The Cup

What did Christ actually go through in Gethsemane? Listen to this amazing sermon clip by C.J. Mahaney to find out.

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Jesus Said,"I AM God, Worship Me."

Two articles below this one you will find an entry entitled "You Shall Worship the Lord Your God". Last week this article and its associated video were picked up by Todd Friel, host of Wretched Radio.

This video is Todd Friel's response to Khaled Yasin's $5000 Challange.

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Nothing They Do Will Be Impossible For Them

I am not sure if this is exactly what the Lord had in mind when He said of the inhabitants of Babel, "Look! The people are united, and they all speak the same language. After this, nothing they set out to do will be impossible for them!" but this video is simply amazing to me!

I am constantly amazed at what man is able to accomplish. The explosion of knowledge and the rapid increase of information and innovation is growing exponentially in this day. We are doing things today that could not have even been imagined a few hundred years ago and what was imagined only a few years ago is now yesterday's news. I can not help but believe that this is due in part to the construction of our "new" common language. The Internet has done more to facilitate communication and the exchange of ideas than any one thing in our world's history. The borders of our countries and the vastness of our seas have become virtually nonexistent. We are heaping up knowledge at unprecedented rates and who knows what is next. Today man is flying with 10 pounds of nylon; tomorrow, perhaps he will need nothing at all. Are we once again finding ourselves in a day when nothing we set out to do will be impossible for us?




Explicit Language Warning: Last 15 seconds of the video.
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You Shall Worship the Lord Your God

I found myself in another online debate this weekend. This time it was on YouTube. I normally do not pay much attention to the comments that go on below the videos that play on YouTube, many of them are sensless and many more are just profane. However, both the video I watched and the comments that followed could not be left unchallenged.

The claim that is made in this video is that Jesus Christ never claimed to be God. The man attempting to make the case is Khaled Yasin, a lecturer and teacher of Islam. The argument that this man brings is remarkably weak and intellectually dishonest. However, his weak reasoning and poor hermenuetics may be enough to trouble the unprepared heart and unrenewed mind. Rather than presenting his complete arguments here I will just have you listen to this teacher in his own words. The video will be posted at the end of this article.

There were a few points that I made in the course of this debate but I want to focus on one issue. That is, that Jesus allowed Himself to be worshipped. And the fact that Jesus would allow Himself to be worshipped can only mean one of three things. He was either a blashpemous liar, a lunatic, or He was who He claimed to be, God manifest in the flesh.

I used a bit of strategy when coming to this point and I believe that it will prove to be very useful. I wanted the Muslims to tell me that men should not be worshipped as God and that God alone is worthy to be praised. The line of questioning went as follows:

YeshElsm
What is a person to expect by worshipping Muhammed? What would Muhammed do for them or tell them if they got down on their knees and praised him as Allah? Would he accept them? Would he take them to Paradise?

0wnag3f3v3r
Muslims do not worship Muhammed (pbuh). We worship Allah only.

YeshElsm
I realize that. But if I wanted to worship Muhammed as Allah would he allow it and receive it?

0wnag3f3v3r
nope, he wouldnt allow it. because he himself is a human being messenger, only saying the "words" of god, not being godly himself.

The following is the unabridged response:

Mohammed would be wise not to allow himself to be worshipped; for as Jesus said in His rebuke to Satan, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve.” The Apostle Peter took this commandment very seriously. When he entered the house of a man called Cornelius, the man fell down at Peter’s feet and worshiped him. But Peter, being a wise disciple of Jesus, lifted him up and said "Stand up; I too am a man." The Apostle Paul and his disciple Barnabas reacted in like manner when the people of Lystra tried to bring bulls to sacrifice to them. They both tore their clothes and rushed out into the gathering crowd and shouted, "Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you!” These were very wise men who would not allow themselves to be worshipped. In the book of Acts we actually have a great example of what may happen to a person who does allow men to worship them. King Herod put his life on the line when he allowed his audience to worship him as a god. When Herod failed to direct this praise toward the one true God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.

Jesus was different than all of these men. He was worshipped many times, yet he never once rebuked a person for giving Him the thanks, honor and praise that should only be given to GOD.

Here are but a few examples:

Matthew 2:2 - The wise men who came from the East came looking for the Jewish Messiah, King of the Jews. Not only did they come bearing gifts but they came to worship him.
Matthew 14:33 – After Jesus demonstrated His power and authority to even control the weather his disciples worshiped him.
Matthew 28:9 – After the two women discovered that Jesus had risen from the dead they ran to spread the news of His resurrection. On their way back to tell the disciples, Jesus appeared to the women. They both fell at His feet and worshipped him.
John 9:38 – After Jesus reveals Himself to the blind man He had healed, the man worshipped Jesus. In each case Jesus did not forbid their worship nor did he defer their worship toward GOD.

But perhaps the most conclusive and inescapable passage in the scriptures that shows Jesus allowing Himself to be worshiped as God can be found in John 20:28. Thomas was absent the first time that the Messiah appeared to His disciples. When his friends told him about Jesus’ appearing, Thomas said that he would not believe unless he were able to see the scars with his own eyes and thrust his finger and hand into Jesus’ wounds. Eight days later Jesus appeared and said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe." Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!"

Jesus the Messiah was either a lying blasphemer who allowed himself to be worshipped or He was precisely who He claimed to be, the God of Heaven and Earth.

Before I close this article I want to share with you one more perspective concerning the worship of the God-man Jesus, the perspective of GOD ALMIGHTY. I will spare you my commentary and simply allow the inspired writer of the letter to the Hebrews to speak for God himself.

