Jesus – Page 9

786. Christmas: Just Exactly What Are We Celebrating?

December 20, 2020 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

The birth of Jesus is perhaps the most celebrated event in the history of the world. When we think of the Christmas holiday, we probably picture the baby Jesus and a manger scene with angels communicating with shepherds. And yet the birth would mean nothing without the death that would occur a few decades later. Jesus was born at a time when the Mosaic law and Old Covenant with Israel was still in place. It would be with His death and the shedding of blood that would bring a better covenant to replace the first one … for all of mankind.

The real celebration with God entering the world as a human is that He would do a work resulting in justification, forgiveness, redemption, righteousness and so much more—which He extended through perfect love by grace. This is why believers have peace with God. The Savior brought faith and life—and it’s much more excellent than a religious system of works which falls short. When it comes to your celebration this year, don’t keep hanging out at the manger, but remember the ultimate result of what it brought.

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772. Neither the Storehouse nor Abraham’s Tithe Have to Do With Supporting a Church

September 13, 2020 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

The Jews brought a tithe of food to the storehouse for the priestly tribe of the Levites under the Old Covenant—who didn’t own land and were not allowed to work for their chow. Twisted religion will try to lay claim that the “new” storehouse is connected to a bank account for a non-profit corporation or church institution. When did this idea start and where does the Scriptures suggest tithing became about money? It’s just not in there.

And what about the misleading use of some verses in Hebrews Chapter 7 … where the writer intersects Abraham, Melchizedek and Jesus. Manipulators will abuse and misuse the passage as an argument for tithing and miss the bigger picture of context—which was the fact that Jesus Christ was superior to Abraham, as well as the Old Covenant and the old priesthood … and He replaced them both with something more excellent.

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771. “Jesus Told Us We Should Tithe!” Fact Checked: False

September 6, 2020 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Did Jesus teach us believers to tithe in the New Covenant which was established after His death? Well-intentioned religious folks who are in the nasty habit of combining the old and new covenants together will tell you He did. But when Jesus mentioned the tithe to the Pharisees, He was speaking to their hypocrisy about the law of Moses—which came to an end after the death of Jesus.

The tithe was part of that old law. The Jews were still under it when Jesus walked the earth. The purpose of Jesus coming was to free Israel from that law and to tear down that wall of law so Gentiles could also experience freedom and life. We abide in a different covenant and are not under any of the old law. And yet, church incorporated can’t resist cherry picking a few of their chosen favorites from that obsolete package. The tithe is usually one of them. Even Jesus stated the tithe was about food—not money and not all of your income.

Under the law, tithing was a requirement for the sake of the priestly Levitical tribe, as they received a tenth of the food from the other tribes of Israel. Now in Christ, we freely give as motivated by perfect love.

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What’s so special about Christ’s right hand?

August 26, 2020 by Paul Ellis

While writing my book Letters from Jesus, I discovered a lot of gems in scripture. Some of these were hidden in the introductions Jesus gives his letters to the seven churches. Consider this introduction from his letter to the church in Ephesus:

These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. (Rev 2:1)

This is a truly remarkable picture of Jesus. But what does it mean?

Jesus takes a selfie

If the Bible is an art gallery, the Revelation letters are a special wing containing seven portraits of Jesus. These portraits are found at the beginning of each of the seven letters, and each is a treasure.

For starters, each is a self-portrait painted by Jesus himself. We are not hearing about Jesus second hand, and we are not seeing him through the eyes of another. This is Jesus revealing Jesus using word pictures found nowhere else in the Bible.

In the first portrait, we see Jesus holding seven stars. The seven stars in the Lord’s right hand are the angels or leaders of the seven churches (see Rev. 1:20). In scripture, those who teach the gospel of righteousness are called stars (Dan. 12:3), while false teachers are called wandering stars (Jude 1:13).

Why are the stars in his right hand? What is so special about that hand?

The right hand of God signifies his power and strength. “Your right hand, O Lord, is majestic in power,” sang Moses. “Your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy” (Ex. 15:6).

Held by the right hand of God

In the Psalms, God’s right hand saves us, holds us, and shelters us (Ps. 17:7, 60:5, 63:8). His right hand is also the place of honor (Acts 2:33–34).

