Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Divinity of the Creation


Scriptures declare that heaven, earth, and all things upon the earth are divinely created. Scriptures also help us to know more about the partnership of God and His Son, Jesus Christ, in the Creation. The first words in the Bible state, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth,” and, “God created man in his own image, … male and female created he them.” The book of Abraham teaches that “the Gods went down to organize man in their own image, in the image of the Gods to form they him, male and female to form they them.”

Scripture records the feelings of Heavenly Father for His Beloved Son and for each human being: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

The book of John begins with this declaration:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

“The same was in the beginning with God.

“All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.”

This scripture denotes that the Word11 of God is Jesus Christ—God’s personal minister in the government of this universe and Creator of all life.

This fact was affirmed to Moses by our Heavenly Father, who said:

“And by the word of my power, have I created them [the earth and the individuals on it], which is mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth.

“And worlds without number have I created; and I also created them for mine own purpose; and by the Son I created them, which is mine Only Begotten.”

Many other scriptures confirm that, under direction of the Father, Jesus Christ is the Creator. One of the most compelling is His own personal testimony: “Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of God. I created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are. I was with the Father from the beginning.”
Dynamics of Faith in Jesus Christ

For one to accept that concept requires dynamic faith. Faith is the foundation of personal testimony. The first principles of the gospel begin with faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul said that “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” He pled “that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend … and to know the love of Christ.” Paul entreated us to “come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God.”

Dynamic faith in the Lord brings conversion, a mighty change of heart, a change of thinking, from the ways of the world to the ways of Deity.

From the Book of Mormon we learn that “we are made alive in Christ because of our faith. … And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.”

Blessings that flow from faith in Him are also revealed in the Book of Mormon. There we read: “Ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.” That is the “greatest of all the gifts of God.”

Dynamic faith in the Lord leads to complete conversion and a consummate commitment to His holy work. We become children of the covenant; we become His children. Scripture so confirms: “And now, because of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be called the children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters; for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you; for ye say that your hearts are changed through faith on his name; therefore, ye are born of him and have become his sons and his daughters.”

Dynamic faith in the Lord brings conversion, a mighty change of heart, a change of thinking, from the ways of the world to the ways of Deity. It causes one to repent with “full purpose of heart.” Alma added, “Preach unto them repentance, and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ; teach them to humble themselves and to be meek and lowly in heart; teach them to withstand every temptation of the devil, with their faith on the Lord Jesus Christ.”

The Book of Mormon exists, in part, to convince the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the eternal God. Those who read the Book of Mormon and ask in faith if the book is true gain a testimony of its truth. They also “come to know … that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world [and] that Joseph Smith is his revelator and prophet in these last days.”
Faith in Jesus Christ: Essential to Salvation and Exaltation

Faith in Jesus Christ not only brings blessings in this life, but it is essential to our eternal salvation and exaltation. Scripture declares, “All men must repent and believe on the name of Jesus Christ, and worship the Father in his name, and endure in faith on his name to the end, or they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God.” The Lord also holds parents responsible to teach their children to have “faith in Christ the Son of the living God.”

I testify that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. He is our Creator, Savior and Redeemer, Advocate with the Father, Deliverer, and Jehovah of the Old Testament. He is the promised Immanuel,34 the anointed Messiah, and our great Exemplar. One day He will return to rule and reign as King of kings and Lord of lords. Eventually, we will each stand before Him at judgment day. I pray for each of us that our individual faith in Him will be acceptable.

Divinity of the Creation

27 Tetapi apa yang bodoh bagi dunia, dipilih Allah untuk memalukan orang-orang yang berhikmat, dan apa yang lemah bagi dunia, dipilih Allah untuk memalukan apa yang kuat,28 dan apa yang tidak terpandang dan yang hina bagi dunia, dipilih Allah, bahkan apa yang tidak berarti, dipilih Allah untuk meniadakan apa yang berarti,29 supaya jangan ada seorang manusiapun yang memegahkan diri di hadapan Allah.


