Conviction

We may be missing the obvious because it is neglected in dogma and creeds. Law's ability to convict and cut to the heart concerns how it interacts with sinful behavior - it affects a potential sinner or a person after sinning to think an innocent (even cuddly) animal like a lamb will die because of sin. This is its power. The deterrent and convicter of innocent pure sacrifice. The pageant too of noses being rubbed in sin by rituals like children today being told Father Christmas only gives nice gifts if they have been good - yet in the Law it is in truth not invented stories. Now roll forward and a greater innocent life is shed for the acts that make it necessary - this convicts the guilty doesn't it. Genuine love for Jesus and His loving Father adds to that conviction and cutting to the heart more than a dying lamb. Now this conviction is so great to the one living God and His Son that ritual on top of the sacrifice is unnecessary. Truth about it does enough convicting. Now the convicting added to by a Spirit of truth coming from God and applying that truth to convict too all has so mcg power that sin can be wiped iut and slavery to it broken as chains fall off. But one ritual remains to remind and reconvict - the bread and wine - the command to partake in rememberance of Him.

God's Truth

The Son of Man was a real person reigning over Heaven and Earth with God. He had been with God before ceation was created. This person came and shed His blood in sacrifice and was given the prophesied name Jesus. This made a new covenant since the old covenant was based on laws of Moses commanded when no such sacrifice was known to man. Now an efficacious sacrifice had (has) been made a new order came to be. This testimony is a version of events we are all familiar with but might disagree with having happened this way with these people - the Son of Man and His Father God. Yet there is The Faith which agrees this version of events and calls it The Truth. 

The Shepherd

Righteousness was set in stone before Jesus came. It pointed to Jesus but Jesus made a huge change to the relevance of Law because He gave a greater sacrifice and shed His own holy blood. The Law was righteousness set in stone but could not make an adherent righteous the way Jesus's blood could. So it all changed and a new sacrifice took first place. The commands needed reissuing now there was a new covenant. But true that faith was always a way of righteousness - even before the Law. Noah, Enoch, Abraham, Sarah - all lived righteously by a faith that had nothing set in stone. Jesus did not replace this - He completed it in a way these righteous treasures longed for. He introduced a new birth to make a child of Satan into a child of God. Even people of faith like John the Baptist needed this. Apostle Paul started as Saul of Tarsus a leading light of Law but not a true light until the risen Jesus cut him to the heart.

Deep Cleaning

In Jesus' teaching it seems He was leading us to a deeper understanding of Old Testament commands than you get just by reading them and obedience to their spiritual meaning. but not going as far as He allowed Paul to eventaully take it once there was a church. I get the understanding that church is key - being part in truth of a body of Christ united with Christ puts onto us a whole new requirement to be holy and remove the worldly part of ourselves. But we have to get there first - to be united with Christ and part of His body. We have to not just be in church but be so in truth - for it to be truth that we are part of the body of Christ Himself. To get there takes basic cleansing. The focus on Christ's commands gets us there and keeps us there once there. Here is where we learn Christ's truthful testimony about Old Testament commands He brings into the New Testament. Here is where we enter the New Testament whether from the Israel Old Testament side or the Gentile side - He is gateway for both groups although Paul took His teachings to Gentiles yet with Christ's commands included. So the initial induction into Christ and staying in Christ is the first washing or as Christ put it to Peter - having a bath. Then truth sets in. Then body of Christ becomes a reality in our own lives.   At this point a new dimension opens to us - there are others in this body and this brings a new possibility (and duty) for holiness to go deeper. Deep cleaning. Cleaning where the bath could not reach because it needs others to reach our feet. Here is what Jesus meant - you will not understand this now but later you will understand. Foot washing by each other. Another person can make us holier and deeper in obedience than we can make ourselves. Peter and brothers would 'get it' once they were in the church. After the Spirit came perhaps. Much of the commands of the epistles is this new deeper level of cleansing. For it we need eachother. Praise God for the Body of Christ.

A place of obedience (from LinkedIn thread today)

From a LinkedIn thread today


We are getting close to the place we need to be - to really loving God as dearly loved children. The Spirit brings it about. The Spirit does uphold the Law even though the blood of Jesus requires a new covenant as the old one becomes (though still intact and preserved) a pre-Christ covenant requiring sacrifices no longer necessary because Christ has been sacrificed (and raised).

Paul wrote in Romans: "For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since God is one; and he will justify the circumcised on the ground of faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law."

So the Spirit leads to the righteousness described in the Law and some commands continue into the new covenant commands from God as God dictates. It is a richly promise-driven covenant. We want to obey its commands if we love God. We need to seek and find His commands. But we need the Spirit poured out on us like the fire on Elijah's sacrifice. Then we will be led to the commands God wants us in the new covenant to obey according to true testimony God gives us. The fire is not just tongues of fire of Spirit on us but trouble coming to test us a prove us in this obedience of faith. War might come. Firey trials, He, our Christ Jesus, baptises with Spirit and with fire and winnows out the chaff. Glory to God through Him. God have mercy on us.

