Daily Jesus

Abide in His Love

noreply@blogger.com (Fred) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:00:00 +0000

John 15:7
⁷ If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.

Today while I was reading I noticed the whole context of John 15 and how Jesus gives us the promise of miracles if we abide in Him. And then in verse 9 it says "As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love."

To abide in the words of Jesus is to abide in His love. Read the chapter, the Love of God is amazing.

Jesus, please forgive all my sins and be my Lord, Amen.

Fasting - healing

noreply@blogger.com (Fred) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:54:00 +0000

Isaiah 58:6-9
⁶Is this not the fast that I have chosen:
To loose the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the heavy burdens,
To let the oppressed go free,
And that you break every yoke?
⁷ Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out;
When you see the naked, that you cover him,
And not hide yourself from your own flesh?
⁸ Then your light shall break forth like the morning,
Your healing shall spring forth speedily,
And your righteousness shall go before you;
The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
⁹ Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer;
You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’

This morning the Lord told us that we needed to fast to create new life in our body, heart, and spirit.

Lord Jesus, thank you for guiding and directing all our paths. Help me to be faithful to your commands. Thanks you Jesus, Amen.

Global Media Outreach

noreply@blogger.com (Fred) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 16:10:00 +0000

Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

A little less than a month ago now, I became a volunteer for Global Media Outreach working as an online missionary. This has been such a blessing to me. Spreading the Good News that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior is truly important. I have been studying the Bible fairly faithfully. I have been "trying" to pray regularly. But my level of hope and faith has been going down. Now that I am speaking to others about Jesus I am being renewed and refreshed. My pray like Paul's is "I would to God that not only you, but also all who hear me today, might become both almost and altogether such as I am" (Acts 26:29). I am not in chains, but I do pray that all would stretch their faith and share the Gospel.

The fruit of the spirit is able to ripen when watered daily with sharing your faith. Thank you Jesus!

May all find Jesus and call Him their Lord and savior. Amen

God is in control

noreply@blogger.com (Fred) — Wed, 13 May 2009 23:55:00 +0000

Psalms 89:5,11
⁵And the heavens will praise Your wonders, O LORD; Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the saints. --- ¹¹ The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours; The world and all its fullness, You have founded them.

While reading this morning I was thinking about the song "God is in control" and how in some ways it appears that He isn't. But I know He is. Those verses were a good summary to me how God is truly in control. Sometimes the evidence for it is in the future. I just got to have a little faith.

Lots of Mercedes to go around?

noreply@blogger.com (Fred) — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 19:49:00 +0000

The rich are going to lose lots of Mercedes.

I guess I am not the only one noticing this video :)

Do not move the ancient landmark.

noreply@blogger.com (Fred) — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 19:00:00 +0000

Proverbs 22:18
¹⁸Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set

Do not steal from those that own something and take it for yourself.

Here is another "me to" post of the great video "Obama won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz".

And now my version:

Obama, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz?
The rich all drive Porsche's I wan'na join them.
It's not fair that I'm broke, just go ask my friends.
Obama, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz?

Obama, won't you buy me an HD TV?
My check hasn't arrived yet, the casino ain't free.
I am bored while setting here, you must help me.
Obama, won't you buy me an HD TV?

Obama, won't you make my house payment now?
Lotto didn't work, foreclosure is near.
The fed now owns the banks, so it is in your power.
Obama, won't you make my house payment now?

Obama, won't you heal my S T D?
It's not my fault, it was the other guy, he did it to me.
You took care of the Planned parenthood, now please help me.
Obama, won't you heal my S T D?

Obama, won't you pay my Paxil prescription?
There is just way to many responsi-bili-ties.
The preacher says I'm a sinner. Oh no, not me.
Obama, won't you tell me everything's all okay?

Obama, won't you save this nation from doom?
You were right when you said there is another way.
How could others have called this nation Chris-tian.
Obama, thank you for saving me.

---

Jesus please bring this nation to repentance. Jesus, please forgive all my sins and be my Lord, Amen.

In the beginning!

noreply@blogger.com (Fred) — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 08:29:00 +0000

In the beginning...

... God created the heavens and the earth.

... Was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Jesus said "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end". Jesus is eternal, everlasting, King of Kings, Prince of Peace. Jesus had many names. Jesus created you and me.

Lord Jesus, you have created this new year, you alone have died that we might live. Lord you are worthy. Amen.

