School starts tomorrow, and if you are like me you are probably a little stressed about going back; new teachers, new students, new things to adjust to. I do not do well with going back to school (probably worse than I need to be) I get my self all worked up about the next day and going back to school. I would imagine that some of you feel the same way about going back to school.
So, I decided to see what God says about worrying. The main verse I found is a pretty famous passage it is Mather 6:25-34
“25 Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life[a]?
28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
This is very encouraging thing for a person like me who likes worries a lot about things, because it strait up says not to worry because God will provide because we are very important to him and he loves us.
Another verse that I found in the bible the night before as triathlon that I was very nervous about was Isaiah 40:27-28 which says,
“27 Why do you say, O Jacob,
and complain, O Israel,
"My way is hidden from the LORD;
my cause is disregarded by my God"?
28 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom”
Which is very funny because it seems to me that verse was written to me because my name is Jacob and to tell the truth I think it is pretty to worry, but once again God is all powerful.
Finally, Romans 8:28:
28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[have been called according to his purpose.
So bottom line, we may think that we need to worry about things but God says they do not need to worry because God is all powerful, God is all knowing and God will take care of his children.
Reading these verses have been very encouraging to me for going to school tomorrow , I hope that it will encourage you for tomorrow or whenever you start school or have soke thing that you are worried about the next day because God says “34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
God bless!!!!
Jake
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Friday, August 6, 2010
The Hole in our Gospel by Richard Stearns: Book Review
What does it mean to be a Christian? Is it just about going to church, studying the Bible and avoiding the worst sins? Or does God expect more from us? “Have we settled for the whole gospel or a gospel with a hole in it?”(Back cover) The Hole in Our Gospel is about the needs of the people created in God’s own image; the sick, the poor, the hungry, the fatherless and the broken-hearted, and how we as “the wealthiest church in history” (pg. 216) need to do something about it. This powerful book addresses the spiders of the complicated web of poverty such as the HIV and AIDS pandemic, clean water shortages, drought, and rebel armies. This then causes children to not be able to go to school because they need to be finding food and water and caring for sick family members, or being the parents themselves. And so, the cycle continues. This book is amazing and empowering as Richard Stearns gives his testimony of how he came to know Christ and later became the president of World Vision USA; he opens our eyes to the true needs of the poor and the needy in our world, and then calls us to action.
The testimony of Richard Stearns was very amazing and powerful because it told how he went from being an atheist to being a Christian, and also going from being a corporate CEO of a Parker Brother Games to being the president of World Vision. Richard Stearns grew up in a very broken home. He said “I can remember the night when I realized my parents could not help me” (pg. 74). Because of this, he learned to be very self-reliant. This all changed when, in college he met a girl named Renee (who he later married) who got him thinking about Jesus because she was a Christian. He had always said to her that he would never become a Christian. Until one day in his drunken father’s apartment he found a Basic Christianity book. Richard Stearns said, “Remarkably, I found that I couldn’t put it down, and seven hours later, at four in the morning, I had finished and sat trembling in my bed. What I had read had shaken me quite deeply” (pg. 80). This was the turning point in his testimony because he had just started to believe in Jesus. This shows that it was amazing and powerful because a boy from a broken home, and a huge skeptic of God realized that God was real. The story of how Richard Stearns became a Christian is amazing because God leading him to read that one book made him become a Christian. He then later made the crazy decision to step down as CEO of Parker Brothers and become the president of World Vision, to help millions of people. “God does not call the equipped. He equips the called.” (pg.91)
Opening my eyes to the true needs of the poorest people in the world made the book very intense because it was hard for me to realize that we as Americans are so rich compared to the rest of the world, yet we still consider ourselves poor because there are people in our neighborhood that have a little bit more than we have. For example, Americans make at least 100 times more than 15% of the world’s people. This is very sad because that was only the average of the income per day of Americans and there are one billion people living on less than one dollar everyday. So, you don’t believe me? Let me put this into perspective for you.” The poorest 40 percent of the world’s population accounts for just 5 percent of global income. The richest 20 percent accounts for three-quarters of the world’s income.”(pg.122) and, “the top 20 percent of the world’s population consumes 86 percent of the world’s goods.”(pg.122). Those two examples show that we are so rich and we do not even know it. It is not like those people living on one and two dollars a day are living comfortably, but they just don’t have a Wii or the latest video game. No, they have nothing, not even food! Take this, “One out of four children in developing counties is underweight and some 350 to 400 million children are hungry. Worse, it is estimated that a child dies every five seconds from hunger related causes.”(pg. 134) Think about this, every five seconds a child dies from hunger alone. That adds up to about 25,000 children dying each day from hunger. The poor people in our world are living without food and water every day and we can just go to the fridge and grab a soda whenever we want. As a person from Kenya said “Water is life and because we have no water, life is miserable” (pg.135). Reading all of these statistics and facts have really made me sad, but also made me want to do something about these people who have nothing.
