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Tag: Jesus Christ

Love of Christ

Written by LWOM Amsterdam on . Posted in The Relationships of Jesus, What’s new?.

What is the love of Christ?

The phrase “love of Christ,” as opposed to “love for Christ,” refers to the love that He has toward mankind. His love can be briefly stated as His willingness to act in our best interest, especially in meeting our greatest need, even though it cost Him everything and even though we were the least worthy of such love.

Though Christ Jesus, being God in nature, existed from the beginning of time with God the Father (John 1:1) and the Holy Spirit, He willingly left His throne (John 1:1-14) to become a man, that He might pay the penalty for our sin so that we would not have to pay for it for all eternity in the lake of fire (Revelation 20:11-15). Because mankind’s sin has been paid for by our sinless Savior Jesus Christ, God who is just and holy can now forgive our sins when we accept Christ Jesus’ payment as our own (Romans 3:21-26). Thus, Christ’s love is shown in His leaving His home in heaven, where He was worshiped and honored as He deserved, to come to earth as a man where He would be mocked, betrayed, beaten, and crucified on a cross to pay the penalty for our sin, rising again from the dead on the third day. He considered our need of a Savior from our sin and its penalty as more important than His own comfort and life (Philippians 2:3-8).

Sometimes people may give their lives willingly for ones they deem as worthy—a friend, a relative, other “good” people—but Christ’s love goes beyond that. Christ’s love extends to those most unworthy of it. He willingly took the punishment of those who tortured Him, hated Him, rebelled against Him, and cared nothing about Him, those who were most undeserving of His love (Romans 5:6-8). He gave the most He could give for those who deserved it the least! Sacrifice, then, is the essence of godly love, called agape love. This is God-like love, not man-like love (Matthew 5:43-48).

This love which He demonstrated toward us on the cross is just the beginning. When we place our trust in Him as our Savior, He makes us God’s children, co-heirs with Him! He comes to dwell within us through His Holy Spirit, promising that He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5-6). Thus, we have a loving companion for life. And no matter what we go through, He is there, and His love is ever available to us (Romans 8:35). But as He rightfully reigns as a benevolent King in heaven, we need to give Him the position He deserves in our lives as well, that of Master and not merely companion. It is only then that we will experience life as He intended and live in the fullness of His love (John 10:10b).

Second coming Jesus Christ

Written by LWOM Amsterdam on . Posted in Events, What’s new?.

What is the Second Coming of Jesus Christ?

The second coming of Jesus Christ is the hope of believers that God is in control of all things, and is faithful to the promises and prophecies in His Word. In His first coming, Jesus Christ came to earth as a baby in a manger in Bethlehem, just as prophesied. Jesus fulfilled many of the prophecies of the Messiah during His birth, life, ministry, death, and resurrection. However, there are some prophecies regarding the Messiah that Jesus has not yet fulfilled. The second coming of Christ will be the return of Christ to fulfill these remaining prophecies. In His first coming, Jesus was the suffering Servant. In His second coming, Jesus will be the conquering King. In His first coming, Jesus arrived in the most humble of circumstances. In His second coming, Jesus will arrive with the armies of heaven at His side.

The Old Testament prophets did not make clearly this distinction between the two comings. This can be seen in Isaiah 7:14, 9:6-7 and Zechariah 14:4. As a result of the prophecies seeming to speak of two individuals, many Jewish scholars believed there would be both a suffering Messiah and a conquering Messiah. What they failed to understand is that there is only one Messiah and He would fulfill both roles. Jesus fulfilled the role of the suffering servant (Isaiah chapter 53) in His first coming. Jesus will fulfill the role of Israel’s deliverer and King in His second coming. Zechariah 12:10 and Revelation 1:7, describing the second coming, look back to Jesus being pierced. Israel, and the whole world, will mourn for not having accepted the Messiah the first time He came.

After Jesus ascended into heaven, the angels declared to the apostles, “‘Men of Galilee,’ they said, ‘why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven’” (Acts 1:11). Zechariah 14:4 identifies the location of the second coming as the Mount of Olives. Matthew 24:30 declares, “At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.” Titus 2:13 describes the second coming as a “glorious appearing.”

The second coming is spoken of in greatest detail in Revelation 19:11-16, “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. ‘He will rule them with an iron scepter.’ He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”

Truly you are the Son of God

Written by LWOM Amsterdam on . Posted in The Ministry of Jesus, What’s new?.

Why did the disciples say, “Truly you are the Son of God” after He calmed the storm in (Matthew 14:33)?

Throughout His ministry, Jesus revealed His deity by His actions. He healed many people with diseases (Matthew 8:14–17), He calmed a raging storm (Matthew 8:23–27), and He expelled demons (Matthew 8:28–34). After feeding the 5,000, Jesus calms another storm. In response, the disciples exclaim, “Truly you are the Son of God” and worship Him (Matthew 14:33). Jesus’ actions reveal He is truly the Son of God, and the disciples respond accordingly. Recognizing Jesus for who He is leads to a life of faith and worship.

After the miraculous feeding of the 5,000, Jesus sends the disciples away by boat while He goes to pray (Matthew 14:22–33). Throughout the night, the wind and waves rage, and the boat was “buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it” (verse 24). Shortly before dawn, Jesus walks to the disciples on the water. Mistaking Him for a ghost, the disciples are terrified. Even though the disciples had been with Jesus throughout His ministry, they do not recognize Him. There are times when we, too, fail to recognize the Lord’s presence in the midst of our storms, though He is right there with us. Fear clouds our vision, whereas trusting in Him leads to peace. Isaiah 26:3 tells us that He “will keep in perfect peace all who trust in [Him], all whose thoughts are fixed on [Him]!” (NLT).

