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JoeA
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Joined: 2004/11/29
Posts: 364
Decatur, Illinois

 Jesus

There is alot debating about what God thinks, and alot of talk about what we need to do for revival. But where is all the talk about Jesus Christ Himself? Is not He our Source for all things? Why not kick off our theological shoes for awhile, and just glory in the Lord? Let's exalt Him. As He said "If I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto me."

I want to share this article of Andrew Murray's.

[b]Jesus' Surrender Of Himself[/b]

"Christ also loved the Church, and gave Himself for it; that He might sanctify and cleanse it; that He might present it to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle; but that it should be holy and without blemish" Ephesians 5:25-27.

Jesus' work for the sinner was so great and wonderful that it was necessary for Him to give Himself on the cross for that work. Jesus' love for us was so great and wonderful that He actually gave Himself for us and to us. Jesus' surrender is so great and wonderful that all which He gave Himself for can be truly and entirely ours. For Jesus, the Holy, the Almighty, has taken it upon Himself to do it. He gave Himself for us. And now the one necessary thing is that we should rightly understand and firmly believe in His surrender for us.

To what end, then, was it that He gave Himself for the Church? Hear what God says. The aim of Jesus is that He might sanctify the Church so that it would be without blemish. He will attain His aim in the soul as long as the soul falls into His will, makes His will its most important consideration, and relies on Jesus' surrender of Himself to do so.

Hear this word of God, "Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a people for His own possession, zealous of good works" (Titus 2:14). Jesus gave Himself in order to prepare for Himself a pure people, a people of His own, a zealous people. When I receive Him, and when I believe that He gave Himself for me, I will certainly experience it. I will be purified through Him. I will be held securely as His possession and be filled with zeal and joy to work for Him.

And notice how the operation of this surrender of Himself will result in His having us entirely for Himself--"that He might present us to Himself," "that He might purify us to Himself, a people of His own." The more I understand and contemplate Jesus' surrender of Himself for me, the more I give myself again to Him. The surrender is a mutual one--the love comes from both sides. His giving of Himself makes such an impression on my heart, that my heart, with the self-same love and joy, becomes entirely His. Through giving Himself to me, He takes possession of me. He becomes mine and I become His. I know that I have Jesus wholly for me, and that He has me wholly for Himself.

And how do I come to the full enjoyment of this blessed life? "I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20). Through faith, I reflect on and contemplate His surrender to me as sure and glorious. Through faith, I believe it. Through faith, I trust in Jesus to confirm this surrender, to communicate Himself to me, and to reveal Himself within me. Through faith, I await--with certainty-for the full experience of salvation which comes from having Jesus as mine, to do all for me. Through faith, I live in Jesus who loved me and gave Himself for me. And I say, "No longer do I live, but Christ liveth in me" (Galatians 2:20). Christian, please believe with your whole heart that Jesus gives Himself for you. He is wholly yours. He will do all for you.

Lord Jesus, what wonderful grace is this, that You gave Yourself for me. In You there is eternal life. You are the life, and You give Yourself to be all that I need in my life. You purify me, sanctify me, and make me zealous in good works. You take me wholly for Yourself and give Yourself wholly for me. Yes, my Lord, in all You are my life. Make me rightly understand this. Amen.


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Joe Auvil

 2006/10/18 23:57Profile
JoeA
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Joined: 2004/11/29
Posts: 364
Decatur, Illinois

 Power of the Blood of Jesus

[b]Power of the Blood of Jesus by Andrew Murray[/b]

What is it that gives to the blood of Jesus such power? How is it that in the blood, alone, there is power possessed by nothing else?

The answer to this question is found in Leviticus 17:11, 14. "The life of the flesh is in the blood"; and "I have give it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes an atonement for the soul."

It is because the soul, or life, is in the blood; and that the blood is offered to God on the altar, that it has in it redemptive power.

The soul or life is in the blood, therefore the value of the blood corresponds to the value of the life that is in it.

. . . The life of man is more valuable than that of many sheep or oxen.

And now who can tell the value or the power of the blood of Jesus? In that blood, dwelt the soul of the holy Son of God.

The eternal life of the Godhead was carried in that blood (Acts 20:28).

The power of that blood in its divers effects is nothing less than the eternal power of God Himself. . . . it is offered to God on the altar for redemption.

When we think of blood as shed, we think of death; death follows, when the blood or the soul is poured out. Death makes us think of sin, for death is the punishment of sin. God gave Israel the blood on the altar, as the atonement or covering for sin; that means--the sins of the transgressors were laid on the victim, and its death was reckoned as the death or punishment for the sins laid upon it.

The blood was thus the life given up to death for the satisfaction of the law of God, and in obedience to His command. Sin was so entirely covered and atoned for, it was no longer reckoned as that of the transgressor. He was forgiven.

But all these sacrifices and offerings were only types, and shadows, till the Lord Jesus came. His blood was the reality to which these types pointed.

His blood was in itself of infinite value, because it carried His soul or life. But the atoning virtue of His blood was infinite also, because of the manner in which it was shed. In holy obedience to the Father's will He subjected Himself to the penalty of the broken law, by pouring out His soul unto death. By that death, not only was the penalty borne, but the law was satisfied, and the Father glorified. His blood atoned for sin, and thus made it powerless. It has a marvelous power for removing sin, and opening heaven for the sinner; whom it cleanses, and sanctifies, and makes meet for heaven (The Power of the Blood of Jesus, pp. 18-20).

This is My blood of the covenant, which is to be shed on behalf of many for forgiveness of sins (Matthew 26:28).


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Joe Auvil

 2006/10/19 23:22Profile
JoeA
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Joined: 2004/11/29
Posts: 364
Decatur, Illinois

 How Did Jesus Work?

[b]How Did Jesus Work? by Charles Price[/b]

. . . In each statement He is saying it was the activity of the Father that made His work what it was. ". . . . It is the Father living in Me, who is doing His work" (John 14:10). The explanation for all that Jesus was and did was the Father "living in Me, and who is doing His work." Jesus fulfilled His role as a Man on the understanding that God's presence and activity was indispensable to being a true man.

. . . . Man has been created in such a way that his ability to be what man is intended to be is the presence of God within him and the power of God released through him. Man is no more capable of functioning in independence of God than a light bulb is in independence of electricity. . . Hence, the Lord Jesus Christ said to His disciples: "Apart from Me you can do nothing." That is why, living as a Man, Jesus had to say: "The Son can do nothing by Himself." As we are brought back into a relationship with God, we receive by His presence within us all that we need to be what human beings were intended to be. We become like bulbs connected to the electric current, and the purpose of our creation can be restored. Therefore, if apart from God we can do nothing, the presence and work of God makes something inevitable, "For nothing is impossible with God" (Luke 1:37).

To be indwelt by God, giving Him the freedom to be at work in us and through us, makes "nothing" an impossibility. Before, it was impossible to do anything, now it is impossible to do nothing! . . . Outside of God, "nothing" is inevitable, but in a true and functioning relationship with God, "nothing" is impossible. Our lives inevitably accomplish nothing, or it becomes impossible to accomplish nothing.

It is wonderful to know that having been forgiven of our sin, being indwelt by God and giving Him the freedom to direct our lives, give us our orders, and empowers us by His Spirit, we now spend our time knowing that nothing is impossible! God is doing something, our lives do have significance, and things are being accomplished that are of eternal value. If Jesus could say, "Apart from Me you can do nothing," the apostle Paul later wrote, "I can do everything through Him who gives me strength" (Phil. 4:13). By "everything" he means . . . all God has planned and intends for him is possible in the strength of Jesus Christ. Outside of Christ, nothing is inevitable. At the end of time, we will stand before God with empty hands. In Christ, nothing is impossible. At the end of time we will stand full of gratitude for all that God has chosen to do. Are you living a life where nothing is inevitable, or are you enjoying the life where nothing is impossible? (Christ for Real, pp. 29-31).


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Joe Auvil

 2006/10/21 20:55Profile
JoeA
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Joined: 2004/11/29
Posts: 364
Decatur, Illinois

 Re: Looking to the Pierced One

[b]Looking to the Pierced One by Horatius Bonar[/b]

"They will look on me whom they have pierced and mourn for him as for an only son. They will grieve bitterly for him as for a firstborn son who has died. Zech. 12:10

Let us take up this passage under the following heads, which will bring out all its parts:
(1.) the pierced one;
(2.) the piercers;
(3.) the lookers;
(4.) the mourners.

I. THE PIERCED ONE. Messiah– the seed of the woman; the man with the bruised heel; he is the pierced one. It is He, Himself, who speaks. He was pierced by the nails and by the spear; by the nails to effect his death, by the spear to prove it; both of these, the exhibitions of man's hatred, before and after death. It is as the pierced one that we see him in the twenty-second Psalm and in the fifty-third of Isaiah; as such on the cross; as such in heaven, the Lamb slain. Divine yet human; human yet divine; both of these perfectly; human, that he might be pierced; divine, that his piercing might be efficacious. By his stripes we are healed.

