~ Test Your Bible Knowledge ~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~ bible
question ~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
question: Who built the first altar in the Bible?
Please
provide your answer in the comments below!
The answer
will be provided in a future blog.
~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.
*
* * * *
~ Who Is This? ~
The Question ~ “So
the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. They brought the donkey and the colt, laid
their clothes on them, and set Him on them. And a very great multitude spread their
clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on
the road. Then the multitudes who went
before and those who followed cried out, saying:
"Hosanna to the Son
of David!
'Blessed is He who comes
in the name of the Lord!'
Hosanna in the
highest!"
And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved,
saying, [Q] ‘Who is this?’ So the
multitudes said, [A] ‘This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee’” (Matthew
21:6-11).
Key
Issue ~ “If
a man dies, shall he live again?” (Job 24:14a).
Comment ~ Have you ever asked this question? If not, why not? If you have asked the question, what is your
answer? What is your answer based upon?
the critical 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 blog.
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~ The Central Point ~
Easter
is the central pivot of three historically great events!
Christmas (God with
us) ~ “‘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
1:23).
Easter (God for
us) ~ Jesus said, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even
so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not
perish but have eternal life. For
God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever
believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world
to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
“He
who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned
already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of
God. And this is the condemnation, that
the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light,
because their deeds were evil. For
everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest
his deeds should be exposed. But he who
does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that
they have been done in God” (John 3:14-21).
Pentecost (God in
us) ~ Jesus said, "If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will
give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever — the Spirit of
truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows
Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to
you. A little while longer and the world
will see Me no more, but you will see Me.
Because I live, you will live also” (John 14:15-19).
“But
you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God
dwells in you. Now if anyone does
not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.
And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the
Spirit is life because of righteousness.
But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you,
He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies
through His Spirit who dwells in you” (Romans 8:9-11).
Questions ~ Do you
understand the extreme importance of these three events? If so, what have you done about it? Do you know without a doubt where you will
spend eternity?
~ Robert
Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT
LIFE NOW blog.
* * * * *
~ God Is Always In Control ~
Scripture
~
“David says concerning Him: ‘I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for He
is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken. Therefore my heart rejoiced, and
my tongue was glad; moreover my flesh also will rest in hope. For You will
not leave my soul in Hades, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of joy in
Your presence’” (Acts 2:25-28).
Note ~ The time
between the end of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New Testament is
often referred to as the “400 Silent Years.” But God was still working!
Likewise,
the time between the sealing of Christ’s tomb and His resurrection on the first
Easter was a time of great significance. Grieving was intense, but God was
still working!
And
God is still in control and still at work today!
The
Disciples
~ They must have had extremely mixed emotions.
On one hand they were experiencing great grief and on the other hand
they must have thought about all that Christ had told them, the miracles they
had witnessed first-hand, and been bewildered wondering how the things He
assured them of and the events of the prior day fit together.
He
taught them of a revolutionary kind of love yet He died a violent death from
those who hated Him.
What’s
Next?
~ This silent excruciating Saturday will change to an exhilarating joyful
Sunday. But they were unaware and temporarily defeated.
Comment ~ In some
parts of the world this day between the crucifixion and the resurrection is
referred to as “Black Saturday.”
~ Robert
Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT
LIFE NOW blog.
* * * * *
~ Deep Despair ~
Consider
The Realities…
1]
It’s Friday.
2] Peter has been asleep.
3] Judas has betrayed Jesus Christ.
4] Mary is crying.
5} The disciples have lost hope.
6] Jesus Christ appears to have died just as all men do.
7] Satan is laughing.
8] Jesus is buried.
9] His tomb is sealed with a heavy stone.
9] Soldiers stand guard in front of the tomb.
10]
But they do not understand what will happen on
Sunday!
~ Robert
Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT
LIFE NOW blog.
* * * * *
~ Celebrate Thursday ~
Note ~ Some
churches annually celebrate the Thursday before Easter. It was a busy day of
service in the life of Christ.
1]
It was the day of “The Last Supper.”
2]
It was the day that Jesus washed the feet of His disciples. Sadly, He left
without His feet being washed!
3]
Jesus asked His disciples to regularly remember Him through the symbols of
bread and wine representing His body and His blood which were about to be
sacrificed for the sins of the world. Today, most local churches refer to this
as communion.
4]
Jesus knew and openly predicted His soon betrayal and eminent voluntary
death.
~ Robert
Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT
LIFE NOW blog.
* * * * *
~ 40 Days Before Easter ~
Important
Notes
1)
For many “Ash Wednesday” marks the beginning of the Easter season.
