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Sabado, Hulyo 27, 2013
God's Love
God's love towards us, His estranged creation, is graphically depicted in the sacrifice He made on our behalf. "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13 NIV).
Jesus Christ, is God's unique and eternal Son.1 He is the Alpha and Omega,2 the Great I AM,3 the "Mighty God"4 by whom all things were created5 and in whom all things consist.6 Jesus, who is the head of all things,7 humbled Himself in such a way that the human mind couldn't even bare the thought of it. He came into this sin-cursed world and actively partook in our sufferings. Even as we are flesh and blood, He shared in the same.8 He became a man and dwelt among us.9 He shared in the sufferings we brought upon ourselves through our rejection of His holy precepts.10And as if that were not enough to convince us of His love and concern for us, Jesus, the immortal God and the Giver of Life, gave up His own life upon the cross in the greatest act of love the world has ever known! In doing so He took our sins away, effectively nailing them to the cross with Himself. Thus, He who knew no sin became sin for us11 and He who gave life to all, tasted death for those condemned to it.12
God's Love - For God so Loved the World
This is God's love! "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him" (John 3:16-17). Jesus Christ loved the world so much that He gave everything for it, from His rights and privileges as the unique eternal Son of God, to His very life! If you want to see the love of God, look to the cross. "This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins" (1 John 4:9-10). "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23).
God's Love - It's For You!
God's love has been made known to us and now He stands at the door and knocks.13 It's up to every individual to either pursue a personal relationship with God or else reject Him outright. The only barrier between us and God's love is our own freewill and Jesus Christ is the door.14 "Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me'" (John 14:6). Salvation is a free gift bought and paid for by the blood of Christ. There is no other way. "…Do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!" (Galatians 2:21). You can't earn God's forgiveness through good works. How will doing the good works that you should have done all your life make up for the countless times you've failed? God's no fool. You can "use an abundance of soap, the stain of your guilt is still before Me…" (Jeremiah 2:22).
A man once fell on his knees before Christ and begged, "If You are willing, You can make me clean." Christ, "filled with compassion" replied, "I am willing; be clean" (Mark 1:40-41). We too can fall on our knees and acknowledge God's only provision for our sins. We too can hear, "I am willing; be clean." Christ willingly took God's righteous indignation upon Himself so that you don't have to; whoever accepts His death upon the cross as payment for their sins will be reconciled to the God whom they've offended. "All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ…God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them…God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5:18-19, 21). Will you accept God's love today?
As a reminder, one of the greatest expressions of God’s love is to help a child in need. If you feel led to share God’s love and help save children from terrible conditions, please consider the sponsorship programs at Compassion International.
- See more at: http://www.allaboutphilosophy.org/gods-love.htm#sthash.G12iQiy0.dpuf
Nature of God - Discovering His Presence
What's the nature of God? Here's my story…
It's Friday morning and the sun is up. While others are rushing to their respective workplaces, I decide to go to a nearby park to unwind a little since my own job doesn't starts until 10:00 P.M. (the graveyard shift in a call center).
As I sit, surrounded by green grass, shaded by the leaves of the trees, and look up at the wide blue sky, my heart smiles and I feel the joy of sensing the presence of an awesome God. Yes, an awesome God. I consider God awesome when I ponder the way He created all things visible and invisible, and especially the way He made us -- humans. God created us in His own image and likeness (Genesis 1:26) and we are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14).
Nature of God - Praising His Name
In nature, I sense the nature of God! With the chirping of birds, I am urged to sing songs of praise and worship for the Lord. As I worship God, He touches my heart and reveals Himself to me in a very special way - that is, in nature, our environment. Besides this pleasant park, that includes the forests and beaches, the sun that rises and sets everyday, the shining moon and twinkling stars at night, the rain -- and a lot more. I realize now why I feel a different kind of intensity inside every time I gaze on those things.
