Category Jesus Christ

Chosen Father

God chose Abraham to father the nation of Israel. Out of a wilderness of idolatrous people[1], God called to Abram to leave his country, his people, and his father’s house to travel to a new land which God would show to him. We see nothing about Abram that would distinguish him from the people around him, to cause him to have special consideration from God, and God does  not tell us why Abram was chosen. We see only that he was chosen.

In the same way that God chose Abram to father the earthly nation, God chose Jesus Christ to father the spiritual nation, the family of the redeemed of God. In election, Abraham is a type of Christ, being the chosen vessel through whom God would birth a holy people to Himself.

God appointed Isaac, the miraculous son of Abraham, to father a n...

“…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God….” Romans 3:22 

“the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23 

“for God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life….He who believes in Him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the Name of the only begottenSon of God.” John 3:16,18 

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father but by Me.” John 14:6 

“He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” 1 John 5:12 

“Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is no other name under heav...

9       For My name’s sake will I defer mine anger, and for My praise will I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off.

10      Behold,I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.

11      For Mine own sake, even for Mine own sake, will I do it: for how should My name be polluted? and I will not give My glory unto another.

12      Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, My called; “I am He. I, the first, I also the last

13      Mine hand laid the foundation of the earth; My right hand has spanned the heavens. I call to them, they stand up together.

14      All ye, assemble yourselves, and hear; which among them hath declared these things? The LORD (YHWH) hath loved him: He will do His pleasure on Babylon, and Hi...

What was the cup which Christ came to drink?

Some say Christ’s cup was separation from God the Father, but Psalm 22 says the Father did not turn His face away from His Son on the cross, but withheld His hand until His afflicted Son spoke the word – “It is finished”.

Some say it was the cup of God’s wrath poured upon Christ for men’s sins, but when James and John asked to have the right and left-hand positions in Christ’s kingdom, answering that they were indeed prepared and able to drink of the same cup that Christ drank, Jesus affirmed that they would indeed drink of the cup that He drank. But no man bore the wrath of God for the sins of men other than Christ. No disciple bears God’s wrath for his own sin, much less for the sins of the world...

Luke 24:36 – 48 (45)

“And as they spoke this, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, ‘Peace to you.’

But being dismayed and becoming afraid, they supposed they were seeing a spirit.

And he said to them, ‘Why are you troubled and why do thoughts come into your hearts? Behold My hands and My feet, that I am Myself. Handle Me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as you see I have.’

And saying this, He showed them His hands and His feet.

Because they still yet disbelieved for joy, and wondered, He said unto them, ‘Have you any food here?’

And they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish, and of honey from the comb, and taking it, He ate it in their sight.

And He said to them, ‘These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still together with ...

John 3:3         Jesus … said unto [Nicodemus], “Truly, truly I say unto you, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Jn 3:16           For God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him will not perish but have everlasting life.

Jn 3:18-21      “He that believes on Him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

And this is the condemnation: that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the light, neither comes to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed...

People have a passion for the concept of Jesus rather than for the person of Christ; for “reaching the lost for the Lord” as opposed to sharing the Gospel of Christ. People like being spiritual, but don’t care to be holy. 

The message of salvation from sin and death has been replaced with a message of salvation from a pointless life, and mundane existence. The new preachers want us to be saved from the hurts of sin in this life, and be drawn into the fullfilment of feeding the hungry, healing broken hearts, stopping wars, curing diseases. 

Jesus Christ did not come to redeem our human institutions. He came to redeem us from the power of sin and death, to reconcile us to God so we can have eternal life...

The thing is, you either believe Him or you don’t. You can’t say Jesus was a good teacher, a nice man, or a good example while refusing to accept what He said. Either He is indeed a good teacher, a nice man, and a good example Who spoke the truth, or He is a liar, and if a liar, He cannot be either a good teacher, a nice man, or a good example; Liars are not good people nor are they wise teachers.

Jesus did not contradict John the Baptist when he declared Jesus to be the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world. He did not correct him when His older cousin John declared Jesus to have lived before John, despite John having being conceived months before Jesus. How could a man conceived and born after have existed before?

Did Jesus come down from heaven as He told the people? If n...

Isaiah 44:6   “Thus says YHWH the King of Israel ¹, and ² His Redeemer, YHWH of Hosts ³, “I am the first and I am the last ⁴, and beside me there is no Elohyim.” ⁵

1.         The “King of Israel” or the “King of the Jews”:

Mt 2:2        “He who is born king of the Jews” = Jesus

Mt 21:5      “… thy King comes to you, meek and sitting on a donkey…” regarding Jesus fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem . Behold your king comes to you, He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt, the foal of an ass.”

Mt 25:31-46     “The Son of Man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, and He shall sit upon the thr...

Political and social unrest dominate the news , and economic distress grips the entire world. People are easily overcome with a sense of hopelessness and fear. As we approach Christmas this year, it seems appropriate to refocus our attention on the reason we celebrate at all. Christ entered history in times like ours: the Mediterranean world was under the occupation of the brutal Roman Empire. Corruption and abuse abounded. Taxes were high, the common man oppressed, the ruling powers capricious and often malevolent. Citizens were disillusioned; the nation of Israel had lost sight of their calling, having lost sight of the God Who had called them. The effects of wide-spread paganism were superstition, devaluation of life, and a lack of natural affection among men.

I wish to offer you a medi...