A Father Like Jesus

In John 21 Jesus has to deal with "sibling rivalry" as some would put it. He went to the Disciples post ressurection and was talking with them on the shore of Galilee (I think that is right) and ask Peter three diffrent times if Peter loved him and of course Peter responding in three different manners but always replying yes to all three questions, but when Peter was told about his life and how it would end, Peter in good Peter fashion ask Jesus what about him (speaking of John) and Jesus told him that if I want him to stay here until I come back what diffrence does it make to you. In that moment I saw Christ acting as a Father should act when this situation arises in his own home. I have had this happen ever since my Wife and I brought baby number 2 home from the Hospital. The oldest is always saying well what about this one or that one and to settle this conflict Biblically you can turn to John 21 and see how the Lord Jesus Christ handled it amongst his own Disciples!

Jesus, in the Old Testament?

Yes Jesus was in the Old Testament (OT) "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning." John 1:1-2. Yes I know that John is New Testament (NT) but it makes reference to Genesis and creation and Jesus being there when the World was formed.

Now what I found to be interesting is the fact that Jesus was spoken about by the very man that it is stated that he would come from, King David. David wrote many of the Psalms and if you read some of what David wrote there are Psalms of repentence but some are Psalms of rejoicing and others of prophesy. Now here is the first I am going to point out in this posting Psalm 22:14-31

14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. 15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death. 16 For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet. 17 I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me. 18 They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture. 19 But be not thou far from me, O LORD: O my strength, haste thee to help me. 20 Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog. 21 Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns. 22 I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee. 23 Ye that fear the LORD, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel. 24 For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard. 25 My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him. 26 The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live for ever. 27 All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee. 28 For the kingdom is the LORD's: and he is the governor among the nations. 29 All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship: all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him: and none can keep alive his own soul. 30 A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation. 31 They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.

Now this passage speaks of the piercing of hands feet, doesn't this sound strangely familar at least to us that know about the cross. Jesus was pierced through his hands and feet when nailed to the cross.
The bit of scripture points out more Jesus in the OT is Psalm 31:9-18

9 Have mercy upon me, O LORD, for I am in trouble: mine eye is consumed with grief, yea, my soul and my belly. 10 For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing: my strength faileth because of mine iniquity, and my bones are consumed. 11 I was a reproach among all mine enemies, but especially among my neighbours, and a fear to mine acquaintance: they that did see me without fled from me. 12 I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind: I am like a broken vessel. 13 For I have heard the slander of many: fear was on every side: while they took counsel together against me, they devised to take away my life. 14 But I trusted in thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my God. 15 My times are in thy hand: deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me. 16 Make thy face to shine upon thy servant: save me for thy mercies' sake. 17 Let me not be ashamed, O LORD; for I have called upon thee: let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave. 18 Let the lying lips be put to silence; which speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.

Jesus is in the part of this passage and David is even predicting Jesus's death (9-14) and then (15-18) speaks of the religous leaders of the time when Christ would be betrayed and sentenced to die on the cross for mine and your sin. The Pharisees and the Saducees were all religous leaders in the time of christ but they caused more trouble and dissention in the Jewish church than a Gentile walking into the inner court at the temple.

God is a wonderful caring God to have sent his Son to die for me and for you. If you are reading this and have a son think of it this way, I brought this boy into the world so he could be a sacrifice for everyone else because you as the parent love the world so much and the sacrifice of your son would save the whole world and you that is one of your son's purposes upon this earth is to die for everyone's iniquities and sins except for his because he has none.
So let this one roll around in your minds for a while and look for future posts.
Tarheel Dingo
That is all!!!

Feeding Crumbs

How often does our flesh say to our flesh we know more than the other person? Let us give them spirtual food!!! Then that person's soul starves to death eating our crumbs!
Memorial Day 2006 will hardly even be in the memory banks of this writer when the next one rolls around, yet a truth learned on Memorial Day 2006 will be with me forever. That truth is how many people have died eating my crumbs? This quote comes from the movie "We Were Soliders" Lt Col Hal Moore loses a young Lt that he took under his wing, when he finds out about the loss he says these words "He died eating my crumbs" the spirtual context of this just SCREAMS out to me.
We as Christians today are scared to give the world more than crumbs of spirtual and/or Biblical truth and the souls of everyone around us are starving for a spirtual meal, and are only given crumbs. These crumbs fall from the ones that our Lord Jesus Christ commisioned to feed the lost and hurting with spirtual truth. I know that we should give milk to the babes in Christ and the meat should wait until they are mature, but isn't crackers one of the first foods that is given to small children, and not just the crumbs of a cracker. So we should be giving spirtual babies crackers as well as the milk to allow them to develop into mature christians so they can eat the meat of the spirit.
I pray that I can get better at giving out spirtual food not just crumbs to sustain the souls of the ones around us.

Taking what is not ours in the Kingdom!

Sometimes as Christians we take advantage of someones situation to attempt a theft. Adonijah tried this by stealing the kingship while David was dying, but David had blessed Solomon as the one to succeed him. Adonijah upon finding this out feared that the Lord would strike him down for stealing the kingship.
These days we Christians decide that blessings bestowed upon us by the Lord are not good enough, for our human ego, so we decide to steal more blessings and we end up fearing for our salvation, which is the greatest blessing of them all.

How much different are we from King Saul?

King Saul was rejected by God because of his disobedience to the Lord, when confronted by Samuel about it (1 Samuel 15:24-25) Saul claimed to be afraid of the people. Now in our daily lives how often do we dismiss the oppurtunity to witness about Christ because we are afraid of what people will think? How many blessings have been missed by Christians today that are fearful of what people think? Now, if we obey the Lord and step out on faith as David did against Goliath we will reap the blessing of the Lord as David did, but we must be prepared for battle at all times. David knew what he need to go out against the giant and slay him. We should be this prepared when going against our own giants whatever they may be.
God bless and good day.