Who is He?

• In chemistry: He turned water to wine.
  
• In biology: He was born without the normal conception.
  
• In physics: He disproved the law of gravity when He ascended into heaven.
  
• In economics: He disproved the law of diminishing returns by feeding 5000 men with 2 fishes and 5 loaves of bread.
  
• In medicine: He cured the sick and the blind without administering a single dose of drugs.
  
• In history: He is the beginning and the end.
  
• In government: He is called wonderful counselor, prince of peace.
  
• In faith: He said, “No one comes to the Father except through me”.
  

Who is He? Who is this person? He is JESUS, the greatest man in history.

• Jesus had no servants, yet they called Him Master.
  
• Had no degree, yet they called Him Teacher.
  
• Had no medicines, yet they called Him Healer
  
• Had no army, yet kings feared Him.
  
• Won no military battles, yet He conquered the world. 
  

He committed no crime, yet they crucified Him. He was buried in a tomb, but He broke the chains of death, just as it was written in the scripture and He wants to live in your heart. He will come again as it written in the scriptures to receive those who received Him, to where He is.

He is the greatest lover. Cause He loved you when you were sinners and died for you when you were enemies with God. I feel honored to serve such a Master. He came to serve and not to be served. He is the Lord of all and the savior. Remember Jesus loves you, listen to his voice.

Source: E-mail (edited).

Who is God?

Few days back, I posted about Baal, a fertility pagan god. In the article, I mentioned the land of Canaan was fertile and the people living there were predominantly depended on agriculture. Hence they made a god to follow, which was Baal. During the time of king Solomon, the children of Israel intermingled with the surrounding nations and followed other gods. Years passed and kings changed. Now we see Ahab as the king of Israel. This was what is recorded about him: "...did evil in the sight of the LORD, more than all who were before him", also "...and he went and served Baal and worshiped him. Then he set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal, which he had built in Samaria...Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him." People began to follow their new king. After giving so much of years to repent and come back, it is now time for God to act.

Next we see God sending Elijah the prophet to Ahab and he declares..."As the LORD God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word." This was a direct challenge to the fertile god, Baal, which he was serving. Sure enough, there was no rain, and the famine in the land was severe. After three years Elijah went and presented himself before Ahab. But rather than repenting the acts which he has done, he calls Elijah "The troubler of Israel". Elijah asks him to bring all the prophets of Baal and the people of Israel to Mount Carmel. There, he challenges the prophets of Baal, four hundred and fifty of them, to prove their god by preparing a bull for sacrifice but without fire, "and the God who answers by fire, He is God." The prophets of Baal cried to their god from morning till evening, but there was no answer. Now it was Elijah's turn. He dug a trench around the altar, asked the people to pour water on the prepared bull, and water was poured till it ran around the altar. He prayed saying, "Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that You are the LORD God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again". The Bible says in the next verse, "Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench". The people around saw the things, fell on their faces and acknowledged that He is God. The prophets of Baal were seized and killed. Then we see there was rain in abundance.

We may not see such an amazing act now, because God is giving the time to come back to Him as He gave to the children of Israel. But the time of judgment will come as it came to the prophets of Baal. You may think, why is the Old Testament filled with animal sacrifices? Does God become pleased when he sees the blood of animals? No. Bible says,"Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them". Rather, He sees the sacrifice as the symbol of the ultimate sacrifice which was going to come, and which has now happened. This is the sacrifice of Jesus, which he made at the cross of Calvary in which God was pleased. The fire of judgment came down from heaven upon him, when he took yours and my place and stood for us. The cross, which was a shame in those times, now symbols God’s unfathomable love towards us. All we have to do is to accept Jesus and acknowledge that He is God. Then there will be rain in abundance in our spiritual life.

You can read the above mentioned interesting story from the Bible. IKings 17 and 18.

The Government on His Shoulders by John MacArthur

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

Isaiah 9:6 may be the most familiar Old Testament prophecy about the birth of Christ. Handel included those words in one of the great choruses of his Messiah oratorio. Chances are you either sing it or hear it several times every Christmas season.

Unfortunately, we seem to pull this passage out of the box only during the holidays. It's like one of the ornaments we use to decorate our houses. But have you ever thought about the rich truth this single verse teaches concerning the King of kings? Though we still await the full realization of His kingdom, the promised Messiah is the greatest political ruler ever.

Isaiah wrote this prophecy at least a hundred years before Israel was taken into Babylonian captivity-nearly 600 years before the birth of the Savior! Looking at a litany of failed monarchs, and sitting in the rubble of Israel's monarchy, Isaiah looked across the centuries to a time when God would rule on earth through His Son.

"A child will be born to us" underscores the Messiah's humanity. He had to come as a human being, in the form of a child, so He could endure the temptations men face, yet be without sin (Hebrews 4:15).

