Isaiah 53: The Forbidden Chapter

This week I am not writing much in my blog post but instead choosing to let the Word of God speak. This post is geared towards Jews who have not read or have been told to ignore Isaiah 53 and also anyone else who has not accept Jesus as the Messiah.

Read this and tell me if anyone comes to mind

“Who has believed our message
    and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
² He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
    and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
    nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
³ He was despised and rejected by mankind,
    a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
    he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

⁴ Surely he took up our pain
    and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
    stricken by him, and afflicted.
⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions,
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
    and by his wounds we are healed.
⁶ We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
    each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.

⁷ He was oppressed and afflicted,
    yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
    and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
    so he did not open his mouth.
⁸ By oppression^[a] and judgment he was taken away.
    Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
    for the transgression of my people he was punished.^[b]
9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
    and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
    nor was any deceit in his mouth.

¹⁰ Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the Lord makes^[c] his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
¹¹ After he has suffered,
he will see the light of life^[d] and be satisfied^[e];
by his knowledge^[f] my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.
¹² Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,^[g]
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,^[h]
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.”

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+53&version=NIV

This happened to only one man on Earth, Yeshua (Jesus).

Watch this video about the Forbidden Chapter:

Also check out the videos of many Jewish people’s testimonies of coming to Jesus. Listen to their stories maybe they seem similar to yours.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQDc5idYQE2T6IYKT3bUN7A

https://www.oneforisrael.org

John 3:16

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

It’s arguably the most famous verse in the Bible.

The ultimate sacrifice so we all can be saved.

How lucky are we to have a God who cares so much?

It’s very important to remember this verse. Because even though the verse is so famous we often forget it.

The World.

What do you see when you picture “The World”?

Picture all the people, different cultures, tongues, even religion.

God loves them all.

He wants them all saved. Doesn’t matter their nation, tongue or tribe. He loves us ALL. So he gave his Son to die on the cross for us so we can be saved.

We have to bring as many to Jesus as possible. Don’t turn anyone away because of their race, religion or their sins.

If they are hungry, feed them. If they are naked, clothe them. If they are tired, help them rest. If they are lost, led them.

Led them to God.

I know it’s hard and some days you want to just throw up you hands and say “Come get us Jesus.”

But there is work to be done and we are here for that reason.

Praise God.

Have a blessed week.

PS-I made a shirt on teespring. I did it for fun. Also I figured the more Christian apparel out there the better.  Here’s a link if you wanna look at it.

https://teespring.com/shop/get-god-so-loved-the-world?aid=marketplace&tsmac=marketplace&tsmic=search#pid=2&cid=2397&sid=front

The Christian Obsession with condemning

Last week I wrote about the Christian obsession with Homosexuality. I didn’t plan on writing another “obsession” article but today I am writing about the obsession with condemning others.

I’ve noticed in many comment sections or forums or even in casual conversation that a lot Christians seemed focused on the sins of those around them and pointing out who is on the path to hell or is backsliding. Like it’s their mission to expose others.

Are you really trying to warn them? Think about it. How does it make you feel when you announce to a person they’re going to Hell? Does it make you feel good? Does it make you proud? Is it enjoyable for you?

When we do this it makes me wonder is it done actually to make us feel better about our own sins and mistakes?

We have a society built on proving yourself to be better than your neighbor.

Many Christians have adapted this instead of loving their neighbor as the Bible has told us to do. Do you feel better than others because of their sin? Time to assess yourself first before you judge others.

Truth is reminding people over and over about the risks of hell does more harm then good. So many Atheists who were once Christians describe the process of abandoning their faith to be freeing.

That’s really sad to hear. My faith frees me. God takes away my worry, my shame and makes me feel I have worth.

The Bible talks of redemption, it’s filled with redemption stories.

Paul who was originally Saul murdered and persecuted Christians.  The Lord made him a leader of the new way.

Redemption is God’s goal.

He wants us all in Heaven. He wants his children with Him.

Google Jesus’ mission you will find loads of articles, not one mentions his mission was to condemn.

God’s biggest concern is us looking after each other, being kind and showing love.

Love.

Its the most powerful emotion and most important aspect in the World.

Don’t just be a hearer of the Word be a doer of the Word.

Who do you know that needs love today?

Find them and show them God’s love through you.

Have a blessed week.
-Chris

The Christian Obsession of Homosexuality.

I was watching a video on YouTube, it deals with the going on’s of the World and how they relate to the “End Times”. At the end of each video they post a couple of “Good News” stories.

The “Good News” portion in this video featured an article about how Christians surprised a Gay Pride Parade, with apology banners and signs. Reading the signs it seems the overall message was Jesus wouldn’t have turned you away, we are sorry we have treated you so wrong.

Good for those people.

I am glad some Christians are trying to extend the olive branch to the Homosexual community. It is hard to bring people to Jesus if they have such a rigid view point of us. If you are reading this it may not pertain to how you behave but a study showed that the top two traits Christians are associated  with by non-religious people is we are judgmental and anti-gay.

Not that we are loving, generous, love God above all things but that we are judgmental and anti-gay. Isn’t that a disservice to God? Open up your heart and doors to your church to people and see what might occur. Screaming and finger pointing and turning your nose up at people will not bring them to Christ. Is this how you want to be treated? The Lord tells you to love others as you love yourself. So if you don’t want people to treat you that way, than don’t treat them that way.

If you think something as simple as inviting a gay person to church won’t help, I will give you an example of it working in a different, yet similar situation.

