Our Big Problem as Humankind

Dear Friend,

I submit to you that our real problem is we do not truly recognize and accept Jesus Christ as God Himself, as the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. We put Him down by relegating Him to one of the many great revolutionaries, or teachers, or religious leaders, or prophets, or philosophers. This is simply not right. The Bible which is the Word of God is very clear about this. Look at John’s Gospel, for example. It says there in John 20:31,

“But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

John 14:6 says,

“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Acts 4:12 declares,

“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

Philippians 2:9-11,

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place

    and gave him the name that is above every name,
¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹ and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father.

All kinds of evidence and proof, whether archaeological or scientific or historical or otherwise have already been given to Humanity and the world about the reliability and veracity of the Holy Bible as the True Word of God and Jesus Christ as a truly historical person who did live and walk on this earth for some thirty-three and a half years before being crucified most cruelly and unjustly. On the third day, He rose again, appeared to hundreds and hundreds of His disciples in a span of forty days before He ascended back to Heaven, to His Father God, where He was originally since the beginning of beginnings (John 1)

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was with God in the beginning. ³ Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. ⁴ In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

¹⁴ The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

¹⁷ For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.

The Resurrection itself should be more than enough evidence to demonstrate that Jesus Christ is indeed who He declared He was: The Son of God. Who can be compared to the Lord Jesus Christ? I do not see anyone. No, not one! No, not one!

Dear Friend,

We must be truthful and sincere and honest. We must be ready to forsake everything that does not uphold the Truth. We must humbly repent if we have been led into lies and deceit and falsehood. We must welcome the Light and receive the Enlightenment with gladness and gratitude. God will bless us if we do so. Things at all levels will be transformed for the better for everyone, the family, the community, the nation, and the entire world. We need to accept and follow the plain Truth wherever it leads us. No regret and no turning back. Following God is the highest noblest thing we will ever do as a human being. Obeying God is right! Not just any god though, but the True Living God of the Bible only!

I challenge everyone, no matter who and where you are, to believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, receive Him in your heart, obey His Word and follow Him in your daily living. You will surely see the difference that it will make to your life and of those around you and of the world at large.

God bless you. Amen.

Who Is Jesus Christ? (John 1:1-5)

Who Is Jesus Christ ?

Introduction to John’s Gospel

Today, it is September 15th, 2013. Yesterday it was September 14th, 2013. The day before yesterday, it was September 13th. If we keep going, we'll get to last year..., last decade, your date of birth,...your parents' date of birth..., your grand-parents'..., your great-grandparents'..., your greatgreatgrandparents'..., until we get to the very first parents...who were created by God in the beginning of Time.-Genesis 1:1

Genesis 1:1

In that beginning of Time, God created the heavens and the earth. Then He created the plants and animals and finally Man and Woman. The First Man and Woman were called Adam and Eve. Everything was good and perfect... until one day they disobeyed God and sinned. This story is found in the first book of the Bible: Genesis chapters 1 to 3. Our very very first parents Adam and Eve would then naturally pass on their sinful nature to every newborn human being down each and every new generation even until ourselves today. Yes, we are all born sinners (Romans 3:23), declare the Bible, the Word of God! And the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23a). Everyone of us is born to die one day and headed to Hell because of our sinful nature...
Now, how can we be rescued from this predicament? Is there any way to change our sinful nature which desires to sin into a nature that desires to please Our Creator God? How can we find this solution? Where is it found? Well, Praise God, He Himself has the solution and it is found in His Word, the Bible. The Solution is not a thing but a Person. His Name is Jesus Christ. The second part of Romans 6:23 says:"...the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus Our Lord."
Now, who is Christ Jesus? Who is He really? Let us get to know Him through studying God's Word, the Bible, which tells us about who Jesus Christ is. Can you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God? Do you believe it? John 3:36 says that we must believe this, if we are to receive eternal life, be rescued from death to life, from Hell to Heaven.
You may need some help to enable you to believe that Jesus Christ is really the Son of God. Well, the required help is here, in the Bible. It is the Gospel of John.

John 20:30-31. This Gospel had been written by Apostle John so that you and I may believe that Jesus is indeed the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you and I may have eternal life.

John 1: 1-5

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2 The same was in the beginning with God.

3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

John 1:1 is even before the beginning of Genesis 1:1

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth

The Word=logos-Greek

                   Tao-Chinese

Who is The Word?

and the Word was with God

Word and God are separate, two beings

With, not in

and The Word was God.

