Wednesday, September 21, 2011
The Submission of Jesus
I agree with the video message content. A bit of rough wording near the end is of no consequence overall. I posted this message in a thread discussion on Facebook originally.
Islam means submission Muslims inform us. There could be no greater irony to a claim of the Muslim SUBMISSION to God and their total unbelief and rejection of Jesus. What Muslims can not believe and can not accept is Jesus complete SUBMISSION of his WILL to the Father.
As much as I value and love scholarly study of the original language Christians, as well Muslims language scholars, lose themselves and their audience with their nothing-but-bland, convoluted explanations from the original language. The video (John 5:30) is an perfect example.
The point of John 5:30 (and similar passages) is so ignorantly and blindly overrun by Muslims (as well as some Christians). The Muslim conclusion of the verse that Jesus is weak, hence not God, reveals their total lack of the same SUBMISSION they claim about Islam. They measure Jesus' words in terms of fleshly strength, not the might of the will. It is this WILL that Jesus asserted throughout the gospels he would SUBMIT to the WILL of the FATHER.
They can neither accept the SUBMISSION of Jesus (regardless whether or not they acknowledge his divinity) nor even CONSIDER that God is big enough that He, unlike man, knows how, is not afraid to, can and WILL SUBMIT himself. What could God possibly SUBMIT himself his WILL? It is is easy to disregard and discard his birth, his words, his miracles, but it is his DEATH to which He WILLFULLY SUBMITTED himself that is for anyone who would put their trust in Jesus to understand and imitate in their own DEATH to self and sin.
Putting one's trust in Jesus is impossible without the SUBMISSION of the WILL of the individual.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Spirit and truth: The Samaritan woman and Jesus
This is a brief article on the phrase spirit and truth from the English text. There are two perspectives in John’s account of Jesus and the Samaritan woman. The first is of the woman’s life experience. The second is of her familiarity with the Samaritan worship experience. These experiences offer clues and insights on life and worship. It is hoped believers may obtain an appreciation and understanding of the words spirit and truth spoken by Jesus.
A life without spirit and truth
Jesus met a Samaritan woman at the water well in the above passage from the gospel according to John chapter 4. The meeting is a picture-story of the power of truth to make one free.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
In the Spirit
The love of God has been poured out within our hearts.
It truly is a marvel that through the preaching and obedience of the gospel message of Jesus God has raised up sons who love Him and whom He loves.
Being in the Spirit who indwells us
The apostle Paul wrote in Romans 8 the believer in Jesus is in the Spirit. The believer is assured of this fact IF the Spirit of God dwells in the believer. One indication of this dwelling of the Spirit in the believer is that the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given us.
It is the Spirit who raises up sons to indwell us
But when was that moment the Spirit was given to the believer? Paul gives a significant, powerful clue when he refers to Jesus in 1:4.
Who was declared with power to be the Son of God by the resurrection from the dead,
according to the Spirit of holiness,
What Jesus had previously declared verbally (Matt 22:70) was now declared by the power of the resurrection according to the Spirit of holiness that He is the Son of God.
Similarly, the sonship of every believer is declared at his rebirth. When he is born anew from the watery grave the Spirit declares the believer is a child of God. What is the testimony of the scripture the Spirit of holiness dwells in the heart of the believer? It is that once the believer has been forgiven, cleansed and raised up by the Spirit that the Holy One comes to dwell in that temple of God not made with human hands cleansed and made holy for his dwelling. (Acts 2:38, Romans 6:1ff [ff means following verses] Titus 3:1ff)
But if the Spirit of him who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised up Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. 8:11
Anyone who does not have the Spirit who is given freely does not belong to God. (8:9)
Those who are led by the Spirit who indwells them are children of God. (8:14)
We have received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
The scripture testifies of the repentant believer's forgiveness and cleansing of all sin. The same clarity and lack of ambiguity is evident as to when the the Spirit of holiness came to indwell the believer. It is this child of God in whom the Holy Spirit poured the love of God within his heart so that the believer might walk and be led in the Spirit.
Let this be your confidence and your boldness in the Spirit.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
The Lord's Supper
understand the familiar view of the bread and wine becoming hosts for the literal presence of Jesus. This is a taken from Jesus' equally literal words, this is my body . . . this is my blood. Furthermore, I agree it is not a symbol.
