so you should all listen to this song.. because its definately amazing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v52Igdotisk
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
The Second Person- by Alicia Liberatore
Jesus is the Son of God. God is His Father. There was never a relationship between God and man that is like the relationship between Jesus and His Father. Man is never included in the unique relationship as the Son of God. Every confession that man makes of Christ being the Son of God, shows the eternal relationship between the Father and the Son. He did not become the Son of God by Mary giving birth to Him but He already existed in eternity past. John 3:16 says that God gave His only begotten Son which again refers to the unique relationship between God and His Son. Jesus is just as much the Son of Mary in His humanity as He is the eternal Son of God in His deity. Christ needed to be God for the purpose of His death and He needed to be man in order to take His flesh and blood for sacrificing it. Mary conceived Jesus through the Holy Spirit. Jesus is the Son of Mary, not the Son of Joseph. His humanity is only within Mary. Christ was born of Mary who was a virgin. When she gave birth to Christ, He took on her human nature apart from sin. The Father overshadowed Mary so that Jesus was not influenced by her sinful nature.
Christ is humble. He submits to His father and His will. Pride is man's greatest sin. God hates sin. In Proverbs 8:13 He says "Pride and arrogance, and the evil way, and the forward mouth, do I hate." God also says "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. He has so much power yet he shows His meekness and humility. His humility is shown on the cross. God condemns the spirit of man for boasting that he needs to learn nothing for he knows everything. Many have been kept out of heaven for such arrogance- for to be saved you must humble yourself and repent. Christ humbled himself and became obedient till death.
Christ is sinless, though He still has a human nature. God became a real human being and had a perfect human nature. He was just as much a man as any other man, He wept, hungered, thirst, rejoiced, and was tempted, yet He was perfect. Christ often prayed for His Father to forgive other people, but he never once had to ask "Father, forgive me." Christ, as perfect as He was, came down to earth which was full of sin. No one was righteous on earth except for Him. Romans 3:10,23 "For there is no one righteous, no, not one....For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Even though He had the same human nature has anyone else, He was perfect.
The Lord is our Shepherd, we are His sheep. He tends to us and cares for us. Jesus said " I am the good Shepherd; the good Shepherd gives His life for His sheep." John 10:11. Satan is like a lion looking for sheep to destroy but the good Shepherd protects us. We as sheep often get lost and wander astray from the Lord, we lose our sense of direction. As a nation we have strayed from God. When we are following God we want nothing else. He offered himself as a sacrifice to His sheep, we need to follow Him.
When Christ came into the world He had one goal: to save the lost. He had one message to tell everyone: the gospel. It is His message of salvation. God is soul-winning. He taught the gospel by soul-winning. God did not just speak to the crowds but to individuals. He sought out lost individuals and spoke to them personally. We as Christians should follow in Christ's steps and share the gospel. It is our responsibility.
1 Corinthians 14:15 "I will sing with the Spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also." God has a heavenly choir. It is only for the saved. Anyone owned by Satan cannot match the tone of the choir. When Christ came into the wicked world, everyone groaned from the weight of sin. There was no song. Jeremiah 20:13 says "Sing unto the Lord, praise ye the Lord." We are called upon to sing praises to Him. His disciples sung hymns to Him before He was crucified. In heaven all the saved shall sing together in harmony around the throne of God. Until that day comes, we are to please Him by the way we live our life. When we worship Christ here on earth we are joined with millions of angels in heaven all singing to one God.
Since the separation between God and man there has been aloneness. Maybe not physical aloneness but in the soul. Christ was also alone. He suffered, bled, and died alone. Jesus' life was lived in loneliness on earth. When He was born all the angels in heaven rejoiced but on earth only a few shepherds sought to worship the King. As He grew up He was alone. When He taught at the temple at age 12 He was alone because Mary and Joseph did not understand His divine mission. He was alone in the purpose that He came. One of the reasons He was so alone was because He demanded purity in others lives. Jesus is the light, when sinners come near the light, it exposes their sin so they stay away. When He prayed with others there was still loneliness in His soul. He prayed different from everyone else. When other men prayed they came to God through a Mediator. Jesus did not need a Mediator. He never had to pray for mercy and forgiveness. When the disciples prayed with Him, He was still alone, in a sphere known only to Himself.
Christ has silence. Through all His suffering on earth Christ had a majestic silence. Jesus was silent before Caiaphas. After the witness testified against Jesus the high priest asked Him "What is it which these witness against Thee?" And the Lord held His peace and remained silent. They did not want to find out if Jesus was guilty or not, they just assumed He was guilty. Jesus knew they were lying and the purpose of it. They did that to put Him to death. For Jesus to answer them would be useless. He was also silent because of Caiaphas' character. He prejudged Christ. Today people are condemning God before even knowing anything about Him. They deny salvation and the power of God. When God is prejudged He becomes the Judge and condemns those who will not reason.
