John 3:16 is awesome. I love to read the whole statement starting at verse 10 thru 21... A lot said there, but because the Bible is more than John 3:16, there is obviously more that we need to know. I am NO more than a reporter, so to speak. I am just giving my interpretation of what I see happening when I read the Scriptures. I am always open to reproof, but wouldn't it be nice to get scripture from others to help me see if I am wrong? I totally understand the resistance to the whole idea of predestination. However, what do we do with all of the Texts and references that support it? If you didn't actually read all of the scripture references that I gave, and only read my writing, then most would quickly have a negative reaction. I challenge you to tell me why the word "Predestined" is there and explain to me all of the text references, because I really want to know the truth.
Also explain all of the Scripture texts that are connected with the "Chosen".. For the record, we are not saved by anything other than what HE states in John 3:16. But as stated earlier there must be more to it or else there would be no reason for the rest of the Bible. That one text is important to someone who knows nothing about HIM and what it takes to be Saved. However, unless we have only 5 minutes to live when we first have contact with our Savior, there is much more for us to learn and do......
I wish that it was just one verse long and John 3:16 would be a good one.. However, no matter if I like it or not, there is all of this other stuff that makes up the bulk of the Scriptures and there has to be a reason for it all..
HE Calls Us... We Hear HIS Voice... We recognize HIS Voice... HE Chooses Us... We Choose to follow HIM... HE Loves Us... We Believe in HIM... We Love HIM.... HE Saves Us... We Rest in HIM...
John
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
Do We Choose Him or Does HE Choose us?
Do we struggle with the idea of Predestination because we have grown up not knowing or believing it? It seems clear, based on the Scriptures that HE Chooses us. HE knew us before the foundations of the Earth. Romans 8:28-30, 2 Timothy 1:9, 2:19, Romans 9:24, Ephesians 1:11... There is a text reference trail that can take a long time to read all of them.
Terms like: Called, Chose, Chosen, Predestined, Preordained are used in the Writings to describe those that are HIS. The terms "Choice" and "Free Will" are not used anywhere in the Bible (KJV, NKJV) to describe believers choosing or having free will.
Since HE knew us before we were born, knowing we are HIS, does HE call us and we hear HIS Voice and then we Believe? John 10:3-5, 14-16, 27-31.... If you Hear HIS Voice and you know him, go ahead and follow and enter HIS Rest. Read all of Hebrews 4...
HE Calls Us... We Hear HIS Voice... We recognize HIS Voice... HE Chooses Us... We Choose to follow HIM... HE Loves Us... We Believe in HIM... We Love HIM.... HE Saves Us... We Rest in HIM...
Shalom,
John
Terms like: Called, Chose, Chosen, Predestined, Preordained are used in the Writings to describe those that are HIS. The terms "Choice" and "Free Will" are not used anywhere in the Bible (KJV, NKJV) to describe believers choosing or having free will.
Since HE knew us before we were born, knowing we are HIS, does HE call us and we hear HIS Voice and then we Believe? John 10:3-5, 14-16, 27-31.... If you Hear HIS Voice and you know him, go ahead and follow and enter HIS Rest. Read all of Hebrews 4...
HE Calls Us... We Hear HIS Voice... We recognize HIS Voice... HE Chooses Us... We Choose to follow HIM... HE Loves Us... We Believe in HIM... We Love HIM.... HE Saves Us... We Rest in HIM...
Shalom,
John
Grace, The Law, and The Chosen
The following is in response to a posting from a couple of my friend's comments on the Messianic Study on Colossians 2:14.
I wrote:
The definition of "Grace" is "un-merrited favor". There is nothing that we can do to be saved. It is a gift and if we confess that Yeshua (Jesus) is the Messiah and repent of our sins, then HIS Blood covers our sins. I am pretty sure that you are right that you can't be unborn after we are born again. However, We can become a Prodigal, however the Prodigal came back, and the Father was over joyed by the return of His son. The Father's Love for His son never ended. I believe that HE Chose us first (John 15:16-19, Ephesians 1:4, 2 Thess 2:13, 1 Peter 2:4-9,James 2:5.) I believe that the chosen are those that have a heart that longs to be with their Father, they are not of this World. I believe that even if we decide to turn our back on HIM, He will not turn His back on us, because He will keep prompting us and our Heart will turn back to HIM.
As far as works, we are never saved by works, however Faith without Works is Dead (James 2:8-26) Notice the Royal Law, The Torah.. If the Torah was done away with at the foot of the Cross, then why is James talking about it, expounding on it, just like Yeshua did. Remember what Yeshua says in Matthew 5:17-48. ... He is quoting the Torah Law,(Royal Law) and expounding on it. Trying to help us have a fuller understanding of it. If the Law was of no avail to us after his Shed Blood, then why didn't HE take the many opportunities that HE had to tell us that? If Paul was teaching against the Law, then why did he continue to follow the Law by keeping the Feasts, prescribed in the Torah Law? (Acts 18:21). Why was Paul shearing his head according to the Law if it had been done away with? (Acts 18:18, 21:23). Paul does not contradict the Teachings of the Torah or Yeshua (Jesus).