Literal Miracles

My grandparents were Pentecostal missionaries living soon after the revivals when people like Wigglesworth were working miracles everywhere in Wales and England and similar things were happening in USA in the 20s last century. They went to work most of their lives as missionaries in Nigeria. They came back to the UK a couple of times as I grew up telling of all the miracles that accompanied their work there. Yes. But I went on to study at UCL in London - an Atheist college (so they told us - traditionally as per Jeremy Bentham's philosophies). So I was bombarded by atheistic biology as I studied biochemistry there. But I attended a church with a great preacher who taught clearly from the gospels (Dr R T Kendall) and one day he preached a great long sermon on Jesus' teaching 'Say to this mountain "move" without doubting and God will move it for you because of that faith'. I did what Jesus said the first time then and it was just like He said. I told an excruciating burn to "Go" so I could concentrate on the sermon. The pain went immediately and I fended off doubtful thoughts from atheists and unbelievers 'oh it is just in your mind - the pain will come back' as enlightened westerners love to say. I had my eyes shut concentrating and believing as RT preached on such faith. After the sermon there was still no pain as I had struggled to keep believing. I looked down to the finger I had burnt badly on a toaster that morning. The nasty burn blister which was there before the sermon had vanished completely and of course the pain never came back. Like a faithful steward I went on to do greater things. Very great. Jesus even met me once and did the same as I had been doing to affirm this faith (I must add I never saw Him physically but He proved it was Him) but did it better with kindness triumphing over judgment. Like He does. Like God the Father is, who lovingly does it all in response to our faith (to Jesus' faith even - this same Jesus who was crucified and lives).

Believe God Exists

Quote: From the start of the Gospel of Mark

The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,

“See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
    who will prepare your way;

the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
    ‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
    make his paths straight,’”

John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with[ water; but he will baptize you with[g] the Holy Spirit."

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

-- end quote


How better for a valley to be lifted and a mountain made low than by economic equalising by people with two coats giving to those with none. What better way to make way for Jesus. When there are no bumps and all is level as a plain then light travels further and all can see it. The glory of God was seen far and wide when oppulence and wealth was replaced by charitable giving to create a level field and then when that way is made the Son of Man from heaven appears to all in first century AD Judea - to Israel and then to Gentiles and then the ends of the Earth. As prophesies had foretold. Put in some deliberate fight to fend off doubt and believe.

Here is that quoted prophesy of Isaiah centuries before John the Baptist's preaching

3 A voice cries out:
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,
    make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be lifted up,
    and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
    and the rough places a plain.
5 Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
    and all people shall see it together,
    for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

Luke's gospel wrote of John the Baptist's preaching

Luke 3:10-12New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

And the crowds asked him, “What then should we do?” 11 In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.”

The Resurrected Christ in a Scientific Age

Just how powerful is the resurrection of Christ today? The personal resurrected Jesus in a modern world where real miracles are considered implausible but science and natural man's achievements alone allowed to be the modern miracle. How does an awareness that there really is right now a risen Christ affect modern people? If it teaches one thing it is that despite the odds there is a resurrection possible for people today. It shows society can still be completely wrong about what is feasible, even in an age of human achievement and scientific wisdom. There is more than what meets the eye and it can be a great future indeed. Is modern man capable of believing this resurrected Christ really lives and taking in what that means for us? Can schools teach children it is still a possibility in an age of scientific enligtenment?

Accomplishments of God through Christ Jesus

Christ Jesus has been crucified and the accomplishment of His shed blood is in the making a new group of people out of two. The two groups of Israel under the old covenant on one hand and alienated Gentiles disconected from God on the other. The new group has been formed. It is formed by Jesus' shed blood. Who is in this new group? The thing that strikes me is that this same Lord Jesus now stands with God and gurantees the standing of people in this new group. How did someone like me find myself in Christ though? What happened? Well yes Christ died - that happened - and yet Christ rose and the risen Christ did things and some directly and some through others like those He sent. What things? Things that resulted in preaching. Things like His praying resulting in the Holy Spirit coming near. Things that resulted then in power surging to show me holiness and make me want to share in it and benefit from it as a calling. Things that result in people like us encouraging and urging each other on towards a goal of ultimate salvation in the resurrection when He comes to raise the dead who are worthy. Things like revealing Himself. Things that help the publishing and spreading of various scriptures. Things working in others bringing about connections between those who find themselves in this new group. Things like repentance in obedience to Christ and those He sends and gives His commands so that an example is set to follow in not just sticking to what is said but doing what is said then getting visited by the Spirit as a sign of God accepting this because we believe what is said and hold to it to the realisation of it ultimately in obedience and blessing.

The New Freedom

Freedom from condemnation in the new covenant of God takes a lot to understand it but it all comes down to this (some will disagree of course): being prepared to not just learn the commands of Christ but obey them when you realise the truth that He died on that cross for you. If that truth produces in your heart righteousness involving obedience to His commands then there are wonderful promises of God given to disciples of Christ by Christ to be fulfilled in those who don't just learn the truth about His commands but obey them too. See - no curse. There is nothing added that curses you if you don't do what Jesus commands. The new covenant is without the kind of curses Jews had in the old covenant that meant they had to keep obeying it like slaves (many Jews and Gentiles are still allowing itvto dominate them today). The only condemnation is what exists outside the new covenant. The new way frees you from condemning clauses that enslave and do not make the slave righteous or a child of God.

Spiritual Suffering

Spiritual suffering of disciples of Jesus stems from disciples being taught by the Spirit who is God and this makes us spiritually foreign to those not taught by Him. This strangeness to others makes each vulnerable to oppression, persecution and sometimes danger of harm from those in power - as Jesus too took endangerment from Pontius Pilate. But spirit help is at hand from the Angel of The Lord who encamps around those who fear Him and this is seen seldom better, as the Spirit testifies, than there in Daniel 3. Praise God.

God Spreads Truth

God ispreading truth - His testimony and that of His Son and His Spirit - is what matters most but He tells disciples to testify too so they do. It's like spreading free food - not much interest to someone who has no appetite for it but great for the hungry.

Many called gods but just one who is The God

I reckon for ages people without deep personal knowledge of Christian faith have misunderstood the faith to be that no god exists except God (The God) but that was never the real faith. The real faith of the Apostles and disciples of Jesus is that the Father is for us The God and He is worshipped as being unique in that regard with Jesus being The Lord, yet that has never been to deny the actual existence of beings people can regard as gods - even Jesus reminded people of a psalm in scripture calling rulers gods: 'Ye are gods'. So there are indeed many gods yet for a Christian only one who is The God - the One Jesus spoke of as The Father who sent Him. This The God with Jesus The Lord created all things gaving been before all things and will be as long as time exists and beyond if that were possible. This distinguishes the Christian's (and other people of such faith) The God from all the many gods.

