Romans 1:3-4 Jesus Is Truly Man, Truly God (#LetterToTheRomans​)

[The Gospel] "concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 1:3-4) There are six (6) things that we need to know about Jesus in these verses ���️‍♀️���✍ #ServeToLead #PreachTheWord #TrulyManTrulyGod  

To watch previous short studies of #LetterToTheRomans CLICK HERE ��� http://bit.ly/LegasiRomans 

FB Page: https://facebook.com/LEGASI.tv/                       
Podcast: http://bit.ly/LegasiSpotify         
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/LEGASItv/     

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Angelus' Quote: Behold, the Virgin Shall Conceive and Bear a Son

 

The writer of old (unknown) wrote this beautiful description of my Lord Jesus Christ: 

In Chemistry, He turned water into wine.

In Biology, He was born without a normal conception.

In Physics, He disapproved of the law of gravity when He ascended into heaven.

In Economics, He disapproved of the laws of diminishing return by feeding 5,000 men with 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread.

In Medicine, He cured the sick and the blind, without administering a single dose of drugs.

In History, He is the beginning and the end.

In Government, it is declared that He shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace. 

In Religion, He said no one comes to the Father except through Him.

#ServeToLead #ChristIsAwesome #Emmanuel #GodWithUs

FB Page: https://facebook.com/LEGASI.tv/               
Podcast: https://anchor.fm/LEGASI.tv/            
YouTube: http://bit.ly/LEGASItv

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Young Men, Consider the Infant Jesus

“The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God”
(Luke 1:35, NIV).

“There is a new baby born every minute. What is unique about this one?” The shepherds and the Magi might have said this about the baby Jesus. But they didn’t. They worshipped Him, while a multitude of the heavenly host praised God for His unspeakable gift.

            This baby was unique in many ways. He was the only baby whose conception was not the beginning of His existence. He claimed, “Before Abraham was born, I am!” (John 8:58). How could there be an incarnation if there had been no previous existence? To deny the latter makes the formerly impossible. To go back further, could there be a Trinity if there were no pre-existent Son of God? Jesus was unique among men because His birth did not mark His origin.

            He was the only baby who had no human father. He was conceived by the supernatural operation of the Holy Spirit. “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you,” were the angel’s words to Mary in Luke 1:35. It had taken more than four millennia for God to prepare for this momentous event. Was His birth likely to be according to the ordinary course of nature? A person such as Jesus demanded a birth such as Scripture records.

            No other baby was born without the taint of sin. “The holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.” He was holy, harmless, undefiled – free from all moral impurity. Fearlessly He challenged His contemporaries: “Can any of you prove me guilty of sin?” (John 8:46). John’s testimony was, “In him is no sin” (1 John 3:5).

            He was the only baby who was more than a man. He possessed two natures – Son of Man and Son of God – and yet united, and functioning in a single personality. “He continues to be God and Man, in two distinct natures and one person forever” (Westminster Catechism). Is this mysterious? Yes! “Beyond all question, the mystery from which the true godliness springs is great: He appeared in the flesh” (1 Timothy 3:16).

            Finally, He was the only baby who was born for the purpose of dying. To all others death was inevitable. To Him it was self-chosen.

            No wonder that two millennia later, the whole world stops to take notice of His birthday, and that so much beloved music is devoted to His unique birth.

[Edited, modified and modernized from considering Him (1976) by J. Oswald Sanders]

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

The Nicene Creed on the Divinity of Christ

The “Nicene Creed” is widely regarded as the basis of orthodox Christianity in both the eastern and western churches. Although its focus is Christological, its importance relates to its function as a “rule of faith” within the churches. As part of its polemic against the Arians, the Council of Nicea (June 325) formulated a short statement of faith, based on a baptismal creed used at Jerusalem. This Creed was intended to affirm the full divinity of Christ against the Arian understanding of his creaturely status, and includes four explicit condemnations of Arian views, as well as its three articles of faith.

