A Foundation of Unwavering Faith

Hebrews 13:8  Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, and forever. In our ever-changing world, families move, friendships drift, and technology advances. If we seek security in people, possessions, or positions, we’re going to be disappointed. Yet we all need somewhere to turn during the storms of life. The true anchor for our soul is Jesus, who Scripture promises will never change. To find comfort in Him, we must learn who He is, what He does, and how He works. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1 reveals that Jesus was Deity from the beginning. Fully God and fully man, He was born of a virgin. Scripture identifies Him as the Christ (16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. Matt. 16:16-17)—the Savior who was crucified and who rose after three days. Jesus is the Son of the Living God and the only way to Him (Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me. John 14:6). He fulfilled countless prophecies in the Old Testament, such as Isaiah 53:1-12 (Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot,and like a root out of dry ground; He has no stately form or majesty that we would look at Him, nor an appearance that we would take pleasure in Him. 3 He was despised and abandoned by men, a man of great pain and familiar with sickness; and like one from whom people hide their faces, He was despised, and we had no regard for Him. 4 However, it was our sicknesses that He Himself bore, and our pains that He carried; yet we ourselves assumed that He had been afflicted, struck down by God, and humiliated. 5 But He was pierced for our offenses, He was crushed for our wrongdoings; The punishment for our well-being was laid upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed. 6 All of us, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the wrongdoing of us all to fall on Him. 7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,so He did not open His mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment He was taken away; and as for His generation, who considered that He was cut off from the land of the living for the wrongdoing of my people, to whom the blow was due? 9 And His grave was assigned with wicked men, yet He was with a rich man in His death, because He had done no violence, nor was there any deceit in His mouth. 10 But the Lord desired to crush Him, causing Him grief; if He renders Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand. 11 As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; by His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, for He will bear their wrongdoings. 12 Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the plunder with the strong, because He poured out His life unto death, and was counted with wrongdoers; yet He Himself bore the sin of many, and interceded for the wrongdoers.). Like us, Jesus has feelings—He wept for hurting people and felt angry when people misused the temple. Most importantly, His resurrection defeated death, and He still lives today. God’s character never varies. Of course, as situations change, He acts accordingly. But the merciful, loving, compassionate, and holy Jesus we know in Scripture is the same Messiah we can cling to today. Where do you turn in trying times? Difficult circumstances are inevitable. Prepare yourself for them by learning who Jesus is—He’s the only true shelter and rock that will not change.

The Meaning of the Cross

John 19:17-22

¹⁷ They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out, carrying His own cross, to the place called the Place of a Skull, which in Hebrew is called, Golgotha. ¹⁸ There they crucified Him, and with Him two other men, one on either side, and Jesus in between. ¹⁹ Now Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It was written: “JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS.” ²⁰ Therefore many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and in Greek. ²¹ So the chief priests of the Jews were saying to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews’; rather, write that He said, ‘I am King of the Jews.’” ²² Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”

The cross was a tool used by the Roman government to execute criminals. Before Jesus’ resurrection, it was a symbol of damnation and shame. But the moment Jesus rose from His grave, God transformed it into a symbol of hope. Today when we consider the cross, we think about …

• Jesus’ perfect life. Our Savior left heaven to dwell on earth and become one of us. While here, He accomplished the work His Father had given Him—and He did so without sinning (Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in the same way. John 5:19). Because of His perfect life, Jesus was qualified to be our substitute and bear God’s judgment for our sins.
• Crucifixion. Jesus went willingly to the cross in order to reconcile us to God. He suffered a painful death, and through His sacrifice, our sin debt has been paid. God’s justice was completely satisfied that day. No further action is required.
• Resurrection. Three days after Jesus was buried, God raised Him from the dead, and the way to heaven was opened for all who trust in the Son. Our Savior conquered death and made it possible for us to dwell with Him forever.

The next time you see a cross, let it remind you of Jesus’ great love—and how much He wants to have a relationship with you.

