Jesus: More Than Human

This writing is to support the apologetic argument that Jesus wasn’t just a mere man, but he was also divine in nature.  Ecclesiastes 8:8 says “…no man hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death”.  This scripture informs us of the weakness and inability of mankind.  A man doesn’t have power or control over the spirit that makes him alive, nor does man have power to prevent death from coming to him.  But with Jesus this wasn’t the case.  In John 10:17-18, Jesus claims to have power over his life saying “…I lay down my life, to take it up again… no man can take my life, but I lay it down of myself…”  This explains why there were many occasions that the Pharisees and Jews tried to arrest and kill Jesus but they failed because it wasn’t HIS time or his hour had not come (Jn 7:30, 8:20; Lk 22:53).  What’s more intriguing is that every gospel account agrees with Jesus’s claim.  When Jesus was on the cross, every gospel writer records something that emphatically agrees with Jesus claim (Matt 27:50; Mk 15:37; Lk 23:46; Jn 19:30).  Matthew and John both state that Jesus “yielded” or “gave up his spirit”.  Luke and Mark both say he breathed his last.  In the Greek, all of these statements are aorist indicative active verbs, which simply mean that it was a past occurrence that the writers witnessed or heard and they are stating it as an actual fact.  But most important, the active voice of this verb means that Jesus actually stopped himself from breathing for our sakes.  He literally demonstrated control and power over his death in willingly breathing his last, and entrusting his spirit to his Father.  This means so much for the gospel message; Jesus was truly GOD in the flesh.  He was not just a man, but he being GOD the SON assumed a fleshly body prepared for him.  The average man would’ve died after being scourged as long as Jesus was.  But Jesus loving us so much, retained his spirit and held back his death, that he could endure all that pain & suffering and be lifted up on the Cross of Calvary and ultimately atone for mankind’s sins…  That’s what makes him worthy to be loved, believed, hoped in, and praised.  Thank GOD for the willingness in Jesus the Christ to GIVE his life for mankind.

Amen

Ron Evans

always thankful

Here is a link to a really good article: http://ipost.christianpost.com/news/how-to-glorify-god-at-work-10730/ 

your enemies are proof that God hasn't given up on them

"It takes a whole Bible to make a whole Christian."

Cubicle Warriors

loaves and fishes

“We think we have such a little bit to offer (loaves and fishes) and He takes that little bit and blesses it and uses it in ways that you could never imagine.” 

~Heard after our Bible Study today.

Pray - National Day of Prayer today, May 2, 2013

A daily devotional sent to me today really hits home what our speaker from the Voice of the Martyrs brought to us last Tuesday.


About Our Daily Bread     |      RBC Ministries    
Our Daily Bread -- A Plea For Prayer

May 2, 2013
Our Daily Bread is hosted by Les Lamborn

READ: 2 Thessalonians 3:1-5

Brethren, pray for us. —2 Thessalonians 3:1
A missionary recently visited the Bible study I was attending. She described what it had been like to pack up her household, part with friends, and relocate to a distant country. When she and her family arrived, they were greeted with a flourishing drug-trade and hazardous roadways. The language barrier brought on bouts of loneliness. They contracted four different stomach viruses. And her oldest daughter narrowly escaped death after falling through a railing on an unsafe stairwell. They needed prayer.
The apostle Paul experienced danger and hardship as a missionary. He was imprisoned, shipwrecked, and beaten. It’s no surprise that his letters contained pleas for prayer. He asked the believers in Thessalonica to pray for success in spreading the gospel—that God’s Word would “run swiftly and be glorified” (2 Thess. 3:1) and that God would deliver him from “unreasonable and wicked men” (v.2). Paul knew he would need to “open [his] mouth boldly” and declare the gospel (Eph. 6:19), which was yet another prayer request.
Do you know people who need supernatural help as they spread the good news of Christ? Remember Paul’s appeal, “Brethren, pray for us” (2 Thess. 3:1), and intercede for them before the throne of our powerful God. —Jennifer Benson Schuldt
Commit to pray and intercede—
The battle’s strong and great’s the need;
And this one truth can’t be ignored:
Our only help comes from the Lord. —Sper

Intercede for others in prayer; God’s throne is always accessible.