Showing posts with label Messiah Yeshua. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Messiah Yeshua. Show all posts

October 18, 2016

a new message for Yom Kippur 2016 meditation (5): we have shalom with God

Romans 5 Tree of Life Version (TLV)
Shalom with God through Messiah
Therefore, having been made righteous by trusting, we have shalom with God through our Lord Yeshua the Messiah. [a] 2 Through Him we also have gained access by faith into this grace in which we stand and boast in the hope of God’s glory. 3 And not only that, but we also boast in suffering—knowing that suffering produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Ruach ha-Kodesh who was given to us.
6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Messiah died for the ungodly. 7 For rarely will anyone die for a righteous man—though perhaps for a good man someone might even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Messiah died for us. 9 How much more then, having now been set right by His blood, shall we be saved from God’s wrath through Him. 10 For if, while we were yet enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved by His life. 11 And not only that, but we also boast in God through our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Yet Sin Reigns through Death
12 So then, just as sin came into the world through one man and death through sin, in the same way death spread to all men because all sinned. 13 For up until the Torah, sin was in the world; but sin does not count as sin when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in a manner similar to the violation of Adam, who is a pattern of the One to come.
15 But the gracious gift is not like the transgression. For if many died because of the transgression of one man, how much more did the grace of God overflow to many through the gift of one Man—Yeshua the Messiah. 16 Moreover, the gift is not like what happened through the one who sinned. For on the one hand, the judgment from one violation resulted in condemnation; but on the other hand, the gracious gift following many transgressions resulted in justification. [b] 17 For if by the one man’s transgression, death reigned through the one,[c] how much more shall those who receive the overflow of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the One, Messiah Yeshua.
18 So then, through the transgression of one, condemnation came to all men; likewise, through the righteousness of one came righteousness of life to all men. 19 For just as through the disobedience of one man, many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of one man, many will be set right forever.[d]
20 Now the Torah came in so that transgression might increase. But where sin increased, grace overflowed even more— 21 so that just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness, to eternal life through Messiah Yeshua our Lord.
Footnotes:
1.    Romans 5:2 cf. Isa. 54:17.
2.    Romans 5:17 Lit. judgment from one to condemnation . . . gift from many trespasses to acquittal.
3.    Romans 5:17 cf. Gen. 2:173:619.
4.    Romans 5:19 Lit. made righteous, cf. Rom. 1:17.
John 5 Tree of Life Version (TLV)
Healing on Shabbat
5 After this there was a Jewish feast, and Yeshua went up to Jerusalem. 2 Now in Jerusalem there is a pool by the sheep gate, called Bethzatha in Aramaic,[a] which has five porches. 3 In these a crowd of invalids was lying around—blind, lame, disabled. (4 )[b]
5 Now a certain man had been an invalid there for thirty-eight years. 6 Seeing him lying there and knowing he had been that way a long time, Yeshua said to him, “Do you want to get well?”
7 The invalid answered Him, “Sir, I have nobody to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up. While I’m trying to get in, somebody else steps down before me!”
8 Yeshua tells him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk!”
9 Immediately, the man was healed! He took up his mat and started walking around. Now that day was Shabbat, 10 so Judean leaders were saying to the man who was healed, “It’s Shabbat! It’s not permitted for you to carry your mat.”
11 But he answered them, “The man who made me well told me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’”