We have committed Obamacide

noreply@blogger.com (Fred) — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 17:46:00 +0000

Well the nation has committed Obamacide by electing a man that supports legislation that would allow a doctor to essentially kill a living breathing human being just because he/she survived an abortion attempt.

My only hope now is that the people of this country will repent before the tribulation period comes and becomes all that we are warned that it could be.

Jesus, we have sinned, please forgive us and heal our sinful hearts. Amen.

Obamacide

noreply@blogger.com (Fred) — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 19:02:00 +0000

Obamacide. It means, 1) Killing the newborn survivor of a botched abortion through a deliberate act of omission; and, 2) That which a nation commits upon itself by electing one who would allow such a thing.

Please, please, please, please, do not commit Obamacide.

Jesus is the glue that holds us together

noreply@blogger.com (Fred) — Tue, 13 May 2008 18:36:00 +0000

The following is an email that I got from a friend of a friend of a.... It is so cool. If the original writers finds this blog and wants to take credit, please do.

-----------------------

This is a pretty neat story and an interesting thing that few of us know. It's brief, so please read on.
A couple of days ago I was running (I use that term very loosely) on my treadmill, watching a DVD sermon by Louie Giglio...and I was BLOWN AWAY! I want to share what I learned....but I fear not being able to convey it as well as I want. I will share anyway.

He (Louie) was talking about how inconceivably BIG our God is...how He spoke the universe into being...how He breathes stars out of His mouth that are huge raging balls of fire...etc. etc. Then He went on to speak of how this star-breathing, universe creating God ALSO knitted our human bodies together with amazing detail and wonder. At this point I am LOVING it (fascinating from a medical standpoint, you know.) .....and I was remembering how I was constantly amazed during medical school as I learned more and more about God's handiwork. I remember so many times thinking...."How can ANYONE deny that a Creator did all of this???"

Louie went on to talk about how we can trust that the God who created all this, also has the power to hold it all together when things seem to be falling apart...how our loving Creator is also our sustainer.

And then I lost my breath.
And it wasn't because I was running my treadmill, either!!!
It was because he started talking about laminin.
I knew about laminin. Here is how wikipedia describes them :"Laminins are a family of proteins that are an integral part of the structural scaffolding of basement membranes in almost every animal tissue." You see....laminins are what hold us together....LITERALLY. They are cell adhesion molecules. They are what holds one cell of our bodies to the next cell. Without them, we would literally fall apart. And I knew all this already. But what I didn't know is what laminin LOOKED LIKE.

But now I do.
And I have thought about it a thousand times since (already)....
Here is what the structure of laminin looks like...AND THIS IS NOT a "Christian portrayal" of it....if you look up laminin in any scientific/medical piece of literature, this is what you will see...

Now tell me that our God is not the coolest!!!
Amazing.
The glue that holds us together....ALL of us....is in the shape of the cross.
Immediately Colossians 1:15-17 comes to mind.

"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
For by him all things were created; things in heaven and on earth , visible and invisible,
whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities;
all things were created by him and for him.
He is before all things,
and in him all things HOLD TOGETHER. "
Colossians 1:15-17

Call me crazy. I just think that is very, very, very cool.
Thousands of years before the world knew anything about laminin, Paul penned those words. And now we see that from a very LITERAL standpoint, we are held together...one cell to another....by the cross.

You would never in a quadrillion years convince me that is anything other than the mark of a Creator who knew EXACTLY what laminin "glue" would look like long before Adam even breathed his first breath!!

We praise YOU, Lord!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What is truth?

noreply@blogger.com (Fred) — Sat, 10 May 2008 02:28:00 +0000

John 18:37-38
³⁷ Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?”
Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”
³⁸ Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, “I find no fault in Him at all.

"What is truth?" Why Jesus is truth. Jesus "came to bear witness to the truth" and is in fact truth. In John 14:6 Jesus says "I am the way, the truth, and the life."

This is the beginning of a series on the Armor of God that we are called to put on in Ephesian 6:11-17. If fact my wife and I will doing a The Whole Armor of God series on our public access show for about the next 7 weeks. You can watch it on our newly created Channy's Cafe youtube channel.

The first item in the Armor of God is the belt of truth. I have often thought of the belt of truth as guarding our selves with the truth of God. Recently I thought, "what is a belt in the context of armor?" I realized this is like a utility belt, and wouldn't you know it, that is exactly how the WEB version translates it.