Word=God

God with God

2 The same was in the beginning with God.

Two beings/Two persons

In the beginning

3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

All things were made by him

The Word is God

The Word is the Creator of everything

and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Without Him, was not any thing made that was made

He is the Sovereign Creator- together with God!

Can we separate the two persons? Yes and No. They are same and different at the same time like water and ice or water and vapor

Who are these two Gods? Two persons? In one?

Answer: Father God and Son of God

KEY DOCTRINE

One God; Three Persons

There is one and only one living and true God. The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.

What is the Name of the Son of God?

Alpha and Omega (See Rev 1:8; 22:13) -The Beginning and the End

Rev 22:12, 13, 20

V12 Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with Me, and I will give to everyone according to what He has done.

V13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End

V20 He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

Rev 1:1-2 The Book of Revelation is the revelation of Jesus Christ, the testimony of Jesus Christ

See John 1:14,17

So, Jesus Christ is the Word

The Word= The Bible=The Living Word=Jesus

The Book of the Bible is actually not just one Book. It is a collection of books. Do you know how many books make up the Bible? How many books are there in the Bible? Yes, 66. 39 in the OT and 27 in the NT.

But, each and every one of the 66 books of the Bible point to Jesus Christ. The whole Bible, from beginning to end, is really about the Lord Jesus Christ!

In Genesis, Jesus Christ is The Seed (Genesis 3:15),
In Exodus, Our Passover Lamb
In Leviticus, Our High Priest
In Numbers, The Presence of God
In Deuteronomy: The Law
In Joshua: Our Victory
In Judges: The Righteous Judge
In Ruth: Our Kinsman Redeemer
In I Samuel: Our Prophet
In II Samuel: Our Deliverer
In Kings & Chronicles: Our Record Books
In Ezra: Our Faithful Scribe
In Nehemiah: Our Restorer & Rebuilder
In Esther: Our Intercessor
In Job: The Revelation of Righteousness
In Psalms: Our Praise
In Proverbs: Our Wisdom
In Ecclesiastes: Our Preacher
In Song of Solomon: Our Lover & Bridegroom
In Isaiah: Our Stricken Messiah
In Jeremiah: Our Compassion
In Lamentations: Our Faithfulness
In Ezekiel: Our God Almighty
In Daniel: The Fourth Man in the Fire
In Hosea: Our Faithful Husband
In Joel: Our Restoration
In Amos: The Plumb Line
In Obadiah: Our Deliverer/Mountain Top
In Jonah: Our Messenger Missionary
In Micah: Our Everlasting Ruler
In Nahum: Our Avenger
In Habakkuk: Our Vision and Hope
In Zephaniah: Our Savior
In Haggai: Our Strength
In Zechariah: Our Fountain of Cleansing
In Malachi: Our Healer
In Matthew: The King
In Mark: The Servant
In Luke: The Son of Man
In John: The Son of God In Acts: The Tongues of Fire
In Romans: Our Salvation
In I Corinthians: Our Sanctifier
In II Corinthians: The Apostle
In Galatians: Our Liberty
In Ephesians: Our Inheritance
In Philippians: Our Pattern
In Colossians: Our Head
In I & II Thessalonians: Our Glory
In I Timothy: Our Counselor
In II Timothy: Our Teacher
In Titus: Our Pastor/Shepherd
In Philemon: Our Compassionate Friend
In Hebrews: Our Mediator
In James: Our Perfect Gift
In I Peter: Our Cornerstone
In II Peter: Our Way
In I John: Our love
In II John: Our Light
In III John: Our Prosperity
In Jude: Our Guide
In Revelation: The King of Kings

4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

In Christ Jesus was Life (zoe)! In Greek, the original language of the NT, it is zoe-divine life (v/s bios (biology)and psuche (psychology)) and it implies both the physical life and the spiritual life. Death cannot hold Jesus Christ. He has overcome death. He has conquered over it! Kill Him. Crucify Him. He rose again on the Third Day!

and the life was the light of men.

His Life, Jesus Christ’s Life (spiritual life) was the Light of men. Light overcomes darkness. Light overcomes fear and sins…

Light reveals the beauty around that was hidden by darkness. Darkness represents evil and the cover for evil deeds.

Light shows the way to go and not be lost

5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

The darkness cannot comprehend Light. It cannot match it. On the contrary, it is totally subdued by Light. Darkness flees away when Light comes. Light is overwhelmingly more powerful than darkness. Darkness can never extinguish light. Light always overcomes darkness. Jesus Christ is the Light of men. He Is the Light of the world. 