2)
Ash Wednesday occurs 40 days before Easter (not counting Sundays) which makes
Ash Wednesday in 2023 to be this past February 22nd.
3)
Some churches observe the season of Lent which begins on Ash Wednesday by
fasting (giving up) something. For some it may be certain foods. For others it
may be a variety of other things.
4)
Some churches use the symbolism of marking the foreheads of those participating
with ashes in the form of a cross. In the Old Testament ashes were sometimes
used as a symbol of humility.
5)
History. Many believe the tradition goes back to the eleventh century.
Some believe the practice to go back to Pope Gregory I in the late 500s. In
reality we find ashes being placed on foreheads in the Old Testament (for
example 2 Samuel 13:19).
~ Robert
Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT
LIFE NOW blog.
* * * * *
~ Four States of Mankind Regarding Sin ~
Innocent
Man (before The Fall) ~ “Then
the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep
it. And the Lord God commanded the man,
saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it
you shall surely die’” (Genesis 2:15-17).
God gave man clear instructions of what to do and what not to do.
Adam had
the ability to sin, but more importantly the ability not to sin!
Natural
Man (after The Fall) ~ “For
all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). The Apostle Paul explained it this way, “For
we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice;
but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I
do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin
that dwells in me. For I know that in me
(that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but
how to perform what is good I do not find.
For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to
do, that I practice. Now if I do what I
will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me” (Romans
7:14-20). Since the fall of man in
the Garden of Eden we are not able to not sin! Fortunately, the believer who is experiencing
normal (not average) spiritual growth is sinning less and less as they are in
the process of becoming transformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ.
Regenerated
Man ~ “Put
off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in
knowledge according to the image of Him who created him” (Colossians 3:9b-10). “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as
in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image
from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18). The Christian is a “new creation” in Christ –
not a “makeover.” As a believer with
the indwelling Holy Spirit we are able to not sin!
Glorified
Man ~ “Behold
what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called
children of God! Therefore the world
does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it
has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is
revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies
himself, just as He is pure” (1 John 3:1-3).
Our final stage will be when we are transformed and no longer able to
sin!
Comment
~ These four categorizations are
from Augustine of Hippo in “The Bondage of the Will.”
~
Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT
LIFE NOW blog.
~ Regarding “How Long” (3X) ~
Introduction
~ This series is about questions
involving Jesus. Some were asked by
individuals involved with Jesus Christ while He walked on earth. Others are questions that Jesus Christ asked
others. We will look at questions on over
160 topics (some may split into two or more posts). Even so, it is far from an exhaustive
list.
Remark
~ The last two weeks posts in
this series and this final post are by far the most important posts in the
entire series!
Scripture
~ “And when He came to the
disciples, He saw a great multitude around them, and scribes disputing with
them. Immediately, when they saw Him,
all the people were greatly amazed, and running to Him, greeted Him. And He asked the scribes, ‘What are you
discussing with them?’ …
“He answered
him and said, ‘O faithless generation, how long shall I be
with you? How long
shall I bear with you? Bring him to
Me.’
Then they
brought him to Him. And when he saw Him,
immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed,
foaming at the mouth.
“So He asked
his father, ‘How long has this been happening to him?’
“And he said,
‘From childhood. And often he has thrown
him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion
on us and help us.’
“Jesus said
to him, ‘If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.’
Immediately
the father of the child cried out and said with tears, ‘Lord, I believe; help
my unbelief!’ …
“So He said
to them, ‘This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting’ (Mark
9:14-29).
Comment
~ “How long” is repeated three
times in this passage.
The key
question and most important question for you to answer during your life on
earth is “How long will it be before you accept the
forgiveness of your sins offered to you by your Creator?” He is patiently waiting you. The Spirit of God may well be tugging at your
heart. What will you do with Christ? If you need assistance I suggest that you
check out https://three-two-one.org/
~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.
* * * * *
~ In Jesus We Have Righteousness: Luke’s Gospel ~
Introduction ~ In
this series we look at a few of the verses which state what we have when we are
“in Christ.” Consider our series theme
verse:
“God,
who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even
when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by
grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together
in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He
might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ
Jesus. For by grace you have been
saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of
works, lest anyone should boast. For we
are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God
prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:4-10).
Scripture
~ “To grant us that we being
delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear, in
holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life” (Luke
1:74-75).
Additional
Scripture ~ “And
behold, the word of the Lord came to him [Abram], saying, ‘This one shall not
be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.’ Then He brought him outside and said, ‘Look
now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.’ And He said to him, ‘So shall your descendants
be.’ And he believed in the Lord, and
He accounted it to him for righteousness” (Genesis 15:4-6),
~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.
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