Last weekend my family and I visited a prospective college for my daughter. It is a Christian college, and I had an opportunity to sit in on a New Testament Literature and Interpretation class. The professor did a wonderful job of explaining how the New Testament clearly attests to the deity of Jesus Christ, but what was fascinating to me was how he used Old Testament scriptures to point to the same conclusion.
The New Testament makes it clear that Jesus is God, in verses such as John 10:30: “I [Jesus] and the Father are one.” Hebrews 13:8 states that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever”, a statement that could only be made about someone who is eternal and unchanging, characteristics that could only be applied to God. This idea is echoed in the first two verses of the book of John, which refer to Jesus as [ ... ]
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16
Sep 2011
Last weekend my family and I visited a prospective college for my daughter. It is a Christian college, and I had an opportunity to sit in on a New Testament Literature and Interpretation class. The professor did a wonderful job of explaining how the New Testament clearly attests to the deity of Jesus Christ, but what was fascinating to me was how he used Old Testament scriptures to point to the same conclusion.
The New Testament makes it clear that Jesus is God, in verses such as John 10:30: “I [Jesus] and the Father are one.” Hebrews 13:8 states that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever”, a statement that could only be made about someone who is eternal and unchanging, characteristics that could only be applied to God. This idea is echoed in the first two verses of the book of John, which refer to Jesus as [ ... ]
Category: Focus On The Word
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02
Sep 2011
The Sunday School class I am attending is doing a methodical , verse-by-verse study of the book of Galatians. I have been meditating recently on verse two of chapter six: “Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.” (Gal. 6:2). As I study this verse I am reminded how gracious our Lord is to us. I am struck initially by the reality that we, as believers, do have burdens to carry. The Greek word for “burdens” can refer to a load or an abundance. Contrary to much of today’s “prosperity” gospel, Christians live in a fallen world and are engaged in spiritual warfare (Eph. 6:10-17). Scripture even assures us that “all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Tim. 3:12). So we know that we all have “burdens” to carry in this life. But thanks be to God that we don’t have [ ... ]
Category: Focus On The Word
Tags: anxiety, burdens, caring, compassion, Galatians, law of Christ, loving one another, persecution Leave a Comment
22
Aug 2011
As I pondered my first post under the category “Focus on the Word”, I thought first about the meaning of the word “focus”. Webster’s Dictionary defines focus as ”a center of activity, attraction, or attention” and “a point of concentration”. I inevitably ask myself the question, so is the Word, God’s truth as revealed in Scripture, truly my “center” and my “point of concentraton”? In other words, do I spend a majority of my time “set[ting my] mind on the things above, not on the things that are on the earth” (Col 3:2)?
In the “modern” twenty-first century world in which we live, it is easy to be pulled in many directions. Most of us have jobs, families, resposibilities at home, etc. Many of these are good and necessary. But as I examine my life and compare it to the teachings of Scripture, I realize that I often choose the “good” over the “best”.
Am [ ... ]