Why is the Ascension the most important moment in the New Testament?

https://www.psephizo.com/biblical-studies/why-is-the-ascension-the-most-important-moment-in-the-new-testament/

Finding Faith: Why the Resurrection of Christ Matters

A Broadcast with Gabe Fluhrer

Can people in the 21st century still believe in the resurrection of Jesus? Today, Gabe Fluhrer begins to show that the resurrection is not only a verified historical fact, but it also answers some of our most important questions.

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Jesus’ ‘triumphal’ entry on Palm Sunday in Matthew 21

It is always a relief when we celebrate Palm Sunday from Matthew (as we do in this Year A in the lectionary) or Mark’s account (next year). Luke 19.36 in his account talks only about the garments, and does not mention palm branches, so in those years we have to call it Garment Sunday (which doesn’t have the same ring about it). In fact it is only John, the supposed ‘spiritual’ gospel, who specifies the palms. But if you are reading or preaching from Matthew’s account, what stands out? Matthew’s account of the events leading to the entry into Jerusalem is slightly briefer than Mark’s or Luke’s; the inclusion of the fulfilment of prophecy in Matt 21.4–5 replaces the narrative detail about the collection of the donkey(s). Matthew, and to a lesser extent Luke, omit some of the ‘eye-witness’ details found in Mark’s account—the exact question the disciples will be asked (Mark 11.3), the asking of it (Mark 11.5), the fact that the branches were ‘leafy’ (Mark 11.8; Mark uses the word stibas suggesting leafy palms, rather than Matthew’s more general klados). Matthew’s account is more ‘stream-lined’ in order to make the points that he thinks are significant. Continuye reading at: https://psephizo.msnd34.com/tracking/lc/06f3999d-6ae5-49d3-b7da-f2988f176b16/49df29a5-3379-4eca-8840-762fbb7d21fc/51508623-9306-41e3-9618-78f1d5f09177/

The Message of the Manger

Luke 2:1-7 Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. 2 This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And all the people were on their way to register for the census, each to his own city. 4 Now Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, 5 in order to register along with Mary, who was betrothed to him, and was pregnant. 6 While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Sometimes it is difficult to see, but God can draw value from even the most disastrous of circumstances. Before the rise of Rome, the predominant world power was Greece, led by Alexander the Great. As he conquered lands, he forced subjugated men to serve in his military and made them learn common Greek. On discharge, these men took the new language home, creating a shared tongue between many people groups. This would become the perfect way to spread the revolutionary message of Jesus a few centuries later. Then, as the Romans conquered territories, they paved roads and guarded both land routes and seacoasts from encroaching enemies. Doing this enabled early Christian missionaries to carry the gospel to different places. Perhaps Joseph and Mary traveled one of those roads on their trek from Nazareth to Bethlehem. But in any event, God again turned hardship—a forced census—into blessing: Jesus the Messiah was born at precisely the time and place prophesied. From the moment in Eden when Satan’s defeat was promised until the instant Christ fulfilled that prophecy on the cross, the Father continually brought good from bad situations. In this way, He advanced His plan to save the world. The Romans made the roads, but God paved the way for a Savior.

Let All Our Songs Employ

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” Luke 2:13-14 Have you heard of lip sync? It stands for lip synchronization, referring to people who pretend to be singing but are actually only moving their lips. Performers do this during dance numbers because of the lung exertion needed for physical activity. Vocalists use this method to preserve their voices. But many fans don’t want to pay money to see their favorite stars pretending to sing.

It’s easy for us to engage in a form of lip syncing. We can “mouth” the words of carols without really thinking of the words or absorbing the meaning. How many of us have stood in church and sung while our mind was wandering far away? Or we moved our mouth without truly singing? Not this Christmas! The wonder of Christmas—the birth of Christ and the hope of salvation—leads us to express our joy through song, just as it was that first Christmas. Express your joy through music today and sync your heart to heaven’s choirs. What joy the glorious music of Christmas brings to our celebration of Christ’s birth! No other season offers such an abundance of spiritual enrichment through song. Kenneth W. Osbeck D Jeremiah

The Power of Love

God is faithful to His people, even during their times of failure.