This book made me want to act on this problem, not just be sad about it, but make a difference in this problem. In the Hole in Our Gospel, I really enjoyed the call to action in the end of the book because it told us, as the “wealthiest church in history”,(pg.216) to help these people in need. One great example of the call to action in this book is when Richard Stearns said, “We may not be clear on just how God wants to use us. But that’s no excuse for doing nothing. Just jump in, and start doing” (pg.273). This example shows that we can use our unique, “Time, Talent and Treasure” (pg 257) that God has given to each of us to make a difference. Every follower of God has been called by Him to do something; He can use you for great things you just need to be open to Him. One example of God using someone who you would not think could be a big help is Austin Gutwein who started Hoops for Hope by shooting some basketballs. As I said earlier, “God does not call the equipped. He equips the called”(pg.91). Just because you yourself cannot stop poverty does not mean that you cannot have a hand in stopping it. “Don’t fail to do something because you can’t do everything”.(pg.152) This quote from the book shows that it is a great call to action because God can do great things through all of us even if we cannot do anything great. Go, and use your time, talent and treasure given to you from God and help people!
Overall, this book was amazing. I loved how it really let me see the needs of the people in the world and how I need to do something about it. My favorite part of this book was the end of the book because it called the reader to make a difference, to “move a mountain of mustard seeds” (pg.274) for the poor. I honestly do not think that any parts of this book were bad. This book was very well written and it had many Bible verses and quotes to reinforce what he was writing. I believe that everyone in America should read this book, even though it would take many of us out of our comfort zone. I think that people who have an interest in serving God and doing what He wants you to do would enjoy this book. Out of all the books I have read, this book will make a lasting difference in my life, my relationship, and my service to God.
What will you do?
The testimony of Richard Stearns was very amazing and powerful because it told how he went from being an atheist to being a Christian, and also going from being a corporate CEO of a Parker Brother Games to being the president of World Vision. Richard Stearns grew up in a very broken home. He said “I can remember the night when I realized my parents could not help me” (pg. 74). Because of this, he learned to be very self-reliant. This all changed when, in college he met a girl named Renee (who he later married) who got him thinking about Jesus because she was a Christian. He had always said to her that he would never become a Christian. Until one day in his drunken father’s apartment he found a Basic Christianity book. Richard Stearns said, “Remarkably, I found that I couldn’t put it down, and seven hours later, at four in the morning, I had finished and sat trembling in my bed. What I had read had shaken me quite deeply” (pg. 80). This was the turning point in his testimony because he had just started to believe in Jesus. This shows that it was amazing and powerful because a boy from a broken home, and a huge skeptic of God realized that God was real. The story of how Richard Stearns became a Christian is amazing because God leading him to read that one book made him become a Christian. He then later made the crazy decision to step down as CEO of Parker Brothers and become the president of World Vision, to help millions of people. “God does not call the equipped. He equips the called.” (pg.91)
Opening my eyes to the true needs of the poorest people in the world made the book very intense because it was hard for me to realize that we as Americans are so rich compared to the rest of the world, yet we still consider ourselves poor because there are people in our neighborhood that have a little bit more than we have. For example, Americans make at least 100 times more than 15% of the world’s people. This is very sad because that was only the average of the income per day of Americans and there are one billion people living on less than one dollar everyday. So, you don’t believe me? Let me put this into perspective for you.” The poorest 40 percent of the world’s population accounts for just 5 percent of global income. The richest 20 percent accounts for three-quarters of the world’s income.”(pg.122) and, “the top 20 percent of the world’s population consumes 86 percent of the world’s goods.”(pg.122). Those two examples show that we are so rich and we do not even know it. It is not like those people living on one and two dollars a day are living comfortably, but they just don’t have a Wii or the latest video game. No, they have nothing, not even food! Take this, “One out of four children in developing counties is underweight and some 350 to 400 million children are hungry. Worse, it is estimated that a child dies every five seconds from hunger related causes.”(pg. 134) Think about this, every five seconds a child dies from hunger alone. That adds up to about 25,000 children dying each day from hunger. The poor people in our world are living without food and water every day and we can just go to the fridge and grab a soda whenever we want. As a person from Kenya said “Water is life and because we have no water, life is miserable” (pg.135). Reading all of these statistics and facts have really made me sad, but also made me want to do something about these people who have nothing.