As the full details of the proceeding of Nicea are now lost, we are obligated to rely on secondary sources (such as ecclesiastical historians, and writers such as Athanasius and Basil of Caesarea) for the text of this creed. Note that the translation provided here is of the Greek original, rather than of the Latin version of Hilary of Poitiers. Note also that the term “Nicene Creed” is often used as a shorter way of referring to the “Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed”, which has a significantly longer discussion of the person of Christ, and also makes statements concerning the church, forgiveness, and eternal life.

“We believe in one God, the Father, the almighty, the maker of all things seen and unseen.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God; begotten from the Father; only begotten – that is, from the substance of the Father; God from God; light from light; true God from true God; begotten not made; of one substance with the Father; through whom all things in heaven and on earth came into being; who on account of us human beings and our salvation came down and took flesh, becoming a human being; he suffered and rose again on the third day, ascended into the heavens; and will come again to judge the living and the dead.

And in the Holy Spirit.

As for those who say that ‘there was when he was not’, and ‘before being born he was not’, and ‘he came into existence out of nothing’ or who declare that the  Son of God is of different substance or nature, or is subject to alteration or change – the catholic and apostolic church condemns these.”

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

References:

1) H. Denzinger (ed.), Enchiridion Symbolorum, 24-5 edn (Barcelona: Herder, 1948), pp. 29-30.

2) The Christian Theology Reader, edited by Alister E. McGrath (Blackwell Publishers Ltd, 1995), pp. 7

Jesus' Identity and Our Understanding of Him

“Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Passover festival. When Jesus was twelve years old, they attended the festival as usual. After the celebration was over, they started home to Nazareth, but Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem… Three days later they finally discovered him in the Temple, sitting among the religious teachers, listening to them and asking questions. All who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers” (Luke 2:41-43, 46-47, NLT).

At twelve years of age, Jesus would have been considered an adult, so Mary and Joseph weren’t alarmed at first when he wasn’t with them in the large caravan of people traveling home. When Jesus didn’t show up when they made camp in the evening, they returned to Jerusalem to look for him. After three long days (3 days!), of searching and worrying, they found Jesus in the Temple, discussing theology with the religious teachers. For your information, during Jewish Passover festival, the greatest rabbis or teachers in Israel would assemble to teach and to discuss great truths. Certainly the coming Messiah would have been a discussion topic. Jesus would have been eager to listen and to ask probing questions. The depth of Jesus’ wisdom at his young age “amazed” these teachers.

 Meanwhile, Mary and Joseph had looked for Jesus for three days, so her question to Jesus was understandable: “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been frantic, searching for you everywhere” (Luke 2:48). Jesus simply replied, “But why did you need to search? Didn’t you know that I must be in my Father’s house?” (2:49). Jesus knew his identity. Mary and Joseph, however, didn’t realize that Jesus was making a distinction between his earthly father (Joseph) and his heavenly Father (God the Father). Young Jesus wasn’t denied Joseph as his lawful father but as an adult he have the freedom to choose and he know that he “must be in [his] Father’s house.” Jesus knew that he is the Son of God. Mary and Joseph also knew Jesus was God’s Son, but they didn’t understand what his mission would involve. Jesus’ earthly parents had to learn and observe complex outworking of Jesus’ special identity and calling, even as he lived in their family.

Think about this: Mary didn’t completely understand her son, but she remembered these events and sought to find their meaning. When Jesus answered them, Mary and Joseph “didn’t understand what he meant. Then [Jesus] returned to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. And his mother stored all these things in her heart” (Luke 2:50-51). Eventually Mary’ son, Jesus, would become her Saviour and she would understand. Mary, like us, need to grow (continuously) in our understanding of Jesus and His identity. Daily we must ask God to give us minds that seeks after His truth with eagerness and pleasure. Never stop searching for the truth. Always curious about the things of God. Read, study and obey God’s Word over and over again. Feed your spirit everyday with Jesus, the Bread from Heaven. Spiritually speaking, drink and continue to be filled with Jesus, the Living Water. Be satisfied in Him.

