Displaying items by tag: salvation

Good Friday? If we look closely, the Bible tells us it was actually Good Wednesday.  Psalm11918.org has created two resources that share our examination of the Gospels and our search for the truth.

Our When Yeshua was Crucified article asks the question "when was Messiah crucified?" and systematically goes through Scripture to uncover the answer.  Step by step and verse by verse, we build the list of Biblically-based requirements for the correct date.

When it was originally published, this article prompted so much discussion among our readers that we created an entirely new interactive website devoted to examining Good Friday, Good Thursday, and Good Wednesday options and see which fit bet with the Word of G-d.  MessiahsPassoverWeek.info is full of colorful insight that reveals the truth of Scripture.

As the time draws near for Passover, may we all draw near to our Lord and Savior who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life!

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A friend of mine recently shared an astounding fact. 90% of children who grow up in evangelical homes make a decision to follow Christ but only 22% of that group are still following Christ by age 35.

Before they are 35 years old, 80% of children who grew up in evangelical homes are not following Christ.

EIGHTY percent.

I had to check this out.

In part 1 of this series, we noted that Ernst Haeckel's inaccurate sketches of embryos in various stages of development from 1847 were still being used in public school textbooks as late as the early 2000's.  In a similar fashion, certain ideas within Christianity that have been debunked by archaeologists, historians, and modern Biblical scholars also continue to be presented as truth to an unsuspecting audience.

The first error we addressed was an inaccurate view of first-century Judaism's teaching on salvation that was presented in a small booklet mentioned previously.  A second error also had me shaking my head in disbelief.

In 1847, Ernst Haeckel created sketches of embryos in various states of development and used them in his biology textbook entitled Anthropogenie. Modern science has proven these images to be inaccurate at best and outright fraud at worst.

Although the images were debunked in the early 1900s, they were still being used in school textbooks as late as 2004 .

Christians who believe in the Biblical account of Creation point to continued use of Haeckel's images as proof that lies are being presented as evidence of evolution to unsuspecting public school students.  They are demanding that it stop and their common chant is "Truth above all!"

Unfortunately, certain ideas within Christianity that have been debunked by archaeologists, historians, and modern Biblical scholars also continue to be presented as truth to an unsuspecting audience. We should follow the exhortation of Paul from 1 Thessalonians 5:21, "Put everything to the test. Hold on to what is good."

Have you ever met someone who had an immediate and positive impact on your outlook for life? In my life such meetings have been rare but they have happened. I was recently blessed when I met a friend of a friend while out at lunch. Our introduction began in a normal fashion:

“Kevin, meet my friend, Brady.”

“Kevin? Hi! Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you, too!”

We exchanged the normal pleasantries, asking each other how long we had known Chad, our mutual friend: are you married, have any kids, etc. Then the conversation turned to work.

“So, Kevin, what do you do?”

“I’m in the import business.”

Chad turned to him with a shocked look on his face. “Did you lose your job at the bank? You’ve been there for years! What happened?”

Cargo cult:

A cargo cult is a religious practice that has appeared in many traditional tribal societies in the wake of interaction with technologically advanced cultures. The cults focus on obtaining the material wealth (the "cargo") of the advanced culture through magic and religious rituals and practices. Cult members believe that the wealth was intended for them by their deities and ancestors. Cargo cults developed primarily in remote parts of New Guinea and other Melanesian and Micronesian societies in the southwest Pacific Ocean, beginning with the first significant arrivals of Westerners in the 19th century. Similar behaviors have, however, also appeared elsewhere in the world.

Cargo cult activity in the Pacific region increased significantly during and immediately after World War II, when the residents of these regions observed the Japanese and American combatants bringing in large amounts of material. When the war ended, the military bases closed and the flow of goods and materials ceased. In an attempt to attract further deliveries of goods, followers of the cults engaged in ritualistic practices such as building crude imitation landing strips, aircraft and radio equipment, and mimicking the behaviour that they had observed of the military personnel operating them.

A British computer game retailer, Game Station, reports that it now owns the souls of thousands of their shoppers as a result of a clause that was added to their online terms and agreements as part of an April Fools joke.

"By placing an order via this Web site on the first day of the fourth month of the year 2010 Anno Domini, you agree to grant Us a non transferable option to claim, for now and for ever more, your immortal soul. Should We wish to exercise this option, you agree to surrender your immortal soul, and any claim you may have on it, within 5 (five) working days of receiving written notification from gamesation.co.uk or one of its duly authorised minions."

Fox News provides further details of the situation.

