The True Bible

 

~  Do Actions Really Speak Louder Than Words? ~

The following is from an unknown source.

Now this is the True Living Bible: 

His name is Tim.  He has wild hair, wears a T-shirt with holes in it, jeans, and no shoes.  This was literally his wardrobe for his entire four years of college.

He is brilliant.  Kind of profound and very, very bright; He became a Christian while attending college.

Across the street from the campus is a well-dressed, very conservative church.  They want to develop a ministry to the students but are not sure how to go about it.

One day Tim decides to go there.  He walks in with no shoes, jeans, his T-shirt, and wild hair.  The service has already started and so Tim starts down the aisle looking for a seat.

The church is completely packed and he can’t find a seat.  By now, people are really looking a bit uncomfortable, but no one says anything.

Tim gets closer and closer and closer to the pulpit, and when he realizes there are no seats, he just squats down right on the carpet.

By now the people are really uptight, and the tension in the air is thick.

About this time, the minister realizes that from way at the back of the church, a deacon is slowly making his way toward Tim.

Now the deacon is in his eighties, has silver-gray hair, and a three-piece suit; a godly man, very elegant, very dignified, very courtly.  He walks with a cane and, as he starts walking toward this boy, everyone is saying to themselves that you can’t blame him for what he’s going to do.

How can you expect a man of his age and of his background to understand some college kid on the floor?

It takes a long time for the man to reach the boy.

The church is utterly silent except for the clicking of the man’s cane.
All eyes are focused on him…  You can’t even hear anyone breathing.  The minister can’t even preach the sermon until the deacon does what he has to do.

And now they see this elderly man drop his cane on the floor.  With great difficulty, he lowers himself and sits down next to Tim and worships with him so he won’t be alone.

Everyone chokes up with emotion...

When the minister gains control, he says, “what I’m about to preach, you will never remember.  What you have just seen, you will never forget.”

Be careful how you live.  You may be the only Bible some people will ever read! 

What if the type is crooked?  What if the print is blurred? 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

Christ Keeps Us

~ 7 Ways He Keeps His Own ~

Jesus Christ Keeps Us By His Power  ~  “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation [through Jesus Christ] ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:3-5). 

Jesus Christ Keeps Us From Falling  ~  “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to God our Savior [Jesus Christ], Who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever.  Amen” (Jude 24-25). 

Jesus Christ Keeps Us From Evil  ~  “But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one” (2 Thessalonians 3:3). 

Jesus Christ Keeps Us In Peace  ~  “Open the gates, that the righteous nation which keeps the truth may enter in.  You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You” (Isaiah 26:2-3).  “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life’” (John 14:6a).

Jesus Christ Keeps Us As The Apple Of His Eye  ~  “For the Lord’s portion is His people; Jacob is the place of His inheritance.  He found him in a desert land and in the wasteland, a howling wilderness; He encircled him, He instructed him, He kept him as the apple of His eye” (Deuteronomy 32:9-10). 

Jesus Christ Keeps Us Through Temptations  ~  Jesus said, “Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth” (Revelation 3:10). 

Jesus Christ Keeps Us For His Eternal Glory  ~  Jesus while praying to His Father about His disciples said, “Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You.  Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are.  While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name.  Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled” (John 17:11-12). 

the key question: “Who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15). This is the most important question you will ever answer. If you do not answer it, or answer it incorrectly, you have made the biggest mistake anyone can make!

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

Messiah, 123

~ Messiah Would Be Called Immanuel ~

“Search the Scriptures—they testify of Me.”

— Jesus Christ (John 5:39)

The Scripture

“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14 – written about 700 years prior the Messiah’s coming).

The Messiah  

“Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.’ So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which is translated, ‘God with us’” (Matthew 1:18-23).

Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, ‘Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!’ But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end’ Then Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I do not know a man?’ And the angel answered and said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God’”(Luke 1:26-35).

~~~ EXPLANATORY “MESSIAH” NOTES ~~~   

(1)  Each Saturday ALN posts an example of a Hebrew Scriptures prophecy (or foreshadowing) related to the coming Messiah which was fulfilled in the birth, life, death, or resurrection of Jesus Christ.

(2)  While extensive it will not be a complete list—there are hundreds of prophecies of the coming Messiah which have been fulfilled by one man—Jesus Christ at His First Coming.

(3)  It is important that there are many more prophecies of the Messiah, yet unfulfilled, which Christians believe will be fulfilled at the time of His Second Coming.  A particularly relevant Scripture verse in this regard is: “Do not despise prophesies” (1 Thessalonians 5:20).

(4)  These posts will typically consist only of Scripture—which speaks for itself.  Sometimes italicized or bold font will be used by ALN for emphasis.

(5)  The numbering of these fulfilled prophecies of the Messiah is used to differentiate individual posts. It is not chronological (either by time of the prophecy or by sequence in the life of the Messiah).  The posting sequence will, for the most part, be in the order that the prophecies appear in Scripture.

(6)  Because of the chosen methodology (#5 above) we will find many specific prophecies repeated multiple times throughout the Scriptures.

(7)  These serial posts are in addition to our regular Tuesday ALN postings on random topics.

(8)  Subscription to ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog is simple—just use the link on the left sidebar.  Once subscribed you will not miss future posts.

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

Lack of Knowledge

~ There Is Too Much I Don’t Understand ~

note:  This is one in a series of Biblical answers to objections some individuals raise when presented with the Good News of salvation through Jesus Christ. 

 “I will not bother to personally conduct a serious investigation of Jesus Christ because there are too many mysteries in all this spiritual stuff.” 

This is like saying, “I will not cross that highway bridge since there are so many things related to civil and structural engineering that I do not understand.” Such a response doesn’t stand up to the test of logic. But logic is not the main issue. What does God say?

If You Understood It All You Would Be God  ~  “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law” (Deuteronomy 29:29). 

One Day You Will Understand Fully  ~  “And He [Jesus] said to them, ‘It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority’” (Acts 1:7).

“Jesus answered and said to him, ‘What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this’” (John 13:7). 

“For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known” (1 Corinthians 13:12). 

summary: “The basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is! By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can't see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of His divine being.

So nobody has a good excuse.

“What happened was this: People knew God perfectly well, but when they didn't treat him like God, refusing to worship him, they trivialized themselves into silliness and confusion so that there was neither sense nor direction left in their lives. They pretended to know it all, but were illiterate regarding life” (Romans 1:19-22, The Message).

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW