Something Greater

Blood and Pain "But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled." Acts 3:18 (ESV) FORETOLD: prokatangello (to announce beforehand, to predict or promise); from pro (in front of, prior to) and katangello (to proclaim, promulgate); from kata (down) and angelos (a messenger, an "angel" or pastor); from agello (to bring tidings); from ago (to lead, bring, drive, go, pass, induce) PROPHETS: prophetes (a foreteller, a "prophet", an inspired speaker, a poet; from pro (in front of, prior to) and phemi (to show or make known, to speak or say); from phos (luminousness); from phao (to shine or make manifest) God spoke through prophets, foretelling of the suffering of Christ, fulfilling the prophecies through wicked, ignorant sinners . What prophecies foretold of the suffering of Christ? How can wicked, ignorant sinners fulfill the plan of a good God? Paul previously preached about the paradox of G

The Stars What experience causes you to stand in awe of God? For me, it is looking from high above a valley well after the sun has set. The stars fill the sky so abundantly more than when I look up from my backyard. Thousands, millions, billions of stars...huge, global-sized orbs of flame and heat...pinpoints of power that is beyond even the mid-sized star we call The Sun. If our understanding is accurate regarding the speed of light, the stars are millions of millions of miles away from us! We think that the nearest star to us, aside from our sun, Proxima Centauri, just over 4 light years away . It would take four years, traveling at the speed of light, to reach this nearest star! The farthest recorded star is approximately 25 billion light years away! (http://www.astronomyexpert.co.uk/howfarawayarethestars.html) And the number of stars is uncountable! One best guess is that there may be as many as 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 stars in our universe. (http://www.esa.in

Faith in His Name "His name...by faith in his name...has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all." Acts 3:16 (ESV) The small church in Jerusalem has exploded into a community of believers following the breath-taking miracle of the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. Inspired by the Spirit , Peter has experienced a radical change, from arrogant fisherman and spineless coward, to a passionate, powerful pastor and preacher. Peter and John have just seen a man lame from birth healed instantly at their faith-filled command to rise up and walk in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Peter preached to the amazed crowd that witnessed the healing, pointing to God as the One Who glorified Jesus as the Holy and Righteous One and the Author of Life , killed by the very people to whom Peter was preaching, raised from the dead by God three days later. NAME:

Forgiven and Forgiving Jesus, my Lord, My Redeemer and Rescuer, My Ransom paid to set me free from sin's doom, I cannot forgive the one who has hurt me Because I do not feel forgiven for my sin. As long as I grip my sin like a bloody glove Used to commit murder, As long as I wear a veil of mourning To grieve over my sin, As long as I ignore Your forgiveness of me, I cannot forgive another. Oh! But when I see You! When I see You spending Your life for me, When I see You pay the ransom for my sin, When I see You witness for me before the Judge, I am set free! Now free, I see others differently. Others are gripping their sin and veiling their sorrow, Causing them to bitterly hate and judge themselves and others. Others are where I was. I forgive you. You hurt me like I hurt you. I forgive you because Jesus forgives me. Image courtesy of Marco Michelini

The Holy and Righteous One The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. Acts 3:13-15 (ESV) To this point in Luke's book of Acts of the Apostles, Jesus has been named Lord and Christ. In his second great instance of preaching, Peter is speaking to Jews at the temple. They've all gathered in amazement, responding to the miraculous healing of a lame man. Peter is even more descriptive of the glory of Jesus . Peter begins by calling upon the Almighty God, using references that are most meaningful to devout Jews: " The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers ." Then, Peter describes Jesus as the Servant o

Prepared for Death "Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed." Luke 2:34-35 (ESV) "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" John 1:29 (ESV) "Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." Matt 26:26-28 (ESV) Jesus was born to die, and He knew it . His death was preached by prophets centuries before His birth. He was described as a Sacrifice and a Lamb for slaughter . I believe Jesus knew His destiny even when He was still an unborn baby . Every lullaby sang by his

