Jesus' Last Supper

 This is from my "Bring One to Christ" post for today (04/21/2011)

On this day our Lord Jesus Christ had His last supper (a Passover meal) with His disciples. This day is full of important and meaningful events.  For starters, as soon as they sat down to eat, He announces that "One of you who eats with Me will betray Me" (Mark 14:18).  Having the knowledge that one of your closest friends is going to hand you over to be killed can not by any means be anything that any normal human could handle, but Jesus, who is the Prince of Peace, not only sat and ate with Judas but washed his feet as well. Yes, He humbled himself and washed the disciples' feet.  Here's the Son of God washing the feet of men!! He did this, among other things, to demonstrate the meaning of servanthood.  He tells them that if the Teacher and Lord can wash your feet, then you also are to wash one another's feet (John  13:13-15).  Now, He knows that His time on earth is coming to an end, and that He will have to suffer much before ascending into heaven with the Father.  That alone would be unbearable, now add to that the fact that he is sharing a meal with the "traitor of all traitors....Judas! Can any one person endure all that? Only Jesus! For He was put on this earth to bear the sins of all men.  To suffer, to be persecuted and to be crucified like a common criminal, when all along He was without blemish.  After supper, Jesus goes to Gethsemane to pray.  He is, at this point, feeling exceedingly sorrowful (Mark 14:34). The crushing realization of having to bear the sin of the world and to lose, even temporarily,  the fellowship of the Father was nearly more than Jesus' soul could bear.  Yet, He does something that shows His true character, His divine, true self; He prays for God's will to be done and not His own (Mark 14:36).  Even to the point of death (which is inevitable) He chooses to be obedient to whatever the Father wills.  Reflecting on all that Jesus had to go through, all the anguish and betrayal that He felt.  The extreme sadness of being separated from His Father for a short while, not to mention the horrific physical punishment He would have to endure is so humbling.  After all, none of us are deserving of salvation, and yet we can all obtain it by proclaiming that Jesus is our Savior! and that He indeed died on the cross for our sins!

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The Need to be a Part of a Church Family

(From My Bring One to Christ Post of June 16, 2010)

Is there a need for us to be a part of a church family? I will start with the meaning of the word “church” and hopefully answer the question as I go along. When you look up the word “church” in the dictionary you will find that the first definition states that it is “a building for public worship, especially in the Christian religion.”  When you ask people to define the word “church” most will tell you the same thing. I found this very interesting because that is not the correct meaning of the word yet most of us use it in that manner and our dictionaries describe it as such.  In the New Testament the Greek word “ecclesia” appears approx. 115 times and it has been translated as “church” in these passages.  Ecclesia was a common Greek word that meant “the gathering of people” or “to call people together” it never stood for a building or a place of worship.  As a matter of fact, most of the “gatherings” in biblical times occurred at believer’s residences, outside by the water or on mountains (as Jesus did during his sermons).  Why is knowing the meaning of the word so important? One reason is because we use it often but most importantly because we should not assume that if a person does not attend a “building of worship” they are therefore, not attending “church” or that they are not part of a church.  I know a family that is doing amazing missionary work in Nepal, bringing the word of our Lord to a country that is in much need of it.  This family goes to villages that are a couple of hours away from their residence, to preach the Word of God and to have fellowship with the natives there.  This family is gathering an assembly of believers in Jesus’ name. That is, in my opinion, the true meaning of the word “church.”  So if you are gathering at a beautiful building, someone’s residence, by a lake or in the mountains it is extremely important and even essential to continue (or start) do so.  Christians need to gather together in Jesus Christ our Lord, we need to encourage one another in His Name.  We need our Christian family to hold us accountable for our actions and we need our fellow brothers and sisters-in Christ to lift us up when we are down. We need their prayers and they need ours.  We live in this world, but as children of the Most High, we are no longer of this world.  Depending on where you live, you could be very much outnumbered, making the need for fellowship and prayer even more crucial. Find what “church” setting works for you and your family and do it. The people you will meet (or have already met) will change you, support you, share with you, love you and pray for you…who wants to miss out on that?

                                                                                                                               

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Salvation

(from my Bring One to Christ post of June 3, 2010)

Salvation can only be obtained one way: By accepting Jesus into your heart and proclaiming that He is your Savior. That sounds simple enough, and in some levels it is, however, you can’t just speak the words and leave it at that. . Becoming a believer means striving to have a close and intimate relationship with our Lord. Just like any other relationship in your life, you must invest time and effort into it to make it work. You must act on your new faith. You need to spend time reading the Bible, making some changes in your life, having fellowship with other believers, you need prayer time, you must repent of sin and most importantly you need to be baptized in water and Spirit (born again). In John 3:3 Jesus states that no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. You were born once in a physical nature through your mother’s womb and now, in order to enter the kingdom of God (be saved and have eternal life), you will need to be born of water and the Spirit (John 3:5). This “new birth” or “spiritual birth” is the beginning of the re-creation or transformation that you will go through to become a child of God. The scriptures tell us that once we are baptized we will receive the Holy Spirit (Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit as “The Counselor” and “The Spirit of Truth”) and this is when your new life, the ultimate journey, the best part of your life begins. The Holy Spirit will help you along the whole way. He will be your guide, your translator when reading scripture, he will be your Counselor, he will speak truth into your life, and he will help you to speak, listen and live differently. This change, this new life, is by far the most wonderful thing that can ever happen to a person. There is only one way to Salvation and no one can say it better than Jesus did when he spoke the following words: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” John14:6. If you want to be saved, have eternal life, and enter the kingdom of heaven you must accept Jesus as your Savior TODAY!

***To visit the "Bring One to Christ" group in Facebook click here ***

Why Me?

(From my Bring One to Christ post of May 26, 2010)

“Why me?” is a question that has been asked since the beginning of time. Moses, one of the best known characters of the Bible, asked this very question to God. When God chose him to be the one to deliver the Israelites out of Egypt, Moses’ response was exactly the “Why me?” question. Not only did he ask that question but also went on to tell God why it should not be him. In Exodus 4:10 Moses tells God how he is not eloquent, and slow in speech and tongue. And in Exodus 4:13 Moses pleads with God saying “O Lord, please send someone else to do it.”

It is probably during these “Why me?” moments in our lives that our Lord is preparing us to do something great, to make a change or to reach a higher place. Moses could not fathom the idea that anyone would pay any attention to him let alone take him seriously and let him leave Egypt with the Israelites. Yet, he was able to do it. If you are going through a difficult situation or if God is calling you to do something don’t ask yourself “Why me?” ask yourself “Why Not Me??” Because you see, when God call us to a task, he will give us the means and ability to fulfill it.

***To visit the "Bring One to Christ" group in Facebook click here

Bring One to Christ-Facebook Group

I have had the pleasure and privilege to have been invited to write for the "Bring One to Christ" group in Facebook. Trish, the creator, organized this group to entice believers and nonbelievers alike to have open discussions about the Bible and our walk with the Lord. Trish sends out a letter to all the members once a week stating the subject of the week. There are designated writers for each day of the week (mine is on Thursdays) however everyone is encouraged to write on the site. I will be posting some of my old posts (I am not much of an impromptu writer and so I write them on my word document before publishing them on FB). I will also post the current ones. I put a link for this group on the top left hand side of this blog. Please visit the site and become a member. I am sure we will all be blessed by your input.

** You may go directly to the group by clicking on this link: Bring One to Christ **