Furthermore, I am also reminded of God's goodness and faithfulness in my life. "God is good, all the time. He puts a song of praise in this heart of mine. God is good all the time!" Ever heard of that song?
This is the very nature of God. He is so good that He cares for us and loves us unconditionally. How? What do you think? "For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). This is one of the most familiar Bible verses known to man, but do we really understand what it implies in our own life? Imagine if you yourself had only one son, a son you cared for and loved so much. Would you be willing to sacrifice your son's life in order to save someone? Could you afford to risk his life for the sake of others? God could; that is why we have Jesus Christ. The book of John, chapter 14, verse 6, says that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Him.
In order for us to have an eternal life, all we have to do is receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, repent, and ask for forgiveness. It's our choice. It's the nature of God!
Saint of the Day
Feastday: July 27
Patron of Physicians, midwives, livestock, invoked against headaches, consumption, locusts, witchcraft, accidents and loneliness, helper for crying children
275 - 303
Patron of Physicians, midwives, livestock, invoked against headaches, consumption, locusts, witchcraft, accidents and loneliness, helper for crying children
275 - 303
St Pantaleon came from Nicomedia, near the Black Sea, in Asia. He was such a famous doctor that the Emperor himself chose him for his own doctor. Pantaleon was a Christian, but the bad influence from the pagan court caused him to give up his Christian faith entirely.
A holy priest named Hermolaos made him realize what a sinhe had committed. Pantaleon listened to him, detested his sinand joined the Church once more. To make up for what he had done, he greatly desired to suffer and die for Jesus. In the meantime, he imitated Our Lord's charity by taking care of poor sick people without any charge for his medical services.
When the Emperor Diocletian began his persecution, Pantaleon at once gave away everything he owned to the poor. Not long afterwards, he was accused of being a Christian. He was given the choice of denying his Faith or being put to death. No torture could force Pantaleon to deny his Faith.
There has been strong devotion in past ages to this Saint. In the East he is called the "Great Martyr and Wonder-worker." Saint Pantaleon's feast day is July 27th.
from Wikipedia
Saint Pantaleon (Greek: Παντελεήμων [Panteleímon], "all-compassionate"), counted in the West among the late-medieval Fourteen Holy Helpers and in the East as one of the Holy Unmercenary Healers, was a martyr of Nicomedia in Bithynia during the Diocletian persecution of 303 AD.
Though there is evidence to suggest that a martyr named Pantaleon existed, the various stories told of his life and death are considered by some to be purely legendary.[1]
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Proof of God - Intelligent Design
What would constitute objective proof of God? Well, consider the following self-evident and universally recognized truth: Concept and design necessitate an intelligent designer. The presence of intelligent design proves the existence of an intelligent designer. It's simply cause and effect. In our search for proof of God's existence, we could examine the various claims of supernatural occurrences, determine whether or not these are legitimate experiences, and build a case for the existence of the supernatural, which would be a step towards identifying a supernatural Creator God. Or we can just apply what we already know and search for signs of intelligent design within creation itself.
We know that design necessitates a designer. In fact, in accordance with this fundamental axiom, design detection methodology is a prerequisite in many fields of human endeavor, including archaeology, anthropology, forensics, criminal jurisprudence, copyright law, patent law, reverse engineering, crypto analysis, random number generation, and SETI. And how do we recognize intelligent design? In general, we find "specified complexity" to be a reliable indicator of the presence of intelligent design. Chance can explain complexity alone but not specification -- a random sequence of letters is complex but not specified (it's meaningless). A Shakespearean sonnet is both complex and specified (it's meaningful). We can't have a Shakespearean sonnet without Shakespeare. (William A. Dembski, The Design Inference: Eliminating Chance through Small Probabilities, 1998.)
Proof of God - Nature
So where's the proof of God's existence? In accordance with our familiar axiom and in light of the tremendous advances we've made in molecular biology, biochemistry, genetics and information theory, the proof of God is all around us!
