Tag: mennonite

  • Define God

    Define God

    Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke… Hebrews 1:1 excerpt

    So you ‘go to church’ to hear a man say what God has said. Or you read a book by a man (supposedly of God) who will tell you what God has said. Or you will agree with nearly anyone who will mention God in conversation, even if they say Allah is god or Jehovah is god or Buddha is god or best of all, god is in everything.

    What do you believe about God? Can you define it? Can you define God?

    Genesis 1:

    In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth… And the Spirit of God… And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light… And God made… And it was so.

    26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.

    Who IS this God who was in the beginning, who created; this Spirit who said and made and it was? Who is this God who said, “Let us…” let the reader understand, ‘us, plural; “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness?” What Spirit can say, “Let us make man in our image?” How can the likeness of God live in the flesh of a man? How can the image of God exist in the image of a woman?

    One of many supposed preachers of the Gospel, a wolf clothed as a sheep who would claim that nearly all paths could lead to God, has written a book asking the reader to consider his understanding of the all-inclusive forgiving nature of god to include unrepentant sinners. (That is not how he states is, but that is what he preaches.) A promotional review of a supposedly traditional protestant denomination states of his book (and definition of God): “Good news for people who want nothing to do with religion; better news for those of us who are deeply committed to the faith, but see that religion is way off track.”

    Really? A book with only a passing, eventual reference of Jesus Christ, Son of God, proclaims an all-inclusive grace for unrepentant sinners apart from the purification brought forth by a permanent change and repentance to our sinful nature.

    Religion, which the world maligns, is much more than a feel-good routine. Religion is a dedication of purpose to a constant worship of God in our very life, created in His Image.  For the purpose of definition: Religion – The belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods.

    We had best be clear that the distinctive of Christianity is Christ.  How can a book, preacher or christian claimant speak of God without pointed reference to Christ Jesus?

    Perhaps the one who references ‘god’ does not have any more commitment to faith in all of God’s word than one who claims many gods or even the one god of the deceitful heart.

    Jesus said, “I and the Father are one.” – John 10:30  “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. – John 14:6

    If any preacher, author or friend would claim a religion other than what Christ Jesus teaches in the Gospel – yes, forsaking our sinful flesh for a new life in Christ is Good News – let us remind the one who would re-define God what Holy Scripture has instructed. Perhaps they will tell us, “Judge not, that you be not judged.” – Matthew 7:1 (a favorite of many of the unrepentant) Let us remind them of the rest and the context of Jesus’ teaching.

    Matthew 7:13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

    A Tree and Its Fruit
    15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

    ‘God’ or ‘god’ is many things to many people. The Bible contains more than four thousand references to ‘God.’ Perhaps it is time for some of us to review just a few of these and renew what it is we believe in our faith in God. Are we not called by scripture to ‘in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you… – 1 Peter 3:15

    Our Lord cautions us: “For many are called, but few are chosen.” – Matthew 22:14  We cannot define God with only slight mention of Christ Jesus, and that not as a true Lord of our life. We cannot define God without support of faith in the Gospel or without belief in the truth of all of scripture. We cannot have god serve our flesh, while we will not worship Christ our Lord, who was sacrificed for our sins.

    You may certainly ponder our Creator in the light of John’s introduction to the Gospel.  You know well John’s description of Jesus love for the world; that is, sinners like you and me [John 3:16].

    It is not enough to just smile and pitch love without repentance and change. Jesus also cautions: … but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.”

    How dare we claim Christ without mention of His Lordship over our will!  May Thy will be done.

    The writer of Hebrews finishes his description of God in the context we must consider and believe to have true faith in the One God who IS and was and will be.

     God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

    5 For to which of the angels did God ever say,

    “You are my Son,
    today I have begotten you”?

    Or again,

    “I will be to him a father,
    and he shall be to me a son”?

    6 And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says,

    “Let all God’s angels worship him.”

    No, our “religion” is certainly not about angels or spirits, worshiping earth or the heavens, conjecture in aliens or chance, teaching from prophets or authors. Our religion and faith is in the One hope of all mankind for the forgiveness of sins and the resurrection of our spirit into the very presence of God our Father, the love of Christ Jesus the Son, who became Holy sacrifice for our sins, and eternal life in fellowship with God the Holy Spirit; our God Who IS and was and will be forever. Amen.

     

  • Prepare Ye the Way

    Prepare Ye the Way

    The following is an UPDATE of an early Talk of Jesus post about Roger, his Christian Social Witness & specifically being born again in the Lord Jesus Christ on a Good Friday ~30 years ago.

    The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

    Isaiah 40:3 KJV
    prepare for Judgment! Revelation 8:2 KJV apokalypsis of the 7th seal pictured 2 (of seven trumpets) shofars - Prepare, Christians, for Jesus' return on the clouds!
    And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound…

    Prepare to witness JESUS

    You’ll recognize the Prophesy of Isaiah as an announcement fulfilled by John the Baptizer shouting a warning in his day: Prepare to meet Christ Jesus who IS God with us!


    Those of you familiar with my writings and witness over the years know well that I have generally acknowledged the preparatory seasons of Christmas and Easter with appropriate writings during Advent and Lent. A brief glance at the 2014 calendar will reveal that the traditional 40 days of preparation for Easter liturgically known as Lent remain several wintry weeks away.

    http://talkofJesus.com currently [A.D. 2014] posts daily 6 days/week & is searchable by topic or scripture


    So as not to discourage any who might regularly read my exhortations of scripture without understanding the context, I thought to prepare your hearts by pointing even through the darkness of these days to the Light of Life in the resurrection of Jesus Christ and our certain assurance of hope in His coming again to resurrect a new and fresh life out of the grave of these present days.

    about Roger

    Just a bit of background about my faith experience.