As you have grown, in what ways has your understanding of Jesus changed?
THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Reference:

Life Application Study Bible Devotional: Daily Wisdom from the Life of Jesus (Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2011)

Look at the Star. It's a Bird, It's a Plane, No! It's the King!

“Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, ‘Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.’ King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem” (Matthew 2:1-3, NLT). The wise men seeking “the newborn king of the Jews,” which led to Herod’s jealous rage. After all, Herod should be worship because he was the “king”, and reigned over the Jews at that time… so it seem…

The wise men seem to have specialized in astronomy, but they may have interpreted dreams and had other special knowledge and abilities. They referred to Jesus’ “star.” The Book of Numbers mentions a “star” (24:17) coming out of Jacob (refers to a location of God’s people), but how would the wise men have known that the star represented the Messiah? Perhaps they were descendants of Jews who had remained in Babylon after the Exile and thus grew up knowing the Old Testament prophecies. Or they may have studied ancient manuscripts. Or perhaps God had given them a special message. In any case, they travelled to Jerusalem, the capital city, expecting to find a young king there. Herod had no idea what they were talking about but felt threatened by this talk of a “king.” So he assembled the Jewish religious leaders and asked them.

“[Herod] called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, ‘Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?’ ‘In Bethlehem in Judea,’ they said, ‘for this is what the prophet wrote: ‘And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah, are not least among the ruling cities of Judah, for a ruler will come from you who will be the shepherd for my people Israel’” (Matthew 2:4-6). Interestingly, the Jewish leaders told Herod and the wise men that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (see Micah 5:2), but they didn’t go themselves. These visitors – the wise men – from faraway lands recognized Jesus as the Messiah when most of God’s chosen people in Israel did not.

The wise men travelled thousands of miles searching for the One who had been born King of the Jews. “The star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were filled with joy!” (Matthew 2:9-10). And when they found Jesus, the King of the Jews, the Messiah, God’s Son, they joyfully worshiped him and presented gifts fit for a king: “gold, frankincense, and myrrh” (2:11).

Think about this: Sometime knowing ‘about’ God doesn’t lead us to seeking the real God. King Herod was a very religious man, but when he found out that there was a “King” to be born, he was threatened, furious and rage to jealousy and planned to kill baby Jesus. The priests and teachers of religious leaders knew that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem as the Scriptures said and yet they didn’t go seeking Him for themselves. We can be religious, talks and talks, words by words, evangelized and teaching people, but it doesn’t matter to God if we didn’t seeking God’s King for ourselves. God always give us “star” that will lead us to Jesus. Like the wise men, our focus should be on the “star” and do whatever it takes to find the Truth. And when you find the Truth (I’m sure you will if you follow God’s lead), the “star” become insignificant to you because now you have found God’s King, the Messiah, God’s Son – Jesus Christ – and your heart will be filled with water spring of joy! The immediate reaction will be telling, you can’t help it but to burst in worship!

“You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32, NLT)

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Jesus' Birth Announcement: Poor Timing, Insignificant Audience, Odd Location and Over-the-Top Emcee

“That night [when Jesus was born] there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guiding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. ‘Don’t be afraid!’ he said. ‘I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Saviour – yes, the Messiah, the Lord – has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger’”
(Luke 2:8-12, NLT)

Generally, the importance of an announcement is judged by the audience to which it is made. Today, significant proclamations call for a televised press conference with a written press release. (If God ask me first, I would ‘advise’ Him, ehemmm… to proclaimed good news during sunny day at the busy marketplace, choose rather noble and honourable audiences such as the Pharisees and Sadducees, send written news to every town in Israel before the actual event start and at least let Jesus born in a luxury 5-stars hotel. And spotlight from heaven… But… God doesn’t ask for my ambitious advice… He don’t need one!). See, God broke every rule of effective media management at the birth of his Son: He chose poor timing (the middle of the night), an insignificant audience (shepherds), an odd location (hillside pasture), and an over-the-top spokes-angel. Those inexplicable contrasts give Jesus’ birth announcement a distinct ring of truth.

