Memo:
"You cannot save yourself
from your sins. If salvation is a gift, only through faith in
Christ, then to really understand what faith is, (versus mere
mental assent) now becomes the eternal factor in each person's
existence. God wants to adopt you into His family, through Christ, but
you must admit you are a sinner against a holy God, repent (change mind
& direction) receive Jesus and follow Him. Not church; life surrender
that trusts & obeys Jesus / God & His Word. He is the narrow gate. There
is no other way to life. It's good news, but you must turn, or
it's going to go very bad, with earth being as close to heaven as you
will get. Repent, and be baptized. Start your new life, in Jesus." -jz
"And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces;
but on whomever it
falls,
it will scatter him like dust." --Matt. 21:44
"But those who depend on the
law to make them right with God are under his curse, for the
Scriptures say, "Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey
all the commands that are written in God's Book of the Law."
--Galatians 3:10
Death w/out Jesus
"So I tried to understand why the wicked prosper. But what a difficult
task it is! Then I went into your sanctuary, O God, & I finally
understood the destiny of the wicked. Truly, you put them on a slippery
path & send them sliding over the cliff to destruction. In an instant
they are destroyed, completely swept away by terrors. When you arise, O
Lord, You will laugh @ their silly ideas as a person laughs@ dreams in
the morning." --Psalms 17:16-20
"This is a plain indication of God’s righteous judgment so that
you will be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which indeed
you are suffering. 6For
after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction those
who afflict you, 7and to
give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord
Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming
fire, 8dealing
out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not
obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9These
will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of
the Lord and from the glory of His power," --2 Thess. 1:5-9
"Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world,
but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you
think.
Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and
pleasing and perfect." --Romans 12:2 NLT
45Then
David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, a spear,
and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORDof
hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted.46“This
day the LORDwill
deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove
your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of
the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts
of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in
Israel,47and
that all this assembly may know that the LORDdoes
not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the LORD’Sand
He will give you into our hands.” 48Then
it happened when the Philistine rose and came and drew near to meet
David, that David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the
Philistine.49And
David put his hand into his bag and took from it a stone and slungit,and
struck the Philistine on his forehead. And the stone sank into his
forehead, so that he fell on his face to the ground. 50Thus
David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and he
struck the Philistine and killed him; but there was no sword in
David’s hand.51Then
David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and drew
it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it.
When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.
-- 1 Samuel 17
"In the past God
overlooked such ignorance, but now He commands all people
everywhere to repent. For He has set a day when He will judge
the world with justice by the man He has appointed. He has
given proof of this to all men by raising Him from the dead.”
--Acts 17:30,31
1. Have you
ever lied, once, in your life? Guilty or innocent?
2. Have you ever lusted for another person? Guilty or
innocent?
These are
just two of the 10 Commandments. If one is broken, the
lawbreaker is guilty of breaking all of the law, according to
the book of James.
"For whoever
keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has
become guilty of all." -- James 2:10
God's law, when
broken, requires payment. The wage for sin is death, in
God's court. Who will pay your penalty? If it's you, you will
be condemned to hell, because...to say you are without sin is
to not have the truth within you. If it's Jesus that is
your payment, the pardon is only available for those that
surrender to Him, as Lord...calling upon Him to save them.
Which path will you take? Heaven, or hell? God is
not willing that any should perish, but that all would come to
repentance. This is a complete U-TURN and surrender; not
mere mental assent. Even demons believe...and shudder.
"And
as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the
judgment:" -- Hebrews 9:27
While He was
still speaking to the crowds, behold, His mother and brothers
were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him. 47Someone said
to Him, “Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing
outside seeking to speak to You.” But Jesus answered the
one who was telling Him and said, “Who is My mother and who
are My brothers?” And stretching out His hand toward His
disciples, He said, “Behold My mother and My brothers! “For
whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My
brother and sister and mother.”
(Matt
12:46-50)
c
While Jesus was saying these things, one of the women in the
crowd raised her voice and said to Him,
“Blessed is the womb that bore You and the breasts at which You
nursed.” But He said, “On the contrary, blessed are those
who
hear the word of God and observe it.”
(Luke 11:27-28)
"The Lord is not slow about His promise, as
some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing
for any to perish but
for all to come to repentance."
(2 Peter 3:9)
"Come now, and
let us reason together," Says the LORD, "Though your sins are
as scarlet, They will be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool."
(Isaiah 1:18)
"The natural
person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for
they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them
because they are spiritually discerned." (1
Corinthians 2:14)
"O LORD, You have
brought up my soul from Sheol;
You have kept me alive, that I would not go down to the pit."
(Psalms 30:3)
"And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who
comes to God must believe
that He is and that He is a rewarder of
those
who seek Him."
(Heb. 11:6)
"All that
the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I
will
certainly not cast out."
(John 6:37)
"For whoever
is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful
generation, the Son of Man
will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His
Father with the holy angels."