    I was raised in the Methodist Church, which had several set ‘methods‘ of worship.

    Later, for many years I was a member of the Episcopal Church which generally followed a very catholic liturgical calendar typical of the Anglican communion.

    I continue to have many dear brothers and sisters of the Roman Catholic faith.

    I became an active member of a Southern Baptist church and have remained a faithful worshiper in Presbyterian and other Protestant churches as moves to other towns necessitated.

    [At the time of the launch of Talk of Jesus .com in 2014] 

    I am now a member of the Mennonite Church, which like all other denominations of Christ reflects many facets of Christianity.

    As always, I am first and foremost a servant of Christ Jesus as Lord and obligated to the full command of God through all scripture of the Bible.

    Roger’s condensed Vitae

    I have a Bachelor of Music degree; have taught instrumental music of all types; directed bands, orchestras, small ensembles and choirs, as well as performed as in instrumentalist and sung in many church choirs; and I have mixed and recorded sound for contemporary worship.

    The Lord has given me teaching, preaching and writing gifts.

    I love the exegesis of scripture and can never get enough. Whatever I do for Christ is not so important as what He might do through me for you and for others. This is why I generally provide dynamic links in my writing to some of my favorite resources.

    Why Talk of JESUS?

    The Lord has given me a passion not so much for evangelism (to which every Christian is called) as for teaching my fellow dear believers the necessity to grow up in our faith.

    Prepare yourself for SOLID FOOD.

    In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

    Gospel (GOOD NEWS) of John 14:2-3 ESV – Jesus’ Good News to disciples that He is the way and the truth and the life.

    Warning Against Apostasy
    11 About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. 12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, 13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. 14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

    Hebrews 5

    For this reason I have sought to make it easy for you to read your Bible daily, even through posts from Scripture on talkofJesus.com


    -Do you read scripture every day?

    -Do you read your Bible every day?

    -Do you pray to God (at least once) every day?

    This is the milk of my posting scripture to this easy to SHARE, easy to COMMENT, and easy to read site of Christian Social Witness.

    Post content on TalkofJESUS.com as the Spirit leads may not always be as easy to digest as milk.

    Roger@TalkofJesus.com

    I invite you to COMMENT & offer YOUR thoughts about God and Christ, as well as your personal convictions, repentance, applications and witness of Jesus Christ to chew on long and hard with the seriousness of your own salvation.

    The Lord has pointed me toward this witness as a result of an upcoming book [*] of importance also about growing up in our faith. It is a contemporary retelling of a Christian serial story with 149 brief episodes.

    [*] note: not pubically available at this time + TalkofJesus.com has published several serial stories with brief post episodes.

    I have also written a much shorter serial story based on Genesis, which I would have published on this site by now, except for the lack of current interest by lack of any comments of yours expressing any interest in following a serial story here for five or six days a week over a month. If you are interested, just add a comment to this post.

    from a liturgical 2014 calendar
    in order to prepare our hearts for Lent & Easter

    Observe (if you like) that I had intended to begin and continue in Genesis in January 2014, however the Spirit led me to Psalm 119, which concluded just recently.

    Recent & upcoming posts are an intense call to repentance of professing christians.

    (You CALL yourself a christian or CLAIM you ‘go to church.’)

    “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

    Matthew 7:21 ESV A caution of Jesus to believers who later cautioned [v.23] And then will Ideclare to them, ‘I never knew you
    a traditional Repentance of Lent to prepare for Easter

    These preparations from scripture, often from the Prophets of the Old Testament, are more typical to the liturgical requirements of repentance to dust and ashes from the time of Ash Wednesday (this year: March 5, A.D. 2014) through the Crucifixion of Lord celebrated on Good Friday in the year of our Lord 2014 on April 18.

    about Roger receiving the Holy Spirit!

    On a personal note:

    I was born again in the Lord on a Good Friday during a contemporary ‘Stations of the Cross’ remembrance about twenty years ago [now ~30 years].

    The little Episcopal church where we were members had a powerful moving of the Spirit for a time that could make a Pentecostal service look conservative!

    (So much for tradition… for a brief unexpected time at that time.)


    Roger’s ‘teaching’ style

    I hesitate to say that the ‘easy grace’ message so attractive to bring in the crowds of marginal christians is all too prevalent and undeserving of the call of Christ Jesus to become like Him, obey Him, and be born again in Him.

    You should find the Easter to Pentecost liturgy and probably my writing after Easter will reflect more of the importance of the love and grace and forgiveness that we have through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

    If you need a nice encouragement of Jesus – the friendly, nice, lamb-holding, child-welcoming teacher; read the Gospel.

    He IS the same Jesus who will return on the clouds (perhaps soon) with fire and vengeance and judgment.

    NO, not everyone will be in heaven just because we mention Jesus or say we are christian or go to church once in a while or every week and don't let scripture convict and change us. 

    The upcoming months leading up to Easter, [A.D. 2014] for the most part are meant to convict each of us to:

    a stronger faith, a weaker self, a humbler obedience, a truer witness

    and a God-given, Christ-centered, Spirit-driven daily life

    to do the Lord’s will on earth, as it is in heaven.


    Please add your COMMENTS or questions to this or any post and share our Christian Social Witness liberally on your ‘other’ site where unbelievers watch what you do and say is important to you.

    I pray for you, that the Lord may somehow use our witness through this. Pray also for me.

    May our Lord, Christ Jesus, continue to grow you in your faith and knowledge of scripture in preparation for His return to reign as King of Glory and Lord of all over the earth and heavens and every soul of His creation.

    Roger Harned, Site Administrator, http://talkofJesus.com

Do you SHARE the Gospel by either email or text?