"A son will be given to us" implies the Savior's deity. He existed before His birth as the second Person of the Trinity: "Although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men" (Philippians 2:6-7). He came as the Son of God-God in human flesh-to conquer sin and death forever.

"The government will rest on His shoulders" affirms His lordship. This verse looks to a time still future when Christ will reign over a literal, earthly, geopolitical kingdom that encompasses all the kingdoms and governments of the world (cf. Daniel 2:44; Zechariah 14:9).

In that day, the government of the whole world will rest on His shoulders. But until that time, His kingdom is in an invisible form (cf. Luke 17:20-21). The Messiah's rule is over those who trust Him and obey Him as Lord. It's currently an invisible kingdom, but will one day become visible and universal as His rule extends even over those who do not acknowledge His lordship in their hearts.

What kind of kingdom is it? What distinguishes the Messiah's kingdom from the other kingdoms of this world? The names Israel used for Christ in hint at four characteristics that make the Messiah's kingdom-in all its manifestations-different from any other earthly government. At a time when the world is weary and despairing of political solutions, when the political future looks bleak, this is welcome news.

No Confusion-He Is a Wonderful Counselor
First, this kingdom is free from confusion, because Christ is a "Wonderful Counselor." The King James Version separates "Wonderful" and "Counselor" with a comma, but the words seem to go better together and appear that way in most modern versions.

Every now and then, a politician comes on the scene who possesses, according to some, messiah-like qualities. Whether it's a reference to speaking ability, charisma, or wisdom, it's certainly a compliment. However, when you compare the greatest social or political leader with Jesus Christ, you'll find there's no comparison at all.

During His incarnation, Christ demonstrated His wisdom as a counselor. While I was writing The Gospel According to Jesus, I studied every major encounter Jesus had with individuals who came to Him for counsel. He always knew what to say, when to reach out to a seeking heart, and when to rebuke an impetuous soul. Even his enemies testified, "Never did a man speak the way this man speaks" (John 7:46).

As God incarnate, Christ is the source of all truth. Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life" (John 14:6). No politician can match that! It is He to whom we must ultimately turn and trust His loving rule of our lives.

Many of our politicians turn everywhere else for counsel. They go to one another; they listen to special interests; they have their own psychologists, psychiatrists, analysts, philosophers, spiritual advisors, gurus, astrologers, and other human counselors. But the King of kings keeps His own counsel. After all, "Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord, or as His counselor has informed Him?" (Isaiah 40:13).

The Messiah is the Wonderful Counselor because He is God, the source of truth. When He rules the earth, there will be no uncertainty in his administration. He is the ultimate and only true answer to political confusion.

No Chaos-He Is the Mighty God
Second, the Messiah's kingdom is singularly free from chaos because He is the Mighty God. He is the One who in creation brought order out of chaos.

Scripture says, "God is not a God of confusion but of peace" (1 Corinthians 14:33). Chaos is antithetical to who He is. He is a God of order. Christ the King is orderly, and He brings order to the troubled lives of all who surrender to Him. In other words, He not only tells His subjects what to do as a Wonderful Counselor, but since He is the Mighty God, He can also energize them to do it.

Legislation can go only so far; it stops short of providing the power and the will to obey. Because of the sinful nature, people will always strain against law and order (Romans 7:8). Add human fallibility to the inability to make people obey from the heart, and you can see the severe limitations of political and legislative solutions.

But when Jesus Christ comes to rule this earth, He'll display His divine power by bringing order to the chaos. Those who do not submit to His leadership from the heart, He'll subjugate with a rod of iron (cf. Psalm 2:9; Revelation 2:27; 12:5; 19:15). Those who humble themselves from the heart, bowing to Him as Lord and Savior, will find the power of the Mighty God unleashed in their lives to help them obey.

Because Christ is God, He can forgive sin, defeat Satan, liberate people from the power of evil, redeem them, answer their prayers, restore their broken souls, and reign as Lord-"Mighty God"-over their newly ordered lives. That's a politician this world has never seen.

No Complexity-He Is the Father of Eternity
In comparison to human governments, the Messiah's kingdom is uncomplicated because He is the "Eternal Father." The phrase literally means, "Father of Eternity."

That is a clear reference to the biblical truth that Christ is Creator of heaven and earth. In Hebrews 1:10-12 God the Father says to Christ the Son, "You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of Your hands; they will perish, but You remain; and they all will become old like a garment, and like a mantle You will roll them up; like a garment they will also be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will not come to an end."