Quoting 1 Corinthians 8:5-6 New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)

Indeed, even though there are so-called gods in heaven and on earth (there are, to be sure, many “gods” and many “lords”), yet for us there is

one God, the Father,
    from whom all things are and for whom we exist,
and one Lord, Jesus Christ,
    through whom all things are and through whom we exist.

Promises of the New Covenant of God

Some of the promises of Jesus, author of the new covenant who paid for it and founded it with His blood on the cross. A covenant without curse.

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never live in darkness. They will have the light that gives life.”

“If you continue to accept and obey my teaching, you are really my followers. You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

"...But a son belongs to the family forever. So if the Son makes you free, you are really free"

"I can assure you that whoever believes in me will do the same things I have done. And they will do even greater things than I have done, because I am going to the Father. And if you ask for anything in my name, I will do it for you. Then the Father’s glory will be shown through the Son. If you ask me for anything in my name, I will do it."

“If you love me, you will do what I command. I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper to be with you forever. The Helper is the Spirit of truth. The people of the world cannot accept him, because they don’t see him or know him. But you know him. He lives with you, and he will be in you."

"...the people in the world will not see me anymore. But you will see me. You will live because I live. On that day you will know that I am in the Father. You will know that you are in me and I am in you. Those who really love me are the ones who not only know my commands but also obey them. My Father will love such people, and I will love them. I will make myself known to them.”

“All who love me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them. My Father and I will come to them and live with them. But anyone who does not love me does not obey my teaching. This teaching that you hear is not really mine. It is from my Father who sent me."

The Covenant without the Curse

Mainly, it seems to me, Lord Jesus the Christ died so there could be a covenant without the curse, just the promises for if you obey the commands - no curse if you don't. Isn't that glorious. Just His commands and the eternal life promises if you obey them. 

Promise or Doom

Those who ignore and persistently disobey the commands of the old covenant (the Law and the Old Testament Prophets) but yet are under it, following it and relying on it - what happens is they fall foul of its curses. What about with those following the new covenant but not obeying its commands - what does the new covenant say to them about that? Does it have curses too? If it did it would be no better than the old perhaps. I submit that there is no curse on such people like there was under the old covenant (and for some still following the old, still is). They will still for this life have a door before them even if they do not enter. The things of judgment are just as they were if there was no new covenant."Condemned already." They will just keep missing out on the new covenant promises until they obey its commands and enter the door. The new adds no condemnation in addition to any that already existed. No curse. In my view it is like a 'parable' ('illustration') people used to tell when I was young - the new is like a lifebelt thrown out you might refuse to grab when drowning. I would add that it is like the old had the accompanying shout "grab this and be rescued but if not you deserve to die!" and as soon as God says "you deserve to die" the person flounders and drowns. Now God has a better way. A new improved life belt based a lot on the first but this time just lots of encouraging promises are shouted to the person drowning which have the effect of saving them because of the faith instead of doom they inspire, Better. Jesus guarantees it, having contributed His blood to make it work.

The New is not like the Old

It is not commandments in the Law that are the problem. They are similar to commandments from the same God in the new testament. It is the things that God gave with those commandments especially the curse - the curse if you didn't keep all of them. In the new testament it is still the same God and the same righteousness contained in similar commands but instead of a curse accompanying then to motivate obedience it is promises. In particular, there is the promise of God that Jesus will give knowledge of truthful testimony, along with His revelation of Himself. There is the promise of God and Himself always, eternally, abiding with the keepers and obeyers of the commands. A promise to those who do so in love for Him and for God. It is not to say there were no promises in the old covenant. What accompanied commands of God in the old testament Law is different. It was (is, for those following it) a curse for not obeying - this is its part of its motivation. In the new covenant the curse is done away and what accompanies the commands is promises to those who obey which include eternal life. So the promises are better and the curse is abolished. The old covenant of Law is not abolished but it is made obsolete by the new covenant but the new covenant does include commands - but with just promise, unlike the old which has promises and curses on those who don't always obey it all.

Commandments from Lord Jesus via St Paul

The Apostle Paul was sent as an apostle to the Gentiles by Lord Jesus Christ after Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into heaven in the first century AD. Paul told the believing Gentiles that the Old Testament Law is not over them but the Lord Jesus gave Paul commmandments to give these believers, some of which were also in the Law. This shows it is the same God but a new way of righteousness from this God.

Christian Hospitality

Two scriptural moral considerations when giving hospitality we have to weigh, I think

1. who is it wrong to welcome?

2 John 1:7-11

"I say this because many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. Watch out that you do not lose what we[a] have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully. Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take them into your house or welcome them. Anyone who welcomes them shares in their wicked work."

 2. who is it wrong not to welcome?

 3 John 1:5-8

 "Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers and sisters,[a] even though they are strangers to you. They have told the church about your love. Please send them on their way in a manner that honors God. It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. We ought therefore to show hospitality to such people so that we may work together for the truth."

The Talent

Take the Parable of the Talents. The one who buried the talent was like one who merely adheres to the old covenant which describes a Good Samaritan but does not to produce one - that talent of the old covenant needs to be seen as a description of what God wants people to be like then combined with the teachings of Jesus in the new covenant of truth to get to being a Good Samaritan - else if you just keep the old covenant and say to the Master you kept it He will say you buried it in the sand and didn't put it to work. That won't be good at all.

