Do you know Him? Will you be saved from the eternal separation of the Almighty God, our Creator? God awaits your belief in Him and wants you to repent (seek forgiveness of your sins), believe in His only begotten son Jesus Christ, and offer you salvation by receiving His free gift of eternal life through Christ.
The Jewish
people did not recognize their Messiah. A zealous Jewish man, Saul, who was
killing all the Christians, had an encounter with Jesus Christ. After Saul’s
conversion to Christianity, his “preaching
became more and more powerful, and the Jews in Damascus couldn’t refute his
proofs that Jesus was indeed the Messiah.” (Acts 9:22)
Saul, whose name was changed to Paul
was correct: Jesus, the Christ, was also indeed the Messiah.
In the
dictionary (Merriam-Webster’s), Messiah means “the expected king
and deliverer of the Jews.” However, the Messiah is not only the expected King
and deliverer of the Jews. The
Gentiles (all who are not Jews) are also grafted into the family of God after
the Jew (see Romans 1:16).
God’s way of
doing things is not always easily understood. The Bible tells us that “His ways are higher than our ways, and His
thoughts are Higher than our thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9).
The following
scripture displays Jesus as the Christ, the Lord, and the Savior: “The angel said unto them [Mary and
Joseph], Fear not: for, behold, I bring
you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the
city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:10-11)
Jesus Christ was
born a Jew. He came to offer salvation by sacrificing Himself through the
forgiveness and redemption of our sins to re-establish the broken relationship that
separated us from God.
When Jesus
was only 12 years old, He began teaching the leading Jewish teachers of the
day; they were astonished and began asking Him questions (see: Luke 2 and also
read Luke 20).
During Jesus’
ministry, He questioned His disciples about who He was: “Now Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi;
and on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, ‘Who do men say that I
am?’ So they answered, ‘John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, one
of the prophets.’ He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter
answered and said to Him, ‘You are the Christ.’ Then He strictly warned them
that they should tell no one about Him.” (Mark 8:27-30)
Peter was correct: Jesus is the Christ,
the Messiah.
The
scriptures explain that the Jewish leaders (the Sadducees and the Pharisees –
the two Jewish sects) were strict about the laws, but on the inside (their
hearts) were not right with God.
Jesus Christ would
suffer and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes. They never
realized that He was the Messiah, the One whose arrival they were waiting on. He
knew that His own people
– the Jews – would have Him killed. He also knew that He would rise again 3 days
later.
Please read
chapter 53 in the book of Isaiah after you read this blog entry. This part of
the Bible is in the Old Testament and describes Jesus Christ who was yet to be
born. This is also described in the New Testament, which is the New Covenant
that God made for His people (the Jews), and actually for everyone else, too. Many
Jews (unless they have come to accept Jesus as their Messiah) do not believe in
the New Testament. Now, more and more Jews are learning the truth, realizing that
Christ is their Messiah.
“So this is the situation: Most of the people
of Israel have not found the favor of God they are looking for so earnestly. A
few have – the ones God has chosen – but the hearts of the rest were hardened.”
