Emmanuel

Reflections Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. (Matt. 1:23) At the very birth of Jesus, the angels announced what had already been prophesied for centuries: The One that was born was GOD INCARNATE. He is called, “Emmanuel,” which means, “God with us.” For the NT saint, this means more than just the fact Jesus was born 2000 years ago. It speaks of the present reality of, “Christ in us.” John wrote, “In the beginning was the Word, and the …

Read more

Antagonism Toward Christmas

Some people scorn Christ’s birth because they don’t want anyone else ruling their life. Matthew 2:12-18 (KJV) 12 And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. 13 And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. 14 When he arose, he took the young …

Read more

“The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.” Isaiah 40:5

We anticipate the happy day when the whole world shall be converted to Christ; when the gods of the heathen shall be cast to the moles and the bats; when Romanism shall be exploded, and the crescent of Mohammed shall wane, never again to cast its baleful rays upon the nations; when kings shall bow down before the Prince of Peace, and all nations shall call their Redeemer blessed. Some despair of this. They look upon the world as a vessel breaking up and going to pieces, never to float again. We know that the world and all that is …

Read more

CHRISTMAS: A TIME FOR GIVING

Christmas is known as a time of giving—and it started with the first. Luke 2:1-20 (KJV) 2 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. 2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) 3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage …

Read more

Names of Jesus: Immanuel

“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” (Matthew 1:23) It defies logic that the eternal, Son of God stepped down off His Heavenly throne and became the Son of Man, entering our world as a helpless infant. He became flesh and dwelt among us to save us from our sins and allow us to become children of God and dwell with Him forever. (Psalm 23:6) He is Immanuel, God with us. He is with us always, (Matthew 28:20) He will never leave us …

Read more

Jesus Christ: The Word Become Flesh, The Last Adam

There was the first Adam, who sinned, and through whom the Adam race was ruined forever. But Jesus became The Last Adam. (I Cor. 15:45) The meaning of Jesus as The Last Adam is two-fold. First, through His sinless life, He became the LAST Adam in the sense of being the fullness of God’s mind and intent for humanity — He fully glorified God as a man. Thus, after Him, there needed to be no other. But secondly, Jesus was The Last Adam through His death — on the Cross He brought the Adam race to an end through death …

Read more

Israel’s Right To The Promised Land

Both Israel and the Church are the works of God in progress. Both fail in their stewardship assignments apart from Him. We can learn from Israel’s fall, 1 Cor. 10, and take heed lest we fall; see also the warning against being puffed up in Romans 11. Israel failed under the Mosaic Law and needed the freedom provided in Romans 7, to be set free from the Law that could never save or sanctify them. Free to marry another, the very Lawgiver Who alone fulfilled the Law. When He makes His New Covenant of Jeremiah 30-31 with Israel, His Law …

Read more

Sound Doctrine

Reflections   The reason that sound doctrine is essential is not merely because it rightly represents the Bible. It does. But the real reason sound doctrine is essential is that it rightly represents God Himself. In scripture, doctrine is not merely right or wrong theology. Rather, it is ERROR or the TRUTH. False doctrine means bondage. But bondage to what? Not merely bondage to the false teaching. Rather, it is bondage to, “another Jesus,” and to a God who doesn’t exist. My false doctrine will keep me in bondage to the false God it creates — but will also keep …

Read more

WHO IS THIS JESUS?

There is no middle ground when it comes to Jesus: He is either a fraud, or He is Lord Matthew 16:13-16 (KJV) 13 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? 14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. 15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? 16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. Throughout …

Read more

Reverence is the biblical, “fear of the Lord,” and is the outcome of seeing Him in His Son — in Spirit and in Truth.

“Being afraid of the Lord,” is not reverence. It is based on a lie about God. Love vs. Fear from I John 4: (1) I John 4 states, “God is love,” AND (2) I John 4 also states, “Perfect love casts out fear,” THEREFORE. (3) this means that God casts out fear. WHICH, IN TURN (4) means that God never incites fear. The condition of, “being afraid of God” — is never created by God, or the result of the Truth — AS VERIFIED IN 2 TIMOTHY 1:7 WHICH SAYS, (5) God has not given us the spirit of fear, …

Read more

The Day He was Born

Amir’s Christmas message ahead of the holidays AFTER 400 Years of Silence since the end of the Old Testament, we hear of two names: Zachariah and Elizabeth. Zachariah means the Lord remembers. Elizabeth means the Lord has sworn. Both names – Zachariah and Elizabeth- are a token of the hope that we can always have even in times that seem like silence from God’s side- that He is there faithful to his promises, remembers all of them as he had sworn. Both people were righteous in times where the Holy Spirit was not too active and yet following the word …

Read more