Confirmed Artists for Rap Fest 2009

Updated….Confirmed Artists for Rap Fest 2009

Believin’ Stephen | Blaze Torch | C-Lite | Direct | Disciple (DI) | Dre Marshall | Dre Sr. | Firejaws | G.T.K. | Hazakim | Humble TIP | J. Johnson | J Sky Walker | K Drama | Katalyst | muzeONE | PK |  Prodigal Son | Refuge | Solomon Starr | This’l | Trevor Pope | Urban D | W.U.N.D.A. Fam | Young Joshua

DJ NuMan | DJ One Love | DJ Tony Tone (BKS)

Rap Fest Inc.

EBONY JET Magazine Ranks Viktory #2 Urban Gospel Album In the US

Ya Boy Vik goes from having a video on Allhiphop to being listed on the Ebony Jet weekly chart as the #2 Urban Gospel Album in the country, when considering radio play, sales, digital downloads, and ringtones. Israel Houghton got #1 and Mary Mary landed the #3 spot. “As an Independent, this just makes more excited about what God is doing” states Viktory. Russell Simmons graces the cover of this Jet Issue. Viktory’s chart is located on Page 42.

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Review For Peace 586’s New Album “Hear”

Production in music today is slept on. Production in hip hop is underrated. Production in christian hip hop is not really taken to seriously. We love to give all of our props and repect to the mouth peace, the emcee. We have even heard some artist say “I can care less about a beat. But production is the heartbeat of the track. Peace 586 is on a mission to make you respect the producer with his 4th solo  album heAr. This the first album he’s dropped  since the Generations album put out by the Tunnel Rats in 2003 on Uprok Records. But the  surprise is that this is manly an instrimetmental album, and well, ya boys got skillz.  But it’s not just instrmentals.  The album is laced with heat from  Jurny Big, Raphi aka Shames Worthy, Sojourn, Propaganda, Griffin, Triune, Dax and Zane One.
1. Furiously Slow
2. Ukan
3. Yhy?
4. Bells the Rock – featuring Jurny
5. heAr – featuring Raphi aka Shames Worthy
6. RikRube
7. Grace – featuring Sojourn
8. TreeTrunx – featuring Propaganda
9. Thnk 3xs – featuring Griffin
10. Noway! – featuring Jurny
11. Puter game – featuring Triune
12. LetsGo! – featuring Griffin
13. Watch (Healing) – featuring Dax aka Theory
14. Lala
15. Wonderland
16. Cool – featuring Zane One
17. Huh?Wut? – featuring Peace 586

Holy Culture Top 10: The 10 Most Downloaded albums on Holy Culture

Cover	Artist/Album	Rank	Purchase
	Hazakim Theophanies	1
	RIO aka Kuntry Boyy A Different World	2
	Viktory Son of the King	3
	J. Johnson The Struggle	4
	ReyKing Young God	5
	Hazakim Hip Hologetics	6
	Tedashii Identity Crisis	7
	Victizzle In My World	8
	SM Souljah Spiritual Havoc	9
	Jai Focus	10

Peace 586 album previews from “heAr”

We’ve got two audio previews from Peace’s album that drops tomorrow on Illect Recordings. Pre-order: – Order heAr download card at Sphere Preview: “Yhy?” and “Tree Trunx feat. Propaganda“ Shout out to Josh and Sphere of Hip Hop!

THE RESURRECTION OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMAN

The Black woman in American is dead and we allow Satan to keep her that way. African Americans will not rise until the Black woman is brought back to life. After the Civil War the chains came off but today we still are not free. No our wrist and ankles are not chained but our minds are. To the men reading this, we must learn to show our women, our sisters, our mothers the proper respect. God created man to be the stewards over all creation. To show disrespect to the gift that is woman is mismanagement of the creation; furthermore to disrespect the creation is to disrespect the creator, GOD himself. To the women reading this, how hypocritical it is for you to demand respect from men and you show disrespect to yourselves. You have been disrespected for so long you now feel that that attitude and behavior is normal. “How do I show disrespect to myself?” you ask?

1.By calling yourselves and your sisters bitches and hoes 2.By cursing 3.By straightening your hair 4. The clothing you wear.

5. By beaching your skin and plastic surgery.

The Purpose of Woman.

All of God’s creation has purpose; woman is no exception. We read, “And the Lord God said, it is not good that the man should be alone: I will make him an help meet for him” (Gen. 2: 18). “Help meet” is from a Hebrew word that suggests a counter-part or helper comparable to him. Every aspect of the woman is a compliment and counter-part to the man. Feminists who deny this are not only in opposition with the Bible but also basic and observable facts. Those who see this biblical truth as belittling to women have no true understanding of what GOD demands. The male and female compose a perfect unit. When God’s assigned order and arrangement is perverted, chaos results. The woman and man (husband and wife) are to encourage one another spiritually. Hence, we read “Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered” (I Pet. 3: 7).

The Godly Woman.

Regarding man and woman, the greatest achieved goals are spiritual in nature. Proverbs chapter 31 contains a description of a “virtuous woman” (vs. 10-31). Sadly there are many women that feel they are a woman of virtue, so much in fact that it almost a cliché. Those women should humble themselves. There is but one woman in the entire Bible that is called a virtuous woman but in this sinful world we have thousands if not millions? If we did the world would not be so sinful. This text presents the greatest challenge ever set before woman. The virtuous woman “fears the Lord,” cares for her family, and has the respect of her husband and children (vss. 30; 13-15, 21, 27; 11, 12, 28, 31). Her speech is commendable, she aids the needy, and properly adorns herself (vs. 26; 20; 22-25). She is not limited to the needs and sphere of her family. We know this because the virtuous woman is presented as industrious and engaging in financial ventures of her own (vs. 16, 24, 27). In all these “extra” efforts, however, she does not neglect her primary duty, her family. The virtuous woman is said to be immensely valuable, “her price is far above rubies” (vs. 10).

The expression “virtuous woman” is from the Hebrew ishshah chayil and literally means “one of power either in mind or body, or both.” As one source comments, “She is the perfect housewife, the chaste helpmate of her husband, upright, God-fearing, economical, wise” (The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 9, pg. 597). The virtuous woman of Proverbs 31 especially stands out today in contrast to the “modern woman,” the product of the Feminist’s Movement.

We shall engage in a study of God’s ideal woman under four approaches: Her value; her domesticity; her characteristics; and her rewards.

The value of the virtuous woman. First, her value is seen in her virtuosity. “Who can find a virtuous woman?” asked the writer, “for her price is far above rubies” and “Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised” (vs. 10; 30). Value can be determined by contribution. In the case of the virtuous woman, she greatly contributes to her husband, children, the poor, society, and to herself (vs. 11, 12, cp. 12: 4; 15; 20; 24; 17, 22). Be impressed, dear reader, with the fact that the woman is praised for qualities that she herself has developed! The value of women to any culture, society, and the church of Christ cannot be over emphasized. Women can contribute to overall goodness and moral integrity or they can tear down and destroy. Women are often more resistant to moral decay and, therefore, serve as a restraint. When women “become one of the boys,” so to speak, society is in for trouble (much of what is happening today). God’s ideal woman stands in sharp contrast with the too often modern woman with her tattoos, cursing, and selfish and shallow promiscuous lifestyle.

She attends to the needs of her family. A cursory examination of Proverbs 31: 10-31 reveals the emphasis and priority of God’s woman: her family. She is seen busy in activities that pertain to the good and well being of her husband and children. She does good to her husband and not evil and “she riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household” (vs. 12; 15). She is not concerned with the threats of nature, because she has made ready for her family against nature (vs. 21). The fact of her primary concern being her family is seen in the language: “She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness” (vs. 27).

The teaching of Proverbs 31 is in perfect harmony with the teaching of the New Testament relative to the role of woman. In Paul’s inspired epistle to Titus, Paul says regarding older women: “That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed” (Tit. 2: 4, 5).

The characteristics of the virtuous woman. When we consider the characteristics of God’s woman, we can see why she is “ishshal chayil,” a woman of force and power. Let us briefly mention how she is described and appreciate the fact that these are not surface traits, but they actually emanate from her character. She fears the Lord; hence she is characterized by pienty (vs. 30). Purity and loyalty abound (vs. 10, 11, 12). She is kind, benevolent, and selfless (vs. 26, 20, 15, 20, 27). As opposed to bitterness and complaining, cheerfulness is seen (vs. 21). She is wise and dignified (vs. 26; 22).

An outstanding characteristic of the virtuous woman is her industry. This zeal and resourcefulness is seen in the promotion of her household (vs. 13, 15, 19, 21, 27). She is a manufacturer, merchant, and landowner (vs. 24; 24; 16). She even cultivates the soil (vs. 16). Who said the godly wife and mother cannot be involved in enterprise outside her physical house? Look again at the virtuous woman (vs. 24; 16). She is presented as what we would call an entrepreneur. She is involved in such enterprise, yet, does not neglect her family!

The reward of being a virtuous woman. First, be impressed with the fact that God’s woman is a woman of real power. Which is more far reaching: to work primarily at a secular career and promote a company in providing some often whimsical product or contributing to the very foundation of society and mankind itself, the family? Herein is power! Too often great women go unnoticed and without praise. Not so with the godly woman of our text. We read, “Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also and he praiseth her” and “Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates” (vs. 28; 31). Appreciate the fact that the wife has personal recognition, “let her own works praise her in the gates.” What a statement, especially when viewed in the Jewish setting in which it is made!

Beloved, above and beyond all praise, recognition, and joy of this earth, heaven is the ultimate reward for God’s people (Matt. 5: 12). We need more women today who are seeking to emulate the virtuous woman of Proverbs 31 and not Hollywood’s version of the successful woman. God’s woman is of real substance and lasting quality and will offer important contributions to herself, family, and society as a whole. May their tribe increase.

The Behavior of Woman

Titus 2:3-5 teaches us how women, both younger and older, should act. And to be honest it is in direct contrast of we see in the home, work place, classroom and community today. First lets discuss our older women. Older women are to be reverent and pure. They are to be set apart for the world in thought and behavior. They should only move and speak in the spirit of holiness and be focuses on sacred things. Older women should be pious in their speech and appearance. Older women are not to be gossipers. Another word for that is slanderer. A person that goes around talking about others and stirring up mischief. This is so sinful that Satan himself is called a “slanderer”. An older woman should not be addicted to alcohol. Over indulgence in alcohol will cause you not to have a clear and focused mind. Older women are to teach and mentor younger women in part by living a Godly life and setting a Godly example. As far as younger women are concerned they are to love their husbands unselfishly, sacrificially and peaceably. Younger women are to love their children. This command addresses the issues of child abuse and child neglect. Many times child neglect is the result of one putting ones profession before her children. This capitalist country, and Christianity for that matter, teaches us that the more you have in the form of material things, the more blessed you are. It is in no way healthy to work so much that you can’t give your children the attention they deserve, seek and need. There is no way you can over emphasize the importance of a mother’s relationship to her child. The mother is the first and most influential teacher the child will ever have. Child cannot raise any higher than the maturity and morality thought to it by its mother. Younger women should be self-controlled. This means you should be in full control of your desires, thoughts and emotions. There should be no over indulging in partying, drinking and eating. You must also be in full control of your speech. Younger woman are to be pure in their thoughts and actions. Younger woman are to be busy in the home(homemakers). This is not to say that a woman cannot go outside the home. She should not be better known outside the home by the world than inside the home by her family. Younger women are to be kind and caring. She should treat all people with the same respect she feels she deserves. Many of us today are selfish and only treat people as they treat us. It is the duty of all women to look out for their brothers and sisters. God demands it!

Younger women are to be subject to their husbands. Gods plan is that there be a partnership between man and woman. They are to be completely dependent on one another. It must be understood that, contrary to current feminist movement efforts, Gods word is the same yesterday, today and forever. Man was, still is and always will be the head. However this has nothing to do with worth or value. The Bible teaches that a powerful woman is priceless. We are talking about order. In every organization there must be order; there must be a leader to be efficient. God has ordained man for this role.

Why must woman live as God says? So Gods Word does not get dishonored or slandered. The woman who claims to follow Christ yet does not show it takes power away from his word. It causes people to think “ All Christians are hypocrites. Gods word has no real power. This woman does not take his word seriously why should I.” But Gods word is alive and powerful. The problem is men and women don’t…

spend enough time studying GODs Word, learning how they are to carry themselves.

spend enough time in prayer asking God for guidance and strength to live in victory over the trials of the world.

don’t discipline their lives and their tongues.

Submit To One’s Own Husband (1 Peter 3:1-6)

Thanks in part to today’s feminist movement, submitting to your husband is strong. This Biblical teaching is thought to be old-fashioned and out dated. Really the problem is not in what God says but rather in our understanding of what God says. Any woman that rejects the Word of God, does so either because she does not fully understand the Word or is not willing to follow it. In no way is God giving man license to act as a Tyrant or dictator who treats woman like she is inferior. Submission is about order, cooperation, relationship and partnership. Though the husband is the leader, husband and wife are to walk hand and hand throughout life as equal partners. As I stated before every body or organization must have a leader. In the home, that leader is man, with woman in her submission to Gods will submitting to her husbands leadership, authority and control. On the football field the team is one unit, but there is a leader, the quarterback. Those who respect their coach must submit to the leadership of the quarterback.

A wife should submit herself to her husband by living a pure life. Pure meaning without defilement. When a woman marries a man she sets herself aside for that man only. She does not give herself any other man in act or thought. That’s right sexual thoughts of other men, including actors and singers, still causes you to be unpure (Mat. 5:8, Mat 5:28; 1Th 4:3, Titus 2:4-5).

A woman should never dress to attract attention. The word adornment means that in public she carries herself in a manner that does not attract attention. Indeed as a “woman of virtue” your goal is to dress moderately. You want to help people, not seduce them; serve people, not destroy them; and attract people to Yashua, you point them to yourself. People cannot see Elihim in you if all their attention is on your outward physical appearance. Further more you never want to cause man to stumble. (Rom. 6:13; 1 Peter 3:3-5) When a woman is in Christ, she is a new being. Her old self is now dead. This means she does not focus on perishable things and trends like fashion and hairstyles. Her focus is now on building and feeding her spirit. When a woman tries so hard to dress up her physical body it can be a sign that she is trying to hide an ugly spirit. It is in GODs plan for woman to be the first teacher of the child. Since she is the first teacher, she is the teacher that leaves the greatest impression. But before you can pass knowledge to your offspring you must first educate yourself. You must gain “knowledge of self” and you must walk with GOD and study his word. It takes a GODly woman to raise a GODly child. It takes a woman who knows the ways of the Lord to instruct her child in the ways of the Lord. When you walk with GOD and study his ways then you will naturally understand how to speak, teach and minister to others. Like any of GODs ambassadors, the Christian woman is automatically commissioned to be a messenger and teacher to the people. It is not an option. It is your duty.

The time has come for us, both men and woman, to stop falling for Satan’s lie of what a woman is supposes to look and act like. We are told that the negative images and stereotypes are what we should be living. Anything out side of that is not “keeping it real”. Satan’s goal is to keep you detracted,to keep your mind off of GODs promises and commandments. He does just that by keeping you amused and entertained. Using this method he keeps you in ignorance and in bondage.

The African American family cannot rise until the mother rises. The African American community shall not overcome until the woman overcomes.

SPIRITUAL PRINCIPLES of SUCCESSFUL WOMEN

1. In everything you do, always put GOD first. Many of us have a habit of putting other people first or putting ourselves before anyone or anything. This is what we are taught to do, but it is incorrect and it is damaging. Eloihim must always come first. Everything you do, whether at home or the work place you must do for him. He comes before your spouse, your boss, your children, your customers. If you put GOD first, all your other relationships will be stronger and healthier. You will not and can not have any GOD before him. Anything you give more attention and time to is your GOD. Your life, your business, your relationships will work better when you place everything in its proper order.

2. No matter what, always treat people as you wish to be treated. We love revenge. Its human nature. But remember human nature is full of sin. It’s so easy to just give what we receive but that is not the mind of Yashua and it is not the way of Yahweh. In everything we should only give what we expect. If you are a server in a restaurant, give the service you feel you deserve. Of you are the boss or leader, give your subordinates the respect you feel you should receive. Remember, Yashua knew Judas would betray him. He even called Judas the Devil. Yet he still washed Judas feet! How much better would this world be if we all lived by this principle?

3. Always Give GOD nothing less then your very best. Everything you do is a sacrifice to GOD. He is sick of your sorry substandard sacrifices. He deserves and will only accept your “A game”. It does not have to be the best but it must be your best. Music, books, movies and so forth would be better if we put our all into all that we do and make sure it is our best before we present it.

4. Always begin your day or end your day staying GOD’s word. Many of us have no knowledge of GODs will, or how we are to carry ourselves because we spend little or no time learning his word. If we were to study his word, believe his word and live his word we would live more fruitful productive lives.

5. Pray everyday,Throughout the day. I bet you only pray when you need or want something huh? And maybe before you eat. Communication is a key for any relationship to work. How can you and GOD know each other if you don’t spend time with one another and talk to each other?

6. Never forget, it’s not about you!

7. Trust GOD’s will for your life. Many of us have one of two problems. We either don’t believe GODs word or we are afraid its true and we don’t want to embrace our destiny. Embrace you mission and accept it. You will not rest well until you do. GOD is here to walk with you every step of the way.

8. Develop “water walking faith”. Remember, Peter did walk on water. It was not until he took his focus off GOD and started to look around at the storm he was him that he begin to sink. Though you are in the mist of a storm pay it no attention. Keep your focus on GOD. He will give you real power. Then you will not only feel, you will know you cannot and will not lose.

9. Stay focused on and believe in your purpose. GOD created us all for a specific reason. Each of us has a purpose and a role to play. What are yours and are you living it? If you have no idea what your purpose is you need to ask the creator to tell you.

10. identify and write down words or phrases that block you from your blessings. Write a list of words/phrases that do not empower you and another list of words that do empower you. You can live a more productive life just using powerful words. Rather than saying “ I hate my job”, say “I’m seeking better employment”; don’t say “I’m trying”, say “I’m doing”.

12. Refrain from gossip, back stabbing, and empty fruitless words. Always keep your speech pure and clean. Never should you use the mouth in obscene, shameful, foul, polluted, immoral conversation. Never engage in empty, foolish, purposeless talk. Never should you use off color jokes at parties or at breaks. Our conversation should build people up and offer praise to GOD.

13. Eat plenty of live organic fruits and vegetables that feed your mind. The foods you consume should give you energy and make you feel good. If you feel tired and sluggish after eating any meal, you are eating the wrong foods. As the old cliché goes “ You eat to live not live to eat”.

14. Tell the truth at all times. Deception serves no positive benefit to the deceiver or the deceived. Be known as a women who stands by her word, Let your yes be yes and your no be no.

The Holy Spirit and His Work in the “Born Again” Believer

[ ART | MUSIC | KNOWLEDGE| HEALTH ] When Jesus was physically on earth He had asked people to believe in Him and follow. Jesus said to His disciples that He was going to leave and go back to where He came from, Heaven (John 3:13; 6:38.) But He would not leave us without a Helper; he called Him the comforter, (another like himself). In Jn.14:16 Jesus says to the disciples, soon to be apostles of the church “And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever.” John 16:13-14 “ when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. “He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.” The Spirit hears’ things from Jesus; this is a personal communication (in the same manner as Christ did with the Father in John 3.32; 7.16, 8.38, 12.49), and the Spirit delivers it to man which is also personal communication. The main way is through the Scriptures the apostles were appointed to write. God is willing to help us, he’s not hiding. He wants to be involved in all aspects of our life. Before we are saved God is there working through the Holy Spirit He sent “convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me” (John 16:8-9). Once someone believes they are a sinner they can turn to Jesus for forgiveness. For the unbeliever the Holy Spirit has a ministry of leading them to the Son. He has been sent to convince unbelievers of sin, righteousness and judgment. Sin-To show they are sinful, having fallen short of God’s standard. Righteousness- To convict them of not having a righteousness of their own to be accepted by God, but in need of God’s righteousness that he freely gives through accepting the gospel. This righteousness is only found only in Christ. And judgment- in that there is more than meets the eye, that there is a time they will have to answer for how they lived their life. There is a hereafter, as eternity is in our hearts. We know that there is more than just a physical life To sum this up simply- the first work of the spirit is to show one that they sin and are in need of a righteousness that they do not possess. As His work progresses eventually one will hear about Jesus Christ who forgives sin, the gospel so they can be saved. He is to have a moral influence on our live and thus produce the fruits of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the executor of God’s nature. He is the source of the new birth and brings out the nature of Christ in the individual believer. He conforms us to the nature of Jesus, who is God as well as the ultimate human. He reveals the nature of God by transforming believers to be like him. His indwelling restores the image of God in man that became damaged by the fall, now we can reflect God’s moral qualities and characteristics as He intended. The Fruit of the spirit is only displayed when we walk in the spirit. All these qualities are reflective of Jesus Christ who was seen in the flesh. For the one who believes in the gospel (1Cor.15:1-4) the Spirit is immediately given as the seal of ones justification or right standing in the New Covenant. They are cleared of all guilt before God and start with a new slate. Eph 1:13 “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.” 1 Cor. 12:13-14 “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body– whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free– and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact the body is not one member but many.” We are put in the spiritual body of Christ and we partake of the Holy Spirit who now resides in us, literally. This is all completed by faith Eph. 3:17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love” Rom 8:9 “But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.” Galatians 3:26-27 “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” As we have just read to be baptized into Christ by the Spirit, however there is still water baptism. One should be water baptized as soon as possible. Water baptism is the seal of the New covenant. Just as Circumcision was for the Abrahamic Covenant and The Sabbath for the Mosaic covenant. Because we now have the helper with us, in us, life is going to radically change. 2 Cor 6:16 “For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” 1 Cor 3:16 “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 1 Cor 6:19 “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you” Rom 8:11 “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you” Every believer is sealed with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:30) and the Holy Spirit is the anointing given (1 John 2:27). Thus every believer is “anointed” with the Holy Spirit. All believers have the Holy Spirit otherwise they have not been born again. If a believer has the Spirit, he has all of the Spirit, because God is not divisible. However how we die to self and not be attracted to the world and the flesh, and cooperate in obedience to the Lord will dictate how much He can use our life. Jesus promises John 7:38-39 “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” Man was originally made in the image of God but it is passed down to us corrupted. The Lord restores the moral nature that man had lost in the garden from Satan’s temptation by having the Holy Spirit sent to live in ALL believers. He has the same nature as Jesus, but His purposes are not the same. He is to comfort us; guide us; lead us into truth by explaining the Word; convict us of sin, and conform us to the image of the Son as we go through trials and suffering. His work is mostly moral, restoring holiness, the image of God in man. We are to become like Jesus in His moral likeness, having His character and bear his fruit. We are predestined “to be conformed to the image of His Son” For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son” (Romans 8:29). This process can be at times painful and a learning experience depending how much we cooperate with him along the way. Trials are sent to build up our faith and teach us to trust in the God we now have a personal relationship with. We don’t have to strive for more of Him, what we need to do is to give Him more of us. If you try to have more requirements to make you holy or you need more of the spirit, “another baptism”, anointing, you are seeking it the wrong way. All that we need are already in the believer’s possession. It’s not that we need more of the Spirit, but that he needs more of us! “As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:3-4). Those things consist of two main things. 1) The Holy Spirit Rom 14:17 “for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Rom 5:5) 2) The Scripture 2 Tim 3:16-17 “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” Eph. 5:18-19 “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.” This a word that means to be continually filled, under the Spirits control. To be filled with the Spirit is a daily thing it involves our dying to self and allowing God to clean out and control those areas that were once dictated by our fallen nature and the devil. We have a song in our heart and it is a continual praise to God for what He has done and is currently doing. I’m not the same person I once was and I’m still being changed into His Son’s image. The Holy Spirit is the executor of God’s nature, we become subject to the law of the Spirit. He becomes our direct instructor not the Old Testament commandments in the Mosaic covenant. He is the source of the new birth and brings out the nature of Christ in the individual believer. He conforms us to Jesus on a daily basis. Jesus represented God the Father perfectly as God the Son in human flesh- He is God as well as man, the ultimate human being. God alone is Holy and so Jesus reveals the nature of God by transforming His children to be like Him in nature. To be walking in the spirit means you are spiritual, you are living a spiritual not carnal life. This means you are allowing God’s word to mold your life you are not listening to a voice that would sound like God to lead you and is contrary to the scripture. In Eph 2:8-10 Paul explains that “by grace you have been saved through faith, and tells us it is “not of works” but he goes on in the next verse “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” God’s first priority is to change us into the image of His Son that we can be used for his kingdom. This is an ongoing process called sanctification (Rom 15:16; 1Cor 6:11; 1Pet 1:2.) He will remove the boulders first before he removes the rocks and pebbles. We are to do good works that our Father may be glorified to the world and they may know whom we serve. The Holy Spirit helps us, prompts us to do good works. This of course is nothing new and was instructed under the covenant of the law Micah 6:8 “He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” We are to be aware that we represent the Son to others around us, we become living epistles to the world. The image of God in man that became damaged by the fall is restored and able to reflect God’s moral qualities and characteristics. From this they can know that Jesus is alive and His word is true. It is by yielding and surrendering to His guidance throughout the day that we do not walk in the flesh. The way God gets rid of sin in the life of a believer is by getting rid of the sinner, getting rid of us, our self must decrease for Him to increase. If someone tries to get rid of sin by concentrating on the sin it will never go. Everyone has something to improve on. The only way to have victory is not by concentrating on the sin, but by putting it to death. The sinner with his sin must die to it and live to Christ in resurrection power of the Spirit. If you walk in the Spirit that problem will fall away by itself because you are using the solution ,not concentrating on the problem. The focus is Christ not the sin itself. We may be aware of it but our eyes and faith must be on Christ. The Lord asks “Be ye holy as I am holy.” The only way possible is that he takes your sin and gives you his righteousness to your account and walk in the new nature. This is done by picking up your cross daily and dying to ourselves. Our part is Rom 8:13 “… by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, then you will live.” Since the old nature must be put aside for the new nature to rule.” 2 Cor. 4:10 (NIV) “We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.” As Christ was dead to sin we consider our old nature dead, so the life of Christ can be seen by all. As Jesus said we must pick up our cross daily and die to self. Jesus’ solution to overcome sin Luke 9:23 “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” By doing this we live a spiritual life. We suppress or have our old nature dies and the new nature rules in us daily. By practicing this we are continually changed and become victorious. Romans 6:11-13 (Weymouth) …You must regard yourselves as dead in relation to sin, but as alive in relation to God, because you are in Christ Jesus. Let not Sin therefore reign as king in your mortal bodies, causing you to be in subjection to their cravings; and no longer lend your faculties as unrighteous weapons for Sin to use. On the contrary surrender your very selves to God as living men who have risen from the dead, and surrender your various faculties to God, to be used as weapons to maintain the right. To increase our faith means hearing the word- it is our instruction in truth. The spirit will never lead us away from the word but in it. The Bible presents the way to become mature in the faith is by reading the Word, gaining understanding and living it, fleshing it out. This is where the struggle is, our allowing the Spirit to take what God has said and change us from the inside, so it affects us in our spirit (and mind) first and it changes our ways of living. It is worn on the outside for others to see what we believe on the inside.. We need to submit to His teaching and guidance from the word. Remember the Holy Spirit is sent to glorify Jesus. How will he do this? By having us understand what Jesus said. He will lead us into the truth. We are to be submissive to Him, just as Jesus gave the example in Phil. 2:5, although He himself was God He willingly was submissive to the Father. The same mind that was in Christ is to be in us, we are to have an attitude of humility, as he was under submission so are we. The first thing I recommend to any new believer is to get grounded in the basics of Christianity. To learn the core doctrines and get some of your questions out of the way, these are often offered at churches and called foundation classes. If you do not lay a good foundation what you build on it in the coming years will not be straight. I have seen to many people backslide or become stale because they did not build right. It makes a huge difference in their growth as well as immune them to deception that is increasing in these last days.