A Psalm of Gratitude For my sin, O God, You have not of me required payment. All of Your justice and sovereignty demand that I be punished to death for my sin against You. Yet upon me You place no punishment. I have been ignorant, willfully ignorant of Your sovereignty over me. I have rejected and quenched Your Spirit as You offered comfort and guidance and knowledge. Yet from me You exact no revenge. God, I have used my hands and eyes and ears and mind to worship myself and my concerns. I have ignored You. I have been satisfied with worshipping and adoring temporary, fleshly, impure pleasure, rejecting the pleasure of intimacy with You. Lord, my mind is double, my heart divided, still loving what the Old Man loves, yet aware of Your greatness and Your superiority. And still You forgive me and withhold your righteous anger. Because of Your Son. Jesus suffered Your angry, righteous judgement and punishment for my sin. For my selfish lust, content to exchange worship of

Praising God And Having Favor "And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved." Acts 2:43-47 AWE: "Phobos", alarm or fright; from "phebomai" (to be put in fear) PRAISING: "Aineo", to praise God; from "ainos" (a story) and "epainos" (laudation, a commendable thing) FAVOR: "Charis", graciousness; from "chairo" (to be cheerful, calmly happy or well-off) The first, immediate, tangible result of experiencing complete an

Repent And Be Baptized "Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, Brothers, what shall we do? And Peter said to them, Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Acts 2:37-38 CUT: "Katanysso", to pierce thoroughly, to agitate violently; from "kata" (down) and "nysso" (to prick) REPENT: "Metanoeo", to think differently, reconsider; from "meta" (accompaniment, "amid", participation) and "noeo" (to exercise the mind, or observe) and "nous" (the intellect or mind) and "ginosko" (to know) BAPTIZED: "Baptizo", to make whelmed, fully wet; from "bapto" (to whelm, cover wholly with fluid, to moisten or stain) FORGIVENESS: "Aphesis", freedom or pardon; from "aphiemi" (to send

The Pain Of Death "God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. For David says concerning him, "I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope. For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence." Acts 2:24-28 PANGS: "Odin", a pang or throe, especially of childbirth; akin to "odyne" (grief) and "duno" (to go down" The "pain" of death for Jesus was not loosened until God raised Him up. Thus, the pain that Jesus suffered, the deepest pain, was not from the crown of thorns, the beating and flogging...not even the crucifixion. All of these pains would be loosened when His heart and mind shut down, dropping His body

Filled With New Wine "But others mocking said, They are filled with new wine. But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them, Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: "And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy." Acts 2:13-18 All of these words mean plainly what they describe. "Prophesy" means to foretell events and declare truth; "visions" and "dreams" mean things seen, whether awake or asleep. WHAT DO YOU THINK? Few

Five Philosophies "How to Bring Back Young Adults Who Have Left the Faith", an article by Whitney Hopler, Crosswalk.com Contributing Writer, posted by www.crosswalk.com , Tuesday, May 17, 2011. Interesting article that classifies people into five philosophies , depending upon how they incorporate faith and ethics: Postmoderns Recoilers Moderns Neopagans Rebels I'm not completely sure this list is comprehensive, but it is definitely thought-provoking . I reject manipulative tactics that attempt to sell Christianity to different markets, or put a spin on the Gospel in order to proselytize to different mindsets. This article does not try to do that . Instead, this article is aimed at trying to help us understand other people, with compassion and humility. I can easily put myself into at least one of these categories, and the descriptions help me see a bit more of life from perspectives that I've not experienced . Christianity, genuine love and tru

Outward Signs Of Inward Change: Wind And Fire "And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting." Acts 2:2 SOUND: "Echos", a loud or confused noise ("echo"), i.e. roar; figuratively, a rumor The same Greek word, "echos" (translated as "reports"), was used to describe the rumors flying around the country regarding Jesus. "And reports about him went out into every place in the surrounding region." Luke 4:37 "Echos" (translated as "sound") was also used to describe the voice of God experienced by the Jews led by Moses. "For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them." Hebrews 12:18 The word implies frightening, loud sounds from all directions.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. (Colossians 1:15) Families traditionally have honored the first child born to a family , especially the first boy. Is that wrong, right, or just natural? Is it biblical? The Old Testament indicates it was a common custom: Laban (Jacob's uncle) said, "It is not so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn. (Genesis 29:26) Reuben (Jacob's son), you are my firstborn, my might, and the firstfruits of my strength, preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power. (Genesis 49:3) Consecrate to me all the firstborn. Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast, is mine." (Exodus 13:2) If a man has two wives, the one loved and the other unloved, and both the loved and the unloved have borne him children, and if the firstborn son belongs to the unloved, then on the day when he assigns his possessions as an inheritance to his sons, he