Defending the Divinity of Christ

How is Jesus Christ unique? or How will you state or prove the divinity of Christ?

Answer:

1. He is the only, unique Son of God (Psalm 2:7, 11-12; John 1:14; Luke 1:35).

2. He is eternal. He existed from eternity past, He exists in the present, and He will exist for all eternity in the future (John 1:1-3, 14;John 8:58).

3. Jesus alone is the One who bore our sins so that we could have forgiveness and be saved from them (Isaiah 53; Matthew 1:21; John 1:29; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 Corinthians 15:1-3).

4. Jesus is the only Way to the Father (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; 1 Timothy 2:5); there is no other way to salvation. He is the only righteous One who exchanged that perfect righteousness for our sin (2 Corinthians 5:21).

5. Jesus alone had power over His own death and the ability take back His life again (John 2:19; 10:17-18). Note: His resurrection was not a “spiritual” one, but was physical (Luke 24:39). His resurrection from the dead, never to die again, distinguished Him as the unique Son of God (Romans 1:4).

6. Jesus alone accepted worship as an equal with the Father (John 20:28-29; Philippians 2:6), and indeed God the Father states that the Son is to be honored as He is honored (John 5:23). All others, whether Jesus’ disciples or angelic beings, rightly reject that worship (Acts 10:25-26; Acts 14:14-15; Matthew 4:10; Revelation 19:10; 22:9).

7. Jesus has the power to give life to whom He will (John 5:21).

8. The Father has committed all judgment to Jesus (John 5:22).

9. Jesus was with the Father and directly involved in the creation, and it is by His hand that all things are held together (John 1:1-3;Ephesians 3:9; Hebrews 1:8-10; Colossians 1:17).

10. It is Jesus who will rule the world at the end of this present age (Hebrews 1:8; Isaiah 9:6-7; Daniel 2:35, 44; Revelation 19:11-16).

11. Jesus alone was born of a virgin, conceived by the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:20-23; Luke 1:30-35).

12. It is Jesus who demonstrated that He had the attributes of God [e.g., the power to forgive sins and heal the sick (Matthew 9:1-7); to calm the wind and waves (Mark 4:37-41; Psalm 89:8-9); to know us, being perfectly acquainted with us (Psalm 139; John 1:46-50; 2:23-25), to raise the dead (John 11; Luke 7:12-15; 8:41-55), etc.]

13. There are a great number of prophecies concerning the Messiah’s birth, life, resurrection, person, and purpose. All were fulfilled by Him and no other (Isaiah 7:14; Micah 5:2; Psalm 22; Zechariah 11:12-13; 13:7; Isaiah 9:6-7; Isaiah 53; Psalm 16:10).

Source: Gotquestions.net

God answers Your Prayers even Today

A young man had been to Wednesday Night Bible Study. The Pastor had shared about listening to God and obeying the Lord's voice

The young man couldn't help but wonder, 'Does God still speak to people?'

After service, he went out with some friends for coffee and pie and they discussed the message. Several different ones talked about how God had led them in different ways.

It was about ten o'clock when the young man started driving home. Sitting in his car, he just began to pray, 'God...If you still speak to people, speak to me. I will listen. I will do my best to obey.'

As he drove down the main street of his town, he had the strangest thought to stop and buy a gallon of milk. He shook his head and said out loud, 'God is that you?' He didn't get a reply and started on toward home.

But again, the thought, buy a gallon of milk.

The young man thought about Samuel and how he didn't recognize the voice of God, and how little Samuel ran to Eli. 'Okay, God, in case that is you, I will buy the milk.' It didn't seem like too hard a test of obedience. He could always use the milk. He stopped and purchased the gallon of milk and started off toward home.

As he passed Seventh Street , he again felt the urge, 'Turn Down that street.'

This is crazy he thought, and drove on past the intersection.

Again, he felt that he should turn down Seventh Street .

At the next intersection, he turned back and headed down Seventh.
Half jokingly, he said out loud, 'Okay, God, I will.'

He drove several blocks, when suddenly, he felt like he should stop He pulled over to the curb and looked around. He was in a semi- commercial area of town. It wasn't the best but it wasn't the worst of neighbourhoods either. The businesses were closed and most of the houses looked dark like the people were already in bed.

Again, he sensed something, 'Go and give the milk to the people in the house across the street.' The young man looked at the house. It was dark and it looked like the people were either gone or they were already asleep. He started to open the door and then sat back in the car seat.

'Lord, this is insane. Those people are asleep and if I wake them up, they are going to be mad and I will look stupid.'

Again, he felt like he should go and give the milk. Finally, he opened the door, 'Okay God, if this is you, I will go to the door and I will give them the milk. If you want me to look like a crazy person, okay. I want to be obedient. I guess that will count for something, but if they don't answer right away, I am out of here.'

He walked across the street and rang the bell.. He could hear some noise inside.

A man's voice yelled out, 'Who is it? What do you want?' Then the door opened before the young man could get away. The man was standing there in his jeans and T-shirt. He looked like he just got out of bed. He had a strange look on his face and he didn't seem too happy to have some stranger standing on his doorstep. 'What is it?'

The young man thrust out the gallon of milk, 'Here, I brought this to you.' The man took the milk and rushed down a hallway.

