A Mighty Conclusion - DN

 A Mighty Conclusion

Hitherto (thus far) hath the LORD helped us.(1 Samuel 7:12)

My what a conclusion Samuel has reached. It was not just for the present or particular time Israel was facing.

This assuring thought takes in three areas.

The Past - Our Present - the Path ahead.

One writer put it, it is like looking down a road and seeing things that you know helped you get to where you are.

How long has its been sense you took the time to think about how and why you are where you are today?

Three quick thoughts

1. The Course: thus far or hitherto as our King James has it.

The paths, the problems, the people or anything else to add. The ups and downs, our failures and successes.

It was the Lord that helped us, (not us, but him)

David was aware of this truth, in Psalms 124:1 If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, now may Israel say;

Psa 124:2 If it had not been the LORD who was on our side ...or "While on this course, if it had not been for the Lord"

Putting it in language we can understand,

IF IT HADNT BEEN FOR JESUS, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN BAD!

2. The Force: help

Webster gives us some help regarding this little word here.

It means to aid, relieve, assist, to lend strength to succor, to remedy to change for the better.

Isn't that just like Jesus?

Which brings me to my third thought, and that is the,

3. The Source: The Lord

What makes him such a precious commodity is

1. He's Universal in his presence: No place that you will find yourself, in which his presence will be unavailable.

2. He's Unlimited in his power:

Mat 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

Nahum 1:3 said ... He was great in power

3. He's Unfailing in his Promises:

What he says he can do, and will do, and HE DOES!

God Bless as we close out this year !!

Rev DN

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Why Do People Follow Jesus? - CS

 Why Do People Follow Jesus?

John 6:22-71

When Jesus walked this earth, a vast multitude followed Him. They came for all sorts of reasons—some noble, some selfish. The same is true today. It’s important that we understand what motivates people to come to Christ, because not all who seek Him are really His followers. In fact, we each need to analyze our own walk with the Lord: What do we want from Him? How committed are we to being His disciples?

Many of the people who followed Jesus did so because they had urgent needs that He alone could meet. Everywhere He went, the sick and demon-possessed were brought to Him—this is one of the ways that God draws us to Himself. Those who can solve all their own problems never need a Savior.

Other folks came for sensationalism. They wanted to see the signs and miracles and feel a thrill of excitement. Today some people come to church or conferences to get pumped up, but mountaintop experiences are always followed by valleys. When hardships or challenges come, such people are quick to abandon the Lord.

Rev CS

copied & pasted

No blind faith is necessary - TE

 No blind faith is necessary with Christianity. Here's the short argument that is neither circular nor an infinite regress. Merry Christmas!

1. Truth corresponds to reality and is objective, universal, and knowable.

2. There are many good reasons from nature to believe that God exists.

3. If God exists, miracles are possible.

4. The New Testament documents are historically reliable.

5. The best explanation of the historically-established facts regarding Jesus of Nazareth is that he miraculously rose from the dead as he promised, verifying that he was the unique Son of God from heaven as he claimed to be.

6. If Jesus is the Son of God from heaven, his high view of scripture as the Word of God is correct and should be accepted. Other corroborating facts support this conclusion: the Bible’s unity, historical accuracy, honesty about the human moral condition, fulfilled predictive prophecies, and life-transforming power as testified by millions of people, to name a few.

Sources:

Book by Norman Geisler and Frank Turek, I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist, with associated workbook and curriculum

Booklet by Ratio Christi, What if Christianity is Actually True? How Can We Know, and Why Does it Matter?

Book by James Dew Jr. and Mark Foreman, How Do We Know?

Book by William Lane Craig, Reasonable Faith

Books by Stephen Meyer, Signature in the Cell and Darwin’s Doubt

Book by C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity.

the baby in that manger - SV

 Every single person stands alone at Bethlehem's manger, and every person is confronted with a decision.

Every person. Even me. Even you.

Your decision has nothing to do with your church history, attendance, or participation. It has nothing to do with whether you own a Bible or read it, or have ever read it. It has nothing to do with your politics, your lifestyle, your economics, or your education. It has nothing to do with how you have lived or decisions that you’ve made – perhaps, like some of mine, regrettable. It has nothing to do with how you’ve treated other decision-makers - good or bad. Your decision has nothing to do with how much religious education you have. Your decision has nothing to do with what ‘mama and them’ believe. None of that matters when you stand alone at the manger - faced with a decision only you can make.

Sadly, you can only make this decision for yourself. You can't make it for the ones you love. They stand alone at the manger.

“Do I believe this baby, Jesus, is God with us – the living God, and that He loves me as if I am the only person alive on this planet? Do I believe in this baby’s miraculous conception, his life of love and service, his sacrificial death, and his rise from the grave? Do I believe his mission was to erase all my selfishness and secure my life today and forever in love, peace, and joy?”

The answer is yes or no. There is no maybe.

This is a decision about risk and reward, and every human must and will make it for themselves – even abstaining from making a decision is itself a decision. Abstaining is, sadly, “no.” There are no excuses - it is simply yes or no. You can even hear it, like tick-tock.

If you say yes, “I believe Jesus is who He says He is, and that He came for me,” then you have joined those of us who are Christmas people. Life remains hard, but we are grounded with one another in love, hope, peace, and joy. You will see things with new and fresh eyes - you will focus on the long-game of love and service not what you are having for supper today. I welcome you to send me a private message. I’ll help you answer questions, and for questions, I can’t answer, I’ll point you to others that I trust.

If you said no, that is absolutely your right. I respect it. Even God respects it. Please understand the consequences- life is harder, lonelier, fearful, angrier and eternity is dark.

And, just know that the baby in that manger will never give up on you. As long as you live, that baby will call out for you to believe and say yes to Him.

Merry Christmas friends, Scott

who is your neighbor? - SV

 We have let cultural religion make us arrogant, cynical, and cold-hearted.

Jesus, the baby, born at Christmas, said, “Love one another as I have loved you.”

It’s not lip service. It’s sacrifice; it’s service, it is hands to the wheel, it’s walking into the relational, physical, and financial pain of others. It’s living out graciousness that says, “No, you go first.”

Join with Jesus and love your neighbor as much as you love yourself. And, who is your neighbor?

Your neighbor is every single human being on this planet because He loves them as much as He loves you.

Brother SV

The New Covenant- TE

 The New Covenant is much better than the Old Covenant. Better High Priest, better priesthood, better location, better Sacrifice, and better promises. (Jer 31; Hebrews; 2Cor 3). The Old Covenant was a biological covenant with a nation (some in the covenant were saved; some were not). The New Covenant is a spiritual covenant composed of believers in Jesus Christ from every tribe, tongue, and nation (all in the covenant are saved).

Rev TE

God is still in control - DB

 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. Luke 2:1

Do you ever think the world is out of control, things just don’t make sense? They probably felt that way “in those days.” Occupied by the Romans, they felt forsaken by God.

Yet, God’s hand was at work. He used the most powerful man in the world, an unbelieving gentile, to unknowingly issue a decree that resulted in a poor couple leaving the little village of Nazareth for Bethlehem, where she would give birth to the Messiah as prophesied by Micah 750 years before.

No matter how it seems, God is still in control.

Rev DB