12 They asked him, “Who is the man who told you, ‘Pick up your mat and walk’?” 13 But the man who had been healed didn’t know who it was, for Yeshua had slipped away into the crowd in that place.
14 Afterwards, Yeshua finds him in the Temple. He said to him, “Look, you’ve been healed! Stop sinning, so nothing worse happens to you.” 15 The man left and told the Judean leaders that it was Yeshua who had made him well.
Sent by the Father
16 Because Yeshua was doing these things on Shabbat, the Judean leaders started persecuting Him. 17 But Yeshua said to them, “My Father is still working, and I also am working.” 18 So for this reason the Judean leaders kept trying even harder to kill Him—because He was not only breaking Shabbat,[c] but also calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.
19 Therefore Yeshua answered them, “Amen, amen I tell you, the Son cannot do anything by Himself. He can do only what He sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows Him everything He does. He will show Him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed. 21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whomever He wants. 22 The Father does not judge anyone, but has handed over all judgment to the Son 23 so that all should honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.
24 “Amen, amen I tell you, whoever hears My word and trusts the One who sent Me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed over from death into life. 25 Amen, amen I tell you, an hour is coming and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of Ben-Elohim. Those who hear will live! 26 For just as the Father has life in Himself, so also He has granted the Son to have life in Himself. 27 Also He has given the Son authority to judge, because He is the Son of Man.
28 “Do not be amazed at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear His voice 29 and come out![d] Those who have done good will come to a resurrection of life, and those who have done evil will come to a resurrection of judgment. 30 I can do nothing on My own. Just as I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, for I do not seek My own will, but the will of the One who sent Me.”
The Father Testifies about the Son
31 “If I testify about Myself, My witness is not valid. 32 There is another who testifies about Me, and I know that the testimony He gives is true. 33 You have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth. 34 I do not receive the testimony of man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. 35 He was the lamp that was burning and shining, and you wanted to rejoice for a while in his light.
36 “But the testimony I have is greater than that from John. The works the Father has given Me to finish—the very works I am doing—testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me. 37 And the Father who sent Me has testified concerning Me. You have never heard His voice nor seen His form. 38 Nor do you have His Word living in you, because you do not trust the One He sent. 39 You search the Scriptures because you suppose that in them you have eternal life. It is these that testify about Me. 40 Yet you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life!
41 “I do not accept glory from men. 42 But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves. 43 I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me. But if another comes in his own name, you will receive him. 44 How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that comes from God alone?
45 “Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father. The one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have put your hope. 46 For if you were believing Moses, you would believe Me—because he wrote about Me. 47 But since you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”[e]
Footnotes:
1.    John 5:2 Lit. in Hebrew. Bethesda (Heb.) means House of Mercy. Bethzatha (Aram.) means the place of poured out water.
2.    John 5:4 ASV adds: They waited for the water to be moved. Other mss. also add verse 4: because an angel of the Lord sometimes went to the pool and moved the water. Then, whoever went into the water first was healed from whatever disease he had.
3.    John 5:18 cf. Mk. 2:27Lk. 13:16.
5.    John 5:47 cf. Deut. 18:15-19.
Tree of Life Version (TLV)Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.


