Take Jesus As He Is

Jesus was a first century Jewish Rabbi who was a son of a carpenter. He is also God.

You who are reading this are neither of those things.

Stop trying to fit Jesus into your world view, instead make Jesus and the Bible your world view.

If you try hard enough you can make the Bible say anything you want, instead of doing something so foolish, how about you take the Bible as it is written?

Take Jesus as He is.

It is not your job to manipulate scripture to prove why you feel a certain way or do a certain thing.

It is your job to submit to God and His Word.

This is not directed at one particular group or thought process. I don’t care what your theological, political or moral preferences are.

If you truly claim to follow Christ, than follow Christ. Don’t use the Bible and Jesus’ words to fit your lifestyle or world view.

Let God and the Bible form your world view and mold your lifestyle around it.

Have a Blessed Week,
Chris

Something Satan Loves

You know something Satan loves? Distractions.

While we debate Holidays and are heretic hunting in the church arguing over petty things like Halloween in October and in December it will be Christmas trees the sick are not being healed, the hungry are not being feed, the cold won’t be clothed, the needy wait for their needs, the widowed are not being comforted, justice is not being fought for and the unsaved wait to hear the Gospel.

How often do we see discussions on politics, theology and other things turn toxic and become an obsession by the Body of Christ?

People end up behaving the opposite of the manner God has taught them.

I am not saying certain topics aren’t important, what I am saying is prioritize what you’re doing and use discernment to see if what you’re doing bares fruit.

I’ll give an example.

If you come home and notice the house is dirty but then see your children are hungry and without food, your brother is cold and without coat, your sister is sick and without medicine, you look outside and your neighbor is drowning in a nearby lake screaming for someone to save them what do you do?

Do you clean the house to make everything appear well while everyone suffers?

What is your priority?

Save your neighbor, give medicine to your sister, warm your brother, feed your children and then you can focus on cleaning the mess which truly when you think about it was a much smaller mess than you realized at first.

Have a Blessed Week,
Chris

The Truth About Easter Christian Traditions

Many of you may have heard that Easter Eggs and the Easter Bunny are stolen Pagan traditions. This is an outright lie.

This is all based on speculation from a man named Jacob Grimm, “Influential 19th century folklorist and philologist Jacob Grimm speculates, in the second volume of his Deutsche Mythologie, that the folk custom of Easter eggs among the continental Germanic peoples may have stemmed from springtime festivities of a Germanic goddess known in Old English as Ēostre (namesake of modern English Easter) and possibly known in Old High German as Ostara (and thus namesake of Modern German Ostern ‘Easter’). However, despite Grimm’s speculation, there is no evidence to connect eggs with Ostara.[11]”*

While painting eggs occurs throughout history from many cultures to say Christians stole the idea from a Pagan holiday is baseless.

When it comes to the Easter Bunny being from Pagan Tradition we see once again Jacob Grimm make a guess that has turned into a truth for some, “In his 1835 Deutsche Mythologie, Jacob Grimm states “The Easter Hare is unintelligible to me, but probably the hare was the sacred animal of Ostara”. This proposed association was repeated by other authors including Charles Isaac Elton[16][page needed] and Charles J. Billson.[17] In 1961 Christina Hole wrote, “The hare was the sacred beast of Eastre (or Ēostre), a Saxon goddess of Spring and of the dawn.”[18][page needed] The belief that Ēostre had a hare companion who became the Easter Bunny was popularized when it was presented as fact in the BBC documentary Shadow of the Hare (1993).[19]

The Oxford Dictionary of English Folklore however states “… there is no shred of evidence” that hares were sacred to Ēostre, noting that Bede does not associate her with any animal.[20][page needed]”

Once again we see that “there is no shred of evidence” for these claims.

Very irresponsible of some scholars to once again use a baseless rumor to prove their points with their own agenda.

As a matter of fact the Easter Bunny has been used in art form to represent the Virgin Mary and in the case of three hares in the picture they represent the Holy Trinity**

Sadly there are some Christians who believe these myths and tell others to stop celebrating Easter because of this. This is why we Christians must do research, be vigilant and use discernment so we can inform others the truth and not just speak out of speculation.

Truth is Easter is the Christian version of Passover. Easter is believed by some to be taken from the name of a goddess but we Christians use that word as the English version of the word, “Pascha”***

“The English word “Easter” is not a biblical word. It is thought to be a translation of the name of the Anglo-Saxon spring goddess, “Eostre”. In any case, it is an English word which is used today to translate the Greek term ‘Pascha’, which translates the Hebrew term for ‘Passover’. The Christian Church transformed the Jewish Passover, which commemorated the freeing of the Hebrew people from Egyptian bondage into a feast which commemorated the death and resurrection of Christ which freed humanity from the bondage of death, sin and evil.

We do not have a command from Jesus to celebrate the Paschal Feast. But the Bible clearly indicates the New Testament belief that Christ is the New Pascha for believers in Him, and that this is to be celebrated by Christians:

“For Christ, our paschal lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us therefore celebrate the festival …” (1 Corinthians 5:7).

Thus the celebration of Christ’s Resurrection became the first Christian Feast – the Christian Pascha.”-Orthodox Christian Info.***

So enjoy your Easter traditions just make sure to remember what Jesus did for us first in your celebrating.

Have a Blessed Week and Happy Easter,
Chris

PS-If you liked to read about all the traditions involving Easter Eggs and the Easter Bunny click the links below under sources.

Sources:
*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_egg
**https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_Bunny
***http://www.orthodoxchristian.info/pages/Pascha_word.html

I Wrote a Book!

Hey everyone. I wrote a Children’s Christmas book called “The Twelve Heroes of Christmas”.

It has a Christian message behind it.

 

If anyone would like to check it out you can view it at the link I am leaving.