The Gospel of John had been written by Apostle John so that you and I may believe that Jesus is indeed the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you and I may have eternal life (John 20:30-31). If you receive Christ Jesus in your heart, you receive His zoe life, His divine life in you. You get born again. You inherit the eternal abundant life. Amen.

The Lord bless you and keep you;

The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you;

The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace. Amen. Numbers 6:24-26

The implications of Jesus Christ's Conquest over the world

In John 16:33, Jesus declared His Victory over the world. He exhorted us to be courageous as He, Our Master, has already conquered the world.

This means that He, as the Son of Man, has conquered over all temptations of the flesh and the world, sins, death, Satan, and Hell.

If we abide in Him and remain in His Word, we, as His disciples, will also conquer over the world. We will be experiencing the eternal abundant life that Christ gives us freely (John 10:10). His Peace that surpasses understanding will indwell us (John 14:27).

And the best is yet to come. Eventually, we will be living in eternal bliss and felicity with Our Lord and His angels and all the saints in Majestic Heaven forever and ever...and evermore...Amen

Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God

Jesus Christ is indeed the Messiah, the Son of God (John 20:31).

John 1:1
-Jesus Christ is the Word
-He was in the beginning
-He was God

1:2
-He was with God in the beginning

1:3
-All things were created through Jesus Christ
-Apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created

1:4
-Life was in Jesus Christ
-That Life was the light of men

1:5
-That light of Jesus Christ shines in the darkness
-The darkness did not overcome it

1:12
-To all who received Jesus Christ, who believe in His Name, He gave them the right to be children of God

1:14,17
-The Word became flesh and took up residence among us
-He was full of grace and truth

1:29,35
-Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world

1:33
-Jesus Christ baptizes with the Holy Spirit

1:41
-Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the Anointed One

2:1-11
-Jesus Christ turned water into wine at a wedding

2:24-25
-Jesus Christ knew all people. He did not need anyone to testify about man; for He Himself knew what was in man.

4:29,39
-Jesus Christ knows everything about everyone

4:50,52,53,54
-Jesus Christ healed an official's son

5:8
-Jesus Christ healed a paralytic

5:39
-The Scriptures testify about Jesus Christ

5:46
-Moses wrote about Jesus Christ

6:11
-Jesus Christ multiplied loaves and fish to feed 5000 men

6:19
-Jesus Christ walked on the sea

6:35,48
-Jesus Christ is the bread of life

6:51
-Jesus Christ is the living bread that came down from Heaven

8:11
-Jesus Christ forgave an adulteress

8:12
-Jesus Christ is the Light of the world. Anyone who follows Him will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life

8:58
-Jesus Christ is the Great 'I Am'

9:6-7
-Jesus Christ healed a man born blind

10:9
-Jesus Christ is the door. If anyone enters by Him, he will be saved

10:11,14
-Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd. He laid down His life for us

10:30,38
-Jesus Christ is One with the Father God

10:36
-Jesus Christ is the Son of God

11:25,26
-Jesus Christ is the Resurrection and the Life. The one who believes in Him, even if he dies, will live. Everyone who lives and believes in Him will never die-ever

11:43,44
-Jesus Christ raised Lazarus from the Dead

12:23-28
-Jesus Christ predicts His Crucifixion

13:5
-Jesus Christ washes His disciples' feet

13:21,26
Jesus Christ predicted Judas' betrayal

13:34-35; 15:17
Jesus Christ gave a new commandment: to love one another as He loved us. By this all people will know that we are Jesus Christ's disciples, if we have love for one another.

14:6
Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Him

15:1,5
Jesus Christ is the True Vine and we are the branches

15:18-25
Jesus Christ predicted persecutions of His disciples

16:23,24
Jesus Christ invited us to ask the Father anything in His Name. We will receive the answer so that our joy may be complete.

16:33
Jesus Christ has conquered the world

19:17-30
Jesus Christ was crucified

20
Jesus rose from the Dead

20:21-22
Jesus Christ commissioned His disciples

21:15-19
Jesus Christ restored Peter

And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which, if they were written one by one, I suppose not even the world itself could contain the books that would be written.(John 21:25)

Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of His disciples that are not written in this book (John's Gospel). But these are written so that you may believe Jesus is the messiah, the Son of God, and by believing you may have life in His name.(John 20:30-31)

Agape

We are to agape God and each other (Mark 12:30-31). What is to agape ?

