The Trinity

Please understand — for those of you that remotely consider the book “The Shack” even readable — ThIs IS fOr YOU!!  and everyone else as well.  The lack of understanding about the trinity breaks my heart … I am embarrassed to be a part of the Christian Church today as I believe it is an embarrassment to a Holy God.  Take a look for a brief moment before reading this article, Google – the trinity – and watch what comes up…you will not believe the nonsense that you see…

So in saying that here’s Today’s thoughts on – The Trinity

The Trinity—the triune nature of God—is a basic doctrine of Christianity. Although the word “Trinity” is not found in the Bible, the elements of this doctrine are all taken directly from God’s Word. The doctrine of the Trinity states that there is one God who exists eternally as three distinct persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Bible could not be more explicit that there is only one God, which it declares about two dozen times. In Isaiah 45:5 God says, “I am the LORD, and there is no other; besides me there is no God.” In Mark 12:29 Jesus states, “The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The LORD our God is one Lord . . .’”

Jesus referred to God as His Father, and the apostles frequently spoke of “God the Father.” But the New Testament also insists that Jesus is God. For example, Thomas acknowledged Jesus as “my Lord and my God” (John 20:28), and both Peter and Paul spoke of Jesus as “our God and Savior” (2 Peter 1:1; Titus 2:13). Yet the New Testament also makes the distinction between the Father and the Son as two very different persons. In fact, they tell us that they love one another, speak to each other, and seek to glorify each other (e.g., John 17:1–26).

The Old Testament refers often to the Holy Spirit as God at work in the world, without distinction from the Father. But Jesus in John 14:16 explained that the Father at Christ’s request would send this Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit would teach and guide the disciples, not speaking on His own initiative, but speaking on Christ’s behalf and glorifying Christ. Thus, the Holy Spirit is revealed by Christ to be a third person distinct from the Father and from the Son.

The three persons of the Trinity—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—are distinct persons, yet they are all the one God. They are in absolute perfect harmony consisting of one substance. They are coeternal, coequal, and co-powerful  If any one of the three were removed, there would be no God.

There is, though, an apparent separation of some functions among the members of the Godhead. For example, the Father chooses those in Christ to be saved (Ephesians 1:4); the Son redeems them (Ephesians 1:7); and the Holy Spirit seals them (Ephesians 1:13).

A further point of clarification is that God is not one person, the Father, with Jesus as a created being and the Holy Spirit as a force (Jeho-vah’s Witnesses). Neither is He one person who took three consecutive forms, i.e., the Father became the Son, who became the Holy Spirit. Nor is God the divine nature of the Son, where Jesus had a human nature perceived as the Son and a divine nature perceived as the Father (United Pentecostal). Nor is the Trinity an office held by three separate Gods (Mormonism).

It has been interestingly said, “If you try to figure out the Trinity, you will lose your mind; if you deny the Trinity, you will lose your soul.” In short, the doctrine of the Trinity is completely biblical, and it is essential that all Christians give assent to this doctrine.

The Trinity at Work in Redemption
In every major phase of the redemption, each person of the Godhead is directly involved. Their involvement in each successive phase can be seen in the following:

1.Incarnation. The Father incarnated the Son in the womb of Mary by the Holy Spirit (see Luke 1:35).

2.Baptism in the Jordan River. The Spirit descended on the Son, and the Father spoke His approval from heaven (see Matthew 3:14–17).

3.Public ministry. The Father anointed the Son with the Spirit (see Acts 10:38).

4.The crucifixion. Jesus offered Himself to the Father through the Spirit (see Hebrews 9:14).

5.The resurrection. The Father resurrected the Son by the Spirit (see Acts 2:32; Romans 1:4).

6.Pentecost. From the Father the Son received the Spirit, whom He then poured out on His disciples (see Acts 2:33).

The following chart should help you to see how the doctrine of the Trinity is derived from Scripture. The list is only illustrative, not exhaustive.

Father Son Holy Spirit

Additional Descriptions Applied to All Three in the Trinity

1) Who gives us words to speak?
Father—Matthew 10:19,20: “But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what you shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what you shall speak. For it is not you that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaks in you.”

Holy Spirit—Mark 13:11: “But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what you shall speak, neither premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak: for it is not you that speak, but the Holy Spirit.”

Son—Luke 21:14,15: “Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what you shall answer: For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.”

2) Who gave the New Covenant?
Father—Jeremiah 31:33,34: “But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; after those days, says the LORD,I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

Holy Spirit—Hebrews 10:15–17: “Whereof the Holy Spirit also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, said the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.”

Son—Hebrews 12:24: “And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant…”

3) Who is our helper?
Father—Hebrews 13:6: “So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do to me.”