II. THE PIERCERS. These in the first place are the Jews and the Romans, at the cross; Jew and Gentile uniting in this act, the Jew the planner and counselor, the Gentile the executioner. It was the united hatred of Jew and Gentile that did the deed. The crowd surrounding the cross, they are consenting and partaking– and all to whom the proclamation of this piercing comes, who do not come out from the crowd and protest against the deed by believing in the pierced one. In this way it is that all the world is guilty of the deed.

III. THE LOOKERS. In one sense the first piercers were lookers. They looked and pierced; they pierced and looked. But that looking wrought no change; they looked and hated only the more. Jew and Gentile then looked, but they remained the same. The lookers in our text are not those who surrounded the cross, but those who came afterwards, not looking at the actual cross, but listening to the story of the pierced one. How idly they talk who say, Had we seen the cross we should have been melted down!

At Pentecost we find these lookers; in many places, and times, and ages we find them; we find them still. In the latter day our text is to be more fully verified to Jew and Gentile, "Behold he comes with clouds, and every eye shall see him," that is, look upon him. The whole world shall be lookers then– "every eye." In our day we may say that it is by the ear we look; it is the record that brings the cross before the eye, and presents to us the pierced one. We preach the story of the cross and say, Look!

IV. THE MOURNERS. The actual piercers at the cross did not mourn; they railed and wagged their heads; the sight of the pierced one then produced only hatred and mockery. A man might see the cross and remain hardhearted. The cross and the crucifix in themselves can do nothing for a soul. Yet the pierced one is the object to which God turns our eye. It is of him that the Holy Spirit makes use in breaking the hard heart and binding up the broken one. He does not work except in connection with the cross of Christ. He uses the cross for producing godly sorrow. Mark,

1. The sorrow here referred to is VERY DEEP. It is like mourning for an only son; it is like the bitterness of soul for a first-born. It is not the sorrow of a moment or an hour, but prolonged; not surface-sorrow, but deep; not sentimentalism, but genuine grief– the grief of the whole man.

2. It is sorrow PRODUCED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT. His hand is in it, else we might look a thousand times over at the cross and remain unmoved. It is not the sorrow produced by pictures, or statues, or the sight of Sinai or Jerusalem, or harrowing descriptions, or sad poetry, or plaintive music, like the "Miserere" of Rome, or by the darkness of a gloomy chamber– these are artificial and mechanical ways of calling up apparent religious feeling; but it is only the sorrow of the world which works death, not godly sorrow working repentance unto life, nor is it even so deep as that of Judas when he said, "I have sinned." It is manmade conviction, if it is conviction at all, not the sorrow of the Holy Spirit.

3. It is sorrow FLOWING FROM LOOKING AT THE PIERCED ONE. We do not first mourn and then look; we look and mourn. Not the one without the other; and not the mourning before the looking. Many, in their self-righteousness, would first mourn, and then carry their mourning to God as a recommendation. But there is no genuine sorrow except that which flows directly from looking at the pierced one. What do we see in this pierced one that produces such a result?

(1.) We see INFINITE LOVE. This melts the heart and draws tears from the eyes. It is love that is bleeding on that cross.

(2.) We see OUR OWN REJECTION OF THAT LOVE. We have long been rejecters, despisers of it. Our years of rejection come up before us and fill us with bitterness. What, so long despise such love!

(3.) We see SUFFERING. It is suffering beyond all suffering of man. It is the suffering of love. The sufferer is love itself. He suffers because he loves. He loves and suffers!

(4.) We see that suffering CAUSED BY OURSELVES. We not only rejected the love, but we nailed the loving sufferer to the tree. This is sin; this is our sin. We are the murderers. We hated, mocked, nailed, slew. Oh, what sin is ours; and what must sin be! Yet hear his voice, "Look unto me, and be you saved!"


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Joe Auvil

 2006/10/24 2:30Profile
mamalluk
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Joined: 2006/10/21
Posts: 18


 Re:

Quote:
We see INFINITE LOVE



Yes, that Infinte Love = The Lord Jesus

JoeA, thanks for honoring the Lord by titling this thread to His Name and glory!

 2006/10/24 10:11Profile
JoeA
Member



Joined: 2004/11/29
Posts: 364
Decatur, Illinois

 Christ in the Book of Isaiah

[b]Christ in the Book of Isaiah[/b]

[i]"Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: [b]he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him[/b]." [/i] Isaiah 53:1, 2

When God became man, He didn't come with a mighty noise. He didn't come with a triumphal procession. He didn't even come in a palace. He came in a manger, the lowliest of the low. He came humbly and meekly: as a baby. All He had to announce His birth from the virgin's womb was a star to guide the way, and a message from the angel of the Lord. When mercy and truth met together, when righteousness and peace kissed each other, a new star was shining in the sky that night, and three wise men from the east followed it.

