Showing posts with label bible. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bible. Show all posts

Thursday 6 August 2020

A living Word giving confidence

In these particular times people look for solutions for their restricted life. Because of the corona measures, many feel very restricted in their liberty. Some therefore want to go to court to reverse or stop the corona restrictions. They do forget that protecting the citizens in our society is the responsible role a government should take care off. Protecting everybody habiting in their state, should be the priority of a state.

People may be annoyed that they have to stay in the house or may not meet with so many people, but they should look it from the positive side. Now they can have more time for themselves.

In that extra time given, people also could use some more time with the One they can not see, but Who is always there. That Unseen God has given His Word. And now we could take some extra time to look at that Word, given to us with The Bible.

The Bible is not just a book of theological doctrine and premises; it is the living, breathing Word of God. In it, we encounter the very Voice of God—the same voice that created the stars, our universe with water, plants and animals. The same Voice which led a lot of people, guiding them through difficult situations, helping them when they needed help.

Scripture is not just about learning ancient truths. It is about God speaking to us, in real-time, with real direction. Without that, our souls will shrivel and die.

In “Word of God”  we can find the words of many prophets. one of them was the Nazarene Jesus christ (Jeshua)  Also his words are meticulously notated by his closest disciples, the apostles.
In the Word of the gospel, we can meet the promised one from God, Jesus who is also called the 'son of God', 'the sent one from God' and the Messiah or Christ.

That great preacher wanted to show to everybody (who wanted to hear) Who the Only Real God is. He also wanted others to know that he is the Way to God, the gate to God's Kingdom. He who gives us a taste of the goodness of God and teaches us that, in all things, we can trust him. In Jesus, we see that at our worst moment, he still loved us, and we know that if he loved us then he will never leave us now.

The apostle Peter advises us to nourish ourself constantly on that good gospel Word. We should drink it like the milk a baby drinks to survive and without which it will remain severely undernourished.

For many people, the only Bible they get is from the preacher on Sunday. Not having a daily quiet time, where you pour God’s Word into you, means you will shrivel up spiritually — and it won’t matter how long you’ve been a Christian or how many facts you know. We need the constant intake of the imperishable, life-giving Word of God. Even Jesus was saturated in it.

Let us not forget that all human teaching passes away but God His teaching shall stay forever. In times of crisis, lots of people bring up lots of questions and often also start doubting God, Who they suddenly seem to know as the One to blame. When there are no services any more in your church, please do not forget to regularly read the Bible and to meditate on it. If you have a partner or when you have children, please do take time with them to read the Bible and talk about what is been read. Make sure the Word of God can be echoing in your house at regular times. that way you also shall feel how God can also with you and your family and give you confidence to cope in this particular time.

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Additional reading 

  1. Honest-hearted people are losing faith in humanity and humanity losing faith in God
  2. All human teaching passes away
  3. God Statements recorded in a book
  4. The God speaking out providing provings, signs and miracles
  5. God’s Blog recorded in a Book
  6. God’s Self-Revelation
  7. the Bible – God’s guide for life #1 Introduction
  8. the Bible – God’s guide for life #2 Needs in life
  9. Creator and Blogger God 3 Lesson and solution
  10. Creator and Blogger God 4 Expounding voice
  11. the Bible – God’s guide for life #3 Fast food or staple diet
  12. the Bible – God’s guide for life #4 Not to get the best from our diet– or from ourselves
  13. Today’s thought “Word of the Only One God – To be read and listened at” (November 21)
  14. Today’s thought “Jehovah God makes us dwell in safety and confident trust” (January 02)

Wednesday 4 April 2018

Revealing books

Moses, Joshua, Samuel, David, Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habbakuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, James, Jude and Peter were writers who by the power of inspiration each wrote their part independently of the others, but they all were empowered by the same one Spirit. It was that Superforce Which enabled them to make known to men the mind of God in history, precept and prophecy, so that the Bible though composed of many books and parts would be known as the one Word of God.