The Eucharist, or Lord's Supper, may be the sole act of worship which distinguishes and sets apart the worship of believers in Jesus from all others beliefs and practices in the world. Jesus never gave a relic, a piece of land or even his own name with instructions his followers were to take any man's life who would take or speak against relic, land or name. The disciples in the New Testament never fought or passed down to the church crucifix pieces, garment relics or staked neither Jesus' birthplace, crucifixion, resurrection nor ascension place as holy sites or symbols to be defended at all cost of life.
On the contrary, his disciples are to be known by their ready love to lay down their life in love for a friend. Even that love, He made clear to his disciples, we are to extend towards our enemies. Yes, there are more than a few disciples who say they do not live by the sword who are ever ready in fear to take a life with a sword. Their fear is not in taking a life or laying down another man's life, but in laying down their own life for the cause of Jesus.
The Lord's Supper is that one and only act which Jesus instructed his disciples we are to observe. There are some with uncertainty as to the frequency and day of the week this was observed in the first century.
Nonetheless, the commandment from Jesus is present in the New Testament. This act of worship does not center on a dead, lifeless relic, a piece of land or a name or phrase to be numbingly repeated until one attains the light-headedness from insufficient oxygen. The Lord's Supper is that act in which believers gather together privately or publicly to 1) remember Jesus, and 2) proclaim his coming. This act of worship, Jesus said, we are to observe until he returns. It is the continuous, ongoing living demonstration in the lives of the believers of our faith and trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior for the world to behold as a testimony and for the world to draw near and inquire as to what this means. It differs from the act of obedience in baptism in that it occurs once in the life of the repentant believer when he commits his life to Jesus as Lord and Savior.
Nonetheless, the commandment from Jesus is present in the New Testament. This act of worship does not center on a dead, lifeless relic, a piece of land or a name or phrase to be numbingly repeated until one attains the light-headedness from insufficient oxygen. The Lord's Supper is that act in which believers gather together privately or publicly to 1) remember Jesus, and 2) proclaim his coming. This act of worship, Jesus said, we are to observe until he returns. It is the continuous, ongoing living demonstration in the lives of the believers of our faith and trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior for the world to behold as a testimony and for the world to draw near and inquire as to what this means. It differs from the act of obedience in baptism in that it occurs once in the life of the repentant believer when he commits his life to Jesus as Lord and Savior.
What it means is Jesus, the bread which correlates to the body, is a present, evident and clear manifestation for all eyes to see and behold in the body, the assembly of the saints, the church.
Yet, an uninformed person may well see that same gathering of believers. It means nothing to him because he does not understand it is the blood in which is life. He can no more see the blood which gives life to the believer anymore than he can see the blood which pumps life throughout his own inner body. As meaningful as coming together in the breaking of the bread may be it would be as a lifeless corpse without life were we to forget and were not reminded of the blood that was shed for our sins. This blood is the words, the expression of our life in the body, the rivers of living water which flows from the innermost being from he who believes in Jesus. (John 7:37)
IF the mere act of coming together were to be mistakenly done as a symbol by believers it is the blood, the words of life which flows from and between members in that gathering which affirms that truly Jesus is among us and the Holy Spirit is He who makes evident through those words He brings forth from us. One can no more hold back those rivers of living water than shut off water-flow in a power dam without serious consequences for one and all alike.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Ahamd Deedat Explain who is the Holy Spirit
Deedat, is emphatic in his insistence for just one thing the Holy Spirit which said which Jesus did not say. Well, here's one regarding the deity of the Holy Spirit and the indwelling of this deity in the believer.
The Acts 5 passage records the apostle Peter inspired by the Holy Spirit declaring the Holy Spirit is God.
Then the Romans 5 passage the apostle Paul inspired by the Holy Spirit records we, believers, have received the love of God through the Holy Spirit who has been POURED OUT INTO OUR HEARTS.
Lastly, later in the book of Romans chapter 8 passage the apostle Paul records we, believers, the Spirit of God DWELLS IN YOU, that we are LED BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD we are CHILDREN OF GOD and therefore cry out to God as ABBA FATHER!
5:3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back part of the price of the land? 5:4 While you kept it, didn’t it remain your own? After it was sold, wasn’t it in your power? How is it that you have conceived this thing in your heart? You haven’t lied to men, but to God.”
5:5 and hope doesn’t disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. 5:6 For while we were yet weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 5:7 For one will hardly die for a righteous man. Yet perhaps for a righteous person someone would even dare to die. 5:8 But God commends his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
8:8 Those who are in the flesh can’t please God. 8:9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if it is so that the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if any man doesn’t have the Spirit of Christ, he is not his. 8:10 If Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is alive because of righteousness. 8:11 But if the Spirit of him who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised up Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. 8:12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. 8:13 For if you live after the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are children of God. 8:15 For you didn’t receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
Additional video reference notes:
The Acts 5 passage records the apostle Peter inspired by the Holy Spirit declaring the Holy Spirit is God.
