Bruce_Leiter

Also, he enables us by the Holy Spirit to invite him into our lives through the new birth (John 3). We can't invite him until God gives us new life from the dead (Ephesians 2:1-9).

Fellow believer, Jesus also says in the context that he is the good Shepherd, thus referring to Psalm 23:1. These references are two of Jesus' "I AM" claims that he is God along with the Father and the Holy Spirit in the Gospel of John as the one God in three Persons. Of course, you can look at the last part of Matthew 25 for another of his references to the sheep, in that case, in contrast with the goats. Obviously, Jesus wants to feed us, his sheep, as he says in John 6, where he follows his feeding of the 5,000 with his claim that he is the Bread of Life. Such claims are his metaphors, or figurative comparisons, between physical and spiritual realities.

I have tried to find Paul's reference to Isaiah 28:9 in 1 Corinthians 14 with no success. Which verses in Paul are you referring to?

God has called all believers to be witnesses. What does a witness do in court? Witnesses share what they have experienced, nothing more. A few Christians have been given the spiritual gift of evangelism, but not most of us. All we need to do is share with others what God has done and is doing in our lives and pray for the person we just witnessed to (Acts 1:8). Forcing others to believe is wrong, because as God's created humans, they deserve our respect. Arguing gets us nowhere.

Dear brother, belief is not primarily a feeling; it is a decision of our wills that affects our feelings and thinking. I entered faith primarily through my intellect, when at the age of 16, God convinced me from the Bible that Jesus' resurrection was an actual historical event. That understanding led to my joy and decision to follow Jesus throughout my almost-82 years of life. But the Bible's definition of the word "love" (agape) is not an emotion; it is a decision to help others regardless of their reactions, either negative or positive, just the way Jesus loved us. You are on my prayer list now. Yours in Jesus, Bruce_Leiter.

Five times in the New Testament, God uses Jesus, Peter, and James to command us to humble ourselves before him. His resulting promise is that he will lift us up. James 4:10 is one of James' ten commands in verses 7-10. Those ten calls to us should keep us humble with everyone. Why do you feel the need to correct unbelievers? Of course, it all depends on the closeness of my relationship with a person; but I depend on God's work in their lives through my unconditional love, sharing God's work in my life, and prayers, if they are unbelievers. Once they are believers, I pray for their continued transformation and for God's fruit of the Spirit kindness, if he guides me to correct that person, while I admit to him that I'm a sinner too. Your brother in Jesus, Bruce_Leiter.

One thing I have learned in my almost-82 years of life and as a retired pastor, I do not judge who is ultimately a Christian. Only God knows for sure, because only he knows people's hearts.

Brother in Christ, Paul makes it really clear in Romans 3 and Ephesians 2 that it's only by faith that we are saved, whereas James says in chapter two of his book that faith without works is dead. They SEEM to contradict each other. But they don't really. Why? Paul and James agree with each other that only faith can save us. The difference is that they define the word "faith" differently. Paul, as a converted Pharisee, is fighting the Judaizers, who required that people follow the laws of the Old Testament like circumcision and all the Sabbath regulations and then become a Christian. He denies that any of such actions qualify us for entering heaven. For him, faith is a personal trust in the Triune God through Jesus' death and resurrection. With that faith, our lives change because of the resurrection that causes our new birth. Therefore, good works will result. James defines faith as head-knowledge that merely acknowledges Jesus death and resurrection without a genuine commitment, trust, and reliance on Jesus as our way to heaven. Read and study Ephesians 2:1-10 for Paul's (God's) clear teaching on the subject.

I am working today to fulfill the name of the holiday, fellow believers! The early church, because of the new covenant that Jesus instituted in the Lord's Supper, changed the day of rest and worship to Sunday. It is those two principles I see in the Scriptures about the Sabbath that continue into the new covenant. In my retirement from full-time ministry in churches, God has given me both Internet and book ministries, from which I rest on Sundays. May the God of the Bible bless you! Bruce_Leiter.