Good Samaritans

I sometimes wonder whether a whole lot of what passes as Christian teaching is no better and no more effective at producing Good Samaritans than the Old Covenant and teachings like the Talmud that have followed after the Old Covenant. It is essential I too wake up to the realisation just believing is not enough until you learn to actually adhere to Christ's teachings and even that needs to progress persistently until grace and truth which Christ shares turns the person around and eventually Good Samaritan acts result (like Jamie Foxx's in the news today, God give more of that and bless it in those who have it).

What is Truth?

Truth in Nine Steps

Step 1 -  start with the truth of the testimony of the gospel
              Jesus Christ has given true testimony
              His Apostles too have testified truthfully
              especially that He is the Christ and He died for you
              God Himself testified in a voice thundering from
               the sky at the baptism of Jesus that this is His Son
               and He is a Son well pleasing to Him

Step 2 - believing this truth, reach outside yourself for life from God

Step 3 - appreciate that truthfulness is precious to God and reason:
              if God is all about truthfulness when giving testimony and
              Jesus well pleased Him, so Jesus too must be all about truth

Step 4 - receive the Spirit in answer to your reaching for life if you
              completed Step 2 in believing and discover in support of
              Step 3 that the Spirit too coming now from God is all about
              you testifying truthfully as He too testifies truthfully

Step 5 - learn partnership with God and Jesus and the Spirit of Truth
              by giving truthful testimony whenever you can regarding
              yourself and all this truth

Step 6 - set aside lies as they are unworthy of God and all this truth

Step 7 - following the truth you learn by keeping God-given truth and teachings
              receive more truth to transform you into a child of truth free to live
              according to it.

Step 8 - continue to live according to the truth as you learn it from the
              testimonies of God, Jesus and Apostles of His, Spirit and friends

Step 9 - keep all this truth to the end so that you remain in Jesus and He in you

Inspiration

The living Holy Spirit speaks words coming from the vast time Jesus Christ the Lord and God the Father have been in fellowship and Jesus has learned from God. We cannot use the existence of a canon, the Bible, as reason to refuse the Spirit's words as somehow inferior. God has breathed some things personally and inspired records of other things (like the decree of King Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 3) to be preserved and the words spoken or breathed by the very Father Himself from His mouth are the greatest words of all far outweighing the words of Nebuchadnezzar. So there are degrees of inspiration and authority even among the words of scripture whereas words actually spoken by God like "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased" and "Listen to Him" spoken of Lord Jesus Christ outweigh the words of men even those recorded in scripture. Jesus words are, He said, learned by Him from the Father and since it is the Son who delivered them and since He is Faithful and True they carry most weight. The Holy Spirit directly inspires words like interpreted tongues which are from the truth of Jesus received by Him directly from the Father so the weight they carry is commensurate and need to be treated by ourselves as such, not rejected on the basis they are not from a preferred canon of scripture (though they will be entirely consistent with His prophesies of scripture).

The Message that Cuts to the Heart

O what it is to be cut to the heart. The message that Christ was crucified and that it was for you should cut you to the heart and make you trust for more for your need to be made worthy of it.

Faith That Works Miracles

I have tried to set aside unbelief and adhere to messages of the Gospel like the gospel of John. Then by God's grace and the faith I have from that grace I perceive it when God, Jesus and the Spirit of Truth do things to show themselves to me so I then believe all the more but I have to bolster it because I forget what happens that made me believe. I know I have a commitment of love to keep believing so I deliberately reinforce my belief by reminding myself of the things that made me certain and I fight off silly thinking that crept in since. If silly thinking contradictory to what I experienced with certainty is wisdom it doesn't seem so to me. With doubts I tend to entertain them normally like many do - like you do. It might be delusional to think it improves wisdom to entertain doubts but I have a tendency or habit I suppose. In some cases of religious action of making something God's business in obedience to Him - then I do fight doubt, as Jesus taught. It is such a battle sometimes I keep it for special situations - I think they are predetermined sometimes by God because special faith sometimes kicks in like nitro in a 'Fast and Furious' modified street racing car.  So here is something. As social creatures wanting to fit in we do wicked things (seen TV program on this). Now I know I could be wicked by associations of day to day life influencing me. I really don't want to be wicked so I try to have association as much as I can with Jesus Christ (believing He is) so I seek to do miracles of faith and things like this writing which might lend itself to His association with me as I do it. This is to maximise influence His righteousness has on me so I am less likely to be wicked in other parts of my life - like coming across a needy migrant as we've discussed. It is faith allowing this (without it I would think I was mad and stop but then probably be as wicked as the world around me).

Having Good Spirit

Society misses the importance of good spirit. It takes goid spirit when faced with needy people in our daily lives so we do not shrink from helping those in dire need. Trainng like First Aid helps but there is this preparation of spirit which gives good grace to help a stranger in dire need without asking inappropriately who they are. The Good Samaritan teaching is well known and we should follow it but to do it takes grace. Jesus Christ is alive and able to give such grace.

The Way, The Truth, The Life

"I am the way and the truth and the life; no person comes to the Father except by Me." - Jesus Christ, first century AD. This is most in contrast with the way major religions allow people to believe God directly connects with people - that no mediator is required. Whether those who say everyone is already connected to God and therefore to each other. Or those who say observance of the Law connects people to God. Or those who say belief and adherence to teachings connect you to God. Jesus said people need to become connected to Himself. He is the One man connected to the Father. Abiding in Jesus is what connects anyone to God for eternity because only God's true children have a true connection to their Father and thus had to be eternal because (John 8) there are no temporary children of God so true connection requires to be eternally united and only Jesus can make it so, and power is His to do it because He Himself is eternal (even though He died, because God raised Him). So He is the nevessary mediator who makes and keeps a person righteous so they remain connected to Jesus and Jesus connected to God.