Through the microscope, we observe the E. coli bacterial flagellum. The bacterial flagellum is what propels E. coli bacteria through its microscopic world. It consists of about 40 individual protein parts including a stator, rotor, drive-shaft, U-joint, and propeller. It's a microscopic outboard motor! The individual parts come into focus when magnified 50,000 times (using electron micrographs). And even though these microscopic outboard motors run at an incredible 100,000 rpm, they can stop on a microscopic dime. It takes only a quarter turn for them to stop, shift directions and start spinning 100,000 rpm in the opposite direction! The flagellar motor has two gears (forward and reverse), is water-cooled, and is hardwired into a signal transduction (sensory mechanism) so that it receives feedback from its environment. ("Unlocking the Mystery of Life," video documentary byIllustra Media, 2002.)
When we apply the general principles of detecting specified complexity to biologic systems (living creatures), we find it reasonable to infer the presence intelligent design. Take, for example, the bacterial flagellum's stator, rotor, drive-shaft, U-joint, and propeller. It is not convenient that we've given these parts these names - that's truly their function. If you were to find a stator, rotor, drive-shaft, U-joint, or propeller in any vehicle, machine, toy or model, you would recognize them as the product of an intelligent source. No one would expect an outboard motor -- much less one as incredible as the flagellar motor -- to be the product of a chance assemblage of parts. Motors are the product of intelligent design.
Furthermore, the E. coli bacterial flagellum simply could not have evolved gradually over time. The bacterial flagellum is an "irreducibly complex" system. An irreducibly complex system is one composed of multiple parts, all of which are necessary for the system to function. If you remove any one part, the entire system will fail to function. Every individual part is integral. There is absolutely no naturalistic, gradual, evolutionary explanation for the bacterial flagellum. (Michael Behe, Darwin's Black Box, 1996.)
The bacterial flagellum (not to mention the irreducibly complex molecular machines responsible for the flagellum's assembly) is just one example of the specified complexity that pervades the microscopic biological world. Molecular biologist Michael Denton wrote, "Although the tiniest bacterial cells are incredibly small, weighing less than 10-12 grams, each is in effect a veritable micro-miniaturized factory containing thousands of exquisitely designed pieces of intricate molecular machinery, made up altogether of one hundred thousand million atoms, far more complicated than any machinery built by man and absolutely without parallel in the non-living world." (Michael Denton, Evolution: A Theory in Crisis, 1986, p. 250.)
Where is the proof of God? If we're willing to open our eyes, we'll see the fingerprints of God all around us and all throughout us. Our very existence proves the existence of a Creator God.
Why did Jesus Cry out for Their Forgiveness?
Why did Jesus Cry out for Their Forgiveness?
Chapter: 14.25
(Section 14: Selective Salvation)
Copyright © Michael Bronson 1998 - 2005
BibleHelp.org
(Section 14: Selective Salvation)
Copyright © Michael Bronson 1998 - 2005
BibleHelp.org
In the previous chapter (Are People Perishing Despite God’s Desire for their Salvation?) we saw several passages in the Bible that said people are needlessly going to Hell. Many of these passages showed God desiring the salvation of people who are going to Hell. The crucifixion of Jesus on the cross provides us another example.
When Jesus was on the cross, He cried out, "Father, forgive them" (Luke 23:34). To the honest observer the meaning of this plea is obvious. Jesus was asking God the Father to forgive all of the people who were involved in His crucifixion.
Either Jesus’ plea was answered or it wasn’t. If it was answered, then 100% of the stiff-necked murderers became believers. If His plea wasn’t answered, then there were people who went to Hell even though Jesus desired their salvation.
If it is true people went to Hell despite the desire of Jesus, selective salvation can’t be true. A main theme of selective salvation is God deliberately chose to send certain people to Hell on an arbitrary basis. It would be a contradiction of selective salvation for God to send these people to Hell and still desire their deliverance.
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