Your pastor's summary outline of the Bible is interesting. My first reaction is that part three takes in a huge chunk of the Bible. My second one is that the word "heaven" is used in the Bible is used at least two ways. One is as a name for the spiritual, not physical, place where the angels, God, and souls of believers who have died reside. The other use of the name is of the physical universe above and beyond the earth. I think that the clouds of heaven can mean either the physical or spiritual "clouds" or either the glory cloud of God or his created clouds in our sky. My third response is that Genesis one says the sky or firmament separates the waters above it from the waters below it. I think that God released the waters above it to flood the earth and promised never to do it again, the rainbow being the sign. Therefore, the new earth won't have seawater the way we do now (Revelation 21:1). Just a few interesting thoughts for you to chew on!

I think that with Jesus' favorite phrase, "Son of man," he is referring to Daniel 7:13,14, which says, “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed" (ESV--italics are mine). Notice that the nations worship that same "son of man." Obviously, he is divine along with the "Ancient of Days," who is the Father, all after Jesus' ascension into heaven. With that phrase, Jesus is claiming to be God, but a major theme in the gospels is the hidden Messiah, especially in the Gospel of Mark. He wants to be hidden from the people until it was time for the crucifixion.

I like the TV movie with George C. Scott as Scrooge. If you listen carefully to the singers, Tiny Tim, the ghost of Marley, Scrooge's own conversion, and the nephew, they all point to it as a story of Christian conversion, which is how I have always interpreted it.

Fellow believers in Jesus: I tend to believe one of the millennialisms, but prophecies are very hard to interpret before they are fulfilled. In seminary, our New Testament professor told us about five major interpretations of the Book of Revelation. As a result, I read it with those in mind and arrived at one of them. However, it was only a tentative arrival, so to speak. I think we should all put our egos aside and admit that God JUST MIGHT fulfill his prophecies the way he wants to, not the way WE want them to be. Therefore, I think that we should add another interpretation of all the predictions about Jesus' Second Coming. It is called (by me) PAN-millennialism; it will all PAN out the way God wants it to! Your brother in Jesus' love, Bruce_Leiter.

Do you mean that we need to do animal sacrifices, obey the food laws, and all the Sabbath laws? I'm curious. Your brother in Jesus, Bruce_Leiter.

Yes, it appears that he voluntarily limited himself when he was on earth mysteriously, but his body is now in heaven, while he is everywhere and all-knowing with the Father and the Holy Spirit as our one God now.

The beginning of the Gospel of John presents a mysterious truth: "In the beginning was the Word (Greek: Logos) and the Word was God and the Word was with God (John 1:1)." John goes on to say that God (the Father) made all things through the Word. Later in verse 14, he says that the Word became flesh and lived for a while among us. Based on this mysterious truth, Christians have rightly put their faith in the Father and Jesus as the first two Persons of the ONE God, who created the universe and humanity, and the third Person, the Holy Spirit (John 14, 15, and 16).

Friend, I suggest that you read the Gospel of Mark through in one sitting. Notice all the verses that demonstrate Jesus' divine abilities like reading people's minds, for example, and his many miracles. Also, take note of the evidence of his humanity. He could completely die for our ransom as fully human and fully rise from the dead as completely divine. Both full natures are mysteriously combined in one Person, the second Person of God with the Father and the Holy Spirit as the ONE God, also a divine Mystery. May that God bless you abundantly. Your friend, newbie Bruce_Leiter.

My Summary: 1. LAUNCHED, that is, created. 2. LOST, when we fell into sinful rebellion. 3. LOVED through Jesus Christ from the Father in the power of the Holy Spirit as our one God. 4. LANDED on the solid Rock, Jesus. 5. LOVING him and others, as we live for him in the Spirit's power. What do you think? How might it be improved or replaced? Why?