| |
 |
|
|
Religion Forum Index » Christian Methodist Forum » Religion or reality?
Page 1 of 1
|
| Author |
Message |
| Jim |
 Posted: Wed Mar 17, 2004 11:27 am |
|
|
|
Guest
|
If you're searching for a religion or philosophy to live by, there are
plenty of both out there -- all kinds from every quarter of the world.
Take your pick and have fun. Lots of people take several things
from more than one religion and/or philosophy and mix them together to
suit their own tastes.
Reality, however, is not determined by the imaginations and ideas of
mortal men & women. God is not a comic book hero, to be modified as
people see fit. People are born and they form their ideas, and then
both eventually die out (some taking longer than others), making room,
as it were, for more.
The real God, though, is eternal and He changes not for any religious
system or for anyone's personal preferences.
So if you're looking for genuine life and truth, then these things are
found only in one place: in Jesus Christ Himself. No other name has
been given to the human race by which we might be rescued out of all
the chaos of this world. No other name can rescue a living soul from
death and hell. No other name on earth can save us from judgment or
the sentence of an eternity away from God.
Only Jesus saves human lives, granting them eternal life. He gives
life to whomever He will, and He never pushes away anyone who comes to
Him.
Only Jesus of Nazareth is Lord of the universe and master over all
things. Only Jesus is returning to this very planet soon to set
everything right. Whatever is of the darkness and evil will perish,
whatever is of God will remain forever. Only Jesus is God in the
flesh, Savior of the world, the eternal Son of God.
So what, you may ask, makes Jesus Christ so special?
The Bible answers that question. Both the Old Testament and New
Testament Scriptures have much to say about the Lord God who made the
heavens and the earth. But the special news in the New Testament is
that the God who made all things has come down among us, to be the
perfect light and voice of truth, once and for all.
I've taken just a few bits of Scripture, all from the Gospel According
to John, to illustrate a little of what the Bible says about Jesus
Christ. I list them here:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made
through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him
was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in
the darkness, and the darkness did not take hold of it. (John 1:1-5)
He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world
did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive
Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become
children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not
of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of
God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His
glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth. (John 1:10-14)
Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless
one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." (John 3:3)
[John the Baptist said] "He who comes from above is above all; he who
is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from
heaven is above all. And what He has seen and heard, that He
testifies; and no one receives His testimony. He who has received His
testimony has certified that God is true. For He whom God has sent
speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure.
The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. He
who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not
believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on
him." John 3"31-36)
Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will
thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him
will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in
him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life." (John
4:13,14)
[Jesus said] "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and
believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come
into judgment, but has passed from death into life." (John 5:24)
On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried
out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who
believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow
rivers of living water." But this He spoke concerning the Spirit,
whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not
yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. (John 7:37-39)
Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world.
He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of
life." (John 8:12)
[Jesus said] "I have come as a light into the world, that whoever
believes in Me should not abide in darkness." (John 12:46)
[Jesus said] "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God,
believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions; if it
were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive
you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go
you know, and the way you know." Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do
not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?" Jesus
said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to
the Father except through Me. If you had known Me, you would have
known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him."
(John 14:1-7)
And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples,
which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing
you may have life in His name. (John 20:30,31)
And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they
were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could
not contain the books that would be written. Amen. (John 21:25)
-------------------------------------------------------------
The Bible has much, much more to say about Jesus Christ. And I urge
anyone interested in the truth of God, or in eternal life, to read and
come to understand the Scriptures. A great place to start, if you
want to start in the Old Testament, is Isaiah. In the New Testament,
you might want to start with John or Mark, and then just keep reading.
And when you have read all the Bible, you will want to go back and
read it some more.
But Jesus is not just words on paper. So simply reading the Bible is
not what it means to believe in Jesus and to follow Him. One must act
on what one reads, in order to posses the life you read about.
Call on the Lord in prayer, and ask Him for life and for
understanding. And place your life totally in His hands. By turning
your mind and life over to the Lord Jesus for safe-keeping, you will
find real life -- as you have never known life before.
The Scriptures call Jesus the Savior of the world, and the good
Shepherd, and the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world.
And they have so much more to say about Him. So begin with prayerful
reading of the Scriptures, and grow in your understanding of God's
will for your life. And follow the instructions of the Lord for a
good and meaningful life, both here and now, and also in eternity.
BTW
If you don't have a Bible, you can buy one almost anywhere. You can
also download some free ones for personal use on your computer. A few
places to look would be:
E-Sword
Great Free Bible Study Software -- This tool has 34 Bibles (13 in
languages other than English - including Hebrew and Greek), 7
commentaries, 9 dictionaries, Atlas, charts, and 18 other books
helpful for the study of God's word. All for free! The program is a
hefty download at almost 20 megs, but with a gift of $15 or more you
can get all the resources currently available on CD. One useful
feature is the KJV+ version: put your mouse over Strong's number
(superscripted after each word) and the Greek or Hebrew word appears
with its definition as a tooltip! Go to http://www.e-sword.net or
write Rick Meyers at Equipping Ministries Foundation, 5902 Parham
Road, Franklin, TN, 37064.
The Online Bible
My personal favorite, the Online Bible has been developed as a tool to
aid in studying the Bible. Whether you are a pastor, Sunday School
teacher or just looking for a program to "dig into" the scriptures,
you will find everything you need in this software. This a great
program, one that I use just about every day at home. Here is their
website address:
http://www.onlinebible.net/
Bible Database Program
Several Bible search and study tools in various downloadable packs.
Go to the site, and then click on the "Downloads" link. The site
address is :
http://bibledatabase.net/
Web Bible
Free downloads of various versions of Scripture. Website address:
http://www.ebible.org/
To Buy Economical Bibles in Print
Visit the International Bible Society: http://www.gospelcom.net/ibs/
Jesus Christ is Lord. Every word of God proves true. Amen & amen.
Jim |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
| |
|
Page 1 of 1
All times are GMT - 5 Hours
The time now is Sat Nov 22, 2008 3:10 pm
|
|