Hitting Close to Home

For the past 3 months, I've been journeying through a study on the Apostle Paul and it's called "To Live is Christ" by Beth Moore. It's been an amazing in-depth study of his life, of the Book of Acts and some of Paul's letters to the New Testament Church. So many of parts of his life have hit really close to home for me. Originally called Saul, he was a devout Jew who grew up in the church and kept the law to it's fullest extent. He was so against the followers of Jesus Christ that he had them persecuted and killed all the time, he would even go in search of them to have them killed. After Paul met with Jesus on the Road to Damascus, he became a believer and began sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ, but he was persecuted in many ways. The hatred that his fellow Jews had for him now was taken to great extents. From his own people, the religious leaders and even his family, he was flogged and beaten, imprisoned, and even stoned (2 Corinthians 11:21-31). But he stood on the solid truth of God's Son, Jesus Christ the Messiah, who came to earth, died on a cross and rose again and is now living in heaven preparing an eternal home for us there. He continued to preach the Good News no matter what. I pray that my faith will be as strong as his was.

Back in March 2006, I had the opportunity to go to Bolivia to find some of my dad's family living on the Mennonite Colonies there. It's been wonderful to meet with them. But at the same time, the stories that I hear of my own relatives have been no different than what happened to Paul so many years ago.  In 1995, a young man in Bolivia had been severely beaten by the elders of the church for proclaiming that he was a Believer and that he knew for certain that he was going to heaven. They made his younger brother watch and wanted them both to deny being confident in their eternal heavenly heritage. Are you willing to follow Jesus even when it hurts and others persecute you?? I pray that I will be able to. You can read the story of Paul Buhler here:   http://www.jeanettewindle.com/the_way_of_the_cross_following_jesus_when_it_hurts.htm
What has been done in the name of religion or the church is heartwrenching.

Here I am with dedicated
Missionaries Jake & Dorothy
Fehr near Santa Cruz, Bolivia 

relatives on a Mennonite Colony

Recently, a relative from Bolivia came to visit, one that I had met back in 2006. I prayed for this man. Knowing that his own mind has been twisted with the legalistic ways of the colonies, my heart was heavy for him before he left. I didn't have anything to lose, so I stopped in and prayed for him. My prayer for him is the same as it is for my many relatives who are caught in those same religious ways in Bolivia. I pray that their hearts would be changed, that the Love of God would overtake his hardened heart and that the work that dear missionaries are doing in their country would not be in vain. I know that many Mennonites are becoming Believers, in spite of the persecution by their own people, and choosing to follow the Lord Jesus Christ, no matter what the cost. But it's not easy hearing of these things and to also watch others reap things in their latter years of stuff that they had sown in their earlier years. Oh how we all need the Hand of God in our lives.

On Sunday morning, our sermon in church was about "who am I living for" and "what would I die for." Paul chose to die for Christ..."To live is Christ, to die is gain"...were his words. Am I willing to die for my faith? If my child or a family member asked me to deny my Christ in order to live, or in order for one of my other children to live, would I be strong enough in my faith to say "No, to live is Christ, to die is gain." If someone were to knock on my door and take me to jail for living my life for God, would my faith be strong enough to go through any kind of persecution? I pray that it would.  That's why it's so important to be in the Word of God and developing a daily relationship with God and getting to know His Son Jesus Christ more and more....so that when those times of persecution come, which they will, then we will be able to stand on our firm foundation of faith in God. Ephesians 6 tells us that we need to put on the armor of God daily so we can stand with our feet planted on God and His Word.

synagogue at Capernaum

The hatred that can live in human beings is downright scary. The Jews were "livid" when Paul kept on preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ and their hatred controlled them so much that they dragged him out of the synagogue and began to stone/beat him and left him for dead (Acts 14). We can fast forward to the 1500's when the Anabaptists broke away from the Roman Catholic Church and the severe persecution many believers went through at the hands of angry religious leaders of that time because they simply wanted to step away from infant baptism and have voluntary church membership and they believed in the separation of church and state.  http://www.anabaptists.org/history/what-is-an-anabaptist.html  What is done in the name of religion is absolutely heartbreaking! The religious leaders on the Bolivian colony kept whipping the young 18 year old boy because he knew and proclaimed that he was saved. Yes, this study has hit close to home. What happened to Christians in the Bible is still happening today and has happened throughout history.

