If Jesus is Divine, Is God Really an Absolute One?

A great controversy that has plagued the Christian church for 1700 years has developed because of the way that Jesus speaks about the Father in the gospel of John. In that gospel he clearly speaks as though the Father was someone other than himself - In John, Jesus uses the word father 104 times, in Matthew 54 times, in Luke 36 times, in Mark 18 times^.

In John he clearly contrasts the terms father and son in such a way that one would draw the conclusion that the father was someone other than himself.

None of these phrases occur in any other gospel but John

• John 5:19 Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.
• John 5:30 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.
• John 8:54 Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God:
• John 10:18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.
• John 12:49 For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. 50 And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.
• John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
• John 14:28 Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.
• John 16:16 A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father. 17 Then said some of his disciples among themselves, What is this that he saith unto us, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me: and, Because I go to the Father?
• John 20:17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.

A great key to the understanding of the words of Jesus when he speaks of the Father in the gospel of John is Jesus’ own explanation of the mode and manner of his speech. He declares in John 16:25, 26 that he speaks of the Father in proverbs.From the text it is possible to understand what this word proverbs actually means. Jesus contrasts this word proverbs with the word plainly in vs 26.

John 16:25 These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall show you plainly of the Father. 26 At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you:
The phrase - At that day - "That day Ekeine that he, hemera, day, means that great Day of the Lord, the day of judgment. Also, the expressions that day, the last day, the Day of the Lord, the day of judgment all refer to the same thing." Zodiates, Lexical Aids to the New Testament.

We must reconcile Jesus’ divinity with God’s Profound Oneness

God declares Himself to be a single deity when he uses the title Lord

Deut. 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:

Zech. 14:9 And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there beone LORD, and his name one.

Mark 12:29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:

Eph. 4:5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism

 

God declares Himself to be a single deity when he uses the title God

Mal. 2:10 Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers?

 

Mark 12:32 And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:

 

Rom. 3:30 Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.

 

1Cor. 8:6 But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.

 

Eph. 4:6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

 

1Tim. 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

 

James 2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

7742 times in the Old Testament God refers to Himself with singular personal pronouns, I, me, mine. In addition to these he is referred to with singular personal pronouns, he, his.

‡ Isa. 41:4 Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he.

‡ Isa. 43:10 Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.

‡ Isa. 43:13 Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it?

‡ Isa. 48:12 Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.

‡ Isa. 52:6 Therefore my people shall know my name: therefore they shall know in that day that I am he that doth speak: behold, it is I.

What about the plural pronouns in Gen 1:26, etc.? These pronouns used during the creation of man could never negate all of the singular pronouns that are used in every other place. The Hebrew scholars call them plurals of majesty, plurals of deliberation.

Jesus used such plurals when speaking of himself. John 3:11 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.

Paul also used such plurals when speaking of himself. 1Cor. 2:6 Howbeit we speakwisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:

1Cor. 2:7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:

1Cor. 2:13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

What about the uniplural word, Elohim?

Elohim does not refer to a plurality of persons. It refers to a plentitude of might. For this reason even Moses was called Elohim, Exod. 4:16 And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God.

Thirty five times the word Elohim is used in Genesis one. It is invariably used with singular verbs, and/or pronouns when it refers to the God of Israel.

45 times the God of Israel is called the Holy One

‡ Jer. 51:5 For Israel hath not been forsaken, nor Judah of his God, of the LORD of hosts; though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel.

‡ Ezek. 39:7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.

‡ Isa. 54:5 For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.

‡ Isa. 40:25 To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.

‡ Isa. 41:14 Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.

‡ Isa. 41:16 Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and thou shalt rejoice in the LORD, and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel.

‡ Isa. 41:20 That they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of the LORD hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it.

‡ Isa. 43:3 For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee.

‡ Isa. 43:14 Thus saith the LORD, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought down all their nobles, and the Chaldeans, whose cry is in the ships.

‡ Isa. 43:15 I am the LORD, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King.

‡ Isa. 45:11 Thus saith the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me.

Why did Jesus speak about the Father as though the Father was other than himself?

There are no doubt many reasons for this. Following are some compelling reasons for him to do so.

He could not commit the cardinal sin of Satan, grasping for preeminence.