Eph 6:14 Stand therefore, having the utility belt of truth buckled around your waist,

We need a belt like this to go out into the world, to take all of the tools that Jesus has given us. And because it is from Jesus it is truth.

Jesus, please forgive all my sins and be my Lord, amen.

Pray the Bible

noreply@blogger.com (Fred) — Fri, 02 May 2008 00:31:00 +0000

In April, I completed a goal of praying through the Bible in a month. It was awesome. There are so many things to pray about, contemplate, discover and to be encouraged by. I would encourage everyone to challenge yourself to do this. Almost everyone has heard about a "Read the Bible in a Year". But you really can do this in a month.

First thing to notice I didn't "read" the Bible, I "prayed" it. While I did flip through every page, I didn't read each word. I was basically speed reading. I was looking at the major headings and picking up on key phrases and words and concepts of the stories. Also, I have read through the Bible before so much of it was familiar. At the same time I was focusing on trying to pray about something that caught my attention. For instance, when I read about Abraham and Sarah and the birth of Issac, I prayed for faith in God's promises for me and to experience some laughter at times. When I read the 10 commandments I prayed to keep them. When I read about Saul disobeying God, I repented about my disobedience and to get on the right path again. Sometimes my prayers would not be so directly connected with the text, but a keyword would trigger a thought about something to pray for.

This experience really opens your spirit up to have the mind of Christ and think about completing the mission He has given to all of us - to go to all the world and share the Gospel.

Jesus please forgive all my sins and be my Lord. Amen.

And God ordained marriage

noreply@blogger.com (Fred) — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 15:58:00 +0000

Genesis 2:22-24
22 Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.

23 And Adam said:
“This is now bone of my bones
And flesh of my flesh;
She shall be called Woman,
Because she was taken out of Man.”
24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

My wife and I recently attended my Nephew's wedding in Tucson Arizona and it got me thinking about the verses in the Bible about marriage. God's Word to us is so wonderful. He ordained marriage and made it for our companionship, pleasure, and as a type of analogy for what it will be like to be joined with God in heaven for eternity.

May we not be trapped by satan's perversion of marriage by not seeing the importance of the wedding vows. May we repent as a nation and treat Marriage with the reverence it deserves. May all wedded couples treat their spouse as themselves, doing everything they can to honor their spouse and their marriage and everything they can to strengthen their marriage and make it the blessing our Lord Jesus Christ has designed it to be.

Jesus, please forgive all my sins and be my Lord. Amen.

What part of "We will kill you" do you not understand?

noreply@blogger.com (Fred) — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 15:44:00 +0000

What part of "We will kill you" do you not understand?

Sorry for this deviation from my typical post. I just recently saw a presentation by Bill Cooper titled "The Current Reality of Terrorism". And that is one of the questions that he asked after showing several slides of Islamic demonstrator's. All of their signs were about killing others if they didn't join them. Call it fear mongering if you like, but it is not going to go away just because we don't like it or don't believe in it.

I consider Islamic terrorism to be the most significant militant expression of the evil spirits we face in spiritual warfare that we are engaging in. Yes we are in a spiritual war. At the same time all the aspects of the spiritual evil we are facing has an expression in the natural world. And while we are in this war I am convinced that we are to have natural responses as well as spiritual. As James said "faith without works is dead". So, get on your knees and pray. And for those that are called to continue praying all day long, praise the Lord for the battles they are winning in Jesus' name. For the others that get up off their knees and go into the world, if you are not actively taking the battle into the natural, your faith is dead. Don't get me wrong. I agree that for some, even most, taking the battle into the natural will mean giving to the needy, taking care of the sick, preaching, counseling, etc. Don't exclude the need for Jesus Christ to lead police actions and military action though. Yes, I do believe that it is possible to have war inside of God's will in the 21st century.

Jesus himself said "I did not come to bring peace but a sword." Yes, that is the sword of the spirit which is the word of God. I will not exclude though that sometimes the natural expression of that spiritual sword will include military action. God didn't why should I.

Jesus does love each and every one of you. He has called all to repent and accept Him as savior. He will not force your heart. His command is simple. Accept that you are a sinner and need Jesus to wash your sins away. If you continue to reject Him and end up dying by opposing him or whatever reason, you will get the results of your own will, being separate from Him. That is hell.
Jesus, please forgive all my sins and be my Lord. Amen.