First, to agape God is to

-love Him
-worship Him
-adore Him
-praise Him
-respect Him
-revere Him
-honor Him
-glorify Him
-obey Him
-follow Him
-commit oneself to Him
-yield to Him
-surrender to Him
-believe in Him
-trust Him
-have faith in Him
-live for Him
-die for Him
-be faithful to Him
-seek His Kingdom and His Righteousness
-share His agape to others
-share His Good News of the Gospel to others
-make disciples of Christ
-be thankful and grateful to Him
-rejoice in Him
-look forward to His Return
-wait upon Him
-look forward to spend eternity with Him in Heaven

Second, to agape others is to

-respect them
-love them
-support them
-have compassion for them
-help them
-care for them
-pray for them
-be patient towards them
-forgive them
-desire their good
-wish them well
-encourage them
-teach them
-honor them
-understand them
-build them up
-acknowledge them
-be interested in them
-be kind to them
-be considerate towards them
-listen to them
-share with them
-mourn with them
-rejoice with them
-sympathize and empathize with them
-preach God's Word to them
-share the Good News of the Gospel to them
-make disciples of them
-look forward to spend eternity with them in Heaven

May God help us to live a life of agape. In Christ Jesus' Name. Amen.

Before and after we believed in Jesus Christ

Before we believed in  Jesus Christ, we were:

-lost
-poor
-cursed
-miserable
-empty
-prideful
-immoral
-friendless (no True friend)
-ignorant
-fearful
-anxious
-worrisome
-blind (spiritually)
-deaf (spiritually)
-purposeless
-unsatisfied
-incomplete
-discontent
-in sin
-in bondage
-in lies and deception
-without a good future
-a failure
-headed to Hell

After the Lord saved us and we decided to follow Him, we became truly:

-happy
-peaceful
-humble
-genuine
-sincere
-honest
-real
-purposeful
-holy
-loving
-kind
-gentle
-prosperous
-fearless (except Fear of God)
-wise
-blessed
-favored
-anointed
-honored
-content
-fulfilled
-free
-joyful
-successful
-complete
-whole
-with a wonderful eternal destiny in Heaven

Thank You, God. Thank You. Praise Your Holy Name. We worship and adore You, Our Lord God. Praise, Honor and Glory be unto You now and forever and evermore. Amen.

September 04, 2013

On this day, I thank You, My Lord and My God
You have been so good, merciful, and gracious to me
I am forever grateful to You, My Lord and My God
You are the One who makes all things beautiful
You are the One who makes all things work out for my good
I love, worship, and adore You, O My God

You have been with us, watched over us, cared for us
You have been faithful to us
You have loved us and provided to all our needs
You have protected us against evil, and calamities
You have blessed and favored us indeed
O how we love, worship, and adore You, O Our God

You are not done with us
Thank You for Your great plan and purpose for us
Thank you for the good works that You have prepared for us to do 
As we live the rest of our lives in Christ Jesus Our Lord and Savior
Till You take us Home to be with You, in bliss and felicity 
Forever and ever and evermore. Amen.

What is the greatest fight we are to fight in our lives?

What is the greatest fight we are to fight in this life, whether as an individual or a family or a church or a community or a nation or as the international community of nations or simply, as the human race?

It is not what you and I may think. It is not a physical fight  against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 6:12). This is what God, Our Creator, Our Lord and Savior instructs us in His Holy Word, the Bible. God says "Fight the Good Fight of Faith" in I Timothy 1:18.

This Fight of Faith is fighting against Satan, our common enemy and against sin. Again, it is not a physical warfare. It is a spiritual warfare. We are to fight against the principalities and powers of the air. We, by ourselves, are nothing and can do nothing (John 15:5). So, we need to battle and fight, not in our own names but in the Name of Our Lord God, the Almighty One. He gives us the victory. He is the One who makes us more than conquerors (Romans 8:37) over the flesh, temptations, the world, death, Satan and sin. We need to wear the armor of God (Ephesians 6:11) to fight in God's Army over the enemies of our souls, the devil, demons, and evil spirits. Our armor is the Truth, Righteousness, the Gospel of Peace, Faith, Salvation, the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, and prayers in the Spirit (Ephesians 6:14-18).

Our fight is a fight against lies and deceit, against impurity and immorality, against violence and crime, against sickness and disease, poverty and death, against corruption and injustice, against illiteracy and ignorance, against exploitation and abuse, against all kinds of sins.

Our fight is a fight for the Truth, for purity and morality, for peace, for health and prosperity, for justice, for education and liberation, for Freedom and Joy in Christ to the praise, honor and glory of Our Good God.

This is where we should be spending our limited time on planet Earth, with the energy, knowledge, skills, talents, and resources that God has freely given us, not otherwise.

Be careful and vigilant, brother and sister-in-Christ! Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith (I Peter 5: 8-9).

God bless you.