“LOL”

Joyce Meyers Message On Being Born Again: Quotes, Teachings, Doctrines, Beliefs Concerning Salvation

[ ART | MUSIC | KNOWLEDGE| HEALTH ]

What are the beliefs, teachings & doctrines of Joyce Meyers concerning being “Born Again”? What does Joyce Meyer believe on what a person must believe to be saved? What does Joyce Meyer teach concerning Jesus on the cross and spiritual death, and salvation? Below will be various quotes from Joyce Meyer teachings from one of her booklets called “The Most Important Decision You Will Ever Make”, and the purpose for this information is not to be contentious or divisive, but rather to give an exposition of what Joyce Meyer teaches concerning being born again. Within the Christian Church there are many people who listen to Joyce Meyer whether on the radio, television, or by reading her books. However, many do not realize that her teachings are not in accordance with the Word of God. It is true that there are things she teaches which do line up Biblically, but the same is said of the Jehovah’s Witnesses or the Mormons.

What does Joyce Meyer teach that is so bad? Is Joyce Meyer a false teacher? Is Joyce Meyer a Christian? Why should anyone be concerned? Joyce Meyers does not have all the same false teachings as those in the Faith Movement, but she does have some teachings that are the same with various Faith teachers. Examine this information for yourself and line up the Biblical gospel to the gospel that Joyce Meyer teaches. For more information on the Faith Movement teachings go to our Faith Movement section.

In a book called “The Most Important Decision You Will Ever Make” Joyce Meyer teaches what it means to be born again and what Christ had to do for people to be saved. Read the following comments:

“Although your physical body will die someday, your spirit will continue to live for an eternity. Whether your spirit lives in heaven or hell depends on the choices you have made. In this book, best selling author Joyce Meyer outlines God’s plan of salvation so that you can make a quality decision.” (Back of the book, 1996-Edition)

“The spiritual part of you can be thought of as the part of you that cannot be seen with the natural eye. This part of you will live forever. And where the spiritual you lives depends on the decision you make as you read this book.” (Page 8, 1996-Edition)

Warning, Danger Ahead!

Joyce Meyer teaches that Jesus did not pay for sin upon the cross, but actually went to the torments of hell and made atonement there. The following quote is from Joyce Meyer’s 1991 booklet on being born again which is worded differently in the 1996-updated edition.

“During that time He entered hell, where you and I deserved to go (legally) because of our sin…He paid the price there.…no plan was too extreme…Jesus paid on the cross and in hell….God rose up from His throne and said to demon powers tormenting the sinless Son of God, “Let Him go.” Then the resurrection power of Almighty God went through hell and filled Jesus…He was resurrected from the dead ¾ the first born-again man“ (The Most Important Decision You Will Ever Make: A Complete And Thorough Understanding Of What It Means To Be Born Again, 1991, pages 35-36, Joyce Meyer) This quote was found from the Christian Research Institute’s article on Joyce Meyer which can be found by .

In her 1996 edition of “The Most Important Decision You Will Ever Make“ Joyce Meyer states the same things but with different wording.

“Believe that Jesus did what the Bible says. Believe He is indeed the Son of God, born of a virgin. He took man’s sin on the cross. He did not stay dead. He was in the grave three days. During that time, He entered hell, where you and I deserved to go (legally) because of our sin.” (Page 41, 1996-Edition) Notice the similar wording in this quote compared to the other quote.

“Whatever it took to get God’s people back, free again, is what they would do. Jesus paid for our sins on the cross and went to hell in our place.” (Page 41, 1996-Edition) Whatever it took means that Jesus had to go to hell, suffer and be tormented by demons in our place.

“When Jesus hung on the cross, He took our sin upon Himself. God cannot stay in the presence of sin. As Jesus took our sin, He was separated from the presence of the Father…Jesus was taking your sins and those of everyone else upon Him as He felt this absence of His Father’s presence. He said, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” [Matt. 27:46, author's paraphrase] Jesus knew it would happen, but the horror of separation from the bright presence of the Father was worse than He could of imagined, and it caused Him to cry out…and His spirit went to hell because that is where we deserved to go.” (Page 42, 1996-Edition) This is a common teaching among the Faith Movement whereas they teach Jesus died spiritually and became literally the nature of sin. Thus, the Father turned away from Jesus while He was on the cross and Jesus died alone. for further information on Jesus being separated from the Father and becoming spiritually dead.

“There is no hope of anyone going to heaven unless they believe this truth. You cannot go to heaven unless you believe with all your heart that Jesus took your place. He became your substitute and took all the punishment you deserve. He bore all your sins. He paid the dept you owe…Jesus went to hell for you. He died for you. He paid for your sins.” (Page 43, 1996-Edition)

Concerning being born again and what is required to be saved we see Joyce Meyer teaching:

<!–[if !supportLists]–>1. <!–[endif]–>“Believe…what the Bible says.”

<!–[if !supportLists]–>2. <!–[endif]–>That when Jesus was on the cross He did not stay dead but went to hell.

<!–[if !supportLists]–>3. <!–[endif]–>That Jesus went to hell in our place because that is where we deserved to go.

<!–[if !supportLists]–>4. <!–[endif]–>That God would do whatever it took to free His people.

<!–[if !supportLists]–>5. <!–[endif]–>That there is no hope of anyone going to heaven unless they believe this truth, meaning what Jesus did to make atonement for sins.

<!–[if !supportLists]–>6. <!–[endif]–>That a person must believe in their heart that Jesus took their place on the cross, He died spiritually, (implied) was separated from the Father, tormented by demons in hell, (1991-Edition) Jesus is the first born again man. (1991-Edition)

What is the Gospel?

The Scriptures are clear on what the Gospel message is.

“1 Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:1-4 NASB) The apostle Paul taught that Jesus died and rose again for our sins according to the Scriptures. Paul taught the death that Jesus died was His physical death and His shed blood. Nowhere do we find anything from Paul or any other apostle/prophet for that matter state Jesus died spiritually for our sins according to the Scriptures.

What the apostles taught concerning what Jesus did to make atonement and reconciliation for our sins:

“19 For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, 20 and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven. 21 And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, 22 yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach” (Colossians 1:19-22, NASB)

“18 knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, 19 but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.” (1 Peter 1:18-19, NASB)

What Jesus taught:

“27 And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; 28 for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.” (Matthew 26:27, NASB)

“44 Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, 47 and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” (Luke 24:44-47, NASB)

“Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ‘It is finished!’ And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.” (John 19:30, NASB)

Jesus taught that His death and shed blood was sufficient for the atonement of our sins. When Jesus said “It is finished” He was teaching an absolute truth that the payment for sin was paid in full. The Greek of “It is finished” is “tetelestai” which was a common way of saying dept paid in full, it is done.

What Does Born Again Mean?

Simply put being born again means becoming a new creation in Christ. Jesus taught Nicodemus what born again meant in John 3:1-21 and the message was simple. A person either accepts or rejects that Jesus came to this world to save anyone of their sins. What does it mean to accept Jesus? Jesus came first to the Jews, then after His death and resurrection the message was for the apostles to go to all people. To accept Jesus means you acknowledge you are in need of being saved, (John 3:14-18) that you believe Jesus was the Messiah and God come in the flesh, (John 8:24) that Jesus had the same authority and equality as the Father, (John 5:18-23 & John 10:30) that Jesus was the only way to the Father and for salvation, (John 14:6) that Jesus taught the Father, the Holy Spirit and Himself were three distinct personages from one another. (John 14-16)

John the apostle teaches what born again means:

“4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world–our faith. 5 Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”…”10 The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son. 11 And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. 13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.”…”20 And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.” ( 1 John 5, NASB)

What Will You Do?

It is clear that Joyce Meyer teaches another gospel message concerning what born again means and what is required to believe in order to be saved. This information shows Biblically that Joyce Meyer is not teaching the Biblical Gospel message and those who listen to her should be concerned. We believe she is teaching false doctrines of the message of hope and eternal life, and anyone who is serious about wanting to know truth needs to be open to examining this further. This is not an attack on Joyce Meyer in any way, but rather as said before an exposition on what she teaches concerning being born again.

We are warned in the Scriptures to be careful of those who claim to be of God but are in fact wolves in sheep’s clothing. There are false prophets & apostles, and false Christ’s:

“Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” (Matthew 7:15, NASB)

“For false Christ’s and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect..” (Matthew 24:24, NASB)

“28 “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. 29 “I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 “Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears.” (Acts 20:28-31, NASB)

“13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.” (2 Corinthians 11:13-15, NASB)

We are instructed to examine all people and doctrines for truth, and reject false teachers and doctrines:

“10 The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.” (Acts 17:10-11, NASB)

“But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21, NASB)

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15, NASB)

“2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, 4 and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.” (2 Timothy 4:2-4, NASB)

“10 Reject a factious man after a first and second warning, 11 knowing that such a man is perverted and is sinning, being self-condemned.” (Titus 3:10-11, NASB)

What will you do with this information? If any of you are wondering if we have attempted to contact Joyce Meyer’s, the answer is yes. We have attempted contacting Joyce Meyer’s through emails and by phone, yet no reply. Our conclusion is she does not want to discuss this and we urge you to share this vital information with those who listen to Joyce Meyer’s. If you have any questions concerning what we have shared we would encourage you to contact us.

Health Reform – What The Bible Teaches About Health

The original sin of Adam affected mankind in three ways — spiritually, morally, and physically. Christ came as Savior of the world to save humanity from these threefold effects of sin. Therefore, when we by faith receive Christ as our Savior, we are to surrender to His transforming grace in all these three areas.

While we will not experience total salvation from the effects of sin until the second coming of Christ, in this study we will consider what the Bible has to say about our bodies and how we should take care of them while we wait for His return. This, too, is part of Christian living.

When Eloihim Placed Adam in the garden and made him the steward over all creation, he gave his “manager” specific instructions. From the beginning the “great deceiver” has tricked mankind in to thinking and teaching that GOD did not mean what he said, or his Word now means something else. When it comes to our health we love to “pimp the gospel”, using GOD’s Word as a justification to live an unhealthy lifestyle. We teach we can eat and drink whatever we like and as long as we pray over our food everything will be fine. We can put whatever we like into the Temple because God has blessed all things.

Think about this. The diseases of today – including heart disease, cancer, arthritis and diabetes, can be linked to leading a unhealthy lifestyle. These diseases are becoming more wide spread as the world becomes more industrialized these diseases were not common when people stuck to a biblical diet. Eating GODs way would provide for more vitamins, minerals, protein and healthy fats and substances that came from plants called phytochemicals. In GOD’s plan there are no refined or processed carbohydrates and only a small amount of healthy sweeteners. Our modern diet promotes “Food” rich refined carbohydrates and are poor in nutritional value

Many of us are familiar with the Hebrew word shalom, which means “peace.” This is more then just the absence of conflict, just as good health is not just the absence of disease. At it’s root shalom means completeness and wholeness physically, emotionally, spiritually and has a strong emphasis on ones relationship with GOD. This is true peace.

The reason why Christians must take care of their bodies is twofold. In the first place, when we believers experience the new birth and are indwelled by the Holy Spirit, we become the temple of God (see 1 Corinthians 3:16). Therefore, we must treat our bodies as the house of God. The buildings where we as Christians choose to worship are not the temples and it is not GODs house. You are the temple; you are the house of the Holy Spirit. We teach that you should not curse or eat in the sanctuary, which is nothing more than a dead building, but then we pollute our bodies buy smoking and eating unhealthy food.

Secondly, as Christians we are ambassadors of Christ, called to witness Him to the world. In order that we may fully represent Christ and be used by His Spirit to glorify our Saviour, we must take good care of our bodies. The Holy Spirit can use us only in direct proportion to how healthy our bodies are.

Based on these twofold reasons, the Bible gives counsel on healthful living. When Israel was a theocracy (totally under God’s ruling), God gave them all kinds of guidelines, not as a requirement for salvation but for their own good as His witnesses. Among these guidelines were many health principles or laws.

Since we are made of the same material as the Jews, these health principles and laws are just as valid today as they were in ancient times. In this study we will consider some of the basic health principles and laws laid down by God in His Word as the fruits of salvation in Christ.

A healthy lifestyle is holistic. You cannot look at just the physical side of healthy living and negate our responsibility to nurture the spiritual side, and vice versa.

God created us as physical and spiritual beings. He created us as physical when He made us from the dust of the earth and gave us bodies, breathing life into us. He created us as mortal, finite beings – but He also created us as spiritual beings, to live or die eternally. So that is what this article is about – the physical side of healthy living, looking after our bodies. However please realize that although this is what I am focusing on, I am in no way ignoring the spiritual.

Some time ago, I felt challenged to a healthy lifestyle. A scripture He gave me was Heb 3:4-10 “(For every house is built by someone; but the builder of all things is God.) Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant, to testify to the things that would be spoken later. Christ, however, was faithful over God’s house as a Son, and we are His house if we hold firm the confidence and the pride that belong to hope.

Principle 1: DO NOT STRIVE (v4)

God is the builder, not us. He is the one who makes everything happen. Striving doesn’t help anyone – or anything – least of all you. Life, the ministry etc, doesn’t depend on us. God is more concerned about us than He is about the work. He has many vessels through which He can work. It is folly to think that we are the only person who can do the task.

DO NOT STRIVE. IT DOES NOT DEPEND ON US. GOD IS THE BUILDER.

Principle 2: WE ARE THE HOUSE OF GOD (v6)

Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. We need to take care of them. If we don’t we will not be good for anything because we will run ourselves into the ground. We need to respect God by taking care of the body He has given us by: -

- Eating Healthy

- Exercising Regularly

- Getting Enough Rest

Principle 3: A HARDENED HEART IS THE SAME AS REBELLION (v8, 9)

We need to be good stewards of what God has given us – including our bodies. If we disregard this, we are hardening our hearts towards God, and what He has shown us, and that is the same as rebellion. If we test God in this, we will suffer. God has created a cause-and-effect world, establishments that He has put into place and He will not override them. If we do not look after our bodies, we will reap the effects of that, for example, sickness, burnout and disease.

Principle 4: GOD HAS PROVIDED THE KNOW-HOW TO OBEY HIM (v10)

God has given us the knowledge – through the Bible and science and, believe it or not, common sense – to know what we should and shouldn’t eat. We also know how regularly to exercise and we can definitely tell when we need to rest. All we have to do is listen to our bodies.

I read this book “What the Bible Says About Healthy Living” by Rex Russell MD. He studied what the Bible says about food, what science says about food and what he has seen himself, for example when patients are told to follow a specific diet in order to get well again.

His conclusion was simple: -

Principle 1: Eat only what God intended us to eat

Principle 2: Eat it only in the form he intended it to be eaten

Principle 3: Fast regularly

Amazingly, scientific research (independent of himself) gave evidence to support why God told the Israelites not to eat certain foods and why they should eat others. (I highly recommend this book. It can be bought on Amazon.)

So we have no excuse. God has given us the knowledge we need, but it is our responsibility to put it into practice.

Principle 5: REST

God didn’t only intend for us to experience spiritual rest. He is a holistic God. He intended for us to experience rest physically, emotionally and spiritually. If we look after our bodies, and get the rest we need – however much that might be – we will be able to more fully enter the rest that God intended for us. We won’t get as sick as often, we won’t get as tired and we won’t get as stressed – the result – we will be much more rested and able to cope with the stresses of living life.

We have a holistic God who is concerned with our physical and emotional being as well as the spiritual. He created all of us – and said, “It was good!” So work with Him on this. He didn’t create our bodies to be a hindrance to us. He created them for our enjoyment as well as for us to know what our limitations are so that we can more fully enjoy and experience a supernatural God.

1. According to Paul, how much of the believer does God want to sanctify? 1 Thessalonians 5:23 ______________________________________________
Note: Since sin has affected the total person, God also plans to rescue the total person from the sin problem — spirit, soul, and body.

2. How does this total redemption affect our Christian living in terms of eating and drinking?
1 Corinthians 10:31 ______________________________________________
Note: Before our conversion we ate and drank as we pleased, often abusing our bodies. But now that we belong to Christ and have become the temple of the Holy Spirit, God wants us to eat and drink for His glory.

3. As Christians, who do we belong to and live for? Romans 14:8 ______________________________________________
Note: Because Jesus redeemed us from the curse of the law, having been made a curse for us on the cross (see Galatians 3:13), we belong to Him — spirit, soul, and body. Out of a heartfelt appreciation for His redeeming grace, all our actions are motivated by this love relationship.

4. In what things does God want us to prosper, besides our souls? 3 John 2 ______________________________________________
Note: God is not only concerned about our spiritual well-being but also our health. A healthy body means a healthy mind. This, in turn, means we are better able to discern spiritual things. Since there is a close relation between spirit, soul, and body, what affects one affects the other.

5. What promise did God give the Jews of the Exodus if they would follow all His health instructions?
Exodus 15:26 ______________________________________________
Note: All the health instructions God gave the Jews of the Exodus was for their own good and not a requirement for salvation. As His children, God wants us to experience and witness His saving grace in every way. The rules and regulations that God imposed upon the Jews was for this purpose. That is how we Christians must consider them.

6. What blessings did God say Israel would experience if they obeyed all that He had instructed them?
Deuteronomy 7:14 ______________________________________________
Note: Even though the ancient Jews made the mistake of turning all the health rules and regulations God gave them into legalistic requirements for salvation, they still experienced physical blessings from obeying them.

7. As Christians, what kind of sacrifice does God want from us? Romans 12:1 ______________________________________________

8. What must we do daily to experience this transformed life that is pleasing to God? Romans 12:2 ______________________________________________
Note: The battlefield in the Christian walk is the mind. On the one hand, the converted mind, that which Paul refers to as the new man (see Ephesians 4:22-24), wants to do the will of God. Yet, on the other hand, the mind of the flesh, our sinful nature, wants to do the very opposite.

9. What is the only way to gain victory over the desires of the flesh, our sinful natures, which contradict the desires of the converted mind? Galatians 5:16 ______________________________________________
Note: Only as we surrender our wills to the control of the Spirit can we gain the victory over the flesh. This is what it means to “walk in the Spirit.” To do this we must keep our minds focused on spiritual things (see Romans 8:4-6).

10. How should our relationship with fellow believers affect our eating habits? Romans 14:21 ______________________________________________
Note: To be a true Christian means we are dead to self and live unto the Lord. This affects every phase of our Christian living so that the two guiding principles that motivate all our actions are: (i) I do nothing that affects my right relationship with God; and (ii) I do nothing that weakens the faith of a fellow believer (see 1 Corinthians 10:31-33).

11. How should we consider ourselves as Christians? 1 Corinthians 3:16 ______________________________________________

12. As temples of God, what does He not want us to do and why? 1 Corinthians 3:17 ______________________________________________
Note: As temples of God, we are to keep our bodies holy. The reason for this will be answered in the next question.

13. As His temple, what does God want to do in and through us? 2 Corinthians 6:16 ______________________________________________
Note: The whole purpose of the Christian life is to glorify the Saviour: “for me to live is Christ” (Philippians 1:21). The only way this can be done is to let the life of Christ shine through us. This is what sanctification is all about. That which motivates such a life is the love of God manifested in Christ crucified and not the fear of punishment or the desire for reward.

14. How does God fulfill the above through the New Covenant promise? Hebrews 8:10 ______________________________________________
Note: The New Covenant does not do away with the laws of God but puts them into our hearts. Under the Old Covenant, the laws were a series of rules — do’s and don’ts. Under the New Covenant, the same laws become the inner desires of the converted mind. This is how God writes His laws in our hearts and minds. This is the transforming grace of the gospel!

15. When it comes to healthful living, what was the original diet God gave mankind? Genesis 1:29 ______________________________________________
Note: Just as the car manufacturer entrusts us to use the best oil and gas for our cars, so God, the Creator, instructed our first parents regarding what are the best foods to eat — nuts, fruits, and grains.

16. What did God add to man’s diet after the flood? Genesis 9:3 ______________________________________________

17. While God did add meat to man’s diet, after the flood, what two things did He prohibit?
Genesis 9:4 (i) ______________________________________________
Leviticus 7:23 (ii) ______________________________________________
Note: God knew what He was doing when He forbade the Jews to eat the blood and fat of animals. Today, medical science has discovered and proved that both of these items are harmful to our health.

18. What further instruction did God give the Jews concerning meat eating?
Read the whole chapter of Leviticus _____________________________________________

note: Even though God gave man permission to eat meat after the flood, He distinguished the clean (healthy) meats from the (unhealthy) meats in chapter 11 of Leviticus and elsewhere. These health regulations are still valid today, as long as we do not make them a requirement for salvation.

19. What warning does the wise man give regarding appetite? Proverbs 23:1-3 ______________________________________________
Note: Appetite is one of the great weapons of Satan. It was through food that Adam fell. Likewise, it was through tempting Christ to turn stones into bread that Satan tried to cause the downfall of Christ. In the same way, Satan uses our appetite to cause us Christians to stumble. Smoking, drugs, alcohol, and overindulgence in eating are some of his methods for preventing God’s purpose from being fulfilled in us or for destroying the Christian faith.

20. Of what must we constantly remind ourselves regarding our bodies? 1 Corinthians 6:19 ______________________________________________
Note: When we are tempted to indulge in wrong kinds of foods and drink, we need to remind ourselves that we are the temple of God and we are not our own. Therefore, as verse 20 reminds us, we must “glorify God in our body, and in our spirit, which are God’s.” This is true health reform.

Why You Should Avoid White Flour Products Such as White Breads and Pastas

In the manufacture of white flour, manufacturers first remove the wheat seed’s bran, its six outer layers, and the germ (or embryo) which contains 76% of the vitamins and minerals. 97% of the dietary fiber is also lost.

What little is left is then bleached, preserved, and aged with chlorine dioxide. It is further whitened by adding chalk, alum, and ammonium carbonate to make it look and feel more improved and appealing to the consumer. An anti-salting agent called sorbitan mono-saturate is added in the final stage.

A few synthetic nutrients are then added back into the white flour and it is then called “enriched.” In actuality, there has been no real “enrichment” of the original product.

Laboratory rats usually die in a week to ten days when placed on a diet of white flour. All of the chemicals from white flour and other elements in our environment wreak havoc on the human body. Humans were not designed nor equipped to ingest cumulative chemicals. A strain is placed on the pancreas when it is forced to try to protect the body from chemicals. It cannot, at the same time, adequately perform its critical role of protecting the body from diseases.

Whole wheat flour and other whole-grain flours retain their bran, germ, and nutrients, and the vitamin E present in whole-grain flours acts as a natural preservative that keeps it from turning rancid for several months, after which it can be refrigerated or frozen.

Don’t be deceived by products that are advertised as whole grain. They may have some whole grains in them, but there may be a lot of other unnecessary and unhealthy ingredients. For example, if bread is soft, it is not primarily whole grain. It should be firm, heavy, and “grainy” with texture — not spongy.