Scriptures declare that heaven, earth, and all things upon the earth are divinely created. Scriptures also help us to know more about the partnership of God and His Son, Jesus Christ, in the Creation. The first words in the Bible state, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth,” and, “God created man in his own image, … male and female created he them.” The book of Abraham teaches that “the Gods went down to organize man in their own image, in the image of the Gods to form they him, male and female to form they them.”

Scripture records the feelings of Heavenly Father for His Beloved Son and for each human being: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

The book of John begins with this declaration:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

“The same was in the beginning with God.

“All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.”

This scripture denotes that the Word11 of God is Jesus Christ—God’s personal minister in the government of this universe and Creator of all life.

This fact was affirmed to Moses by our Heavenly Father, who said:

“And by the word of my power, have I created them [the earth and the individuals on it], which is mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth.

“And worlds without number have I created; and I also created them for mine own purpose; and by the Son I created them, which is mine Only Begotten.”

Many other scriptures confirm that, under direction of the Father, Jesus Christ is the Creator. One of the most compelling is His own personal testimony: “Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of God. I created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are. I was with the Father from the beginning.”
Dynamics of Faith in Jesus Christ

For one to accept that concept requires dynamic faith. Faith is the foundation of personal testimony. The first principles of the gospel begin with faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul said that “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” He pled “that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend … and to know the love of Christ.” Paul entreated us to “come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God.”

Dynamic faith in the Lord brings conversion, a mighty change of heart, a change of thinking, from the ways of the world to the ways of Deity.

From the Book of Mormon we learn that “we are made alive in Christ because of our faith. … And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.”

Blessings that flow from faith in Him are also revealed in the Book of Mormon. There we read: “Ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.” That is the “greatest of all the gifts of God.”

Dynamic faith in the Lord leads to complete conversion and a consummate commitment to His holy work. We become children of the covenant; we become His children. Scripture so confirms: “And now, because of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be called the children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters; for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you; for ye say that your hearts are changed through faith on his name; therefore, ye are born of him and have become his sons and his daughters.”

Dynamic faith in the Lord brings conversion, a mighty change of heart, a change of thinking, from the ways of the world to the ways of Deity. It causes one to repent with “full purpose of heart.” Alma added, “Preach unto them repentance, and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ; teach them to humble themselves and to be meek and lowly in heart; teach them to withstand every temptation of the devil, with their faith on the Lord Jesus Christ.”

The Book of Mormon exists, in part, to convince the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the eternal God. Those who read the Book of Mormon and ask in faith if the book is true gain a testimony of its truth. They also “come to know … that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world [and] that Joseph Smith is his revelator and prophet in these last days.”
Faith in Jesus Christ: Essential to Salvation and Exaltation

Faith in Jesus Christ not only brings blessings in this life, but it is essential to our eternal salvation and exaltation. Scripture declares, “All men must repent and believe on the name of Jesus Christ, and worship the Father in his name, and endure in faith on his name to the end, or they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God.” The Lord also holds parents responsible to teach their children to have “faith in Christ the Son of the living God.”

I testify that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. He is our Creator, Savior and Redeemer, Advocate with the Father, Deliverer, and Jehovah of the Old Testament. He is the promised Immanuel,34 the anointed Messiah, and our great Exemplar. One day He will return to rule and reign as King of kings and Lord of lords. Eventually, we will each stand before Him at judgment day. I pray for each of us that our individual faith in Him will be acceptable.

JESUS MY LORD







Jesus Christ: He is the Truth
Jesus Christ declared “I am the Truth,” but clearly, many of us have created our own concepts of truth. Moral relativism and religious pluralism pervade our culture. Truth is redefined daily. However, Jesus, through His Word -- the Bible -- gave us absolute truth. With today’s archaeological, historical and manuscript evidence, there’s far less reason to deny the origin of the Bible and its divine authenticity than to deny the legitimacy of works by Homer, Plato and Aristotle. What about your own pursuit of the truth? Is it even a priority in your life? How do you discover Christ’s truth, you might ask? He tells us in Matthew 7:7, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.”