This book made me want to act on this problem, not just be sad about it, but make a difference in this problem. In the Hole in Our Gospel, I really enjoyed the call to action in the end of the book because it told us, as the “wealthiest church in history”,(pg.216) to help these people in need. One great example of the call to action in this book is when Richard Stearns said, “We may not be clear on just how God wants to use us. But that’s no excuse for doing nothing. Just jump in, and start doing” (pg.273). This example shows that we can use our unique, “Time, Talent and Treasure” (pg 257) that God has given to each of us to make a difference. Every follower of God has been called by Him to do something; He can use you for great things you just need to be open to Him. One example of God using someone who you would not think could be a big help is Austin Gutwein who started Hoops for Hope by shooting some basketballs. As I said earlier, “God does not call the equipped. He equips the called”(pg.91). Just because you yourself cannot stop poverty does not mean that you cannot have a hand in stopping it. “Don’t fail to do something because you can’t do everything”.(pg.152) This quote from the book shows that it is a great call to action because God can do great things through all of us even if we cannot do anything great. Go, and use your time, talent and treasure given to you from God and help people!
Overall, this book was amazing. I loved how it really let me see the needs of the people in the world and how I need to do something about it. My favorite part of this book was the end of the book because it called the reader to make a difference, to “move a mountain of mustard seeds” (pg.274) for the poor. I honestly do not think that any parts of this book were bad. This book was very well written and it had many Bible verses and quotes to reinforce what he was writing. I believe that everyone in America should read this book, even though it would take many of us out of our comfort zone. I think that people who have an interest in serving God and doing what He wants you to do would enjoy this book. Out of all the books I have read, this book will make a lasting difference in my life, my relationship, and my service to God.
What will you do?
Friday, July 9, 2010
Family
First of all, I am sorry I have not been writing lately. During the school year a lot of my ministry time is used for my bible club called JAMtime where I need to write sermons each week and organize events for the group. But now, ahhh it is summer time!
My family is originally from Michigan, but around 1999 God called my Mom and Dad to start a church in California because it is so diverse. Our family was very happy to serve the Lord but we left our extended family in Michigan. Every year or so we fly out to Michigan to see them; these times are very special for me. For the past week and a half I have been in Michigan visiting my family and friends.
My family is originally from Michigan, but around 1999 God called my Mom and Dad to start a church in California because it is so diverse. Our family was very happy to serve the Lord but we left our extended family in Michigan. Every year or so we fly out to Michigan to see them; these times are very special for me. For the past week and a half I have been in Michigan visiting my family and friends.
I think God also thinks it is important and special to be in a family and to spend time with family. First of all, in the Old Testament, there was the Covenant where God told Abraham that he would show his love to his children and to his children’s children and so on; it would be a giant family, God’s family. Another example is that Jesus was born into a family and he was in a family for 30 years. Even on the cross when he was dying he wanted to know if his mother Mary was okay. This is important because God could have just had Jesus not be in a family he could of started out at his ministering age. Furthermore in Psalm 127:3-5 the Bible says:
“Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate.”
Here it says that children are to be gifts to their parents, and because the children are gifts to their parents are to treat their children with respect as the word of God says in Ephesians 6:4:
“Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.”
And in addition Colossians 3:21:
“Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged”
As you can see from these passages God wants parents to love and respect their children but yes, it is true, it goes both ways God also wants the children to obey their parents. In Colossians 3:20 the Bible says:
“Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.”