Interview – Braille – The IV Edition

Written by Rapzilla

My name is Bryan “Braille” Winchester. I was born in Portland, OR and have also lived in New Jersey and Los Angeles. I’ve been rapping since before I had facial hair, and now I can grow a mustache of Tom Selleck proportions. I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to travel around the world sharing music and “The IV Edition” (my newest album) is my forth solo record. I’m also a married man (6 years!) and I have a baby girl named Gabriella. WORD What is the story behind the making of the album? How did it all come about? Right before my daughter was born, I started feeling a creative itch. Most of my energy had been spent running my record label Hiphop IS Music. One of my goals with the label has been to help artists create the “record of their dreams”. To make records that truly express the contents of their heart. Not following trends, not copying other popular artists – but just making honest music without any false pretense. I’ve always been a fan of raw Hip-Hop with well crafted lyricism. You can call me an underground head or whatever, but I prefer raw beats and raw lyrics. So I built my home studio and decided to make this new record without any outside influence. No one else in the studio with me, no feedback from friends or industry heads. Just me, by myself – making honest music that sounds good to my ears. I spent over a year working on the record from my home studio and the only people who heard songs during the process were Ohmega Watts and Theory Hazit (while we were touring). I didn’t start sharing songs with anyone else until they were fully mixed. Aside from the birth of my daughter, I also experienced the death of my father during the recording process of the record. The regular ups and downs of life were intensified through these situations, and I think that caused me to be very “intentional” with every lyric. Why “The IV Edition” as the title? This is my forth record and the title has four meanings. IV: is the roman numeral for the number 4. But I took those numbers and broke them down into letters as well. IV: (pronunciation [ahy-vee]) which is defined in medical terms as a device used for delivering solutions and medicines into the veins. The IV then became a metaphor related to bringing medicine into the veins of society for the various social illnesses. Simply broken down as – “water for the thirsty, food for the hungry and mercy for the sinner”. I.V. also becomes an acronym to represent International Vision. As I’ve traveled around the world I’ve grown to really appreciate the wide variety of cultures, languages and nationalities that exist on this earth. It’s not about “my block” or “my hood”. I’m willing to travel to the ends of the earth to bring medicine where it’s needed. Beyond any physical needs (which shouldn’t be ignored) – this album is ultimately about prescribing Jesus as the healing solution for our sin nature. The wages of sin is death, we are all approaching the grave. Jesus is our redeemer and our healer – and I want to share that with the world in the unique way that God has gifted me to share it. What do you want to accomplish with the new album? First and foremost – my goal was to simply create a record that communicated my heart and also appealed to my own personal artistic palette. I’m a very critical listener – and before I became a follower of Christ, music was all I had in life. During my teen years, I was that kid walking through the halls with headphones on. I’ve never been the type to chase after fame, and I don’t base my success on the level of fame I achieve. As an MC – I desire to speak to my community, to the culture I love and to the world I live in. Ten years ago, I would have never imagined being where I’m at right now. Sometimes I set small goals for myself – but for the most part I just try to be faithful over what I have in my life and allow God to show me what’s next. The greatest accomplishments that have happened in my life weren’t things I planned out. It’s all been things that happened when I stepped out in faith and sought after God whole-heartedly. Photo by Philip Rood Any special moments making the album? The whole process was pretty sentimental and tedious. My house has two levels. The main living area is upstairs, which is where my wife and daughter spend most of their time. My home studio is downstairs, which is where I work and do my recordings. One day I was upstairs feeding my daughter breakfast. I started writing lyrics for a song called “Blessed Man” and ended up finishing and recording the song that same day. The feeling of writing lyrics in front of my daughter brought a special inspiration. I could never “clone” that moment, or imitate that feeling. I wrote this record during the process of living life. I wrote and recorded it in my own house. All my previous records, I had to book out studio time and record in different environments. With this album – I would be laying down vocals and then my wife would say “dinner is ready”. haha. So I’d go eat dinner, maybe watch some TV and then get back to work. What inspired you making this album? I get inspired by everything. As a writer – everything I see, hear and experience inspires me. The music I write is inspired by life and filtered through my faith. What I mean by that is – I can get inspired by almost anything, but my convictions and faith shape the type of influence that things have on my music. Any crazy or special memories during the recording process? When people hear the song “Many Stories” they will experience one of my special memories from the recording process. I don’t want to give to much away – but I finished writing half a song (one of the only songs not written in my home studio) and while I was driving home from the studio I got a call regarding my father. He ended up passing away that night – I drove strait from the studio to the hospital and I was the first person to arrive. It was completely unexpected. I wrote the second verse (from the same song I was writing that night) in honor of him, and kind of shared the whole situation exactly how it happened. Photo by Philip Rood How do you feel touring this summer with the Vans Warped Tour? I will be touring with my wife and my daughter for two and a half months strait. During the Warped tour – we will be joining Othello, his wife and his new born son. So it will be all six of us together in one van. We still haven’t figured out exactly how we are going to make the schedule work, haha – but I’m excited about it. The Warped Tour is rough cause it’s a lot of driving, and a lot of long days. It’s really going to push our physical limits, but we all feel like the opportunity is worth it. For fun, if you had to change music genre, what would it be? I would love to compose scores for movies and stuff. If I wasn’t writing rhymes – then I would love to learn how to compose music for orchestras to play. I would also love to learn how to play guitar and just sing some songs with nothing but an acoustic guitar. Anything else you would like to share? Thanks for taking time to read this. Anyone interested can check out my current tour dates at www.myspace.com/braillebrizzy. Thanks to everyone who is supporting this new record, I appreciate it tremendously and I hope the music is a blessing in return. Digital downloads are cool – but if your interested in getting this album then I would suggest getting the CD version with the full artwork. I share a lot of personal thoughts and notes about every song inside the 12 page booklet. Feel free to hit me up anytime with thoughts, feedback, encouragement or prayer requests.

Review – The Ambassador – The Chop Chop

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Written by Rob Target

Yo let’s embark on this album called “The Chop Chop”. Huh? Yep it’s called ……. “The Chop Chop”. Named by one of the most recognized figures in Holy Hip Hop today. Hailed from one of the most long lasting crews of Christian Hip Hop The Cross Movement. I can go on and on about there lengthy legacy. They’re a great brand that the Lord has blessed with many loyal followers. This is the third installment from the solo artist The Ambassador. He is the vessel used by the Lord Jesus to bring us this album “The Chop Chop.” The album starts out with the song “The Opener.” Ambassador tells the listener that his mission is to build them up. A semi rock feel reintroduces one of the pavement layers of Christian Hip Hop. It also introduces him to folks who don’t know who he is. If you don’t know, in the hearts of many Christian Hip Hop purist, he is the equivalent to L.L. Cool J.. He is in fact one of the original Christian Hip Hop pioneers and can still can put it down and will surprise you at any given moment. When you take memorable albums like Christology and The Thesis then mix in 2008 Hip Hop flavor and a war with Craig G Lewis the only thing you can do is come out with a album that is your best work to date. I will make one point clear, any review you read will not do this album any justice. Why do I say this? Simple, this album has too many sides to analyze (without writing a 80 page report). Ambassador comes with many styles, word play, rhyme patterns, and metaphors that will make a rap legend like Rakim rethink his faith. Deuce puts all the theology you would expect from a Cross Movement project into this album. This album appeals to the rap fan and the Bible researcher. As a solo artist The Ambassador has transformed himself to reach a wide variety of lost sheep. Check out the hit “Gimme Dat” this proves that at anytime Amba could have easily used his talents to make secular hit music. However, the hits are only for the Holy God Jesus Christ. “Gimme Dat” has a T-pain’ish chorus and is fitted with a beat that will get er’body dancing the shoulder lean. Ambassador also switches up on “The Day I Met U” produced by Tony Stone. A smooth song where Deuce reveals his background. This song tells the story of his life from birth, teen years, and when he encountered truth (God). This is where he states “Something Happened”. The hook is a sing-a-long and you would never have guessed Amba is singing it. WORD? Then, there is “The Cost” one of the best songs that ever came out the soul of The Ambassador. The song displays Ambassador telling the believer that this walk is just that; a cost. It makes the clear point that Jesus and Christianity is not to be taken as a pie in the sky lifestyle. On a side note, fans of the early Cross Movement would never think the Ambassador would be on a track like this. It works well, the Anthony Hamilton like hook and groove makes you zone in on the lyrics and hook below. You start off as a enemy/ hostile to the true God/ Spirit moving gently/ drops a set of new eyes/ everything new fresh to death like ooh aahh / you are/ fresh off God’s lot like a new car/ but just like new cars/ quickly start to depreciate/ you quickly face hardships you are to appreciate/ we need to make it clear/down here there it’s no piece of cake/ but the tears are going to fade to pay we see the gate you told me I was lost you told me I was brought but you never spoke about The Cost you always told me all about what it cost God given but you never told me the cost me to live it you told me I’m living you told me I’m forgiven you told me in the sky it’s a ribbon you told me about the fly place I would go to I wish you would’ve told me all the heck i would go thru There are disappointments on “The Chop Chop”: The biggest one is Da T.R.U.T.H.’s verse on the song “Love & Grace”. it was short lived and will leave you feeling totally cheated out of a great cameo. There are other small things that put a dent in the armor of this project. For instance, a couple of the hooks sound a little dated. Having such loyal followers of Cross Movement Records and the new breed of listeners, Ambassador has a hard juggling act to do. Not only keeping the loyal fans, but reaching out to new sheep. Most of the time he has great success. But there are a few glitches in The Chop Chop that confuse you on what his aim is musically. Speaking of guest spots, there are a few familiar names you will see and a few you will not. You will not see any of the other three members from the Cross movement crew. Not only that, if you are looking for “The Chop Chop” cypha track, don’t. There isn’t one on this album. But what you will see is Reach Records‘ Lecrae and Trip Lee holding it down on “Checking For My God” and “Checking For My God Remix”. This is a south track that will have Reach Record fans pleased. Also, the guest who was simply amazing is Stephen The Levite. Peep the track “Talk Alot” as Stephen spits ……”I know you’d rather be entertained/ this is the illest stuff to ever enter your brain/“. He was right; His verbal sermon was one of the illest verses. If you only download one song make sure is it “JESUS”. This is song has it all, exalting Jesus and pointing the listener to the cross. Christian Hip Hop at it’s best. “The Chop Chop From Milk to Meat” is really that. A review of the music isn’t enough but the meat of the words from this album is what you need to digest. So go get your Bible and then pick this album up. Release Date: September 23, 2008 Record Label: Cross Movement Records Track Listing 1. The Opener 2. The Chop Chop 3. Checkin’ for My God Remix ft. Lecrae & Trip Lee 4. The Chop Chop Defined (Interlude) 5. Gimme Dat! 6. JESUS 7. Talk A Lot ft. Stephen the Levite 8. Listen Up 9. Hardcore 10. Hope Man 11. Theology of Brokenness (Interlude) 12. The Cost 13. The Day I Met U 14. Love & Grace ft. J.R. & Da’ T.R.U.T.H. 15. Whatchu Goin’ Do? 16. The Ambassador’s Appeal (Interlude) 17. Deeper BONUS TRACKS Checkin’ For My God ft. Lecrae Glory & Praise ft. J5 the Prophet

Interview – Grits and Reiterate

Written by Rapzilla

Your new album “Reiterate” is out, what makes it different from your previous releases? There’s definitely been growth in the song writing as far as appeal but it also was done purposely as one of the goals we wanted to achieve. Why the title “Reiterate”? We keep a somewhat steady flow of show dates and started noticing an obvious number of peoples first time hearing or seeing us before and we had to be able to be consistent for the fam and keep it fresh for new ones, so we adopted the same mind for the album title and direction. How long did you work on this album? Was it a smooth process? We worked on the album over the past year or so really took our time to build it. As far as the process it could always be better to perfectionist personalities such as ourselves, but it was the smoothest we’ve had, organic. What’s your favorite track? And why? Their all my babies, but I’m vibing off “Fly Away” and “Say Goodbye” for now, “Walkin my Way” is up there too. They all serve their own purpose which keeps them an individually important part of the body. What do you want to accomplish with “Reiterate”? Besides selling a lot of records. A new standard in music, if we hold ourselves to confinement, we exclude ourselves from other opportunities that may be a resource for the greater benefit or goal. We want our music to effect everyone in the since that they can walk away with something no matter who you are. Why not make history that is timeless? Especially with music. How and why did you decide to start your own label (Revolution Art)? Why the name “Revolution Art”? How did you come up with it? The industry is like growing up, at some point you learn or should learn how to stand on your own two feet. So Revolution Art is a symbol of our growth and commitment. That’s why we named the label that, we want to redefine culture through music. A movement of change for better, better music, better families, communities, and Life. If that’s the response we continue to get then we in for a long ride its just been the first ten years. That’s why we chose/choose our roster as if we were/are signing our last. Building career artist is not popular as it used to be but for us we don’t mind the challenge look where its gotten us for a decade and people reading this like who are these dudes? Lol… Besides we want our artist to want to aspire to one day be CEOs of there own. What can we expect from Revolution Art? (projects) Any plans to do solo albums? JADE HARRELL is our first artist due for Spring release she has a single called “Broken” on itunes right now. She has a young Pop/Soulful/Dance sound but very mature lyrically, appealing to other young ladies and women in general. Beautiful voice and the self written songs to go with it at 19. Stefan the SCIENTIST is what we want to shake it up with towards the Fall of 09, he was exactly what we wanted to branch out to a worldwide format especially being from the Bahamas and having as much diversity as he does beyond reggae. And we also felt it was important to release COFFEE and BONAFIDE solo albums, give people a chance to hear the recipe for Grits, so in maybe Summer or so. We know you started out as Dancers for DC Talk, which was how you met Toby and got signed to his label (Gotee Records) later on. But what we would like to know is do you still dance? And was your main focus at the time, dance or music? Our focus has always been primarily music, and of course with that comes the business and you find out if its either for you or not no matter how you come in and GOD makes a way for you, that’s just our personal exprience so dancing was like going to college for us, now we graduated finished our masters did residential going into private practice. Any last words? Shout outs? The grass isn’t greener on the otherside, you just gotta do what you spose to do for yours to be greener… Aka “uNcLe RoN”

10 things Christians can do everyday

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1. Treat others as you would have them treat you:
Treat other people in the manner that you want them to treat you. This is a hallmark of Christianity. Be kind to people, even when they are unkind to you. That way, you set an example for them, you become a representative of the Christian faith.

“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you” – Jesus, as quoted in Matthew 7:12 (NIV)

2. Help people:
In Matthew 25:34-40, Jesus tells us that we are to give food to those who are hungry, give clothes to people who need them, provide shelter for people who have none, visit people who are sick, and give comfort to people who are in prison.

3. Don’t worry:
Do your best. Deal with life’s problems. But don’t worry. Instead, have faith in Jesus that all things will work out in the way they need to work out.

“Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” – Jesus, as quoted in Matthew 6:27 (NIV)

4. Read the Bible:
If you read the Bible for about 10 to 20 minutes a day, you can finish the four Gospels – the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John – in one month. The four Gospels describe the life and teachings of Jesus, the Son of God.

5. Give thanks and be joyful:
“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
- 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV)

6. Pray:
“This, then, is how you should pray:
`Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.’ “
- Jesus, explaining how people should pray, as quoted in Matthew 6:9-13 (NIV)

7. Forgive your enemies:

“For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
- Jesus, as quoted in Matthew 6:14-15 (NIV)

8. Be careful what you say about other people:

“But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”
- Jesus, as quoted in Matthew 12:36-37 (NIV)

9. Know the Word of God and use it each day:
If you read the four Gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, you will see many examples of how Christians should act.

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”
- Jesus, as quoted in Matthew 7:24 (NIV)

10. Encourage others to read the Bible:
If you have found peace and salvation in the Bible, share it with others – tell people, write a letter, or create a Web site. Encourage others to read the Bible. Encourage family members and friends to attend church with you. Consider giving Bibles as gifts to others.

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
- Jesus, as quoted in Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV)

Lukewarm Christians

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One of the most frightening group of verses in the Bible are found in Rev 3:14-19, when Christ is talking to the Church of Laodicea.

He is addressing the people of a city known for its wealth. But despite its financial prosperity, it was spiritually impoverished. He says to the people “You are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of My mouth. For you say ‘I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing.’ You don’t realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.”

What’s frightening about this statement is that most people in this world who call themselves Christians are lukewarm. Yes we might go to church on Sundays, make an appearance, and think to ourselves, hey, I don’t sell drugs, I haven’t killed anybody, I never robbed a bank, I even give to charities. But think what Christ is saying here “I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing.”

Not too many years ago, the Dow Jones average had a tough time breaking 1000. Since then, it has been over 10,000. IRAs have come into the picture, and many typical people have savings well into the six figures. And every average neighborhood seems to have a quiet millionaire living in it.

But with all this prosperity also comes a falling away from God.

There is a group of prophecies in Zechariah 6:1-8 that I think ties in with Revelation 3:14-19. In the Zechariah prophecy there are four different colored horses with chariots that are sent out across the earth.

Although these horses resemble the four horses in the book of Revelation, don’t mix them up, the Revelation prophecy has not taken place as of yet, but the prophecy in Zechariah, Chapter 6, has already been fulfilled. In these prophecies, two of the horses, the black followed by the white, go to the “north country.”

Then comes the statement “Behold these that go to the north country have quieted My Spirit in the north country.” What I believe God is saying here is that the black horses are Capitalism and prosperity, and that the north country represents Europe, the United States and Canada.

Then the white horses follow, which I believe are false religions and idol worship, and will hinder God’s Spirit in the rich north countries. All these north countries are basically Christian, and due to the great riches of these countries, many false religions have popped up. I believe most people are worshiping money more than God. Money seems to be the Number 1 idol, and pride is another idol.

As for the other two sets of horses, the dappled gray go to the south, and the red patrol back and forth across the earth.

The dapple grays I believe are poverty, disease and hunger. They go to the southern area of the globe, such as Africa and South America, where the economy isn’t so good, along with famine, starvation, and widespread disease. The red horses represent war and unrest, and as they patrol back and forth across the earth, war follows. God foretold 2500 years ago in Zech 6:1-8, what the economy and situations would be like in the northern and southern areas of the globe.

Now Jesus understood riches, luxury and opulence can become idols, creating a false sense of security. They bestow a power that can easily drive a person to arrogance, cheating and selfishness. For this reason, Jesus said wealth posed a challenge to the spirit. It was harder for a rich person to fulfill his true purpose in life than for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle (Matt 19:24). Which brings us back to Rev 3:14-19 “So because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” Here we have God Himself condemning us, for worshiping money and other idols, instead of worshiping Him.

I don’t think that there is anything wrong with making a lot of money. Remember, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, David and Daniel were all very rich men. But their riches never got in the way of worshiping God. Their money never became an idol.

If you feel you are one of these people who calls himself or herself a Christian, but knows deep inside that your money and lifestyle comes before Christ, if you know that there is never any time to pray or fellowship with God because of the time it takes to earn your money, party, play with all the toys that money can buy, read pornography, enjoy R rated movies, or just sit in front of the boob tube for hours, then you are a “lukewarm Christian,” And it’s time to make a turnaround, before Christ spits you out, which I think means, you may be on your way to Hell.

Take time now to thank God for all that He has given you. Thank Him for your family, house, car, job, bank account, toys, etc, because everything on this earth actually belongs to Him. He gave them to you. And to receive the biggest gift of all, an eternal life in Heaven, all you have to do is ask Him for it, it won’t cost you a cent. Just confess that you are need of salvation, that you believe in Jesus, that you regret your sins, and that you want His salvation, and you will receive life’s biggest treasure – eternal life in Heaven, not to mention the peace of mind you will have while here on earth.

If it helps, these are the kinds of things that I said when I asked Jesus for salvation: “Jesus, I am a sinner. I ask You to forgive me of every sin I have committed throughout my life. I know You are the Son of God, and I need You, Jesus, to guide me through my life. Come into my life Jesus, and guide me and make me one of Your own.”

If you have turned your life over to Jesus, please email us and share with us the good news. Please, consider sending this article to your friends, relatives, and everybody on your mailing list, to encourage them to take the same opportunity to become one of Christ’s family that you have had.

God Bless You.

The Holy – Days of the Bible

Let me begin by saying this is not meant to be an exhaustive study on the Biblical Feast days. This section should serve as an overview, which will introduce you to each Feast Day. Independent studies regarding the practice of each day is up to you- I feel it’s important to leave out this information so you may be sucked into the Messianic fold and truly learn why it’s so important that we celebrate these days instead of those rooted in paganism.

Understanding the Feasts

God gave the festivals of the Lord found in Leviticus 23 to us so His people could understand the coming of the Messiah and the role that the Messiah would play in redeeming and restoring both man and the earth back to God following the fall in the Garden of Eden. Although most non-Jewish Bible believers have heard of the feasts, the deep meaning and the importance of these feasts is universally misunderstood.

The apostle Paul wrote to the Gentile believers in Colossae that the feasts of the Lord, the new moon, and the Sabbath (Shabbat) days were a ‘shadow of things to come’ to teach us about the Messiah (Colossians 2:16-17). We in the west often think of our shadow as behind us, therefore we think of these days as also being behind us; however to the Jewish mind this means an outline or a blueprint of things to come. Yeshua (the Hebrew name for Jesus, which means “salvation”) was the substance or fulfillment of the greater plan that God revealed and foreshadowed in these seven important festivals. To all the readers who are familiar with the festivals, you will be fascinated to discover that the first four feasts or festivals, which are Passover (Pesach), Unleavened Bread (Hag HaMatzah), First Fruits (Bikkurim), and Pentecost (Shavuot), primarily teach about the significant events from the first coming of the Messiah and why these events were an important part of God’s redemption of man. In addition, you will discover that the last three feasts, which are the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah), the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), and the Feast of Booths or Tabernacles (Sukkot), give fascinating insight concerning important events that surround the second coming of the Messiah.

The festivals are God’s feasts days, not Israel’s or the Jews. They are His appointed times that we are to observe (Leviticus 23:1-2,4). God gave the festivals to teach about the death, burial, and resurrection of the Messiah; the empowering of believers by the Holy Spirit; the resurrection of the dead; the coronation of the Messiah; the wedding of the Messiah; the tribulation; the second coming; and the millennium age or thousand year reign on the earth.

The Bible provides many powerful reasons for studying and understanding the seven festivals of the Messiah:

1. The feasts are in the Bible, and the entire Bible is inspired by God. (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
2. The feasts are a shadow (blueprint) of things to come that teaches us about the Messiah (Colossians 2:16-17; Hebrews 10:1).
3. The feasts are prophetic types and examples foreshadowing significant events in God’s plan of redemption (1 Corinthians 10:1-6,11).
4. God gave the feasts so we could learn and understand His plan of redemption for the world and our personal relationship to Him (Romans 15:4).
5. The feasts, as part of the Torah (which means “instruction”), and is as a schoolmaster or tutor that leads us to the Messiah (Galatians 3:24).
6. The feasts will point to the Messiah and God’s plan for the world through the Messiah (Psalm 40:6-8; Hebrews 10:7).
7. Jesus came to fulfill all that was written in the Old Testament, which consists of three parts: the Torah, the prophets, and the writings personified by the Psalms, concerning Him (Luke 24:26-27, 44-45; John 5:46-47).
8. The feasts set forth the pattern of heavenly things on earth (Hebrews 8:1-2,5; 9:8-9,23; Exodus 25:8-9,40; 26:30; Numbers 8:4; Ezekiel 43:1-6,10-12).
9. God gives the natural to explain the spiritual (1 Corinthians 15:46-47).
10. By studying the natural, we can understand the spiritual (1 Corinthians 2:9-13; 2 Corinthians 4:18).

What does feast mean in the Bible?

Two important Hebrew words appear in Leviticus 23, and each word is translated as feast in English. In verse 2, the word for feast is the Hebrew word mo’ed, as it is written, “Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, concerning the feasts [mo'ed] of the Lord….” The word mo’ed means “an appointment, a fixed time or season, a cycle or year, an assembly, an appointed time, a set time or exact time. By understanding the Hebrew meaning of the English word feast, we can see that God is telling us that He is ordaining a “set or exact time or an appointed time” when He fulfill certain events in the redemption. In fact, Jesus came to earth at the exact time ordained by God (Galatians 4:2, 4), and God has an exact time when, in the future, He will judge the world (Acts 17:31).

In verse 6 is another Hebrew word translated as feast, as it is written, “And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast [chag] of unleavened bread….” The Hebrew word chag, which means a “festival,” is derived from the Hebrew root word chagag, which means “to move in a circle, to march in a sacred procession, to celebrate, dance, to hold a solemn feast or holiday.” By this we can see that God gave the festivals as cycles to be observed yearly so that, by doing them, we can understand God’s redemptive plan for the world; the role that the Messiah would play in that redemption; and our personal relationship to God concerning how we grow from a baby Bible believer to a mature Bible believer. Although God gave us the festivals to observe, God never gave the festivals so we would obtain salvation from Him by observing them because salvation only comes by faith; however, God did give the festivals for the purpose of teaching and instructing His people concerning His plan of redemption and our personal relationship to Him.

The Appointed Place

The feasts are not only God’s appointed times, but they were also to be observed at God’s appointed place. God said that He would choose a place and that it would be a set place where His redemptive plan would be accomplished. Passover, the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles were to be observed at an appointed place (Deuteronomy 16:2, 6, 9-11, 13-16). This place was Jerusalem (2 Kings 21:4). From this we can see that Jerusalem was appointed by God to be the place where important events surrounding His redemptive plan would be accomplished. Jesus died, was buried, and resurrected in Jerusalem. The empowering of the believers by the Holy Spirit took place in Jerusalem. Messiah will return and set His foot on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:4) and Jerusalem will be the center of world attention and controversy before the coming of the Messiah (Zechariah 12:2-3; 14:2-4).