The writings of those men were bundled into two parts; the Old and New Testaments. But in the days of Christ, the Scriptures were known as "Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms." The Old Testament was written by Moses and the Prophets, who came after him. The New Testament was written by the Apostles.
The Old Testament was begun by Moses about 1450 [1,600] years before Christ, and finished by Malachi a little over 1,000 [1200] years afterwards. (Before Christ 397.) The New Testament was written during the lifetime of the Apostles, after the resurrection and ascension of Christ, over nearly 2000 years ago.

By wonder those writing survived the time and still today we can say that
The Bible, given by inspiration of God, reveals to us the Truth concerning God and concerning man.


  Find also to read:
  1. Getting to know the Truth
  2. Where to learn the truth (available from 2018 April 4, 2.31 pm)
  3. Put on the whole armor of God
  4. To be established in the present truth
  5. Determined To Stick With Truth.
  6. Challenging claim
  7. Challenging claim 1 Whose word
  8. Challenging claim 2 Inspired by God 1 Simple words
  9. Challenging claim 3 Inspired by God 2 Inerrant Word of God
  10. Challenging claim 4 Inspired by God 3 Self-consistent Word of God
  11. Unread bestseller
  12. Book of books and great masterpiece
  13. Colour-blindness and road code
  14. Inspired Word
  15. The Word of God in print
  16. God’s forgotten Word 4 Lost Lawbook 3 Early digressions and Constantinic revolution
  17. God’s forgotten Word 5 Lost Lawbook 4 The ‘Catholic’ church
  18. Absolute Basics to Reading the Bible
  19. Bible guide
  20. Bible, Word of God, inspired and infallible
  21. Authority of the Bible

Tuesday 28 March 2017

Gaining deeper understanding

As Christians, we are tasked with gaining a deeper understanding of God through the study of His inspired Scriptures. This requires great faith and personal effort to dig far beyond the superficial meanings of translated words and phrases, and with the aid of divine revelation, to discover the genuine intentions of the divine Author. 

Sunday 19 March 2017

March 19, 1263 First significant concordane of the Bible

English: Page from the Dutsch Professorenbijbe...
English: Page from the Dutsch Professorenbijbel ("Professors Bible"), a translation of the Latin Vulgate of the Books of the New Testament. This part, covering the Pentateuch, was published in 1904. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
March 19, 1263
Hugh of St. Cher, a Dominican, made the first significant concordance of the Bible. This was for the Latin Bible, the Vulgate. He is said to have had the help of 500 Dominican friars. The only other person known to have attempted to compile a Bible concordance before him was St. Anthony of Padua. Hugh's concordance only gave the Latin word but did not give any of the text around it. This made it crude by modern standards. All the same, it served as a basis for the work of men who soon came after him.
Bible chapters had not yet been broken into verses. In order to help scholars find words, Hugh broke each chapter into seven parts to which he gave letters of the alphabet.
The concordance was only one of three tools that Hugh gave the Dominicans. Each of them was needed to assist the order to meet their goal of preaching the Gospel. One of his other efforts was an attempt to correct the errors of the Vulgate. However, he did not know that Jerome had made the original translation and often turned down Jerome's comments in favor of the ideas of other writers. When the church learned that Jerome had actually made the Vulgate translation, Hugh's work lost all credibility.

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Wednesday 8 March 2017

Even the Bible needed updating and upgrading

Throughout the centuries people their language changed and their use of names changed.

Dr. Michael S. Heiser is a scholar-in-residence for Faithlife, writes

Believe it or not, there is evidence that the Bible was updated. That may sound strange, but if you read closely, it’s undeniable. Take Genesis 14:14 as an illustration:
When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men . . . and went in pursuit as far as Dan.
Did you notice the problem? This is the time of Abram, a time before Moses and Joshua — before there was a promised land divided among the tribes of Israel. There wasn’t even an Israel yet. So what’s up with the reference to the land that belonged to the tribe of Dan?