[b]This star can be likened to God.[/b]
In it we can see the brightness of God's glory. We can see the purity of His presence. We can see the fire of His being, "For our God is a consuming fire" (Heb 12:29). We can see that the Light of the world is shining.
[i]"That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world."[/i] John 1:9
He stepped down into darkness, and the darkness didn't know Him.
[i]"And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not."[/i] John 1:5
The Creator of the world stooped down to save His helpless creation, and they rejected Him!
[i]"He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.[/i] John 1:10
It says "Who hath believed our report?"
[i]"He came unto his own, and his own received him not."[/i] John 1:11
"And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?"
[i]"But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name."[/i] John 1:12
He came down for us. Think about it. HE came DOWN for US! That's why it is so wonderful. That is why salvation is so great. That is why salvation can only be aquired by believing on Him, because HE wants US!

[b]This star was a guiding light.[/b]
It led the way for the wise men to find the babe they were searching for. It almost seems foolish to leave your home in search of a King who hasn't yet been born. Yet they did, and the Bible calls them wise men. I like that saying "Wise men still seek Him". They knew that something was going to happen, something bigger than themselves, something more important than anything they had done, and they wanted to be there. When God moves, we ought to want a part of it. We ought to follow that Light that says "Look here. Here is your salvation. Here is your Redeemer. Here is your King". They left all they had because somehow they found out that God was coming down. Would we do the same? Would we forsake all for Him? Would we suffer shame and ridicule and persecution for Him? Have we? Is what we've suffered worthy to be compared with what others have suffered? And if it is, is it worthy to compared to what we've to gain? "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us" (Rom 8:18). Are we willing to leave all for Him. Let's take up our cross daily and follow the Lord Who died for us.

[b]The star was a beacon.[/b]
The Bible says when they saw the star they rejoiced. When they saw [i]the star[/i]. It brought them hope, and they believed, and what they believed came to pass. The King they sought was there. And He grew up, and He died for the sins of the world. The star that guided those wise men to Jesus is still shining today. If you follow it, you will find Him, and rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of Glory.

1 Peter 1:8 [i]"Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory."[/i]

Along with this shining star seen by the wise men, there were shpeherds abiding in the field, and the angel of the Lord appeared to them. This angel in all his heavenly spledor frightened the shepherds, yet he brought not a message of doom or wrath, but a glorious Divine message from the very throne of God.

[b]The angel's message was one of joy.[/b]
He said "I bring you good tidings of great joy". Notice first he says "I bring". This message was sent from God Himself. God heralding the birth of His Son into the world. He brought from God a message that was "good tidings of great joy". Not one of wrath, nor one of vengeance, but one of peace and restoration, and forgiveness. A message of hope! God has become man in order to satisfy His own wrath for sin! He doesn't want to take it out on you! What joy! What hope! What wonder! He didn't have to come, He wanted to! No one made Him come, He chose to! With a message of joy such as this, what right have we to be downcast about anything? What right have we to be upset about this or that? It happens yes, but when we realize the awesomeness of God's love for us, when we are "able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge" (Eph 3:18, 19), how can we stay down? That lifts me up to know how much God cares for me! Oh what a message of joy God has sent to us.

[b]The message was all-inclusive.[/b]
He said "I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be [b]to all people[/b]". Young old, male female, black, white, red, yellow, brown, orange, pink. All are included in this message, because God so loved the world. You see, God never likes to leave anyone out of anything. Even in the Old Testament when Gentiles were thought of as dogs and unclean, God promised that one day His Name would be great among the Gentiles. And it is! Thank God He saved us! Japheth is indeed dwelling in the tents of Shem, and all because of Christ's blood.

[i]"But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby."[/i] Ephesians 2:13-16

God wants everyone. Christ didn't die for some, He died for all. His blood was shed as the propitiation for all sins ever comitted, and all that are going to be comitted. All we have to do is grasp this precious truth by faith.

[b]It was a message of salvation.[/b]
He made it clear, that the child to be born is a Savior. Not a prosperer, not a warrior, but a Savior. Gabriel told Joseph to name the babe "Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins". That is what the Name Jesus means "The Lord our Savior". It can't be stated enough that God became a man in order to redeem us from iniquity. God's love and mercy are summed up in this one thing: God became man.