Overview of the weekly feast day, Shabbat

In the first centuries the Sabbath had been kept by all Jewish-Christians and the vast majority of Gentile- Christians due to their understanding of believing in a Jewish Messiah. But with great subtlety Satan worked through his agents to bring about his object of worship so that the attention of the people might be called to the day of the Sun, Sunday.

Sunday was called the Christian Sabbath formally established in about the fourth century, but practiced before this time. To prepare the way for the work which he desired to accomplish, Satan had led the Jews, before the advent of Christ, to load down the Sabbath with the most rigorous exactions, making its observance a burden. Now, taking advantage of the false light in which he had thus caused it to be regarded, he cast contempt upon it as a Jewish institution.

In the early part of the fourth century the emperor Constantine issued a decree making Sunday a public festival throughout the Roman Empire. The day of the sun was reverenced by his pagan subjects and was in turn honored by Christians under Roman rule; it was the emperor’s policy to unite the conflicting interests of heathenism and Christianity.

He (Constantine) was urged to do this through a vision he is said to have had which showed him a cross with a serpent wrapped around it. Obviously a mix of paganism and Christianity…

The newly appointed bishops of the Roman Church, who, inspired by ambition and thirst for power, perceived that if both Christians and heathen observed the same day, it would promote the nominal acceptance of Christianity by pagans and thus advance the power and glory of the church.

WHAT SAITH THE LORD

1. Which day, according to the Bible, is the Sabbath?

Exodus 20:10 “But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:”

Exodus 31:15 “Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.”

Exodus 35:2 “Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the LORD: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death.”

Deuteronomy 5:14 “But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou.”

2. What, according to prophecy, was to be Christ’s attitude toward the law?

Isaiah 42:21 “The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness’ sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honorable.”

3. What did Christ say of the law? Matthew 5:17.

Matthew 5:17 “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.”

4. How enduring did He say the law is? Matthew 5:18.

Matthew 5:18 “For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”

5. What did He say of those who should break one of the least of God’s Commandments, and teach men to do so?

Matthew 5:19 “Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

6. What did God, through the prophet Daniel, say the power represented by the “little horn” would think to do?

Daniel 7:25 “And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.”

7. What did Paul say the “man of sin” would do?

2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4 “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4.

Note: There is only one way by which any power could exalt itself above God, and this is by assuming to change the law of God, and to require obedience to its own law instead of God’s law. The Papacy claims the change of the Sabbath to the first day of the week was her act and is the mark of her authority in religious things according to the Doctrinal Catechism.

“Question: Have you any other way of proving that the Church has power to institute festivals of precept?”
“Answer: Had she not such power she could not have done that in which all modern religionists agree with her; she could not have substituted the observance of Sunday the first day of the week, for the observance of Saturday the seventh day, a change for which there is no scriptural authority.”
“A Doctrinal Catechism”, by the Rev. Stephen Kennan, p.174.

“Question: Which is the Sabbath day?”
“Answer: Saturday is the Sabbath day?”
“Question: Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday?”
“Answer: We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church, in the Council of Laodicea (A.D. 336), transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday.”

“The Convert’s Catechism of Catholic Doctrine,” page 50, third edition, 1913, a work which received the “apostolic blessing” of Pope Pius X, January 25, 1910.

Of course the Catholic Church claims that the change was her act . . . and the act is a mark of her ecclesiastical authority in religious things.

“If Protestants would actually follow the Bible instead of the Roman traditions, they would find that they should worship God on the Sabbath Day. In keeping Sunday “holy” they are rejecting the commandments of God for the commandments of men.”

Albert Smith, Chancellor of the Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore, replying for the Cardinal in a letter of February 10, 1920.

Look up in any encyclopedia Saturday or Sabbath and it will tell you that it is the seventh day of the week, and that all Christians observed it up until the fourth century.

“Constantine the Great made a law for the whole empire (A.D. 321) that Sunday should be kept as a day of rest in all cities and towns; but he allowed the country people to follow their work”

Encyclopedia America, article “Sabbath.”

Lots of Christians today say that they worship on Sunday in commemoration of Christ’s resurrection. Let’s quickly examine this flawed logic.

Didn’t Jesus raise on a Sunday?

If you visit a mainstream Christian church and ask members why the day on which they and other people attend worship services is Sunday, a typical response might be that Jesus was resurrected on that day. But how well does this idea bear up under scrutiny?

Notice what Christ told the Pharisees, who were looking for a sign of the Messiah:

Matthew 12:39-40 “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth”

The only sign Jesus gave to prove He was the Messiah was that the grave would only hold Him for a limited amount of time “three days and three nights” (or 72 hours). But the Easter Sunday tradition maintains that Christ was buried just before sunset on “Good Friday” afternoon and resurrected early Sunday morning-only two nights and one day (or 36 hours)!

Some will argue the definition of “day.” But Christ clearly stated that there are 12 hours in a day, not including the night (John 11:9-10). Therefore, when Easter Sunday proponents take His remark and conclude that Christ was in the grave three days x 12 hours = 36 hours, we can see that they are leaving out the “three nights.” There are approximately 12 hours of daytime and 12 hours of nighttime in one 24-hour day. So three days and three nights is obviously 72 hours. But was it exactly 72 hours? Jesus said He would rise “AFTER three days” (Mark 8:31)-i.e. no less than 72 hours. But He also said He would rise “IN three days” (John 2:19, 21)-i.e. no more than 72 hours. This is absolutely clear-72 hours exactly as anything more or less would make Him a liar!

Also consider that, when the women came to His tomb Sunday morning, “it was still dark” (John 20:1) and He had already risen. How could this be? The Sunday-resurrection proponents contend that He had risen just moments before. If they are correct, then “three days and three nights” earlier would be just before sunrise on Thursday morning. Yet no one believes Christ was buried on Thursday morning-or any morning for that matter-and with good reason. When Joseph of Arimathea laid Christ’s body in the tomb, “the Sabbath drew near” (Luke 23:50-54). Biblical days, including Sabbaths, begin at sunset and end the following sunset (cf. Genesis 1:5-31; Leviticus 23:32)-a nighttime period followed by a daytime period.

Christ, then, was buried in late afternoon-before a particular Sabbath began at sunset. Three days and three nights later would be the same time of day-late afternoon! Now we have another problem. If we assume that Christ was buried on Friday afternoon, as the Good Friday tradition asserts, then His resurrection-72 hours later-would be Monday afternoon. Yet no one believes this either-again, with good reason. For remember that Christ had already risen before the women came to His tomb prior to daybreak Sunday morning! What, then, is the answer?

Why have so many thought that Christ was put in the grave on Friday afternoon? Mark 15:42 states that “it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath.” Since the weekly Sabbath always occurred on the seventh day of the week (now called Saturday), the “Preparation Day” was normally on Friday. However, we have already seen the problem with this. The answer to the apparent dilemma is that the weekly Sabbath is not the only Sabbath mentioned in the Bible. Leviticus 23 lists seven annual Holy Days that occur in God’s Festivals. Each of these days was considered a Sabbath (or a “rest” from normal labor). All annual Sabbaths or “High Days” (except Pentecost) fell on particular calendar dates rather than set days of the week.

Now the mystery can be solved by reading John 19:31. The Jews wanted to remove the crucifixion victims “because it was the Preparation Day that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a HIGH DAY).” Christ kept the Passover with His disciples the night before His death (Luke 22:15). He died on the cross the next afternoon, which was still Passover (the 14th of Abib or Nisan according to the Hebrew Calendar-Leviticus 23:5). Leviticus 23:6-7 reports: the next day beginning the evening after His crucifixion, was not a weekly Sabbath, but an annual Sabbath-the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

Now put together the facts. It is clear from the Bible that Christ died and was buried on Passover afternoon-and that the following day was an annual Sabbath. It is also clear that he was resurrected at the same time of day-late afternoon. But which afternoon? Since the women found Him already gone Sunday before dawn, it would be sensible to conclude that He had been resurrected the previous afternoon on Saturday! This would mean He had been buried three days and three nights earlier-Wednesday afternoon. It would also mean that Passover, Nisan 14, fell on a Wednesday that year. And, indeed, that is what happened in A.D. 31, a year that fits the time frame the Bible demands.

Scripture also provides further proof that there were TWO Sabbaths that week-an annual and a weekly one. In Mark 15:47, Mary Magdalene and her companion watched Joseph of Arimathea laid Jesus in the tomb near the end of the Passover. The next verse, Mark 16:1 tells us that after the “Sabbath,” Mary Magdalene and her companions bought spices with which to anoint Christ’s dead body. However, Luke 23:56 shows that they prepared the spices before the Sabbath. Naturally, they couldn’t have prepared spices before they were even bought! The only explanation that makes sense is that they bought the spices on Friday and prepared them the same day-after the annual Sabbath on Thursday and before the weekly Sabbath on Saturday!³ Then they rested on the weekly Sabbath-at the end of which Jesus was resurrected. The next morning, Sunday, they came to the tomb before sunrise and found him already gone.

But some will point out Mark 16:9, which says, “Now when He rose early on the first day of the week….” Yet how can this be? Remember days began at sundown the day before, this is called the “Eve” of the day. So he would have raised on the ‘Eve of/early the First day of the week’, which to us is Saturday evening!

So, is it okay to celebrate a Sunday Morning Resurrection? NO- He raised “Sunday Eve” or Saturday night, so teach the truth about the subject. When we gather on Sunday morning for the First Fruit Celebration we’re doing what Mary Magdalene did, showing up after He was risen.

In his book, The Story of the Christian Church, Jesse Lyman Hurlbut states, “As long as the church was mainly Jewish, the Hebrew Sabbath was kept; but as it became increasingly Gentile the first day gradually took the place of the seventh day” (1970, p. 36).

Notice that Hurlbut says the first day “gradually” replaced the seventh-day Sabbath. Why? Because Gentiles had always worshipped on Sunday because they worshipped the Sun God! Peer pressure and persecution no doubt where major factors in it’s phasing out, but the biggest factor was a growing hatred for the Jewish people. They eventually took the inherent Jewishness of Jesus away and replaced it with a Gentile likeness and theological disposition.

Jesus at Creation gave the seventh day Sabbath as a day of rest, did He afterwards give another?

Hebrews 4:3-11 “For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest. Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief: Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.” (Emphasis mine)

This verse proves Jesus did not give another Sabbath or change the day of rest from Saturday to Sunday. It also states that some did not enter into the Sabbath because of unbelief.

What kind of worship does the Savior call that which is not according to God’s Commandments?

Matthew 15:9 “But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”

What is the sign that shows the Lord to be your God?

Ezekiel 20:20 “And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the LORD your God.”

Exodus 31:13 “Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a SIGN between Me and you throughout your generations, THAT YOU MAY KNOW that I am the Lord who sanctifies you” (Emphasis Mine)

1 John 2:3-4 “Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”

Overview of the Spring Festivals

The four spring festivals are Passover (Pesach), Unleavened Bread (Hag HaMatzah), First Fruits (Bikkurim), and the Feast of Weeks (Shavuot or Pentecost).

1. Passover occurs in the first month of the religious calendar (Aviv, also called Nisan), on the fourteenth day, Leviticus 23:5.
2. Unleavened Bread immediately follows the first day of Passover (Pesach). It is observed in the first month (Aviv/Nisan) from the fifteenth day to the twenty-first day (Leviticus 23:6-8).
3. The Feast of First Fruits of the barley harvest is observed during the week of Unleavened Bread. Anciently, on this day, sheaves of barley were waved before the Lord in a prescribed ceremony. Today, this festival is not observed in traditional Judaism; most likely because it’s the day Jesus was resurrected.
4. The Feast of Weeks is also known as Pentecost. Beginning on the Feast of First Fruits, we begin to count 50 days. This is called the counting of the omer. On the fiftieth day following the Feast of First Fruits the Feast of Weeks begins. (Leviticus 23:15-21). (Note: Pentecost is a Greek word that literally means “fiftieth.”)

These four spring festivals are joined together as an interrelated unit. The Feast of Weeks is considered the conclusion to Passover. The season of Passover is not considered totally over until Shavuot is completed.

The Exodus Story: From Passover to Pentecost

Passover begins in Egypt (a type of the world), where the children of Israel had become slaves. When the children of Israel cried out to God to remember the promises He made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, God called forth a deliverer named Moses. God told Moses that He was going to bring the children of Israel out of Egypt to the Promised Land (Exodus 3:8). When God sent Moses to Pharaoh, God did not tell Moses to ask Pharaoh to allow the children of Israel to leave Egypt and go to the Promised Land. Instead, God only instructed Moses to ask Pharaoh to allow the children of Israel to take a three-day journey into the wilderness to make a sacrifice to God (Exodus 3:18). Moses obeyed God’s instructions exactly, as can be seen in Exodus 5:1-3. Pharaoh’s first deviance of the Almighty One of Israel was his refusal to allow the people of God to observe a feast and to sacrifice to Him…

After a remarkable series of plagues inflicted on Egypt because of Pharaoh’s continued stubbornness, the children of Israel were finally released to leave Egypt laden with the spoils of the Egyptians. The children of Israel came to the banks of the Red Sea on the seventeenth day of Aviv/Nisan, which is three days after the day of Passover in the first month of the religious calendar. The Passover Lamb was slain on the fourteenth of Nisan and the people left Egypt before midnight in the evening of the fifteenth after the death angel struck the firstborn of Egypt.

When Pharaoh saw that the children of Israel were trapped against the sea, he foolishly decided to pursue them with his army (Exodus 14:1-9). The children of Israel became afraid, but Moses rose up and said, as it is written, “…Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord…” (Exodus 14:13). Jesus, Yeshua in Hebrew means salvation or Savior (Matthew 1:21).

At this point, the sea divided and the children of Israel crossed the floor of the Red Sea on dry ground while the Egyptian army, along with Pharaoh, pursued the Hebrews into the Red Sea and were drowned (Exodus 14:26-28; 15:4,19). The Bible says that the Lord’s right hand destroyed the Egyptians (Exodus 15:6,12). The right hand is a term for the Messiah, Jesus (Psalms 44:3; 48:10; 63:8; 74:10-11; 89:13; 98:1; 110:1; 118:16; 138:7; Isaiah 41:10; 53:1-5; 62:8; Acts 2:32-36; 5:31-32; Hebrews 1:3).

It is important to note that Pharaoh, along with his army, drowned in the sea. In the days of Joseph, there was a famine in Israel and the children of Israel went down to Egypt and gave themselves to rulership under Pharaoh. Because of this, Pharaoh had legal ownership over the people. This ownership could be broken only by the death of Pharaoh, thus freeing the children of Israel to go to the Promised Land. Because of this fact, God did not violate His word to Pharaoh through Moses when he asked Pharaoh to let the people go on a three-day journey into the wilderness, but later continued to go to the Promised Land. When Pharaoh died, his rulership over the children of Israel was legally broken and the people were free to go to the Promised Land. For this reason, the season of Passover is called “The Feast of Our Freedom” by the Jews.

Spiritually speaking, Pharaoh is a type of Satan. Until you accept the Messiah into your life, Satan has legal ownership over you. By the death of Jesus, the legal ownership that Satan has over our lives is broken and we are free to enter into the spiritual promised land of God and receive all the promises that He has promised us.

Fifty Days from the Red Sea: Pentecost

From the crossing of the Red Sea (Nisan 17) to the day Moses met God on Mount Sinai were 47 days. For 47 days the children of Israel traveled through the wilderness before they came to Mount Sinai on the third day of the third month (Sivan) (Exodus 19:1). God instructed the people through Moses to sanctify themselves before He visited them three days later on Mount Sinai, which would be the sixth day of the third month of Sivan (Exodus19:10-11). This day would be the fiftieth day following the crossing of the Red Sea; it came to be known as the revelation of God at Mount Sinai. This day being the fiftieth day from the crossing of the Red Sea on Nisan 17 would be the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost.

Therefore, from the Exodus story, we can see that the Lamb was slain on the fourteenth of Nisan, the day of Passover. On the fifteenth of Nisan, the day of Unleavened Bread, the people left Egypt; on the seventeenth of Nisan the children of Israel crossed the Red Sea; and 50 days later on Pentecost, God gave the Torah (instruction) on Mount Sinai. In like manner Jesus died on Passover (Nisan 14), was in the sepulcher on the day of Unleavened Bread (Nisan 15), and was resurrected on the day of First Fruits (Nisan 17), and the Holy Spirit empowered the believers 50 days following Jesus’ resurrection on the day of Pentecost.

Overview of the Fall Festivals

The fall festival season begins with a 40-day period called, in Hebrew, Teshuvah, which means “to repent or return.” This 40-day period begins in the sixth month of the religious calendar, the month of Elul, and concludes on the tenth day of the seventh month, which is Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Each morning in the synagogue following the morning prayers, a shofar is blown (except on Sabbaths and the day preceding Rosh Hashanah, the Feast of Trumpets). Psalm 27 is read every day. Rosh Hashanah, the Feast of Trumpets is the thirtieth day into this 40-day period of Teshuvah or repentance. The biblical name for Rosh Hashanah is Yom Teruah, which means “the day of the awakening blast.” It is observed on the seventh month (Tishrei) and the first day of the month (Leviticus 23:23-24). God gave us this day to teach us about the resurrection of the dead and much more.

This day is both the Jewish New Year and the beginning of a period of soul-searching known as the High Holy Days, culminating on Yom Kippur. Therefore, the last 10 days of the 40-day period of Teshuvah, beginning on Elul 1, is also called the High Holy Days.

The first and second days of the 10 High Holy Days (Tishrei 1-10) are collectively known as one day (Nehemiah 7:73; 8:1-2,13). The seven-day period from Tishrei 3 through Tishrei 9 is called the Days of Awe or the Awesome Days. God gave these special days on His calendar to teach us about the future tribulation period on earth. These seven days are called Sukkot or the Feast of Tabernacles and will correspond to the seven years of the tribulation known in Hebrew as the “birth pangs of the Messiah”.¹

So while the spring festivals have been fulfilled by Jesus, the fall festivals have yet to be fulfilled! The fall festivals are rehearsals for what is still to come- by following them we will be prepared for the end of days.

The Jewish calendar

Understanding the cycles of God is hard to do on our western calendar as our months do not coincide with the biblical months. For instance June, which is our sixth month, is the ninth month on the Jewish calendar. October which is our tenth month is the first month on the Jewish calendar. There are many bookstores that supply authentic Jewish Calendars; the best which I have found is from the Galilee Experience in Tiberias, Israel. Their calendar highlights all the feast days and even gives the Sabbath candle lighting time in Jerusalem. They can be purchased from www.thegalileeexperience.com⁴

The Signature of God

This is where the feast days of the Lord should really concern you, for they are His Signature, His Sign on the human mind. When a believer remembers God’s feasts days, including Shabbat (Sabbath), when he keeps them and bears them in mind; he is indeed declaring to the whole of society and the angelic host above, that the God of Israel is his choice, his God. We know that the Lords feast days constitute His sign (signature) from the following verses:

Ezekiel 20:12	“Moreover also I gave them my Sabbaths to be a SIGN between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD, that sanctify them.”
Ezekiel 20:20	“And hallow my Sabbaths; and they shall be a SIGN between me and you that ye may know that I am the LORD your God.”
Exodus 31:12	“And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 13: Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a SIGN between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you. … 16: Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. 17: It is a SIGN between me and the children of Israel for ever.”

Where does God place His Sign or His signature? He inscribes it in the human mind and actions, figuratively referred to as “between the eyes” (in the forehead) and “in the hand.”

Exodus 13:9	“And it (The Feast of Unleavened Bread) shall be a sign unto thee upon thine hand and for a memorial between thine eyes (in the forehead) that the Lord’s law may be in thy mouth.”
Deut.6:6	” And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up . 8: And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.”

In the New Testament

Hebrews 8:8

” … Behold the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a New Covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah…. 10. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people. 11. And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying ‘Know the Lord:’ for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.”

Hebrew 10:16

“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; 17. And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. “

God’s signature is the feast days in the Old and New Testaments! Thus, by simple way of contrast the Signature of Satan would be the false versions of God’s feast days which would be the Christian Sabbath (Sunday), Christmas, Easter, Halloween, etc.

And you my dear reader are now being given the opportunity to choose:

• Between God’s Mark and Satan’s Mark
• Between the Truth and the Lie
• Between the Feast Days of the God of Israel and the Festivals of the Heathen.
• Between obedience and disobedience

1 John 2:3-4

“And hereby, we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him.”

James tells us that faith without obedience is a dead thing, a spiritual corpse! (James 2:17-20). God expects His followers to demonstrate their faith in Him by endeavoring to keep His commandments. To remember the true Sabbath and Feast Days in God’s Instructions (Torah) is a vote for the one true God Almighty; a proclamation to the community and the universe at large that the God of Israel, the Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is your God. It is standing up to be counted with God’s people Israel by being grafted in among them (Romans 11:17, Ephesians 2:14-15).²

There is supernatural healing and promises beyond our comprehension in following the scripture alone. The Bible is clear, we should not be celebrating our man made traditions or holidays, our testimony is just further evidence that by celebrating man made holidays, we miss out on the covenant promises our God has made available through His holy days.

Christian Hip Hop and the Media: How Can We Improve It’s Exposure?

Written by Just paraDOX

Here are some of the milestones: BET’s 106 & Park did a week long segment on Holy Hip Hop Free & AJ left because they couldn’t continue to support the show because they couldn’t let their little cousins watch a show that didn’t represent them Shade45 did a segment with AppleJaxx of Nureau Ink that got a favorable response CCM covers a story on Lil Ras and did a whole magazine dedicated to Holy Hip Hop and the future of Hip Hop Without A Trace plays KJ52 and uses positive music as a theme for the show Mr. J Medeiros & Ohmega Watts on NBA Live ‘08 ( Mr. J. Medeiros is part of it with his song “Silent Earth Remix” which is produced by Ohmega Watts) Applejaxx’s song “Nureau Anthem” feat. T.Bizzy is featured on HipHopDX Much Luvv covered by OkayPlayer.com Hip Hop Magazine “The Source” interviewed RedCloud Braille featured on Myspace and 2009 NBA Live Trailer L.A. Symphony Break’s It Down For NFL Tour 2008 on XBOX 360 KJ-52 “Fan Mail” Video 1 on Gospel Music Channel Without A Trace plays KJ52 and uses positive music as a theme for the show Sphere Of Hip Hop is on XM KJ52 has sold over 500,000 on all his albums combined most of which sold over 150,000, Grits has sold over 150,000 most of their record have sold over 75,000 at least and more than 500,000 Lecrae has sold over 100,000 albums of the After The Music Stop project Da Truth’s latest project charted #1 in the gospel market by featuring many Rhythm & Praise artists. La Symphony has sold quiet a few, 4th Ave Jones, Knowdaverbs, etc… have also Gotee I think has sold more than CMR. Or atleast its a close tie now. Maybe CMR has more now with Da Truth and everybody they are putting out. I know for a good while it was Graptree then Gotee then Uprok then uprok feel out and not its Gotee and CMR at the top of the food chain. There has been a lot of pressure on the industry to clean up rap lyrics along with sales being down Lecrae’s third album, Rebel, reaches #8 Billboard Top Rap Albums, #3 in Hip Hop on iTunes, #11 in All Albums on iTunes, #1 Gospel Billboard and #2 on Christian Billboard. Media Coverage I’m sure yall head the Kj52 Dear Slim song that MTV covered as a diss track. To make it a news worthy piece that had to cut out the spiritual part and focus on making it some silly beef situation. Did You know MTV banned Mr J Medieros Constance video for “graphic content” which is bogus they have rappers with strippers in the back ground, and Mr J is talking about a real problem that addresses a major social issue. In 2006 500,000 to 1.2 million people where trafficked over international boarders and NO ONE WAS PROSECUTED IN 2006 FOR HUMAN TRAFFICKING, That’s a major issue. But MTV won’t play it, but they will play censored version of songs about graphic sex with women, strippers dancing in the background and misogynistic music. BET also banned a quite of few Christian videos from their play list including Ahmad and 4th Ave Jones, they had the song Move On played on MTV. Its was a good song and video. MTV and VH1 are owned by the same company. MTV played dear slim as a beef record. VH1 says a song about praying for dear slim was one of the worst moments in hip hop ever. That was free promotion for Kj by the way and I’m sure its helped his sales because many more people heard his name and music and probably got interested. News is publicity. And you can take a minus and make it a plus. AppleJaxx of Nureau Ink was on Shade45 and he got good publicity on the don’t quit you day job segment? Ever said he should rap and quit his day job. Thats a milestone in Holy Hip Hop. Anyone notice that we got positive coverage on a secular station? What Has Worked So Far KJ: focused on the white suburban youth groups with his silly songs and pop music and I think thats the key to his success. But there is only one Kj. Grits: had good distro and got the videos played on Rap City and got a good following. But there is only one Grits. The Cross Movement: appealed to the Older Theological heads in the urban gospel church market, and that’s how they did good. But there is only one CM. T Bone: was consistent on the bible thumping demon assassin lyrics and appealed to the Hispanic community and toured at a lot of teen challenges, victory outreach and other places like that. But there is only one T Bone. CHH Needs To Grow Up The dialogue in Christian rap needs to broaden on content to include social and political dialogue to engage some of the older young adults. We need more content on Social Justice issues, like civil rights, and freedom or speech, etc… We need to discuss real issues people deal with and not just fun music for youth groups. We need to be ourselves and be good at what we do. The quality and content in CHH has risen in recent years a lot and that’s good. We need to keep pressing on. CHH NEEDS We MUST GET the Gospel market and get the Young Adult crowed engaged We need Nationally Syndicated Radio We need Nationally Syndicated TV We Need industry wide standards, to bring an end to all the conflict between different camps We need a play list format to support across the board We need to build up your gospel market following before you branch out or try to expand beyond. CHH needs to get the attention of the traditional and contemporary gospel market like Da Truth did with the song with Tye Tribbet and they need to focus on making music and reaching out to young adults who have jobs and can buy albums more than youth who can’t afford albums or have to beg money from their parents. We need to market to young adults, with more social content, and deal with real issues, not just catchy songs. We should have balanced material. Our first focus should be build the gospel market, traditional and contemporary. Because those are the ones that you want to support your music. My Conversation With Sway About Hip Hop being “Dead” and CHH Sway presented an award and was saying since all his friend sit around and talk about is Hip Hop Dead he said that he feels that Christian Rap / Holy Hip Hop is the missing element in Hip Hop. Sway stated that he wants to do a MTV news piece on the Holy Hip Hop Here are some things I got out of the conversation: With the current state of the industry, Hip Hop is Dying, Jesus is the only I know that can bring things back from the dead Holy Hip Hop has the clean lyrics and albums that people are looking for now with all this noise about not using certain words in the industry. We already got that. We shouldn’t market to mainstream. We should do what makes us unique and focus on what works the lyrics & content Let them come to us if they ever do once we’ve established ourselves and not let them dictate to us but us dictate to them. Don’t go to them We should try and build our Christian Market to were in the gospel market we can sell 150,000 to 250,000 a cd consistently and more. Build our gospel fan base so you still have the strong Christian market support. We should try to be excellent at what we do and secure our fan base before we try to get the mainstream attention. My Conclusion After talking to Sway, Dj Maj, AppleJaxx and Tre-9 and others in the industry, it seems clear we need to come together and a body, and respect the arm and feet, those called to the body and those called to the streets. The message is different but the body is one. We need to sure up the Gospel Market base, be authentic to who we are, make good music, market to young adults and the gospel urban market before we try to join the mainstream movement. We shouldn’t seek out the mainstream, but let it come to us with what we have and not let them change us. We need Christocentric lyrics, we need relevant music that relates to peoples lives and issues, so be real about who you are and what you do, keep it gospel, speak from the Judeo-Christian world view, we need to deal with issues of social injustice, civil rights violations, spitting only Christian standards to an immoral world. Focus on building the gospel market fan base and reaching young adults first. Other things we need to do that can help is focus on marketing to College Radio and get our singles licensed to play on Radio, TV and Movies.