Two Certainties

Irrespective of the state of Christianity two mysterious certainties remain - a sacrfice has been made and a resurrection life has appeared. This sacrificed, resurrected one is ever living and able to fix His own.

Horror - no be all and end all

Horror is not the be all and end all. The horror affliction thrown at Lord Jesus Christ when they crucified Him on a cross 2000 years ago killing Him so horrifically, wasn't the end. Now it is done and He lives and always lives. Why? Because God is powerful and God is love - and if we live in love we live in God. Jesus does. He has overcome.

Believe

Belief is necessary for anyone. Belief that God is. Belief that Lord Jesus is. Belief that the Holy Spirit is. Is and was and will be. Living life in time a huge scale of magnitude longer than our mortal life time. Belief is certainty. Belief is being certain because each of us by each one being certain it is true. Not merely orthodox or conservative or progressive. True. On the way to acquiring certainty we might try to learn by adhering to doctrines we are taught. We might adhere to an understanding of the meanings of scriptures. We might adhere to the literal words of Jesus, trying not to make false or risky assumptions about their meaning, hoping the Spirit will inspire us with understanding (and to me this is prudent). Eventually obedience grows till God fulfills the promise to be found by us, by our searching, and till Jesus fulfills the promise that He and the Father, God, will show themselves to the obedient, and the promise to dwell with them. The promise of the Holy Spirit being given to those who God sees are believing His word. Then we really start to live. Then God, Jesus, the Spirit are our very great reward.

Intelligence Involved in Origins

Given our recent technological advances and how that extrapolates and how we can assume so much more of life hugely more advanced still, why argue at all for creation without intelligence? This is now an obsolete notion given how much intelligence there must be in the Universe quite capable of creating. Now though we can even start to realise the likelihood of intelligence having been involved in the appearance of the Universe and Time themselves. A Time non-existent before the Universe and intelligence likely involved in it starting adds hints at the possibility of there being no such thing as 'before' the original creator. If time started with creation then there was no 'before' its creator as such but that creator just is. This could tie in to apparent communications received from such a creator (creators it seems - Father and Son together with Spirit).

Origins

It baffles me when so many say science is their reason for believing what they believe but they never speak of this planet having been created the way it is and all the life on it including us. Evolution could happen, science tells us, on any suitable planet at any time in the whole Universe during all the time it has been cool enough. Statistics tells us the chances of no life anywhere else in the Universe having evolved, if science has evolution and life origins correct, the chance of no other life is negligible - pretty much zero. The chance of much of that life NOT exceeding our state of advancement is zero - much of it will have achieved what we will achieve in thousands of years or millions of years and will by statistics have achieved it before Earth supported life - just statistics and scientific fact must predict that. The humanities and science and technology tell us our accelerating rate of progress in science and technology over past centuries is pretty much exponential - consider nuclear science growth since the splitting of a uranium atom. Extrapolation using science and statistics would give us huge ability in hundreds of years so we get closer to being able to take our technilogy into the cosmos and terraform and even release energy on unimaginabke scale from physics such as dark energy and dark matter or negative energy physics or effects yet unknown so as to be able to do what people have  struggled to believe a god or gods have done in creating things. The ability by then to turn elements into other elements and make living organisms from their components or from starting chaibs of events parallelling what we consider led to life here. Given millions of years of progress we could do most things we are told God did in making earth. In the time it took from the cooling of the Universe. in current science terms, to the start of Earth being formed, there would be ample time for another or very many other species in the Universe to reach such abilities and much more besides. We are talking billions of years if science is correct. So if people really think science has it right the whole thing adds up to what? By Ocham's razor the most likely should be the preferred theory so it is surely most likely to a believer in science that it adds up to a very high probability Earth and life and us were created. The chance against it is too small. So why do people not add the numbers and get this answer and speak about it all the time. Are people stuck in the thinking from before science gave us all this, incapable of deducing where it is leading?

How to Become Children of God

When a person hears the word of the gospel such that the power of the message of Christ having died for them and the glory of God in Christ is in their innermost mind, the immediate effect is an initial washing of their attitude towards the right way of God and acceptance that God is true so they should also be true and let God be at work in them. This is like having a bath. Worse kinds of unworthiness of conduct and attitude are put into retreat as a winning blow is delivered in favour of the truthfulness of God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Faith is rewarded over the life of this person as they believe the testimony of God and of His Son and of His Spirit and the rewards are miraculous signs and visits by the Holy Spirit. A journey has begun and they start to realise the truth as the Lord Jesus gives them knowledge that they are not alone but others too are receiving the gospel even if they are distant and hidden. A journey continues as other disciples are sought and found and as others believe based on this person testifying of what God has done for their soul's salvation. The body of the sum of these people mysteriously united with Christ with baptism into Christ an outward testimony and pledge of allegience. Yet it becomes clear as time goes by and the teachings of Christ start to be learned anew and followed persistently that all is not perfect - unworthiness persists. Now comes stage two of washing after thr stage one bath. The beliebers recognise each other have been born anew in spirit not biology as God in spirit through Christ's word and truth and grace has done the marvelous initial adoption into God's family of the brlievers putting away lies and hatred and receiving the Spirit as a sign of God's acceptance. Yet unworthy behaviour is there in each one. Pray for each other now that God would give life to each true child who has turned from major misconduct like lies but needs cleansing still. This is normal. The truth makes clean the conduct and attitudes but this is over time with prayer involved because feet cannot easily be washed on your own but need others to reach there effectively but others have their own unworthiness so must not be hypocrites presuming to be able to cleanse while they are themselves not cleansed but prayer to God releases life from God to do the washing until the fully clean ones can wash the feet of others who have already had a bath. The need for corporate washing means confession is relevant and helps the recognition that the members of Christ truly adhering to His teachings must wash each others feet and pray for God to give each other life. End result: In time worthy disciples adopted into God's family as permanent members ready for Christ to raise them to never die again when He comes. God only has permanent children. John 8.