Fear also heightens our attention to our circumstances rather than increasing our trust in the God who is in control. After Jesus assures the disciples it is He and not a ghost, Peter walks to Jesus on the water and is able to do so until he becomes fearful of the wind and starts sinking (Matthew 14:30). When we focus on our circumstances instead of trusting in God, we, too, become overwhelmed by what we see. Jesus is the One who calms the storm. Jesus takes Peter by the hand, and they climb into the boat. Seeing the storm calm when Jesus enters the boat, the disciples respond by worshiping Him and saying, “Truly you are the Son of God” (verse 33). When we recognize Jesus for who He is, the proper response is worship—acknowledging God in all His power and glory—and praise—joyfully recounting what He has done.

On a previous occasion, the disciples had seen Jesus calm a storm (Matthew 8:23–27). At that time, they were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!” (Matthew 8:27). This time, the disciples know that Jesus is not a mere man, and they exclaim, “Truly you are the Son of God” (Matthew 14:33). This declaration reveals that the disciples had grown in their faith to realize that Jesus is truly God. His actions revealed His identity. Only God could walk on water, and only God could make the wind and waves obey Him. This is the first time of many that the disciples address Jesus as the Son of God (Matthew 16:16; 26:63; 27:40, 43, 54). In calling Jesus the “Son of God,” the disciples were acknowledging His deity; the designation Son of God was a way of saying Jesus possessed the same nature as God.

Jesus is truly the Son of God. He is God Almighty over the wind and waves and over the storms of our lives. Our response to Jesus should match that of the disciples: trusting in Him, praising Him for who He is, and worshiping Him with our lives. When our focus is on Jesus and not on our circumstances, we can say, “Truly you are the Son of God,” just as the disciples did after He calmed the storm.

Jesus our mediator

Written by LWOM Amsterdam on . Posted in What’s new?.

What does it mean that Jesus is our mediator?

A mediator is one who mediates, that is, one who acts as an intermediary to work with opposing sides in order to bring about a settlement. A mediator attempts to influence a disagreement between two parties with the goal of resolving a dispute. There is only one Mediator between mankind and God, and that is Jesus Christ. In this article, we’ll see why God has a dispute with us, why Jesus is our mediator, and why we are doomed if we try to represent ourselves alone before God.

God has a dispute with us because of sin. Sin is described in the Bible as transgression of the law of God (1 John 3:4) and rebellion against God (Deuteronomy 9:7; Joshua 1:18). God hates sin, and sin stands between all of us and Him. “There is no one righteous, not even one” (Romans 3:10). All human beings are sinners by virtue of sin we have inherited from Adam, as well as the sin we commit on a daily basis. The only just penalty for this sin is death (Romans 6:23), not only physical death but eternal death (Revelation 20:11–15). The rightful punishment for sin is an eternity in hell.

Nothing we could do on our own would be sufficient to mediate between ourselves and God. No amount of good works or law-keeping makes us righteous enough to stand before a holy God (Isaiah 64:6; Romans 3:20; Galatians 2:16). Without a mediator, we are destined to spend eternity in hell, for by ourselves salvation from our sin is impossible. Yet there is hope! “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5). Jesus represents those who have placed their trust in Him before God’s throne of grace. He mediates for us, much as a defense attorney mediates for his client, telling the judge, “Your honor, my client is innocent of all charges against him.” That is true for us also. Some day we will face God, but we will do so as totally forgiven sinners because of Jesus’ death on our behalf. The “Defense Attorney” took the penalty for us!

We see more proof of this comforting truth in Hebrews 9:15: “For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that He has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.” It is because of the great Mediator that we are able to stand before God clothed in the righteousness of Christ Himself. On the cross Jesus exchanged our sin for His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). His mediation is the only means of salvation.

The woman at the well

Written by LWOM Amsterdam on . Posted in What’s new?.

The woman of Samaria (the Woman at the Well)

Samaritan woman at the well

Jesus and The woman of Samaria (the Samaritan Woman) at the Well.

The woman of Samaria

The woman of Samaria or the Samaritan woman at the well is a figure from the Gospel of John. John 4:4–42 relates her conversation with Jesus at Jacob’s Well near the city of Sychar in Samaria.

Jesus

Written by LWOM Amsterdam on . Posted in What’s new?.

Jesus

Jesus (c. 6 to 4 BC – AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus of Galilee, Son of GOD and several other names and titles.

Who is Jesus Christ?

Written by LWOM Amsterdam on .

Who is Jesus Christ?

The question of whether Jesus Christ existed alongside “Does God exist?” is asked by relatively few people. Most accept that Jesus was truly a man who lived in Israel a little more than 2,000 years ago. Almost all major religions teaches that Jesus was a prophet or a good teacher or a godly man. But the Bible tells us that Jesus was infinitely more than a prophet, a good teacher, or a godly man. (Editing~)

Mary and Martha

Written by LWOM Amsterdam on . Posted in What’s new?.

Jesus, Mary and Martha

At the Home of Martha and Mary

The Bible Story of Mary and Martha comes from Chapter 10 of the Gospel of Luke. Mary and Martha, who are sisters, open their home to Jesus as he travels with his disciples. As Martha hurries to ensure the preparations, Mary simply sits at the feet of Jesus and listens to the wisdom of Christ.

In Luke 10:38-42, Martha works hard to welcome Jesus to her home. Her sister, Mary of Bethany, simply sits at his feet and listens. Both Mary and Martha serve, yet Mary understands the priority and necessity of choosing to abide with Christ.

What can we learn from Mary and Martha?

The story of Mary and Martha teaches us that we need to be both a Mary and a Martha. We need to keep our priorities in the right order. No matter how busy our lives are, we need to seek God first in everything that we do and then get busy with the million and one tasks that need urgent attention

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