He had to abide by our rules, the rules which apply to human beings in order to transfer justice from a just God to the sacrificial lamb, Jesus Christ, a human being.

He had to be crucified. Not even the wicked men of this world would have knowingly crucified a deity.

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Jesus is the image of the invisible God

Hebrews 1:3 -- The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

2 Corinthians 4:4 -- The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Colossians 1:15 -- He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

Comment:

According to John 4:24, "God is spirit."  Luke 24:39 tells us "a spirit has no flesh or bone."  All scripture confirms that God, in the Old Testament, was invisible.  "No man has seen God" (John 1:18);  but Jesus is described as the "exact representation of God, the image of God, and the image of the invisible God."   The spirit of God that never permanently occupied a body or form before, took on the form of a man by becoming the person of Jesus Christ.  He was no longer invisible, untouchable, without form, now he dwelt among us.  Both God Almighty and man:  born in Bethlehem as Jesus Christ.

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How To Pray Effectively And Hear From God

What does it take to hear from God? Is there a secret "formula" to get your prayers answered? Many people ask these questions every day. Some are frustrated because no matter how many times they pray the same prayer, they never get an answer. 




My question to the people having this problem is this; Are you looking for the answer you want? Or are you open to hearing what it is God wants? Are you seeking to do God's will, or are you seeking God to fulfil your will? Do you see the difference? The problem isn't that God is not listening, the problem is that a lot of times, we're not listening!

So what's the solution? The first thing we have to do in order to have effective prayer and to hear from God is to surrender ourselves to Him. These verses shed light on how to do this; 

“If anyone wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me." (Luke 9:23)

"Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice – alive, holy, and pleasing to God – which is your reasonable service." (Romans 12:1)

"My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes observe my ways." (Proverbs 23:26)

"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:13)

To deny yourself means to seek God's will before your own. It means giving up on anything that is displeasing to God. It means self-sacrifice. Is this too much for God to ask of us? Considering what Jesus did for us, it's reasonable!

Here's an example! When Jesus foresaw the pain He was going to endure, He prayed; “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” (Luke 22:42)

The next step for effective prayer is FAITH! If you are praying to God but lack faith, your prayer is ineffective. If you are seeking God, you must first believe He is God and that He is able to do everything we ask of Him! 

"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." (Hebrews 11:6)

"Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:21)


“Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20)

"Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God." (1 Peter 1:21)

"If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.  But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.  That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.  Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do." (James 1:5-8)


Conclusion: If you want to hear from God, you must surrender your life completely to God, and you must have faith! If you're only praying to get what you want, without any regard for what the Lord wants to do with you and your life, it's as if your prayers are hitting a brick wall and coming back to you void. Submit to God, and although you may not get what you want every time, you will always get just what you need. I call it "LTO", Listen, Trust, and Obey. 

God bless!