Happily, the angel’s announcement included a note of “Don’t be afraid!” that applies far beyond the immediate circumstance and flows from the fact that the Saviour’s birth will “bring great joy to all people” – including us! As if unable to restrain themselves over the good news, the angelic choir breaks out with a song of confirmation and the hopeful word that the impact of the news – “The Saviour, the Messiah, the Lord… has been born today” – will be “glory to God” and “peace” to people as a result of God’s favour. Furthermore, the shepherds, untroubled by their low social status, set their feet in motion. And having received the truth they had been told by acting on it themselves, they then told others and they joyfully thanked God.

Shepherds were at the bottom of their societal structure. They knew their unworthiness as recipients of the news and its meaning. They simply accepted the fact that they now had a Saviour, the Lord. We, therefore, must place ourselves in their sandals when we realize we are equally unworthy, and yet God has offered to us the same good news of a Saviour, Jesus Christ.

“After seeing [baby Jesus], the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child” (Luke 2:17). Think about this: The gospel writer, Luke, tells us that those who heard the news second-hand from the shepherds “were amazed” (Luke 2:18). This response may or may not have been belief that lead to faith. It doesn’t matter. The crucial lesson for us is not the effect but in the effort. What I mean is, it is not our responsible to convert people (effect), only God can and able to do that. But it is our joyful-responsibility to tell others about Christ (effort). Share the good news!

How often do you simply and joyfully let others know

what you found when you acted on the news about Christ?

See again the shepherds respond when they heard and seen Jesus first-hand.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Jesus' Birth went Unnoticed by the World (Is this How the Saviour Arrived?)

“[Joseph] took with him Mary, his fiancée, who was now obviously pregnant. And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them” (Luke 2:5-7, NLT).

Those who have lived with or been a woman in the final stages of pregnancy will shake their heads in wonder over Mary and Joseph’s journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem if they ever studied the map (Obviously I never experienced either one, so I just use my imaginations). Neither walking nor riding a donkey for several days could be described as anything but uncomfortable. Apparently the Romans had no provision in the taxation laws for filing a late return – Joseph and Mary were required to report, extenuating circumstances notwithstanding. “All [people throughout the Roman Empire] returned to their own ancestral towns to register for census” (Luke 2:3). A must.

Countless telling of the Christmas story have compressed the time between the couple’s journey and Jesus’ arrival. We usually picture the weary soon-to-be-parents wandering into Bethlehem in the evening, with Mary already feeling contractions, and the “No Vacancy” signs posted in the inn. Actually, Jesus was born in a little town, perhaps only large enough to have one inn. Necessity forced the couple to take shelter in some kind of alternative housing that had a manger. Since the “manger” indicates a place where animals were housed, it is likely that Jesus was born in a cave. This ironically means that Jesus spent both his arrival night (his birth) and his departure night (his burial and resurrection) in a cave.

Regardless the exact location, Jesus’ birth went largely unnoticed by the world. The scant details point to the simplicity and commonness of his birth. God, taking on flesh, entered life in the same messy, painful, and wonder-filled way that every human does. The King of kings didn’t get royal treatment at birth. Right from the start, only a few really understood and welcomed the Saviour.

Think about this: Familiarity with the story sometimes causes us to relive the events of Jesus’ birth with mild indifference. But what would be our fate if the Saviour had never been born? The wonder doesn’t come from trying to imagine all the ways God might have arranged to rescue us; the wonder comes in realizing that this was, in fact, the way God fulfilled his promises. I am amazed by God and how Jesus the Saviour of the world coming to us.