The Bible is filled with love. It begins with God’s mighty acts of creation—separating light from darkness, filling the firmament, and creating every living thing, including us (Gen. 1:1-31; Gen. 2:1-25). Even after Adam and Eve sinned, divine love never faltered. Instead of eternally condemning His children, God promised salvation (And I will make enemies Of you and the woman, And of your offspring and her Descendant; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise Him on the heel.”Gen. 3:15; The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. Rom. 16:20). As the story continues, we see love at work as God dwelt with His people in the wilderness, the Promised Land, and in exile. Even when Israel doubted, even when they disobeyed, God remained faithful. And in His love, He led them back and carried them through all manner of suffering. But He didn’t stop there. Scripture tells us, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16). God’s love transformed the world. It also transformed us so that we might love more abundantly and fulfill the calling from our beautiful Lord and Savior (7 Beloved, let’s love one another; for love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 By this the love of God was revealed in us, that God has sent His only Son into the world so that we may live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God remains in us, and His love is perfected in us. 1 John 4:7-12). Think about it • As Christmas draws near, set aside time to pray, thanking God for His great love. Ask Him to help you receive that love more fully and to present many opportunities for sharing it.

Best News Ever

Now when [the shepherds] had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. Luke 2:17 Human beings are very good at sharing new discoveries or experiences with others. We go to a new doctor or dentist, have a great experience, and tell others about it. We discover a new product that meets a specific need, and we post that product on social media so others can use it. If a group of researchers makes a new medical discovery, they publish their results for the wider medical community to assess.

Ironically, the best news in the world—news which would benefit everyone—is news that we are most hesitant to share with others: the Good News of salvation in Jesus Christ. One group that was eager to share this Good News was the group of shepherds who were the first to visit Jesus at His birth. “They made widely known” what had happened to them—seeing the angels and then seeing Jesus. They followed their natural human instinct to share good news with others. Be sensitive to the leading of the Spirit today. He may present an opportunity to tell someone the best news of a lifetime. Every believer is a witness whether he wants to be or not.  Donald Barnhouse D Jeremiah

An Introduction to Christ

We will one day see Jesus in all His glory and discover even more wondrous things about Him.

Revelation 1:4-8 4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before His throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood— 6 and He made us into a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7 Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen. 8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”   In the last verse of his Gospel, John says much more could have been written about the things Jesus did—but the world wouldn’t be able to contain that many books (But there are also many other things which Jesus did, which, if they were written in detail, I expect that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written. John 21:25). In today’s passage, the same writer gives a compact summation, highlighting the Lord’s identity and work. He tells us that Jesus Christ is … • The faithful witness. Jesus came to earth as God’s witness. The words He spoke and the works He accomplished were only what His Father commanded (49 For I did not speak on My own, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak. 50 And I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me.”John 12:49-50; I glorified You on the earth by accomplishing the work which You have given Me to do. John 17:4). • The firstborn from the dead. His was the first resurrection, and it is the guarantee that we will be resurrected in the same way (For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, Rom. 6:5). • The ruler of the kings of the earth. He establishes kingdoms and tears them down, and the book of Revelation describes how He will one day take dominion of the entire world. • The one who loves us and has released us from our sins. All our wrongdoing is forgiven. This is our amazing Savior, and we can look forward to a future with Him that is secure and glorious. Read Revelation 1 with the awareness that you will one day see the Lord in all His glory. (The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, 2 who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, everything that he saw. 3 Blessed is the one who reads, and those who hear the words of the prophecy and keep the things which are written in it; for the time is near. 4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before His throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood— 6 and He made us into a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7 Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen. 8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” 9 I, John, your brother and fellow participant in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet, 11 saying, “Write on a scroll what you see, and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.” 12 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And after turning I saw seven golden lampstands; 13 and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and wrapped around the chest with a golden sash. 14 His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. 15 His feet were like burnished bronze when it has been heated to a glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters. 16 In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength. 17 When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, 18 and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades. 19 Therefore write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after these things. 20 As for the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.)