God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

For to which of the angels did He ever say: “You are My Son, today I have begotten You”? And again: “I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to Me a Son.”? But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says, “Let all the angels of God worship Him.” And of the angels He says: “Who makes His angels spirits and His ministers a flame of fire.” But to the Son He says: “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions.”

Not only do we see that the holy angels worship Jesus as God but we also find that GOD Almighty declares the Son worthy of woship as God.

Amen.



The thread of comments can be found here. Warning: Explicit Language
$5000 Reward If You Prove That Jesus Said I am God, Worship Me

Listen to Todd Friel discuss this article and video on Wretched Radio!
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Prepare to Suffer!

"Will you join the Son in diplaying the Supreme Satisfaction of the Glory of Grace in joining Him on the Calvary Road of Suffering?
There is no other way the World is going to see the Supreme Glory of Christ today except that we break free from the Disneyland of America and begin to live lifestyles of Missionary Sacrifice that look to the world that our Treasure is in Heaven and not on this Earth.
Are you living a lifestyle that says that? Does the world look at your lifestyle and know that your Treasure is in Heaven and not in your Home, Car, Paycheck, Retirement account?
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:19: If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. Why?

Do our lives represent one to be pitied if Christ, the Cross, the Gospel, Heaven, and Hell are not true?" - John Piper

For the complete sermon see How Our Suffering Glorifies God.

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Incursion into Gaza

Two days ago, January 4th, Israel began a ground offensive into Gaza to quell the rocket fire that has been raining down on her cities for the past 8 years. Interestingly this ground attack occurred on the third anniversary of Ariel Sharon's stroke and subsequent coma. You will remember that it was Sharon, then Prime Minister of Israel, who negotiated the disengagement of Gaza. It was on August 14th, 2005 (Tisha B'Av), that the Israeli Defense Forces entered the Gaza Strip and forcibly removed its citizens from their businesses, homes, and synagogues.

Many religious Jews felt that God would judge Ariel Sharon for this terrible misjudgement. And many secular Jews felt that they would just end up going back to reinvade Gaza again in the future.[1]

While considering the possibility and significance of this being a judgement of God upon Ariel Sharon and the coincidental timing of this recent ground attack, I was struck with a thought. If it was 3 years to the day from Sharon's coma to the invasion of Gaza, which certainly is curious, what might the span of time be between the disengagement of Gaza to its reoccupation?

Well, it turns out that the time elapsed is exactly 1,240 days, 42 months, or 3 1/2 years.[2]

In other words, 3 1/2 years after Ariel Sharon confirmed his peace covenant between the Land of Israel and the Gentile nations peace is ended and there is great trouble in Jacob.

Does this sound familiar? Is this yet another shadow of the impending tribulation to come?

[1] Mark Biltz
[2] (1240 days is 42 months or 3.5 years on the Jewish lunar calendar when not counting its leap months.) Click Here to Read More...

Joseph: The Shadow of Messiah

In the entries to follow this brief article I will be writing about the amazing story of Joseph, son of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I will be focusing my study on the specific typology that we see in the account of Joseph's life and how it applies prophetically to the Savior; both what has been fulfilled and what is yet to be fulfilled in the life of Messiah Jesus.

I want to lay a quick foundation before digging into this story and this may require a brief review or explanation of what a type is. Simply put a type, or typology, is an interpretive practice of taking a person, thing or an event and defining it as symbolically representative of something yet future. So we can look at people, things or events in the Old Testament and see that they are prophetically symbolic of people, things or events fulfilled in the New Testament, or even in our future. For an example of this please read my article on Noah.

I pray that this short series of articles will be as much a blessing to you as the study of this story has been for me. For many, the striking similarities between the lives of Joseph and Jesus will be new and exciting. For the rest of you who are familiar with these amazing parallels, well I hope to surprise you. Many would suggest that all has been fulfilled in the shadows of Joseph's life. I simply ask that you stick around and see what treasures may have been left on the ground and are ready to be gleaned. Click Here to Read More...

Read through the Bible in a year with new Bible Gateway reading plans!

The new Bible Gateway Bible reading plans start today! If you’ve ever wanted to read through the entire Bible but weren’t sure where to begin, now is the perfect time to start. You can head over right now to read today’s reading. That page updates each day with the new day’s reading, so bookmark it and come back each day!

Bible Gateway has also added new tools to help you read through the entire Bible in a year: Bible Gateway's new Bible reading plans. Starting on January 1, 2009, you can start reading through the Bible, one short daily reading at a time. You can read your daily reading online at the Bible Gateway, or receive the daily readings via RSS or iCal.
There are four different ways you can read through the Bible—choose the one that works best for you! These plans are graciously provided by BibleYear.com:

1. Old/New Testament: each day features a reading from both the Old and the New Testaments, so you read through both Testaments together.


2. Chronological: reads through the Bible in the order that its events occurred historically. For example, Job lived sometime after the beginning of creation (Genesis 1) but before Abraham was born (Genesis 12). As a result, the Book of Job is integrated into the Book of Genesis.


3. Beginning: starts at the very beginning of the Bible and reads straight through to the end.


4. Historical: reads through the books of the Bible in the order in which they were written historically, according to the estimated dates of their writing.

Spending about 15 minutes a day with each reading will take you through the entire Bible by the end of the year. So if you haven’t made a New Year’s resolution to read through the entire Bible in 2009, consider doing so—it’s never been easier! I hope that you find these new reading plans useful—and I hope you’ll use them to make your way through the Bible in 2009, whether you’ve read through it many times before or have never done so!

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