It Always Comes Back to Jesus

Throwback Thursday Post From July 2020

The Good Word

In the three faiths of Abraham there is one major difference and that is Jesus.

The Jews reject Jesus as their Messiah.

The Muslims reject Jesus as the Son of God.

We Christians believe Jesus to be who He says He is.

That’s the difference.

We believe Him. We do not reject what He said like many Jews do. We don’t believe the words of men from hundreds of years after Jesus left the Earth and returned to the Father.

We believe Jesus Himself and the writings of those who knew Him.

He is the Son of God because He says He is.

He is God because He says He is.

Before Abraham Was, I Am

^“48 The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” ⁴⁹ Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and…

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Ten YouTube Channels I Use For Biblical Based Content

These are in no particular order…

1-Rabbi Johnathan Cahn. This is a wonderful YouTube Channel from the Messianic Rabbi Johnathan Cahn. You can hear selections from his services, informative videos and announcements.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjsoQpzk-XQOt4YM6nzq_-Q

2-The Remnant Radio. A theology based broadcast that tackles all different types of topics in order to get a better understanding of the Bible. They encourage discussions on Biblical topics many disagree over.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC31RZ-b3D1w452JLuzLVl4Q

3-Pastor Steve Cioccolanti & Discover Ministries. A Pastor based out of Australian he has a lot of fascinating videos, he also covers politics and end times.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfpbDgJez7lIweqI3TO2rRw

4-Behold Israel. The YouTube channel of Amir Tsarfati. He is an Messiah believing Jew from Israel. He posts Bible discussion Q&A’s, sermons, teachings and updates from the Middle East.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCa3C7WpFobavsDJdkKUtodw

5-AoC Network. A channel that divulges deep into Biblical Study, they use clips from movies and shows for the background as they talk about Biblical topics. They have a lot of fascinating videos.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQsYAEW0n3tGsRfMVfIRzRw

6-The Bible Project. This is easily one of the best YouTube channels. They’re a crowd funded channel that posts animated videos explaining the Bible as it was intended to be read. I can’t explain enough how much I love this channel.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVfwlh9XpX2Y_tQfjeln9QA

7-Dr. Michael S Heiser. Author of the Unseen Realm, Dr. Heiser is known for his Biblical studies that go right to what the Bible tells us based on the authors who wrote it. He focuses on the text and explains the context of the Bible. He is also known for the “Naked Bible Podcast”.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbXnk65DI454GQmc3PeEqQQ

8-ONE FOR ISRAEL Ministry. A Messianic channel whose goal is to spread the Gospel and the truth about who Yeshua/Jesus is to the people of Israel. The channel features messages that explain the Gospel, the importance of Israel, exposes the flaws of Rabbinic Judaism that relies on man and not God. Also hear wonderful testimonies of those who come to know Yeshua/Jesus as their Messiah.
https://www.youtube.com/c/ONEFORISRAEL/videos

9-Steven Bancarz and Reasons for Jesus. A channel by former New Age writer Steven Bancarz. He focuses on apologetics and exposing New Age religious practices. Listen to his testimony video. It is moving.

10-Superbook! The last one is a fun one. This of course is for kids and children at heart (ME!). These are cartoons based on the Bible for children. They also have shows that talk about topics that can help children get a Biblical world view.
https://www.youtube.com/c/SuperbookTV/videos

These are some of my go to channels. Feel free to post yours in the comment section.

Have a Blessed Week,
Chris

 

It Always Comes Back to Jesus

In the three faiths of Abraham there is one major difference and that is Jesus.

The Jews reject Jesus as their Messiah.

The Muslims reject Jesus as the Son of God.

We Christians believe Jesus to be who He says He is.

That’s the difference.

We believe Him. We do not reject what He said like many Jews do. We don’t believe the words of men from hundreds of years after Jesus left the Earth and returned to the Father.

We believe Jesus Himself and the writings of those who knew Him.

He is the Son of God because He says He is.

He is God because He says He is.

Before Abraham Was, I Am

^“48 The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” ⁴⁹ Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. ⁵⁰ Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge. ⁵¹ Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” ⁵² The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.’ ⁵³ Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?” ⁵⁴ Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’^[a] 55 But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word. ⁵⁶ Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” ⁵⁷ So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?”^[b] 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” ⁵⁹ So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.”

Read again what Jesus said and see the reaction. Why did the Jews become so angry?

It is because He declared Himself to be God.

When did He do that you may ask?

When Jesus said, “before Abraham was, I am”.

God’s name is Yahweh which translates to “I Am”.

He said He was God.

So it all comes back to if you believe Him or not.

Have a Blessed Week,

Chris.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%208:48-59&version=ESV

Jesus Was the Passover Lamb

Passover just recently ended on Saturday, it is a very important time of the year for the Jewish people but also for Christians. One of the most famous Passover traditions that is done each year is for the Jews to sacrifice a lamb in order to remember being freed from the Egyptians.