Furthermore in Ephesians 6:1-3 God says:
“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ’Honor your father and mother’ which is the first commandment with a promise—that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”
“Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate.”
Here it says that children are to be gifts to their parents, and because the children are gifts to their parents are to treat their children with respect as the word of God says in Ephesians 6:4:
“Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.”
And in addition Colossians 3:21:
“Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged”
As you can see from these passages God wants parents to love and respect their children but yes, it is true, it goes both ways God also wants the children to obey their parents. In Colossians 3:20 the Bible says:
“Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.”
Furthermore in Ephesians 6:1-3 God says:
“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ’Honor your father and mother’ which is the first commandment with a promise—that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”
I definitely think that families are a great blessing from God. In my past week and a half I have spent with my family in Michigan we have had a lot of fun, great conversations, and even had our own worship service just as a family. I believe that when God looks down from heaven and sees families following him it makes him smile. I am very thankful for my family. I realize families quarrel and that is not God’s will.
Remember, in families it is not just parents loving their children it is not only children honoring their parents but it is a combination, it is a two way relationship.
Remember, in families it is not just parents loving their children it is not only children honoring their parents but it is a combination, it is a two way relationship.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
My Explanation of the Ten Commandments
My Explanation of the Ten Commandments
1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.
3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
4. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
5. Honour thy father and thy mother.
6. Thou shalt not kill.
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
8. Thou shalt not steal.
9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
10. Thou shalt not covet
Everyone knows about the Ten Commandments, but the thing is about the Ten Commandments is that people who are not Christians see this as God trying to hold us back. They think God is trying to say that we need to be good to please god. They actually think they need to be good to get into heaven.
One example of that is that couple of weeks at my bible club I run at my school I did a sermon on what it means to be a “Christian” I was basically saying how it is not about pleasing God because that is impossible because we live in an imperfect world and we are hopelessly flawed and hoe God still loves us, he actually loves us because we are his. Okay that is beside the point, at the beginning of the meeting I asked what they think it mans to be a Christian and one of my friends tat is new in his walk with God said it is all about being a good person. I am extremely happy that he was at the Christian club that day because he now knows that it is not about pleasing God but about having a relationship with God.
The Ten Commandments are first mentioned in Exodus 5 when God told Moses what the Ten Commandments where. Now this was back before Jesus had come to Earth and die for our sins so these people where Jews so they had to sacrifice lambs and other animals to take their sins away. The lambs and other animals where way of people of the Old Testament to say that they are willing to give their fine lambs to God. We do not have to sacrifice our lambs (even though I do not have lambs because I live in the suburbs with a code for all the homes. Can you believe they do not allow you to have farm animals in my small backyard?) Jesus Christ was the ultimate sacrifice for us so we do not have to be good to please God and we do not need to sacrifice our pets.
The Ten Commandments were written as guidelines for our lives. We do not need to follow these commandments to get in to heaven we can follow these as a way to say God, I thank you for your love. There are two main reasons people do good things the first is as a please, like asking for something; for instance the belief in Karma has people do good things so good things will happen to them, the other reason to do something good is as a thank you; like Christianity, we do not do good deeds as a please like asking for something we do it as a thank you to God for all he has done and will do in my and your life too. Lots of people do good deeds so they look good, so it exalts them. Something that my older brother told me was about something he heard from someone at a Christian summer camp called Mount. Herman said that his youth group did a thing called Jesus Ninjas where they went around at like 3:00 a.m. and did good deeds when no one could see them. So if you are going to do good deeds make sure you are doing it for the glory of God not for the glory of you.
May God bless you!!
Live for Jesus!!
Jake Vanderwell
1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.
3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
4. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
5. Honour thy father and thy mother.
6. Thou shalt not kill.
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
8. Thou shalt not steal.
9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
10. Thou shalt not covet
Everyone knows about the Ten Commandments, but the thing is about the Ten Commandments is that people who are not Christians see this as God trying to hold us back. They think God is trying to say that we need to be good to please god. They actually think they need to be good to get into heaven.