Daily Bible Study : Conversion from Sin

Read the lesson and study in your Bible the passages indicated >>> Scripture <<<. Following each passage, study each question that has a number enclosed in asterisks (*1*, *2*, etc.), and write down your answers on paper. Some questions include more than one number because they have more than one blank to fill in. Please take your time, study each passage carefully, answer the questions honestly, and consider the applications to your own life (John 12:48; 2 Tim. 2:15).

Thank you for your interest, and God bless your study of His word.

Introduction:

Sin came into the world as a result of the disobedience of Adam and Eve (Genesis 3). Since then, all people become sinners when they too disobey God’s law (Romans 3:23). Sin is a universal problem, and the solution to the problem of sin constitutes the theme of the Bible.

The purpose of this study is to examine what the Scriptures teach about the nature of sin and about God’s plan to provide forgiveness of sins through the death of Jesus Christ.

As we study, we will ask personal application questions to help each of us evaluate whether or not we personally are guilty of sin and whether or not we have been forgiven by the blood of Jesus. Please give honest consideration to these questions throughout the studies.

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I. Sin and Its Consequences

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A. The Nature of Sin

>>> Please read 1 John 3:4. <<<

*1* What is sin? Answer: Sin is __________ .

*2* Is sin something a person: (a) commits (practices), or (b) inherits? Answer: ____.

>>> Please read Romans 6:16. <<<

*3* How do people become slaves (servants) of sin? Answer: They present themselves to __________ sin.

>>> Please read John 8:34. <<<

*4* Who is a slave to sin? Answer: Whoever __________ sin is a slave of sin.

We may sin in word, deed, or thought, but our own conduct is what makes us sinners.

>>> Please read Ezekiel 18:20. <<<

*5* Who bears the guilt of a person’s sins? Answer: The wickedness of the wicked will be upon __________ .

[See also Mark 7:20-23; Romans 3:9-18,23; 1 Timothy 6:10; James 1:14,15; 2:10,11.]

Each person will be judged for his own life.

Each person’s eternal destiny is determined by his/her own conduct. It is determined individually. Each person is held accountable for what he did.

>>> Please read Romans 2:6-10. <<<

*6* To receive eternal life, what must we do (vv 7,10)? Answer: We must patiently continue in doing (working) that which is __________ .

*7* Who will receive punishment (vv 8,9)? Answer: Tribulation and anguish will be upon everyone who does __________ .

Note that, at judgment, each will be rewarded according to his works or deeds (v6).

>>> Please read 2 Corinthians 5:10. <<<

*8* How many people will be judged? Answer: We must __________ appear before Jesus’ judgment seat.

Have you disobeyed God’s laws? If so, and if you are old enough to understand God’s teachings about sin and salvation, then you need to learn and understand God’s will about how to be forgiven of sin.

[Read Psalm 106:37,38; Hebrews 12:9; Matthew 18:3 & 19:14.]

B. The Universality of Sin

Some examples of sin

The gospel contains many specific lists of sins. Of course, these lists are not intended to be complete catalogs of every imaginable kind of sin; but they do illustrate the kinds of things that constitute sin.

>>> Please read Galatians 5:19-21. <<<

*9* What happens to those who practice works of the flesh such as are listed here? Answer: They will not inherit the __________ .

>>> Please read Revelation 21:8. <<<

*10* What will be the destiny of those who commit these sins? Answer: They will have their part in the lake that burns with __________ .

>>> Please read 2 Timothy 3:1-5. <<<

*11* What are some sins that Paul warned about here: (a) lovers of self, (b) lovers of money, (c) proud, (d) disobedient to parents, (e) unthankful, (f) all the preceding. Answer: ____.

>>> Please read Galatians 1:8,9. <<<

*12* God’s curse (anathema) also comes on those who do what? Answer: Those who teach a different __________ .

>>> Please read James 4:17. <<<

*13* Who is guilty of sin according to this verse? Answer: Those who know to do __________ and do not do it.

Think carefully: Have you been guilty of any of these sins? If so, which ones? Have the sins you committed been forgiven? How do you know?

[See also Matthew 15:18-20; Romans 1:29-32]

People who are guilty of sin

Consider now how many people are guilty of sin.

>>> Please read Romans 3:10-17. <<<

*14* How many people are righteous and good because they have lived without sin? Answer: __________ .

>>> Please read Romans 3:23. <<<

*15* How many people commit sin? Answer: __________ have sinned and come short of God’s glory.

>>> Please read 1 John 1:8,10. <<<

*16* What is our case if we say we have no sin? Answer: The __________ is not in us.

All people eventually disobey God and become guilty of sin. This is a universal problem.

What about you? What is your condition before God? If you are accountable before God, then you have committed sin. Have your sins been forgiven?

C. The Consequences of Sin

Even before the first sin, God had warned Adam and Eve of the consequences of sin (Gen. 2:16,17). Throughout history, as people have continued to sin, sin has continued to have consequences in this life and in eternity.

>>> Please read Isaiah 59:1,2. <<<

*17* What consequence does sin have? Answer: Your sins (iniquities) have __________ you from God.

>>> Please read Colossians 3:6. <<<

*18* What does disobedience bring upon us? Answer: The __________ of God comes on those who disobey.

James 4:4 adds that whoever wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy to God.

>>> Please read Matthew 25:41,46. <<<

*19* Where will the wicked go after the judgment day? Answer: The wicked will go into __________ .

Please note that, not only will the wicked be eternally lost, but they will also miss eternal life.

>>> Please read 2 Thessalonians 1:8,9. <<<

*22* What is the destiny of those who do not obey the gospel? Answer: They will be punished with __________ from the presence of the Lord.

The righteous will receive eternal life and will be with God forever in heaven (1 Peter 1:3,4). But the wicked will miss this great joy.

So all of us eventually sin. If those sins are not forgiven, we are separated from God in this life and in eternity. His wrath is upon us and He views us as His enemies, so that we suffer everlasting punishment in the lake of fire (Revelation 20:11-15).

Knowledge of the consequences of sin causes great fear and guilt (Psalms 38:4-6). The guilty have every reason to fear their eternal destiny. God views sin as something horrible, and we should do the same.

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The Grace of God and the Sacrifice of Jesus

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Sin is a universal problem, but God did not want the people He created to be lost eternally. Let us consider the provision God has made to deal with our sin problem.

A. God’s Grace and Mercy

Consider the following passages about God’s grace and mercy. (When the lesson asks for a definition, please look the term up in your dictionary.)

>>> Please read Ephesians 1:7. <<<

*23* What has the grace of God made available to us? Answer: We have redemption through Jesus’ blood, the __________ of sins, according to the riches of His grace.

*24* What definition of “redeem” would best fit the Bible meaning? (a) to condemn eternally, (b) to pay a purchase price to recover something, (c) to neglect or overlook, (d) all the preceding. Answer: ____.

Sinners are slaves of sin, condemned to be punished for our guilt. God’s grace led Him to desire to forgive us and pay the price to recover us from guilt and condemnation.

>>> Please read Romans 5:1,2 <<<

*25* What can God’s grace do for us? Answer: (a) we are justified by faith, (b) we have peace with God, (c) we rejoice in hope of glory, (d) all the preceding. Answer: ____

*26* What definition best fits the Bible meaning of “justify”? (a) to deny or hide our guilt, (b) to find a psychologist or preacher who will excuse our guilt, (c) to absolve or forgive ones guilt so that they stand right or just, (d) all the preceding. Answer: ____.

>>> Please read Titus 2:11-14. <<<

*27* To how many people has the grace of God appeared? Answer: The grace that brings salvation has appeared to __________ .

>>> Please read Hebrews 2:9. <<<

*28* What did Jesus do for us by the grace of God? Answer: By the grace of God he tasted __________ for everyone.

>>> Please read 1 Peter 1:3,4; Acts 20:32. <<<

*29,30* To what has God’s mercy begotten us? Answer: We are begotten to a living hope, to an __________ incorruptible and undefiled, reserved in __________ for us.

*31* What definition of “grace” best fits the Bible meaning? (a) unmerited or undeserved favor from God, (b) goodness inherent within people, (c) ability to hide guilt so no one else knows, (d) all the preceding. Answer: ____.

All of us, at some point in our lives, sin against God and deserve to be punished. We then bear the burden of guilt and will receive everlasting punishment in hell if our sins are not forgiven.

God does not want this to happen, so He chose to offer us forgiveness, redemption, justification, and the hope of eternal life with him in heaven. Since sinners do not deserve such favor, by definition it constitutes “grace.” Every one of us should be forever grateful to God for offering us such a hope.

[See also Acts 15:7-11; 20:24; Romans 4:4-7; 5:1,2; 2 Corinthians 9:8; Ephesians 1:5-11; 2:5-10; 1 Timothy 1:13-16; 2 Timothy 1:8-10; Titus 3:3-7.]

B. The Sacrificial Death of Jesus

Grace motivated God to determine a means to offer us forgiveness despite our sins. But this offer expressed itself in a specific, practical form, which required God’s Son to come to earth in the form of a man.

>>> Please read Luke 19:10; Matthew 20:28. <<<

*32,33* For what purpose did Jesus come to earth? Answer: He came to seek and save that which was __________ and to give His life as a __________ for many.

>>> Please read Matthew 26:28. <<<

*34* Why did He have to die? Answer: He shed (poured out) His __________ for many for remission of sins.

>>> Please read Romans 5:6-9. <<<

*35* How did God demonstrate His love for us? Answer: While we were still sinners Christ __________ for us.

As a result, we can be justified by His blood (death) and saved from God’s wrath.

>>> Please read 1 Peter 2:24; Hebrews 2:9. <<<

*36,37* What is the relationship between our sins and Jesus’ death? Answer: He bore our __________ in His body on the tree. By the grace of God, He tasted __________ for everyone.

By His stripes we are healed. This means that He was punished so that we do not need to be punished. He suffered so we could be forgiven and counted righteous (justified) despite our sins.

As stated in Ephesians 1:7, Jesus’ blood was the means by which God’s grace made redemption and forgiveness available to sinners. His blood was the purchase price that redeemed us from our sins (1 Peter 1:18,19).

>>> Please read Acts 4:12; John 14:6. <<<

*38* How important is Jesus’ death to us? Answer: There is salvation in no one else. No one can come to the __________ except through Jesus.

Throughout the Bible, the penalty of sin is referred to as “death” (Ezekiel 18:20; Romans 6:23). Ultimately, this death requires eternal punishment separated from God, in contrast to eternal life (cf. Matthew 7:13,14).

Since He lived a sinless life, Jesus did not deserve to die for His sins. Yet God allowed Him to be slain, even though He was innocent, so that we who are guilty might not have to suffer for our sins. His death satisfied the demands of God’s justice, making it possible for us to be forgiven of our sins. But we must properly come to Jesus to be forgiven by His sacrificial death.

It follows that every one of us will be eternally punished for our sins, unless we receive forgiveness through Jesus’ death. There is no other way of salvation, no other way to be made right with God, and no other way to receive eternal life.

Personal application questions:

Do you feel guilty and fearful about your sins? __________

Which of the following words would you use to describe yourself right now in your relationship to God: sinner, Christian, saved, lost, guilty, forgiven, pleasing to God, displeasing to God? __________

If you were to die right now, what eternal reward would you receive? __________

Have you received forgiveness through His blood? How do you know? ________________________________________

Mahogany Jones Freestyle, Rob Hodge – Tearz(Ft. Japhia Life)

    

What Drinking Tea Can Do For You

A Cup of Hot Tea = A Cup of Good Health
Tea Consumption Linked to Numerous Body Benefits
A hot cup of tea may do more than relax you. Research shows tea consumption may help prevent a wide range of ailments.

The latest medical research is finding potential healing powers in this ancient beverage. Recent research, for instance, suggests drinking tea may help prevent everything from cavities to Parkinson’s disease. And some studies indicate it may even save lives.

The benefits of tea consumption may extend throughout the body, experts believe. Here is a partial list of conditions some research has shown may be prevented or improved by drinking tea:

Arthritis: Research suggests that older women who are tea drinkers are 60 percent less likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis than those who do not drink tea.

Bone Density: Drinking tea regularly for years may produce stronger bones. Those who drank tea on a regular basis for 10 or more years had higher-bone mineral density in their spines than those who had not.

Cancer: Green tea extracts were found to inhibit the growth of bladder cancer cells in the lab — while other studies suggest that drinking green tea protects against developing stomach and esophageal cancers.

• Sipping on a cup of hot tea may be a safeguard against cancer. Population studies have linked the consumption of tea with a reduction in risk for several types of cancer. Researchers speculate that the polyphenols in tea may inhibit certain mechanisms that promote cancer growth. Both green and black teas have been credited with cancer-inhibiting powers.

Flu: You may be able to boost your fight against the flu with black tea.
Your best defense against contracting the flu is to wash your hands often and get vaccinated against the influenza virus. Black tea may further bolster your efforts to stay healthy. In a recent study, people who gargled with a black tea extract solution twice per day showed a higher immunity to flu virus compared to the people who did not gargle with black tea.

Heart Disease: A recent study published in the journal Circulation found that drinking more than two cups of tea a day decreased the risk of death following a heart attack by 44 percent. Even less spirited tea drinkers were rewarded: Consuming just two cups a day decreased the risk of death by almost a third.
Tea is a rich source of the flavonoids quercetin, kaempferol, and myricetin, and research shows that high dietry intake of these compounds is associated with a reduced risk of fatal heart attacks. In one study, people who drank about a cup and a half of tea per day were almost 40% less likely to suffer a heart attack compared to tea abstainers.

High Blood Pressure: Tea lovers may be surprised to learn their beverage of choice touts yet another health benefit: blood pressure control. Drinking a half-cup of green or oolong tea per day reduced a person’s risk of high blood pressure by almost 50% in a new study. People who drank at least two and a half cups per day reduced their risk even more. Their risk was reduced even if they had risk factors for high blood pressure, such as high sodium intake.

Parkinson’s Disease: Tea consumption may be protective against developing this debilitating neurological disorder.

Oral Health: Rinsing with tea may prevent cavities and gum disease.

What’s responsible for tea’s many health benefits?

It’s the complex brew of chemicals that make up this seemingly simple beverage.

“The big class of chemicals in tea are flavonoids — a natural class of antioxidants that are found in many natural plant-derived foods,” explains Dr. Kenneth Mukamal, an internist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and author of the Circulation report. “In American diets, black tea represents probably the single biggest source of flavonoids.”

Antioxidants rid the body of molecules called free radicals, which are side products of damage done to the body by pollution and the natural aging process. Free radicals in the body’s cells are very unstable and tend to react negatively with other important molecules like DNA, causing malfunctions and injury on the cellular level. The destruction these free radicals produce may therefore pave the way for diseases like heart disease and cancer.

In the case of heart disease, antioxidants in tea may prevent death from second heart attack by helping blood vessels relax, thereby allowing blood to flow through more easily, potentially lowering blood pressure and reducing stress on the heart.

Antioxidants are thought to be behind the benefits of tea on dental health as well. A number of studies have suggested that rinsing with black or green tea may lead to better oral health.

“We have found that the [antioxidants] in black tea will suppress the growth of bacteria in the mouth that cause cavities and gum diseases,” says Christine Wu, professor of periodontics at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry. “These will inhibit or interfere with the attachment of bacteria to the tooth surface.”

A Prescription for Better Health?

With so much compelling research, isn’t it about time for everyone to consider brewing up more of this potent potable?

“For nearly everybody, there are few, if any, downsides to drinking tea. It’s hard for me to tell people not to do it,” says Mukamal. “But I’m not sure our evidence is quite at the stage where we would be recommending that everybody drink tea.”

That’s because some people may be sensitive to certain components of tea. And while the caffeine content is 1/3 that of a cup of coffee, some people may react to caffeine at any concentration.

Additionally, researchers need to pin down how much and how often tea should be consumed for optimal health. “Drinking tea is beneficial, but we need to do more studies to substantiate it,” says Wu.

In the meantime, adding tea to your list of possible beverages is probably a good idea, experts say.

“I think it’s reasonable for people looking to make healthy lifestyle choices to consider tea as a better option than other beverages — which aren’t necessarily harmful, but which may not give people the added benefits that something like tea does,” says Mukamal.
(Submitted by Erin Ellizabeth Ward of Durham, North Carolina)

Black Tea Helps Prevent Cavities

New studies, funded by the Tea Trade Health Research Association, found several doses of black tea every day not only reduced plaque build-up but also helped control bacteria.

“We found that the black tea infusion can inhibit or suppress the growth of bacteria that promotes cavities and affect their ability to attach to tooth surfaces,” Christine Wu, professor of periodontics at the University of Illinois and lead researcher on one part of the study.

Wu said that while earlier studies in Japan have shown the cavity-fighting benefits of green tea, known for its rich antioxidants, her team chose to focus on black tea, which is more popular in western culture.

The research is part of a collaborative study done in conjunction with the College of Dentistry at the University of Iowa and the Institute of Odontology at Goeteborg University in Sweden. The findings were presented at a meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in Orlando, Florida.

300 Species of Bacteria

Dental plaque contains more than 300 species of bacteria that adhere to tooth surfaces and produce cavity-causing acid. Plaque is also a leading cause of gum disease.

A specific element of black tea, called polyphenols, killed or suppressed cavity-causing bacteria from either growing or producing acid, according to Wu’s study. The tea also affected the bacterial enzymes and prevented the formation of the sticky-like material that binds plaque to teeth.

Participants in the study rinsed with tea for 30 seconds, five times, waiting three minutes between each rinse.

“We were trying to simulate what people did while sipping tea,” Wu said.

A similar study by Goeteborg University, where participants rinsed with tea for one minute 10 times per day, showed comparable results. Both studies showed that the more people rinsed, the more their plaque and bacteria levels fell.

In the University of Iowa study, researchers looked at the impact of black tea’s fluoride content on preventing cavities but found the benefits less clear. They exposed pre-cavity lesions to black tea but saw little change, suggesting that tea’s cavity-fighting ability stems from a complicated reaction between it and bacteria.

Fluoride Not A Factor?

“We had very little results, which implies that if tea is having a result in normal use it’s not from fluoride,” said James Wefel, professor and director of the Dows Institute of Dental Research at the University of Iowa.

Of course, to help prevent cavities the tea must truly be “black,” without sugar, milk, honey or other additives. Researchers also stressed drinking black tea should not replace traditional oral hygiene.

“Tea will affect the plaque formation but one has to brush their teeth to remove the plaque,” Wu said. “It’s a must.” And while black tea may fight cavities, it does not combat tooth stains.
(Submitted by James Dewanz of New York)

Hibiscus Tea – Antioxidants

A recent study revealed that hibiscus teas contain a number of different antioxidants that may help to protect against cell-damaging free radicals. These teas also may help control high blood pressure. You can find hibiscus in such teas as sour tea, red zinger tea, or sorrel tea. Check the ingredients label to be sure.

Yerba Maté – “Drink of the Gods”

The Guarani tribe in the forests of Paraguay have known for centuries of the restorative and stimulative properties of a native herb called yerba maté (Ilex Paragueriensis). Legend has it that Pa’i Shume – a tall, fair-skinned, bearded god – was the one who taught them to harvest and prepare the leaves of the yerba maté tree for a tea to ensure health, vitality and longevity. Seventeenth century Jesuits valued its energizing qualities and they cultivated plantations of the trees. Two centuries later gauchos on the region’s vast pampas utilized the herb, resting beside their fires and sipping the tea through a bombilla, a silver straw with a fine-screened strainer.

The Unbeatable Nutrition Facts of Yerba Maté “Drink of the Gods” Constituents: Vitamin A, C, E, Carotene B-1, B-2, B Complex, riboflavin, nicotinic acid, biotin, pantothenic acid, iron, magnesium, calcium, sodium, potassium, manganese, silicon, phosphates, sulfur, hydrochloric acid, chlorophyll, choline, inositol Serving size: 2 oz. in 2 cups of water. Total Fat 0 g. Cholesterol 0 mg. Sodium 60 g. Total Carbs 13 g. Fiber 0 g. Sugars 1 g. Protein 0 g. Daily Values: Vitamin B-1 – 13% Vitamin B-2 – 23% Iron – 12% Potassium – 55% Magnesium – 46% Contains small amounts of naturally occurring caffeine.

Today yerba maté is grown in the iron-rich, acidic soil and semi-tropical climates of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, which employ 400,000 people to cultivate, prepare and distribute it to Latin America, the Middle East, North America and the European community, where it is known as the “Elixir of the Jesuits”.

The Pasteur Institute and the Paris Scientific society in 1964 were interested in this “Drink of the Gods” and did a thorough study of its properties. The findings were nothing short of astounding. The investigators concluded “it is difficult to find a plant in any area of the world equal to maté in nutritional value.”

Maté contains, these scientists said, “practically all of the vitamins necessary to sustain life.” Yerba maté contains the vitamins A, C, E, B1, B2, B complex, carotene, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, biotin and vitamin C complex. In addition, it has 15 different amino acids, plus significant amounts of magnesium, calcium, iron, sodium, potassium, manganese, silicon, phosphates, zinc, niacin, sulfur, and chlorophyll, choline, and inositol.

The list of benefits to overall health to be derived from yerba maté touches all aspects of the body and is seemingly endless. Tens of millions of south Americans drink maté to boost immunity, cleanse and detoxify the blood, tone the nervous system, control the appetite, restore youthful hair color, retard aging, combat fatigue, stimulate the mind, cure insomnia, and reduce the effects of debilitating disease.

Yerba maté supplies many of the nutrients required by the heart for growth and repair, plus it has a metabolic effect by increasing the supply of oxygen to the heart, especially during periods of stress or exercise. Research from the Paris Institute indicates LDL oxidation is inhibited by extracts of Ilex Paraguariensis. Incidence of arteriosclerosis is low in countries where yerba is consumed.

There is growing clinical evidence that yerba maté stimulates the adrenal glands to produce corticosteroids, thus stimulating metabolism in muscle cells. As a by-product of this, maté has been commonly observed to decrease the severity and incidence of allergy and hay fever. This adrenocortical action also helps balance blood glucose levels, so that hypoglycemic patients respond well to yerba maté.

As a whole-body tonic, yerba stimulates a weakened or depressed nervous system, and calms an overexcited one. When stress, whether from environmental factors, bad nutrition or anxiety, throws our body’s systems out of balance, maté’s bi-directional properties restore homeostasis in the body, while not over stimulating any one system. In addition, it is non-addictive, and will not cause jitters or any contraindicators.

For these reasons, yerba maté is excellent as a coffee substitute. The tea has the ability to quicken the mind, to increase mental alertness and acuity. It is a mild, not strong, diuretic. It relaxes peripheral blood vessels, thereby reducing blood pressure. And best of all, rather than interfering with sleep as coffee often does, maté has a tendency to balance sleep cycles, inducing more REM sleep when necessary, or increasing the amount of time spent in delta states. Many people report that they require less sleep when using maté.

