2 Timothy 1:13:
"What you heard from me,
keep as the pattern of sound teaching,
with faith and love in Christ Jesus."
"What you heard from me,
keep as the pattern of sound teaching,
with faith and love in Christ Jesus."
BARB THOUGHTS:
I was just thinking about how one becomes a Christian. Yes, you learn and live under the pattern of good teaching, but that is not all.
Those who have willingly chosen to accept the Truth about Jesus, have one more asset: They have personally experienced Jesus in some way.
When Jesus asked Peter :Matthew 16: 15-17:
“'But what about you?' He asked. 'Who do you say I am?'
"Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.'"
"Jesus replied, 'Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.'"
Peter got it right! Then Jesus said, Peter was blessed, because the Truth was not revealed to him by someone teaching him the answer. Jesus stated that His Father in Heaven revealed it to Peter.
The Truth is, we are not only taught, we also have a revelation from GOD, Himself, about who Jesus is. That is why people are killed for their faith. Nothing can make them back down from the Truth, because it has come by a revelation from God in some way. The knowledge of becoming a Christian, with a revelation of the Truth, can never be removed.
I remember a client whose daughter belonged to a sect of Christianity, who thought only they did it right. Her daughter constantly told her she was going to hell. This broke my heart!
This woman was an avid baseball fan, and I knew very little about baseball at the time. I asked her, 'who is Jesus, who do you say He is?' She answered, 'He is the Son of God, my Savior and Lord.' Not realizing it, I used a baseball sign and said 'you are safe!' (crossing my hands like an umpire does) She began to cry and said, 'do you realize what you have just done?' I said, 'no'.
She went on to tell me that I gave her the one sign that she would understand. The sign I gave her told her that God had accepted her, because the truth was revealed by God Himself to her. This is the only way someone will know the truth about who Jesus is: it is divinely revealed. She died unexpectedly 6 months later, and I am confident that she has entered into Paradise.
The Bible records Pauls words in Romans 8:38-39: "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Nothing can separate us from the Truth. We become part of God's Kingdom, and nothing can change that. Oh, I suppose we can be out of our right mind and walk away into some awful behavior and lifestyles, but Paul said, and I agree, nothing, no, nothing can separate us from the Kingdom.
We need to recognize that, and get on with it! Let's ask God to forgive us and move on! Nothing is hidden from God's eyes. We are part of a Body that hurts if one area is hurting; that rejoices when one area rejoices; and rests as other parts rest. There is no division in the Body of Christ.
We may think differently, like different styles of worship and teaching, but we are still united under One Head. Maybe we need a fresh revelation from God so that we understand and know the Truth about His Kingdom: that we are all on the same side no matter what traditions we celebrate.
Well, God has already revealed that truth in His Word. If we neglect the Word, and don't spend time reading and studying the Truth of the Word every day, our thinking can get skewed, and we can oppose each other easily.
If we stay in the Word, then we will know the Truth, and the Truth will set us free from bickering and strife.
Oh Lord!! Make it so! Draw us back to Your Word and reveal Your Truth, so we may walk in unity!
I was just thinking about how one becomes a Christian. Yes, you learn and live under the pattern of good teaching, but that is not all.
Those who have willingly chosen to accept the Truth about Jesus, have one more asset: They have personally experienced Jesus in some way.
When Jesus asked Peter :Matthew 16: 15-17:
“'But what about you?' He asked. 'Who do you say I am?'
"Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.'"
"Jesus replied, 'Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.'"
Peter got it right! Then Jesus said, Peter was blessed, because the Truth was not revealed to him by someone teaching him the answer. Jesus stated that His Father in Heaven revealed it to Peter.
The Truth is, we are not only taught, we also have a revelation from GOD, Himself, about who Jesus is. That is why people are killed for their faith. Nothing can make them back down from the Truth, because it has come by a revelation from God in some way. The knowledge of becoming a Christian, with a revelation of the Truth, can never be removed.
I remember a client whose daughter belonged to a sect of Christianity, who thought only they did it right. Her daughter constantly told her she was going to hell. This broke my heart!
This woman was an avid baseball fan, and I knew very little about baseball at the time. I asked her, 'who is Jesus, who do you say He is?' She answered, 'He is the Son of God, my Savior and Lord.' Not realizing it, I used a baseball sign and said 'you are safe!' (crossing my hands like an umpire does) She began to cry and said, 'do you realize what you have just done?' I said, 'no'.
She went on to tell me that I gave her the one sign that she would understand. The sign I gave her told her that God had accepted her, because the truth was revealed by God Himself to her. This is the only way someone will know the truth about who Jesus is: it is divinely revealed. She died unexpectedly 6 months later, and I am confident that she has entered into Paradise.
The Bible records Pauls words in Romans 8:38-39: "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Nothing can separate us from the Truth. We become part of God's Kingdom, and nothing can change that. Oh, I suppose we can be out of our right mind and walk away into some awful behavior and lifestyles, but Paul said, and I agree, nothing, no, nothing can separate us from the Kingdom.
We need to recognize that, and get on with it! Let's ask God to forgive us and move on! Nothing is hidden from God's eyes. We are part of a Body that hurts if one area is hurting; that rejoices when one area rejoices; and rests as other parts rest. There is no division in the Body of Christ.
We may think differently, like different styles of worship and teaching, but we are still united under One Head. Maybe we need a fresh revelation from God so that we understand and know the Truth about His Kingdom: that we are all on the same side no matter what traditions we celebrate.
Well, God has already revealed that truth in His Word. If we neglect the Word, and don't spend time reading and studying the Truth of the Word every day, our thinking can get skewed, and we can oppose each other easily.
If we stay in the Word, then we will know the Truth, and the Truth will set us free from bickering and strife.
Oh Lord!! Make it so! Draw us back to Your Word and reveal Your Truth, so we may walk in unity!