Nothing is too complex for the Creator and Sustainer of everything. Infinity and all its intricacies are nothing to Him who is the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

Human life is getting more and more complex. Technology has so improved communication and transportation that commerce, culture, and religion have become global in nature. And rather than organizing and making sense of it all, governments of the world seem to exist primarily to make things more complicated. We build bureaucracies to deal with the complexities of life-and consequently life only grows more perplexing.

Messiah's government, however, is simple and uncomplicated. He is the sole ruler-no bloated bureaucracy-and He knows the end from the beginning because He is the Father of Eternity.

Isaiah, prophesying about the kingdom, wrote of the highway of holiness: "The unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein" (Isaiah 35:8, KJV). His way is so free from the complexities of life that even fools cannot lose their way.

That kind of simplicity characterizes Messiah's entire government. As the Father of Eternity, He alone comprehends the complexities of time and eternity. He requires no bureaucracy; He shoulders His government by Himself.

No Conflicts-He Is the Prince of Peace
Finally, in the Messiah's kingdom there are no conflicts because He is the Prince of Peace. He offers peace from God (Romans 1:7) to all who are the recipients of His grace. He brings peace with God (Romans 5:1) to those who surrender to Him in faith. He brings the peace of God (Philippians 4:7) to those who walk with Him.

There never really has been peace on earth in the sense we think of it. Wars and rumors of wars have characterized the entire two millennia since the announcement at His birth of peace on earth (Luke 2:14).

That angelic announcement of peace on earth was a two-pronged proclamation. First, it proclaimed that God's peace is available to men and women right now. Read the words of Luke 2:14 carefully: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased" (emphasis added).

Who are those with whom He is pleased? They are those who have yielded their lives to the authority of His government: "The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy" (Psalm 147:11, KJV).

Why should we hope in His mercy? Because we are sinners who need His forgiveness (Romans 3:23). We must recognize that fact first of all if we are to place our lives under His government. We must understand that He gave His own sinless, guiltless life on our behalf. He died for our sins to save us from God's righteous wrath (Romans 5:6-9). And we must be willing to turn from our sins and embrace Him by faith, realizing that we can never earn His favor (Ephesians 2:8-9).

But secondly, the angel's announcement of "peace on earth" declared the arrival of the only One who ultimately can bring lasting peace on earth. Jesus Christ will bring lasting peace in the final establishment of His earthly kingdom. As we already mentioned, He will ensure "peace on earth" over the rebellious at heart by wielding a "rod of iron." There will be no coup d'état, no insurrection, not even the slightest threat to disturb the peace He brings to the world.

Isaiah 9:7 continues, "There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace." In other words, His government and peace will keep expanding and improving. The familiar hymn "Like a River Glorious" accurately speaks of peace that is "perfect, yet it floweth fuller every day, perfect, yet it groweth deeper all the way."

How can anything perfect improve? That's one of the mysteries of Messiah's government. It gets better and better, and the perfect peace flows deeper and deeper.

I look forward to the day when He returns to execute the final political solution that will truly bring world peace. His is the greatest government because it's ruled by the greatest ruler-the "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace." He is the only hope of mankind.

I also hope the government of your life is on His shoulders, that He rules and reigns even now in your heart. Only then will you experience the growing peace that comes only from the Prince of Peace.

© 2008 John MacArthur. All rights reserved.

Truths to Live By-One Day at a Time By William Macdonald

November 4

“In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother/’ (1 John 3:10)

Years ago almost every home had a large family album in the living room. It had a stuffed leather cover embossed in gold. A leather strap with clasp extended from the right edge of the back cover over to the right side of the top cover where the clasp latched securely into its socket. The pages were of stiff, glossy paper-board, ornamented with floral patterns and gilt edges. On each side of a page were cut-out sections where photographs were inserted. When visitors looked through the album, they would often remark that “Josh looks just like his grandpa” or that “Sarah surely has the family likeness.”

John’s first epistle reminds me of that old family album because it pictures those who are members of God’s family and who have the family likeness. However, here it is a matter of spiritual and moral resemblance rather than physical.

There are at least eight ways in which Christians are spiritual “look-alikes.” The first is that they all say the same thing about Jesus. They confess that He is the Christ, that is, the Messiah or Anointed One (1 Jn. 4:2; 5:1). To them Jesus and Christ are one and the same Person.

All Christians love God (5:2). Even though that love may often be weak and vacillating, there is never a time when a believer cannot look up into the face of God and say, “You know that I love You.”

All Christians love the brethren (2:10; 3:10, 14; 4:7, 12). This is the hallmark of all who have passed from death to life. Because they love God, they love those who are born of God.

Those who love God characteristically keep His commandments (3:24). Their obedience is motivated, not by fear of punishment, but by love to Him who gave His all.

Christians do not practice sin (3:6, 9; 5:18). True, they commit acts of sin, but sin is not the dominating power in their lives. They are not sinless but they do sin less.