April 18, 2014

God proved His love on the Cross -A TRIUMPH FOR JESUS

THE CROSS OF CHRIST - A TRIUMPH FOR JESUS
quotes and excerpts
"THE SON OF GOD BECAME A MAN TO ENABLE MEN TO BECOME SONS OF GOD". - C.S. LEWIS
Colossians 2:15
New American Standard Bible
When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.
King James Bible
And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

" For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith." Apostle Paul in the Bible, Romans 1:16-17

The Cross of Christ was a triumph for the Son of Man. It was not only a sign that our Lord had triumphed, but that He had triumphed to save the human race. Because of what the Son of Man went through, every human being has been provided with a way of access into the very presence of God. (Oswald Chambers)

Christ is the Son of God. He died to atone for men's sin, and after three days rose again. This is the most important fact in the universe. I die believing in Christ. --Watchman Nee, (note found under his pillow, in prison, at his death).
 
For God to reveal His Son in us is not the result of research or searching; it is entirely a matter of mercy and revelation. It is an inward seeing, an inner knowing.--Watchman Nee
 
To abandon all, to strip one's self of all, in order to seek and follow Jesus Christ naked to Bethlehem where He was born, naked to the hall where He was scourged, and naked to Calvary where He died on the cross, is so great a mystery that neither the thing nor the knowledge of it, is given to any but through faith in the Son of God.-- John Wesley
Men have said that the cross of Christ was not a heroic thing, but I want to tell you that the cross of Jesus Christ has put more heroism in the souls of men than any other event in human history. –John G. Lake
 
Men have mystified and philosophized the Gospel of Jesus but it is as simple as it can be. The secret of Christianity is in being. It is in being a possessor of the nature of Jesus Christ. –John G. Lake
 
We are awakening to that marvelous truth, that Christ is not in the heavens only, nor the atmosphere only, but Christ is in you. –John G. Lake
 
Christ is at once the spotless descent of God into men and the sinless ascent of man into God, and the Holy Spirit is the Agent by whom this is accomplished. -- John G. Lake
 
Today Jesus Christ is being dispatched as the Figurehead of a Religion, a mere example. He is that, but he is infinitely more; He is salvation itself, He is the Gospel of God. --Oswald Chambers
 
Now, the first preachers of the Christ evangel preached Christ. They did not, in the first place, preach salvation or sanctification or forgiveness, or judgment or heaven. That does not mean that they did not preach those things: they did; but not in the first place. They preached Christ, and all those things were included in the preaching of Christ. --T. Austin Sparks
 
The Christian life is not by effort, and not by struggle; not merely by trying to put into practice certain maxims, or by trying to attain to a certain measure; but from beginning to end, and all together, it is a matter of knowing the Lord Jesus within. -- T. Austin-Sparks
 
Learn to know Christ and him crucified. Learn to sing to him, and say, "Lord Jesus, you are my righteousness, I am your sin. You have taken upon yourself what is mine and given me what is yours. You have become what you were not so that I might become what I was not." --Martin Luther
 
“God proved His love on the Cross. When Christ hung, and bled, and died, it was God saying to the world, ‘I love you.’”
― Billy Graham

“At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light,
And the burden of my heart rolled away,
It was there by faith I received my sight,
And now I am happy all the day!”
― Isaac Watts, in hymn “At the Cross”
 
 
 

February 20, 2014

a love song

My heart is overflowing with a good theme;
I recite my composition concerning the King;
My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.

You are fairer than the sons of men;
Grace is poured upon Your lips;
Therefore God has blessed You forever.
Gird Your sword upon Your thigh, O Mighty One,
With Your glory and Your majesty.
And in Your majesty ride prosperously because of truth, humility, and righteousness;
And Your right hand shall teach You awesome things.
Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the King’s enemies;
The peoples fall under You.
Your throne, O God, is forever and ever;
A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.
You love righteousness and hate wickedness;
Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You
With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.
All Your garments are scented with myrrh and aloes and cassia,
Out of the ivory palaces, by which they have made You glad.
Kings’ daughters are among Your honorable women;
At Your right hand stands the queen in gold from Ophir.
10 Listen, O daughter,
Consider and incline your ear;
Forget your own people also, and your father’s house;
11 So the King will greatly desire your beauty;
Because He is your Lord, worship Him.
12 And the daughter of Tyre will come with a gift;
The rich among the people will seek your favor.
13 The royal daughter is all glorious within the palace;
Her clothing is woven with gold.
14 She shall be brought to the King in robes of many colors;
The virgins, her companions who follow her, shall be brought to You.
15 With gladness and rejoicing they shall be brought;
They shall enter the King’s palace.
16 Instead of Your fathers shall be Your sons,
Whom You shall make princes in all the earth.
17 I will make Your name to be remembered in all generations;
Therefore the people shall praise You forever and ever.
 
(Psalm 45 New King James Version (NKJV) The Glories of the Messiah and His Bride
To the Chief Musician. Set to “The Lilies.” A Contemplation of the sons of Korah. A Song of Love.)
 