If we plotted out the battle between Abram described in this verse on a map, with place names appropriate for Abram’s day, we’d see that the writer really meant that the enemy was pursued all the way to a place called Laish, not Dan.

Many Bible critics would call this an error, but it isn’t. 

Much later, in the days of Israel’s judges, Laish was renamed as Dan:
 “And they named the city Dan, after the name of Dan their ancestor, who was born to Israel; but the name of the city was Laish at the first” (Judg 18:29). 
Evidently, an unnamed editor updated the text of Genesis 14:14 after the name change took place. The editor likely did this to make sure readers of his own day would understand the geography.

In other instances, an editor repurposed something already written in the Bible to make it preach to their community.

Psalm 51 is well known as a record of David’s repentance after his sin with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah. The psalm, though, ends by asking God to “do good to Zion” and with the command, “build up the walls of Jerusalem” (Psa 51:18–19). The walls of Jerusalem were not in need of repair until after God’s people were exiled, centuries after David lived. The editorial addition is a masterful literary stroke. Just as King David repented centuries before, an editor sought to move the exiles to national repentance. It was just the kind of example they needed.

Though it seems strange, the updating of Psalm 51:18–19 and Genesis 14:14 gives us an insight into the process of inspiration — a process that included providential editorial work.

Sunday 9 October 2016

In a few days time it will be 2020 years ago that the Messiah was born

Lord Krishna displays his Vishvarupa (Universa...
Lord Krishna displays his Vishvarupa (Universal Form) to Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
In a few days time it will be 2020 years ago that the Messiah was born.

Since the appearance of the Messiah 2 millennia ago for man's attitude not so much has been changed. Still man wants to go his own way, without God. Still many people think they can be their own god and/or play for god, playing with nature.

Since the death of the master teacher lost of new teachings found light.There have been given some changes to scriptural meanings, and additional doctrines have been taught by man.
Throughout the ages several people looked at the book of books, the Bible, and found that they could bring some more money in their publishing company by editing this best seller.
The early, and later translators of the Bible into English and other languages, took license with their work, and did some editing on their own. In many languages we can see that publishers where not afraid to take away the name of God.
James Gerke reminds us that they changed the Sanctified and made Holy, the Hebrew names of the Creator to God. It is a Germanic, Indo European name, meaning “Invoked one" This form is also used in ancient Hindu Sanskrit.
 “Much invoked, to call forth by incantations” (Magic spells).
Readers Digest word finder, Pg. 351 (1975) The majority of demonic deities are referred to, as God. Moon God, Sun God, Fish God, etc.
 

When looking at the Older Hebrew Scriptures the Divine Creator God clearly told mankind they should have no other God than He Who is. The Creator Deity of everything also let the people know his Name and tells them that it should be a set-apart or Holy Name. His Holy Name is mentioned over 3 thousand times and the Old Testament also gives so many more titles of this Divine Superior Being.

Bible translators sought ways to bring God's Name but also not going into the establishment or ruling class, which made that at certain times they found it not appropriate to print the real name of god and substituted it with a title or names as Elohim Yehowah and Yahweh were changed to the 'name' God, which is a non descriptive name, that has no title or meaning consistent with the Bible.

The Jewish National name for our Creator is Yehovah (Jehovah in modern spelling), it is listed in the Bible over 7000 times. The translators changed it to Lord, which is also the title of several Hindu deities such as Lord Krishna, Lord Vishnu and others like Lord Budda.

It can well be that the adversaries of God or 'Satan' put it into the minds of the translators, to insert generic names "God" or "Lord" so that both the wrong gods and our Creator would be known by them or be taken to be one and the same, like many today take Jesus as their god and confuse him with the God, giving him equal status by name.