We as sinners need to be sanctified by Christ. Sanctification is to be made holy. The sanctified are not perfect but are set apart to God in Christ. When someone receives salvation he becomes sanctified. Christ sanctified Himself to the Truth. When He spoke the Truth, Satan attacked. But the Lord never parted from it. Jesus proved his devotion by practicing it. Some people don't practice what they preach. Christ preached, and put it into action.
Christ's steadfastness is one of the distinguished characteristics of His life. He came to earth fulfilling His will and Satan could not stand in the way. In His steadfastness carried His message of life and love to all men. He suffered many things but fulfilled His will until the end. Christ died on His own free will. His will was set before sin entered the world. His death was a deliberate voluntary substitution to save sinners from eternal death. He died so His enemies would not have to. He saved others but Himself He did not. He had the power to, but it was not His will. He could have saved Himself and let all of us have eternal death, but He chose to go through the pain and suffering of His crucifixion to give us what we truly do not deserve. He steadfastly remained on the cross.
Christ had many scars. One was the scars of scourging. It was one of the most severe punishments in Christ's day. Isaiah 53:5 "But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed." Christ was completely innocent, He was righteous and holy. Yet they whipped Him until He was bleeding and not once did Christ wince or pull back. Though He was innocent He payed for the world's sins against His holiness. Our bodies are scarred by sin, Christ's body was scarred for sin. There are also scars from the nails driven through His hands and feet when He was hung on the cross. His hands are the mighty hands the hold all eternity. His hands are the hands of mercy. They did not deserve to be nailed to a cross. He did not deserve any of the crucifixion. The nails were also driven into His feet. His feet were the feet of beauty. His feet walked miles as He traveled preaching Truth. Mary was comforted at Jesus' feet in her moment of sorrow. She sat at His feet as He preached. Many sick men were cast down at His feet and He healed them. He had the scars of thorns as well. Matthew 27:29 "And when they platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon His head." Thorns started in the Garden of Eden when God put a curse on the earth after Adam and Eve sinned. His humble, innocent, righteous and holy head bore the curse for our sins. He deserves a righteous crown but because of His mercy He chose the crown of thorns. He has a scar in His side from when one of the soldiers speared Him on the cross. Zechariah 12:10 "They shall look upon Me whom they have pierced."
Christ suffered. But He chose to suffer for us. He suffered willingly and cheerfully. He did it voluntarily. He knew from the beginning what suffering was to come. Christ could have let us suffer but instead He chose to. His sufferings were vicarious. He chose to be our substitute.
Salvation is something only God can do. Life apart from the salvation of Jesus Christ is lost. God refers to every believer "dead in trespasses and sins" God has called everyone to repent and accept Christ's free gift. Matthew 1:21 "Thou shall call His name Jesus: for He shall save His people from their sins." Christ came into the world to save you. He gave His life, a ransom for many. Hebrews 7:25 "He is able to save... to the uttermost." The salvation that Christ offers is complete. We are saved through grace. Ephesians 2:8 "For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God." He is able to save to the depth of our ignorance and pride. We just need to humble ourselves and surrender to Him. Salvation is past, present, and future. He saved us from sin and we shall be saved forever.
A sacrifice is an offering of thanks to God. Sacrifice is associated with sin. Christ sacrificed Himself for our sin. God also made a Passover sacrifice, this was for all. It had to be without blemish. Christ was perfect. He met every righteous requirement for divine justice. Christ sacrificed His blood for our sins.
Christ has sympathy for all His children. He is the greatest comfort we will find in our times of sorrow. He is compassionate. Christ is able to have sympathy on us because He feels everything we feel. He can enter into our distress. Jesus' whole life was one of sympathy and mercy. He never allowed prejudice or personality interfere with His compassion and sympathy.
God is love. Christ proved it and the Bible teaches it. His character shows love but also severity. Along with love there must always be a firmness. Jesus was severe when the people in the temple were selling animals. He drove them all out. The actions of Jesus were the actions of God. We should admire the force and fearlessness of God. He was acting according to His Father's standards. Jesus was severe when others try to enter heaven falsely. Yet His love is the greatest and will never cease.
Christ is sufficient. All who trusted in Him have found Him to be able to supply their every need. One of the greatest mistakes man makes is trying to be self-sufficient. We need to turn to God for everything. He will supply our every need according to His will. Because of His death and resurrection He is our sufficient savior. Christ also satisfies us with sufficiency. There are longings in the soul that can be satisfied by no other. God has blessed us greatly.