Yeshua and Paul were under constant scrutiny and always accused of breaking or teaching against the Torah (Law). They never did. They expounded on it. Trying to make it clearer and also to teach against the doctines of men, known today as the Talmud (Mark 7:7-13, Colossians 2:20-22). Paul and Yeshua were upholding the Torah and showing the error of the Traditions and Commandments of Men. They both were constantly Defending the Law.
Now we must remember the Blood of Bulls and Goats can never take away sins, but point forward to the Blood Shed by Yeshua. Now it may appear to say that HE took away the old to make way for the new, but I really think that if this is what Paul is saying then he is contradicting himself and Yeshua's teachings. I am pretty sure that this is a hard to understand writing that Peter mentions in 2 Peter 3:15-16....
We do well to not be like Cain. (Jude 11, Read all of Jude). More could be said, but this will suffice for now.. Shalom, John
I wrote:
The definition of "Grace" is "un-merrited favor". There is nothing that we can do to be saved. It is a gift and if we confess that Yeshua (Jesus) is the Messiah and repent of our sins, then HIS Blood covers our sins. I am pretty sure that you are right that you can't be unborn after we are born again. However, We can become a Prodigal, however the Prodigal came back, and the Father was over joyed by the return of His son. The Father's Love for His son never ended. I believe that HE Chose us first (John 15:16-19, Ephesians 1:4, 2 Thess 2:13, 1 Peter 2:4-9,James 2:5.) I believe that the chosen are those that have a heart that longs to be with their Father, they are not of this World. I believe that even if we decide to turn our back on HIM, He will not turn His back on us, because He will keep prompting us and our Heart will turn back to HIM.
As far as works, we are never saved by works, however Faith without Works is Dead (James 2:8-26) Notice the Royal Law, The Torah.. If the Torah was done away with at the foot of the Cross, then why is James talking about it, expounding on it, just like Yeshua did. Remember what Yeshua says in Matthew 5:17-48. ... He is quoting the Torah Law,(Royal Law) and expounding on it. Trying to help us have a fuller understanding of it. If the Law was of no avail to us after his Shed Blood, then why didn't HE take the many opportunities that HE had to tell us that? If Paul was teaching against the Law, then why did he continue to follow the Law by keeping the Feasts, prescribed in the Torah Law? (Acts 18:21). Why was Paul shearing his head according to the Law if it had been done away with? (Acts 18:18, 21:23). Paul does not contradict the Teachings of the Torah or Yeshua (Jesus).
Yeshua and Paul were under constant scrutiny and always accused of breaking or teaching against the Torah (Law). They never did. They expounded on it. Trying to make it clearer and also to teach against the doctines of men, known today as the Talmud (Mark 7:7-13, Colossians 2:20-22). Paul and Yeshua were upholding the Torah and showing the error of the Traditions and Commandments of Men. They both were constantly Defending the Law.
Now we must remember the Blood of Bulls and Goats can never take away sins, but point forward to the Blood Shed by Yeshua. Now it may appear to say that HE took away the old to make way for the new, but I really think that if this is what Paul is saying then he is contradicting himself and Yeshua's teachings. I am pretty sure that this is a hard to understand writing that Peter mentions in 2 Peter 3:15-16....
We do well to not be like Cain. (Jude 11, Read all of Jude). More could be said, but this will suffice for now.. Shalom, John
Through Hebrew Glasses
The following is response to a comment made by a friend concerning my note on "A New Thought".