Being Made Worthy of Jesus and The Resurrection

Being made worthy of Jesus and The Resurrection is called sanctification. In the early stages of sanctification as faith in Jesus and knowledge of His teachings and apostles' teachings leads to the disciple putting an end to major unworthy behaviours such as lying and hating, the onus may be on the individual to take due heed to the word of Christ's testimony of truth. This may happen during evangelism and can typically be by one-to-one or one-to-many preaching. After the first "bath" (as Jesus put it) in the words the need is more a matter of finer grained and deeper cleansing of sanctification and this is to involve other disciples. The picture given is foot washing. Here is where church fellowship enters the picture. "Wash one another's feet." It is a matter too for prayer; "if you see a brother sin you should pray and God will give him life.

Evangelistic Calling

There is a calling some Christians have to make ordinary people into saints: If someone believes in God and believes also in Jesus then they are two steps towards being persuaded to follow the teachings of Jesus persistently. If they don't even believe in God then trying to persuade them to do so is a challenge. That God made the Universe itself and made Jesus beforehand as first of His works, this is important in a time of awareness of the Universe and cosmic timescales because to be a saint you have to believe Jesus can change you eternally and for that He Himself must be eternal.

Proving the Existence of God

Considering the evangelist's calling to make ordinary people into saints: If someone believes in God and believes also in Jesus then they are two steps towards being persuaded to follow the teachings of Jesus persistently. If they don't even believe in God then trying to persuade them to do so is a challenge. Personally I have tried proving God exists by saying the chances of the Earth not having been created is unimaginably small, given that even humans could expect to aquire the ability to terraform a planet within tens of thousands of years and the chance of nobody else in the Universe being able to do that within the age of the Universe is unthinkable. But that only 'proves' Earth was terraformed to support life. It doesn't prove the God who did it made the Universe itself and made Jesus beforehand as first of His works.

Religion and Fear of God

Religion and fear of God leads to the kind of blessedness found in Daniel 3 "v25 The king said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire. They are not tied up and they are not burned. The fourth man looks like an angel." Having the Angel of the Lord as great protector. 

In Him All Things Hold Together

I would say the sense many have of divinity in everything is at least partly true when it comes to it all being sustained by divinity but I would reserve something about God as always other than nature. Nature is sustained by power of God invested in the Name of Lord Jesus Christ the Son of Man. There is a divine entity called The Oath. We all want certainty that seasons will come at a predictable time so the work of farming is reliable. This regularity needs a caring side of God and a faithful commitment on God's part for us to not be overwhelmed with worry. It has to be that the Universe has non-human equivalents of this too. It all needs order because it survives by order. So there is something about God that He manages this and ensures it to allow life to be sustained. Essentially He is a Saviour. He cares about His creations. This extends everywhere in the Universe - His name. The underwriting at a cosmic level must exist. It seems to be there is an underlying Oath of God keeping it all going reliably and lovingly and faithfully. This is embodied in Jesus Christ's Name as Lord over it all. His rule at God's right hand is more than just the Throne of His human ancestor regarding the flesh - King David - it is Lord over Nature and Universe. Yet needless to say humans are not always faithful like God is faithful.

Where is this Leading

Where does my faith and religion lead me - where does the Spirit of God and the truth of the testinony of Jesus Christ lead me? I hope it leads me to resurrection. Belief in Christ who leads out of unworthiness like wanton destruction of other lives and the planet by pollution and industrialisation with irresponsibility and leads into a worthy life must surely lead also to resurrection by Him at His return, if I keep His words and stay in His way of truth.

God's Universe

All The God's universe is ordered His way because before He made any of it He begat His Son, the Word, the summation of all His system of order and righteousness and He made the Universe (Universes?) through Him. So it all gels because this Lord and Christ Jesus and the authority in the name of the Lord and Christ Jesus holds it all together as the perfect Word of God who unites it in its logic and harmony. 

God

God's  is a name that says He needs no name. Like the postage stamps where the UK stamps have no country on them, just the monarch's head, because it shows the history that the UK monarch invented them at a time there were no other countries with stamps. So always the creator uniqueness allows the UK to be the only country to have a stamp with no country name. God created people and naming is part of His creation. Before Abraham and Moses He gave no name to people to use to identify Him or distinguish Him bevause only He is God and the worship of gods did not take away from His uniqueness. Other gods had no such uniqueness, each was one of several or many. Egypt had several so they tended not to say 'the God' but 'a god'. God changed all that. He made them know He is The God. Did you know there is a famous artefect from one of the Thutmose pharoahs reigns (I tend to associate these with Moses rather than Rameses) mentioning the Canaan area as 'land of The God'? The real existence of any particular god was questionable. Multiple gods required a situation to be resolved - what distinguishes The God who Moses met. Well this god actually is. And He can have that as His name because He names Himself. He invented naming. So His name need not really be a name. He just is. Enough said.

Unity with God?

Crucial is whether you are taught you can be or already are united with God without any need for a mediator. This seems to be central in the thinking taught to many. Christian teaching should be that you can be united with Christ through faith in Him and He is united with the Father, God. So Christ is a mediator and only through Him can anybody be united with God. Even unity with Christ is only possible if a person believes He is eternally alive and powerful to save. So unity with Him is NOT a unity with every other person. It is unity with the One who is on one hand united with every other individual who is united with Him but bit everyone, and on the other hand with God, the Father (His own God and Father).