Holy Spirit—Romans 8:26: “Likewise the Spirit also helps our infirmities.”

Son—Hebrews 4:16: “Then came she and worshiped him, saying, Lord, help me.”

4) Who comforts us?
Father—2 Corinthians 1:3,4: “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; who comforts us in all our tribulation . . .”

Holy Spirit—Acts 9:31: “Then had the churches rest throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, were multiplied.”

Son—2 Corinthians 1:5: “For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds by Christ.”

5) Who gives us peace?
Father—1 Corinthians 14:33: “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.”

Holy Spirit—Galatians 5:22: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith…”

Son—John 14:27: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you: not as the world gives, give I to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

6) Who sends out Christians?
Father—Matthew 9:38: “Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest.”

Holy Spirit—Acts 13:4: “So they, being sent forth by the Holy Spirit, departed to Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus.”

Son—Matthew 10:16: “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.”

7) Who calls Christians to ministry?
Father—1 Corinthians 1:1: “Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God . . .”

Holy Spirit—Acts 13:2: “As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.”

Son—Romans 1:6: “Among whom are you also the called of Jesus Christ.”

*Adapted from an article by the Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry (www.carm.org).

JESUS – tHe OnLy WaY??

 

 

 

Jesus is the One who said that He is the only way to the Father. For Christians to say that there are other ways to find peace with God is to bear false testimony. In one sweeping statement, Jesus discards all other religions as a means of finding forgiveness of sins. In John 14:6 He says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes to the Father, but  by me.” This agrees with other Scriptures: “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12), and, “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5).When you’re preaching the gospel, don’t let angry reactions from your listeners concern you. A dentist knows where to work on a patient when he touches a raw nerve. When you touch a raw nerve in the heart of the sinner, it means that you are in business. Anger is a thousand times better than apathy. Anger is a sign of conviction. If I have an argument with my wife and suddenly realize that I am in the wrong, I can come to her in a repentant attitude and apologize, or I can save face by lashing out in aRead Acts 19 and see how Paul was a dentist with an eye for decay. He probed raw nerves wherever he went. At one point, he had to be carried shoulder height by soldiers because of the “violence of the people” (Acts 21:36). Now that is a successful preacher! He didn’t seek the praise of men. John Wesley told his evangelist trainees that when they preached, people should either get angry or get converted. No doubt, he wasn’t speaking about the “Jesus loves you” gospel, but about sin, Law, righteousness, judgment, and hell.

Always follow the wisdom of Solomon: “A soft answer turns away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger” (Proverbs 15:1). This verse needs to be written on the hearts of all who preach the gospel, whether they share their faith with sinners one-on-one or preach open-air. If sinners become angry when you witness to them, speak softly. If you think you are about to be hit, ask the person his name to help diffuse the situation. Don’t be afraid to gently change the subject, and don’t wait to be a martyr. Jesus said to flee from a city that persecutes you (Matthew 10:23). Paul left one city in a basket (2 Corinthians 11:33).

The Bible warns us to avoid foolish questions because they start arguments (2 Timothy 2:23). Most of us have fallen into the trap of jumping at every objection to the gospel. However, these questions can often be arguments in disguise to sidetrack you from the “weightier matters of the Law.”

While apologetics (arguments for God’s existence, creation vs. evolution, etc.) are legitimate in evangelism, they should merely be “bait,” with the Law of God being the “hook” that brings the conviction of sin. Those who witness solely in the realm of apologetical argument may just get an intellectual decision rather than a repentant conversion. The sinner may come to a point of acknowledging that the Bible is the Word of God and Jesus is Lord—but even the devil knows that. Always pull the sinner back to his responsibility before God on Judgment Day, as Jesus did in Luke 13:1–5.

As you share the gospel, divorce yourself from the thought that you are merely seeking “decisions for Christ.” What we should be seeking is repentance within the heart. This is the purpose of the Law, to bring the knowledge of sin. How can sinners repent if they don’t know what sin is? If there is no repentance, there is no salvation. Jesus said, “Unless you repent, you shall all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3). God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).

Many don’t understand that the salvation of a soul is not a resolution to change a way of life, but “repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21). Billy Graham said, “If you have not repented, you will not see the inside of the kingdom of God.” The modern concept of success in evangelism is to relate how many people were “saved” (that is, how many prayed the “sinner’s prayer”). This produces a “no decisions, no success” mentality. This shouldn’t be, because Christians who seek decisions in evangelism become discouraged after a time of witnessing if “no one came to the Lord.” The Bible tells us that as we sow the good seed of the gospel, one sows and another reaps. If you faithfully sow the seed, someone will reap. If you reap, it is because someone has sown in the past, but it is God who causes the seed to grow. If His hand is not on the person you are leading in a prayer of committal, if there is not God-given repentance, then you will end up with a stillbirth on your hands, and that is nothing to rejoice about. We should measure our success by how faithfully we sowed the seed. In that way, we will avoid becoming discouraged.