I watch many videos on a channel called “One for Israel”, there are stories of Jewish people who came to recognize Jesus/Yeshua as their Messiah. They have very similar stories, the most common is they read the “forbidden chapter” Isaiah 53 after being discouraged to do so their whole lives. Another common part of the story is how they viewed Christians and church. Some talked of thinking Christians were very anti-Jewish and church would be filled with hate towards the Jews, that there would be Three God’s and that it would be a totally different religion.

Then they showed up to Church and saw the love, compassion and embrace of the community. They read the New Testament and realized how Jewish the Bible was. All it took was an invite inside.

It’s time to do so with the Gay community and any others you think don’t belong. EVERYONE belongs in Church, if you think they don’t belong then that means God wants them there more than anyone else.

God is about saving, not condemning. He wants every soul saved. If just one went to Hell, he would weep.

Unfortunately, the most liked comment in the previous mentioned video was pointing out how the apologizing Christians was not good news to them. He received many replies of agreement and some showed a lot of contempt for Gay people.

It is interesting how many Christians are obsessed with Homosexuality. Not one of us is righteous. We are told not judge, yet we judge. Is it not God’s job to judge? What do you think God views as worse, homosexuality or thinking you can do his job for him?

I am not defending the sin I am just wondering why do other sexual immoralities get a pass in the Christian community? You don’t hear much shouting about premarital sex or the rise in the number of Christians who watch porn.

Aren’t we told to remove the plank from our eyes before we remove the speck of saw dust from our neighbors?

Are you sin free? If you claim to be, you’re a liar, which makes you a sinner.

Most homosexuals are aware of the sin. They need to be shown why they should come to God. You have to show the love of God and how he has impacted your life. Anger and hostility never brings people into the light.

We are supposed to follow Christ. Jesus wouldn’t show anger to them, he would show love and compassion.

We talk about what kind of World Jesus is going to come back to and point out the sins and evil. Yet it appears He is also coming back to see that many of his followers judge, condemn and lack love.

It’s a shame.

How can we be more Christ-like? I know I need a lot of help with this. I am far from where I should be. Let’s all grow together.

WWJD is not just a bumper sticker for your car, wear the message on your heart.

Have a blessed week.

-Chris

Trusting God’s plan

I have a story that has been taking place the last few years. I have been working with my little brother John, he has Autism, I was his in-home instructor, I taught him important life skills and helped him grow to be an independent adult. However his services stopped on June 28th as he is 21 years old and just finished High School.

Leading up to this I wasn’t sure what to do. I was nervous and scared, I wanted to move into another field, preferably an office type environment but I didn’t know if I’d end up working at a grocery store by the end.

To tell this story I must go back a couple years.

It was 2016, I enjoyed working with my brother and felt it was the right place for me, however my wife’s Father was sick and she was taking care of him and also trying to finish school at Notre Dame University in Baltimore. If he passed away we would need to move, my job with John was part-time. It was hard to find places that allowed couples to rent rooms or basements we would need a real apartment.

I saw that there was a full time library position open, having experience in libraries I figured I’d be able to get the job. I prayed about it and told God if I got an interview I would go, if I didn’t I would stay with John until his services stopped. I applied and I did get an email asking to call to set up an interview. I asked God to give me a sign if I shouldn’t interview. I called and received a “busy” signal. I felt that maybe a coincidence so I called back, someone picked up and I scheduled an interview. Then the very next day I got a call it was the person I spoke to yesterday, she didn’t know why but they needed to cancel all the interviews for the day I had scheduled mine, she asked if I wanted to reschedule, I heard the word “No” come into my head so I simply replied, “No, thank you. now is not the time.” I made a vow to God at that point to stay with John through the end, to see him through. I could feel that’s what God wanted.

Well some time went by and Jane graduated from college. She couldn’t look for a job as her Dad’s health continued to decline. Then one day, he abruptly passed away. My wife was distraught, myself and her whole family were dealing with grief.

But then life continues on. I was so scared, I didn’t understand, was I wrong? Did God actually want me to go for the library job and it was Satan putting those road blocks in my way? I prayed and prayed but finally I stopped, I wasn’t letting God get a word in, I was babbling like the pagans*.

So I listened, then I felt calm and relaxed, I knew it would all be okay. I had to fight the worry for awhile but God was always there. My wife started looking for a job, I kept my word to God and stayed with John. Then one day I felt the urge to help my Wife in her job search, I prayed beforehand and one job stood out to me. I showed it to my wife. She applied, was interviewed and got the job!

We were able to stay in the house for a few months and save up some money before moving into our first apartment together.

Now fast forward to May of this year. I was starting to do exactly what God tells us not to do, worry. I decided I would start applying for full time work, if I got a job offer I would take it, I was with John almost all the way through, I felt like I had to protect myself and help provide with my wife. We got a dog in February, next step is a baby, I need to move on to the next thing.

Over the next two months I applied for just over FORTY Jobs. I only got one reply and it would not be the right fit, to say the least. The last week with my brother was great but I was worried, what was going to come next? My wife reminded me that we had a little nest egg and God would take care of us. She also helped with my resume to bolster it a little bit, she is truly awesome.

Well Monday of this week came, I sent out a few applications. By this morning I had four companies contact me for interviews. Four! I went on my first interview and was immediately hired on the spot. God is good.

I kept my word and so did God.  It took less than two business days for God to find me a position. He will always provide, he has a plan, if we trust Him, his plan for us will be fulfilled.

*”For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

God Bless

*http://biblehub.com/matthew/6-7.htm

*https://www.biblestudytools.com/jeremiah/29-11.html