Theology Education and Eternal Life

There are things about Jesus that are really very theological and maybe beyond the average church sermon. The place of a theology class is appropriate these as with another major matter of theology - eternal life. If theology were used to teach about the applied theology of how the nature of Jesus as eternally alive from the dead and as able to make students of His worthy of eternal life then raise them at the resurrection leads to transformation into eternally living children of God it would allow complex matters about Jesus to be considered carefully more than in churches. This care in understanding such subjects is necessary for longlasting discipleship of Jesus, not just for academic training. The complex issue presents itself, for example, whether Jesus taught that He comes from the eternal past or not quite eternal past as Arius may have taught. Then the concept of eternal future or there being some kind of 'end' and How He will remain alive for it all to be able to ensure the lives are saved who always eternally trust in Him. This can be revealed in an instant but for manybitvtakes much thought and learning so love itself leads to a desire that theology education be a platform to help students of theology becomes or remain students of Jesus Christ.

The Necessary Belief

What Jesus preached nost clearly was to have a kind of belief about Him that means you do not 'die in your sins'. John 8. Believing always He is there to save you so you live forever. 

Discerning Religions

I find no problem with the work of true spirits like angels as well as the Spirit from before the Throne of Glory in inspiring scriptures of various religious groups and part of the way those scriptures came about was people we term 'prophets'. So the Spirit inspiring prophets in various religions, though the cultures behind those religions vary a lot, the Spirit could be at work in each to some degree, along with spirits which we have to discern carefully but could well be very trustworthy. So there might be various names revealed for who sends these spirits and the Spirit from before His throne. Yet it is likely the same One sending the spirits as sends the Spirit from before the Throne. I'm trying to avoid using specifics or names. We just have to make sure the spirits are true but to avoid prejudice as we try to discern. Language and culture are factors but so is the sovereign will of Him who sits on the Throne of Glory and the glory and service to Him of the One beside Him at His right hand. This One at the right hand is mentioned in various religions' scriptures and ties them together when mentioned with reverence.

Jesus

From the Spirit sent from God the Father I learn that Jesus has authority invested in His name such that very nature itself is driven by the authority and power of His name and His care over nature extends to care for me personally and power to show Himself to me as Him being my natural Master down to the very inner heart of me - my entirety within His authority. This is the same Jesus who was born around 2000 years ago in a town called Bethlehem who grew up in Nazareth so was called Jesus of Nazareth and was crucified by Romans yet there is an invisible God He called The Father and this God mysteriously brought Him back from the dead the third day.

An Exhortation unto Eternal Life

When you realise that the life of Christ and His historical crucifixion demonstrates a loving God exists, you might feel you have to stop in your tracks and seek time out to find out more and reach out. Pray. Let praying provide an opportunity for this loving God to reach back out to you. Let the power of God by the Spirit of God show you the importance of good conduct and truth over evil conduct and lying. Let love win the day. Then let the words we have available coming historically from Lord Jesus, the Christ who came, be your guide. Let truth, however strange to you, about Jesus be your priority. Believing what God testifies about His Son will be rewarded with acceptance of you by God and He will show He accepts you by giving you the wonderful Holy Spirit, full of truthfulness, purity, integrity, unlike anything in this world, to guide you into finding who Jesus really is. We say 'Christ' but beyond that word is truth astounding and thrilling. This Spirit will delight you. You will be set apart from the world around you by this truth. It will lead you to live more worthily so you can become and remain ready to meet this maker you have. There is eternal life promised to those who remain worthy by this truth and the spirit life words of Jesus Christ and workings of the Spirit God sends in His name.

Ultimate Judgment

I reckon everyone is entitled to ask then answer for their own satisfaction questions like "Did a god create the Earth as it came to be?" and "Did a god create the Universe itself?" and "Is there a being who existed before anything else existed at all? And made another being  first as firstborn, like scriptures say, then both made Time and all else that exists?" There is a Holy Spirit I witness who leads to the latter truth but not everybody knows this Spirit so I don't think it fair to judge others who are still ignorant but there is One, who I believe exists, who has been given authority to judge.

The Sequence of Duty

A phenomenon worthy of science or maybe philosophy at least is the sequence of duty. It starts with God loving humans. Then reciprocates with humans (some) loving God back. Then humans loving humans because God commands it and they love God.

The Harvest Plentiful but Workers Few

Is it perhaps due to a lack of equipped workers among believers that these issues are not adequately addressed. Belief might be being left stranded. Even awareness if a need for belief or awareness of a need for 'salvation' can go unaddressed for years as the Bible for instance is not understood without proper help and people wander around making false assumptions about their own worthiness and think they are progressing and Christian when they are not even truly believing yet, let alone made worthy of such a calling. Christ with God send out workers into this their harvest - out to the masses who merely have an inkling of their soul's need but no idea if they are truly even Christians.

Link between Hatred and Fear

Just as lying goes back to not appreciating the value of truthfulness and resolution is found in being shown (by the truth) the virtuous power involved in giving true testimony (such as in court or in reporting) - so hating goes back to feeling afraid for ones safety and realising loving power exists to protect you gives you freedom to stop being overprotective of yourself and thus gives freedom to do things like forgiving, interceding, refraining from retaliation. The essential part to elimination of fear is knowing protection already exists. To me this is where faith comes in - in God beng there and Christ being there and in the message of the true reason behind the crucifixion of Christ and the live it shows exists for you. This leads to innervability to stop lying and stop hating.

Judgments in this Life

"Do not judge lest you be judged"; judging is something Christ takes out of the hands of the disciples in general but they are taught to ask God to do it for them on their behalf and to ask believing He will do it - with no doubt in their hearts that He will. They can then intercede for the ones to be judged by God and so fulfill love. But even asking God to judge fulfills love in itself because if I wanted anyone to judge me I would prefer it to be God. 