It is blasphemy, irreverent, and disgusting to use these pagan names for our Creator.
Psalms 113:1-4 The Scriptures 1998+  (1)  Praise Yah! Praise, O servants of יהוה {Jehovah}, Praise the Name of יהוה {Jehovah}!  (2)  Blessed be the Name of יהוה {Jehovah}, Now and forever!  (3)  From the rising of the sun to its going down, The Name of יהוה {Jehovah} is praised.  (4)  יהוה {Jehovah} is high above all nations, His esteem above the heavens.
The man who was born 2020 years ago knew very well this Most High divine Creator God and wanted only to do His Will. Jesus was able to put his own will aside to do the Will of God and demands also from his followers to come to do that what God wants from mankind.

Jesus also taught a prayer wherein we express our aim to look at that set-apart Name and to declare
"Holy is They Name"
Blessed be the Name of the Most High, from this time forward and for evermore. From the rising of the sun to going down, we should praise the Name of The One Who declared that Jesus was His only begotten beloved son. It was that son of the Only One True God, who showed how we should come closer to the One  God Who makes the rules and should know that preachers, or anyone else, don't make the rules.

Having this year a special year, in the way that it is 2020 years ago that the son of man who came to declare God and to show mankind the way to God, we should take this master teacher his lessons at heart and remind all those around us who Jesus really is and how we should accept him as the Way to God, and not make him to be our god, but to come closer to the God of Jesus, the God of Abraham. and God of gods.



The man born in Bethlehem 2020 years ago was to be that long awaited Messiah, the Christ Himself who set his face to Jerusalem, and resolved to go the full length of God’s will. He gathered up his courage and steeled himself for the journey.
He was, and forever will be the Unflappable Champion. And we have been called to follow in his steps.
Coming closer to the day of his return there is more talk these days of vision. But vision is much more than a good idea that stirs the soul to temporary endeavours. Vision is the ability to see it, the faith to believe it, the courage to do it, and the hope to endure until it happens.
Take any of these components away and vision fails. Each is vital, and indispensable.


Those who call themselves Christian should follow the teachings and vision of Christ who has a way of summoning our hearts to rise to the calling God has placed on our lives. Our vision, our look onto Christ, also supplies us with the grace to pace ourselves to go the full distance, regardless of the difficulties that await us. Courage is the mental and moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear or difficulty.

The journey we have undertaken as followers of Christ demands all the courage we possess. It requires of us a steely, unwavering resolve to meet whatever seeks to delay us, defeat us, detour us, or deny us  –  to meet such things with a faith that says, “Nevertheless!” Courage is one of the distinguishing marks of true faith.

Man's fall, whatever else it may have been, resulted in a complete change of the centre of his being. Being made in the likeness of God, Who is absolutely selfless, man thought more about his own self. God's will and purpose was the one rule of man's existence until the moment came when our first parents substituted the gratification of self for the will and law of God. From that hour the self-life became the dominant principle of mankind, and the world is what it is because the essence of life is the service of self.


In this world full of envy, jealousy, strife, and murder, we should follow the example of Christ Jesus, the son of God, who was willing to give his life for us. Though he warned us that the gate to the Kingdom of God may be small and that we should be prepared for his return which might come like a thief in the night.


In this life we come to learn that a straw may throw us, and a pebble can wound us, mere children tremblingly taking our first steps in the walk of faith, our heavenly Father holding us by the arms, Jesus making us able to keep us from falling.

With a deep sense of our utter weakness, we may cherish a firm belief in our perfect safety, and say, with joyful confidence,


“Against me earth and hell combine, But on my side is power divine; Jesus is all, and he is mine!”

This simple proclamation of living by faith is so profound that it is repeated in three strategic epistles in the New Testament.
The first mention is in Romans in connection with the gospel of grace.

 "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek."
Paul was not embarrassed by the good news of the grace of God that was available in Jesus Christ. He knew that it was God's powerful truth that would save the soul of anyone (Jew or Gentile) who would believe in Christ.
That message of grace offered God's righteousness to all who would believe.