The Garden Tomb

Even closer to home yet, is how much closer I feel to the Apostle Paul. What a testimony of a man who, in the early years of his life, thought he had all the right teachings, had been brought up in the church and yet he missed the mark of believing that Jesus was the Messiah. What a testimony he has of being brought to know the Truth and to share it with others through the remainder of his life. As I prepare to go back to Israel in a few

at the Wailing Wall

days, all that I learned through this study is so fresh in my head, just as it was when we journeyed through the study Jesus the One and Only. Each study we do, I get to know The Bible better and better and I get to know the Heart of God better and better and changing me from the inside out. As Paul was writing his letters to the different churches, it was full of love and affection for the Believers and a longing that they would come closer and closer in their relationship with Jesus Christ and to know the Scriptures.  He also longed to meet with them to share about the Good News with them in person, face to face. I am feeling that same way today. I have been able to connect with a couple wonderful Christian women in Israel and we will be meeting together with them while we are there. My heart longs to see their face, give them a hug and to hear about all that God is doing in their lives and through the lives of the Believers in the Holy Land. I know the trip this time will be even more personal and enriching because of meeting together with these women personally.

God is at work!  Hallelujah! Each day is so exciting to find out what He is going to do TODAY! What is He going to give me to add to my Testimony TODAY! Yes, I hope and pray that each day, each week, things will hit close to home, to soften my heart, get me to pray harder, to open my Bible more often and to draw me nearer to the Heart of my Heavenly Father. AMEN!

God is a God of Details

My God is such a God of details....and I LOVE THAT!

This morning I woke up at my usual time that God wakes me up every morning...just after 5 am. :) So I requested just to have a few minute snooze. 5:17 a.m. I am awake again. "Lord, I'd like to sleep in a little more today, it's Saturday. Could I have a couple more hours?" I prayed. I instantly fell asleep and the next time I woke up again, guess what??  Yup, you got it...7:17 a.m.  :)  God is so perfect, so detailed, so precise!  I LOVE that about Him!!  He just makes me smile!  But this is NOT the first time it's happened to me...it's happened time and time again. God is so incredibly detailed...that's such a beautiful thing about Him!  So because of this, I KNEW that He had something good for me to read from His Word this morning. Well, there's ALWAYS good things to read in His Word every time we open it up...but I knew there would be something VERY precise for me to read today.


I've been reading through the Gospels chronologically and today I was reading the 2nd half of Luke 8, beginning at verse 26. Verses 26-39 is the story of Jesus sailing to the "other side" of the lake, the Sea of Galilee.  One of my favorite moments in Israel was being on that lake. But another interesting aspect is how Beth Moore spoke of this story in our last Bible study, Jesus the One and Only. She taught about Jesus going over to "the other side" of the lake and how uncomfortable it can be to go over to the "other side" and how we need protection. Here Jesus met up with a demon possessed man, who had many demons living in him, and he lived among the tombstones and caves here. Jesus delivered him! This man became the first missionary because the man wanted to go back with Jesus, but Jesus told him to go tell his family and the others about what Jesus had done for him. The demons knew who Jesus was, they knew His power and they were afraid of Him. There are many demonic forces in todays world too and we don't need to be afraid of their power. Jesus has MORE power and the Holy Spirit IN us, we have more power than demons who are active in todays world too. AMEN to that!!
So sitting on this hillside where Jesus sent all those demons into that herd of pigs so many years ago, it was definitely one of my favorite places in Israel, knowing that Jesus was there displaying the power of God in that place.