Consumer feedback has indicated its combined effects of smooth muscle and peripheral blood vessel relaxation, sense of stamina, energy and well being provide improved sexual interest and performance, thereby possibly offering a drug-free, all natural alternative to Viagra.

As an anti-oxidant, yerba maté is superb. Free radicals are highly toxic oxygen molecules in a reactive, unstable form. They roam freely through the body, seeking out tissues to combine with and render morbid. As well as destroying tissues outright, they increase susceptibility to a wide range of infections and diseases. Besides the free radicals produced by normal metabolic processes, we are also exposed to them through environmental pollutants. Our body’s main line of defense against free radicals is its supply of free radical scavengers, collectively known as antioxidants. These are a group of nutrients which include Vitamins A, C, E, and the minerals Zinc and Selenium, all of which maté contains in abundance. These antioxidant nutrients work synergistically to prevent further cell damage, while repairing damaged cells by neutralizing the free radicals and thus deactivating their destructive energy.

Maté tea is made from leaves and stems steeped in hot water. A maté gourd, or mug, is filled a quarter full (or to taste), the bombilla (a filtering straw which extracts the most nutrients by pulling the water across the leaves) is nestled into the herb. Hot-never boiled- water is poured to the top. The water will cause the leaves to swell and the water at the top of the gourd will look frothy and green, indicating its nutrient-rich properties. The gourd can be refilled five or 6 times until the green froth is gone, which means the leaves are depleted, and it’s time to refresh the infusion. Yerba maté can also be made in a coffee machine, a French press, and cold as a refreshing sun tea.

This special gift from the plant kingdom is best when served in community with friends, offered in a ritual of love and friendship for each other and our natural world. But even alone, the cup of maté in your hand as you begin a new day promises to leave you refreshed and with a great feeling of well being.

Bible Study: Conversion from Sin

Lesson #2: Conditions for Receiving Forgiveness (Part 1)

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We have learned that all people have committed sin, bringing upon themselves the penalty of eternal punishment. But by the grace of God, Jesus died as the sacrifice for the sins of mankind. He thereby made salvation available to all people (Mark 16:15,16; Luke 24:47; Titus 2:11; 1 Timothy 2:4,6; 2 Peter 3:9; Hebrews 2:9; John 3:16; Acts 10:34,35).

However, not all people will ultimately receive eternal life. God has determined that each person must meet certain conditions in order to receive the blessing of forgiveness. We cannot earn this forgiveness, but neither can we receive it unless we seek it according to God’s plan. Since all of us sin, all need to be sure we do exactly what God requires to be forgiven.

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I. Hearing the Gospel

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The first thing that must happen in order for anyone to be saved is that he/she must learn about Jesus and the salvation He provides. The only means God has given for anyone to learn this is through the gospel of Christ as revealed in the Bible.

>>> Please read John 6:44,45. <<<

*1* Who can come to Jesus? Answer: Everyone who has __________ from the Father comes to Jesus.

>>> Please read John 8:32 (cf. v34). <<<

*2* How can you be made free (from sin)? Answer: You shall know the __________, and it shall make you free.

Note that the freedom Jesus refers to here is freedom from bondage to sin (v34). This “truth,” which can make us free from sin, is revealed in God’s word (John 17:17).

>>> Please read John 12:48. <<<

*3* By what standard will we be judged? Answer: The __________ that Jesus spoke will judge us in the last day.

God has revealed a standard for us to live by. That standard includes the conditions we must meet to be forgiven of sin.

>>> Please read John 20:30,31. <<<

*4* How can we know what to believe to receive eternal life? Answer: Inspired men (like John) wrote so that we might believe in Jesus and have __________ in His name.

>>> Please read Acts 17:11. <<<

*5* How did the Bereans know whether or not they were being taught the truth? Answer: They searched the __________ daily with a ready mind.

Many false teachers mislead people from the truth (Matt. 7:15; 1 John 4:1). To avoid such errors, we must diligently study the infallible source of truth, and we must do so with honest hearts.

>>> Please read Romans 1:16. <<<

*6* What role does the gospel play in our salvation? Answer: The gospel of Christ is the __________ unto salvation.

The gospel is the message that God revealed about Jesus and His teaching. It teaches us the truth about how to be saved through Jesus.

>>> Please read Romans 10:17. <<<

*7* How can we develop a proper faith in Jesus and His will for our lives? Answer: Faith comes by __________ the word of God.

Faith does not come by hearing human opinions, theories, traditions, or man-made creeds. Nor has God ever spoken directly to sinners to reveal to them how to receive forgiveness through Jesus. Now that the Scriptures are completed, true and proper faith comes only by honestly investigating the teachings of the Scriptures.

>>> Please read 2 Timothy 3:16,17 <<<

*8* What means has God given for us to know His will? Answer: The Scriptures are __________ by God to instruct us and provide us to all good works.

>>> Please read Hosea 4:6. <<<

*9* What caused God’s people to be destroyed? Answer: God’s people were destroyed for __________ .

No one can obey God and receive forgiveness without knowing what God requires. The only way to know is through the message He guided inspired men to record in the Bible. Without this knowledge, we are still destined for eternal punishment for our sins. Only when we search the Scriptures diligently with honest hearts can we know how to receive salvation through Christ.

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II. Believing the Gospel of Christ

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Many hear the gospel, yet they are not saved simply by hearing. More is required. To receive forgiveness by Christ’s death, one must also believe what the gospel teaches. Consider what the gospel says we must believe and why that faith is essential.

>>> Please read Hebrews 11:6. <<<

*10,11* In order to come to God, what must we believe? Answer: We must believe that God __________  and is a rewarder of those who __________ Him.

*12* Why must we believe this? Answer: Without faith it is impossible to __________ Him.

Faith is absolutely essential. Yet it also matters what we believe. Not just any faith is acceptable.

>>> Please read John 4:42. <<<

*13* What did the Samaritans believe about Jesus? Answer: They believed Him to be the Christ, the __________ of the world.

We have learned that Jesus died as the sacrifice to save people from their sins. But in order to benefit from Jesus’ death, each individual must personally believe that Jesus is the Savior.

>>> Please read John 20:28-31. <<<

*14,15* Thomas confessed Jesus to be whom? Answer: “My __________ and my __________ .”

*16,17* The Scriptures were written so we might believe what? Answer: Jesus is the __________ , the __________ of God.

The Bible teaches that Jesus possessed Deity even before He came to earth. He was with the Father in heaven, and all things were made through Him. He possesses all the characteristics of Deity (eternal, all-powerful, all-wise, etc). But He came to earth as a man to live a sinless life and die as the sacrifice for our sins. He was God in the flesh. (Cf. John 1:1-3,14; Colossians 2:9; Hebrews 1:2,8,9; Philippians 2:5-8).

His relationship to the Father is so unique that He is the only-begotten Son of God (John 3:16). Because of His unique position as Creator, Savior, and Deity, Jesus was “the anointed One” (”Christ”) to whom we should submit as our Lord (Master).

>>> Please read John 8:24. <<<

*18* What is the consequence of not believing in Jesus? Answer: We will die in our __________ .

To be saved from sin, we must believe Jesus is the One whom the Bible says He is.

>>> Please read Romans 10:9,10. <<<

*19* What else must we believe to be saved? Answer: We must believe that God __________ Jesus from the dead.

Had Jesus simply died, Satan would have been victorious. In order to defeat Satan, Jesus had to arise from the dead (1 Cor. 15:12-19). To be saved, therefore, we must believe, not just in Jesus’ death, but also in His resurrection.

>>> Please read Mark 1:15. <<

*20* What else did Jesus tell us to believe? Answer: We must believe in __________ .

The gospel includes much more than just the message about who Jesus is. It also includes the message about how we must live in order to please God. To be saved, it is not enough just to believe some things about who Jesus was and what He did; we must also believe His teachings about what He requires of us (2 Thess. 2:13,14; 1:7-9; Col. 1:5).

>>> Please read Mark 16:15,16. <<<

*21* What message should be preached to all the world? Answer: Preach the __________ .

*22* What happens if we do not believe? Answer: He who does not believe will be __________ .

Note that people must believe that which is preached: the gospel. This means, not just believing in Jesus Himself, but also believing in His teaching. Those who do not believe will be condemned.

Without question, faith is essential to salvation. But this faith involves more than many people realize. And we will see that saving faith must lead to proper response in order to result in salvation.

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III. Repentance from Sin

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A. The Importance of Repentance

Just as there are many who hear but are not saved, so there are many who “believe” – i.e. they accept the truthfulness of the gospel message about Jesus – yet they will not be saved. There is yet more that is required for salvation by the death of Jesus. Consider what the gospel says about the importance of repentance.

>>> Please read Acts 2:36-38. <<<

*23* What did Peter command these people to do? Answer: He told them to __________ and be baptized.

Note that repentance is clearly stated to be a necessary condition in order to receive forgiveness of sin.

>>> Please read Acts 17:30,31. <<<

*24* How many people need to repent? Answer: God commands __________  to repent.

All people must repent because all are guilty of sin.

>>> Please read Matthew 21:28-32. <<<

*25* How did one of the sons illustrate repentance? (a) he said he would go but he did not, (b) he said he would go then he went, (c) he said he would not go, then he changed his mind and went. Answer: ____.

Repentance is changing ones mind. In particular, repenting of sin requires realizing we have been disobeying God. Then we must change our minds and decide to start obeying. This is why repentance is often called “turning.”

>>> Please read 2 Corinthians 7:10. <<<

*26* What leads people to repent? Answer: __________ produces repentance unto salvation.

When a person realizes that he is guilty of sin, he must be truly sorry and wish he had never done it. This sorrow must lead him to decide to change and do right (repent).

>>> Please read 2 Peter 3:9. <<<

*27,28* Why has God not already ended the world? Answer: He is longsuffering, not wanting any to __________ but all to come to __________ .

Note the clear implication that those who do not repent will perish (Luke 13:3,5) because, as we have seen, repentance is necessary to forgiveness. But everyone becomes guilty of sin. So when we are in sin, we must repent or we will perish as punishment for our sins.

B. The Consequences of Repentance

Repentance requires sorrow for sin and a determination to change and serve God. It follows that genuine repentance should lead to a change of conduct.

>>> Please read Acts 26:20. <<<

*29* What did Paul preach that people should do? Answer: They should repent, turn to God, and do __________ .

We earlier studied Matthew 21:28-32, which illustrates this point. In order to be accepted, the son who said he would not obey his father, had to repent and do what the father said to do. Repentance is a change of mind in which we decide to do what God requires. To please God, we must follow through and do right.

>>> Please read Matthew 12:41. <<<

*30* What did the people of Nineveh do? Answer: They repented at the __________ .

This refers to the event described in Jonah 3:4-10. Their repentance led them to turn from their evil ways. Those who do not change their lives have failed to keep the commitment of repentance.

>>> Please read Proverbs 28:13. <<<

*31* To have mercy before God, what must we do? Answer: We must not try to hide our sins but must confess and __________ them.

Note that, to receive mercy, it is not enough just to acknowledge our sins. We must forsake them – quit doing what is sinful.

>>> Please read Ezekiel 33:14-16. <<<

*32* When a person has committed a sin such as stealing, not only must he stop stealing, what else must he do? Answer: He must ___________ what he stole.

This is the principle of restoring or “restitution.” When our sins have caused harm to others, repentance requires us to correct to the extent possible the harmful effect of what we did. This includes giving back what we took that really belongs to someone else. See also Leviticus 6:1-5; Ezra 10:3,11,17,19,44; Luke 19:8; Philemon 10-14,18,19.

Repentance must be followed by actually changing our conduct. We must turn away from sin and begin obeying God. This includes correcting the harmful effects of our sinful conduct. To fail to do so is to fail to bring forth the fruits of repentance.

[See also Luke 15:17-24; 3:8.]

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IV. Obedience

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Obedience is not a specific condition toward forgiveness, but is a general principle that includes several steps. We emphasize it because some deny that obedience is necessary to salvation; they claim we are saved by “faith only” so no outward actions whatever are necessary.

However, we have already learned that the “fruits of repentance” are necessary to salvation, and this requires doing what is right – i.e., obedience. Obviously, no acts of obedience could ever earn salvation, since we have already learned that all have sinned and therefore salvation is by grace (unmerited). Please consider, however, the following passages showing that obedience is a condition necessary to forgiveness of sins.

>>> Please read Matthew 7:21-23. <<<

*33* Who does Jesus say will enter the kingdom of heaven? Answer: He who enters the kingdom is he who __________ .

Note that these people believed in Jesus and even confessed Him as Lord. But Jesus rejected them because that was not enough. He said we must do God’s will. See also Luke 6:46.

>>> Please read Romans 6:16-18. <<<

*34* What must a person do to be set free from sin? Answer: He must __________ from the heart the doctrine delivered from God.

Please note that this obedience is required in order to cease being a slave of sin and become a slave of righteousness.

>>> Please read Hebrews 5:9. <<<

*35* To whom is Jesus the author of eternal salvation? Answer: To all who __________ Him.

>>> Please read 1 Peter 1:22,23. <<<

*36* How do we purify our souls? Answer: We purify our souls in __________ to the truth.

Note that this is taught in the context of being born again.

>>> Please read Acts 10:34,35. <<<

*37* What must we do to be accepted by God? Answer: We must fear God and __________ .

Note that this is required of all people of every nation.

>>> Please read 2 Thessalonians 1:8,9. <<<

*38* What happens to those who do not obey the gospel? Answer: They will be punished with __________ from the presence of the Lord.

We have already studied other passages that teach the necessity of obedience. For example, we learned that our eternal destiny at the judgment will be determined by what we do, good or bad (Romans 2:6-11; 2 Corinthians 5:10).

The necessity of obedience does not in any sense contradict the need for faith. In fact, the gospel shows that faith will not save if it does not include obedience. The only passage that specifically mentions “faith only” is found in James 2:14-26, and it says we are not saved by “faith only” (v24). Other passages confirm that saving faith must include obedience (Galatians 5:6; Hebrews 10:39; 11:8,30 and other examples in Hebrews 11).

The same is true of love. Surely everyone agrees that love is necessary to please God (Matthew 22:36-39). But the gospel clearly teaches that, in order to please God, love must include obeying God’s commands (John 14:15,21-24; 1 John 5:3; 2:3-6).

To deny that obedience is a necessary step to salvation is to (perhaps unknowingly) deny that love, faith, and repentance are necessary, since all these require obedience. Likewise, to deny the necessity of obedience is to deny the very basis on which the Bible says we will be judged!

As our studies proceed, we will examine specific acts of obedience that are required to be forgiven and to be acceptable to God.

Personal application questions

Have you diligently studied the Scriptures to know how to be forgiven of sin? __________

Do you believe in God, in Jesus, and in the truths taught in the gospel? __________

Are you truly sorry for the sins you have committed, and have you repented of your sins and changed your life to please God? __________

Have you believed in the past that obedience is necessary to salvation, or have you believed that we are saved by “faith only” without obedience? __________

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Bible Study: Conversion from Sin

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Lesson #4: Living a Faithful Life

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When one is converted according to the gospel, his sins are forgiven and he is added to the Lord’s church (Acts 2:47). But this is just the beginning of a lifetime of service to God. The Christian must live and grow in Christ. To fail to do so is to fail to bring forth the fruits of repentance and to return to sin.

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I. The Importance of Faithfulness

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Some churches teach as doctrine that an obedient life after conversion is not essential to salvation

>>> Please read Revelation 2:10. <<<

*1* What must one do to receive the crown of life? Answer: One must be __________ unto (or until) death.

Those who cease to be faithful have no promise of eternal life.

>>> Please read Romans 6:12-18,23. <<<

*2* What does Paul say about the idea that we can continue in sin since we are under grace (v12)? Answer: Do not let __________ reign in your body that you should obey it.

*3* Instead of serving sin, what have we become (v18)? Answer: Having been set free from sin, we become __________ .

If we continue in sin we will be lost (v23); this is true both of sins committed before we are converted or sins committed afterward.

>>> Please read Romans 12:1,2. <<<

*4* What should we do with our bodies? Answer: Each convert should present his body as a __________ to God.

>>> Please read Matthew 6:19-21,24,33. <<<

*5,6* What should be our primary goal in life? Answer: We should seek first God’s ___________ and ___________ .

>>> Please read Matthew 16:24-27. <<<

*7,8* To be a follower of Jesus, what must one do? Answer: He must __________ himself and take up __________ and follow Jesus.

Note that there is no profit in gaining the whole world, if we lose our soul at the judgment.

>>> Please read 1 Corinthians 15:58. <<<

*9* What kind of work does God expect? Answer: We should be steadfast, immoveable, always abounding in ___________ .

The Lord does not expect just a little service from time to time. He expects a firm commitment to continued, faithful labor in His service.

>>> Please read 2 Peter 2:20-22. <<<

*10,11* How does Peter describe people who escape sin but go back to it? Answer: Their latter end (last state) is __________ than the beginning, and they are like a dog that __________ .

>>> Please read John 15:4-8. <<<

*12,13* What happens to a disciple who does not abide in Jesus and does not bear fruit? Answer: He is __________ like a branch and is withered and is thrown into __________ .

The Bible urges all converts to be faithful to Christ. To cease being faithful is to return to sin and be lost eternally. The decision to become a Christian requires a commitment to grow and become an active, useful servant of God (1 Peter 2:2; 2 Peter 3:18).

[See also 1 Cor. 10:1-13; Heb. 12:15]

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II. Forgiveness for the Child of God Who Sins

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Although the gospel demands faithfulness, it also recognizes that Christians will sin. There is no excuse for sin, but there is forgiveness for those who repent and renew their commitment to overcome it and grow in God’s service.

>>> Please read 1 John 1:8-10. <<<

*14* If we say we have no sin, what is our condition? Answer: We __________ ourselves and the truth is not in us.

*15* What must we do to be forgiven? Answer: If we __________ He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

>>> Please read Acts 8:22. <<<

*16,17* After Simon had been converted (vv 12,13), he sinned again. What was he told to do to be forgiven? Answer: He was told to __________ of his wickedness and __________ .

>>> Please read Matthew 6:12. <<<

*18* What did Jesus teach us here to pray? Answer: We should ask God to __________ like we forgive those who sin against us.

>>> Please read Luke 18:13,14. <<<

*19* How was this tax collector justified of his sins? Answer: He prayed, “God be merciful to me a __________ .”

God does not want His children to be lost. His Son’s death provides forgiveness for us when we sin. But we must meet conditions to be forgiven, just as surely as we had to meet conditions to be converted.

But the conditions for a child of God who sins are different from those for an alien sinner who has never been forgiven. To become a child of God, one must believe, repent, confess, and be baptized. But the child of God who sins must repent of his sins and confess his sins to God in prayer. If he has sinned against other people, he must also confess his sin to those people and seek reconciliation (Matthew 5:23,24; James 5:16; Luke 17:3,4).

Those who try to hide or cover their sins will not proper; only those who confess and forsake them will find mercy (Proverbs 28:13).

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III. Specific Requirements of Faithfulness

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What does God expect after you become a Christian? Conversion must be the beginning of a lifetime commitment of total dedication to God’s service. We cannot consider here all the requirements of faithfulness, but consider a few specific areas.

A. Study the Bible Regularly.

Diligent Bible study is our only way of learning God’s will and avoiding error.

>>> Please read Acts 17:11. <<<

*20* How did these people learn what God required of them? Answer: They searched (examined) __________ daily with hearts willing to accept it.

God has revealed His will in a way we can understand, if we are willing to study with dedication. Note that these people studied “daily” – a regular commitment to study is required.

>>> Please read Psalms 1:2. <<<

*21,22* How diligently does the godly man study God’s word? Answer: Because he delights in God’s law, he meditates on it __________ and __________ .

>>> Please read Psalms 119:9-12. <<<

*23* Why did the writer want to learn God’s word? Answer: He hid (laid up, treasured) God’s word in __________ that he might not sin against God.

Faithfulness in God’s service requires regular, dedicated study of the Scriptures, so we can know how to please God and avoid error.

Do you study your Bible regularly so you can know God’s will?

[Joshua 1:8; Hebrews 5:12; Deuteronomy 6:6-9; 1 Peter 2:2; 2 Timothy 2:15; Proverbs 2:1-20; Psalms 19:7-11]

B. Pray Frequently.

In prayer, we thank God, praise Him, and ask Him to meet our needs.

>>> Please read Acts 2:42. <<<

*24* How diligently did these early converts pray? Answer: They continued (continually) __________ in prayer, etc.

>>> Please read Philippians 4:6. <<<

*25,26* What should we do instead of worrying? Answer: We should let our __________ be made known to God by prayer and supplication with __________ .

>>> Please read 1 Peter 5:7. <<<

*27* Why should we pray to God? Answer: We should cast our cares on Him because __________ for us.

Prayer is our avenue of speaking to God. When we neglect it, we are not praising Him as we should, and He has not promised to provide what we need.

Are you diligent in prayer as you ought to be?

[Luke 18:1; Ephesians 6:18; Colossians 1:3; 4:2,3; 1 Thessalonians 5:17]

C. Attend All the Assemblies of the Local Church.

New Testament Christians always were recognized as part of a local church – Acts 9:26-28; 11:26; Heb. 13:17. This church must be scriptural in worship, name, organization, salvation, etc. (see other studies for further specifics).

Local churches should arrange meetings for members to worship God, study His word, and grow in strength and knowledge.

>>> Please read 1 Corinthians 11:23-26. <<<

*28,29* What is the purpose of the Lord’s Supper? Jesus said the bread is His __________ and the cup is the new testament in His __________, which we eat and drink in remembrance of Him.

Note that disciples should meet on the first day of each week to do this – Acts 20:7.

>>> Please read 1 Corinthians 16:1,2. <<<

*30* How should the church obtain financial income? Answer: Each local church should take up a collection on the __________ day of the week.

Each Christian is responsible to give according to his prosperity on each first day of the week to support the work of the local church.

>>> Please read Acts 11:26. <<<

*31* What other purpose did this church accomplish in its meetings? Answer: When the church assembled together, many people (considerable numbers) were __________ .

In addition to the Lord’s Supper and giving on the first day of the week, local churches met to study God’s word and to sing and pray (1 Cor. 14:15). These last three activities are nowhere specifically commanded for any particular day of the week, so the church may arrange meetings for them on any day of the week. Whenever the church arranges to meet, Christians should do their utmost to come to benefit from the study and worship.

Are you regular in attending the meetings of a faithful local church whenever you can?

[Heb. 3:12,13; 10:24,25; John 4:24; Eph. 4:16; 1 Thess. 5:11; Acts 2:42]

D. Practice Proper Relations with Other People.

Again we cannot here go into significant detail, but Christians should be willing to treat people around them according to God’s standard. This includes proper conduct in the following relationships:

>>> Please read Colossians 3:18-21. <<<

*32-35* For each verse, tell what group of people is instructed to treat other people properly. Answers: V18 – __________ ; V19 – __________ ; V20 – __________ ; V21 – __________ .

Conversion should lead us to follow God’s teachings in our families. [See also Eph. 5:22-6:4; Tit. 2:4,5.]

>>> Please read Romans 13:1-5. <<<

*36* To whom should we submit according to this passage? Answer: We should be subject to __________ .

[See also 1 Pet. 2:13,14; Matt. 22:17-21.]

Christians are also responsible to treat other people properly in business relationships (Eph. 6:5-9; Tit. 2:9,10; Col. 3:22-4:1; Psa. 37:21) and to help people who are needy (Luke 10:25-37; Acts 20:35; Jas. 1:27; Matt. 25:34-40).

Are you treating other people according to the standard of God’s word?

E. Help Others Learn the Gospel.

When you have been converted, invariably there will be someone else who made some effort to help you learn and obey the truth. Then it becomes your responsibility to help other people to learn and obey.

>>> Please read John 1:43-46. <<<

*37* After learning about Jesus, what did Philip do? Answer: He found _________ and urged him to come and see Jesus.

>>> Please read Acts 8:4. <<<

*38* When the early Christians were scattered by persecution, what did they do? Answer: They went everywhere __________ .

Every convert should learn to become a teacher. This may require time, but meanwhile we can do like Philip did and encourage people to come to someone else who can teach them.

Are you doing all you can to help other people be saved by Jesus’ gospel?

[Eph. 4:16; Prov. 11:30; 2 Tim. 2:2,24-26; John 4:28-30,39; Heb. 5:12]

F. Live an Upright Moral Life.

Besides the works of service that we have studied, Christians must work to remove from their lives the immoral conduct that so often characterizes people of the world.

>>> Please read Titus 2:11-14. <<<

*39,40* What does God’s grace teach us to do? Answer: It teaches us to deny __________ and __________ but live sober, righteous, godly lives.

>>> Please read Galatians 5:19-21. <<<

*41* What can we know about those who practice these works of the flesh? Answer: They will not __________ .

Other passages list other immoral practices that Christians must avoid. If, as already discussed, we do commit sin, then we must repent, ask God’s forgiveness, and make correction with those we have harmed. (See Mark 7:20-23; Rom. 1:26-32; 1 Cor. 6:9-11.)

Is your life morally upright before the Lord?

G. Do ALL God’s Will

>>> Please read Matthew 28:18-20. <<<

*42* After one is baptized, what should he be taught to do? Answer: He should be taught to observe __________ .