So when Jesus tells the seven stars or pastors that he is holding them in his right hand, he is saying, “You have nothing to fear, for I am holding you with my strong and mighty right hand.”

In truth, Jesus holds all of us in his mighty right hand (see John 10:28). He holds you and me.

So the next time you have some anxiety-inducing thought about whether you might stumble at the final hurdle and be lost, incline your ear to Jesus and hear what he says. He says this:

I’ve got you. You have nothing to fear. No one can snatch you from my strong and mighty right hand.

Amen.

___________

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God Is Your Source

August 22, 2020 by Sandra

Your paycheck is not your source Your side business is not your source Other people are not your source The stock market is not your source Your retirement account is not your source Your savings account is not your source GOD IS YOUR SOURCE You are blessed because of Jesus You are successful […]

The Million Dollar Question

August 21, 2020 by Sandra

This is by far the most popular question I get… “How can I get a revelation of grace like you have, Sandra?” In my case, I did not even know what I was missing. I thought I was supposed to just keep trying harder to live the Christian life but I did not realize why […]

768. Good News About 2 Chronicles 7:14 (God Wasn’t Speaking to You)

August 16, 2020 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Taking a look at another “verse” where legalistic religion will often try to apply to Christianity … it comes from 2 Chronicles 7:14:

“…if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

This is wrapped in the context of the (former) Old Covenant, where the Jewish temple had just opened for business—which would be considered a house of animal sacrifices. It was another conditional promise based upon keeping the law … which nobody could ever successfully accomplish. If they were obedient to every command—while praying and seeking God’s face at the temple house–then God would respond with healing and forgiveness.

Under the New Covenant where we abide, forgiveness and blessings came through another way other than works … it’s by grace through faith and the blood of Jesus Christ which has already been shed. His glory couldn’t be handled by the priests when it filled the temple, but now He has filled you with that same glory by His Spirit—you are His temple. He doesn’t hide His face from you and He never leaves.

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Under Grace, God Gives Us What Jesus Deserves, Not What We Deserve

August 3, 2020 by Sandra

Friends, I’ve got a story for you! It’s a miraculous story of how the amazing grace of God can affect our everyday lives! I just returned back home last night from an awesome Grace XP Youth Rally at Healing Grace Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma with 5 teenage girls, including my own two girls. We had […]

Anger Management Made Easy

July 22, 2020 by Sandra

Enjoy this message titled Anger Management Made Easy as I share with you how to live free from anger using my own personal experience. This is a 1 hour and 10 minute message so take your time. Watch it in segments if you need to. I think you’ll be glad you did as I always […]

God’s People Flourish In Troubled Times

July 17, 2020 by Sandra

Has 2020 been a crazy year so far, or what? Have you heard any scary prophecies? Have you noticed if you’re personally expecting the worst or expecting the best? Friends, as I was sitting in the final session of the Grace Beach Vacation Conference last Sunday listening to Jerimiah Johnson’s message titled “God’s People Flourish […]

761. The Ten Commandments No Longer Have Glory

June 28, 2020 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Although empty religion has made it sound as though the Ten Commandments and some other selections from the expired law are meant to be applied to the Christian life, we find quite the opposite in New Covenant writings. The Apostle Paul reveals this was a ministry that came to an end and no longer has any glory at all. Why? Because of the ministry of the Spirit, which has a glory that surpassed it.

His fruit now abides in us because He abides in us … and we bear what He produces. This is a more powerful and liberating way to live than to pursue the flesh by trying to keep stone-tablet commandments that leave people in lifeless condemnation. For those who think the top 10 were somehow separate from the rest of the law and are meant to still apply, we address the hypocrisy of this.

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754. Hebrews 10: Confidence to Enter Through a New and Living Way

May 10, 2020 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

It’s because of what Jesus did for us with the shedding of His blood that we now have a boldness to enter into the Holy Place. This boldness or confidence literally means we have acquired a freedom of speech before the living God. It has nothing to do with us, our behavior or our commitment to God. It’s all based upon Jesus opening a path that was not previously available through an imperfect and faulty ministry of death and condemnation (the law). This would be called a new and living way.

And what about Hebrews 10:25? In the middle of all this great news being given to Jewish people about the New Covenant replacing the Old Covenant … Are these believers being scolded not to skip going to a church building? That might be what religion has taught us, so let’s look at this in context.