God is Love.....God is Righteousness

(written by Peter Voigt)

Love and righteousness are two of God’s attributes or if you want to say, part of God’s character. The two attributes of God seem to contradict each other, on one side He loves everybody and on the other side He is just and judges sin and disobedience.
Many people, even some Christians say, if God is love, how can He send people to hell and to everlasting condemnation.

At first let me explain the two attributes one by one. The bible says in 1 Cor. 13:4-7:
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrong. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes and always perseveres.”

The Bridegroom and His Bride

A picture of Jesus and His Church
(Extract from harvardhouse.com)
Understanding ancient Jewish wedding practices makes the meaning of Scripture clear. The wedding is a picture of the covenant Jesus made and reveals His plans to return for His bride, the church. The people of ancient Israel understood what Jesus was going to do because they understood the model of the wedding. The analogy between a wedding and Christ and the Church is described in Ephesians 5:31-32.

Let me show you the practices of an ancient Jewish betrothal and wedding and how Jesus has fulfilled the betrothal portion of the wedding and how He may fulfil the remainder when He comes again for His bride, the church.

What really happened at Christmas?

(Written by Jack Kelley)

In the past I’ve made the case that Jesus probably was born sometime in September. If that’s the case then what really happened in December? Is Christmas just the result of overlaying Christian beliefs on a formerly pagan holiday as some believe, or is there more to it?

Happy Hanukkah

To find the answer we begin with a look at the Jewish Feast of Hanukkah. Maybe you’ve heard the story of Hanukkah, but if not here’s a brief summary. In 165 BC, during the time of the Maccabean Revolt, the Jews recaptured their desecrated Temple from Syrian dictator Antiochus Epiphanes and undertook a rebuilding and cleansing process to make it fit for worship again. (Angry with the Jews and defiant toward God, Antiochus had captured the Temple, sacrificed a pig on the altar, and erected a statue of the Greek god Zeus in the Holy Place requiring everyone to worship it on pain of death. This outrageous act rendered the Temple unclean and became known as the Abomination of Desolation.)

The Lord's Death And Resurrection

(Written by Jack Kelley)
Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey (Zechariah 9:9).

He came into Jerusalem just like the prophecies said He would and the whole town lit up. Jerusalem was filling up with Passover pilgrims and they joined the locals in lining the steep street that led down from the top of the Mt. of Olives to the Garden of Gethsemane and then across the Kidron valley to the East gate of the Temple. They laid their outer garments and branches from nearby palm trees across the street and sang,

“Hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD (Psalm 118:25-26). Hosanna in the highest!”

This is the only day He ever let the crowds do that. Always before He had told them to be quiet or had disappeared from among them. But on this day things were different. They were singing the Psalm reserved for the arrival of the Messiah and when the Pharisees told Him to stop them, He refused, telling them that nothing could stop this from happening (Luke 19:39-40). On this day He was fulfilling a prophecy from Daniel 9 as well as the one from Zechariah 9.

“Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.” (Daniel 9:25)

A “seven” was a period of seven years. 7 sevens plus 62 sevens equals 69 sevens or 483 years. On the day He rode into the city it had been exactly 483 years since the Persian King Artaxerxes had authorized Nehemiah to go to Jerusalem and rebuild it (Nehemiah 2:1-9). As Jesus approached the city He told the people that Jerusalem would be destroyed because their leaders didn't recognize the time of God's visitation (Luke 19:41-44).

His arrival made the religious leaders very nervous. Ever since He had raised Lazarus from the dead they'd been looking for a way to kill Him (John 11:45-53) and now He was here in their midst. They had to do something fast because everybody was talking about Him. In desperation they agreed to let one of His followers betray Him for money.

Even my close friend, whom I trusted, he who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me. (Psalm 41:9)

Only a fool says "There is no God"

(Written by Peter Voigt)
“Only fools say in their hearts,
‘There is no God.’
They are corrupt, and their actions are evil;
no one does good!” (Psalm 14:1, New Living Translation)

What does the bible mean with the above message?In this text, the Hebrew word for fool is “nabal” which refers more to a moral fool, someone without morals. It does not mean that a fool is an unintelligent person but the meaning of the text is “immoral people do not believe in God”. It is the lack of morals that leads a person to reject the existence of God and therefore try to clear their conscience and relieve themselves of guilt. It is hiding behind a lie to feel better and not to be accountable for their actions to God.

Standing on a busy train track, closing your eyes and covering your ears, saying: “There is no train coming”, will not change anything. You will know it when you get hit by the train and then it is too late to reverse your foolish decision. The same will happen if you say: “There is no God”. One day you will meet God if you believe it or not.

“And just as it is destined that each person dies only once and after that comes judgment”. (Hebrews 9:27, New Living Translation)
If you will tell people that you don’t have an earthly father, they will laugh at you and maybe call you a fool. It is not me who calls you a fool if you don’t believe in God. It is God himself who says: “I know who I am, but if you don’t believe I exist, then you are a fool”.