February 2, 2014

They will go after Adonai

Hosea 11

Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)
11 “When Isra’el was a child, I loved him;
and out of Egypt I called my son.
But the more [the prophets] called them,
the farther they went from them.
They sacrificed to the ba‘alim
and offered incense to idols.
“Yet it was I who taught Efrayim to walk;
I took them by their arms.
But they did not know that it was I
who was healing them,
who was guiding them on through human means
with reins made of love.
With them I was like someone removing
the yoke from their jaws,
and I bent down to feed them.
He will not return to the land of Egypt,
but Ashur will be his king,
because they refused to repent.
The sword will fall on his cities,
destroying the bars of his gates,
because they follow their own advice.
My people are hanging in suspense
about returning to me;
and though they call them upwards,
nobody makes a move.
Efrayim, how can I give you up,
or surrender you, Isra’el?
How could I treat you like Admah
or make you like Tzvoyim?
My heart recoils at the idea,
as compassion warms within me.
I will not give vent to the fierceness of my rage,
I will not return to destroy Efrayim;
for I am God, not a human being,
the Holy One among you;
so I will not come in fury.
10 They will go after Adonai,
who will roar like a lion;
for he will roar, and the children will come
trembling from the west.
11 They will tremble like a bird as they come from Egypt,
like a dove as they come from the land of Ashur;
and I will resettle them in their own houses,
says Adonai.

April 30, 2012

End Times Watchman Bible Study: “But you remain guilty because you claim you can see.”

Today’s message is “FREEDOM”. THE LORD SAYS, “WHEN THE SON OF GOD SETS YOU FREE, YOU ARE FREE INDEED!” BUT BEFORE YOU ARE SET FREE, YOU NEED TO ADMIT YOU ARE BLIND. IF YOU SAY YOU CAN SEE (GOD) THEN YOU ARE DECLARED “GUILTY!” BECAUSE YOU ARE LYING.

On the other hand, those who admit they cannot see God, they are telling the truth. God looks for a repentant, humble heart. A humble heart and a contrite spirit the Lord does not overlook. What did Jesus do to the blind man? He set him free, giving him his sight supernaturally. How wonderful it is to be able to see supernaturally, led by the Holy Spirit, walking in the power of God!

John 9 (The watchman’s comments are in brackets)

New Living Translation (NLT)

Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind

9 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?”

(Disciples are humans who have no knowledge of the spiritual reality of matters of God and therefore rely on their knowledge and practice in the natural physical realm and come to conclusions based on human traditional belief and teaching).

“It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him. We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work. But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.”

(Jesus corrected them. He told them about the “power of God”, in the spiritual realm and how he spiritual reality could affect the physical reality).

Then he spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and spread the mud over the blind man’s eyes. He told him, “Go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam” (Siloam means “sent”). So the man went and washed and came back seeing!

(The humble materials used in the physical realm showed that physical resources do not matter at all in this miraculous divine healing. The blind man believed and obeyed Jesus. So he received his sight. He could not see what Jesus had done in the spiritual realm but he believed. So he was healed.)

His neighbors and others who knew him as a blind beggar asked each other, “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?” Some said he was, and others said, “No, he just looks like him!” But the beggar kept saying, “Yes, I am the same one!” 10 They asked, “Who healed you? What happened?” 11 He told them, “The man they call Jesus made mud and spread it over my eyes and told me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash yourself.’ So I went and washed, and now I can see!” 12 “Where is he now?” they asked. “I don’t know,” he replied.

(A miracle arouses a lot of interests. No miracle can be hidden. People like to hear a good story. But they asked and listened without really wanting to know the truth behind the story. The same truth about God who came to this world, that set free the blind man can set them free too if they believe. But they were not seeking God. They were not interested in God.)

13 Then they took the man who had been blind to the Pharisees, 14 because it was on the Sabbath that Jesus had made the mud and healed him. 15 The Pharisees asked the man all about it. So he told them, “He put the mud over my eyes, and when I washed it away, I could see!” 16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man Jesus is not from God, for he is working on the Sabbath.” Others said, “But how could an ordinary sinner do such miraculous signs?” So there was a deep division of opinion among them. 17 Then the Pharisees again questioned the man who had been blind and demanded, “What’s your opinion about this man who healed you?”