Jesus Christ: He is the Life
In Philippians 3:8, Paul said it all when he claimed that everything else is worthless when compared with the priceless gain of knowing Jesus Christ. “For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16).

Believe With JESUS

US
Jesus Christ: Many Things to Many People
Jesus Christ has been called many things by many people, including a great man, a great teacher, and a great prophet. There is no legitimate scholar today that denies that Jesus is a historic figure that walked on this earth about 2,000 years ago, that he did rema
rkable wonders and acts of charity, and that he died a horrible death on a Roman cross just outside Jerusalem. The only dispute is whether Jesus was God incarnate who rose from the dead three days after His crucifixion. These are all matters of historical record that can be earnestly discovered and tested. Jesus told us who He was – He didn’t mince words. “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.” (John 14:6).


Jesus myth - Did He really live?

Is the Jesus myth tru
e? Is Jesus just the fabrication of a bunch of religious zealots? Some people would like us to believe that the existence of Jesus is nothing more than a myth. To examine this question, let's start by looking at how some people have defined the word "myth."

* a traditional story accepted as history; serves to explain the worldview of a people

* a story, usually of teleological content, that relates not historical fact but historical "experience" of its writer or culture. It is not a chronicle of "what was or is" but a profound expression of "how things are."

* an anonymous tale emerging from the traditional beliefs of a culture or social unit. Myths use supernatural explanations for natural phenomena. They may also explain cosmic issues like creation and death.

If Jesus did not really exist, He would fit these definitions because He would not be part of history or historical fact. Conversely, even if He really did exist, the last definition implies that who He claimed to be could still be a myth if the supernatural miracles He performed had natural explanations or He was not the Creator He claimed to be or He really didn't have power over death He claimed to have. It appears that the person who wrote the last definition tailored it to fit Jesus. He apparently believed that Jesus was not what He claimed to be and consequently was a myth.

Raising the potential mythology of Jesus is a fair question and believing in the Jesus myth is an acceptable position as long as such a conclusion is based upon a careful, unbiased examination of the evidence and not based upon what we want to believe. Many of us may want to jump to that conclusion just to avoid our responsibility toward God and to our neighbors that we would be forced to consider if Jesus is real and is who He says He is.

Any careful and objective study of the facts that surround Jesus birth, life, death, and resurrection will convince anyone that Jesus is real and that He is who He said He was. Many p
eople have done research specifically to discredit the reality of Jesus and who He claimed to be or examined their atheistic beliefs and ended up proclaiming the truth of Jesus and the Bible. Some of these that have written their story in a book include Josh McDowell, Lee Strobel, Sir William M. Ramsey, and Randall Niles.

Without even getting into many detailed historical, archeological, scientific, and documentary facts, consider the following to see if Jesus' existence and His claim to be God are consistent with the facts:

* Our calendar is based upon the birth of Jesus both counting backwards (BC) before His birth and forwards (AD) after His birth. Why would we base our calendar on a myth?

* Why have Christians been persecuted throughout history if Jesus is a myth?

* If Jesus is a myth, why do people take His name in vein?

* Why does the
mere name of Jesus instill such hatred and controversy and why is just mentioning the name of Jesus taboo if He is a myth?

* If Jesus and His resurrection was a myth, why did all the apostles die for what they knew to be
a lie?

* How have so many lives been transformed from unsatisfying, self-destructive behaviors that are like a curse on themselves, their families, and society to a purposeful, satisfying life that is a blessing to society?

* How do you explain the wisdom that Jesus had when answering peoples questions when the
y tried to trick and trap Him?

* How do you explain how Jesus fulfilled all the messianic prophecies in the Old Testament that could not have been fulfilled by random chance?

* Why was Jesus crucified and why were the apostles murdered if it's all a myth?

* Many religious concepts are consistent with human thinking. Some promise to make us gods. Some promise many virgins. Some promise utopia. These concepts are consistent with human thinking. How do you explain God's plan that includes Jesus giving up His God status to become a lowly man; to live a perfect life and to die for us by our own hand and to save us from our sins. This is clearly not a concept that men would create.