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THE MASTER HIMSELF

Having thus taken a general survey of the occasion, the company, and the purpose of the transfiguration, it is possible to pass to a more detailed examination of its chief features. It is the Lord Himself upon Whom the attention is first fixed, and that in regard, first, to the fact of His transfiguration, and secondly, to the place it occupied in His life and mission. In each of these separate studies the subjects will overlap. It is impossible to consider the Master without having also to look both at the discipled and the celestial Visitors, just as it will be impossible to consider either of these alone. All must be seen in connection with each, yet each demands special attention, and such attention is now directed to the principal Person in the glorious scene.
I. The books of Daniel and Revelation record visions of a glorious One which are remarkable for their similarity to the manifestation on the holy mount. Very little is said in Scripture concerning the glory and majesty of Christ. A stranger reading the Bible, especially the New Testament, would be impressed far more with the majesty of the Messiah's character, and the glory of His moral qualities, than in any other way. This, undoubtedly, was part of the Divine plan, for the search of men was rather for tokens of material glory, than for signs of moral excellence. His coming was principally for the display of the latter; and such signs, as might have appealed to the desire of the men whose only conception of glory had come to be that of manifested splendour, were denied. The word of the prophet spoken in another connection had a supreme fulfilment in the Person of Jesus, “There was the hiding of His power.” (Hab. 3:4) Consequently, that which arrests a person in the study of the life of Christ, is not outward magnificence, not pageantry or pomp, but something more wonderful, and without which mere outward pageantry and pomp would be nothing worth, even His moral glory. No man can study the life of this remarkable One, Who passed through the ways of men devoid of attributes that attracted the attention of the mob, without finding that the beauty of His character lays hold upon the inmost spirit, and commands its admiration. To see the Christ in the glories of His character, is to be prostrate before Him in adoration.
Yet while the glory of His power is hidden, and the radiant splendours of His Person are veiled, occasionally during His sojourn upon the earth, they flashed into prominence. Here upon the mount, before the eyes of the disciples, there flamed forth the magnificence and the majesty of' Him, Who, in order that the weakest and most trembling might hold intercourse with Him, had veiled these splendours behind the human.
What an outshining it was may be gathered from the accounts of the evangelists:
“He was transfigured before them; and His face did shine as the sun, and His garments became white as the light.” (Matt 17:2)
“And He was transfigured before them: and His garments became glistering, exceeding white so as no fuller on earth can whiten them.” (Mark 9:2,3)
“And as He was praying, the fashion of His countenance was altered, and His raiment became white and dazzling.” (Luke 9:29)
The accounts vary somewhat, and this is doubtless due to the different impression made upon the minds of the men who beheld the vision, and told the story to the evangelists. Yet in the differences there is unity.
Matthew describes the change that passed over Him as one of light: “His face did shine as the sun, and His garments became white as the light.”
Mark gives the impression of snow: “His garments be-came glistering, exceeding white.” The word “glistering” suggests the sparkling of the snow as light falls upon it.
Luke writes, “His raiment became white and dazzling,” the word “dazzling” suggesting the blinding light of the lightning’s flash.
That which is common to all the descriptions is the thought of whiteness and of light. “White as light” says Matthew's story. “White as snow glistering in the light” is Mark's utterance. Not as light merely, not even as snow glistering upon the mountain heights, but as lightning flashing forth in glory, dazzling in its brilliancy, is Luke's account.
The one fact of white light is here declared in threefold statement- the beneficence of light, the purity of snow, the majesty of lightning.
With what overwhelming awe must these men have looked upon their Master! They had become familiar with Him as with a Man sharing their nature- His face lined with the furrows of care, His visage sorrowfully marred, beautiful, yea, passing beautiful, and yet always overshadowed with the signs of sorrow. As they looked up from their bewildered sleep in the darkness of the night, they beheld Him white as the light, His raiment glistering as with the radiance of the snow-capped peaks behind Him, His whole Person standing out in clear relief against the dark background, like lightning flashing upon the bosom of the night. Long years after, Peter, writing of the vision, said, “We were eye-witnesses of His majesty.” (Peter 1:16) The word “majesty” occurs three times only in Scripture. Once it is translated “mighty power”, once “magnificence,” and once “majesty.” The thought it suggests is that of splendour, of overwhelming beauty and glory, and that which arrests and subdues the mind to the point of adoration and worship; and Peter, looking back to the splendours of that night scene, wrote, “We were eyewitnesses of His majesty.”
This glory was not the light of heaven falling upon Him from above. Nor was it a merely reflected radiance which resulted from communion. When Moses descended from the mount, his face shone so that men could not look upon it. That glory was the reflection of the light in which he had sojourned in the solemn days of his absence, and even that was so brilliant that men could not look upon it, and he had to veil his face. Later on, when the first martyr was about to pass from earth to heaven, upon his face there rested a glory so that when men looked upon him “they saw his face as it had been the face of an angel.” (Acts 6:15) But these are very different matters from the radiant splendour of the Master on the mount. That was the glory of His own face, of His own Person, shining through the veil that had hidden it, until the very raiment of His humanity sparkled and glistened and flashed with the splendour of light and snow and lightning. The transfiguration was effected, not by glory falling on Him, but by inherent glory flashing forth. To depict that splendour is impossible with brush, or pencil, or pen. Today it may only be seen partially, when in some place of silent solitude, the spirit of man communes with the Christ, under the immediate illumination of the Spirit of God.