This includes developing good qualities the Lord requires (2 Peter 1:5-11) and eliminating unacceptable conduct, speech, and attitudes. God requires complete and total commitment to serving Him. We must be willing to make any sacrifice necessary to please Him. Conversion is not just a means to seek forgiveness of sins; conversion requires committing oneself to serve

Personal application questions:

How diligent are you in your Bible study, prayer, and help others learn the gospel?

Do you attend diligently whenever the local church meets?

What improvements can you make in your family life, in relationships with other people, or in living a godly, moral life?

Have you been living a faithful life in God’s service, or do you have sins in your life that you need to correct?

What You Need To know about Water

[ ART | MUSIC | KNOWLEDGE| HEALTH ]

If you’re surprised to find “water” listed as one of the World’s Healthiest Foods, you are not alone.

Many health-conscious people don’t think about water as a food. Even if they do, they don’t think about it as being “much” of a food.

Health Benefits

All creatures on earth – including humans – rely on water more than any other substance to stay healthy. We can go longer without food than water, and virtually all of our other nutrient requirements are impacted by the amount of water we drink. The reason is simple: our bodies are about 60% water by weight, and most nutrients move around through our body in water. Our bloodstream is composed primarily of water, and so are all of our tissues and organ systems. Water is also the key to elimination of toxins from our body (in the form of urine and perspiration). There isn’t a single bodily function – from seeing and hearing and thinking to running and singing and laughing – that does not depend on water.

Exactly how helpful is water to our health? Researchers at Loma Linda University looked at water consumption in a group of more than 20,000 men and women in their Adventist Health Study. In this study, they determined that adults drinking 5 or more glass of water each day were about 50% less likely to die from a heart attack. They made some other comparisons involving water and health, and in their announcement of the results, these researchers ranked increased water drinking equal very close to smoking cessation in terms of heart health! Other research has shown that water drinking helps maintain proper blood pressure, improves mental performance, increases athletic performance, and helps regulate digestion.

It’s helpful to think about the health benefits of water in three basic categories. First is the fluid aspect of water. Water is a lubricant. It keeps things flowing and moving. While it lubricates, water also protects our body parts from damage by surrounding them in a shock-absorbing fluid. This aspect of water is especially important in our joints, and also in our skin. The second aspect of water is its role as a “solvent.” Most nutrients dissolve in water. In our bodies, some of the most important dissolved nutrients are called “electrolytes.” The electrolyte minerals like potassium and sodium stay dissolved in water, and the ability of water to dissolve electrolytes is a key reason why our bodies can conduct electricity. The third aspect of water involves its role as a thermostat. When we are too hot, water lets us shed heat through sweating. Water also helps us retain heat when we need to stay warm.

As mentioned earlier, the minerals in naturally-formed water are indispensable to our health. Most people are not aware of the research in this area. Well-conducted studies in Sweden and in Poland have shown that the risk of heart disease, especially in men, could be substantially reduced if more natural water (like the type of well-water found in rural areas) were consumed. All of these studies focused on the mineral magnesium. Most of the city water in these countries – and in the United States – is very low in magnesium in comparison to the amount of magnesium found in water that has percolated down through the earth’s natural watersheds and soils and been allowed to pick up magnesium and other minerals in this way. One glass of tap water in most cities throughout the U.S. will contain about 0-2 milligrams of magnesium. By comparison, one glass of mineral water (like the bottled mineral waters purchased in a grocery store) will contain about 2-5 milligrams of magnesium, and some bottled mineral waters will contain over 25 milligrams per cup! (Manufacturers don’t always tell you this information on the bottle itself, but you can partly judge by the information they do provide about “total dissolved solids.” In general, the greater the amount of total dissolved solids the better. 1,500 parts per million (ppm) or greater of total dissolved solids is a pretty substantial level in a mineral water, and magnesium is almost always included as one of the dissolved solids). Even though the magnesium in one cup of mineral water might seem small, it can add up very rapidly. The adult requirement for magnesium ranges from 320-420 milligrams per day. 4 cups of mineral could provide about 25-30% of this amount each day. 8 cups could provide over half of the daily requirement! These numbers make water equivalent to a food like Swiss chard in terms of its magnesium content. And all of these health benefits come in exchange for zero calories.

Description

Natural, clean water is virtually crystal clear, and contrary to popular opinion, it has its own unique taste. This taste is not the taste found in ordinary tap water, although many people have become so accustomed to tap water that they cannot distinguish it as having any particular “taste.” The chlorine added to municipal tap waters is probably the greatest single contributor to tap water taste, but unless you’ve had several weeks to adjust to natural water with most of the chlorine filtered out, you may not be able to tell any difference between chlorinated and filtered.

In many ways, water is less mysterious than other foods, because we see it everyday and we see it everywhere, in rain and rivers and lakes and streams and running out of our faucet. But in other ways, water is even more mysterious than other foods, because it’s very difficult to explain how refreshing and soothing it can be. A morning or evening shower, or bath, or just the feel of splashing water on our face can be amazingly revitalizing. So can going for a swim, or even gazing out over a lake, or at the ocean. We don’t always see the beauty in a glass of water like we see the beauty in a fresh salad, but it’s there.

Most of the water that we drink comes from groundwater below the soil that is pumped up and in many cases processed. In science terms, there is a cycle called the hydrology cycle, and this cycle tells the story of natural water. Water arrives at the earth in the form of rain or snow or ice, and it can run off of mountains and hills, or through rivers and streams, down to the ocean. It can also percolate straight down through the soil into groundwater. This passage of water downward through the soil is great for mineralization of water, but it is problematic is we have polluted the soil with garbage and waste in the form of landfills or toxic waste dumps.

History

No civilization has ever survived without focusing on water. As abundant as water seems when we look around us, the natural water that supports health has always been a substance of great value to cultures and communities, and in some cultures, water is the most sacred of all substances. Because water decides where food can grow, many cultures have developed exactly where water was most present and accessible. Most coastal communities have developed in this way. In places where water is scarce, cultures have often had trouble. To some extent, this is exactly the situation that faces many areas of the United States, where the damming up of rivers has upset ecosystems and threatened the future of many creatures who depend upon natural water.

Pollution of water has also been a long-standing part of its history. Without proper attention to sanitation, many towns across the globe experienced health epidemics involving bacteria and other micro-organisms found in water. Diseases like cholera, malaria, and typhus were partly related to the lack of adequate sanitation and pollution of water. Although we worry less about many of these diseases in the United States due to fairly strict standards with respect to sanitation, pollution of water is by no means an outdated concern. Today, however, the pollution of water we are more concerned with involves toxic residues that have contaminated our water due to waste dumping in our lakes and landfills. In our Safety section we will describe this toxic residue situation in more detail.

How to Select and Store

Although there are many different ways to obtain water, we recommend two basic methods above all others. The first method is to attach a high-quality filter to your tap water supply, and to drink this filtered tap water as your main primary source of water. The second method is to purchase bottled water that has already been filtered. Both of these methods require a little more explanation in order for their benefits to be understood.

Virtually all city water supplies in the United States show dozens of different toxic residues, including pesticides, heavy metals, and solvents. A significant number of water supplies are routinely out of compliance with the federal standards and take steps to bring their toxic residues back into acceptable ranges. Over 1,000 potential toxic residues have been identified in drinking waters across the country, and about 300 are routinely tested by the federal government to determine exact toxin levels. To give an example of the widespread nature of this problem, the pesticide atrazine was found to be present in 96% of 374 community water supplies in 12 states surveyed in 2001 by the Environmental Working Group in Washington, D.C.

Due to the almost universal risk of toxic residues, filtering of water is important. In our Safety section, we will describe water filtering options in more detail. There are ways to filter water properly at home, and there are a large number of high-quality filtered waters in the marketplace. In general, most of the spring waters, mineral waters, and carbonated mineral waters on the market are sufficiently high-quality and properly filtered. However, we would recommend that you pay attention to three details when purchasing water. First, we do not recommend water that is packaged in plastic – even the hard polycarbonate plastic that is popular in 5-gallon jugs that can be taken home and used with a water stand. The reason for our recommendation is migration of plastic. Even at room temperature, a very small amount of the plastic in the water container will migrate into the water and increase certain health risks. In some cases, the degree of risk here is very, very small, Nevertheless, since we drink (or should be drinking) water every single day of every single year, any amount of risk here seems worth preventing. Even though glass containers are very inconvenient and more easily broken, we believe that the additional trouble here is worthwhile in terms of health.

The second detail when selecting bottled water is the source. Virtually all high-quality bottle water will identify the source of the water on the bottle. It’s important to ignore the brand name here and focus on the information provided to you on the bottle. Many waters sounding natural and healthy came from a city water supply in the United States that was not high-quality. If you cannot easily find a water that tells you its source, your next best step is to make sure that the water has been filtered by looking on the bottle’s ingredient list to see it the list says “filtered water.” But it’s much better to purchase a water that indicates the source of the water, and the reason that this source is desirable.

The third detail deserving attention is dissolved solids. As described earlier, mineral waters have the important advantage of providing calcium magnesium, and other essential minerals that are often deficient in our food. Some bottled waters list these minerals and their amounts on the label, but most do not. If the mineral content of a water is not specified, the bottle might still indicate “total dissolved solids” in parts per million, or ppm. A level above 1,000 ppm is a very reasonable starting point here, and a level above 1,500 ppm indicates a highly mineralized water. It’s very important to have a high-quality water that is free of toxic residues when purchasing a highly mineralized water, because “total dissolved solids” could include unwanted minerals and other substances in the case of a low-quality water. While we don’t like to recommend specific brand names on our website, we’ve found many commonly available bottled minerals waters that are high-quality according to the principles above.

How to Enjoy

We recommend that water be consumed in large volumes (one cup or greater) between meals rather than at meal times. Although there is not sufficient research to document the potential problems with water during meals, we’ve read many healthcare providers report better food digestion in the stomach, better appetite, and better overall digestive health from limited water drinking during meals. Many hypotheses about the impact of water during meals can be found in the research literature, including hypotheses about dilution of stomach acid and consistency of food as it passes through the digestive tract. Without good research support, however, these hypotheses are only hypotheses, and our recommendation is based on informal reports by healthcare providers who focus on diet and health.

Although there are many healthy and natural flavorings that can be added to water – including lemon juice, lime juice, and pre-mixed vitamin/mineral packets – there is an important role to be played by pure, natural water. Some people report better digestive function with lemon juice added to water, and that practice may be preferable in some cases, even though we have not seen any research in this area. In general, however, too many children and adults throughout the U.S. never consume plain, simple water, and from our perspective, it’s important to develop a taste for water all by itself.

Cold water can be more quickly absorbed from the stomach than hot water, and for this reason, there are times when cold water is helpful for quick rehydration. After a gym workout, for example, many people prefer water at a cold temperature. However, there are definitely exceptions, and for some individuals it is far easier to consume a substantial amount of water at room temperature than the same amount on ice or refrigerated.

One of the biggest questions about water drinking is amount. This question is a matter of ongoing debate, both in the media and in the research world. However, there are several general guidelines that we would like to emphasize in this context. First, although it’s possible to drink too much water, it’s highly unlikely that you will do so! “Water intoxication,” as it’s commonly called in the medical world, usually involves imbalance in some of the body’s physiological systems and not just excessive intake of water. We give you the “green light” to drink as much water as you desire, provided that you stick with the natural and high-quality principles that we have described.

As mentioned previously, we recommend limiting water consumption during meals. 4-8 ounces spread out evenly over the course of a 20-minute meal would not problematic. If you consumed 3 meals per day, this “with-meal” amount would total 12-24 ounces for the day, or about 1.5 – 3 glasses. On top of this 1.5-3 glasses, we would recommend another 4-5 glasses between meals to bring the daily total to 6-8 glasses. We would caution against drinking too much water late in the day, because waking up from sleep to go to the bathroom will not help your overall health. We’d also recommend drinking additional water before, during, and after heavy exercise, or any physical activity that involves sweating.

After a heavy workout and profuse sweating, for example, you may easily need an additional quart of water. You will also need additional water whenever you have obvious water loss, as would occur with even fairly mild diarrhea. We also recommend that you consume water in a somewhat consistent pattern, and keep your water intake adequate on a morning-afternoon-and-evening basis.

Safety

The range of potential contaminants in drinking water is somewhat surprising when you first encounter it. Inorganic chemicals (like mercury), organic chemicals (including solvents like toluene, pesticides like atrazine, and plastics like PVC), disinfectants (like chlorine bleach), microorganisms (like coliform bacteria), and even radionucleotides (like radium or uranium) can be found in many drinking water supplies in the U.S. and throughout the world. In the U.S., the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) monitors toxin levels in our drinking water, and maximum allowable contamination levels (or MCLs) are set for approximately 80 of the 100’s of potential substances involved. Major factors in the contamination of our drinking water are sewage sludge disposal (and fertilizers that can contain residues of sewage sludge), hazardous landfills, and industry pollution of lakes and streams.

One of the best ways to reduce your exposure to all of these potential toxic substances is to filter your water at home. There are two basic styles of filtering. The first style involves your faucet. Water filters that can be placed at or near your faucet are called POU (or point-of-use) filters. The second style of filtering is POE (or point-of-entry) filtering, where you place the filter in a more central location to impact all of the water flowing into your house. Many people cannot afford the cost of POE filters that filter all of the water flowing into their home, and for this reason, select POU filters that only affect a single faucet.

We believe that faucet-level filtering can be very effecting for producing healthy drinking water, but we like the research on under-the-sink filters much better than the research on filters that attach directly at the end of the faucet. One of the major differences we see here involves the use of solid carbon blocks in the under-the-sink filters versus granulated carbon particles in the end-of-the-faucet filters. Granulated carbon does not show the same effectiveness in research for filtering potential toxins as solid block carbon.

Carbon water filters are fairly effective at removing many organic chemicals and chlorine, but they are not necessarily perfect for bacteria or for heavy metals. You can increase your chances of having water that is free of unwanted microorganisms by selecting a carbon block filter that has a very low micron rating. Micron rating refers to the size of the openings in the filter. In general, we recommend filters that have a micron rating no greater than 1 micrometer.

We also recommend an activated carbon block that can tract many organic compounds electromagnetically. Activated carbon is helpful for many volatile organic compounds (VOCs), for heavy metals like mercury and lead, and for many chlorine-associated compounds.

There is a good bit of research on reverse osmosis (or RO) filters. While true reverse osmosis (or RO filters) can get even more selective in filtering out particles than solid carbon block filters, these filters are often experienced as too complicated for home use. In addition, we don’t like the fact that a very selective filter than can filter a substance only 9/1000ths of a micron in size might also filter out too many of the desirable minerals that are found in water.

Several under-the-sink type filters include a solid block of activated carbon as well as a 1-micron prefilter, and these filters make great sense to us as practical options for high-quality drinking water. There have also been advances in water filters that attach at the end of the faucet, and the newer versions of these filters that include solid block carbon and pre-filtering make a logical choice as long as you follow the manufacturer’s instructions for volume of water filtered and routine replacement of the filters whenever their capacity is reached. These filters typically need to be changed more often than under-the-sink versions. Depending on water use, an under-the-sink filter can be expected to last between 6-12 months, and cost approximately $45-$75 dollars.

Nutritional Profile

Due to the enormous variation in drinking water quality, it is impossible to provide any helpful nutrient profile for “water” per se. Many city tap waters will contain less than 5 milligrams of calcium per cup, less than 2 milligrams of magnesium, and only trace amounts of other minerals. As described earlier, some high-quality mineral waters will provide over 25 milligrams of magnesium per cup, over 35 milligrams of calcium, and small amounts of more than a dozen additional minerals. Pure, natural water does not contain protein, fat, carbohydrate or fiber. It is also calorie-free.

References

• Brewster D. Dehydration in acute gastroenteritis. J Paediatr Child Health. 2002 Sep;38(3)219-22 2002. PMID:12047685.
• Chan J, Knutsen SF, Blix GG, et al. Water, other fluids, and fatal coronary heart disease: the Adventist Health Study. Am J Epidemiol. 2002 May;155(9)827-33 2002. PMID:11978586.
• Environmental Working Group. Tough to swallow: how pesticide companies profit from poisoning America’s tap water. 1997.
• Iggulden H. Dehydration and electrolyte disturbance. Elder Care. 1999 Nov;11(3)17-22; quiz 23 1999. PMID:10542527.
• Rubenowitz E, Axelsson G, Rylander R. Magnesium in drinking water and death from acute myocardial infarction. Am J Epidemiol. 1996 Mar;143(5)456-62 1996. PMID:8610660.
• Rubenowitz E, Molin I, Axelsson G, et al. Magnesium in drinking water in relation to morbidity and mortality from acute myocardial infarction. Epidemiology. 2001 Feb;11(4)416-21 2001. PMID:10874548.
• Rylander R, Bonevik H, Rubenowitz E. Magnesium and calcium in drinking water and cardiovascular mortality. Scand J Work Environ Health. 1991 Apr;17(2)91-4 1991. PMID:2047817.
• Sheehy CM, Perry PA, Cromwell SL. Dehydration: biological considerations, age-related changes, and risk factors in older adults. Biol Res Nurs. 2001 Mar;1(1)30-7 2001. PMID:11225294.
• United States Environmental Protection Agency. National water quality inventory: 1998 report to Congress. EPA 841-R-00-001. 1998.
• United States Environmental Protection Agency. Office of Water. Estimated per capita water ingestion in the United States. EPA 822-R-00-008. 2000.

State of Holy Hip Hop

Daily Bible Study: Conversion from Sin

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Lesson #5: The Church, Motives, and Accountability

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I. The Church in Conversion

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The church is a common topic in the New Testament. Jesus promised He would build it (Matt. 16:18). All New Testament Christians were added to it when they received forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:47). Let us consider the role of the church in the conversion of sinners.

A. Terms for the Church

Jesus’ church is referred to by various different terms in the New Testament. Familiarity with these terms will help us recognize the church when it is discussed in the passages we study. So consider the following terms used to refer to the church:

>>> Please read Ephesians 1:22,23. <<<

*1* What is the relationship between Christ and the church? Answer: Christ is the Head of the church, which is His __________.

The church is the body of Christ in that He serves as the Head or Ruler over it. [Colossians 1:18]

>>> Please read Matthew 16:18,19. <<<

*2* What did Jesus promise to build? Answer: He said he would build His __________.

*3* What did He promise to give to Peter? Answer: He said He would give him the keys of the __________.

Jesus here uses the terms “church” and “kingdom” interchangeably. The passage makes no sense at all unless these terms refer to the same body or group of people.

>>> Please read Colossians 1:12-14. <<<

*4* What does God put us into when we are delivered from the power of darkness? Answer: We are translated or transferred into the __________ of His Son.

The kingdom is not an institution that will come in the future but does not now exist. Rather, all saved people have been in the kingdom from the first century onward. Note that this kingdom is referred to again in this context as the church or body over which Christ is the Head (v18). The church is Christ’s kingdom because it includes all the people who have pledged allegiance to Him as their King or ruler.

>>> Please read 1 Timothy 3:15. <<<

*5* What did Paul call the church in this verse? Answer: He referred to the __________ of God, which is the church of the living God.

The church is the house (household) of God in the sense that it is His family over which He presides as our spiritual Father (Eph. 2:19).

So the church is the body of Christ, the kingdom of Christ, and the house of God. The church is also called by other terms, such as the temple of God (Eph. 2:19-22). These are not different institutions or groups; rather they are simply different terms that refer to the same group but emphasize different aspects of it.

Notice passages using these terms as we continue our study.

B. The Importance of the Church in Conversion

Some people teach that church membership is irrelevant to conversion: one can be saved in or out of the church. But notice what God’s word actually says about the church in salvation from sin.

>>> Please read Acts 20:28. <<<

*6* What price did Jesus pay to purchase the church? Answer: He purchased the church with His __________.

We are forgiven of sins by the blood of Jesus (Eph. 1:7). But His blood purchased the church. So how could we be saved outside the church?

>>> Please read Ephesians 5:23,25. <<<

*7* Christ is the Savior of what? Answer: He is the Savior of the __________; He gave Himself for the church.

Since Jesus is the only Savior and He gave Himself to save the church (His body), how can we be saved outside the church?

>>> Please read 1 Corinthians 12:13. <<<

*8* How do we enter the one body? Answer: We are all __________ into one body.

We learned earlier that baptism is necessary for us to be cleansed or saved from sin, so we come into Christ at the point of baptism. But here we learn that baptism also puts us into the one body, which is the church. (”By one Spirit” here refers to the fact that the word revealed by the Holy Spirit teaches us to be baptized. Cf. Ephesians 5:26; John 3:5.)

The church itself does not save us. But when our sins are forgiven by the blood of Jesus, He puts us into the church (Acts 2:47). There church, therefore, is the body or group that consists of all people who have received remission of sins. How then can we be saved if we are outside that body?

The church is not insignificant or unimportant in God’s eternal plan for our redemption from sin. Rather it was part of that plan from eternity (Ephesians 3:10,11). Since all saved people will be added to Jesus’ church (the kingdom), they need to be taught about the church even before they are baptized (Acts 8:12; 19:8; 28:23,31; Matt. 4:23).

C. The Number of True Churches

We have seen that membership in Jesus’ church is essential to salvation. But many different denominations exist today. Some people claim that it does not matter which church one joins. Others celebrate the existence of denominations as an advantage or even a blessing. Consider what the Bible teaches:

How many true churches are there?

>>> Please read Matthew 16:18.

*9* What prediction did Jesus make? Answer: He said He would __________ His church.

*10* How many churches would then belong to Him? (a) none, (b) many different churches, (c) one (”my church”). Answer: ____

Jesus promised to build one church that would belong to Him. It is His because He bought it with His blood (Acts 20:28). When people claim that many different churches belong to Him, they contradict His intentions regarding His church and regarding His blood. Since it is His church, bought by His blood, what right does any man have to change His will regarding it?

>>> Please read Ephesians 1:22,23. <<<

*11* What is Jesus’ relationship to the church? Answer: He is the __________ of the church, which is His body.

How many bodies does the Head have?

>>> Please read Ephesians 5:23,25. <<<

*12* The relationship of the church to Jesus is compared to what? Answer: It is compared to the headship of a man over his __________.

How many wives is a man permitted by God to be head over?

>>> Please read Ephesians 4:3-6. <<<

*13* Unity requires the seven things that are listed here. How many of each should there be? Answer: There is (give a number) __________ of each.

In particular, note that there is one “body,” just as surely as there is one God and Father. But the body is the church (1:22,23).

>>> Please read 1 Corinthians 12:20. <<<

*14* The Lord’s church consists of how many bodies? Answer: There are many members but __________ body.

Jesus built, bought, and died for just one church. He adds all saved people to that one church (Acts 2:47). People who are not in that one church, therefore, are not among the saved. Whenever any church claims that God’s true people can be saved in any of several or many different bodies, that church proves that is it not Jesus’ church!

Is religious division acceptable?

Different denominations contradict one another in their teaching and practice about worship, organization, salvation, and work. What does the Bible teach about such disagreements?

We have already learned that we must follow God’s plan for our service to Him without human changes. Denominational differences are wrong, first of all, because they result from human changes in God’s plan.

We also studied Ephesians 4:3-6 which taught the need for unity, including one body and one faith. The different denominations are surely not united and do not all practice the one true faith of the gospel.

>>> Please read John 17:20-22. <<<

*15,16* For what did Jesus pray? Answer: He prayed for all His disciples to be __________ as He and the __________ are one.

Religious division violates the prayer of Jesus.

>>> Please read 1 Corinthians 1:10-13. <<<

*17,18* What instruction did Paul give the church in Corinth? Answer: He said there should be no __________ among them. To prove the point He asked, “Is Christ __________?”

If Jesus’ teaching contradicted itself, we would expect people who followed Him to contradict one another. But He is not divided against Himself, so Paul taught Jesus’ followers there should be no divisions among them.

>>> Please read 1 Corinthians 14:33. <<<

*19* God is not the author or source of what? Answer: He is not the author (God) of __________.

The contradictory doctrines of denominationalism are unquestionably confusing, so we can be sure that such division is not from God.

>>> Please read Mark 3:24,25. <<<

*20* What did Jesus say about a kingdom or house that is divided against itself? Answer: It cannot __________.

It follows from the Scriptures that there can be only one true church and all truly converted people are added by the Lord to it. If any religious group excuses or defends the existence of contradictory denominations, we can be sure that church is not the one true church nor is it any part of it. Jesus’ true church is not a denomination nor is it part of any conglomerate or confederacy of denominations.

Each person who seeks to be saved, must be part of the church that Jesus built and died for.

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II. Motives and Accountability

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We have examined the Bible teaching about how and why people need conversion. We have also studied the need for faithful living, which includes membership in Jesus’ one true church. Each person must make the decision for himself whether or not to accept God’s will and be converted. Note some points that should be considered in making this decision.

A. The Importance of Proper Motives

The Bible teaches the importance, not just of obeying God, but of doing so for the proper reasons and with proper attitudes. This is important both in meeting the conditions of conversion and in living by God’s teaching after conversion.

>>> Please read Proverbs 4:23. <<<

*21* Why is the condition of ones heart important? Answer: Out of the heart spring (are, flow) the __________.

The heart is where we decide what we will do. It is the seat of our choices. Attitudes are important because they ultimately determine how we act and what kind of person we are.

>>> Please read 1 Chronicles 28:9. <<<

*22,23* What attitude did David teach Solomon to have in serving God? Answer: He said to serve Him with a __________ heart (devotion) and a __________ mind.

David warned that God searches and understands the thoughts and intents of our heart. He does not want just outward motions. He wants sincere meaning and understanding.