Christ is humble. He submits to His father and His will. Pride is man's greatest sin. God hates sin. In Proverbs 8:13 He says "Pride and arrogance, and the evil way, and the forward mouth, do I hate." God also says "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. He has so much power yet he shows His meekness and humility. His humility is shown on the cross. God condemns the spirit of man for boasting that he needs to learn nothing for he knows everything. Many have been kept out of heaven for such arrogance- for to be saved you must humble yourself and repent. Christ humbled himself and became obedient till death.
Christ is sinless, though He still has a human nature. God became a real human being and had a perfect human nature. He was just as much a man as any other man, He wept, hungered, thirst, rejoiced, and was tempted, yet He was perfect. Christ often prayed for His Father to forgive other people, but he never once had to ask "Father, forgive me." Christ, as perfect as He was, came down to earth which was full of sin. No one was righteous on earth except for Him. Romans 3:10,23 "For there is no one righteous, no, not one....For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Even though He had the same human nature has anyone else, He was perfect.
The Lord is our Shepherd, we are His sheep. He tends to us and cares for us. Jesus said " I am the good Shepherd; the good Shepherd gives His life for His sheep." John 10:11. Satan is like a lion looking for sheep to destroy but the good Shepherd protects us. We as sheep often get lost and wander astray from the Lord, we lose our sense of direction. As a nation we have strayed from God. When we are following God we want nothing else. He offered himself as a sacrifice to His sheep, we need to follow Him.
When Christ came into the world He had one goal: to save the lost. He had one message to tell everyone: the gospel. It is His message of salvation. God is soul-winning. He taught the gospel by soul-winning. God did not just speak to the crowds but to individuals. He sought out lost individuals and spoke to them personally. We as Christians should follow in Christ's steps and share the gospel. It is our responsibility.
1 Corinthians 14:15 "I will sing with the Spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also." God has a heavenly choir. It is only for the saved. Anyone owned by Satan cannot match the tone of the choir. When Christ came into the wicked world, everyone groaned from the weight of sin. There was no song. Jeremiah 20:13 says "Sing unto the Lord, praise ye the Lord." We are called upon to sing praises to Him. His disciples sung hymns to Him before He was crucified. In heaven all the saved shall sing together in harmony around the throne of God. Until that day comes, we are to please Him by the way we live our life. When we worship Christ here on earth we are joined with millions of angels in heaven all singing to one God.
Since the separation between God and man there has been aloneness. Maybe not physical aloneness but in the soul. Christ was also alone. He suffered, bled, and died alone. Jesus' life was lived in loneliness on earth. When He was born all the angels in heaven rejoiced but on earth only a few shepherds sought to worship the King. As He grew up He was alone. When He taught at the temple at age 12 He was alone because Mary and Joseph did not understand His divine mission. He was alone in the purpose that He came. One of the reasons He was so alone was because He demanded purity in others lives. Jesus is the light, when sinners come near the light, it exposes their sin so they stay away. When He prayed with others there was still loneliness in His soul. He prayed different from everyone else. When other men prayed they came to God through a Mediator. Jesus did not need a Mediator. He never had to pray for mercy and forgiveness. When the disciples prayed with Him, He was still alone, in a sphere known only to Himself.
Christ has silence. Through all His suffering on earth Christ had a majestic silence. Jesus was silent before Caiaphas. After the witness testified against Jesus the high priest asked Him "What is it which these witness against Thee?" And the Lord held His peace and remained silent. They did not want to find out if Jesus was guilty or not, they just assumed He was guilty. Jesus knew they were lying and the purpose of it. They did that to put Him to death. For Jesus to answer them would be useless. He was also silent because of Caiaphas' character. He prejudged Christ. Today people are condemning God before even knowing anything about Him. They deny salvation and the power of God. When God is prejudged He becomes the Judge and condemns those who will not reason.
We as sinners need to be sanctified by Christ. Sanctification is to be made holy. The sanctified are not perfect but are set apart to God in Christ. When someone receives salvation he becomes sanctified. Christ sanctified Himself to the Truth. When He spoke the Truth, Satan attacked. But the Lord never parted from it. Jesus proved his devotion by practicing it. Some people don't practice what they preach. Christ preached, and put it into action.
Christ's steadfastness is one of the distinguished characteristics of His life. He came to earth fulfilling His will and Satan could not stand in the way. In His steadfastness carried His message of life and love to all men. He suffered many things but fulfilled His will until the end. Christ died on His own free will. His will was set before sin entered the world. His death was a deliberate voluntary substitution to save sinners from eternal death. He died so His enemies would not have to. He saved others but Himself He did not. He had the power to, but it was not His will. He could have saved Himself and let all of us have eternal death, but He chose to go through the pain and suffering of His crucifixion to give us what we truly do not deserve. He steadfastly remained on the cross.