Another GREAT aspect of this mornings reading was verses 40-56. A week ago today, I was taking part in a  Women's Journey of Faith, AWAKEN "Faith Stories Seminar". We were encouraging women to share their stories, to overcome fear and shame and the desire to hide the not so good aspects of our lives. We gave them great tools to work with in order to write and share powerful testimonies of what Jesus has done in their lives. Maureen had done a little skit about the woman from verse 43, a woman who bled for 12 years. This woman was so desperate to reach Jesus and to just touch the hem of his robe, knowing that if she did so, she totally believed with all her heart that she would be healed...and SHE WAS! Oh what great faith!  Even Jesus stopped to point out who touched Him cause He wanted the people around Him to know how GREAT her faith was, and that she was an individual who needed love and care just like anyone else. I love how Jesus treated women in the Bible, showing how much they deserved love, attention, honor and respect. Even the Jewish men couldn't "look" at a bleeding woman, or be around them or speak to them...they were totally avoided. I can just imagine the pain of this woman being treated so horribly for many years.
AND JESUS TOUCHED HER, the very depths of her soul with love and attention. Oh this story always brings tears to my eyes!!  He stopped to proclaim and make a point to all the people around Him that an "unclean" woman touched Him because of her great faith and He healed her!  OH how she must have felt!  WOW!


So yes, The Good Lord had something very precise for me to read this morning. Thank you God! You are a God of the smallest and yet mightiest details!   Oh how I love you so!

Testimonies of Jesus the One and Only

Following are some testimonies of women who've taken the study by Beth Moore called JESUS the One and Only:

It has been wonderful to spend time studying about the life of Jesus. I was reminded of details that I had forgotten, and I noticed new details. It was also very helpful to have the culture of the day explained by Beth.
It is so moving the way Jesus loved His disciples. He wasn’t just their Saviour, he was their “walk beside, chat with, sit down and eat with” friend. Exactly the friend He is to me! God has taken such care to plan everything about me and my life. The plans God had in place before He created the earth, included me. Imagine! He was including me in his plans when He created earth, when He saved His people from slavery, when He gave his children a promise of a Saviour, when the angel appeared to Mary, when Jesus was born and then executed the beautifully designed plan that cumulated in his death and resurrection. And why? Why did God go to all that trouble and pain? Because He loves ME! He has such a huge plan, but little ‘ol me is at the heart of it. How can that be? I just can’t imagine that God planned for thousands of years (even longer), for me. Sometimes I feel insignificant, but when I think about how significant I am to God, WOW! When I read about how he taught the disciples so they could teach others, and now, two thousand years later, I can know the God of all, I am amazed. Jesus prayed for me in the garden before He was crucified. Jesus touched so many people on earth. He had such power. He was so good and so wise. He cared about the people so much. Everything was put in place so that I can know Jesus, and not just know him through the eyes of others, or through the written words of others, but know him personally. The most exciting part of his plan is yet to come. I am going to spend eternity with my best friend and Saviour. I am part of a plan that God started before time, and one that will continue for eternity. 

- BK


Rita Wiebe share this:
This was one of my favorite studies that I have done with Beth Moore. I always like the way she makes you look at scripture from a different angle. She really brought to light the life of Jesus while on earth and how He taught his disciples. For me, some of the behind the scenes events where brought forward and made one really think about what he was trying to teach them, in the circmstances that they were in. There is always more to learn from scripture, even if one has read the same story numerous times. God just picked ordinary men to be his disciples and led them through their ups and downs and through their failures. Peter was a good example and in the end he became a big warrior for proclaiming Christ and His teachings. God will never give up on us and will always use us, if we are willing.


I've really enjoyed the Bible Study "Jesus, the One and Only" and the in-depth look at most of the book of Luke.  I was particularly encouraged by the reminder that Jesus is a healer for today!  I also found the comparison of the stories of Christ as told in each of the four gospels very insightful.  I love how God's word is living and active and can give fresh insight each time we read it.  We can never exhaust its truths!