 "For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith."
The same righteousness that the law demanded, the gospel of grace provided.
"But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God which is through faith in Jesus Christ to all and on all who believe" (Romans_3:21-22).
The righteousness that people need (both for a standing in heaven and for a walk on earth) comes by grace through faith. Yes, initially and continually,
 "The just shall live by faith."
Having faith in Jesus Christ, the son of God, we should others get to know this sent one from God, who is our saviour and the best one to hope for.

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Please do find to read:
  1. Looking for a primary cause and a goal that can not offer philosophers existing beliefs
  2. The true light in recorded words
  3. 2020 years since
  4. The Right One to follow and to worship
  5. A season for truth and peace
  6. Looking for a spiritual new life
  7. Going deep into cultures to reach lost people
  8. Authority given to him To give eternal life
  9. 2020 jaar geleden werd de weg geopend
  10. Na 2020 jaar 
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Wednesday 24 August 2016

Were Biblical writers Math nerds

English: Golden ratio in pyramids
Golden ratio in pyramids (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
At The Thousand-Year View the writer N.S. Palmer who has degrees in mathematics, economics, philosophy, and biology, looks from his mathematical eye-view at the writers of the set apart books of the Bible.

By the Christadelphians there are also several who like to find all the mathematical cues in those sacred writings. for me this sometimes goes too far, but that is just my impression.

For "nerds" like N.S.Palmer (like he calls himself so), it’s very exciting to look at the numerology and mathematics used in the Bible.
The writer looks at the favourite number pi which is often the only thing people remember from geometry class in school, but for him is the most interesting in the Bible. In the Bible it can be found in two places (Kings 7:23 + 2 Chronicles 4:2)

Other Biblical references to mathematics are little strained. In life, the Golden Ratio (1.618..) occurs frequently, especially in art and architecture. In the Bible, Exodus 25:10 says that God commanded Noah to build the Ark of the Covenant measuring 2.5 by 1.5 cubits, and 2.5 divided by 1.5 is 1.666. Some writers say it refers to the Golden Ratio, but unless the Vilna Gaon came up with something like he did with pi, it doesn’t look like it to me.

> Read about it:  Biblical Writers Were Math Nerds

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Monday 1 February 2016

Credo of the Christadelphian

There is only one God, the Father.
This is the Almighty God above all gods, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Jesus and his followers.
The only true God who tells no lies, created the world and has given mankind His infallible Word.
The whole universe came into being by the Power of the God (the Holy Spirit)
The Holy Spirit is the Power of God.

The Bible is the only true message of the only true God, creator of heaven and earth.
The Bible or Holy Scripture is God's inspired word.
It is His message to us. 

By the original sin man is doomed to die, wherein his life completely ends.
Man is mortal and all life ends at death.
The gift of God for the faithful is immortal life on earth after Jesus' return.

People are responsible for their sins.

Jesus is both the Son of God and a human being or a son of man, born about 2,000 years ago, of his mother Mary.
Christ has transcended human nature and was sinless.
By a sinless life Jesus lead, he has opened the way to salvation from death for all those who believe in him.

Through Jesus' sacrificial death, we have the opportunity to be saved and to obtain eternal life.
 
Jesus, who rose from the dead, will come back to earth to judge the living and the dead and to give the faithful eternal life.
Jesus is now in heaven at the right hand of God his Father.
Jesus will soon return to earth.
When Jesus returns, he will rule the world as king of the restored Kingdom of God.
He will give immortality to all those who have faith in him and his father and who follow him. 

Baptism is an outward sign of following Jesus.
Jesus followers will also prevail in peace on earth.

