Category: Bible & Doctrine

Are We Underestimating the Power of Jesus?

On July 5, 2021

I read a scripture the other day that made me stop and think about the awesome power of Jesus. For some reason when I read it this time (and it’s a scripture we all know well) it hit me as never before. Here is the scripture:

Mat 26:53 Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?

I won’t get into the story of Jesus’ capture, persecution, and eventual crucifixion here, but let’s just say that Jesus gave us a great gift when He allowed these men to take Him into captivity. He most certainly didn’t have to – as He says here, He could have called twelve legions of angels to rescue Him.

The power of Jesus is beyond anything we can imagine, after all He is the creator of the universe (John 1:1-3)! Jesus could have destroyed every man that was afflicting Him on that fateful evening. He could have set them on fire, killed them with worms (as Herod met his fate), or (if you want a more modern take), He could have beaten them down more throughly than any Marvel Superhero.

To touch on this point in a bit more depth – I hope, I truly hope, that we don’t see Jesus as less powerful than Captain America or Superman. Our children should be taught that the “fake” power of the superheroes they see in the media are weak and feeble compared to Jesus. The power that these man-made “heroes” have in their fantasy worlds is nothing compared to the awesome power of Jesus (and He has that power in reality, right here in this world).

We should also understand that true power is being meek and lowly, true power is loving one another, and true power is being willing to sacrifice everything for one’s friends:

Joh 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

Yes, we should remember these Christlike definitions of power, but we should also remember that when Christ comes again it will not be the time for such self-sacrifice. When Christ comes again He will come to bring justice. If we are in an obedient relationship with Christ then His coming will be a wonderful day indeed. As the Bible says:

Joh 14:1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

Joh 14:2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

Joh 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

However, if we are not in an obedient and acceptable relationship with Christ…woe to us.

Mat 16:27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.

If we are on the right side of the awesome power of Jesus then there is nothing that can harm us. Let us all acknowledge the glorious power of Jesus and follow the inspired and perfect doctrine of the Bible – then, and only then, will we be assured of eternal life with Christ our King.

The Answer is (Probably) Right Under Your Nose…

By Jay

On June 15, 2021

In Bible & Doctrine

So many people in this world are lost, confused, depressed, and hopeless. Our culture today (and, honestly, throughout history) is focused on prestige, power, material gain, and money. This is really nothing new but the situation we are in now is “different” to say the least.

Never has technology made it so easy to gain information, and yet still people are uninformed. We watch the news, read blogs (yes, I’m aware this is a blog!) and ask others (often priests, rabbis, or ‘pastors’) what we should do to remedy our derelict lives, yet many fail to think of looking for themselves.

Pro 16:9 A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.

According to the American Bible Society 87% of households own a Bible – yet only around 1% of Americans belong to the Lord’s church. This is a sad situation indeed. Think of how many people have passed away with the secret to eternal life only a stone’s throw away!

We are a culture that has become overly reliant on so called “experts” and under reliant on the Word of God. When we are searching for answers in our daily lives let us first turn the Bible, the Word of God – not to worldly experts and information.

After all the most comprehensive book of knowledge on the planet (sorry Webster) is probably right there under our noses. Only when we begin to turn to our Bibles for the ultimate truth will we truly know we are on the right path.

Psa 119:105 NUN. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, And light unto my path.

Jesus, the Ultimate Blessing

By Jay

On May 31, 2021

In Bible & Doctrine

Last week I spoke of the blessings of normal life that are given to us by God, and while those blessings certainly are amazing, this week I’d like to shift course and discuss the ultimate blessing in our lives. After all, without this ultimate blessing all of our other blessings would be temporal and meaningless.

Often, when I think of Jesus I think of a kind and loving “Savior”. While Jesus most certainly is a kind and loving Savior we also must remember that He gave us the ultimate gift – the gift of salvation. He, the Creator of the Universe, came to earth and died an agonizing death on the cross. Above this, He bore the sins of mankind – and by His death we now have the hope of eternal life.

However, the point of this article is not to tell you something that you already knew, it is to remind us of something (I believe) we can often forget. I know that I have had times in my life where I partook of the Lord’s supper and barely regarded Jesus’ great gift to us. We cannot let this happen. Every first day of the week we should take our mind back to the cross and realize that Jesus gave us this precious gift of salvation, and that He suffered greatly so that we could have it.

Imagine a beautiful mansion on one thousand acres of gorgeous countryside. Now imagine that someone gave this to you along with two billion dollars. How would you feel about this gift? Would you consider it a great gift? A precious gift? Well, Jesus’ gift to us makes that gift laughable in importance and prestige.

Jesus offers us the gift of eternal life, which is a gift more valuable than mountains of gold and material wealth. As we go throughout our week (and on this coming first day of the week) let us take time to thank our Lord and Savior for His gift to us. Let us take time to enjoy and be grateful for the ultimate blessing in our lives.

