Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” John 8:58

Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” John 8:58

“Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.” John‬ ‭8‬:‭59‬

[ Moses asked God about His name…

And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say.. ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” Exodus‬ ‭3‬:‭13-14‬ ]

The Jews understood Jesus claimed to be God when Jesus said before Abraham was, “I AM” – Jesus used the very name of God! This provoked the Jews to want to kill him.
Since God is eternal there is to Him no ‘was’ or ‘will be’. He always ‘is’. What Jesus really says here is: ‘Before Abraham was, I am eternally alive!’

What must a person must “do” to have all his sins forgiven and be justified by God?

What must a person must “do” to “have the Son” by having all his sins forgiven and be justified by God?  In other words what must one “do” to be saved?

This is the most crucial question one can ask, for the answer one receives and accepts will make the everlasting difference between being eternally lost and forever being separated from God, or having eternal life and perpetual & abiding fellowship with God.

This is God’s plan of salvation, which is the only plan He has given so that sinners can be saved. Jesus said in John 3:14-16 “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

 

 

 

 

Do not harden your heart in refusal; do not say, “Tomorrow I will come to Him.” Tomorrow may never come.

“Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.” Proverbs 27:1

“Behold, now is ‘THE ACCEPTABLE TIME,’ behold, now is ‘THE DAY OF SALVATION.'” 2 Corinthians 6:2

“TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS.” Hebrews 3:7-8

God has given you life to this moment, but there is no promise of another opportunity tomorrow. Do accept Jesus as your Lord and Saviour today, right now!

So salvation is a gift that is granted by God at the moment a person turns to Jesus Christ in repentance and total trust.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Galatians 3:11 which says: “Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, ‘THE RIGHTEOUS MAN SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.’ “Ephesians 2:8-9 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)

Being saved by faith apart from works seems so easy, and it is. Many believe it is too easy and erroneously seek to add to God’s plan of salvation. Godly living comes as the result of accepting Christ as Saviour and Lord. Do not depend, then, on what you do, but on what Jesus did and promises to do for you.

To claim Christ as your Saviour and Lord simply means that you trust in Him from your heart. When you have received Him as Saviour and Lord, you have done everything necessary to be saved. Acts 16:31a “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved”.

“He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” 1 John 5:12

“He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” 1 John 5:12
When a person has the Son of God (see link ), he has eternal life – this vital relationship with the Son is characterised by the word “has”.  “Has” carries the cognitive content or the idea of possession.  The believer currently has the ownership (as granted by God) or the possession of eternal life already in this life on earth – the believer of Jesus continually possess eternal life, i.e when he passes away from earth, his life will continue in eternity.

The reverse or flip side is the opposite – a person who does not “have” the “SON” does not have life – does not “posses” or “hold” eternal life.

 

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

John. 3:36 “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

 

 · Jul 2

“And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,”Hebrews9:27

Psalms 34:16

‘The face of the LORD is against those who do evil,
To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. ‘ Psalms 34:16

All men sin, but the reference here is to those who will not repent and who have no intention of turning away from their evil deeds. God is not against everyone that sins, (for the righteous are not without sin as they have sin in them); but against them that live in sin, whose course of life is a series of willful iniquity, wickedness & evildoing – they are workers of darkness; and have no sense of sin, nor sorrow for it, go on in it without shame, regret or fear – against these, the face of the Lord is, and stirs up His righteous wrath.

People assume that God is ONLY merciful & loving, conveniently forgetting that God is ALSO righteous and holy and will exercise judgment. Will not the JUDGE of the Universe do right?

Woe to the wicked for God is not indifferent to their deeds, it shall be ill with them, notwithstanding they may bless themselves in their own way. The face of the Lord looks out against them, their honour shall be turned into shame, their names disregarded or accursed so that they shall be no more thought of, nor uttered of, but with reprehension, scorn & reproach – a perpetual mark of opprobrium & infamy being upon their names. He will rain shame upon their achievements which they rejoice and jubilate in and for which they thought they should be remembered. The anger of God not only destroys the wicked, but also abolishes their name forever – it is certain that there is no lasting honour and when they are dead, they will face the judgment of God.

The wicked people may have fewer troubles, fewer evils befall them, perhaps but one, and yet that one may prove their utter ruin. Death, to them, is the king of terrors; to them it is evil, only evil. Tragic is the case of that man who by his sin has made his Maker his enemy, his destroyer. The wicked, whose common course is to do evil; are assured, that God sees them from heaven with a terrible countenance and that He is righteously and grievously angry with them. Desolation will be their everlasting portion. Those that are wicked themselves (usually hate the righteous, and have an implacable enmity to them and their righteousness) laid waste for ever, shall be for ever forsaken and abandoned of God. He observes them, to bring judgment upon them that do evil through the gathering gloom of death – absolute destruction shall be the lot of all the ungodly. Most certainly God is able to out-faced the most proud and daring sinners and those who fought against Him. Ruin is before them, for He is able both to kill and to cast into hell. Their end is the lake of eternal fire – hell.

For God to be against a man is dreadful; a fearful thing it is to fall into the hand of the Living God and to have the face of God against a man – is unendurable.

Jesus said in:

Matthew 25:46 …“And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Matthew 13:50 …and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”

Matthew 10:28… “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” and

Matthew 25:41 …“Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:

among other passages, about the reality of hell on judgement day.

 

 · Jun 23

* Strange how we those who do for generations, centuries, and even millennia…

 

“The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, …

“The face of the LORD is against those who do evil,
To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears,
And delivers them out of all their troubles.
The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart,
And saves such as have a contrite spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the LORD delivers him out of them all.” Psalms 34:16-19

But the word of the LORD endures forever.

‘because
“All flesh is as grass,
And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass.
The grass withers,
And its flower falls away,
But the word of the LORD endures forever.”
Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.’
I Peter 1:24, 25

@ckw09: “.I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing..therefore choose life…love the Lord your God..obey His voice..”Deut 30:19-20

Origins.. of more..phrases.. eg ‘Coat of many colours’, ‘beat sword into ploughshares’, …

WORDS AND PHRASES FROM THE BIBLE.

Origins of these expressions…

As you sow so shall you reap.

Your deeds, good or bad, will repay you in kind.

“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” Galatians 6:7

Coat of many colours.

The coat of many colors was a sign of favoritism.

“Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colors.” Genesis 37:3

A fly in the ointment –

A small but irritating flaw that spoils the whole

“Dead flies putrefy the perfumer’s ointment,
And cause it to give off a foul odor;
So does a little folly to one respected for wisdom and honor.”  Ecclesiastes 10:1

A nest of vipers.

A group of iniquitous people, congregating together.

Jesus said in Matthew 23:29-33

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’

“Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers’ guilt.  Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?

A house divided against itself cannot stand.

Literal meaning (house meaning household).

“But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.” Matthew 12:25

A labour of love.

Work undertaken for the pleasure of it or for the benefit of a loved one.

“remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father,” 1 Thessalonians 1:3

Beat swords into ploughshares.

Turn to peaceful pursuits and away from war.

“He shall judge between the nations,
And rebuke many people;
They shall beat their swords into plowshares,
And their spears into pruning hooks;
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
Neither shall they learn war anymore.” Isaiah 2:4