Becoming a Worthy Disciple of Christ

Now, on the matter of sanctification (of not just believing in Christ but subsequently becoming a worthy disciple) and how it is covered in the scriptures of the New Testament, we have a link between John 8 and Paul's message seems clear in Ephesians 4 (around verse 21) because he speaks of the Ephesians having learned Christ and then what follows parallels John 8 in first dealing with putting away lying then hatred and angry sin but then he starts to go further dealing with theft and later in chapter 5 with immorality. What particularly extends John 8 is that whereas Jesus was speaking to believers before they became fully fledged disciples and before they learned the truth, Paul is dealing with disciples after they have learned the truth (4 verse 21). The main tryth they have learned which leads to the basis of Paul's handling of their prigression to teaching their sanctification is that they are part of one body with eachother - a corpus in Christ - so their duties covering sanctification concern the dealings with each other.   In the 1 Thessalonians letter he does make a clearer distinction, yes, between, believing initially then gong on to become sanctified. This does show itself the be the purpose of his letter in chapter 2. "Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and righteously and unblameably we behaved ourselves toward you that believe: as ye know how we dealt with each one of you, as a father with his own children, exhorting you, and encouraging you, and testifying, to the end that ye should walk worthily of God, who calleth you into his own kingdom and glory. And for this cause we also thank God without ceasing, that, when ye received from us the word of the message, even the word of God, ye accepted it not as the word of men, but, as it is in truth, the word of God, which also worketh in you that believe."   So some sanctification had begun in these disciples. Then he comes back to it in chapter 4 and starts to push home teachings on how to progress with sanctification still further - in parallel to Ephesians 5 he starts to deal with sexuality matters. Neither his previous preaching nor Jesus' John 8 preaching had dealt with this. It seems to be deliberately kept to a later more advanced stage after people know they are part of a corpus of many believers all united in Christ and Christ's truth after the lying and hatred has been put aside which means already they will have the Holy Spirit and be children of God. There might be a big gap. First the believing with truth being found following believing and Holy Spirit coming and then perhaps a gap of years before these advanced matters are dealt with - like foot washing in Jesus' teaching coming after a bath with a gap in between.

Believing in Christ then Being Set Apart for Him

In becoming a believer in Christ it is vital to not stop there at merely believing but proceed to being set apart from others by the effect of words of spirit from Christ being borne in mind and the changes in behaviour due to the knowledge of truth that results, given by Christ Jesus as He promised. The need to be set apart from others who don't believe and so the need to become something truly special - those who belong to Christ as part of Him - one with Him - this has to happen His way - the way that is the will of the God and Father of Lord Jesus Christ. It starts with a cutting out of practices akin to Satan's like lying and murderously loving people being killed and hated. The keeping of Christ's and the Apostles' words of spirit and life and following the Spirit into knowledge of truth continues it resulting in freedom - perhaps constantly increasing freedom as more of Gis will is learned and replaces mere human behaviour.

Good Thursday?

Many object to the idea Jesus died on Friday because He had said He would rise again on the third day, as indeed was written in prophesy. Can we not be free from dogma to look into this with honesty and not feel guilty for questioning long held tradition ('Good Friday')? The gospel says there was a Sabbath meaning His body had to be inspected to ensure He had died as evening (start of Sabbath) approached. This is probably where some have assumed it was Friday with the usual Sabbath being Saturday and starting Friday evening at sunset. Yet the gospels on closer inspection are clear this was not a usual Sabbath buf Passover which could make it whatever day it happened to be that year couldn't it (I'm no expert)? So it was also a rest day for the disciples in addition perhaps to the usual Saturday rest day (unless it happened to be Passover on Saturday that year). They did not return to the tomb despite urgency to anoint the body until the command allowed which is clear was Sunday early morning - no cause to question this. My thinking is to conclude they rested at least one day but perhaps two with no working day between (no day they could go to the body). Unless the coming Saturday Sabbath prevented them returning to a dead body the day before Sabbath but then the gospels would probably say so and this leaves either Friday plus Saturday being a special two day Sabbath because of Passover plus a usual Sabbath the next day - or the tradition of just the usual Saturday Sabbath. No day of work until Sunday as the gospel implies either way. So He could have died Thursday rather than Friday, it seems to me. So this makes it more certain the word He said and its evocation of the scripture that He would "on the third day rise again according to the scripture".

Nameless Named

He was with God before anything was made. It was just Him and God so no need for names. He seems to have remained without name until He was made incarnate 2000 years ago in Bethlehem. He was till then described by prophets who saw Him in visions but no name mentioned. He then had to be born and live growing up as human among other humans who saw Him as like anyone else though a bit surprising at times in what He did and said and so at last He needed a name to identify Him among the masses and even just among His earthly family. Fitting that the name be imparted by angels who had known Him as Lord and Son of Man and Son of God and knew His glory. It is there in a couple of ancient prophesies known today but partly obscured by the wear and tear of the ages that the name of Him was made known long before His coming in the flesh. Enoch prophesied but it is a prophesy now with some fragments lost. The name of this Son of Man, he apparently wrote, had been revealed to the angels to help them counter evil but it is not clear whether this meant a name as we mean by a personal name or whether it is an invocation of His reputation or title. Isaiah had a hint given him that the child to be born as a salvation would be named (personal name) like his own name which was a sign of it (obscurely hinted at in Isaiah 8) and indeed the names are very similar in some languages and have the same meaning. Otherwise The Christ and The Almighty are similar in revealing that they need no personal name and can be believed to just exist anyway irrespective of any personal name. They are - whether or not they have a personal name. The need for a personal name to distinguish one among many is associated with being merely one among many. Although the Son of Man became like that, He is also unique and without anyone besides Him except the Father who too is unique. There are not several 'Fathers' in the way that God is Father. There are not others exactly like the Son of Man. Neither necessarily need personal names. Each can say simply "I am".