There is one passage in Scripture to which I point for all those who want to witness or preach in the open-air. It is 2 Timothy 2:24–26. Memorize it. Scripture tells us that sinners are blind; they cannot see. What would you think if I were to stomp up to a blind man who had just stumbled, and say, “Watch where you’re going, blind man!”? Such an attitude is completely unreasonable. The man cannot see.

The same applies to the lost—spiritual sight is beyond their ability. Look at the words used in Scripture: “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God…

The god of this world has blinded the minds of them which believe not…But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness to him: neither can he know them…Having the understanding darkened …because of the blindness of their heart…Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

With these thoughts in mind, read 2 Timothy 2:24–26 again and look at the adjectives used by Paul to describe the attitude we are to have with sinners: “must not strive…be gentle…patient…in meekness.” Just as it is unreasonable to be impatient with a blind man, so it is with the sinner.

S.C.A.R.S

 

Folks, I want to remind you of something:

 

Never be ashamed of the scars that life has left you with.  A scar means the hurt is over, the wound is now closed – you endured the pain and GOD HAS HEALED YOU!

 

So Remember that and may God richly bless you in ways that you in ways that you don’t even understand!

 

 

7 miles!!

 

 

Check this out…… that very day 2 of them were going to a village named Emmaus – about 7 miles from Jerusalem, 7 MILES….7 MILES…7 Miles away, how ever many minutes by car, how ever many minutes it’d take you to run that…an hour, 2 hours, 4 days…..7 miles from Jerusalem and they were talking to each other about all these things and what had happened….. while they were talking and discussing together, JESUS Himself drew near…and listen to this……WENT WITH THEM —-WHERE???? TO EMMAUS….HOW FAR AWAY IS THAT?? 7 MILES.

Lemme tell you why I’m pointing this out – Historically, not biblically, Historically this causes a lot of trouble for the secular mind….so there’s all these theories about how to deal with it….. one of the theories is – that when they arrested Him, beat Him a dozen times, yanked the beard out of his face…..drove nails through His hands and feet. After they ripped the skin off His back and left Him hanging there for 6 HOURS…then took a spear and DROVE IT under His rib cage through His lungs and back out, spilling blood and water all over the cross, that maybe they didn’t kill Him, that they put Him into the ground and 2 DAYS LATER, HE’S WALKING 7 MILES TO EMMAUS WITH 2 GUYS.

RIDICULOUS…..THE WORLD SAYS…. THEY SAY YOU’D HAVE TO BE AN IDIOT TO BELIEVE THAT THEORY….I mean come on ….Have you ever broken a toe and tried to walk without looking like your hips exploded inside your PELVIS????

The theory….the historical, Discovery Channel theory is that after this unbelievable beating, JESUS is 2 days later walking to Emmaus for 7 miles

NOW THAT’S SILLY….. The world says… All the goofiness that is Christianity, that’s right up there with the dumbest things those Christians believe, that after having your full body weight bared down on a nail driven through the center of both your feet that 48 hours later your walking a 7 MILE JAUNT TO EMMAUS…..

THANK YOU JESUS THAT THIS GOOFY CHRISTIAN IS NO LONGER

CONFORMED TO WHAT THIS WORLD BELIEVES, THANK YOU JESUS THAT

I AM NO LONGER A FAN BUT A FOLLOWER!!

WHO ELSE IS WITH ME?

ARE YOU?

In HIS HANDS we are

A true story was told of a young soldier in the Civil War. After an explosion left him seriously injured, he lay on the battlefield covered in blood. A male nurse sat beside the helpless trooper, holding his thumb on the man’s neck to stop the bleeding.

In the heat of battle, a doctor came alongside the two men. He looked closely at the wound and told the soldier that he was very fortunate. The damage was very close to a main artery, and if that had been severed he would have died almost immediately.

The doctor carefully stitched the small veins over which the nurse had applied pressure.

A few minutes later, he was called back. The terrified nurse was holding his thumb over a main artery, which had suddenly burst. The good doctor explained that he could now do nothing for the soldier. As soon as the nurse removed his thumb, blood would gush out rapidly, and there was no way he could contain its flow.

Over the next three hours, the brave young soldier thanked the nurse for what he had done for him, wrote farewells to his loved ones, put his affairs in order, then told the nurse to remove his thumb. The horrified nurse turned his face away from the young warrior as he removed his thumb; the soldier was dead within minutes.