One response is necessary: Worship!

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Reference:

Life Application Study Bible Devotional: Daily Wisdom from the Life of Jesus (Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2011)

Jesus, the Son of God Become Like Us (Most Religious Leaders Forbid You to Read This)

“’Don’t be afraid Mary,’ the angel told her, ‘for you have found favour with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High… the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God… For nothing is impossible with God.’”

(Luke 1:30-32, 35, 37, NLT).

Jesus was born as a baby (how amazing and unthinkable is that!). The divine Creator humbled himself and entered the human race as a flesh-and-blood human being. The apostle John knew Jesus man-to-man, having lived, eaten, conversed, and travelled with him. John had heard Jesus teach and heal, and had seen him suffer and die. According to John, “the Word became human and made his home among us” (John 1:14).

But no one was closer to Jesus than his mother, Mary. In the passage above, an angel approached this startled teenager and explained that she would have a baby, but not just any baby, “the Son of God.” God would come to earth supernaturally but through natural means: conception, pregnancy, and birth. Jesus was (and is) both divine and human, the God-man. No one knows exactly how that works, but we see the evidence throughout the Scriptures, from the believers’ personal encounter with him and as revealed by the Holy Spirit. Jesus was fully God and fully man – at the same time.

Imagine what Mary must have been thinking and feeling at this moment. Angel visits didn’t happen every day! And angel Gabriel’s message was even more startling – a virgin conceiving, by the Holy Spirit, and birthing God’s Son. Yet Mary responded with faith and submission, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” No wonder she had “found favour with God.”

Think about this: Jesus was a living, breathing, and feeling human person. He wasn’t a divine being dressed up like a human; he wasn’t acting a part. Jesus fully took on flesh and experienced firsthand all that we experience. Thus, the Bible tells us, he can understand us and fully sympathize with us (Hebrews 4:15). Jesus, the Creator, became a baby, a child, an adolescent, an adult – with all of the human physical, psychological, and emotional qualities, but perfect, without sin. He knows us in every way. He knows you. And get this – he loves you and wants only the best for you. That’s a truth almost as amazing as Gabriel’s announcement.

Do you want to know Jesus more? Pray and read God’s Word.

Get personal and investigate His Person. Your life might never be the same.

“Nothing is impossible with God”

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Reference: Life Application Study Bible Devotional: Daily Wisdom from the Life of Jesus (Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2011)

April Full Free Book: "Your Jesus is Too Safe"

“[Jesus] was an integrated man, a whole man, which means he was an unfallen man. Jesus, as one unstained by the mark of Adam’s sin, perfectly reflected the holiness of God. He was whole, so when we look at Jesus and hear what he said and see what he was doing, we are looking at and hearing no one less than the one true God himself” (Jared C. Wilson)

From the Back Cover

There are too many Jesuses running rampant in the world today.

Culture has introduced us to Hippie Jesus, Postcard Jesus, and Get-out-of-hell-free Jesus. There's also Grammy Award Jesus, Therapist Jesus, Role Model Jesus, and Buddy Jesus.

The question is: which one do you worship?

He may be the most popular, the most cited, the most admired, and the most controversial figure in all of history, but Jesus is more than a generic brand, a logo, or a pick-me-up. He has been fictionalized, humanized, satirized, and romanticized. And yet he still isn't recognized.

Author Jared C. Wilson cuts through the glossy, modern perceptions of Jesus to rediscover the original and raw person who confronted the religious status quo and changed the world. Sometimes controversial, sometimes humorous, but always truthful, Your Jesus Is Too Safe challenges readers to leave behind their feel-good Savior and embrace the true and living Christ.

Open this book and take a closer look at who Jesus really is.

Get Your Copy of Your Jesus is Too Safe for FREE

For this month of April 2015: Free Monthly Book, I would like to offer 3 copies of this book to anyone who are interested and want to know deeper of who Jesus really is. All you have to do is comment below “I want to read this book because…” (no less than 10 words), E-mail me your name, phone no. and postal address for me send the book. This offer is available until 30th April 2015.

