Matthew 5:22

"But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment" (Matthew 5:22)

 

There are a number of Scriptures which, taken alone, would indicate that a Christian should never get angry about anything. For example, note  "Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger be put away from you."

 

Yet Jesus indicated only that anger "without a cause" was wrong and invited judgment. Many modern translations omit the phrase without a cause, but the phrase does occur in over 99.5 percent of all the Greek manuscripts, and thus clearly should be retained.

 

If anger were never permitted for a believer, it would contradict even the occasional example of Jesus Himself.

Matthew 25:41

"Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." (Matthew 25:41)

 

How can it be that Jesus Christ, who taught so strongly the importance of love and forgiveness, could speak such words as these? Actually, Jesus had more to say about hell and eternal punishment than any other speaker or writer in the Bible.  The only man who has died and risen permanently from the dead, we would do well to believe and heed His warnings. He knows whereof He speaks!

 

Listen to these prophecies, for example: "So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth"

Titus 1:1

"Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness." (Titus 1:1)

 

In New Testament times it was common to begin one's letter to a friend with a salutation such as this, which usually identified the writer and the reader and then gave personal greetings.

 

Contrary to his normal practice, Paul spends the first three verses of this four-verse greeting speaking about himself, but he places the emphasis not on his own authority, but on the nature of the message which he has been given.

 

First, in designating his position as writer, Paul refers to himself as a "servant" (literally, "slave") of God. His will had been voluntarily surrendered to do his Master's will. Next, he identifies himself as "an apostle of Jesus Christ," commissioned by Him to represent Him and His revelation. He then defines his apostleship as being in agreement with the message to which the elect have responded, and the "acknowledging |literally, 'advanced knowledge'| of the truth which is after godliness."

 

Next, Paul claims that his message is not a new doctrine, but has its past, present, and future aspects.

Genesis 7:23

"And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark." (Genesis 7:23)

 

People today are concerned about the eventual depletion of the oil and coal supplies of the world. The economics of all the world's nations are largely dependent upon these "fossil fuels," as they are called.

 

And they are called "fossils" because they apparently once were living organisms, somehow buried in vast sediments and later compressed and converted into oil and coal and combustible gas. How could this have happened?

 

Evolutionists speculate that hundreds of millions of years of slow processes must have been involved, but the details of such processes are very uncertain. Coal and oil can be produced in a matter of hours in modern laboratories under appropriate conditions of heat and pressure. Recent studies by creation scientists have proved that at least the great coal beds (and even diamond mines) contain modern radiocarbon, so must have been formed recently.

 

Although evolutionists ridicule the idea of a world-destroying hydraulic cataclysm in Noah's day, that phenomenon really does provide the most reasonable explanation for all these phenomena.

John 3:12

"If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?" (John 3:12)

 

Many who profess to be Christian intellectuals today are arguing that we should defer to the evolutionists in matters of science and history, since the real message of the Bible is spiritual. The Genesis account, for example, is not meant to give us details of the events of creation, for scientists can give us this information. It merely assures us that God is somehow behind it all. But if this were all that God meant to tell us, its very first verse is enough for that! What is the need to describe all the days and acts of creation at all if the record has no real relevance to history or science?

 

As the Lord Jesus told Nicodemus in our text verse, if we cannot trust God's Word when it relates "earthly things," how can we possibly rely on its testimony of "heavenly things"? To some extent we can check for ourselves whether or not it is accurate when it records facts of history and processes of nature, but we have no means at all of determining whether it speaks the truth when it deals with heaven and hell, with salvation and eternal life, or with God's purpose for the world in the ages to come.

 

2 John 9

Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son." (2 John 9)

 

It is obvious from this passage that "the doctrine of Christ" is vitally important, for a person who does not "abide" (that is "continue") in this doctrine does not know God at all. In fact, the next verse forbids fellow Christians even to welcome such a person into one's home or into the fellowship of his church. That person certainly must not be permitted to teach his false doctrine there. "If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed.

 

But exactly what is "the doctrine of Christ"? In context, it must certainly include the incarnation of God in Christ in human flesh. In addition, however, the Greek word actually means "the teachings," and probably refers to everything the Scriptures teach concerning Him, as well as all that He Himself taught. This breadth of meaning in the Word is illustrated by the Lord's warning against

Mine eyes have seen the Lord

And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. (Isaiah 6:1-9)

 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the LORD sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the glory of the Lord, the LORD.
 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:
 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.
 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.

The Greek word translated "received" is lambano, which means to
actively receive. In English we use the word "take" to describe
actively receiving.

For example, the following scriptures contain the Greek word,
"lambano." This may help you get a better understanding of what
receive means when it translates this word, lambano.


"And they TOOK him and killed him and cast him out of the
vineyard.

...Pilate said to them, "You TAKE Him and crucify Him, for I
find no fault in Him."

As the above passages show, sometimes lambano is translated as
take or took -- and is not at all passive, but very active.
.