Jesus however freed the entire World from sin when he was killed during Passover.

Jesus of course rose again thus defeating both death and the grave.

One of the most compelling prophecies in the Bible is from Isaiah 53. It is clear that the chapter is about Jesus, if you read the scripture it is clearly about a man and perfectly describes what happened to Jesus.

Here is an article that explains this better and also shows how the Rabbi’s taught that this section of Isaiah was about the Messiah.

https://www.gotquestions.org/suffering-servant-Isaiah-53.html

Now however modern Rabbis have back tracked and attempted to claim this chapter to be about Israel as a nation. Take a look for yourself and decide…

Isaiah 53 New King James Version (NKJV)

The Sin-Bearing Messiah

“53 Who has believed our report?

And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,

And as a root out of dry ground.

He has no [a]form or [b]comeliness;

And when we see Him,

There is no [c]beauty that we should desire Him.

3 He is despised and [d]rejected by men,

A Man of [e]sorrows and acquainted with [f]grief.

And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;

He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

 

4 Surely He has borne our [g]griefs

And carried our [h]sorrows;

Yet we [i]esteemed Him stricken,

[j]Smitten by God, and afflicted.

5 But He was wounded[k] for our transgressions,

He was [l]bruised for our iniquities;

The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,

And by His stripes[m] we are healed.

6 All we like sheep have gone astray;

We have turned, every one, to his own way;

And the Lord [n]has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

 

7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted,

Yet He opened not His mouth;

He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,

And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,

So He opened not His mouth.

8 He was taken from [o]prison and from judgment,

And who will declare His generation?

For He was cut off from the land of the living;

For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.

9 And [p]they made His grave with the wicked—

But with the rich at His death,

Because He had done no violence,

Nor was any deceit in His mouth.

10 Yet it pleased the Lord to [q]bruise Him;

He has put Him to grief.

When You make His soul an offering for sin,

He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,

And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.

11 [r]He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.

By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,

For He shall bear their iniquities.

12 Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great,

And He shall divide the [s]spoil with the strong,

Because He poured out His soul unto death,

And He was numbered with the transgressors,

And He bore the sin of many,

And made intercession for the transgressors.”

It seems clear to me and as a matter of fact many Jewish people accept Jesus as their messiah after reading this scripture.

Also I want to include an interesting video from Amir Tsarfati comparing the Passover celebration traditions to that of the story of Jesus.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-Vw4nk8sZ4

Have a Blessed Week,
Chris

Purim

Purim begins today and ends tomorrow night.

The past couple years I have become interested in the Jewish Holidays. In case any of you are as well here is the story of Purim from the Bible.

The Jews Destroy Their Enemies

1On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, the king’s command and edict were to be executed. On this day the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, but the tables were turned and the Jews overpowered those who hated them. 2In each of the provinces of King Xerxes, the Jews assembled in their cities to attack those who sought to harm them. No man could withstand them, because the fear of them had fallen upon all peoples.

3And all the officials of the provinces, the satraps, the governors, and the king’s administrators helped the Jews, because the fear of Mordecai had fallen upon them. 4For Mordecai exercised great power in the palace, and his fame spread throughout the provinces as he became more and more powerful.

5The Jews put all their enemies to the sword, killing and destroying them, and they did what they pleased to those who hated them. 6In the citadel of Susa, the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men, 7including Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, 8Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, 9Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha. 10They killed these ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews, but they did not lay a hand on the plunder.

Haman’s Sons Hanged

11On that day the number of those killed in the citadel of Susa was reported to the king, 12who said to Queen Esther, “In the citadel of Susa the Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men, including Haman’s ten sons. What have they done in the rest of the royal provinces? Now what is your petition? It will be given to you. And what further do you request? It will be fulfilled.”

13Esther replied, “If it pleases the king, may the Jews in Susa also have tomorrow to carry out today’s edict, and may the bodies of Haman’s ten sons be hanged on the gallows.”

14So the king commanded that this be done. An edict was issued in Susa, and they hanged the ten sons of Haman. 15On the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, the Jews in Susa came together again and put to death three hundred men there, but they did not lay a hand on the plunder.

16The rest of the Jews in the royal provinces also assembled to defend themselves and rid themselves of their enemies. They killed 75,000 who hated them, but did not lay a hand on the plunder. 17This was done on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, and on the fourteenth day they rested, making it a day of feasting and joy.

The Feast of Purim Instituted

18The Jews in Susa, however, had assembled on the thirteenth and the fourteenth days of the month. So they rested on the fifteenth day, making it a day of feasting and joy. 19This is why the rural Jews, who live in the villages, observe the fourteenth day of the month of Adar as a day of joy and feasting. It is a holiday for sending gifts to one another.