- Janet G.

Here are Mary H.'s thoughts on the study:
Jesus the One and Only. I have learned very much during this Bible study. The Lord has opened my eyes in a peculiar kind of way. God the Father allowed His Son to be "adopted" into a family on earth so that we could be adopted into a family in Heaven. How awesome. Yet each one of us who are believers have been invaded by Jesus Christ through His Holy Spirit. It is the most glorious invasion of privacy that ever graces a human life. I am the Lords servant and He wants total submission.

 Satan doesn't have to get us thinking blatantly satanic thoughts to have victory over us. All he needs is to get us looking at life from a mans perspective rather than God's. If we surrender our minds to the things of God then we are safe.

 Sometimes we think like Martha regarding our church building. We're so interested in a well equipped building, we overlook the absolute priority of intimacy with God.

 Lord we need more of you. We need boldness without shame.

 It matters to God what is going on in His Church. The business of church or the business of Christ.

 Few things cause people to sin like unforgiveness.

 God isn't looking to take our possessions away, He is looking to make His Son our greatest possession.

 We must make sure Satan knows our cooperation can't be "bought".

 Our hearts are utterly taken with Christ, is more important than any amount of service we could reder, or rules we could keep. If Christ has my heart, He has my obedience.

 God wants to completely captivate my heart and cause it to burn with passion for Him.

Jesus you are my One and Only

Jesus the One and Only was my very first Bible Study that i have been to and joining half way through the study i must say that i have really learned alot in a short period of time. I have seen many scriptures in a new way and recommitting my life to Jesus in week 9 was the hardest week for me. I had a new revelation of what Jesus went through when he died for all of us. My heart cries out for more of Jesus and to trust God that he will take care of us - He loves us sooo much. What really opened my eyes was that Jesus treated all of his disciples the same and we need to love all people in the world just like Jesus showed here when He knew Judas was going to betray Him. Overall my walk with Jesus is growing everyday and need to stay in pray,worship and praise. JESUS IS MY ONLY HOPE in this world. He died for all and JESUS IS MY ONE AND ONLY. My life belongs to Him.
- Shelley A.


Louise K. shares this from her heart:
I woke up at 3 am and thought of the King of Kings, Jesus. He brings peace to my soul. Studying Jesus the One and Only was interesting but more importantly it took me deeper into knowing Him more! Emmanuel, God with us, He is the Hope I place all my faith in. To know Jesus more is a gift that keeps on giving. My soul is restored. Jesus takes my fears and anxiety's. I love this God man from Nazareth. There is power in His name. I am so grateful for this study which focused on my Savior. Jesus, the One and Only is the Good News.


Kathryn shares her thoughts about the study:
I have always believed in God and Jesus Christ. I did not go to church very often growing up. I learned alot in school in a Religious Education class while growing up in England. I used to pray every night as a kid until I became a teenager. I had a friend who died young and seeing a lot of suffering kept me from praying and put doubts in my life. I still find it hard to pray along or with the Bible study group. But I've always felt very positive and happy after attending the Beth Moore study and I've enjoyed the leaders at Bible study. I got a job with Pastor Russ's wife and she got me involved in this Bible study and going to church.  I do feel I am a Christian but still have doubts about things that happen in the world. I've loved the Bible study and it's been very interesting and fun. I really liked Lisa talking about "Jesus bumps."  :-)


(I [Lisa] consider Jesus bumps to be when the Spirit of God is moving you. People often speak of goosebumps but they are usually because of fear and fear does not come from God. But when you get 'bumps' in church, or during praise and worship, or hearing an incredibly moving speaker or testimony, etc...I like to think of those as "Jesus bumps". :-)