(The Pharisees-religious leaders who were not led by the Holy Spirit responded with blatant unbelief towards the spiritual reality of God. Though seeing the physical evidence, they were not only not interested to know God, but they were ‘haters of God’. They reacted violently to the works of God, accomplished by the power of the Holy Spirit, demonstrating the might of God, in the person Jesus, the son of God, the Messiah.)

The man replied, “I think he must be a prophet.” 18 The Jewish leaders still refused to believe the man had been blind and could now see, so they called in his parents. 19 They asked them, “Is this your son? Was he born blind? If so, how can he now see?” 20 His parents replied, “We know this is our son and that he was born blind, 21 but we don’t know how he can see or who healed him. Ask him. He is old enough to speak for himself.” 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who had announced that anyone saying Jesus was the Messiah would be expelled from the synagogue. 23 That’s why they said, “He is old enough. Ask him.”
24 So for the second time they called in the man who had been blind and told him, “God should get the glory for this, because we know this man Jesus is a sinner.” 25 “I don’t know whether he is a sinner,” the man replied. “But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!” 26 “But what did he do?” they asked. “How did he heal you?” 27 “Look!” the man exclaimed. “I told you once. Didn’t you listen? Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?” 28 Then they cursed him and said, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses! 29 We know God spoke to Moses, but we don’t even know where this man comes from.”
30 “Why, that’s very strange!” the man replied. “He healed my eyes, and yet you don’t know where he comes from? 31 We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but he is ready to hear those who worship him and do his will. 32 Ever since the world began, no one has been able to open the eyes of someone born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he couldn’t have done it.”

(Even the ex-blinded man knew that God has healed him, and that Jesus was from God. He knew and believed the spiritual credential of Jesus who has the power of the Almighty and holy God! Indeed he found it strange that the religious leaders did not recognize this truth. His belief in and personal encounter with the true God gave him the courage to stand up and witnessed the truth regardless of what men could do to him physically. On the other hand his parents could not because they did not encounter God first hand, so they feared men more than they feared God.)
34 “You were born a total sinner!” they answered. “Are you trying to teach us?” And they threw him out of the synagogue.

Spiritual Blindness

35 When Jesus heard what had happened, he found the man and asked, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
36 The man answered, “Who is he, sir? I want to believe in him.”
37 You have seen him,” Jesus said, “and he is speaking to you!”
38 “Yes, Lord, I believe!” the man said. And he worshiped Jesus.

(The first reaction when a man encounters God is to worship God immediately. The man had no doubt and had no option but to worship God when he realized that he had met God. This is the same experience the watchman had when he first encountered the might of God in the Holy Spirit. He attended a Spirit-led and Spirit-Filled worship and the moment he heard the Spirit song being sung he knelt down and was in awe of the presence of God. He knew God in his mind previously. But that was the first time he met God Who is Spirit just as Jesus said in John 4:22-23)

39 Then Jesus told him, “I entered this world to render judgment—to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind.”
40 Some Pharisees who were standing nearby heard him and asked, “Are you saying we’re blind?”
41 “If you were blind, you wouldn’t be guilty,” Jesus replied.“But you remain guilty because you claim you can see.

(This is a very serious charge. The truth is only God knows who can see. Some see and some do not. How do we see God? Jesus said only the pure in heart can see God. The watchman sees in his spirit by faith. He does not rely on vision (though sometimes he saw visions) to prove that he sees. He just believes. He advises his class to see in their spirits, by faith, through believing in the word of God.
The time when he was alone with God, in the small hours of the day, when all else are quiet and slumbering, he could perceive the closeness with the Father in heaven. When he knelt down or sat on the floor at his little corner, he believed he could perceive the presence of God. He was never disappointed with the promise that Jesus made to everyone who follows Him, “Ask and you will receive, seek and you will find,  knock and the door will be opened to you.” Luke 11:9-10)

April 14, 2012

End Times Watchman Bible Study: Be in union with the Messiah Yeshua!


TODAY'S MESSAGE: CONSIDER YOURSELVES DEAD (TO SIN), ALIVE TO GOD - BE IN UNION WITH THE MESSIAH YESHUA!
 

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