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| << May11, 2004 - Day's 2 and 3 of the weekly devotional |
May19, 2004 - vo1 issue 2b >> |
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Welcome to the second release of the Christian education newsletter. Vol. 1 issue 2.? In this issue we will dive into the Gospel of John and some of the names that Jesus goes by. What better way can there be to learn how we are to live and grow than to study and see Jesus the Christ for who he is? I personally can??t think of any. Rev. Michael Clay ? This weeks theme ?? ???The ???I AM??s?? of Jesus within the Gospel of John.??? Doctrine ?? ???The Deity of Christ??? Verse of the week - John 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me. (NAS) Daily Devotionals
Ministry News ? Doctrine ?? ???The Deity of Christ??? ? The Bible is about Jesus (Luke 24:27,44; John 5:39; Heb. 10:7). The prophets prophesied about Him (Acts 10:43). The Father bore witness of Him (John 5:37, 8:18). The Holy Spirit bore witness of Him (John 15:26). The works Jesus did bore witness of Him (John 5:36; 10:25). The multitudes bore witness of Him (John 12:17). And, Jesus bore witness of Himself (John 14:6, 18:6). ? ? ? ? ? Jesus is God in flesh (John 1:1,14). He is fully God and fully man (Col. 2:9) thus, He has two natures: God and man. He is not half God and half man. He is 100% God and 100% man. He never lost his divinity. He existed in the form of God and when He became a man, He added human nature to Himself (Phil. 2:5-11). Therefore, there is a "union in one person of a full human nature and a full divine nature." Right now in heaven there is a man, Jesus, who is Mediator between us and God the Father (1 Tim. 2:5). Jesus is our advocate with the Father (1 John 2:1). He is our Savior (Titus 2:13). He is our Lord (Rom. 10:9-10). He is not, as some cults teach, an angel who became a man (Jehovah's Witnesses) or the brother of the devil (Mormonism). He is wholly God and wholly man, the Creator, the Redeemer. He is Jesus. ? Jesus is not one of many ways to approach God, Nor is He the best of several ways; He is the ONLY Way.? ? A. W. Tozer ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Day 1 The Bread of Life John 6:35 Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. (NAS) How often do we lean on our own understanding for physical sustenance? Think about it??¦.. Do you think that it??s your problem to make sure there is food for you to eat, and that you are to provide for yourself? I know we all just said ???No, I trust God!???, but do we trust God in this area in more that just words? Do we honestly believe that in Christ we are fed, and we won??t hunger anymore? Now before you go off thinking ???Now Mike that verse is talking about spiritual hunger..??? who said I was talking about the cheeseburger you had yesterday? And on that note didn??t God provide manna for those in the wilderness? But if you where thinking this is referring to spiritual things your right, and not only that Jesus says openly. ???I am the one who feeds your spirit, and while other foods are out there. They perish and you will be hungry again soon. With me and the bread I give your spirit, hunger no longer holds you.??? Where do you go when you??re hungry? Some head for the quick fix and hit the local fast food. Others spend hours preparing a meal that top notch chefs couldn??t compete with. Hunger is setting in (depression, curiosity on spiritism, questions about the after life, lack of understanding on a issue in life) where will you choose to go to eat (a secular counselor, paranormal researchers, John Edwards, our friends advice)? Today seek God and even more specifically seek to have your hunger satisfied though Christ. Other verses to read and to look at the scripture surrounding them are. John 6:41 The Jews therefore were grumbling about Him, because He said, "I am the bread that came down out of heaven." (NAS) John 6:48 "I am the bread of life. (NAS) John 6:51 "I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he shall live forever; and the bread also which I shall give for the life of the world is My flesh." (NAS) ? ? ? Day 2 ???I Am??? John 8:58 Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am." (NAS) WOW! What a powerful statement to make. Perhaps the strongest claim Jesus made to be God is found right here. This statement claims not only existence before Abraham, but equality with the ???I AM??? of Exodus 3:14. The Jews around him clearly understood his meaning and picked up stones to kill him for blaspheming (cf. John 8:58 and 10:31??33). The same claim is made in Mark 14:62 and John 18:5??6. Today