Theism vs. atheism

noreply@blogger.com (Fred) — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 01:30:00 +0000

An idea came to me while digesting the recent debate I watched between an atheist and a Christian. The Christian is Dinesh D'Souza. You can watch the debate by going to King's College news site and looking for the "Watch the debate" link.
http://www.tkc.edu/advancement/media/newsrelease.asp?id=55

Also Dinesh spoke at our church "Dinesh D’Souza on What’s So Great about Christianity?"
http://cedarpark.org/resources/media/

The idea is, that while debating atheists, to defend Theism instead of religion. And what I mean by that distinction is to consider the aspects of religion that are man made, and to limit or eliminate them from what is defended. And to consider the aspects of what it means that there is a God and why it is important to investigate who and what God is, and the rules He has made for us. Possibly this could thwart some arguments by atheists that put down Christianity - you can surprise them by agreeing with them that religion (how to best observe God) is man made, but that you disagree on the point of the existence of God, and therefore the legitimacy of investigating His existence and what His rules are. I think a healthy part of that does include
how religion has positively impacted civilization, although not perfectly, because it is not ultimately from God. Religion is just our way of studying who He is and in fact is a science as well as an art. And from there, it can flow that Christianity has made the best contributions to civilization, as well as having it's mistakes, because it has identified God, but it is still man made, so is admittedly flawed. Of course this conclusion of which religion has best identified God would not need to be part of the base debate of atheism vs theism. Using this distinction between theism and religion, could possibly reveal that the whole argument,"that atrocities committed by Christianity indicate that we have a flawed belief and therefore there is no God" is pointless, if you agree with the atheist that the religion of Christianity is man made in its final form. And then add, "Just as their atheism is man made."

God (Christ) made us with the ability to reason and choose, we chose to deny Him. Every denial and deviation from Christ - every man made understanding - including every form of religion, including every practiced form of christianity, has resulted in some amount of injustice. Atheism is far removed from Christ, and therefore you see many more atrocities like Stalin, Hitler, Mao etc. If we can discover who God is and live by the rules and laws that He has created, we will no longer have injustice. (Side note: one of His laws is that now that we are fallen, we can not get back up on our own, we need his atonement for ourselves, and His ultimate return and rule, to have the justice we seek.)

Jesus, please forgive all my sins and be my Lord, Amen.

A quick note on heaven.

noreply@blogger.com (Fred) — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 19:34:00 +0000

Acts 4:12
¹² Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

God is very disappointed when we don't believe what he wrote to us. It is extremely judgmental of us to decide that we can not know the way to heaven and the way that people must take to go to heaven because God has made it very clear to us.

Acts 4:12 "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

It doesn't matter how bad or good we are. We have all failed to make it on our own. We must believe in Jesus and pray to Him believing as best as we know how, something like "Jesus, please forgive all my sins and be my Lord".

If a person doesn't do that (not that exact prayer, but that type of prayer). Then they will go to hell. It is the utmost of arrogance and pride to say "I can not know if someone is good enough to go to heaven". Because no one is good enough. I am not, you are not, no one is good enough to go to heaven. We all must accept Jesus' death on the cross which paid the price of our sins.

It is true, that I can not know who is going to heaven, because I do not know who has truly said "Jesus, I can't do it on my own, I am wrong, please forgive me, I accept your payment for me sins, I want to be with you in heaven.". I do not know who has said and believed that in their heart. But you are making a - serious - eternally - deadly - error if you will not believe the plain words that Jesus told us that you must accept him. Either for yourself or for others. We must accept the truth that if someone doesn't accept Christ, it is impossible for them to go to Heaven. And also advise people of these truths.

If you have accepted Jesus as your Savior, then you are going to heaven. If you have not, you are not. It is that simple. Then after you have, if you do not tell others you are guilty of not helping them go to heaven as well. You will not loose your salvation by failing to tell others the truth, but you will bear the consequences in some form.

So, I really do wish you would forsake your pride and/or complacency or whatever it is that makes you think that getting to heaven is somehow based on if someone is a nice person and you could never know if they are nice enough. Yes, it is saddening to think that a loved one isn't going to heaven, so it is convenient to explain it away as "how can I know". Well we can know as much as they tell us. If they deny Jesus (have never accepted Jesus), then they are going to hell. Our fright doesn't change the truth.

