Tag: #FalseProphets

No Ordinary Man

The chief priests and Pharisees were so frightened of Jesus and His testimony, they went to Pilate to complain about Him and His followers. Keep in mind that at this point they know that Jesus is dead and in the grave, yet they are so afraid of this dead man that they want His grave sealed and a guard set on it!

“Therefore, give orders for the grave to be made secure until the third day, otherwise His disciples may come and steal Him away and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.” Pilate said to them, “You have a guard; go, make it as secure as you know how.” And they went and made the grave secure, and along with the guard they set a seal on the stone.” – MATTHEW 27:64‭-‬66 NASB

They knew this was no ordinary man they were dealing with.

Over the centuries, there have been many imposters. If you Google “men who claim to be Jesus,” a long list of names comes up. Then there are the many who claim that Jesus was ‘just’ a prophet like Moses or Muhammad or Buddha. Who, in all of these men have died and been resurrected in three days, besides Jesus? The list of imposters is hundreds of names long, and the names of men from that list who died and rose from the dead is zero. Not one. They are, or were, all ordinary men. Not so, Jesus.

Luke, a physician, wrote factually about Jesus. He researched what he wrote and reported first-hand accounts.

“Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus; so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught.” – LUKE 1:1‭-‬4 NASB

“And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the Holy Child shall be called the Son of God.” – LUKE 1:31‭-‬35 NASB

This Holy Child, this Jesus, is no ordinary man. He is 100% man, and 100% God.

How bereft His followers must have felt this morning, following His unimaginable, incredible death on the cross! This is the first day they have been without Him, without His physical presence, in three years. At this point, they don’t know what to think; they are overcome with the grief of His death. Gather together with them today. Meditate on what it felt like for them. We have the advantage, because we know that He conquers death and will rise up on the third day!

He is no ordinary man. He is worthy of our love, our worship, our devotion!

Living With Expectation

There’s a lot of expectation today. We expect to be financially successful, with a big fancy house and car before we hit 30. We expect to marry Mr. or Mrs. ‘Right’, and we expect that person to be with us for our entire life. We expect to have the perfect child – and we expect to have the right number of children. We expect others to like us as we are, and we expect our friends to never disappoint us or betray us …… and we expect that God will make sure all these things happen.

Those are some massive expectations!

I say this. We have skewed expectations. The only thing we can expect in this world; the only thing that we can be assured of happening is that we will be disappointed, betrayed, and hurt. Look at recorded history. Read the Bible. GOD warns us over and over that we will have trouble in this world. Doesn’t that seem to counter that this same GOD Loves us and wants us to be with Him?

Have you ever had a friend that you would do anything for? Best friends. Bosom buddies. Someone you’d go the extra mile for. One day, you find out they have another ‘best friend’! That hurts ….. and yet, that’s exactly what we do to GOD. We choose of our own free will that we would rather hang out with the world. We choose sin over perfection. (Sounds rather brutal like that …..)

Okay, so this is a little depressing so far. I’ve had plenty of expectations, and I have experienced heartache and heartbreak, disappointment and betrayal by people I care about deeply. What’s the point? Our focus has to be above all of these earthly things; otherwise, we become bitter and angry. Our Great Expectation, our one expectation that is Truth, is this:

“All Praise to GOD, the Father of our LORD JESUS CHRIST. It is by His Great Mercy that we have been born again, because GOD raised JESUS CHRIST from the dead. Now we live with Great Expectation, and we have a priceless Inheritance—an Inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, Pure and Undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And remember that the heavenly FATHER to Whom you pray has no favorites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of Him during your time here as “temporary residents.” ” – 1 Peter 1:3‭-‬4‭, ‬17 NLT

Listen to Shane and Shane’s new song “Is He Worthy?” from the 2019 album Hymns Live. (Authors Ben Shive and Andrew Peterson)

HE is Worthy!

Image from The First Fruits of Zion

Misled; Sleeping From Sorrow

Oh, come worship with me! The radio is playing Christmas songs interspersed with gospel and contemporary Christian songs – Living Hope, All Is Well, Carol of the Bells, Chain Breaker ….. How can we not worship the SAVIOUR?

JESUS spoke to those gathered around Him, “And He said, “See to it that you are not misled; for many will come in My Name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not go after them.” ….. Later, when He arrived at the Mount of Olives, He said to the three Apostles who had accompanied Him, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and began to pray, saying, “FATHER, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.” Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him. When He rose from prayer, He came to the disciples and found them sleeping from sorrow, and said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not enter into temptation.” – Luke 21:8; 22:40‭-‬43‭, ‬45‭-‬46 NASB

Misled, lied to, misrepresented. We have all experienced these things, just as JESUS was. Authority figures; politicians, mislead and lie to us constantly, and that is a sorry fact. Worse, though, are those people who claim to represent the Promise of the Messiah; to be the fulfillment of GOD’s Word. They make it all sound so good and true, and we are often duped by it all. How depressing! When we can’t trust the people who lead us, who then can we believe? Test them. As Paul said: “But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good …..” – 1 Thessalonians 5:21 NASB

We bow our heads to pray, and fall asleep from the exhaustion of trying to discern Truth. Let the Holy Spirit guide our words. Scripture tells that even when we don’t have words, He will carry our groans to the FATHER OF ALL and translate for us. “In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the Will of GOD.” – Romans 8:26‭-‬27 NASB

Sometimes I feel like I am sleeping more than I am praying, but ‘sleeping’ can mean more than closing our eyes and being in an unconscious or less than conscious state. Metaphorically, it refers to our hearts, and how we become unresponsive to the LORD and His prompting. In forgetting to pray, we are allowing ourselves to be drawn into temptation and sin. One way to pray is to listen to Christian music. It doesn’t matter if it is old time gospel, hymns, Praise and Worship, rap, contemporary, pop, or bluesy and rockin’. By hearing the Message in the songs, our spirits are put into a better alignment with the LORD. Reading and studying His Word is also a way to pray. Singing – making a joyful noise – is a beautiful conduit to GOD’s ears. “Joy to the world, the LORD has come, the SAVIOUR reigns!”

LORD, we pray for Your discernment in showing us False Prophets and teachers. We ask for the strength only You can provide to keep us emotionally and spiritually awake. In JESUS’ Name, we pray that we will not be misled and that we will not sleep the sleep of sorrow. I love this Truth that Hillsong sings, “In my Father’s House, there’s a place for me; I’m a child of GOD …..” AMEN.

http://www.graspinggod.com/jesus-praying-in-the-garden.html