II. The transfiguration had a close connection with the human life and the Divine mission of Jesus of Nazareth. Indeed, it may be said to have been the connecting link between the two. It carried the one over into the other. It was the consummation of ideal human life, and the beginning of the pathway that ended in the accomplishment of the purposes of God in the redemption of fallen human nature.
It is astonishing to find how many there are who look upon the transfiguration as an experience granted to Christ for the confirmation of His own consecration, and how large a number of writers on the subject say that He was led to the mountain, in order that His own faith might be confirmed, and His devotion made more complete in view of the death that lay before Him. Without doubt the experience was of value in His human life, in the way of a satisfaction and strength. But to imagine that He needed such an experience to confirm His consecration, is to misunderstand the whole of His life prior to this period. The consecration of the Christ to His Father's will and work, was settled before He was born a Man. In that Voice which comes out of the past, and Whose words are written in the volume of the Book, “Lo, I am come ... To do Thy will, 0 God," (Heb. 10:7) is the declaration of a perfect and complete consecration, from which there was never the swerving of a hair’s breadth, or the drawing back of a single moment. He needed no vision of glory such as this to confirm Him in His consecration to His Father's will. The vision of the Father’s face was never clouded for a moment to Him until the dark hour on Calvary’s Cross, which as yet was not reached. So perpetual was His sense of the Divine presence that in conversation with Nicodemus, He spoke of Himself as “the Son of Man, Who is in heaven.” (John 3:13) No, this was not something given as an encouragement to devotion. It was part of the perfect whole.
The transfiguration of Jesus was the consummation of His human life, the natural issue of all that had preceded it. Born into the world by the Holy Spirit, He had lived a life linked to, and yet separate from, humanity: linked to it in all the essential facts of its nature, separate from it in its sin, both as a principle and activity. He had taken His way, from His first outlook upon life as a human being -a babe in His mother's arms-through the years of childhood and growth, through all temptation and testing of manhood, and through the severer temptation of public ministry, and here, at last, that humanity, perfect in creation, perfect through probation, was perfected in glory. The life of Jesus was bound to reach this point of transfiguration. It could do no other.
In Jesus of Nazareth there was the perfect unfolding before heaven and before men, of the Divine intention as to the process of human life. Beginning in weakness and limitation, passing through difficulties and temptation, gaining perpetual victory over temptation by abiding only, at all times, and under all circumstances, in the will of God, at last, all the testing being ended, the life passed into the presence of God Himself, and into the light of heaven, not through the gate of death, but through the painless and glorious process of transfiguration. The transfiguration of Jesus was the outcome of His unceasing victory in every hour of temptation. The garrison of His life had been kept against every attack of the foe; no room had been found in any avenue of His being, nor in all the circle of His manhood, for anything contrary to the will of God. His life was a perfect harmony, and the unceasing burden of its music was the goodness, and perfectness, and acceptableness of the will of God. He had ever done the things that pleased God; He had thought the thoughts of God, and spoken words, and done deeds under the inspiration and impulse of communion with God and at last, having triumphed over every form of temptation, He passed, not into the darkness of death, but into a larger life; and as He was transfigured, He was filled with the answer of God to the perfection of His life- an answer that came, not as a glory from without, but as the perfect blossoming of that which He had always enfolded in His human nature.
Reverently take a flower as an illustration of the process, watching it in its progress from seedling to perfect blossoming. The blossom rested in the seed in potentiality and possibility. Take a seed and hold it in the hand, strange little seed, without beauty, the very embodiment of weakness. But within that husk in which the human eye detects no line of beauty or grace, no gleam or flash of glory, there lie the gorgeous colours and magnificent flower itself. From that seed, through processes of law, plant and bud proceed, until at last the perfect blossom is formed.
God's humanity has blossomed once in the course of the ages, and that transfigured Man upon the holy mount, flashing in the splendour of a light like the sun, glistering with the glory of a whiteness like that of the snow, and flaming with the magnificent beauty of the lightning which flashes its radiance upon the darkness, that was God’s perfect Man. That was the realization of the thought that was in the mind of God when He said, “Let Us make man in Our image.”
The mount of transfiguration was the consummation of the life of Jesus, and if He had not been in the world for other purposes, if He had not been here because He loved man, if He had not been here in order to win life out of the deep dense darkness of human sin and death, He might have passed back with Moses and Elijah to the heights of the glory of God- God’s Man, having won His way to heaven by the perfection of His life. Such then is the place of the transfiguration in the life of Jesus.