 

Here’s the plot…

“Did you know Santa Claus is not the only Christmas Gift Bringer in the World?

 

As a matter of fact they’re Twelve Christmas Heroes that give Children gifts each Christmas.

 

Every year Santa and other Christmas figures from around the world gather at a glorious castle for a meeting to discuss how things are going and how their annual trips went.

 

Wouldn’t you like to sit in on that secret meeting? One individual got that chance.

 

Santa arrived early in town. He was feeling tired and desperate for help. You see Christmas spirit was at an all-time low for the Heroes. While standing next his reindeer, he encounters a man who agrees to accompany him on his journey. Who is this mysterious man and who sent him? How can he help our Heroes regain their faith, passion and their own Christmas spirit?

 

You will meet all sorts of characters from around the world, listen to them tell their stories and learn about their cultures. From the seemingly stern Grandfather Frost of Russian to the Christ-Child from Germany to the Old Christmas Witch of Italy and more! And of course there are those whose spirits might take a little extra to lift, such as an angry Christmas gnome and the mischievous Yule Lad. What will the Heroes decided to do in the end? Can they regain their Christmas spirit or will it be lost in history?”

https://books2read.com/u/bzv2xL

Easter

Easter was yesterday, it is truly the most important holiday of the year for Christians and really the entire World even if they don’t realize it.

Jesus served as the Passover lamb and took on the sin of the World. He died and rose again after the three days so we can all have eternal life.

We have no reason to fear death any longer.

We can have a new life through Christ the Lord.

Jesus saved the World.

Thank you Jesus for everything you did, do and will do.

Have a Blessed Week,
Chris

Easter Story:
Bible study tools has a great article which shows the entire story of Easter in order. You can view it here…
https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-stories/the-easter-bible-story.html

Through Christ

Philippians 4:13 New King James Version (NKJV)
13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

I wrote about the importance of this Bible verse to me. Today I want to write about the importance of the verse overall.

Every obstacle or challenge, whether it be a financial problem or a family problem or a sickness or whether it be spiritual, through grief, through strife, through sin and addiction anything and every battle can be faced by just looking at this verse.

There is hope in this verse, all things are possible through this verse.

Truly all things are possible through Christ, we see this not just in this verse but throughout the New Testament.

The blind saw, the hungry were fed with little, the dead were raised, demons were defeated, sinners immersed deep in their sin were saved, miracle after miracle.

We are saved through Christ, He chose to die for our sins, all we have to do is accept His sacrifice.

There is hope in God, He believes in you, believe in Him.

Honor Him, love Him, do all things through Him.

Thank you God, truly I can do all things through You who strengthens me.

Have a blessed week,
Chris

God’s Birthday Gift To Me

Philippians 4:13 New King James Version (NKJV)
13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

That is one of the most important verses in the Bible. It is something I repeat to myself and pray about when I am scared or anxious or feeling depressed.

The only One who knew this was God, it was one of our special prayers.

However, recently  I have been feeling depressed about a few things, the biggest being my writing. I am trying to be a children’s author and the process of finding an agent is very difficult, you put a lot of effort in to querying and most agencies will only send a reply if they’re interested.

This can become frustrating and makes me question if I am good enough.

I have been struggling to even continue writing.

While all this is going on my birthday came and my wife did a great job throwing me a mini party, it was a lot of fun, yet nice and relaxing. She handed me one of my last gifts, it was a small box.

I opened it, it was a wooden pen with a Bible Verse,
Philippians 4:13 New King James Version (NKJV)
13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

I couldn’t believe it. I had never told her how special that verse was to me and haven’t  even opened up to her about my struggle lately.

How amazing is that?

It truly was a gift from God.

I am very blessed man, thank you God for everything.

Thank you God for my wonderful wife, she is the best gift I have ever received.

Have a blessed week,
Chris

Doer of the Word

As it says in James 1:22-25, “22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.”

We must not just listen and hear the Word of God we must do the will of the Father. Knowing scripture is not enough, the Pharisees were experts on scripture, yet missed the coming of the Messiah.

We must bring people to God and do so in the right away, in John Chapter 4 Jesus encountered a Samaritan woman, He asked her for a drink of water and then spoke to her about her sins, He promised to give her living water so she would never be thirsty again. Jesus didn’t point out her sins to condemn her or threaten her with Hell but instead He showed her love, the living water, His message was love not fear. Bringing people to God out of fear will led to them falling away. A successful relationship must be built on love not fear.

Also in John 4 (39-42), Jesus stayed two extra days on request of the Samaritan people, use that as a guide, we must take time and change our schedules to save others and help those in need.

Remember we too can give Jesus something to drink. Remember in Matthew 24: 35-40,  “35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ 37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’”

We are called to help those suffering, no matter what their beliefs are or what they may have done. God is willing to forgive ALL sins.

We must go out and do the work God has asked us to do. Without going out and doing the work we cannot truly be called servants of God, someone can take classes and read books to learn how to become a mechanic but until they actually do the work they are not a real mechanic.

Support and believe in others around you. Sometimes a person says they are going to turn their life around or go and serve God in the community, and others will look at one another and scoff or mock the person, they point out their flaws, laugh at them, ask who does this person think they are?

Jesus was treated this way in his own town. In Mark 6:1-3, “Then He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him. 2 And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, “Where did this Man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands! 3 Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?” So they were offended at Him.”

Believe in your brothers and sisters.

Let’s go out and do the will of the Father today.

Father, I pray that You guide me to do Your will and not my own. Be patient with me and help me help others as You help me. Amen

Have a blessed week,
Chris

Links:
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James+1%3A22-25&version=NKJV

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+4&version=NKJV

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+25%3A35-40&version=NKJV

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+6&version=NKJV

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