Messiah, 152

~ Messiah Would Be Faithful ~

“Search the Scriptures—they testify of Me.”

— Jesus Christ (John 5:39)

The Scripture

“Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins, and faithfulness the belt of His waist” (Isaiah 11:5). 

The Messiah  

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). 

“God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:9). 

~~~ 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

If you found this post personally interesting or helpful, you are welcome to add a link to it on your own blog or website. 

If you would prefer to copy this post, please credit ALN as the source by prominently displaying the following statement:  Reprinted from “Abundant Life Now,” a free blog which offers inspiring moments, thought-provoking comments, and solid Biblical insight (http://RobertLloydRussell.blogspot.com/).

Bible Question, 4

~ Test Your Bible Knowledge  ~

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~~~~ bible question ~~~~

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question 4:   How many Biblical kings hid in a cave?   

Please provide your answer in the comments below!

The correct answer will be provided in a future blog.

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

If you found this post personally interesting or helpful, you are welcome to add a link to it on your own blog or website. 

If you would prefer to copy this post, please credit ALN as the source by prominently displaying the following statement:  Reprinted from “Abundant Life Now,” a free blog which offers inspiring moments, thought-provoking comments, and solid Biblical insight (http://RobertLloydRussell.blogspot.com/).

Only One Nation, 2

~ On This 66th Anniversary of the Modern State of Israel ~

This post is about a few major events regarding the survival of the tiny nation of Israel.  It is sequenced in reverse chronological order.

Today’s Troubled Middle East  ~  Almost everyone alive today is well aware of the seemingly perilous position the tiny nation of Israel finds itself.  It is surrounded by much larger and seemingly more powerful nations such as Iraq, which is developing nuclear weapons at an alarming pace and has an avowed objective of wiping Israel off the map.  Meanwhile Israel’s historically most powerful ally—the United States—has been reducing its military capability and sending multiple signals that its historically strong support for Israel could by lessening. 

The Six-Day War  ~  During June 5-10, 1967, the Six-Day War occurred between tiny Israel and surrounding larger Arab nations (Egypt—then UAR, Jordan, and Syria).  Wikipedia summarizes it this way, “Within six days, Israel had won a decisive land war. Israeli forces had taken control of the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, from Jordan, and the Golan Heights from Syria.”

The Re-establishment of Israel  ~  The nation of Israel was officially re-established in their homeland—fulfilling Biblical prophecy—on May 14, 1948.  As a result, the Arab-Israeli War erupted and the tiny nation of Israel defeated a military coalition of surrounding Arab nations. 

The Historical Record  ~  “In all history, going back to the time when God created man upon the earth, search from one end of the heavens to the other to see if you can find anything like this: an entire nation heard the voice of God speaking to it from fire, as you did, and lived!  Where else will you ever find another example of God’s removing a nation from its slavery by sending terrible plagues, mighty miracles, war, and terror?  Yet that is what the Lord your God did for you in Egypt, right before your very eyes.  He did these things so you would realize that Jehovah is God, and that there is no one else like him.  He let you hear His voice instructing you from heaven, and He let you see His great pillar of fire upon the earth; you even heard His words from the center of the fire.  It was because He loved your ancestors and chose to bless their descendants that He personally brought you out from Egypt with a great display of power.  He drove away other nations greater by far than you and gave you their land as an inheritance, as it is today.  This is your wonderful thought for the day: Jehovah is God both in heaven and down here upon the earth; and there is no God other than Him!  You must obey these laws that I will tell you today, so that all will be well with you and your children, and so that you will live forever in the land the Lord your God is giving you” (Deuteronomy 4:32-40, TLB).

“For you are a holy people, dedicated to the Lord your God.  He has chosen you from all the people on the face of the whole earth to be His own chosen ones.  He didn’t choose you and pour out His love upon you because you were a larger nation than any other, for you were the smallest of all!  It was just because He loves you, and because He kept His promise to your ancestors.  That is why He brought you out of slavery in Egypt with such amazing power and mighty miracles” (Deuteronomy 7:6-8, TLB).

Important Note  ~  The fact that God has a chosen nation does not give them an advantage regarding salvation.  Israelites are individually responsible for coming to God by faith in the shed blood of The Messiah just as Gentiles are (i.e., Hebrews 11).

A related Abundant Life Post, “Only One Nation,” was posted on April 11, 2013. 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

If you found this post personally interesting or helpful, you are welcome to add a link to it on your own blog or website. 

If you would prefer to copy this post, please credit ALN as the source by prominently displaying the following statement:  Reprinted from “Abundant Life Now,” a free blog which offers inspiring moments, thought-provoking comments, and solid Biblical insight (http://RobertLloydRussell.blogspot.com/).

Spiritual Water

~ Have You Checked Your Water Lately? ~

Water Entering In  ~  “Jesus answered, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God’” (John 3:5). Jesus the Messiah was explaining to Nicodemus the process of new birth.

Water Springing Up  ~  There is a key lesson from the account of a Samaritan woman meeting the Messiah at a well. “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). The natural outcome of this water springing up is worship. 

Water Flowing Along  ~  “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). Jesus is interacting with the religious leaders of His day.  The concept of “rivers of living water” is about the role of the Holy Spirit and this passage relates to our service for Him.   

A Watered Garden  ~  “The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, and strengthen your bones; you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail” (Isaiah 58:11). A watered garden brings to mind the concept of maturity. 

concluding thought:  A key characteristic of physical water is that it seeks its own level. Left to our own devices we continue to sin because of our sin nature. When we follow the steps listed above, we rise from our old natural level to our new spiritual level. The new birth is just that—we are new creatures (not fixed old creatures). “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). As we worship and serve Him through the power of the Spirit of God, we mature towards Christ-likeness. “But we all [Christians], with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image [the image of the glory of Christ] from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18). 

A second key characteristic of water is its value in cleaning. Of course we know that it is the blood of the slain Christ which has the power of washing away sin—however water is also seen as a cleansing agent. “Jesus answered him [Peter], ‘If I do not wash you [speaking of physical water], you have no part with Me’” (John 13:8b). The Psalmist prayed, “Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin” (Psalm 51:2). One of the symbolisms of the waters of baptism is that of washing, “And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16).

How’s your spiritual water level? Has it entered in? Is it springing up? Is it flowing along? Are you a well-watered garden?

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

If you found this post personally interesting or helpful, you are welcome to add a link to it on your own blog or website. 

If you would prefer to copy this post, please credit ALN as the source by prominently displaying the following statement:  Reprinted from “Abundant Life Now,” a free blog which offers inspiring moments, thought-provoking comments, and solid Biblical insight (http://RobertLloydRussell.blogspot.com/).