"The One Who existed from the beginning is the One we have heard and seen. We saw Him with our own eyes and touched Him with our own hands. He is Jesus Christ, the Word of Life." (1 John 1:1, NLT-- from one of today's readings)
I was in a church service some time ago, and the Name of Jesus was not mentioned until 30 minutes had gone by. This included the opening "greeting" and the worship. Someone could have been visiting and not have known it was a worship gathering of Followers of Jesus.
Our text is a most powerful reminder to Christendom, to the Church of Jesus, and to each of us as those who claim to, "follow the Lamb wherever He goes," that without Jesus, without His Name dominating our witness, our lives, our worship gatherings, our sermons, our mission work, we are not proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom of God/Heaven which He sent us to proclaim. Jesus is the, "Good News;" Jesus is, "the Gospel." The Gospel is not a "plan." The Gospel is a Person.
There is talk of our Lord God in the Old Testament, but we can say that the "concepts" of Him were as, "a glass darkly." But when Jesus appeared, the Godhead was saying to humanity, "Behold, the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world," and, well, just, "Behold!" or, "Look!" When people, "Behold!" Jesus, they are "beholding" the Living Triune God. Islam speaks of "god," other religions speak of, as Paul said to the Corinthians, "gods many"; therefore, I share again with you the rest of that most powerful exaltation of the Blessed Trinity, "....We know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but One. For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many), but to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by Him."
Father, in Jesus' Name, For [me] there is only You. Amen.
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Next Antipas Ministries (FHMP) briefing, April 14, 2018. Details if interested.
I was in a church service some time ago, and the Name of Jesus was not mentioned until 30 minutes had gone by. This included the opening "greeting" and the worship. Someone could have been visiting and not have known it was a worship gathering of Followers of Jesus.
Our text is a most powerful reminder to Christendom, to the Church of Jesus, and to each of us as those who claim to, "follow the Lamb wherever He goes," that without Jesus, without His Name dominating our witness, our lives, our worship gatherings, our sermons, our mission work, we are not proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom of God/Heaven which He sent us to proclaim. Jesus is the, "Good News;" Jesus is, "the Gospel." The Gospel is not a "plan." The Gospel is a Person.
There is talk of our Lord God in the Old Testament, but we can say that the "concepts" of Him were as, "a glass darkly." But when Jesus appeared, the Godhead was saying to humanity, "Behold, the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world," and, well, just, "Behold!" or, "Look!" When people, "Behold!" Jesus, they are "beholding" the Living Triune God. Islam speaks of "god," other religions speak of, as Paul said to the Corinthians, "gods many"; therefore, I share again with you the rest of that most powerful exaltation of the Blessed Trinity, "....We know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but One. For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many), but to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by Him."
Father, in Jesus' Name, For [me] there is only You. Amen.
********************
Next Antipas Ministries (FHMP) briefing, April 14, 2018. Details if interested.
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
Hebrews 12:2
Hebrews 12:2