(Romans 11:8)
“Did God’s people stumble and fall beyond
recovery? Of course not! They were disobedient, so God made salvation available
to the Gentiles. But he wanted His own people to become jealous and claim it
for themselves. Now if the Gentiles were enriched because the people of Israel
turned down God’s offer of salvation, think how much greater a blessing the
world will share when they finally accept it. I am saying all this especially
for you Gentiles. God has appointed me as the apostle to the Gentiles. I stress
this. For since their rejection meant that God offered salvation to the rest of
the world, their acceptance will be even more wonderful. It will be life for
those who were dead! And since Abraham and the other patriarchs were holy,
their descendants will also be holy – just as the entire batch of dough is holy
because the portion given as an offering is holy. For if the roots of the tree
are holy, the branches will be, too. But some of these branches from Abraham’s
tree – some of the people of Israel – have been broken off. And you Gentiles,
who were branches from a wild olive tree, have been grafted in. So now you also
receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the
rich nourishment from the root of God’s special olive tree. But you must not
brag about being grafted in to replace the branches that were broken off. You
are just a branch, not the root. ‘Well,’ you may say, ‘those branches were
broken off because they didn’t believe in Christ, and you are there because you
do believe. So don’t think highly of yourself, but fear what could happen. For
if God did not spare the original branches, he won’t spare you either. Notice
how God is both kind and severe. He is severe toward those who disobeyed, but kind
to you if you continue to trust in his kindness. But if you stop trusting, you
also will be cut off. And if the people of Israel turn from their unbelief,
they will be granted in again, for God has the power to graft them back into
the tree. You, by nature, were a branch cut from a wild olive tree. So if God
was willing to do something contrary to nature by grafting you into his
cultivated tree, He will be far more eager to graft the original branches back
into the tree where they belong. I want you to understand this mystery, dear
brother and sister, so that you will not feel proud about yourselves. Some of
the people of Israel have hard hearts, but this will last only until the full
number of Gentiles comes to Christ. And so all Israel will be saved. As the
Scriptures say, ‘The one who rescues will come from Jerusalem, and He will turn
Israel away from ungodliness. And this is my covenant with them, that I will
take away their sins.’ Many of the people of Israel are now enemies of the Good
News, and this benefits you Gentiles. Yet they are still the people He loves
because He chose their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” (Romans
11:11-28)
The Jews are God's chosen people. Sometimes in the Bible, Israel describes the
land and sometimes Israel refers to His people.
Jesus is and
always will be King of the Jews and King of Kings. He was described in scripture
as the One who was to come into the House of David, that is, the lineage of
King David.
For everyone
who is not a Jew, praise God: “Once, you
Gentiles were rebels against God, but when the people of Israel rebelled
against Him, God was merciful to you instead.” (Romans 11:30)
Originally,
in the Bible, in the book of Acts, the first Christians were referred to as
followers of "The Way." I would say they may also be referred to as
“followers of Christ.” They didn't actually refer to them as Christians at that
time, according to scripture. I believe that "the way" is simply
quite important. Why? Because Jesus said, “I
am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except
through me.” (John 14:6)
I have an old
Bible called “The Way.” I used to wonder why it had this title until I finally
read the Bible and began to get to know the Savior, Jesus Christ, and the
Father, God. I pray you will read the Bible and accept the free gift of
salvation. As people are giving gifts to one another this Christmas season, God
offers the best gift of all!
In order to
be saved: "If you confess with your
mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in
your heart that
that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right
with God, and it is by confessing you’re your mouth that you are saved.”
(Romans 10:9-10, my emphasis in bold)
God also
expects our obedience. The scriptures tell us that we show that we love God by
obeying Him. Are you? I have met many people who call themselves Christians,
but they don’t know God’s Word or know how to obey Him. I know many Christians
who know the Bible and apply it, too. Praise God!
Do you know
Him? Do you know Jesus, the Christ, the Jew, the Messiah, the Savior, the King
of Kings? Have you read God’s Word? If you have read it, will you read it again?
Someday, and I
believe this day will come very soon, there will be someone who comes into
Jerusalem claiming to be God, but he will not be God! He will be the anti-christ
who will fool the nations. You need to know the Christ so that you are not
fooled. Then, when Jesus Christ comes back again, you will be ready.
Merry Christmas to you and your
families and friends!
We are
celebrating the birth of our Savior and if we are saved, we are celebrating our
future eternal life. We have been given the best free gift of all time forever.
Have you received His gift yet? It’s the gift of eternal life with Him!
Thank you, my
Lord, and my God! We would be eternally separated and lost without you!
Until we
virtually meet again, may God call you to Himself.
God’s Word
for Today: One day, there will be 10 kings who “wage war” with the beast “against
the Lamb [Jesus Christ], but the Lamb
will conquer them because He is Lord of Lords and King of Kings.” (Revelation
17:14)
“God promised
this Good News long ago through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures. The Good
News is about His Son. In His earthly life, He was born into King David’s
family line, and He was shown to be the Son of God when He was raised from the
dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 1:2-4)
Be sure to read the New Year blog post for 2017 coming next month in January!
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All scripture is quoted from various translations of the Holy Bible (God’s Word) and is set it italics