>>> Please read Matthew 5:8. <<<

*24 What is God’s reward for the pure in heart? Answer: The pure in heart are blessed because they will __________.

Note that the condition of ones heart is essential to receiving eternal life with God.

>>> Please read Romans 6:17,18. <<<

*25 What role does the heart play in obedience? Answer: People who want to be set free from sin, must obey from the __________ the teaching delivered from God.

We cannot truly be converted by just going through the motions. We must understand and mean from the heart what we do in our obedience to the gospel.

>>> Please read Romans 12:1,2. <<<

*26 Instead of conforming to the world, what should you do? Answer: You should be transformed by __________.

Changing our lives begins by changing how we think. Outward change must come from within, and that requires proper attitudes.

>>> Please read 1 Corinthians 13:1-3. <<<

*27 What quality is needed to make our works of service acceptable? Answer: No matter what good we do, it profits nothing if we do not also have __________.

>>> Please read 1 Corinthians 14:15. <<<

*28 How should we offer our prayers and singing? Answer: We must sing and pray with the spirit and the __________.

God does not accept mere outward ritual unaccompanied by sincere understanding and meaning in the heart.

Proper motives and attitudes are essential in all our service to God. In particular, we must understand the proper purpose and sincerely mean what we do in meeting the conditions of forgiveness. Then we must serve God faithfully with proper motives.

B. The Condition of Those Who Are Not Accountable

It should be obvious that little children cannot make the commitment that serving God requires. They cannot hear, understand, and believe the gospel. They cannot truly repent, confess Christ, and understand the purpose of baptism. They cannot live the faithful life that God requires after baptism, and they surely cannot do these things with a true understanding of the meaning and purpose of what they involve.

So the command to be converted is not addressed to little children. They cannot obey with understanding; therefore, obedience is not required of them. What then is their status before God?

>>> Please read Matthew 18:2,3. <<<

*29* What must we do in order to enter the kingdom of heaven? Answer: We must be converted and become like __________.

When sinners are converted, they become like little children. It follows that little children do not need conversion. They are innocent and acceptable to God just as they are without being converted.

>>> Please read Matthew 19:13,14. <<<

*30* What did Jesus say about the little children that were brought to Him? Answer: He said that of (to) such is the __________.

If the kingdom of heaven consists of those who are like little children, then children must not be counted guilty of sin. Note that Jesus did not require these children to be converted or be baptized. They were acceptable just as they were.

>>> Please read Psalms 106:37,38. <<<

*31* When idol worshipers sacrificed their children to idols, what kind of blood did they shed? Answer: They shed __________ blood.

So God counts little children to be innocent. We already studied that they do not inherit the guilt of sin from Adam or from their ancestors. God does not hold them accountable for their conduct until they are mature enough to be capable of obeying the gospel with understanding of what is involved.

As children grow, they should be taught God’s word to the extent they are able to understand it, so they will gradually grow in understanding as they are able. When they become capable of obeying God’s will with understanding, God holds them accountable. They will eventually sin, as all do. Then the Bible teachings about conversion will apply to them.

Personal application questions:

Do you believe the existence of many different denominations pleases God or displeases Him? Explain. __________

Have you found the one true church that belongs to Jesus? If so, have you become part of it? __________

Do you believe babies are innocent or guilty before God? Explain. __________

If you have once professed to be converted, did you sincerely understand and mean the commitment? __________

The Truth About Christmas – Part One

[ ART | MUSIC | KNOWLEDGE| HEALTH ]

SO, WHEN WAS JESUS REALLY BORN?

By now you might guess it wasn’t December 25^th. You now know that the 25^th of December is the time of the Winter Solstice and is the claimed birth date of all the major pagan deities. Now, looking to Israeli meteorologists, they actually tracked December weather patterns for many years and concluded that the climate in Israel has been essentially constant for at least the last 2,000 years. The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible states that, “broadly speaking, weather phenomena and climatic conditions as pictured in the Bible correspond with conditions as observed today” (R.B.Y. Scott, Vol. 3, Abingdon Press, Nashville, 1962, p. 625).

So this means the temperature in the area of Bethlehem in December, which averages around 44 degrees Fahrenheit (7 degrees Celsius) but can drop to well below freezing, especially at night, is essentially the same as it was at the time of Jesus. Describing the weather there, Sara Ruhin, chief of the Israeli weather service, noted in a 1990 press release that the area has three months of frost: December with 29 F. [minus 1.6 C.]; January with 30 F. [minus 1.1 C.] and February with 32 F. [0 C.]. Snow is common for two or three days in Jerusalem and nearby Bethlehem in December and January. These were the winter months of increased precipitation in Jesus’ time, when the roads became practically unusable and people stayed mostly indoors.

This is important evidence to disprove a December date for Jesus’ birth. Note that, at the time of Jesus’ birth, the shepherds tended their flocks in the fields at night and there was a census, so every male was traveling back to the place of their birth, this would have been impractical during the winter months. “Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields,” wrote one Gospel writer, “keeping watch over their flock by night” (Luke 2:8). A common practice of shepherds was keeping their flocks in the field from April to October, but in the cold and rainy winter months they took their flocks back home and sheltered them.

One commentary admits that, “as these shepherds had not yet brought home their flocks, it is a presumptive argument that October had not yet commenced, and that, consequently, our Lord was not born on the 25th of December, when no flocks were out in the fields; nor could He have been born later than September, as the flocks were still in the fields by night. On this very ground the nativity in December should be given up. The feeding of the flocks by night in the fields is a chronological fact, which casts considerable light upon this disputed point” (Adam Clarke’s Commentary, Abingdon Press, Nashville, note on Luke 2:8).

Another study source agrees: “These humble pastoral folk are out in the field at night with their flock—a feature of the story which would argue against the birth [of Christ] occurring on Dec. 25 since the weather would not have permitted it” (The Interpreter’s One-Volume Commentary, Abingdon Press, Nashville, 1971, note on Luke 2:4-7).

The Companion Bible, Appendix 179 says:

Shepherds and their flocks would not be found “abiding” (Gr. agrauleo) in the open fields at night in December (Tebeth), for the paramount reason that there would be no pasturage at that time. It was the custom then (as now) to withdraw the flocks during the month Marchesven (Oct.-Nov.) from the open districts and house them for the winter.

The census described by Luke

Other evidence arguing against a December birth of Jesus is the Roman census recorded by Luke. “And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered… So all went to be registered everyone to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem…, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son…” (Luke 2:1-7).

The Roman and Judean rulers knew that taking a census in winter would have been impractical and unpopular. Generally a census would take place after the harvest season, in September or October, when it would not seriously affect the economy, the weather was good and the roads were still dry enough to allow easy travel. According to the normal dates for the census, this would probably be the season of Christ’s birth. Another author states that this census “could hardly have been at that season [December 25], however, for such a time would surely not have been chosen by the authorities for a public enrollment, which necessitated the population’s traveling from all parts to their natal districts, storms and rain making journeys both unsafe and unpleasant in winter, except in specially favorable years” (”Christmas at Bethlehem,” Holy-Days and Holidays, Cunningham Geikie).

Luke’s account of the census argues strongly against a December date for Christ’s birth. For such an agricultural society, an autumn post-harvest census was much more likely.

THE YEAR OF CHRIST’S BIRTH

Jesus wasn’t born in A.D. 0 either as many may believe. In 525 Pope John I commissioned the scholar Dionysius Exiguus to establish a feast calendar for the Roman Church. Dionysius also estimated the year of Christ’s birth based upon the founding of the city of Rome. Unfortunately because of insufficient historical data he arrived at a date at least a few years later than the actual event. The Gospels record Jesus’ birth as occurring during the reign of Herod the Great. Herod’s death is recorded by Jewish historian Flavius Josephus (Antiquities of the Jews, Josephus, Book 17, Chapter 8 ) and occurred in the spring of 4 B.C. (New Testament History, F.F. Bruce, Anchor Books, p.23). Therefore, Christ’s birth had to take place at least four years before the traditional date of A.D. 0 for historically there is no such date.

WHY WAS DECEMBER 25 POPULARIZED?

In Rome December 25^th was made popular by Pope Liberius in 354 and became the rule in the West in 435 when the first “Christ mass” was officiated by Pope Sixtus III. This coincided with the date of a celebration by the Romans to the sun god Mithras, who is said to have been born December 25^th. The Roman Catholic writer Mario Righetti candidly admits that, “to facilitate the acceptance of the faith by the pagan masses, the Church of Rome found it convenient to institute the 25^th of December as the feast of the birth of Christ to divert them from the pagan feast, celebrated on the same day in honor of the ‘Invincible Sun’ Mithras, the conqueror of darkness” (Manual of Liturgical History, 1955, Vol. 2, p. 67).

Because the Mithraic religion was an oral tradition; given through the Mithraic priesthood, there where no official writings or liturgical history. Thus, the Roman Church adopted those of the Messianic Jews and Messianic Gentiles (1^st Century Christians) as its official canon of sacred writings while teaching and maintaining the oral tradition. This is why most Roman Catholics have very little knowledge of scripture, but they know all the days to fast, the saints, chants, and holidays. It’s also interesting to note here that most of the major Roman Catholic Cathedrals are built upon Mithraic shrines.

Protestant historian Henry Chadwick sums up the controversy: “Moreover, early in the fourth century there begins in the West (where first and by whom is not known) the celebration of December 25th, the birthday of the Sun-god at the winter solstice, as the date for the nativity of Christ. How easy it was for Christianity and solar religion to become entangled at the popular level is strikingly illustrated by a mid-fifth century sermon of Pope Leo the Great, rebuking his over-cautious flock for paying reverence to the Sun on the steps of St. Peter’s before turning their back on it to worship inside the westward-facing basilica” (The Early Church, Penguin Books, London, 1967, p. 126).

The Encyclopedia Americana makes this clear: “In the fifth century, the Western Church ordered it [Christ's birth] to be observed forever on the day of the old Roman feast of the birth of Sol Invictus [Invincible Sun- the sun god], as no certain knowledge of the day of Christ’s birth existed” (1944 edition, “Christmas”).

Paul warned against observing “days, and months, and times, and years” (Gal. 4: 10). There were religious events unauthorized by God. The scriptures say nothing of Christmas or the continued celebration of the birth of Christ. They are post-apostolic; hence, unauthorized by God’s word in the context that we celebrate them today (see Gal. 1: 6-9; Rev. 22: 18, 19).

Christ’s yearly birthday celebration owes its beginning to man, not God. For Jesus always was, always is, and always will be according to the book of John: John 1:1-2 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.” Therefore to celebrate a birth seems erroneous as He has always been and always will be!

So, when was Jesus born?

First, we must come to agree that Jesus always has been (John 1:1-2), once we understand that then we can begin to look for the season in which Jesus came to dwell among man. To begin this study, let’s begin in the book of Daniel. Often times when we think of the book of Daniel we think of a young man being thrown into a den of hungry lions or a kid in a fiery furnace; but did you know that Daniel was actually around 80 years old when he was thrown in the lions den? He had been a ruler of Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, and now Darius, the latter of which was tricked into having his vice-president (Daniel) executed.

Daniel and his companions, Azriyah, Haniniyah, and Misha’el where Jewish, where raised in Jerusalem and had been taught Torah (God’s Instructions) from their youth. When they where carried away into Babylon as captives, they where renamed Belteshazzar, Shadrack, Meshech, and Abed-nego and made eunuchs, trained for service in the court of King Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 1:1-7). Daniel accurately interpreted one of the kinds dreams and was promoted to Prime Minister, which made him wealthy. The scripture also state that he was multiplied in wealth twice more: during the reigns of Belshazzar and Darius the Mede, making him one of the richest men in the kingdom. Daniel was in charge of the “Chaldeans”, a group of highly trained astronomers and intellectuals, many of which where Jewish captives. During his life, Daniel had many dreams and visions of kingdoms that would come and go.

During the end of his life, he was visited by the angel Gabriel and given specific timing of the coming of the Messiah and he was instructed to seal up some information, which no one was to know but himself. Then we find that Daniel dies a eunuch in Babylon…what happened to his vast fortune? With a fortune so vast there would have been some sort of account for it, it certainly wouldn’t have been left or tossed away… As we read through the historical books we come to find that many Jews stayed behind in Babylon after the captivity had ended, especially those in positions of responsibility. One noted such person is Mordechai and his niece Haddasah (known as Queen Esther). Daniel would have surely delegated the reasonability of his will to trusted companions, the Jewish Chaldean astronomers whom he has trained and who remained behind in Babylon.

Jumping ahead 500 years we see the treasure of Daniel reappear in the Scriptures!

We find that the magi- the Latin translation of a Greek word for an oriental scientist or astronomer have seen the sign of the Messiah in the sky above. Could it be that the same group, once trained by the prophet Daniel to look for signs in the heavens, have come to see the Messiah? For what reason would they seek Him? Let’s find out… in a moment…

The Nativity

Ask anyone you meet “How many wise men came to present gifts to Jesus, where did they find Him and how was He dressed?” As you already know, the common answer will be “Three wise men found Jesus lying in swaddling clothes in a manger.” That however is not what the scriptures teach! We actually read in the King James Version in Matthew 2:11 that an undesignated number of wise men (magi) came to the house where they found the young child, Jesus, living with His mother Mary, step-father, and Joseph. In the Gospels we find that only the shepherds arrived at the manger (Luke 2:8-20).

It’s really absurd to suggest a group of three men traveled in the middle of winter through the desert without an armed caravan. Wise men they would not have been if that was the case… The magi where in fact Chaldeans, astronomers from the east; those of the line trained by the Prophet Daniel. The same entrusted with Daniel’s treasure. Following Daniels instruction, the astronomers watched the skies for 500 years awaiting the Great Sign in the heavens that finally occurred on Tishri 1, and the end of the fourth millennium (Revelation 12:1-5). The constellation Bethula (Hebrew), the Virgin (Virgo [Latin]) was clothed with the setting sun at the time that the first sliver of the new moon appeared beneath her feet. In the twelve stars above her head, the planet Ha Tzadek (The Righteous [Jupiter, pagan]) came into conjunction with the star Ha Maleck (The King [Regulus, Latin]) that is between the feet of the constellation of Ariel (Hebrew [Leo, Latin]), the Lion of Judah.

On the first day of the month of Tishri, on Yom Teruah, the Feast of Trumpets, this one-time celestial alignment announced the coming birth of the Maleck-Tzadeck or Melchizadek, the King of Righteousness of the Tribe of Judah, who of course is Jesus the Messiah (Hebrews 7:11-26). During this feast the trumpets (shofars) are sounded signaling the coming of the Messiah, thus the astronomers (magi) left for Jerusalem. During their journey the Messiah arrived the fifteenth day of the seventh month on the Biblical Calendar (Tishri 15) on the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles. How do we know this?

According to the Torah men where required to live in a sukkah of tabernacle for seven days, while women where free to live in the home. However, because a census has been called many men had to travel back to their homelands to be counted, so there was an unusual amount of travel away from Jerusalem. As we read in the Gospels, Mary couldn’t stay in the inn because it was booked up, no room, so she had to stay in a Sukkah (Manger/Stall is a Latin translation) with Joseph. She gave birth in the sukkah and at this moment “the word was made flesh and sukkoted (or tabernacled) among us.” In the King James Version, tabernacled was translated as “dwelt” among us (John 1:14).

40 days after the birth of Jesus, the law required an offering to be made. So, Mary and Joseph went to the temple, but where so poor they could only afford the minimal offering of two pigeons. So, they where obviously not yet in possession of the gold, frankincense, and myrrh as recorded in Luke 2:22-24.

A time later, actually about 500 years after Daniel passed, the executors of his will have brought Daniels treasure laden caravan to the gates of Jerusalem with the proclamation, “We have come to worship Him who is born King of the Jews.” Herod sent them to the neighboring village of Bethlehem, where the prophet Micah said the Messiah would be born (Micah 5:2). However, before Herod sent the magi to Bethlehem, he took private counsel with them asking them to him with information concerning the location of the Messiah.

After the magi delivered Daniels treasure to the Messiah, they where warned in a vision to secretly depart from Israel. Herod became angry that the magi ignored his request, so he ordered all male children throughout the country of Bethlehem “two years old and under according to the time which he had diligently inquired of these wise men” (Matthew 2:16). But this time, Joseph and Mary with the young Jesus where well on their way to Egypt a trip they could not have made unless the Lord set up their flight beforehand (Revelation 12:1-5)! The truth is always so much more awesome than the tradition!

Bible Study: Unity In the Body

The Unique, Uncommon, Unequaled Church
Does Jesus Want One Church Today or Many?

Modern denominations differ in many ways, all claiming to be Christian and to honor Jesus. Yet the gospel shows that Christ planned and built just one church. Should Christianity be characterized by religious unity or by division? Does Jesus want one true church today, or should we approve and accept the existence of many divided denominations? Is one church as good as another? How many true churches are there?

Introduction:

In most areas of life, people consider it an advantage for something to be unique, uncommon, or unequaled. Sales commercials emphasize that their product is distinctive from other products. An antique is especially valuable if it is rare or uncommon. Athletes are especially honored if they win championships or set records.

In religion, however, many people consider it unacceptable, poor taste, or politically incorrect for a church to claim to be unique or unequaled. They object if members defend a church as being special or better than other groups. Some say, “One church is just good as another. Why are you so intolerant and strict? We need to be broad-minded in religion. Don’t criticize other groups. How can one little group be right and all the others be wrong?” People want members of many different denominations to be acceptable to God, so they object if you believe otherwise.

Unfortunately, instead of considering what God says about these subjects, most people base their views on their own opinion, what some preacher says, what they personally want to believe, or what their parents believed.

In this study, let us set aside the opinions of men and examine what God says in the Bible about the unique, uncommon, and unequaled character of the church that belongs to Jesus. When we do, we will also find the answers to other questions many people are asking.

Did Jesus plan and build just one church or many different denominations? Should Christianity be characterized by religious unity or by division? Should we approve and accept the existence of many divided “Christian denominations,” or should we believe and teach that there should be just one true church?

Consider the Bible answers to the following important questions:

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Question #1: How Important Is Obedience?

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To understand the uniqueness of Jesus’ church, we must begin by studying the fundamental importance of obedience. Many people believe it does not much matter whether or not a church obeys Jesus. When evidence is given that a church is somehow disobeying God’s word, some people say this doesn’t matter because the people in that church believe in the true God and love God, etc.

This is important to our study because, if Jesus requires obedience, then that is at least one way that the church needs to be unique compared to churches that do not obey. But if disobedience can be overlooked, then there would be no advantage in being part of a church that was obedient.

So what does God’s word say? In a world of religious groups that say obedience is not essential, does God expect His church to be unique by emphasizing the need for obedience?

Ephesians 1:22,23; 5:23,24 – Jesus is the head over all things to the church. The church must be subject to Jesus, just like a body should obey the instructions of its head.

Colossians 3:17; 2:8,19 – Since Christ is head of the church (1:18), all we do should be done in His name – i.e., according to His authority. We must “hold fast the head” by obeying Him instead of following human philosophies and traditions.

Matthew 15:9 – Our worship to God is vain if we follow human doctrines instead of Jesus’ teachings (cf. 2 John 9; Galatians 1:8,9; John 4:24).

Jesus’ church should emphasize obedience to its Head. When a church teaches that we do not have to obey Jesus to be saved, that church is admitting it is not honoring Jesus as its Head! If a church obeys human doctrine, then men are its head.

Matthew 7:21-27 – It is not enough just to call Jesus our Lord. We must do the will of the Father. If we do not obey Jesus’ teachings, we are as foolish as a man who builds a house without a solid foundation. Just as that house will not stand in bad weather, so our lives will not be acceptable in the judgment.

Hebrews 5:9; 2 Thessalonians 1:8,9 – Jesus is the author of salvation to all who obey Him. Those who do not obey the gospel will receive eternal destruction when Jesus returns.

This is not to say that anyone who ever disobeys is forever without hope. Such a person can be forgiven, but to do so he must repent and make up his mind to become obedient and then be forgiven by Jesus’ blood (Acts 2:38; 17:30; 2 Peter 3:9; Mark 16:16).

Clearly it is a serious mistake to think that obedience is not essential. Yet many churches deny the need for obedience. So one way Jesus’ church should be unique is that it should honor Jesus as its Head by obeying Him. Furthermore, as we proceed we will see that this obedience is a source from which necessarily spring many other unique features of the church.

(See also James 1:21-25; 1 Peter 1:22,23; Romans 6:17,18; 1 John 5:3; 2:3-6; 3:6-10; John 14:15,21-24; Romans 2:6-10.)

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Question #2: Are God’s People a Minority or a Majority?

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Most people somehow believe that they will be saved, and most people like to think that the majority of other people will be saved. If that were true, then those who are saved would not be very unique. And if most people really were saved, then that would make Jesus’ church large. So people tend to reject small churches. Being small would make the church unique, but here again most people don’t like uniqueness.

It is true that God has provided a plan whereby all men can be saved. He would be pleased if everyone would follow that plan and receive eternal life (2 Peter 3:9; 1 Timothy 2:3-6; John 3:16; Mark 16:15,16). However, we have seen that only those people who obey God’s plan actually will be saved, and all others will be lost. So should we expect the number of saved, obedient people to be large or small compared to the number who disobey? Are most people saved, or does being saved make one unique?

Matthew 7:13,14 – The way that leads to destruction is broad and many travel that road. The way that leads to life is narrow and “few there be that find it.” Many people fail to do the will of the Father, but only a few will obey and be saved (cf. vv 21-27).

1 Peter 3:20 – In the days of Noah, only a few souls were saved – only eight out of the thousands alive (cf. Genesis 6). Men in general were extremely wicked and were destroyed.

1 Corinthians 10:1-6 – Even among those who were God’s chosen people in the Old Testament, with most of them God was not well pleased, so He destroyed them. In fact, of all the older generation who left Egypt, only two were allowed to enter the promised land – Joshua and Caleb (Num. 14:28-30). All the rest died because of disobedience. This is presented by God as an example to us.

Today if you believe your religious views are correct and you disagree with other people, many people will object. They will accuse you of intolerance and narrow-mindedness. To their way of thinking, the very fact you think you are right automatically proves you are wrong! You may be unique, but they don’t like it at all. Yet throughout the Bible, those who pleased God were unique in that they were in the minority.

Romans 9:27; 11:2-5 – In Israel, the number of people who were acceptable to God is frequently called a “remnant” – a small part of the whole number. In Elijah’s day, that remnant consisted of 7000 men. So today those who are God’s true people are a “remnant.” Note that the number of obedient people in Elijah’s day was considerably greater than in Noah’s day or in Joshua’s day. Yet it was relatively small compared to all the people on earth.

The number of people who are truly acceptable to God varies from time to time. The cases we have cited were times of widespread corruption. There may be other times when faithfulness is not as rare as in these times (cf. 2 Timothy 4:2). At any given time, the actual number of faithful people would be known only to God. But in virtually every age, those on the road to life are “few” compared to the “many” on the road to destruction.

We should not expect God’s church to consist of a majority of people in any community. Nor should we reject a church or a teaching simply because it is a minority or its views are unpopular. Jesus’ church is truly “unique” in that it will always be relatively small, and those who are members of it are truly “uncommon.”

(See also Matthew 22:14; Luke 13:23-25; Revelation 3:4).

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Question #3: How Many Churches Please Jesus?

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In the world today there are many different denominations that teach and practice different and contradictory faiths. They disagree in name, organization, plan of salvation, and worship. People want to believe that, in spite of these contradictions and disagreements, many of these groups are acceptable to God. If that were so, then there would be no one unique church that was right.

We have seen, however, that to please God we must obey Him. Are the few people who obey God to be found in many different denominations, or is there only one unique church teaching and practicing one true faith?

Matthew 16:18 – Jesus promised to build His church – one, not many.

Colossians 1:13 – Christians have been translated out of the power of darkness into the kingdom of God’s Son – one kingdom, not many.

Ephesians 5:22-25 – Christ is the head of His body (the church – 1:22,23), just as your head directs your body and just as a husband is head of his wife. But a head directs one body, not many bodies. A husband is head of only one wife (with God’s approval), not many wives.

And so Christ is head of one body. There are “many members, yet but one body” (1 Corinthians 12:20). If Jesus had many churches, He would be like a man with many wives. This would be spiritual adultery!

John 17:20,21 – Jesus prayed for those who believe in Him to be one as He and His Father are one. Do He and His Father disagree and contradict one another about how people should worship, how people may be saved, or what church people should be members of? They do not, and neither should we, for we are to be one as they are one.

1 Corinthians 1:10,13 – Division is contrary to God’s will. Is Christ divided? Does He give contradictory commands to men? Surely not, for if He did He would be a hypocrite!

Since Jesus’ commands are not contradictory, it is clear that when the practices of people conflict and contradict one another, then someone is not obeying Jesus. Religious division exists, but we must not condone or excuse it. Nor should we participate in error for the sake of unity – to do so would be to disobey God (cf. James 3:17).

Whenever some people obey God and some people disobey God, division will exist between those groups; but the people who will be condemned for the division will be those who disobey God, not those who obey Him. (See 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1; Luke 12:51-53; John 10:19-21; Acts 14:1-4; 19:8,9; 28:22-25; 2 John 9-11.)

Ephesians 4:3-6 – We should strive for unity based on the oneness of each of the seven things listed here. There is one body (church) and one faith, just as surely as there is only one God and Father. To say there are many conflicting and disagreeing bodies, all of which are acceptable, would be as wrong as s