Don't base your belief in the Bible on the failures of some human to live up to it's standards, saying "I don't want to go to church, it is filled with all those sinners." Exactly!!!! we are all sinners!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And we all need JESUS!

I haven't tried to offer proof, it would make this note much longer. But I hope I have made the truth very plain. And I hope and pray that you will come to believe it.

Well, that wasn't as short as I thought it would be. I do hope you carefully read it though to
at least understand what I said.

Jesus, please forgive all my sins and be my Lord, amen.

Pilgrims almost get touched by hand of God

noreply@blogger.com (Fred) — Wed, 23 May 2007 20:36:00 +0000

I haven't posted in awhile and saw this article in the news.

The nuns at Mother Cabrini Shrine in Golden were thanking God on Sunday that no one was hurt when a bolt of lightning shot out of the sky and struck their 33-foot statue of Jesus.
The lightning bolt broke off one of Jesus' arms and a hand and damaged one of his feet, sending marble plummeting to the ground during a Saturday afternoon storm.
"There were pilgrims up there on the hill," Sister Ilaria said. "The biggest miracle is no one got hit with the falling debris."
-- denverpost.com

After reading the article and seeing no one was hurt, I thought of my little pun. I think a little humor is good now and then.

Jesus Loves You!

Be Bold

noreply@blogger.com (Fred) — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 18:20:00 +0000

Mark 8:38
³⁸For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”

Some verses bring hope, others conviction. Last Thursday I was looking at John 14 and the hope it promises. I must also be faithful to the Bible and spend some time on the verses like this one also that can be uncomfortable and are definitely part of the message of the Bible.

Also, this is one of my weaknesses that I need to be reminded about on a regular basis. In my everyday life, I tend towards hiding my faith. I sometimes behave as if I were ashamed. I try to excuse myself and say that in my heart I am not ashamed, but actions in this case are possibly more important.

I know it would make Jesus sad if I was in a group of people that know me and they started putting down Christians as if I was not part of that "crazy group". First, that would mean they didn't already know that I am a Christian. And it would be a direct denial of Christ to not speak up, even in a simple way, and say "I am a Christian". And if I could say it with a calm attitude and not one of being ashamed, they might open up to learn more about Christianity. It takes me conscious effort to be bold for Christ and to be prepared to let my light shine. I find that if I spend time in prayer and reading the Bible that when the stray question or issue comes up that needs a Christian response, then I am more likely to give one.

Oh Jesus, help me to be faithful to you, and also to admit that I fall short so that I can accept you doing work in my life. And then of course, help me to actually let you do the work, even if it means a bit of pruning now an then. You are truly an Awesome God that loves us so much to want to work through us. Thank you for your amazing grace. Amen

Hope in Jesus, Jesus alone.

noreply@blogger.com (Fred) — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 15:24:00 +0000

John 14:3
³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.

Jesus gives hope by promising eternal comfort with Him, and gives an illustration of living in mansions. Jesus has provided for us an eternal dwelling place and to have fellowship with him. Thomas asked Him directions so to speak, to which Jesus replied, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me".

Through Jesus alone can hope be obtained, this kind of hope if you must, but this is the only hope eternal.

John 14:1-6
The Way, the Truth, and the Life
1 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. 4 And where I go you know, and the way you know.” 5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Jesus, please forgive all my sins and be my Lord!

ps. Thanks Micky for giving me some encouragement to post again.

Read the NT in 10 Weeks - Revelation

noreply@blogger.com (Fred) — Thu, 14 Dec 2006 03:03:00 +0000

Revelation 21:5-7
⁵ Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.” ⁶ And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. ⁷ He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.

(Yes, I skipped writing for several weeks, but I figured I could at least get the conclusion of my writing.)

I have finished my reading of the NT and of course it ends with Revelations. It is a powerful book in the sense that it is humbling to read about the supreme power of God and the justice he pours out on the earth, and that destruction is contrasted with praise and worship seen by the believers in Heaven, then the new creation Jesus does with the new heaven and earth.

It wasn't peaceful reading but awe inspiring. The theme I got was power demonstrated in both the immensity of God's Love and the exactness of His judgment. He is a truly amazing God in control of all things and at the same time Loves us, gives everything to us, even His life. It is amazing. And those in heaven just fall on there face in praise and admiration of His majesty.