Then the Romans 5 passage the apostle Paul inspired by the Holy Spirit records we, believers, have received the love of God through the Holy Spirit who has been POURED OUT INTO OUR HEARTS.
Lastly, later in the book of Romans chapter 8 passage the apostle Paul records we, believers, the Spirit of God DWELLS IN YOU, that we are LED BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD we are CHILDREN OF GOD and therefore cry out to God as ABBA FATHER!
5:3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back part of the price of the land? 5:4 While you kept it, didn’t it remain your own? After it was sold, wasn’t it in your power? How is it that you have conceived this thing in your heart? You haven’t lied to men, but to God.”
5:5 and hope doesn’t disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. 5:6 For while we were yet weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 5:7 For one will hardly die for a righteous man. Yet perhaps for a righteous person someone would even dare to die. 5:8 But God commends his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
8:8 Those who are in the flesh can’t please God. 8:9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if it is so that the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if any man doesn’t have the Spirit of Christ, he is not his. 8:10 If Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is alive because of righteousness. 8:11 But if the Spirit of him who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised up Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. 8:12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. 8:13 For if you live after the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are children of God. 8:15 For you didn’t receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
Additional video reference notes:
Time: 45,46sec Deedat says, "A unique verse for a unique personality. Muhammad."
Deedat strives in vain to belabor the point the Holy Spirit is "He", a masculine pronoun denoting the Holy Spirit is a man. However, he has ignored that the God Deedat acknowledges is invisible yet He refers to himself in the masculine gender. I don't think Deedat would argue God is a man.
Time: 1:01 Deedat says, "Is Muhammad a spirit? Yes."
Deedat is correct the term "spirit" does not always refer to the Holy Spirit. However, he is applying the term Holy Spirit as spoken by Jesus to Muhammad.
Time: 1:56 Deedat says, "A false spirit is a false prophet."
What comes out of the mouth of a false prophet? Let the viewer and reader discern and judge Deedat's gesture at time 1:56.
Time: 8:51 Deedat says, "Spirit of truth is the prophet of truth, Muhammad."
The reason I cite this is because despite this claim by Deedat about Muhammad I have been accused by at least one Muslim of "slur"(?) perhaps meaning "slandering" Muslims.
Deedat strives in vain to belabor the point the Holy Spirit is "He", a masculine pronoun denoting the Holy Spirit is a man. However, he has ignored that the God Deedat acknowledges is invisible yet He refers to himself in the masculine gender. I don't think Deedat would argue God is a man.
Time: 1:01 Deedat says, "Is Muhammad a spirit? Yes."
Deedat is correct the term "spirit" does not always refer to the Holy Spirit. However, he is applying the term Holy Spirit as spoken by Jesus to Muhammad.
Time: 1:56 Deedat says, "A false spirit is a false prophet."
What comes out of the mouth of a false prophet? Let the viewer and reader discern and judge Deedat's gesture at time 1:56.
Time: 8:51 Deedat says, "Spirit of truth is the prophet of truth, Muhammad."
The reason I cite this is because despite this claim by Deedat about Muhammad I have been accused by at least one Muslim of "slur"(?) perhaps meaning "slandering" Muslims.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Is Jesus Both God and Man? - - a comment
This is a comment on the above titled article.
If I cut to the chase and state outright "God died" that would put my statement in the same category as others who make sound bite statements with no less understanding or ability to convey their convictions. The tactic of hitting listeners with a barrage of questions so as to stun and mesmerize them creates the desired impression of knowledge on the part of the questioner. Proof this knowledge must reside, it is assumed, with the questioner is the absence of responses from his listeners. This is hardly understanding by those posing the questions anymore than it is teaching on their part.
Judging from your blog you are quite familiar with the usual assortment of proof texts to your claims concerning Jesus. I won't waste your time restating them. Here are a few, but simple matters overlooked.
This view on the permanence of death, and I leave it to you to ponder, can probably be traced back to the garden. The death Satan and Adam and Eve had never witnessed or experienced occurred initially and immediately with the spiritual separation between Adam and Eve and God. All eventually saw natural death overcome the man and the woman.