How I loved this study about Jesus, the One and Only!
If there is a person to name who we can truly call the greatest it is without a doubt Jesus.
Even as a small innocent baby rulers were scared of Him, as a teenager he was teaching in ways scholars were blown away!
We have not much word how he was as a son to Mary and Joseph, but I'm sure he was an excellent child to have.
Everything he did or say in his life as a teacher was significant, nothing was in vain. He dealt with each person , whether it was a disciple, a teacher, a tax collector, a prostitute or a child in a special, personal way. He was kind and patient with everyone except with the Pharisees he was less kind.
Jesus is still the same today and will be tomorrow. How  patient is he with all of us and treats each of us in a  unique way.
The way Beth Moore talks about Jesus could make me jealous, but there is no reason, because this same Jesus is mine and everybody else's as well. It takes a lifetime to study Jesus and at the end we will meet Him, how beautiful!
I can only recommend this study to every woman, it brings us joy and closer to our Saviour.
Thanks Lisa for leading us in this study, looking forward to the next one!
Lydia E.


Another woman shared this with me:
I'm blown away by the Bible Study.  We are so lucky to be able to learn this, Wow.  I have been so focused on what is going on in my own life and how I feel about it, it was totally awesome for a new perspective and how God feels about it.   I just never looked at it from this perspective and it was just amazing.  I feel so blessed by this, I'm overwhelmed with how awesome our God is and how so very lucky we are to know him and to get to know him better each day.

This was the best study day I have been to in years, God's presence is so huge in that room you can't help but feel so totally loved by him.  The women in that room are so beautiful.  For me, it is heaven on earth. I am so humbled and so thankful. Thank you Lisa, words can't express the gratitude that I have and will always have.  It was just simply amazing.

When you can feel the breath of God, the supernatural power of this awesome God, there is just nothing out there like it.  All weekend I have felt close to tears when I think of it because I am so unworthy yet he makes me worthy.  I love him so much, I think I will just burst.  We have no idea how big this God really is and how so totally blessed we are to have the opportunity to get to know him better. 

I am still quite blown away,  it was just amazing. Wow,  thank you.  thank you.  thank you... I am so grateful.  Wow!  I've been to alot of Bible Studies over the past decade, especially one day, the study was just amazing.  Simply amazing.  It just keeps getting better all the time.  We are so blessed to have this study I am thankful.  

Oh by the way, I was feeling so overwhelmed by how amazing this study was and how amazing God really is.  I started my vehicle to go home and on the Freedom 100.3 station they were singing a song about how simply amazing God is.  Cool!  I think I get it. Talk about a two by four over the head but in a very wonderful way.  Thank you God!!

John the Baptist - The Spirit of Elijah

When the Ladies Bible study groups completed the study called Jesus the One and Only, we were entering the time of Passover and celebrating the Resurrection...the week of Easter. It was such perfect timing because the study ended with Jesus' death on the cross, His resurrection from the grave and His ascendence into Heaven. God couldn't have planned the timing of this study more perfectly. Beth Moore had such a wonderful explanation of the Passover Meal and what Jesus and His disciples would have gone through at that Last Supper.  I thought that because we were entering Passover now, learning how the Jews celebrated the Passover Meal would be such a great completion to the study. So we invited a wonderful Jewish woman to come and share about the Passover Meal with us.  It was VERY interesting and it gave such incredible insight to the Passover itself, but also to how Jesus and the Messiah is viewed by different people.  It was wonderful to have her!  Through the session, it was pointed out that the Jews are waiting for the 1st appearance of their `Messiah` and Christians are waiting for 'their Messiah`s 2nd coming'.  But what was so extremely heart wrenching for me at the time and during the next couple weeks is that IF people do not accept JESUS as the real true Messiah, then they are actually waiting for the Anti-Christ!  OH that just hit me REAL hard!  I had a cry over it! If the Scriptures, Old AND New Testament are not read, if the Bible is not studied as a whole, then people are REALLY missing out on VERY important truths!