I agree with you on the fact that we have traded the guidance of the Holy Spirit for a book that they didn't have if you are referring to the New Testament. However, they did have the Torah, Prophets and the Writings. I believe that Colossians 2:14 is misunderstood from the Christian New Testament standpoint. If we are going to understand Pauls writings, we must put on "Hebrew" glasses to read his words. Remember what Peter said in 2 Peter 3:16 concerning the writings of Paul. Look up all of the references and also remember that when he says "Scriptures" he is referring to the Torah, Prophets and Writinigs because at the time of his writing, that is all that they had to refer to. I also believe that in Colossians 2:14 the only thing nailed to the Cross from the Torah (Law) was the Handwriting that was against us... That is the Penalty, Punishment parts of the Torah because Yeshua (Jesus) gave Himself in our place.I think that we should remember that Yeshua said that HE did not come to Destroy or Nullify the Law and Prophets. Matthew 5:17. HE said that HE came to Fulfill and not one small letter would pass until everything be fulfilled. My thinking is that everything is not fulfilled until HE returns again and redeems us to Himself and then Destroys Ha Satan and all who practice Lawlessness (Torahlessness). I know that this is Bold and will ruffle some feathers but it is my belief. Please look up the word "Lawless" in the Bible and notice what it says in each passage and then do a word study on the words "Lawless" and "Lawlessness" and you will understand my words. I am going to post a note with a really good study on Colossians 2:14. I hope that you will study into this. I Love you Brother and I exhort you to Pray and Study these matters and I will Pray for you also, as I know that you will be Praying for Me.. Shalom, John
I agree with you on the fact that we have traded the guidance of the Holy Spirit for a book that they didn't have if you are referring to the New Testament. However, they did have the Torah, Prophets and the Writings. I believe that Colossians 2:14 is misunderstood from the Christian New Testament standpoint. If we are going to understand Pauls writings, we must put on "Hebrew" glasses to read his words. Remember what Peter said in 2 Peter 3:16 concerning the writings of Paul. Look up all of the references and also remember that when he says "Scriptures" he is referring to the Torah, Prophets and Writinigs because at the time of his writing, that is all that they had to refer to. I also believe that in Colossians 2:14 the only thing nailed to the Cross from the Torah (Law) was the Handwriting that was against us... That is the Penalty, Punishment parts of the Torah because Yeshua (Jesus) gave Himself in our place.I think that we should remember that Yeshua said that HE did not come to Destroy or Nullify the Law and Prophets. Matthew 5:17. HE said that HE came to Fulfill and not one small letter would pass until everything be fulfilled. My thinking is that everything is not fulfilled until HE returns again and redeems us to Himself and then Destroys Ha Satan and all who practice Lawlessness (Torahlessness). I know that this is Bold and will ruffle some feathers but it is my belief. Please look up the word "Lawless" in the Bible and notice what it says in each passage and then do a word study on the words "Lawless" and "Lawlessness" and you will understand my words. I am going to post a note with a really good study on Colossians 2:14. I hope that you will study into this. I Love you Brother and I exhort you to Pray and Study these matters and I will Pray for you also, as I know that you will be Praying for Me.. Shalom, John
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Ahaa Moments are Great!
Matthew 22:37 (NKJV) 37 Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets”
Truly and Ahaa moment for me....
The Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments, but they certainly don't negate the whole. Just because something is old or has been fulfilled doesn't mean it is not of any value, or that it is not worth remembering. Do we celebrate birthdays? If so, why? Hasn't that been fulfilled.. Of course, but a yearly remembrance is a great thing and should remind us of our beginning... Our Foundation.
I think that we should remember that when Yeshua (Jesus) spoke "It is Written" or when Paul was traveling spreading the good news, the New Testament was not even written. They were referring to the Law (Torah) and the Prophets (Neviim). When HE spoke the words "If you Love me, Keep my Commandments" (John 14:15), HE was referring to the Torah and HE also stated that HE "Did not come to Destroy the Law and the Prophets, HE came to fulfill and not one Jot or title shall in no wise pass till ALL be fulfilled (Matthew 5:17-20). I am pretty sure that everything has not been fulfilled yet, so my thinking is that all that is written in the Law and Prophets is still of value to us and maybe I should look a lot closer into it.
Call me a Legalist, some might. However, I Love Him and my sins are forgiven because of HIS shed Blood in my Stead. For this, I owe HIM my Life. I am not Saved by the works of the Law, this is for sure, but indeed we have need of the Teachings of the Law to help us build our foundation. A Strong foundation built upon Rock, cannot be easily torn down. We do well to realize that HE is the Culmination and Fulfillment of the Law, even though all is not fulfilled, yet... HE is THE ROCK, the Foundation of the Church and HIS Foundation was built upon the Teachings of the Law and The Prophets.
A lot more could be said, but I have just recently had a HUGE burden taken off of me and scales have dropped out of my eyes and I have a RE-NEWED want to Love HIM and do HIS will. I hope that you will be encouraged and I hope that you check your foundation and framework to make sure that it is Solid.
John
Truly and Ahaa moment for me....
The Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments, but they certainly don't negate the whole. Just because something is old or has been fulfilled doesn't mean it is not of any value, or that it is not worth remembering. Do we celebrate birthdays? If so, why? Hasn't that been fulfilled.. Of course, but a yearly remembrance is a great thing and should remind us of our beginning... Our Foundation.
I think that we should remember that when Yeshua (Jesus) spoke "It is Written" or when Paul was traveling spreading the good news, the New Testament was not even written. They were referring to the Law (Torah) and the Prophets (Neviim). When HE spoke the words "If you Love me, Keep my Commandments" (John 14:15), HE was referring to the Torah and HE also stated that HE "Did not come to Destroy the Law and the Prophets, HE came to fulfill and not one Jot or title shall in no wise pass till ALL be fulfilled (Matthew 5:17-20). I am pretty sure that everything has not been fulfilled yet, so my thinking is that all that is written in the Law and Prophets is still of value to us and maybe I should look a lot closer into it.