Members of God’s family practice righteousness (2:29; 3:7). It is not just that they do not habitually sin—that could be negative and passive. They reach out to others with deeds of righteousness—that is positive and active.

The seventh characteristic of members of God’s family is that they do not love the world (2:15). They realize that the world is a system that man has built up in opposition to God, and that to be a friend of the world is to be an enemy of God.

Finally Christians overcome the world by faith (5:4). They see beyond the sham of passing things to those things that are eternal. They live for the things that are not seen.

Book Review

The Case for Christ - Lee Strobel

Although this book was in my book shelf for quite some time, I happened to take it only a few days back. Unlike other book I've read, which deals about the evidence of Christ or the Bible, this book presents a case in a way an investigation would proceed. Lee Strobel, a seasoned and a legal editor of the Chicago Times at that time, decided to put his experience to build a case against Christ. But it turned to be a case for Christ.

An atheist by himself, his investigation opened into the claims by and about Jesus, when his wife announced one day that she is a Christian. Lee expected his fun loving, carefree and risk-taking Lesie, to lead a dull life, volunteering for grimy soup kitchens and all-night vigils. “Instead”, says Lee “I was pleasantly surprised – even fascinated – by the fundamental changes in her character, her integrity, and her personal confidence.” As a reporter and well aware of the danger of quickly jumping into conclusion, he interviews top scholars and authorities who have impeccable academic credential to ascertain the facts and evidence. As the evidence mounts for Christ, his spiritual journey also takes an unexpected turn - for Christ.

This Book answers many questions, often tough ones, skeptics would ask. Presented in a fascinating way the evidence from both sides, could be read and enjoyed by both lay and intellects alike. Divided into 3 parts, Strobel dedicates one whole part to deal with the claims of the resurrection. Above all, The Case for Christ encourages the reader to read the Bible about Christ and his eternal love for mankind.

More information: http://www.amazon.com/Case-Christ-Journalists-Personal-Investigation/dp/0310209307/ref=cm_cmu_pg_i

Did you know?

Baal

Baal, a pagan god, against whom a lot is mentioned in the Bible, is a fertility god. The Canaanites, who were predominantly farmers, worshiped Baal for the fertility of the soil, animals and humans. Baal was thought to go underground during the summer. For the rains to come, people used to offer sacrifices to please him enough to return. Animals and even human sacrifices were offered. Human sacrifices were usually in the form of babies given to the searing hot iron hands of Baal idol.

God said to the Israelites not to worship any other gods. But they forgot God and went after the gods of the surrounding nations, sacrificing babies, indulging in public sexual acts in order to please Baal. Male and female priests were available for this purpose. Jeremiah the prophet, warned of this and prophesized the judgment of God, if they did not repent (Jeremiah 19). Later we see the prophesy fulfilled and the Assyrian army, one of the brutal in ancient times, invading thus making the place a “Valley of slaughter”, just as God said he would.

We live in a time where these things happen in our society - families broken, indulging in immoral ways and unborn children killed. In other words, we do Baal worship. Let us repent and come back to God of the Bible. Let us seek forgiveness which is given freely. 

The Power of God's Word

Isa 55:11 "So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. "(KJV)

Words have the power to impact thought, instill reason and communicate the mind of the person. When one communicates with words, what we get is the personality, character, integrity and wisdom of the speaker. Where there is a thought, there has to be a thinker and the medium by which the thinker communicates thoughts is by words. The Bible repeats this pattern over and over again. My Word, the Word of God, the Word of the LORD, etc. are terms used over and over when God speaks.

So what's so different about God's word. One may think, "Are they not words which are similar to what I am reading now." Well yes, very much the same. However, there is a marked difference between what we communicate as words and what God communicates as his Word.

The Word of God is ALIVE!!!

"Still, what's the difference", you may ask. My words also have life since I am alive. Not really! Man's words have only the power to communicate a thought. This is far different from God's Word. Examine the scripture portion from Isaiah. It states that God's Word is a messenger. It has the power to act according to what God has said. Thus we read that it was by the power of His Word that God spoke the worlds into existence. (Heb. 11:3) He just spoke it and it was done. In this is the power of God. Man's power is limited to what he can physically act on by transforming his thoughts into action. God does not have to transform His Word into action. His Word proceeds from Himself and has power to do exactly what he wants.

This is something a Christian has to learn as a principle. God never lets us have empty words. The words that He has given us is an extension of who He is. It reflects His majestic character, produces reverence and awe, assures in the darkest trials and most importantly is trustworthy. The Words are alive. Keep feeding on them and you will soon see that it has the awesome power to transform you into the image of the Son of God who is the Word of God.