Why did Jesus come?

It seems that this is the real question that many are wondering, particularly those who attend church but don't study their Bibles. This is also a rant, in a way, from a pastor to those who come to church. Please don't take this personally.

We have heard and seen and sometimes read the story about Jesus' birth. How it was foretold in the Old Testament, brought to reality in the New Testament. The people involved were told by the angel, Gabriel, that this was going to happen to them. All of these Bible facts are there and available to read at any time. Yet, there are so many "blank stares" in congregations which seems to tell me that much of this information is doing exactly what our parents said: "It goes in one ear and right out the other, with no deposit in between."

If sermons and revivals and going to Bible school don't plant any of this so that you take it in and believe it, then what do you come to church for? The food and fellowship?

Jesus came because of the love that God has for ALL OF US! Yes, He came first for Israel but God knew before this that He would be rejected. We are always outside of the intended target audience, but when they refused to believe then we, as gentiles, were offered the "prize" from that point on.

What is that prize? The offer of forgiveness and eternal life through Jesus and our belief in Him, that is the prize! It is a gift to us, one that we can't afford and can't pay for ourselves! But it is offered to us if we will believe in Him and ask for forgiveness from our sins. From that point, our only purpose is to tell others of His grace and love for them and that it is available to them too.

The scripture of John 3:17 says it best:

The world. Not just a few people from one country or nationality, but all of mankind are offered this salvation. Free for the asking, for those who seek it, for all of us who need it and that includes everyone everywhere. The Son of God didn't come to condemn us for not understanding the Word of God and He didn't come to do anything more than to offer us salvation. He healed some people of disease and ailments which only God could do, such as the man who was born blind. Why did Jesus do this? Because it was foretold that He would and because of their hard hearts, it was necessary to get their attention.

There are miraculous healing's being done today, but not as radical and unusual as some that He did. Some of them today are radical, like a tumor which goes away completely with no medical intervention. That kind of healing can only come from God and by the faith of those involved. We are loved by God and I can't give you a reason for it, except to say that He loves us because of Who He is!

Seek Him out, look for Him in the Bible, learn about Him through His Word. Even if you don't like to come to church, read His Word and ask Him to show Himself to you in it. He is there for all to find and know, all you need to do is seek Him out in it. His majesty is around you in the trees, the stars and the entirety of the universe but all of that is His creation, it is the Creator that you should worship and He is available to those who seek Him out!

Christmas...the reason

Some people say that we shouldn't celebrate at this time of year because this time of year is from a pagan celebration which the church used to bring the pagans into it. While that may be true, the birth of Jesus should be celebrated, even if He wasn't born during this time of year. Why do I say that? Because, during this month it is too cold for shepherds to be sleeping in the field at night and traveling wouldn't have been easy at this time of year either. Many scholars think that His birth was likely during September, who knows.

The point is that a person on the Trinity came to us as a baby, grew up in his time and played like all children do, learned His earthly father's trade and learned from His Heavenly Father. He fulfilled prophecy and became the Messiah that He was sent to be and He sits on the right hand of God in Heaven until it is time for Him to come again.

Celebrate His first coming because without it, you and I would be lost in this world and the next. Celebrate His life and His mission because He followed His Father's instructions and did everything that was necessary for our salvation, not just a few people but for all people. The story of His birth is joyous not because we give each other gifts, but because God gave us the most important and priceless gift that we don't deserve just because He loves us!

We can't give it back and we don't truly deserve it, but it was given to all of mankind, so be thankful and glad that we are loved by our Creator enough for Him to give us a chance and the choice to be His children.

Amen

Jesus in all the books of the Bible

Jesus in EVERY Book of the Bible!

In Genesis he’s the Seed of the Woman.
In Exodus he’s the Passover Lamb.
In Leviticus he’s the Scapegoat.
In Numbers he’s the Serpent lifted up in the Wilderness.
In Deuteronomy he’s the Cities of Refuge.

In Joshua he’s the Scarlet thread on Rahab’s house.
In Judges he’s the Perfect Judge.
In Ruth he’s the Kinsman Redeemer.
In I Samuel he’s the Trusted Prophet.
In 2 Samuel he’s the True Son of David.
In 1 Kings he’s the Promise Keeper.
In 2 Kings he’s the Jealous God.
In 1 Chronicles he’s our Reigning King.
In 2 Chronicles he’s our Deliverer.
In Ezra he’s the Faithful Scribe.
In Nehemiah he’s the Rebuilder of Broken Walls.
In Esther he’s Mordecai at the Gate.

In Job he’s My Redeemer Who Lives Today.
In Psalms he’s the Lord who is my Shepherd.
In Proverbs he’s our Wisdom.
In Ecclesiastes he’s our True Satisfaction.
In Song of Solomon he’s the Beautiful Bridegroom.

In Isaiah he’s the Suffering Servant.
In Jeremiah he’s the Righteous Branch.
In Lamentations he’s the Weeping Prophet.
In Ezekiel he’s the Son of Man.
In Daniel he’s the Fourth Man in the Furnace.