The Blessings of Normal Life

By Jay

On May 24, 2021

In Bible & Doctrine

Too often (especially if things in our lives have been “normal” for a while) we tend to take the wonderful blessings we’ve been given for granted. We no longer seem to notice that we have food, we no longer seem to notice that we have clean water, we no longer seem to notice that we have shelter – and with the weather being what it has been lately – we no longer seem to notice that we have air conditioning! Instead of being thankful for all of these things we seem to isolate and complain about the things that we don’t have (trust me I’m talking to myself here).

It’s a shame that this is the case but I think it is a natural process for mankind to revert back to “taking things for granted”. Numbers 11 has a lot to tell us about this very topic. When the children of Israel were given manna every morning they couldn’t help but complain about how tired they were of the heavenly bread (Num 11:6). They also complained to the Lord about being freed from captivity – they said that they missed the fish and cucumbers they got to eat as prisoners in Egypt (Num 11:5).

As Christians today we need to be on constant guard against this issue in our own lives. It’s very easy to take things for granted and expect them to always be there, but God gives us every blessing. Without Him we would have nothing and we could do nothing:

Joh 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

If the pandemic has taught us anything it is the importance of normal life. Our everyday blessings and necessities are by far the most important ones in our lives. And while our physical blessings are certainly wonderful, our spiritual blessings are even more important. As the pandemic slowly fades (and with God’s help may it continue to do so) I pray that we all will be able to appreciate our daily blessings more than we ever have before, and I pray that in so doing we will give God the glory for every gift He bestows upon us.

1Co 1:31 That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

P.S. Next week we’ll be discussing the greatest gift we have been given – the gift given to us by our Savior Jesus Christ.

What is Most Important?

By Jay

On April 26, 2021

In Bible & Doctrine

Throughout my life I have had numerous people, activities, and interests that reigned “most important” in my life. I strove for earthly success in business and on social media. I worked out, built websites, made videos, wrote blog articles, and ran in the wrong crowds. I interviewed and was interviewed by people who others (in the world) considered “important”. And I was wrong.

All of that time I was chasing the wrong things. I was working for the temporal – not the eternal. After these 40 some odd years I can finally see clearly that Solomon was right:

Ecc 1:14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.

Why couldn’t I have just listened to him in the first place? I think it is because the world is very good at deceiving us. This world promises to make us happy and content, but it can never do so. All of the sins of this earth are but temporary and distracting pleasures, they can never truly fulfill.

Some people strive after this worldly “wind of sin” for their entire lives, never feeling content and always thinking that the next big thing will finally make them happy. However, this world is not set up by our Creator to provide ultimate fulfillment. This world is but a “testing ground”, a veil of soul-making, designed to allow us time to decide whether or not we are going to follow Christ into eternity.

Fortunately, as Christians we can move past the illusions of the world and escape its seductive grasp by following Jesus. The things of this world fade and perish (Isa 40:8). Christ himself knew that the realms of this world were weak, pitiful, and hollow compared to His eternal Kingdom:

Joh 18:36 Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.

So let us stand back from our lives today and ask ourselves a question: what is most important in my life? If the answer is anything except Jesus and His commandments we need to reevaluate our priorities. I do this frequently, and I ‘m often surprised that something from the world has crept back into my life. Thankfully, Jesus blood and precious sacrifice will cover these mistakes if we make the effort to get back on track.

The world is deceitful and self-centered. It prioritizes profit and temporary material gain, not eternal salvation. Let us all take a moment this week to make sure our lives are built upon the solid Rock (Jesus Christ) and not the ever shifting sands of this world:

Mat 7:24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

Mat 7:25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

Jesus, the Lamb Who is a Lion

By Jay

On April 20, 2021

In Bible & Doctrine

Often, when I think of Jesus I think of the Prince of Peace (Isa 9:6), the Lamb of God (John 1:29), the man who healed the sick and aided the poor and lowly. I imagine Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead (John 11:1-40) or healing a leper (Mat 8:2-3). I imagine Him walking with His disciples and giving them wisdom and insight into the world.

However, this is not the entire character of Jesus, and we would be remiss to leave out His dealings with the Pharisees and His overturning of the tables in the temple. Jesus was meek and lowly, but He was not weak. Jesus came to bring a sword:

Mat 10:34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.

This may seem contradictory – how can Jesus be both the Prince of Peace and come to bring a sword? Well, as it turns out this is what is commonly called a paradox, it is not a contradiction. A paradox is something that appears contradictory but upon further examination it is not.

Jesus was (and is) a paradox. He is infinitely merciful, but He is also infinitely just. Jesus always does exactly as He tells us He will do in the Bible – it is not in His nature to do otherwise. He tells us to obey His commandments (Mat 7:24-27), and as our creator He has the right to demand such (John 1:1).

This contrast between mercy/love and justice/wrath is what led brother Thomas B. Warren to proclaim that Christ is the Lamb-Lion. The ultimate paradox who gives us the final and conclusive meaning of the universe, the world, and our individual lives. Jesus gives us all things that are good, and in return we are expected to follow and obey His commandments.

If we are to accept Jesus’ loving mercies we must also be willing to accept our responsibilities to Him as soldiers of the cross. Let us all take up our cross and follow the ultimate paradox, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Mat 16:24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.