So anyway, during the Passover celebration, many Jews will open their doors to allow the spirit of Elijah to come into their home while they are celebrating the Passover.  The `spirit of Elijah` is looked upon as Christians look to Jesus...as everyone should be looking to Jesus.  Often a special cup is set out with wine in it for the spirit of Elijah to drink.  While the children are out hunting for the eggs in the middle of the evening, one of the adults will drink the wine in the cup so that when the children come back in, it is empty...therefore the children really believe the spirit of Elijah has come and visited them.  It is believed by many Jews that their messiah will come in the spirit of Elijah but they don`t know what form he or she will take.  The idea that Elijah is coming back is taken from the passage in Malachi 4:4-6 which is described in more depth below.

 

During my devotions one Monday, I came across some verses that I`ve read many times before but this time they just jumped out at me anew and with fresh meaning after having experienced the Passover celebration.  I was so excited and just couldn't keep it to myself so I sent these scriptures to  my Bible study ladies on that Monday:

  

Good morning ladies,

as I was having my devotions this morning, I came across some GREAT verses that reminded me of our time last week reviewing the Passover.  Many Jews, while they are going through the Passover Meal each year, they have a cup for the spirit of Elijah, and during the meal, they open the door to allow his spirit to come in and be present with them. This raised many questions among us as to why many Jews hold the Prophet Elijah in such great esteem, and why they look to him in the same way that we look to Jesus. I just HAVE to share these verses and study notes from my Bible with you!!  :-) (scriptures are taken from the New Living Translation)

 

The passage that my devotions from the Daily Bread began with this morning was Malachi 4:4-6 "Remember to keep my commandments of my servant Moses, all the laws and regulations that I gave him on Mount Sinai for all Israel. Look, I am sending you the prophet Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the Lord arrives. His preaching will turn the hearts of parents to their children, and the heart of children to their parents. Otherwise I will come and strike the land with a curse."

'Elijah (1 Kings 17-2 Kings 2) was one of the greatest prophets who ever lived. With the prophet Malachi's death, the voice of God's prophets would be silent for 400 years. Then a prophet would come, like Elijah, to herald the Messiah's coming (Matt. 17:10-13, Luke 1:17). This prophet was John the Baptist. John prepared people's hearts for Jesus by urging people to repent of their sins. Christ's coming would bring not only unity and peace, but also judgment on those who refused to turn from their sins.'

 

So reading this passage and the study notes, sent me on a search with all the verses that cross referenced it....and again, I am so excited to share it with you!!

 

Luke 1 begins with an angel promising the birth of John to Zechariah. "Elizabeth will bear a son and you are to name him John....many will rejoice with you at his birth, for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord....he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before his birth. And he will persuade many Israelites to turn to the Lord their God. He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah, the prophet of old. He will precede the coming of the Lord, preparing the people for his arrival. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and he will change disobedient minds to accept godly wisdom." (v. 13-17)

'John's role was to be almost identical to that of an Old Testament prophet; to encourage people to turn away from sin and back to God. John is often compared to the great prophet Elijah, who was known for standing up to evil rulers (Mal. 4:5, Matt. 11:14; 17:10-13). In preparing people for the Messiah's arrival, John would seek to take stony hearts and exchange them for hearts that were soft, pliable, trusting, and open to change (Ezekiel 11:19, 20 & 36:25-29).'

 

In Matthew 11:11-14 as Jesus was teaching about the Kingdom, he says "I assure you, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John the Baptist. Yet event the most insignificant person in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he is! And from the time John the Baptist began preaching and baptizing until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing, and violent people attack it. For before John came, all the teachings of the Scriptures looked forward to this present time. And if you are willing to accept what I say, he is Elijah, the one the prophets said would come. Anyone who is willing to hear should listen and understand!"