20Mordecai recorded these events and sent letters to all the Jews in all the provinces of King Xerxes, both near and far, 21to establish among them an annual celebration on the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar 22as the days on which the Jews had rid themselves of their enemies and the month in which their sorrow had turned to joy and their mourning into a holiday. He wrote that these were to be days of feasting and joy, of sending gifts to one another and to the poor.

23So the Jews agreed to continue the custom they had started, as Mordecai had written to them.24For Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them and had cast the Pur (that is, the lot) to crush and destroy them. 25But when it came before the king, he commanded by letter that the wicked scheme which Haman had devised against the Jews should come back on his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.

26Therefore these days are called Purim, from the word Pur.

Because of all the instructions in this letter, and because of all they had seen and experienced,27the Jews bound themselves to establish the custom that they and their descendants and all who join them should not fail to celebrate these two days at the appointed time each and every year, according to their regulation. 28These days should be remembered and celebrated by every generation, family, province, and city, so that these days of Purim should not fail to be observed among the Jews, nor should the memory of them fade from their descendants.

29So Queen Esther daughter of Abihail, along with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to confirm this second letter concerning Purim. 30And Mordecai sent letters with words of peace and truth to all the Jews in the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Xerxes, 31in order to confirm these days of Purim at their appointed time, just as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had established them and had committed themselves and their descendants to the times of fasting and lamentation.

32So Esther’s decree confirmed these regulations about Purim, which were written into the record.

https://biblehub.com/bsb/esther/9.htm

Have a blessed rest of your week,
Chris

Always Jesus

There are many debates about what is the “truth” and the “way”. Many ask what is truth? As if truth is subjective. We as Christians believe Jesus to be the truth and the way.

How can we know this?

The answer is simple.

It’s always Jesus.

Jesus is talked about not just by us Christians but also all over the world. He is a hot topic in different religions, political groups and secular groups.

He is talked about everywhere.

We Christians believe in Him as our savior, the King of Kings, Lord of Lords. Just saying His name has brought healing into our minds, bodies and souls. He is our everything, our God.

In Islam they believe Him to just be a prophet, they hold him in high regard but do not believe that He is the son of God, one of Three in the Trinity. This is so important to Muslims that on the Dome of the Rock it points out God is one, implying that He has no son. He is that important to them. I do want to point out Muslims are important to God as well.

One of my favorite types of video to watch is of former Muslims discussing their conversions to Christianity. Many had Jesus appear to them. God wants them saved as much as anyone else. That is why it is important to spread the Word to those of different religions.

Jesus also is important to the Jewish people. Many are still out to prove Jesus to not be their Messiah. Jesus has been a topic that as angered many Jews since He walked the Earth. The good news is there is a Messianic Jewish Movement going on right now, praise God for that. Many are coming to believe in Yeshua/Jesus as their Messiah. One of the common things I hear is Jewish people would be open to other religions as long as it had nothing to do with Jesus. “Anything but Jesus”, was a quote I’ve heard.

Again we see the emphasis on Jesus. It’s always Jesus.

Even Gandhi wrote a letter about Jesus. He called Jesus one of the “greatest teachers in the history of mankind”. Sadly he rejected Christianity but Jesus did appear to make an impact on Gandhi.

Even in secular circles it’s always Jesus. Jesus is mocked, ridiculed and scoffed at in conversation, movies, shows and demonstrations more than any other religious figure.

It’s always Jesus.

Religions, political parties, media outlets, entertainment, both domestic and abroad. Jesus is the hottest topic.

Why?

Because He is.

Revelation 22: 12-13, “12“Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to each one according to what he has done. 13I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”

He is the First and the Last.

He is Always.

Have a blessed week,
Chris

Sources:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-43252705
https://biblehub.com/bsb/revelation/22.htm

Hanukkah

There seems to be a new debate on whether or not Christians should celebrate Hanukkah or other Jewish Holidays. I personally am fascinated by the celebrations from the Old Testament and Judaism. Jesus of course followed the traditions of His heritage.

The Gospel of John even mentions Jesus entering the temple for the “Festival of Dedication”, which is Hanukkah.

Here is an interesting article on John 10: 22-23 and Hanukkah.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/craig-s-keener/jesus-and-hanukkah-john-10-22-23_b_2233251.html

With the exciting movement of Messianic Judaism I feel there will be an increase in Jesus followers celebrating the traditional Feasts and Holidays.

Pastor Steve Cioccolanti has a video on How to Celebrate Hanukkah as a Christian and a Jewish Follower of Jesus. I enjoyed watching this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Da9pVkJyoo&t=1s

Anyways to those who chose to celebrate it, have a happy Hanukkah and may Yeshua/Jesus be the light in your life that burns forever and ever.

Have a Blessed Week,
Christopher

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