Jesus is in Kuching Town

“[After Jesus raises a widow’s son from the death] Great fear swept the crowd, and they praised God, saying, ‘A mighty prophet has risen among us,’ and ‘God has visited his people today.’ And the news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding countryside”

(Luke 7:16-17, NLT, bracket mine)

The people of the town of Nain said, “God has visited his people today.” Their statement was more accurate than some of them may have intended it to be. It was true that God visited his people by bringing the dead boy back to life (Luke 7:11-15), but this miracle was not performed by an ordinary prophet of God (as Muslim said Jesus was); this miracle was performed personally by God himself – by the God-man, Jesus Christ the Nazareth. Apostle Paul once wrote, “For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body” (Colossians 2:9, NLT). The people of Nain had not only seen the miracle in which the dead boy came back to life, but they actually saw God himself perform the miracle!

All of this is a mystery to us. The doctrine or teaching of the Trinity and of Jesus’ incarnation are beyond our human comprehension. How can God be in heaven as a spirit (who has no flesh and bones) and at the same time be on earth as a man? We cannot understand, but we can believe that it is true. I know that it is true. It is the truth.

Although the teaching that God is everywhere is mystery to our intellect, it is a comfort to our heart. It is comforting to know that wherever we are living, God the Father who made us still continues to preserve us, his children. It is comforting to know that Jesus who redeemed us from sin, still walks next to us in this life today. It is comforting to know that God the Spirit who has brought us to faith in Jesus, continue to keep us in that faith. Only if we remain faithful, God is faithful to us.

From a spectacular miracle we know that the same God who was present bodily in the God-man Jesus in the town of Nain about 2,000 years ago are still present today in our town and among us. Jesus is in my town – Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. Jesus is in your town too. It doesn’t matter where we live, for Jesus’ sake, our God is with us. Jesus is Emmanuel, “God with us” (Matthew 1:23). He will help us. He will forgive us. He will guide us. If our doubts ever arise concerning God’s presence, all we have to do is to read God’s Word, his words and promises, in Isaiah 41:10: “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand” (NLT).

Jesus is in our town.

Jesus is with us.

Jesus has come to help his people. Amen.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Jesus among Religious Leaders and Philosophers

Great teachers always point beyond themselves in their teaching. Books written about Buddha, Confucius, Moses, Mohammad, Plato, Marx, even Einstein (one of my favourite) regard their teachings and philosophies as the key. They would say, ‘Don’t look at me, look at my teaching. I am not important, my teaching is.’ They don’t dare to say, ‘I’m the way to God.’

But with Jesus it is very different. Whereas many teachers past and present have said, ‘I’m not too sure, but I think this…’ or ‘everything and everyway leads to the infinite truth’ or someone said to me once, ‘Richard, Jesus is not the only way! Christianity and other religious are the same,’ Jesus, however, made the most amazing claim: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

Jesus also said this about Himself: “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35); “I am the vine, you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit, apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5); “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:14); “I am the gate, whoever enters through me will be saved” (John 10:9); “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12); “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die” (John 11:25-26); and lastly but not the least, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the beginning and the end” (Revelation 22:13).

Oh ya, He also said, “Follow me” (Mark 1:17, 2:14). He did not bring us a philosophy or idea to discuss or to debate. He brought us Himself as the way (back) to God. True Christianity is different – it is accepting the friendship of Jesus and following Him. Our obedience to His teaching follows our acceptance of His friendship. “The vital issue,” writes J. John, “is not just what we think or believe about Jesus’ teaching, but what we do about Jesus.”

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

God is No Fool

God in the Old and New Testament are the same - Only make clearer in Christ, my Lord.