In my study notes, it says 'no person ever fulfilled his God-given purpose better than John. Yet in God's coming Kingdom all members will have a greater spiritual heritage than John because they will have seen and known Christ and his finished work on the cross....John was not a resurrected Elijah, but he took on Elijah's prophetic role---boldly confronting sin and pointing people to God (Mal. 3:1)'

 

In Matthew 17 Jesus, Peter, James & John were on the mount of Transfiguration and Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus.  After Moses and Elijah left, in verses 11-13  "Jesus says, "Elijah is indeed coming first to set everything in order. But I tell you, he has already come, but he wasn't recognized, and he was badly mistreated. And soon the Son of Man will also suffer at their hands." Then the disciples realized he had been speaking of John the Baptist."

'Based on Malachi 4:5-6, the teachers of the Old Testament law believed that Elijah must appear before the Messiah would appear. Jesus referred to John the Baptist, not to the Old Testament prophet Elijah. John the Baptist took on Elijah's prophetic role, bolding confronting sin and pointing people to God. Malachi had prophesied that a prophet like Elijah would come (Mal. 4:5).

 

In Mark 9:11-13 at the Transfiguration, it says this "Now they began asking him, "Why do the teachers of religious law insist that Elijah must return before the Messiah comes?" Jesus responded "Elijah is indeed coming first to set everything in order. Why then is it written that the Son of Man must suffer and be treated with utter contempt? But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and he was badly mistreated, just as the Scriptures predicted."

'When Jesus said that Elijah had already come, he was speaking of John the Baptist (Matt. 17:11-13), who had fulfilled the role prophesied for Elijah. It was difficult for the disciples to grasp the idea that their Messiah would have to suffer. The Jews who studied the Old Testament prophecies expected the Messiah to be a great king like David, who would overthrow the enemy, Rome. Their vision was limited to their own time and experience. They could not understand that the values of God's eternal Kingdom were different from the values of the world. They wanted relief from their present problems. But deliverance from sin is far more important than deliverance from physical suffering or political oppression. Our understanding and appreciation of Jesus must go beyond what he can do for us here and now.'

 

In John 1:19-26, the Jewish leaders were asking John who he was; if he was the Messiah, or Elijah, or the prophet.  John's reply was from the words of Isaiah 40:3 "I am a voice shouting in the wilderness, 'Prepare a straight pathway for the Lord's coming!'"

'In the religious leaders' minds, there were four options regarding John the Baptist's identity: He was (1) the Prophet foretold by Moses in Deut. 18:15, (2) Elijah from Mal. 4:5, (3) the Messiah, or (4) a false prophet. John denied being the first three personages. Instead, he called himself, in the words of the Old Testament prophet Isaiah, "The voice of someone shouting "Make a highway for the LORD through the wilderness. Make a straight, smooth road through the desert for our God" Isaiah 40:3.  The leaders kept pressing John to say who he was because people were expecting the Messiah to come (Luke 3:15). But John emphasized only WHY he had come---to prepare the way for the Messiah. The Pharisees missed the point. They wanted to know who John was, but John wanted them to know who Jesus was.'

 

So there's the proof!!!  Oooooh! If only people would see it and understand!!  The Jews don't need to wait any longer for the 'spirit of Elijah' or the one who will be like him.....he's already come, in the form of John the Baptist...and so has Jesus Christ the Messiah!  Oh how we need to pray for people's eyes to be opened and that they would see Jesus Christ as the ONE TRUE Messiah!

Jesus is the Way the Truth the Life! He is the ONLY way that we can enter into eternity with God.  In Acts 4:12 Peter tells the Jewish council in Jerusalem "There is salvation in no one else! There is no other name in all of heaven for people to call on to save them."  Many people do not react well to this, they want to "prove" there is another way into heaven...but there's not!  Only Jesus can save us! God designated Jesus to be the Savior of the world and there is nothing that anyone can do to ever change that! We can be open minded to many things, but this is the ONE thing that we can never be open minded about. There is no other way that we can be saved from sin. 'No other religious teacher could die for our sins; no other religious teacher came to earth as God's only Son; no other religious teacher rose from the dead. Our focus needs to be on Jesus, whom God provided as the way to have an eternal relationship with himself. There is no other name or way!'  There will come a day when EVERY PERSON on this earth will acknowledge that Jesus is the Messiah, God's One and Only Son. Philippians 2:8-11 tells us that Jesus humbled himself obediently by dying on the cross and "Because of this, God raised him up to the heights of heaven and gave him a name that is above every other name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."  Oh I can't wait for that day!!  Hallelujah what a glorious day that will be!!