In Hosea he’s the Faithful Husband.
In Joel he’s the One Who Restores.
In Amos he’s the Burden Bearer.
In Obadiah he’s the Mighty Judge.
In Jonah he’s the Foreign Missionary.
In Micah he’s our Peace.
In Nahum he’s the Avenger.
In Habakkuk he’s the Lord in His Holy Temple.
In Zephaniah he’s the Lord Mighty to Save.
In Haggai he’s the Lord of Hosts.
In Zechariah he’s the Fountain of Cleansing.
In Malachi he’s the Sun of Righteousness.

In Matthew he’s the Promised Messiah.
In Mark he’s the Faithful Servant.
In Luke he’s Friend of Sinners.
In John he’s the Son of God.

In Acts he’s the Ascended Lord.

In Romans he’s the Justifier.
In 1 Corinthians he’s our Righteousness.
In 2 Corinthians he’s the God of All Comfort.
In Galatians he’s the Redeemer from the Curse of the Law.
In Ephesians he’s the Head of the Church.
In Philippians he’s the All-Sufficient Christ.
In Colossians he’s the Fullness of God.

In 1 Thessalonians he’s the Lord Coming Down from Heaven.
In 2 Thessalonians he’s the Judge coming with Blazing Fire.
In 1 Timothy he’s our Mediator.
In 2 Timothy he’s our Master.
In Titus he’s the Blessed Hope.
In Philemon he’s the One Who Paid Our Debt.

In Hebrews he’s Our Great High Priest.
In James he’s the Judge Standing at the Door.
In 1 Peter he’s the Chief Shepherd.
In 2 Peter he’s the Morning Star.
In 1 John he’s the Word of Life.
In 2 John he’s the Son of the Father.
In 3 John he’s the Truth.
In Jude he’s the Lord Coming with countless thousands of his saints.

In Revelation he’s the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!

New year, old problems

We have weathered this year and there have been many newsworthy things happening. Many of them because of people's inability to see the truth and believe it. Much of the religious persecution that is going on is due to the intolerance of others for Christians. They call us intolerant and narrow minded and yet, it seems that few people can tolerate our faith and our beliefs. What is going on?

What is going on is that the prophecies of the book of Revelation are beginning to come true. Oh, the four horsemen aren't loose on the world yet, but the persecution of Christians and the hatred of anything or anyone who points to Jesus as the Savior is happening on a very regular basis. Those people who either believe in Islam and Allah, of which there are some that are not trying to kill Christians, seem to be the ones who are screaming the loudest. Of course they are the extremists, but they are calling us extreme in our beliefs too.

The problems which we will all face in the next year may have something to do with religious intolerance, but it will not be Christians that are being intolerant. This year it has been the other way around. Even those who claim not to believe in any god, can't seem to tolerate even the mention of Jesus in a ceremony or a cross on private land. The intolerance began many years ago and it did not begin here, but in Jerusalem and Judea.

Christianity has been a religion which others have despised for many years. Not because we push our beliefs on people, but because we won't give up our beliefs even in the face of death. We believe that our God and His Word is true and the prophecies and the faith of those that believe back this up. Israel and the Hebrew language was dead as a nation and a people until the Jewish people began to go back to their country. No other nation on Earth has ever repopulated after so long away and no other language has been preserved for over 1800 years and then began being taught and spoken again by its people. This was prophesied by God in His Word. I don't need any more proof than that, other than to show that Jesus was born at the time and place that He was prophesied to be by a prophet over 800 years prior to His birth.

Who else but God can tell the future so accurately and precisely? He is the only One that sits outside of time and can see the beginning from the end and everything in between. The problems which we face today have occurred before, and yet the world is still here and we are too. When Jesus comes again, those who decided that He is a figment of our imagination will wonder Who it is that they are seeing, yet they will know! They won't be able to deny Him, because they will see Him with their eyes and they will fear for their life because of their unbelief.

Problems can be overcome, lives can change because of Jesus and having faith in Him. Give Him a chance in your life and your world and ours will never be the same again.

This season....

There are many people who are stressed during this time of year. Problems with gifts and with money and sometimes with family too! All of these add up to stressful times for lots of people, and this is supposed to be a time of year when we are enjoying each other's company and the time that we should be spending with our families! What in the world has happened to our country and our culture-- that allows so much heartache and turmoil during a season which is supposed to point us in a direction totally away from what we see on the news every day?

Our lives, and the culture which we have allowed to develop around spending money for things, are supposed to be about much more than this! We are living in a time which most people of two hundred years ago would call almost magical in content and abilities! Boxes which can cook a meal in just a few seconds, boxes which keep food frozen and fresh for days, electricity which can make our homes comfortable during the warmest times of the year and warm during the coldest, these weren't heard of or conceived during the times around the early years of the 1800's!

Yet, as common as they are today, there are areas in our world where people still don't have these "luxuries" on a daily basis. Many places still don't have reliable Internet access or electricity or running, clean water! We take these things for granted, and to us they are necessities, but to others in so-called "developing countries, the stuff that we have and depend on daily is just that--stuff, luxuries, things which are not necessities of living. The one thing that many people in developing countries do have that we are in need of is---faith!

The faith of Christians in African countries such as Kenya and Nigeria, where they are persecuted and killed for their faith is remarkable! It is also humbling to me because we tend to think that we are..well, better off and more "tuned in" to God than they are. When the fact is that they have a deeper more abiding faith than most Christians in the world today!

We need to pray that those Christians in persecuted countries will have the protection of their angels and that our faith will grow so that we need not be ashamed when we meet them one day in eternity!