What does a liar do when he is exposed? He creates another lie. When Satan's lie that Adam and Eve would not die was exposed he did as liars do, and as he is the father of all lies (John 8:44), he created another lie. It is the lie many live and die with believing the permanence of death. Satan's work was not completed so as to allow him to rest when Adam and Eve fell into disobedience of God. Once the reality of death became evident his new lie was and remains that death is final. Furthermore, Satan's message to man has echoed throughout the history of creation: God cannot save you from death. God cannot help you. God will not help you. God cannot understand your situation. God is not a man.
Whether Satan knows it or not it seems the lie with which he deceived Adam and Eve that they would not die has become true about Satan himself: It is he who will not die. His condemnation in the lake of fire is not his death as in the sense of annihilation. Who, other than the author of Life could have the power to give life, but to raise the dead, also? As impressive as raising ten Lazaruses it would have been nothing more than just that: impressive. The claims Jesus made openly to his disciples in the hearing of his enemies concerning his crucifixion and resurrection was to be the ultimate in-your-face demonstration to Satan that the giver of life has power over death too.
This God was willing to demonstrate, not by sending yet another messenger to raise a few dead corpses and to raise up that messenger, but to lay down his own life and take it up again. It was an effective demonstration that death is nothing to God. It has no power over him. It is in the palm of his hand. He can lay down his life and take it up again.
A God as all powerful, omniscient and omnipresent at his weakest, most ignorant and limited capabilities is infinitely more than man whom He created. His willingness to subject Himself is well in keeping with the what he expects from those who profess to trust him. Would God cease to be God by taking on the form of man anymore than he ceased to be God when He appeared in the burning bush to Moses and numerous other manifestations throughout history? God, who is acknowledged as being in the garden of Eden, did not lose his hearing, his mind, his memory or his divine omniscience when he called out to Adam and Eve, "Where are you?" Discerning why God called out for the man and woman would be to discern why Jesus called out, "Who touched me?" Unless, of course, one cannot discern the latter of these two, then we are back to square one: Who was in the garden?
Yes, there remain a deluge of questions and not without understanding and answers, but all these pale with the understanding of the blinding effect death has as much over non-believers and professing believers in God the Creator of heaven and earth. Raising the dead, walking on water and all other miracles are mere impressive displays compared to the resurrection. Even more impressive than the resurrection is that it happened as foretold by Jesus. This, presumably, demands a second look at the man called Jesus.
http://roundrockministry.blogspot.com/2010/07/th-human-jesus-video-comment.html
http://roundrockministry.blogspot.com/2011/05/trinity-delusion-response.html
http://roundrockministry.blogspot.com/2011/01/if-there-is-prophet.html
If I cut to the chase and state outright "God died" that would put my statement in the same category as others who make sound bite statements with no less understanding or ability to convey their convictions. The tactic of hitting listeners with a barrage of questions so as to stun and mesmerize them creates the desired impression of knowledge on the part of the questioner. Proof this knowledge must reside, it is assumed, with the questioner is the absence of responses from his listeners. This is hardly understanding by those posing the questions anymore than it is teaching on their part.
Judging from your blog you are quite familiar with the usual assortment of proof texts to your claims concerning Jesus. I won't waste your time restating them. Here are a few, but simple matters overlooked.
- The statement that God died is not to say that he remained dead.
- The statement that God cannot die is not to say he would not die.
- The statement God cannot die is a statement of fear. Allow me to explain.
This view on the permanence of death, and I leave it to you to ponder, can probably be traced back to the garden. The death Satan and Adam and Eve had never witnessed or experienced occurred initially and immediately with the spiritual separation between Adam and Eve and God. All eventually saw natural death overcome the man and the woman.
What does a liar do when he is exposed? He creates another lie. When Satan's lie that Adam and Eve would not die was exposed he did as liars do, and as he is the father of all lies (John 8:44), he created another lie. It is the lie many live and die with believing the permanence of death. Satan's work was not completed so as to allow him to rest when Adam and Eve fell into disobedience of God. Once the reality of death became evident his new lie was and remains that death is final. Furthermore, Satan's message to man has echoed throughout the history of creation: God cannot save you from death. God cannot help you. God will not help you. God cannot understand your situation. God is not a man.
Whether Satan knows it or not it seems the lie with which he deceived Adam and Eve that they would not die has become true about Satan himself: It is he who will not die. His condemnation in the lake of fire is not his death as in the sense of annihilation. Who, other than the author of Life could have the power to give life, but to raise the dead, also? As impressive as raising ten Lazaruses it would have been nothing more than just that: impressive. The claims Jesus made openly to his disciples in the hearing of his enemies concerning his crucifixion and resurrection was to be the ultimate in-your-face demonstration to Satan that the giver of life has power over death too.