(Mark 8:38)
"He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son
of God does not have the life."
(1 John 5:12)
"He
who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not
gather with Me scatters."
(Matt 12:30)
"The wicked in his proud countenance does
not seek God; God is in none of his thoughts."
(Psalms 10:4)
"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all
ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in
unrighteousness,
because that which is known about God is evident within them;
for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of
the world His
invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have
been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made,
so that they
are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they
did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile
in their speculations,
and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be
wise, they became fools,"
(Romans 1:18-22)
"You
adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is
hostility toward God?
Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes
himself an enemy of God."
(James 4:4)
"Like water
spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must
die. But God does not take away life;
instead, He devises ways so that a banished person may not
remain estranged from Him." (2 Samuel 14:14)
Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, I
say to you,
unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."
(John 3:3)
"The person who says, "I have come to know Him," but does not
continually keep His commandments is a liar,
and the truth has no place in that person." (1 John 2:4)
"Truly I say to you, unless you are converted
and become
like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven."
(Matt. 18:3)
"The *law of the LORD is perfect, **converting the soul: the
testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple."
(Psalms 19:7)
**The word "converting" also could be translated "reviving,"
"restoring," or "transforming."
"How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the
wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His *law he meditates day and night."
(Psalms 1)
*
"Law" above, in Hebrew, refers to Holy
Scripture; the Bible. So... "Blessed (e.g. 'O, how
happy') is the
person that meditates on Scripture day and night."
"Call to
Me and
I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things
that you have not known." (Jeremiah 33:3)
"They divide my garments among them, And for my clothing
they cast lots."
(Psalm
22:18) ------
written 1,000 years before the birth of Christ
"Do not be
deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this
he will also reap. For the one who sows to his
own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one
who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal
life."
(Gal: 7-8)
"As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants
for You, O God."
-
(Psalms 41:2)
"He who
conceals his transgressions will not prosper, But he who
confesses and forsakes them will find compassion."
(Proverbs 28:13)
“For behold, the
day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and
every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will
set them ablaze,” says the LORD of hosts, “so that it will leave
them neither root nor branch.” 2 “But for you who fear My name,
the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings;
and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall.
3 “You will tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under
the soles of your feet on the day which I am preparing,” says
the LORD of hosts.
(Malachi 4:1-3)
How Tradition Says the Apostles Died
"The men that crashed jet planes into the World
Trade Centers believed they were dying for something 'true'. They died for
a lie, but nevertheless, they did it because they thought it was true.
That is understandable. What wouldn't make sense though, is if the
Apostles of Jesus died for what they knew to be a 'lie', which was seeing Jesus
after he was raised from the dead. Therefore, one must consider these
deaths and ponder, is Jesus alive and reigning today, and coming back, as He
said He would? Yes, He is. The Kingdom of God is at hand. The
question is, are we ready to stand before Him? Have we been born again?"
-jz
"He is not a
fool who gives what he
cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose." Jim Elliot, Martyred Missionary
Apostle
Where died
When died
Manner of Death
Peter
(Simon Peter, Bible writer)
Rome, Italy (Nero)
54-68AD
Homicide: crucified head down, at his own request
Andrew
(son of a John & brother of Peter - Matthew 4:18)
Edessa, Greece
?AD
Homicide: severely scourged & tied by ropes on x-shaped cross
where he hung 2 days to expire
James, (son of Zebedee & Salome and elder bro. of John - not bro. of Jesus - the Bible writer)
Jerusalem, Israel (Herod)
44 AD (the 1st martyred)
Homicide: beheaded with sword; Mark 10:39 & Acts 12:1-2
John, (son of Zebedee and bro. of James; Bible writer)
Ephesus, Turkey or Turkish Isle of Patmos
98 AD
thrown in boiling oil but unharmed;
died of Natural causes
in Ephesus
Philip of Bethsaida
Hieropolis, Syria
Homicide: crucified
Bartholomew
(Nathaniel)
India or Armenia
Homicide: beaten/flayed, and crucified head down
Thomas
(Didymus)
Edessa, Greece
Homicide: lanced by idolatrous priests &
burned up in an oven
Matthew
(Levi;, of Capernaum the Bible writer)
Nadabah, Ethiopia
about 60AD
Homicide: axed to death with a halberd
James
(son of Alphaeus; Bible writer, half bro. of Jesus)
Jerusalem, Israel
AD66
Homicide: thrown down from the Temple tower & not
dead so clubbed to death with a fullers club at age 94
Jude (Thaddaeus...Judas Lebbaeus, half bro. of Jesus)
Edessa, Greece
AD72
Homicide: crucified
Simon the Zealot (the Canaanite)
Brittainnia, Europe
Homicide: crucified
Judas Iscariot
Jerusalem, Israel
Suicide: by hanging Matt. 27:5
Matthias (the 11 remaining Apostles chose him to replace Judas)