Jesus is the One and Only, thee true Messiah who is returning.  Oh that we would have the heart of John the Baptist....wanting others to know who Jesus is!  That is my prayer for us dear ones.

The Blessed Condescension of Christ

In the 2nd last video of the Bible study Jesus the One and Only by Beth Moore, she shared a number of verses with us that she called The Blessed Condescension.  I've put these verses together in a bit of my own testimony.  It's so amazing that God sent His Son down to this earth to live among us.  I am eternally grateful.
The scripture is taken from the New Living Translation.

Oh the Blessed Condescension of Christ, the birth of God’s Son, coming down to earth, even though he had everything perfect in heaven, he chose to come down to us to save us.  Oh how incredibly blessed we are....how could we have ever lived without this blessed coming of our Savior? We couldn’t!!

“The scriptures tell us, “The first man, Adam, became a living person.” But the last Adam—that is, Christ—is a life-giving Spirit. What comes first is the natural body, then the spiritual body comes later. Adam, the first man, was made from the dust of the earth, and heavenly people are like the heavenly man. Just as we are now like the earthly man, we will someday be like the heavenly man.” 1 Cor. 15:45-49

God came down. He came as a life-giving Spirit in the form of Jesus, a perfect human being.  “For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body [in him dwells all the completeness of the Godhead bodily].” Col. 2:9  He could have stayed in heaven but “instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being.”  Phil 2:7  “So the Word became human [became flesh] and made his home among us.” God dwelt among us, the ones He created, He made His home among us!  Even though this world was full of darkness and man was doing their own thing, ignoring God and they had not heard a fresh word from God in 400 years, at this point the fullness of God came down to this world....Wow! “He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness [full of grace and truth]. And we have seen His glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.” John 1:14  “The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven.” Heb. 1:3

God said “I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier, because he exposed himself to death. He was counted among the rebels. He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.” I sa. 53:12  Jesus interceded for me!  A rebellious teenager and adult, a sinner...he interceded for me and for you so that we would not have to spend eternity apart from him but with HIM forever!

“When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.” Phil. 2:8  Oh my Jesus, was completely obedient to his Father, his Abba. “He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth.” Isa. 53:7  And even though “God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.”  2 Cor. 5:6  They still arrested him cause they hated him so. They could not bear the perfectness of Christ and hated him for pointing out all their religiosity  and their hardened hearts. Christ did not allow their pious views to change who he was or what he came to do. So even though the glory of God shone in him, “they spit in Jesus’ face and beat him with their fists. And some slapped him.” Matt. 17:2  Even though “as men watched, Jesus’ appearance was transformed so that his face shone like the sun, and his clothes because white as light.” Matt. 17:2  They treated my Lord as a hardened criminal rather than the Son of God.  But don’t you see?  This needed to happen in order for the Scriptures to be fulfilled, in order for Christ to save mankind by dying on the cross, in order for us to be given the gift of eternal life!  This all needed to happen this way.

“He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him.” John 1:10-11  They took him out to the hill called Golgotha and nailed him to a cross. “By the time it was noon, and darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. The light from the sun was gone. And suddenly, the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn down the middle.” Luke 23:44-45  He asked the Father to “forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.” And he gave up his spirit and died on that cross that Thursday so many years ago. He died for me and he died for you. “He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. BUT to ALL who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.” John 1:10-14  Oh Hallelujah!!  What a Savior! Hallelujah what a Savior! 

“The Blessed Condescension, the stooping down of God – to stoop down to us and take on flesh. (Beth Moore)