Whether we are enlightened to understand it or not, the eternal God of creation holds our life in His hands. When the preserving presence of His hand is removed, we die. We are but mortal human beings, and “in Him we live and move and have our being.” Every breath we take, and every heartbeat that follows, comes only because He keeps His gracious hand upon our lives.

He alone is the origin of human life, the One who sustains our very existence.

BATTLE ON!!!! ARE U READY???

I’M TALKING TO YOU …YES YOU… THE ONE IN FRONT OF THE COMPUTER RIGHT NOW… SEARCHING AND SEARCHING FOR THAT ONE THING TO SOOTHE YOUR SOUL……..

These are the HANDS that are holding You!

The hands that are holding us all - 

I want to share with all my readers, a story that I learned in prison.   The story and description of THE HANDS THAT HOLD EVERY ASPECT OF YOUR LIFE.  This helped me identify the KING OF KINGS and the love HE SHOWED FOR A WRETCH LIKE ME.

* Think what it would have be like to have to pull the cold and lifeless hands of the Son of God from the thick, barbed Roman nails.  These were carpenter’s hands, which once held nails and wood, now being held BY nails and wood.  These were the hands that broke bread and fed multitudes, now being broken to feed multitudes.  They once applied clay to a blind man’s eyes, touched lepers, healed the sick, washed the disciple’s feet, and took children in His arms.  There were the hands that, more than once, loosed the cold hand of death, now held firmly by its icy grip.

These were the fingers that wrote in the sand when the adulterous woman was cast at His feet, and for the love of God, fashioned a whip that purged His Father’s house.  These were the same fingers that took bread and dipped it in a dish, and gave it to Judas as a gesture of deep love and friendship.  Here was the Bread of Life itself, being dipped in the cup of suffering, as the ultimate gesture of God’s love for the evil world that Judas represented.

Joseph’s shame, that he had been afraid to own the Savior, sickened him as he tore the blood-sodden feet from the six-inch cold steel spikes that fastened them to the cross.  These were the “beautiful feet” of Him that preached the gospel of peace, that Mary washed with her hair, that walked upon the Sea of Galilee, now crimson with a sea of blood.

As Joseph reached out his arms to get Him down from the cross, perhaps he stared for an instant at the inanimate face of the Son of God.  His heart wrenched as he looked upon Him whom with the glory of God on the Mount of Transfiguration, which so many had looked upon with such veneration, was now blood-stained from the needle-sharp crown of thorns, deathly pale and twisted from unspeakable suffering as the sin of the world was laid upon Him.

His eyes, which once sparkled with the life of God, now stared at nothingness, as He was brought into the dust of death.  His lips, which spoke such gracious words and calmed the fears of so many, were swollen and bruised from the beating given to Him by the hardened fists of cruel soldiers.

As it is written, “His visage was marred more than any man” (Isa. 52:14)

Nicodemus may have reached up to help Joseph with the body.  As the cold blood of the Son of God covered his hand he was reminded of the blood of the Passover lamb he had seen shed so many times.  The death of each spotless animal had been so quick and merciful, but this death had been unspeakable cruel, vicious, inhumane, and brutal.  It seemed that all the hatred that sin-loving humanity had for the Light formed itself into a dark and evil spear, and was thrust with cruel delight into the perfect Lamb of God.

Perhaps as he carefully pried the crown from His head, looked at the gaping hole in His side, the deep mass of abrasions upon His back, and the mutilated wounds in His hands and feet, a sense of outrage engrossed him, that this could happen to such a Man as this.  But the words of the prophet Isaiah rang out with his heart:

He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed… the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all… He was led as a lamb to the slaughter… For the transgression of My people He was stricken… Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him…By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities.  (Isa. 53:5-11)

Jesus of Nazareth was stripped of His robe, that we might be robed in pure righteousness.  He suffered a deathly thirst, that our thirst for life might be quenched.  He agonized under the curse of the Law, that we might relish the blessing of the gospel.  He took upon Himself the hatred of the world, so that we could experience the love of God.

Hell was let loose upon Him because of A WRETCH LIKE ME, so that heaven could be let loose upon us.  Jesus of Nazareth tasted the bitterness of death, so that we might taste the sweetness of life everlasting.  The Son of God willingly passed over His life, that death might freely pass over the sons and daughters of Adam.

So I hope this story that was told to me helps you identify the hands of the Son of God.  May Calvary’s cross be as real to us as it was to those who stood on its bloody soil on that terrible day.  May we also gaze upon the face of the crucified Son of God, and may shame grip our hearts if ever the fear of man comes near our souls.  May we identify with the apostle Paul, who could have gloried in his dramatic and miraculous experience on the road to Damascus.  Instead, he whispered in awe of God’s great love:

        “God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Gal. 6:14)

*used by permission Bridge-Logos foundation

Jesus – Friend of sinners