With regard to His mission, the transfiguration was the prelude to His death. It was the crowning of the first part of His mission, that of realizing perfect life. Because of this crowning, He was now able to pass to the second part of His mission, that of atoning death. It will at once be seen how closely united these things are. The death of Christ would have been of no avail for the redemption of the world, had it not been preceded by His perfect life. To say this is not for one single moment to undervalue the death of Christ. Had the life not been perfect, the death would have been nothing more than the tragic end of an ordinary life, ordinary because conformed to the tendency and habit of the centuries, that of sin. But blessed be God, there had been no such conformity in the years that had preceded the Cross. Amid the selfidolatry of all the race, He alone had stood erect, and therefore His death became the very door of life for a lost race, because of the infinite value of the life that had preceded it. No other man could be found as ransom for his brother, for every other man in coming to death had nothing in life that made death of value. When God had found none that could by any means ransom his brother, it was not that He had not been able to find one man willing to die for another. Men have always been found ready to die for others. The old story of how a soldier found a comrade ready to don his uniform, and take his place in the ranks, and answer “Here” when his name was called, is well-known. But on the higher plane, no man can answer “Here” for his brother, for each must answer for himself, and every man’s life is in itself imperfect, and the life of one cannot avail for that of another, for that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Rom. 3:23) Men have in all ages been willing to die for others. Savonarola died for Florence, but he could not redeem Florence by his death. George Whitfield died for England, but he could not redeem the country by his dying. But this Man on the mount finished His life, wrought it out to absolute perfection, crowning it with the glory of heaven in the sight of men and God. Having done this He took that life-perfect, spotless, entire- and poured it out in death. His death thereby became more than the end of life. It became the mystery of Atonement, the darkness through which the eternal morning broke, the death through which life as a river passed through the ages, for every man, who forsaking sin, commits himself to the Perfect One Who died and lives.
The transfiguration divided the ways. Amid the glory of that resplendent hour, the first part of His mission was ended. There was ushered in the second part, as He descended from the mountain, turning His back for the second time upon the light of heaven, and taking His way to the Cross, passed into the darkness of death. Follow carefully the life of Jesus from that mount to the green hill without the city wall. The one thought in His mind was that of His death, and of His Cross. May it not be said that after the mount He was eager for death? There was no drawing back, there was no flinching. He set His face towards Jerusalem, and it almost seems as though He were impatient of delay. With straight undeviating course, He passed from the mount of transfiguration to the Cross. Death was the goal, the Cross the throne, the passion- baptism the loosening of prison bonds, the darkness of Calvary the prelude of the dawn of the age for which He longed. So the transfiguration came into the life of Jesus as the crowning of His humanity, and therefore His preparation for the death by which man is redeemed.
In conclusion, it may be well to glance at the companions and the converse of the mount as they affected Him. His disciples were dazed, half asleep, not with the sleep of carelessness, but with that overpowering that follows the vision of glory. As He stood in the glory of that crowning moment, these men spoke to His heart, by their very blindness and blundering, of the incompleteness of His work. The words of Peter and the needs of these men were two different things. Said the words of Peter, “Let us stay here.” Said the need of the men, even expressed in the blunder of Peter’s prayer, Stay not here, but pass to the Cross. In the light of the mount Jesus looked upon these men, and heard the cry they themselves did not understand, their cry for the Atonement of His death, and the light that should follow the darkness of His passion.
Then again, Moses and Elijah, the spirits of just men made perfect. They talked with Him of His Cross. In this there is deep significance. What they said to Him, or He to them, concerning that Cross is not chronicled, but may it not have been that as He looked at them He saw again the necessity for His Cross? Did He not know that the perfecting of the just had been through the faith they had reposed in the purpose of God? And did He not know that the purpose, in which He had had fellowship, was that of redemption by blood? Did not these men say to Him by their very presence, Heaven as well as earth waits Thy Cross, and unless Thou dost pass from the mount of crowning to the mount of crucifixion, heaven must be unpeopled, for we are of the company of those who have died in faith looking for Shiloh, our Desire and our Redeemer. We wait amid the splendours of the upper world, and all is lost to us if Thy work of redemption be unfinished?
With reverent daring follow the thought to its issue. Had He, the crowned and perfected Man, passed upward into light, heaven would have been unpeopled, and in its splendour there would have been one only Man. The plea of heaven and earth in the ears of Christ was a great cry for the deeper work, that lay as yet beyond Him. Earth with no language but a cry, which itself did not understand, was asking for the Cross. Heaven in its glory of perfected vision was looking for the same; and because He willed one will with God, He left the glory of the mount, and with resolute step trod the way to Calvary and from the darkness that overwhelmed Him has broken a light, that falls in radiance of hope and certainty upon the ruined race.
By : G. Campbell Morgan