One example of that is that couple of weeks at my bible club I run at my school I did a sermon on what it means to be a “Christian” I was basically saying how it is not about pleasing God because that is impossible because we live in an imperfect world and we are hopelessly flawed and hoe God still loves us, he actually loves us because we are his. Okay that is beside the point, at the beginning of the meeting I asked what they think it mans to be a Christian and one of my friends tat is new in his walk with God said it is all about being a good person. I am extremely happy that he was at the Christian club that day because he now knows that it is not about pleasing God but about having a relationship with God.
The Ten Commandments are first mentioned in Exodus 5 when God told Moses what the Ten Commandments where. Now this was back before Jesus had come to Earth and die for our sins so these people where Jews so they had to sacrifice lambs and other animals to take their sins away. The lambs and other animals where way of people of the Old Testament to say that they are willing to give their fine lambs to God. We do not have to sacrifice our lambs (even though I do not have lambs because I live in the suburbs with a code for all the homes. Can you believe they do not allow you to have farm animals in my small backyard?) Jesus Christ was the ultimate sacrifice for us so we do not have to be good to please God and we do not need to sacrifice our pets.
The Ten Commandments were written as guidelines for our lives. We do not need to follow these commandments to get in to heaven we can follow these as a way to say God, I thank you for your love. There are two main reasons people do good things the first is as a please, like asking for something; for instance the belief in Karma has people do good things so good things will happen to them, the other reason to do something good is as a thank you; like Christianity, we do not do good deeds as a please like asking for something we do it as a thank you to God for all he has done and will do in my and your life too. Lots of people do good deeds so they look good, so it exalts them. Something that my older brother told me was about something he heard from someone at a Christian summer camp called Mount. Herman said that his youth group did a thing called Jesus Ninjas where they went around at like 3:00 a.m. and did good deeds when no one could see them. So if you are going to do good deeds make sure you are doing it for the glory of God not for the glory of you.
May God bless you!!
Live for Jesus!!
Jake Vanderwell
Saturday, December 26, 2009
The Gift of Jesus
The Gift of Jesus
18This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
20But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,[a] because he will save his people from their sins."
22All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"[b]—which means, "God with us."
24When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
Joseph was engaged to Mary and before they were married Mary became pregnant. Joseph was thinking about divorcing Mary because she was pregnant with the Holy Spirit. One night when Joseph was sleeping an angel appeared to him and said not to be afraid of taking Marry as his wife because the child that was going to be born was the Savior, the one who would die for OUR sins so we could be with him in heaven the angel told him that they will call him Immanuel which means “God with us”.
God had planned to give us a GREAT GIFT, his gift to us was Jesus. Jesus was such a great gift, he SAVED US, and he gave us gift of forgiving our sins so we could have eternal life with him. If you ask me I think that is an amazing gift.
As I see Christmas and what it has become I see a Christmas that is all about presents which I guess in some sense of the term it is because Jesus was a Gift , I also see obsession with new bargains to save money it should be about the birth that has greatly changed humanity for the better. Christmas actually means Christ- mass a mass of Christ. So I do not think that you can say Christmas is not about Jesus Christ because that is how it started and the name says Christ-mass – a mass of Christ.
So as you have had Christmas and you are excited about your gifts I really want you to remember the real gift that formed Christmas.
May God bless you!!
- Jake Vanderwell
Live for Jesus!!!!
18This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
20But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,[a] because he will save his people from their sins."
22All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"[b]—which means, "God with us."
24When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
Joseph was engaged to Mary and before they were married Mary became pregnant. Joseph was thinking about divorcing Mary because she was pregnant with the Holy Spirit. One night when Joseph was sleeping an angel appeared to him and said not to be afraid of taking Marry as his wife because the child that was going to be born was the Savior, the one who would die for OUR sins so we could be with him in heaven the angel told him that they will call him Immanuel which means “God with us”.
God had planned to give us a GREAT GIFT, his gift to us was Jesus. Jesus was such a great gift, he SAVED US, and he gave us gift of forgiving our sins so we could have eternal life with him. If you ask me I think that is an amazing gift.
As I see Christmas and what it has become I see a Christmas that is all about presents which I guess in some sense of the term it is because Jesus was a Gift , I also see obsession with new bargains to save money it should be about the birth that has greatly changed humanity for the better. Christmas actually means Christ- mass a mass of Christ. So I do not think that you can say Christmas is not about Jesus Christ because that is how it started and the name says Christ-mass – a mass of Christ.