So, this verse is saying to us that when we pray, we are to
believe we take what we are asking for, and then we will have
those things.

How can we do that?

We must take them by faith. How do we "take them by faith?" We
release words of faith based on what God has said in His Word,
the Bible.

We are not talking about forcing God to do something, but to
receive (or take) what is already offered.

How can you "believe you have received" something before you
see it? Easy! You just need credible evidence.

If someone you trusted told you they had deposited money in
your bank account, you would not need to physically go to the
bank and see the cash before rejoicing.

Well, God -- who cannot lie -- has told us many things in His
Word. When we pray in line with what God's Word already says is
ours, that is our evidence on which we can base our belief.

When God says it -- we can believe it. So that is our evidence
by which we can "believe we receive" something when we pray.
So, by our faith, we "take it."

(We are not taking it from God. He has already given it to us.)

Psalm 89:15

"Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy countenance." (Psalm 89:15)

 

Many have been the Christians who have joined in singing "We have heard the joyful sound: Jesus saves; Jesus saves!" Not all have known, however, that this beautiful phrase comes from a great psalm extolling God's marvelous works of creation and then His promises of redemption.

 

"The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: as for the world and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them. The north and the south thou hast created them." Earlier verses note that "the heavens shall praise thy wonders, O LORD, speaking of the angels, "the sons of the mighty, literally, "the sons of God." It is exciting to realize that the very first "joyful sound" was heard when God "laid the foundations of the earth." Then it was that "the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy."

 

There was also a joyful sound when Christ was born, and the angel came bringing "good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born . . . a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. . . . And suddenly there was . . . the heavenly host praising God."

 

Whenever a soul is saved, there is a joyful sound: "Joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth," said Jesus.

Which Jesus do you serve

Yes your right this one is a repeat and it I will continue to repeat this till i know that each of us has answered this question. Is probably the most important question that you or I could ever ponder.

Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (Ephesians 5:1-2)

 The call to imitate God is a call to separate ourselves from the world though we may be in but not of it  (Ephesians 4:17-19) and how we have been made new (Ephesians 4:20-24) and then gave us specific ways to do that (Ephesians4:25-32).

Our call is to live with the same love that Christ has demonstrated.  Jesus laying down his life for us, was first of all an expression of his love for his Father. Jesus did it, not only because of his love for us, but because first of all he loved the Father and this was  the Father’s will. This ‘life of love’ is not to be something we do to make ourselves feel good or appear good, it is to come out of and be an expression of our love for God Himself.  When John says, “We love because he first loved us,” (1 John 4:19). The first thing we need to do in the Christian life is become utterly convinced of God’s love.

On Sunday they raise their hands to heaven and declare that it is Jesus that they serve.

Then why do we look so much like the world?

Did you know that the wheat and the tare, the world can't tell which is which and quite frankly neither can I. So I pose the question again, which Jesus do you serve?

My Savior bleed and suffered and died and rose again for a sinner like me. My Savior, was a friend to friendless, He remembers the forgotten ones among us, Which Jesus do you follow?

 Which Jesus do you serve?

Is it this picture of the American dream that you chase after? Is the prince of this world who you serve or did you miss that part when you decided you want fortune and power?

If Jesus was here would you walk right by him or cross over to the other side of the street? 

Would you even recognize him or have time to speak to him?

Pretty blue eyes and curly brown hair and a white complexion Michael Angelo version of Jesus ,is that the Jesus you serve? My Savior was battered and bruised for my sins, did you miss that part? Sometimes I ponder do we really understand what the price he paid for us?

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for they understand and they know My Savior. So which Jesus do we serve. is it the one whom we pray to bless us with great wealth? Or the Jesus who said

blessed are they that hunger and thirst for righteousness?

 So who do you serve? The one whose promises are like shifting sand?

Marine says it God , then country and the marine Corp, what comes first for you?

My Jesus would he be accepted in your churches today? All bloody and bruised with no shoes on his feet, would we want him sitting next to us?  He was not rich he didn't have a pillow to lay his head upon. Today my Jesus would look like a homeless man or perhaps we would see him  as mentally insane.

He spent His time with criminals and those that are considered the least among us. Did you know he had a heart for the poor, so which place would  He come to eat Sabbath meal at your house or among those that were forgotten by society?

Its time we decide which Jesus do we serve but I'm not sure we understand what that means to be like Christ,

Jesus said to live like HIM, love like HIM but then does that mean we must be willing to die for HIM as he died for you and I???

Can we be Imitators of Christ? Can we live like our Savior?  Which one do you want to be ? I turned on the TV set today and heard a man preaching Jesus wants to make you rich and that he never intended for us to be poor.  Is that the Jesus your seeking??? Heard a pastor say that his Jesus says that we should never be sad. Yet my Jesus wept when heard his good friend was dead. So which Jesus do you serve?  I know that I want to be more like my Savior and less like me.  I want to be an imitator of my Savior what about you????