The Old Testament teaches that obedience to the Ten Commandments will give us favor with God, but Jesus taught (not contrary) it isn't so much what we do that makes us acceptable to God. It is rather what we believe, for in the end, what we believe determines what we do. Good morality will not necessarily lead us to faith, but faith will always lead us to good morality. What we believes matter! Poet below is a good summary of this truth:

God is No Fool

By Lois A. Cheney

They say that God has infinite patience,

And that is a great comfort.

They say God is always there,

And that is a deep satisfaction.

They say that God will always take you back,

And I get lazy in that certitude.

They say that God never gives up,

And I count on that.

They say you can go away for years and years,

And he’ll be there, waiting, when you come back.

They say you can make mistake after mistake,

And God will always forgive and forget.

They say lots of things,

These people who never read the Old Testament.

There comes a time,

A definite, for sure time,

When God turns around.

I don’t believe God shed his skin,

When Christ brought in the New Testament,

Christ showed us a new side of God,

And it is truly wonderful.

But he didn't change God.

God remain forever and ever

And that God

Is

No

Fool.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP. 

C.S. Lewis on the Church

Jesus Can Forgive Sins? (A Reflection on Mark 2:1-12)

“Seeing how much faith they had, Jesus said to the paralyzed man,

‘My son, your sins are forgiven.’

Some teachers of the Law who were sitting there thought to themselves,

‘How does he dare talk like this? This is blasphemy!

God is the only one who can forgive sins!’” (Mark 2:5-6, GNB).

The same way my Muslim friends responded to me when I said that Jesus can forgive our sins, the teachers of the Law cried sternly: “No, only God can forgive sins!” This is perfectly understandable defend. If God was the one who was offended, why Jesus took the position to forgive the man’s sins as if He is God? If He is merely God’s messenger why didn’t He simply say, ‘My son, God has forgiven your sins’? How can he know that? If Jesus is nothing more than a godly man, then this accusation is valid – this is blasphemy!

Christianity, however, has an explanation about this: Jesus was God incarnate. He is “the one and only Son, who is himself God” (John 1:18, NIV). He is “my own dear Son” (Mark 1:11) said God the Father during His baptism. “I,” Jesus said, “and the Father are one” (John 10:30). To the spiritual blind eyes, He is blasphemed. But to His people, He is the Son of God and the Son of Man, who has authority to forgive sins. The teachers of the Law were right when they protested, “God is the only one who can forgive sins!” That was why Jesus openly declared that the man’s sins were forgiven – He is God incarnate.

“[Jesus] said to them, ‘Why do you think such things? It is easier to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, pick up your mat, and walk’? I will prove you, then, that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.’” (Mark 2:8-10, GNB).

This is very practical question. Anyone can say to you and me that ‘Your sins are forgiven.’ There would be no way of telling whether it had happened or not. I bet there was no physical changed to the paralyzed man when Jesus said this. But to say ‘Get up, pick up your mat, and walk’ is very evident that Jesus is blasphemed if the miracle doesn’t happen on the spot. Jesus was basically said to the teachers of the Laws that the reality of healing demonstrates the reality of forgiveness. “While they all watched, the man got up, picked up his mat, and hurried away” (Mark 2:12). The healing happened in front of everyone. Therefore, the forgiveness is real!

Today, I fear, people seeking healings more than seeking Jesus, the Healer. People are more obsess with miracles rather than knowing the Son of Man behind the miracles. People are asking for signs and wonders but not the forgiveness of sins that God offers through His Son, Jesus Christ. When you read the Gospel of Mark, you’ll find that Jesus make preaching as His primary agenda (1:14, 1:21, 1:38-39, 2:2), not healings and miracles. His message was and is always be until His second coming, that all of us need to joyfully follow and obey, is that: “The right time has come and the Kingdom of God is near! Turn away from your sins and believe the Good News!” (Mark 1:15, GNB).

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Misteri tentang Kelahiran Yesus (dan Selamat Hari Krismas)

“Oleh itu, Pilatus bertanya kepada-Nya, ‘Jika demikian, adakah kamu ini raja?’