The recent recovery of Nadia Bloom in a dense swamp in Florida has many singing the praises of G-d.  Why?  Because James King, the man who is credited with finding her gives all the credit to G-d:

"I see it as an answer to a lot of people's prayers," King told CNN. "I'm just very thankful, I'm thankful that God used me as a part of it to be able to find her. It's definitely a miracle.

King describes the events surrounding his discovery of the missing girl:

"I didn't know where she was. The only person who knew where she was was God, and I asked him and he led me directly to her, straight -- well, as straight as you can go through the swamp."

The Merriam-Webster Word of the Day for September 15th was sternutation.  MW defined the word as such:

the act, fact, or noise of sneezing

Here is the information they provided regarding the origin of the word:

"Sternutation" comes from Latin and is a descendant of the verb "sternuere," meaning "to sneeze." One of the earliest known English uses occurred in a 16th-century edition of a book on midwifery, in a passage about infants suffering from frequent "sternutation and sneesynge." The term has long been used in serious medical contexts, but also on occasion for humorous effect. In 1850, for example, author Grace Greenwood observed that U.S. senators from opposing political parties would often come together to share snuff: "And all three forget their sectional differences in a delightful concert of sternutation. No business is too grave, no speaker too eloquent, to be 'sneezed at.'"

 

You may be thinking something like "OK, let's see this guy pull something out of Scripture about sneezing."  Well, actually, Scripture does have a very specific reference to sneezing.  It is found in 2 Kings in the story of Elisha and the Shunnamite woman's son.

The Merriam-Webster word of the day for August 13th was ingratiate.

to gain favor or favorable acceptance for by deliberate effort — usually used with "with"

On August 20th, the Merriam-Webster Word of the Day was contemn.

to view or treat with contempt : scorn

The Psalm 119:18.org team was recently asked about Colossians 2:16-17 after the following comment was shared with one of the authors:

Regarding Col 2:16, some hold that Paul was merely teaching that believers have a choice as to which day of the week they observe the Sabbath, while others believe Paul meant that our liberty extends to the choice of whether to observe a Sabbath at all.  Under either interpretation, however, the Christian is not be bound to a Saturday observance.

Here is our response:

My wonderful bride, Amy, was reading Proverbs and came across this little nugget:

He who keeps the commandment keeps his soul, But he who is careless of conduct will die.  (Proverbs 19:16)

When she related that passage I immediately asked the question: Does "keep" mean "retain possession of" or does it mean "guard"?  I examined the Hebrew and found this:

Shamar mitzvah shamar nepheshu botzah derekiv yevamot (transliterated from the Hebrew).

Young's Literal translates it this way:

The Merriam-Webster Word of the Day for May 16th was repudiate and they provided this definition:

1 : to refuse to have anything to do with : disown 2 : to refuse to acknowledge, accept, or pay

This week has provided an abundance of words for thought.  Merriam-Webster's word of the day for May 26th was manumit.

M-W defined the word as "to release from slavery" and provided the following information:

The Merriam-Webster word of the day for January 22nd was reconcile.  Here is the definition:

1 a : to restore to friendship or harmony b : settle, resolve 2 : to cause to submit to or accept something unpleasant 3 a : to check (a financial account) against another for accuracy b : to account for

Some very obvious references can be made with Scripture.  Here is the etymology:

The Merriam-Webster word of the day for Monday, September 29th was exonerate:

1 : to relieve of a responsibility, obligation, or hardship 2 : to clear from accusation or blame

Some time ago I was trying to explain to my children how our deeds have greater value after we are redeemed than before we are redeemed.

The analogy of a coupon came to mind:

The inherent value of the coupon is only 1/100 of a cent. You would have to gather up 100 coupons to get a single penny! That is like our deeds before we are redeemed:

...And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment...

- Isaiah 64:6

Front time to time I receive messages from a dear brother in Messiah, Kevin Smithson.  He travels extensively with his bride, Heather, and shares amazing stories of faith.  Here is his latest:

I have desired to get information out to you all about some awesome things GOD is doing and our many travels since getting back to TX.  However, I have not made the time to get it done.  When I saw this I definitely wanted to get this great story to you.   So, even though it is nearly a month since he sent it, here it is.

During a men's study today an interesting analogy I have been using was further fleshed out by a friend of mine, Jon Coll.  The analogy is one involving football and faith.

By coming to faith in Yeshua we have "joined His team" so to speak.  We are each called to "play in the game" we are assigned.  We are also called to play by the rules: to act honorably (Hebrew 13:18) and to stop sinning (1 Corinthians 15:34) .  The basic rules that apply to every player are the "rules" found in Torah: the traditionally counted 613 commandments.  Everyone has the same "out of bounds", the same rules regarding fouls, etc.  Even though every person plays by the same rules the "Coach" gives each person individual assignments and tasks to carry out.