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Trusting God's Will and Plans in Your Life!

Do you ever have moments where you feel discontent with things in your life, and wonder if it will ever get better? I have sometimes in the past found myself questioning God's will for me, which I know is wrong because we are commanded to trust in Him completely to guide our lives! Psalm 37:3-6 and Jeremiah 29:11 read;

"Trust in the Lord, and do good;
dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him, and he will act.
He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your justice as the noonday."

"For I know the plans I have for you says the LORD. 

Plans to prosper you and not to harm you.  

Plans to give you a hope and a future."

God never wants us to suffer. But because of sin, sometimes we have to go through troubles and misfortunes in order to learn and grow. Do you notice that for some people it takes hitting "rock bottom" for them to humble themselves and submit to God? This is why we deal with tough times, so that we may build patience and see how difficult life really is without God!

We should go through our difficulties with our head held high, putting our complete trust in God. He knows what He's doing although our emotions and fears make it seem differently! 


By making God your number one priority in life and consulting with Him about every aspect of your life, your confidence in Him will increase. Live a righteous life and soon you will start seeing the blessings of God fill your life!

"Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place-

the Most High, who is my refuge-

no evil shall be allowed to befall you,
no plague come near your tent.

For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways.
On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.
You will tread on the lion and the adder;
the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.

Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;
I will protect him, because he knows my name.
When he calls to me, I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation." 
(Psalm 91)

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He is God Almighty

Isaiah 9:6 -- For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 7:14 -- Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel (Prophecy).

Matthew 1:23-- "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"-- which means, "God with us" (Isaiah 7:14 prophecy fulfilled).

Isaiah 40:3 -- A voice of one calling: "In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God (Prophecy).

John 1:23--John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, "I am the voice of one calling in the desert, 'Make straight the way for the Lord'" (Isaiah 40:3 prophecy fulfilled).

 

Isaiah 45:23 -- Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear (Prophecy).

Philippians 2:9-11 -- Prophecy fulfilled: Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Isaiah 45:23 prophecy referring to Jesus).

Isaiah 44:6--Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.

Isaiah 48:12--Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.

Revelation 22:13, 16-- I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

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Suffering for Christ's Sake: it's not in Vain

Sometimes when I experience hardships, pain, sadness and struggles, I find myself asking God, "Why?". Of course this is a silly question to ask  an all-knowing God, because He knows what He's doing. He knows the end from the beginning, and He wants only the best for us.  

Here are some encouraging passages that prove without a doubt that everything you do for the Lord will not go in vain. We should rejoice in our sufferings. 

"Therefore, my beloved brothers, be you steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." 

~1 Corinthians 15:58

"Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted." 

~Matthew 5:4

"For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds by Christ." 

~2 Corinthians 1:5

"So then, those who suffer according to God's will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good." 

~1 Peter 4:19

"For it is better, if the will of God be so, that you suffer for well doing, than for evil doing." 

~1 Peter 3:17

And my favorite!:

"You have said, ‘ It is useless to serve God; What profit is it that we have kept His ordinance,

      And that we have walked as mourners

      Before the LORD of hosts?

        So now we call the proud blessed,

      For those who do wickedness are raised up;

      They even tempt God and go free.’” 

     Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, And the LORD listened and heard them; So a book of remembrance was written before Him 

      For those who fear the LORD 

      And who meditate on His name.

        “They shall be Mine,” says the LORD of hosts,

      “On the day that I make them My jewels.

      And I will spare them 

      As a man spares his own son who serves him.”

        Then you shall again discern

      Between the righteous and the wicked,

      Between one who serves God

      And one who does not serve Him."

~Malachi 3:14-18

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