So as you have had Christmas and you are excited about your gifts I really want you to remember the real gift that formed Christmas.
May God bless you!!
- Jake Vanderwell
Live for Jesus!!!!
Monday, December 21, 2009
christmas
When you normally think of Christmas what do you think of? I would guess that you think about presents, Christmas dinner, parties, presents, shopping deals, decorating your house and presents. Now those are not bad thing at all, but that is not really the point of Christmas.
Yes, everyone knows that it is about baby Jesus being born in a manger. Do you know what a manger is? A manger is smelly and discusting and by by no means a good place to have a child. think about this Jesus was put into the world the worst way possible and he was taken out the worst way possible on a cross, tortured and scorned.
Yeah, we all know about Jesus and the christmas story, but do you know that the Christmas story was planned it great detail about 2,000 years before the event actually happened? For example in Micah 5:2 god explained how Jesus would come out of the tribe of Judah (which wasn't even the religious tribe) and it was fullfilled in Luke 3:33. In Jeremiah 23:5-6 it is written that that he will be of the house and line of David and it was fullfilled in Luke 3:31.It is also written that he would be born in Bethlehem in Micah 5:2 and it is fulfilled in Luke 2:4-7. another prophecy was that Jesus would be born of a virgin this was written in Isaiah 7:14 and it was fulfilled in Matthew 1:18. There are many other prophecies about Christmas and Jesus for example the bible said that Jesus would be worshipped by shepherds, be worshipped and given gifts by kings, and that he and his parents would flee to Egypt in fear of king Herod who was trying to kill Jesus because he did not want Jesus to be king.
All of these verses are in extreme detail. Last thursday at my School's bible club that I run I used this as the topic and one of the girls asked me why we need to read all of these names it was Matthew 1:1 which goes like this
1A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham:
2Abraham was the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,
3Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,
Perez the father of Hezron,
Hezron the father of Ram,
4Ram the father of Amminadab,
Amminadab the father of Nahshon,
Nahshon the father of Salmon,
5Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,
Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,
Obed the father of Jesse,
6and Jesse the father of King David.
David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah's wife,
7Solomon the father of Rehoboam,
Rehoboam the father of Abijah,
Abijah the father of Asa,
8Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,
Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram,
Jehoram the father of Uzziah,
9Uzziah the father of Jotham,
Jotham the father of Ahaz,
Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,
10Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,
Manasseh the father of Amon,
Amon the father of Josiah,
11and Josiah the father of Jeconiah[a] and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.
12After the exile to Babylon:
Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,
Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,
13Zerubbabel the father of Abiud,
Abiud the father of Eliakim,
Eliakim the father of Azor,
14Azor the father of Zadok,
Zadok the father of Akim,
Akim the father of Eliud,
15Eliud the father of Eleazar,
Eleazar the father of Matthan,
Matthan the father of Jacob,
16and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
17Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to
As you can see this is A LOT of detail. what i told that girl is that we read this because i am demonstrating how not vague it is and how if god can plan all of this in exact detail thousands of years before it actually happened then god has a plan for your life and you can definitely trust in him.
As Christmas day comes around and you open your presents, go to parties and eat christmas dinner i want you to remember what Christmas is really about and that it was planned long before it actually happen.
Jesus loves you so live for him!
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Gods' love for you
Gods' love
Jesus loves you! He loves all of you even if you are not Christian, he still loves you! He loves everything you do, even the bad things you do. You are hopelessly flawed but he is not and Jesus loves you for it. He is crazy about you; he loves you so much that he died for you so you can have eternal life with him in Heaven. He wants you to be with him in paradise that is better than anything we can ever imagine on Earth. Seriously he had himself NAILED to the cross on his hand and through his Achilles tendon; he was stripped naked in front of people he had to wear a crown of thorns to FORGIVE YOUR SINS so YOU would be forgiven of your sins. I really think that if you have not already accept Jesus’' gift I would recommend you do, but you are firm in your religion you do not have to it is your choice about what you believe. You do might not believe that the Christian God is the only true god, you do not have to believe that was the son of God but what you can't argue with is that Jesus loves you, that he died for YOU and that he suffered so you could be with him.
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