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I AM AN 80 YEAR OLD MALE, BORN AGAIN, CHRISTIAN WITH A LOVE FOR JESUS. I DO NOT GET OUT MUCH ANYMORE BUT FIND THAT TELLING PEOPLE ABOUT THE LOVE JESUS HAS FOR THEM IS NOT ONLY WHAT WE ARE SUPPOSED TO DO BUT SOMETHING THAT THE WORLD NEEDS.
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We should not think it is strange to be persecuted. "All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution" (2 Tim. 3:12). We can actually rejoice because we are being persecuted for Jesus' sake, and the Lord will be with us in the midst of the persecution. When we stand before Him, there will be more than ample reward.
Persecution is a token that those persecuting you are under conviction. They realize that they are not living what your words or actions are advocating and in self defense, they attack you, who they perceive is the source of their conviction. If you understand this, it makes persecution much easier to take. They aren't just mad at you; they are convicted. When the gospel is...
HAVING A PROBLEM WITH THINKING YOU WON'T REMEMBER WHAT TO SAY WHEN SOMEONE ASKS YOU WHAT MUST THEY DO TO BE SAVED? THAT QUESTION GIVES A LOT OF CHRISTIANS TROUBLE AS THEY HAVEN'T, TO DATE, LEAD ANYONE TO JESUS. WE MUST BE PREPARED BECAUSE WE WOULD NOT WANT SOMEONE TO BE LOST BECAUSE OF US. PRACTICE IF YOU HAVE TO, BUT BE READY.
This is a profound truth, that is the key to bearing fruit, but it is so easy to forget. Because the fruit is borne on the branch, it is easy to credit the branch with the fruit, when it is the vine that drew the life from the earth and channeled it through the branch.
Likewise, since we are the branch through which the life of God flows, we sometimes think that it is our own holiness that produces the fruit. The moment we think that way, we are no longer abiding (trusting in; clinging to) in the vine and we will become fruitless if we persist in this mind set.
This is actually a great relief if the believer understands this and applies it properly. It puts all the responsibility on Jesus. Our only responsibility is to...
THE FIRST TIME JESUS MINISTERED IN JERUSALEM WAS AT THE TEMPLE RIGHT AFTER HE HAD DRIVEN OUT THE ONES WHO WERE SELLING THE SHEEP, OXEN AND DOVES FOR THE OFFERINGS. HE HAD MADE A WHIP AND DROVE THEM OUT AND TURNED OVER THEIR MONEY TABLES. HE SAID THEY WERE NOT GOING TO MAKE HIS FATHER'S HOUSE A HOUSE OF MERCHANDISE.
This purging has been interpreted in many ways. The illustration that Jesus is using is one of pruning; therefore, some have said this purging is a very painful process where the Lord cuts and slashes us through things like sickness, death, poverty, and other forms of tragedy so that eventually we will bear more fruit. This teaching not only promotes problems as being good, but necessary, if we want to bear more fruit.
That thinking is not consistent with the rest of God's Word or even the context of this verse. The text makes it very clear that the purging that Jesus speaks of is done through the Word that He has spoken unto us.
Paul said in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 that God's Word was given to us "for doctrine, for...
HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED WHY JESUS' MINISTRY SPREAD SO QUICKLY? YES, HE WAS GOD BUT THE BIBLE SAYS HE PUT AWAY HIS DIVINITY. HE WAS A GOOD TEACHER BUT HE ALSO USED MIRACLES OF HEALING AND CASTING OUT UNCLEAN SPIRITS. MARK 1:25-28 TELLS US THIS AND I QUOTE "And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him. And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him. And immediately his fame spread abroad throughout all the region round about Galilee." ALSO, JOHN 6:2 TELLS US "And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased." HE BECAME VERY POPULAR BECAUSE OF THE MIRACLES HE DID.
Jesus stated His union with the Father so clearly that He was accused of blasphemy more than once. This statement about the Father being greater than Jesus must harmonize, not contradict other claims.
A key to understanding this is given in Philippians 2:6-8, where Paul states that Jesus didn't think it was robbery to be equal with God, but humbled Himself, taking on the form of a servant (speaking of His humanity). Jesus was equal to God in His divine nature but He made Himself inferior to the Father in regard to His humanity. Jesus didn't lose any of His deity when He became a man, but He did clothe it in flesh and submit it to the consequent limitations. In this sense, the Father was...
CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE THAT BELIEVE THAT SINCE THE WORD "TRINITY" IS NOT FOUND IN THE BIBLE THAT THEY DON'T BELIEVE IN A TRIUNE GOD. I SINCERELY BELIEVE THAT THESE PEOPLE DON'T CARE THE FIRST THING ABOUT GOD BUT JUST LOVE TO ARGUE WITH ANYONE ABOUT THE BIBLE. THEY HAVE READ IT AND EVEN STUDIED IT, NOT TO LEARN OF GOD, BUT TO BE ABLE TO ARGUE WELL. WE JUST HAVE TO PRAY FOR THESE PEOPLE.