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Thursday 17 September 2015

The Unseen Realm reviewed

The Unseen Realm talks about not an easy topic to wrap your mind around, especially if you’re being asked to remove 2,000 years of filters off your interpretive lenses.  The Unseen Realm was written for an academic audience, but many reviewers have commented on the clear and full treatment of the topic, making this title approachable for anyone.unseen realm

Many of the early reviews praise Dr. Heiser’s ability to challenge the modern worldview by engaging with the perspective of the ancient Hebrew.

On Redeeming God, Jeremy Myers discusses the refreshing perspective Dr. Heiser brings to the table:
If you are like me, you might be a little tired of hearing about the supernatural realm, but this book was insightful and creative and helped me think through a few issues I have been wanting to study further for quite some time. For example, I think Heiser is exactly right about what it means for humans to be made in the image of God (Gen 1:26-27), and I really liked his discussion of the Nephilim in Genesis 6:1-4.
Tim Chaffey picks up where Myers left off by praising Heiser’s willingness to engage with the ancient perspective of the Hebrews:
The book also does a good job of helping readers learn about the ways the Israelites interacted with the people around them. Even those who penned Scripture were not afraid to use concepts and even the terminology from the surrounding pagan nations, although they often needed to redefine or refine the concepts to fit within Hebrew theology. Too many Western Christians, particularly from conservative backgrounds, avoid any possible linkage of the Scriptures with ancient Near Eastern writings. This is probably due to the abuse of this concept by the liberals who act as if the Hebrews borrowed everything from these cultures. I believe Heiser strikes a nice balance in this book.

Matt Dabbs loves the way Dr. Heiser connects the concepts in the book throughout the entire Bible:
This book is about the spiritual realm in the Bible and how various threads run from cover to cover connecting all sorts of things that I had no idea were connected. I was probably aware of about a quarter of the content of the book as far as exegesis goes…leaving me mostly unaware of his brilliant interpretation. But what was even more fantastic than all of the information that I was simply unaware of was the way he connected the concepts throughout the entire Bible.
Perhaps Justin Daniel said it best when he wrote, “This was the most thought provoking, thrilling, insightful book I have read all year.” He, too, was impressed with the accessibility of the book:
He systematically works through the Bible and each individual issue with such clarity that it appeals to both the layman and the seminarian as well as the pastor. The things that lie in this book will challenge you and for that I am grateful for reading it.
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Monday 31 August 2015

Bible ownership and Bible knowledge slumped

In the UK household ownership of the Bible has slumped, readership of the Bible has declined (with only around one in ten reading it at least weekly and three-quarters less than once a year, or never).

In the midst of previous century Europeans could be surprised when they came into Great-Britain finding so many churches full of people and finding a popular BBC program like Songs of praise.

The 'Journal of Contemporary Religion published 123 national sample surveys of the UK adult general population. Also the analysis, published by Clive Field, from the Universities of Birmingham and Manchester, included as well 35 national and local sample surveys of adult religious populations.

Entitled, 'Is the Bible Becoming a Closed Book? British Opinion Poll Evidence', the investigation suggests one interpretation of this mass of data might be that Christianity is becoming 'de-coupled' from the book on which it is founded.

It is not only a problem in Great Britain that we can hear people talking about their faith and telling about believes which have nothing to do any more with what is written in the Bible.
Many churches had already gone astray for some years but the population not only got mist in their eyes from the many sermons but also continue to be carried away by more magical or fantasy rich ideas which could let have them dream about many things, like having their soul going into an other body or at an other place when they die.

Knowledge of the content of the Bible is decreasing in the UK like it is everywhere in Europe.
Many also lost the faith in the truth of the Bible. Some also because they became confronted with the contradiction form what the Bible said and what their pastors or priests said. Only a small and dwindling minority believes the Bible to be true, word for word. Key storylines in the Bible -- Creation, Virgin Birth, gospel miracles, Resurrection -- are being progressively rejected as historically inaccurate.

Read more about it >
Opinion Polls Reveal Dramatic Decline in Impact of the Bible