This God was willing to demonstrate, not by sending yet another messenger to raise a few dead corpses and to raise up that messenger, but to lay down his own life and take it up again. It was an effective demonstration that death is nothing to God. It has no power over him. It is in the palm of his hand. He can lay down his life and take it up again.
A God as all powerful, omniscient and omnipresent at his weakest, most ignorant and limited capabilities is infinitely more than man whom He created. His willingness to subject Himself is well in keeping with the what he expects from those who profess to trust him. Would God cease to be God by taking on the form of man anymore than he ceased to be God when He appeared in the burning bush to Moses and numerous other manifestations throughout history? God, who is acknowledged as being in the garden of Eden, did not lose his hearing, his mind, his memory or his divine omniscience when he called out to Adam and Eve, "Where are you?" Discerning why God called out for the man and woman would be to discern why Jesus called out, "Who touched me?" Unless, of course, one cannot discern the latter of these two, then we are back to square one: Who was in the garden?
Yes, there remain a deluge of questions and not without understanding and answers, but all these pale with the understanding of the blinding effect death has as much over non-believers and professing believers in God the Creator of heaven and earth. Raising the dead, walking on water and all other miracles are mere impressive displays compared to the resurrection. Even more impressive than the resurrection is that it happened as foretold by Jesus. This, presumably, demands a second look at the man called Jesus.
http://roundrockministry.blogspot.com/2010/07/th-human-jesus-video-comment.html
http://roundrockministry.blogspot.com/2011/05/trinity-delusion-response.html
http://roundrockministry.blogspot.com/2011/01/if-there-is-prophet.html
Saturday, May 7, 2011
The Trinity Delusion: a response
(See my blog article.
The Devil's Delusion
God is one: On a Unitarian and Trinitarian Debate)
If God Existed
An Incomplete and Disingenuous Apologetic
Is the Resurrection of Jesus a Falsifiable Prediction
Jesus: The Father is Greater than I
He Has Explained
God is One: On a Unitarian and Trinitarian Debate
This is my brief comment on an extract from the article The Trinity Delusion by Adam Pastor in the Adoni Messiah blog. The article content is the usual rehash on the Shema ("Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one"). The points from both sides of the discussion table about God usually fixate on the same: quantitative values of singular and plural pronouns. Of course, the original Deuteronomy 6 passage can't be beat, not because it was, as some cheer for their side, seemingly championed by Jesus. The quotation of the Shema in Mark 12 by Jesus is seized upon by some as an endorsement by Jesus of their particularly numeric, quantitative take on God. What, you might wonder is the Jewish awareness and response to that plurality? Rabbi Goldmark summons it up this way: "We just ignore it." Amazing. There is a gag reflex which overcomes some at the mere sound of a non-biblical term (which is equally unnecessary and non-useful to my understanding and my contribution to the discussion [for those who may not know it that term is, "trinity"]) which is suggestive of a plurality concerning God. One can hardly blame a man for not thinking clearly when he is gagging.
The default interpretation of the Shema from the Jews adapted by
The Devil's Delusion
God is one: On a Unitarian and Trinitarian Debate)
If God Existed
An Incomplete and Disingenuous Apologetic
Is the Resurrection of Jesus a Falsifiable Prediction
Jesus: The Father is Greater than I
He Has Explained
God is One: On a Unitarian and Trinitarian Debate
This is my brief comment on an extract from the article The Trinity Delusion by Adam Pastor in the Adoni Messiah blog. The article content is the usual rehash on the Shema ("Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one"). The points from both sides of the discussion table about God usually fixate on the same: quantitative values of singular and plural pronouns. Of course, the original Deuteronomy 6 passage can't be beat, not because it was, as some cheer for their side, seemingly championed by Jesus. The quotation of the Shema in Mark 12 by Jesus is seized upon by some as an endorsement by Jesus of their particularly numeric, quantitative take on God. What, you might wonder is the Jewish awareness and response to that plurality? Rabbi Goldmark summons it up this way: "We just ignore it." Amazing. There is a gag reflex which overcomes some at the mere sound of a non-biblical term (which is equally unnecessary and non-useful to my understanding and my contribution to the discussion [for those who may not know it that term is, "trinity"]) which is suggestive of a plurality concerning God. One can hardly blame a man for not thinking clearly when he is gagging.
The default interpretation of the Shema from the Jews adapted by
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