Call me a Legalist, some might. However, I Love Him and my sins are forgiven because of HIS shed Blood in my Stead. For this, I owe HIM my Life. I am not Saved by the works of the Law, this is for sure, but indeed we have need of the Teachings of the Law to help us build our foundation. A Strong foundation built upon Rock, cannot be easily torn down. We do well to realize that HE is the Culmination and Fulfillment of the Law, even though all is not fulfilled, yet... HE is THE ROCK, the Foundation of the Church and HIS Foundation was built upon the Teachings of the Law and The Prophets.
A lot more could be said, but I have just recently had a HUGE burden taken off of me and scales have dropped out of my eyes and I have a RE-NEWED want to Love HIM and do HIS will. I hope that you will be encouraged and I hope that you check your foundation and framework to make sure that it is Solid.
John
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
A new thought...
I just had a thought that I wanted to share. What if... Through all of the Scriptures, when HE speaks of HIS NAME, HE is referring to something that is simple. That HE is in your Heart and in your Mind. That really HE is not concerned with phonetics? Is it possible that over the years that I missed this point because I am so literal and technical in my thinking. Have I missed the REAL point?
Matthew 22:37 (NKJV)
37 Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
John
Matthew 22:37 (NKJV)
37 Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
John
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Cross or Stake?
Did the Romans use a Cross or a
Stake for Crucifixions?
Recently I was studying the scriptures and just casually reading a book called EERDMANS’ Handbook to the Bible. It is a really interesting book with a lot of pictures and commentaries concerning each chapter of the Bible. As I got toward the end of the book I ran into a picture of a Roman execution and it took me by surprise. Instead of the man being crucified on a cross, he was hanging from a straight post. The inset states "
“The cross was offensive to the Jews, absurd to the Gentiles. A Roman execution is shown in this figure found at Halicanassus.” Picture facsimile from EERDMANS’ Handbook to the Bible. © 1973 Lion Publishing. Page 591."
Notice this quote from Easton's Bible Dictionary "Cross". "After the conversion, so-called, of Constantine the Great ( 313), the cross first came into use as an emblem of Christianity. He pretended at a critical moment that he saw a flaming cross in the heavens bearing the inscription, “In hoc signo vinces”, i.e., By this sign thou shalt conquer, and that on the following night Christ himself appeared and ordered him to take for his standard the sign of this cross. In this form a new standard, called the Labarum, was accordingly made, and borne by the Roman armies. It remained the standard of the Roman army till the downfall of the Western empire. It bore the embroidered monogram of Christ, i.e., the first two Greek letters of his name, X and P (chi and rho), with the Alpha and Omega."
This by NO means negates or plays down the seriousness and importance of what our Savior did for us. Torture is horrible no matter how it is employed. We just need to realize that maybe we have once again been lead astray from the truth by the Adversary.
The cross or stake was the "type" of the wood used for the Jewish Sacrifice of the Lamb. Yeshua (Jesus) carried the wood for the sacrifice on his shoulder, just like Issac did on Mt. Moriah. It is amazing all of the things that happened exactly as needed for the Saviour's blood to be put on the Mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant. This was the only way that his blood would actually be for the Atonement of our Sins.
There is no greater gift than someone laying down their life for another. Yeshua gave up his innocent, unblemished life so that you and I could live.... Forever ! This is why we should Love and Worship him.
John Dandridge
Monday, March 9, 2009
Our Scripture Study Mindset
Is there a difference between studying the Bible to prove something wrong versus studying to prove something right? Will the outcome and our willingness to accept and follow something new be dependant on our mindset at the beginning? I believe that it will, so I think that we should have a positive mindset when we are searching for answers and we should put as much effort possible into finding the answers and we should be open to whatever the answers are.
I believe that we should always remember that there is potential value in all things, and the possibility of a positive life changing experience, if we would just humble our hearts and realize that we probably don't know everything there is to know about the Bible. In our study and research, we should be ready to gratefully accept something that is Biblically sound and respectfully disregard something that is not. I think that this is a sign of someone that is truly connected to our Savior.
I am Praying for you and I hope that you find new light to help brighten your path on your journey to the Kingdom...
Shalom and Peace in Yeshua our Messiah,
John
I believe that we should always remember that there is potential value in all things, and the possibility of a positive life changing experience, if we would just humble our hearts and realize that we probably don't know everything there is to know about the Bible. In our study and research, we should be ready to gratefully accept something that is Biblically sound and respectfully disregard something that is not. I think that this is a sign of someone that is truly connected to our Savior.
I am Praying for you and I hope that you find new light to help brighten your path on your journey to the Kingdom...
Shalom and Peace in Yeshua our Messiah,
John
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