4:11 “ You are worthy, O Lord,
To receive glory and honor and power;
For You created all things,
And by Your will they exist and were created.”

Amen

Read the NT in 10 Weeks - Thessalonians

noreply@blogger.com (Fred) — Fri, 24 Nov 2006 07:32:00 +0000

1 Thessalonians 5:8-10
⁸But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. ⁹ For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁰ who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.

Paul was more encouraged by the Thessalonians than some of the churches in his previous letters like the Galatians.

1 Thess 1:5 For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance

I found it interesting how Paul addressed matters of the Second Coming of Jesus more than other letters. In 1 Thess Paul has a reminding tone about his writing "5:2 For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night."

And then in 2nd Thess, Paul has to use a more corrective tone. In 2 Thess 2:3 "Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first". And again in 2:5 "Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?"

Writing an outline of the events and message is redundant because Paul was already summarizing. It just needs to be read (2 Th 2:1-12 and 1Th 5:1-11)

These verses did stick out to me while reading though.
1 Thess 5:8-10
But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.

Read the NT in 10 Weeks - Colossians

noreply@blogger.com (Fred) — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 07:29:00 +0000

Colossians 3:17
¹⁷ And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

This is another great book to explain some basic doctrine of who Christ is.

Christ is the creator of all things (1:16)
We are reconciled to the Father by Christ (1:20)
Christ is who should be preached (1:28)
Christ is more important than philosophy which can be deceptive (2:8)
"For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily" (2:9)
Christ is the way, not rules or being good enough (2:11-23)
Avoid false humility, follow Christ (2:18)
Be holy and follow Christ, do not be filled with lust and evil desire (3:1-10)

After discussing who Christ is there is also some instruction on how to live among other believers. "Therefore as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering...."(3:12).

Christ is for us all.

Read the NT in 10 Weeks - Philippians

noreply@blogger.com (Fred) — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 06:49:00 +0000

Philippians 4:12-13
¹² I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13 I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me.

This verse doesn't really sum up Philippians to me, but it stood out, and seemed like a good reminder to trust in God and not myself.

In Philippians I can really see Paul being thankful for a church that has followed Christ. The people of Philipi were truly a comfort to their pastor. They shared in spreading the gospel (1:5), they were faithful even while persecuted (1:29), and they supported Paul as he ministered to others (4:10-18). Paul even tells the Philippians that they are his encouragement to live in a way (1:24-26).

Can we be as encouraging to our pastor's? and as faithful to Jesus Christ our savior?

Read the NT in 10 week - Ephesians

noreply@blogger.com (Fred) — Sat, 18 Nov 2006 01:21:00 +0000

Ephesians 2:8-10
⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not of works, lest anyone should boast. ¹⁰ For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

I like these verses every time I read it so I made it one of my memory verses. Today it is an encouragement to think of my salvation. Other days it might be my reminder to be humble, or of the enormity of God's love for us, or of how Jesus gives us significance.

Regarding Ephesians in general. This time while reading this group of Paul's letters I was interested in who he was writing them to and what he had to tell them. Ephesians seem more of a general letter that explains the Christian doctrine. Paul is not addressing specific items like he did in his letters to the Corinthians and the Galatians. He doesn't have to do as much correcting of bad practices or doctrine.

Also, I have to admit that I find Paul's long sentences awkward at times and it seems he uses them more in Ephesians. Reading it out loud helps when my concentration isn't high enough to keep up. And while reading out loud, I can really notice how this was a spoken letter. It starts making more sense.

I got curious of the other historical details of these letters and did a bit of google searching and found this site informative Historical Background To Paul's Prison Epistles.

As always, Paul is an inspiration to take the time to be a minister for Christ. I think about how he could see the purpose in sharing the Gospel even while he was in prison.

Thank you Jesus for your grace. Amen.

Read the NT in 10 week - Acts

noreply@blogger.com (Fred) — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 02:04:00 +0000

Acts 4:11-12
¹¹ This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ ¹² Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

I just like this verse. I often search for it because I haven't actively memorized the reference. Now I think it is about time. Acts 4:11, Acts 4:11, Acts 4:11, Acts 4:11. Say it several times outload now. Ok I think I got it.

This verse summarizes our need to accept Jesus alone as our savior. Sometimes I guess it can feel restrictive, but it is the narrow path that we are called to walk.