Yesus menjawab, ‘Kamu yang berkata bahawa Aku raja. Aku dilahirkan dan datang ke dunia untuk satu maksud sahaja; Aku datang untuk berkata tentang apa yang benar. Sesiapa yang menerima apa yang benar, mendengarkan Aku’” (Yohanes 18:37)



Ini gambar sahaja.
Saya rasa bayi Yesus tidaklah bersinar begini.
Dia datang sebagai manusia - bukan makhluk ajaib!



Pagi ini saya membaca dan merenung Firman ini. Firman ini sangat memberkati dan sungguh memberi semangat kepada saya sebelum menyambut hari perayaan Krismas esok (walaupun teks ini datangnya dari riwayat terakhir Yesus di dunia, bukannya semasa kelahiran-Nya).

Keunikkan kelahiran Yesus ialah Dia tidak ‘wujud’ atau ‘diadakan’ semasa kelahiran-Nya. Dia sudah ada, sentiasa ada, sebelum Dia dilahirkan di Betlehem. Personaliti, keperibadian dan diri Yesus Kristus sudah ada sebelum Yesus datang sebagai manusia.

Ayat teologi untuk misteri agung ini ialah bukan ‘kejadian’ (creation) tetapi ‘penjelmaan’ (incarnation) [Nota: Tiada ayat dalam Bahasa Malaysia yang sesuai untuk menyatakan maksud ‘Incarnation’ dalam erti istilah Teologi Kristian dengan lebih tepat. Maka, saya menggunakan ayat ‘Penjelmaan’. Saya sungguh kecewa]. Diri Yesus, bukan badan fizikal-Nya, tetapi inti pati diri ketuhanan Yesus telah wujud (sentiasa wujud) sebelum Dia dilahirkan sebagai manusia. Kelahiran-Nya di dunia tidak ‘menjadikan’ Yesus sebagai makhluk baru, tetapi Yesus yang lahir lebih kurang 2,000 tahun dahulu ialah Yesus yang pernah ada sejak zaman purba.

Jika kamu membuka (okay... selepas menyapu habuk) Al-Kitab kamu ke Mikha 5:1, kamu akan mendapati bahawa Tuhan Allah sudah pun menceritakan kepada nabi Mikha tentang kedatangan Yesus sebelum Dia datang ke dunia 700 tahun kemudian:

“Hai Betlehem Efrata, engkaulah salah satu kota yang terkecil di negeri Yehuda, tetapi daripadamu Aku akan memberi Israel seorang penguasa; asal usul nenek moyangnya bermula dari zaman purba.”

Misteri agung tentang kelahiran Yesus bukan hanya terletak pada kelahiran-Nya oleh perawan Maria. Mukjizat itu dijadikan oleh Tuhan Allah untuk memberi saksi kepada satu lagi mukjizat yang lebih hebat – iaitu, bayi yang lahir di Betlehem itu ialah seorang yang pernah ada “bermula dari zaman purba”. Oleh itu, Dia “dilahirkan dan datang ke dunia” untuk “berkata tentang apa yang benar”. Kebenaran tentang apa? Yohanes 14:6:

Yesus menjawab, “Akulah jalan untuk mengenal Allah dan untuk mendapat hidup. Tidak seorang pun dapat datang kepada Bapa kecuali melalui Aku. Kerana kamu mengenal Aku, kamu akan mengenal Bapa-Ku juga. Mulai sekarang kamu mengenal Dia dan sudah melihat Dia.”

Bagaimana ini mungkin terjadi? Ini kerana Yesus dan Bapa adalah satu. Dia sudah ada dan bersama dengan Bapa “bermula [dari] zaman purba”. Maksudnya, Dia pernah ada dan sentiasa akan ada. Inilah kebenarannya – Percayakah kamu?

Selamat menyambut hari Krismas!

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.