Christ had many scars. One was the scars of scourging. It was one of the most severe punishments in Christ's day. Isaiah 53:5 "But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed." Christ was completely innocent, He was righteous and holy. Yet they whipped Him until He was bleeding and not once did Christ wince or pull back. Though He was innocent He payed for the world's sins against His holiness. Our bodies are scarred by sin, Christ's body was scarred for sin. There are also scars from the nails driven through His hands and feet when He was hung on the cross. His hands are the mighty hands the hold all eternity. His hands are the hands of mercy. They did not deserve to be nailed to a cross. He did not deserve any of the crucifixion. The nails were also driven into His feet. His feet were the feet of beauty. His feet walked miles as He traveled preaching Truth. Mary was comforted at Jesus' feet in her moment of sorrow. She sat at His feet as He preached. Many sick men were cast down at His feet and He healed them. He had the scars of thorns as well. Matthew 27:29 "And when they platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon His head." Thorns started in the Garden of Eden when God put a curse on the earth after Adam and Eve sinned. His humble, innocent, righteous and holy head bore the curse for our sins. He deserves a righteous crown but because of His mercy He chose the crown of thorns. He has a scar in His side from when one of the soldiers speared Him on the cross. Zechariah 12:10 "They shall look upon Me whom they have pierced."
Christ suffered. But He chose to suffer for us. He suffered willingly and cheerfully. He did it voluntarily. He knew from the beginning what suffering was to come. Christ could have let us suffer but instead He chose to. His sufferings were vicarious. He chose to be our substitute.
Salvation is something only God can do. Life apart from the salvation of Jesus Christ is lost. God refers to every believer "dead in trespasses and sins" God has called everyone to repent and accept Christ's free gift. Matthew 1:21 "Thou shall call His name Jesus: for He shall save His people from their sins." Christ came into the world to save you. He gave His life, a ransom for many. Hebrews 7:25 "He is able to save... to the uttermost." The salvation that Christ offers is complete. We are saved through grace. Ephesians 2:8 "For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God." He is able to save to the depth of our ignorance and pride. We just need to humble ourselves and surrender to Him. Salvation is past, present, and future. He saved us from sin and we shall be saved forever.
A sacrifice is an offering of thanks to God. Sacrifice is associated with sin. Christ sacrificed Himself for our sin. God also made a Passover sacrifice, this was for all. It had to be without blemish. Christ was perfect. He met every righteous requirement for divine justice. Christ sacrificed His blood for our sins.
Christ has sympathy for all His children. He is the greatest comfort we will find in our times of sorrow. He is compassionate. Christ is able to have sympathy on us because He feels everything we feel. He can enter into our distress. Jesus' whole life was one of sympathy and mercy. He never allowed prejudice or personality interfere with His compassion and sympathy.
God is love. Christ proved it and the Bible teaches it. His character shows love but also severity. Along with love there must always be a firmness. Jesus was severe when the people in the temple were selling animals. He drove them all out. The actions of Jesus were the actions of God. We should admire the force and fearlessness of God. He was acting according to His Father's standards. Jesus was severe when others try to enter heaven falsely. Yet His love is the greatest and will never cease.
Christ is sufficient. All who trusted in Him have found Him to be able to supply their every need. One of the greatest mistakes man makes is trying to be self-sufficient. We need to turn to God for everything. He will supply our every need according to His will. Because of His death and resurrection He is our sufficient savior. Christ also satisfies us with sufficiency. There are longings in the soul that can be satisfied by no other. God has blessed us greatly.
Monday, April 13, 2009
One night a man had a dream. He dreamed He was walking along the beach with the LORD. Across the sky flashed scenes from His life. For each scene He noticed two sets of footprints in the sand. One belonging to Him and the other to the LORD.When the last scene of His life flashed before Him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of His life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times of His life.This really bothered Him and He questioned the LORD about it. LORD you said that once I decided to follow you, you'd walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life there is only one set of footprints. I don't understand why when I needed you most you would leave me.The LORD replied, my precious, precious child, I Love you and I would never leave you! During your times of trial and suffering when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.
-Carolyn Carty, 1963
-Carolyn Carty, 1963
Friday, April 10, 2009
there's something sweet, and almost kind.
So i was at work the other day, and i was walking around looking at tables to clear... and i saw this boy and girl sitting at a table eating soup. but it wasn't just any table. it was one of those really long tables made for 10 people to sit at... and the boy and girl were at each end. and they just sat there, laughing, and talking, and eating their soup. and it reminded me of the scene from beauty and the beast... and i found myself just standing there, smiling at them. it was quite charming (o:
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