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He Has Shown You

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  Even though our faith can be summed up in one sentence – “For God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son so that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16) – it is so deep as to be unsearchable. This means we can never fully understand all of what our faith in Jesus means. Of course, if we could totally understand it, then our faith would not be worth much. However, we often feel overwhelmed by the enormous depth of our faith. So, it is good to look at verses which summarize what we are to do with our faith. Some of these verses are: Luke 9:35 35  And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!” Matthew 11:28-30 28  Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.   29  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.   3...
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Why Have You Forsaken Me?

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  As we read the Gospel accounts of the Crucifixion, we notice Jesus said more than one thing during His time on the cross. In fact, He made seven statements when you add them together from all of the Gospels. Seven represents completion (e.g. a week is 7 days long) and when Jesus says His seventh statement, He dies. His earthly ministry, in His earthly body, is completed. The seven statements are: 1. Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing. Luke 23:34 2. Today, you will be with me in paradise. Luke 23:43 3. Behold your son: behold your mother. John 19: 26-27 4. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34; Psalm 22                      5. I thirst. John 19: 28 (cf. John 4: 4-26); Psalm 22:15; Psalm 69:21 6. It is finished. John 19:30 7. Father, into your hands I commend my spirit. Luke 23: 46; Psalm 31:5 The exact order is not known as no one Gospel has them all, although “It is...
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What Child Is This?

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  During the Christmas season we often have to remember what the real reason for the season is. That is good and as it should be. However, as we do this, we often just stop with the miracle of Jesus being born in the manger. It’s difficult for our mortal brains to come to grips with the tremendous and total impact of Jesus’s role in God’s Plan of Salvation. All of it had to happen in order for the plan to work. Without it, we would have no hope and would rely on ourselves to save us from this fallen world – which, of course, would fail every time. The plan was for Jesus to have a lowly birth. Then He had a sacrificial death on the cross where He died for all the sins of mankind. Without this sacrifice, we could never truly follow Him. Jesus is our bridge to eternity in Heaven. A fter the cross, there had to be the Resurrection or else our faith is in vain. There are only a few Christmas songs/carols which begin touch on the totality of this plan. The one that I love is “W...
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Requirements of Being Born Again

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  Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3) I was going to name this article “Requirements of being a Christian” when I realized there are so many examples of people prior to the incarnation of Jesus who show the faith of true believers that I would be doing them, and God, a great disservice. Plus, there are all those people who have lived and never heard of Jesus. Before we begin to explore this topic, it is important to point out that Jesus is the ultimate judge of whether someone is born again. As He says – John 10:14-16 14  I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,   15  just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.   16  And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd...
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