Then from down the hall came a woman carrying the milk toward the kitchen. The man was following her holding a baby. The baby was crying. The man had tears streaming down his face.

The man began speaking and half crying, 'We were just praying. We had some big bills this month and we ran out of money. We didn't have any milk for our baby. I was just praying and asking God to show me how to get some milk.'

His wife in the kitchen yelled out, 'I ask him to send an Angel with some. Are you an Angel?'

The young man reached into his wallet and pulled out all the money he had on him and put in the man's hand. He turned and walked back toward his car and the tears were streaming down his face.

He knew that God still answers prayers.

None Like Jesus

When Napoleon Bonaparte was exiled on St. Helena,  he was asked by one of his friends

 “Who was the greatest warrior the world has ever known?”

Without hesitation, Napoleon answered, “Jesus Christ.

“But,” said his friend, “you have not always talked that way when you were winning battles, even up to the very time of Waterloo, you left the impression that you were the world’s greatest warrior.” 

This is how Napoleon replied; 

“Yes, I have always acted as though I thought I was the world’s greatest conqueror.. I have had lots of time to think since I have been here on this island. The Caesars, Alexander the Great, Hannibal Charlemagne, and myself—we have fought with blood and tears and swords and iron, and we lost.

  All of us lost.

We lost our sceptres, our crowns and our offices. 

The only sword Christ had was a broken reed; His crown, some twisted thorns; His army, a band of fisherman and farmers;

His ammunition, a heart of redeeming love.

He lives, and I and my kind die. 

I stand here and call for the Old Guard to come, but they do not hear me.. There are no responding voices. My old soldiers do not hear me. I hear nothing but the waves as they bite at the rock beneath my feet. 

But after 1800 years have gone into the tomb of time -- Christ calls and men answer.

If need be, they give their bodies to be burned.

If need be, they follow Him into the heart of Africa;

But, better still, They live patient and triumphant lives in His Name. 

Yes, the other warriors and I will ride down to dust, But Christ will live forever.”

(Excerpt from And Be Ye saved, by C. Gordon Bayless)

Jesus - Our Bridge to God

READ John 14:1-6
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2014&version=NIV

In John 14:6, the Lord makes a powerful, unequivocal statement. Jesus clearly says, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." People have fought that statement for 2,000 years. Some say the Lord didn't mean for it to be taken literally. Others categorically reject His authority to make the claim at all.

However, as believers in the lordship of Jesus Christ, we must take what He says as truth. So let's think for a moment about the word picture in that verse. When Jesus calls Himself "the way," many people imagine a one-way street. They take this to mean that there are lots of roads, but He is the only one that leads to the Father.That's a good image, but I think we can do even better.I like to think of Jesus not as a road, but as a bridge—our bridge to God. 

Consider the apostle Paul's warning in Romans 3:23: "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (emphasis added). The picture here is of a great chasm between us and God, and we cannot make it across. Unable to bridge the gap, we fall. So, what is the only way across a chasm? A bridge, of course. And that's what Jesus is for us. He stands in the gap, providing safe passage across the void and into the loving arms of the Father.

Meditate on this mental image. When we imagine ourselves helpless and lost—with heaven across a great divide, just out of reach—we can truly appreciate the power of the cross.


- Charles Stanley

The Power of Christ

READ Ephesians 3:13-19

Ephesians 3:13-19 (New International Version)

¹³ I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.

A Prayer for the Ephesians

 ¹⁴ For this reason I kneel before the Father, ¹⁵ from whom every family^[a] in heaven and on earth derives its name. ¹⁶ I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸ may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, ¹⁹ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

The Apostle Paul frequently wrote about the need to rely upon Jesus Christ's strength. He passed on to his readers a promise that the Lord had given him: "My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9 nlt). Paul was a great Christian leader, but in God's eyes, he was no more deserving of grace than any other believer. You and I can have the same confidence in the Lord's power as this courageous first-century missionary.

When Paul received Jesus as his Savior, he was adopted as God' son. Therefore, he had all the privileges that go with being a reborn child: his sins were forgiven (Acts 2:38), he was set apart for the Lord's service (Galatians 1:15), and he received the Holy Spirit (John 4:17). Paul was an effective servant because the Spirit would release power into his life whenever God had a purpose for him to fulfill. Consider Paul's jail time. The Holy Spirit provided physical and mental stamina so he could withstand the rigors of imprisonment.

At the same time, He burdened the hearts of other believers to provide for Paul's material needs (Philippians 4:18). Most importantly, God's Spirit expanded the apostle's ministry by giving him the courage to speak of Jesus with his Roman guards (Philippians 1:13).

The apostle relied upon God for strength and consequently never gave up on his faith. We serve the same all-powerful Lord, which means we have no excuse for running away from His plan either. His Spirit dwells in us, ready to release power when we obey our Father's call.

- Charles Stanley

Holy Mary

This picture of Holy Mary was painted by my extremely talented friend Anuwin Theresa

St Teresa of Jesus

Let nothing disturb you.
Let nothing make you afraid.
All things are passing.
God alone never changes.
Patience gains all things.
If you have God you will want for nothing.
God alone suffices.

- Liturgy of the Hours, Teresa of Avila

Visit the following websites to know more about this saint.

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14515b.htm

http://www.ccel.org/t/teresa/

http://saints.sqpn.com/saint-teresa-of-avila/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teresa_of_%C3%81vila