I just want you to read scripture and see the different ways Jesus claimed to be God. Jesus claimed to be God. He prayed, ???And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was??? (John 17:5). But Yahweh of the Old Testament said, ???my glory will I not give to another??? (Isa. 42:8). Jesus also declared, ???I am the first and the last??? (Rev. 1:17)? precisely the words used by Jehovah in Isaiah 42:8. He said, ???I am the good shepherd??? (John 10:11), but the Old Testament said, ???Yahweh is my shepherd??? (Ps. 23:1). Further, Jesus claimed to be the judge of all people (Matt. 25:31f.; John 5:27f.), but Joel quotes Jehovah as saying, ???for there I will sit to judge all the nations on every side??? (Joel 3:12). Likewise, Jesus spoke of himself as the ???bridegroom??? (Matt. 25:1) while the Old Testament identifies Jehovah in this way (Isa. 62:5; Hos. 2:16). While the Psalmist declares, ???The LORD is my light??? (Ps. 27:1), Jesus said, ???I am the light of the world??? (John 8:12). These are just a few things to read and meditate on. Also this is a good start of verses to start to memorize and know so that you can become ???ready on all occasions to defend the faith that you currently believe???. ? Day 3 4 and 5 will be released Wednesday Morning ? ? Article on Prayer Over the last few weeks I have seen a disturbing trend in the believers, and I feel this is coming from a misunderstanding of scripture. I saw a Christian make the comment ???Just pray about it God will show you if it??s true.??? This person was not a Mormon, even though this is a commonly used argument that the Mormons use to defend the ???Book of Mormon???. So I wanted to show you the scriptures involved and let you see why Truth is discerned through the study of scripture and Wisdom comes through prayer and seeking God. In support of the advice to pray about truth many quote this verse from James. James 1:5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. (NAS) The problem with citing this verse is that wisdom has nothing to do with determining truth. The Greek word, sophia (Strong??s #G4678),1 translated ???wisdom??? is never used to describe knowledge or truth. The two words are quite different and are not synonymous. For example, the Greek words translated knowledge are eido,2 gnosis,3 and epiginosko.4 The Greek words for truth include alethos,5 aletheia,6 and alethes.7 The New Testament makes it clear that wisdom and knowledge are not the same. For example, Romans 11:33 contains both words. The distinction is made between the words since the Greek uses the conjunction kai, translated ???both??? to emphasize that these are two different concepts: Oh, the depth of the riches both [kai:G2532] of the wisdom [sophia] and knowledge [gnosis] of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! (Romans 11:33) ? Likewise, the Bible indicates that truth is determined through knowledge and not prayer: ??? This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1 Timothy 2:3-4) ??? And the Lord??s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, (2 Timothy 2:24-25) ??? For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. (2 Timothy 3:6-7) ??? Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God??s elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness-- (Titus 1:1) ??? For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, (Hebrews 10:26) ? Of course prayer is important in the life of the believer. However, prayer for wisdom is quite different from prayer to understand what is true. Wisdom is required in life to know what to do in certain circumstances that are not clearly defined in the Bible. However, for the most part, knowing what to do is more an issue of biblical knowledge than wisdom. For instance, one would never pray whether or not to commit adultery, murder, or theft or even whether to get a tattoo. All of these issues are clearly defined in the Bible and require no prayer. Of course, one could pray for the strength to avoid temptations. ? ? ? ? ? Ministry News This week the website will be going offline for approximately 2 days so that the server can be updated. In this update we will be installing the latest versions of the software we currently use and fixing some known security bugs. Once the server comes back online the online classes software will be installed as well as the online forums where different threaded discussions will be started and moderated. |
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| << May11, 2004 - Day's 2 and 3 of the weekly devotional |
May19, 2004 - vo1 issue 2b >> |
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