MEDITATIONS ON JESUS’ SERMON ON THE MOUNT: MATTHEW CHAPTERS FIVE THROUGH SEVEN “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will… Our Good Shepherd Warns Against False Prophets
Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”
So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.” So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together. Where Is the Lamb?
(Fifth in a Series) This edifying series of chapel talks comes from the archives of our Spokesman Assistant Editor, Prof. Em. Paul R. Koch • Eau Claire, Wis. And he [Saul] was three days without… GOD’S OBSCURE SAINTS
Paragraph 1 of the Brief Statement:
Which treats the divine inspiration of the Holy Scriptures—the article upon which all the other paragraphs stand or fall.
Of the Holy Scriptures
We teach that the Holy Scriptures differ from all other books in the world in that they are the Word of God.They are the Word of God because the holy men of God who wrote the Scriptures wrote only that which the Holy Ghost communicated to them by inspiration, About the Brief Statement—
When people are looking for a good book or e-book to buy and read, they may look over the New York Times Best Seller list.
While there are critics who claim this particular Book should be listed in the fiction genre, there should be no question that it is non-fiction.
Simply because a book is on the Best Seller list doesn’t mean it is worth purchasing and reading. For example, one review of the best selling book Killing Jesus by Bill O’Reilly reports that the author makes the bogus claim that the reason Jesus was killed by the Romans is that He was interfering with the cash flow of tax money (Read what Jesus says in the Gospel record about paying taxes to the Roman government, Matthew 22:21).
MEDITATIONS ON JESUS’ SERMON ON THE MOUNT: MATTHEW’S GOSPEL, CHAPTERS FIVE THROUGH SEVEN [Jesus said:] “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there… “Jesus—the Way which Leads to Life”
Oh sure, we add another number to the counting of years. We will call it 2014 instead of 2013, but does that really make it new?
The world still has the same problems. Our flesh is still plagued with the same sins. A succession of broken resolutions reminds us that we haven’t really changed. We truly ought to have been consumed in God’s wrath long ago.
We remember that Achan was stoned to death because he coveted and took some of the plunder of Jericho for himself (Joshua 7). We think of the man who was stoned because he gathered sticks on the Sabbath Day to build a fire to cook the manna (Numbers 15). Remember how Ananias and Sapphira dropped dead because they lied to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5).
Are we any less sinful than they? Because of the many times we have sinned, shouldn’t we have been struck down with God’s righteous judgment? ABSOLUTELY!Happy New Year!
Editor’s Note: After hearing Dr. Sumey’s presentation at our District Delegate Conference, we invited him to share a condensed version with our readers. We thank him for doing so. We would encourage (as Dr. Sumey does… How Can Christians Help Those Struggling with Addiction?
But our family friend isn’t the only one who has given us the same Christmas gift every year. Our heavenly Father has too—for countless years! “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son…”
(John 3:16).
Of course, we know that Jesus is not born as a Bethlehem Baby each and every year. Our annual Christmas celebration is a remembering of the first time God’s Gift was given, when Jesus was “born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:4-5).
That one-time, God-given Gift should remind each of us every year of what changes…and of what doesn’t change!God’s Gift Giving
