where the change occurs. God decides to let the 3 people (those 3 standing next to each other) turn around and SEE what is going on.

I ask all of you again: "What am I doing?" The first says the correct answer; the second says the correct answer; the third says the correct answer. I then ask you yet again and you do not know- naturally because you do not see what has not been shown to you.

And so finally here it is - you think that you see everything that there is to see - and yet you do not. God has opened our eyes and we see. As the verse so magnificently puts it: "All I know is, I once was blind but now I see."

That's it. In reality it is the non-believer who does not see reality. "In Christ is reality."

May God richly bless you, may He open your eyes that you too may see, and may He bless you with teaching you His ways, in Jesus' name, amen.

07/02/04 5:30 PM EST USA
A few days ago my family (I don't know who - and it's not important) tried to trick me into celibrating this Saturday. I was told: "It's just going to be a picnic, nothing special." So then I checked the calendar and indeed that was wrong - it's the 4^th of July weekend - one of the biggest holidays for all Americans. So naturally I declined since I don't celibrate any holidays - they are all man-made and they are all pagan in origin.

But what is important about this is that I just now (7/2) realized this attempt was to manipulate me, and without respecting me, I started to get upset. However, I was calmed down by realizing that God has indeed blessed me with an invitation to His Rest. Indeed my eyes are open and as such I shouldn't feel any way negative harsh or angry at those who are still trapped in the world... if anything I should pray for them. So I was humbled by this realization and had to out it up on my site.

May the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY open your eyes to HIS HOLY word, may HE richly bless you, in Jesus' name, amen.

John 8:47 "He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God."