[i]"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."[/i] Philippians 2:5-8

[b]It was a message of assurance.[/b]

The angel said "Ye [i]shall[/i] find the babe". If you seek Him, you will find Him. If you thirst for Him, He will satisfy. If you want to be saved, He will save you! God is there. You need not look far, it is He Who calls you. You have nothing to lose but sin, death, and hell. Come to Christ today. "Ye shall find the babe"!

[i]"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it."[/i] Isaiah 1:18-20


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Joe Auvil

 2006/10/25 18:32Profile
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Joined: 2003/6/11
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 How Did Jesus Work?

Quote:
Hence, the Lord Jesus Christ said to His disciples: "Apart from Me you can do nothing." That is why, living as a Man, Jesus had to say: "The Son can do nothing by Himself."



It is a part of the nature of things that we never learn in a vital way by information. We really only come into the good of things by being "pressed out of measure". So the Lord has to take much time to make spiritual history. When at length our eyes are open, we cry, O, why did I not see it before! But everything else had to prove insufficient before we could really be shown, and that takes time. Thus it was that we were turned in that dark hour to Romans chapter six, and, almost as though He spoke in audible language, the Lord said: ‘When I died, you died. When I went to the Cross I not only took your sins, but I took [i]you[/i]. When I took you, I not only took you as the sinner that you might regard yourself to be, but I took you as being all that you are by nature; your good (?) as your bad; your abilities as well as your disabilities; yes, every resource of yours. I took you as a "worker", a "preacher", an organizer! My Cross means that [i]not even for Me can you be or do anything out from yourself[/i], but if there is to be anything at all it must be out from Me, and that means a life of absolute dependence and faith.’

At this point, therefore, we awoke to the fundamental principle of our Lord's own life while here, and it became the law of everything for us from that time. That principle was: "nothing of (out from) Himself", but "all things of (out from) God".

[i]The Son can do nothing of (out from) Himself, but what He seeth the Father doing: for what things soever He doeth, then the Son also doeth in like manner'[/i] (John 5:19).

[i]"I can of Myself do nothing: as I hear judge"[/i] (John 5:30).

[i]"My teaching is not Mine, but His that sent Me"[/i] (John 7:16).

We saw that this explains so many strange and - naturally - perplexing things in His behavior: acting and refusing to act; going and refusing to go; speaking and refusing to speak. Later, we came to see that this is the whole meaning of life in the Spirit, and that it is an altogether different life from the natural ways of men, even of Christian men ([i]more on this later[/i]). At the time of this seeing, it was a matter of this law becoming basic, absolute, and ultimate, and it was something totally different from what had been in all our ideas and activities in Christian life and work.

Such a revelation, if it is to be a staggering and breaking thing, so that there is no strength left in us, requires a background of much vain effort. But then, it carries with it a great implication. While an end is written large in the Cross, and while that end is to be accepted as [i]our[/i] end indeed, so that there [i]can[/i] be no more of [i]anything[/i] so far as we are concerned, Jesus Lives! and that means boundless possibilities.

T. Austin Sparks
[url=http://www.austin-sparks.net/english/000535.html]Explanation of the Nature and History of "This Ministry"[/url]


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Mike Balog

 2006/10/26 9:09Profile
JoeA
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Joined: 2004/11/29
Posts: 364
Decatur, Illinois

 Re: How Did Jesus Work?

I've been musing that the Lord is not just some crutch that we lean on as many in the world assume. He is not some crutch that we lean on when we're hurt. He is a gurney that we lay on because (as one brother helped point out to me) we're dead.

Take the focus off for one second, and self begins to take over. I've experienced it first hand recently (despite talking much about Christ living in us). This truly goes to show that without Him WE CAN DO NOTHING.

It was Roy Daniel who said "It's no good to talk Jesus if you don't walk Jesus."

"That in all things He might have the preeminence." Colossians 1:18


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Joe Auvil

 2006/10/26 12:35Profile
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Joined: 2003/6/11
Posts: 9192
Santa Clara, CA

 Re: How Did Jesus Work?

Quote:
Take the focus off for one second, and self begins to take over.


Absoulutely true.

[i]O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.[/i] Jer 10:23


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Mike Balog

 2006/10/26 16:38Profile
deltadom
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Joined: 2005/1/6
Posts: 2359
Hemel Hempstead

 Re:

I do think Jesus should be the centre !!! I always like Charles SPurgeons Quote that when you are doing a sermon that you should go over every high road and low road and every ditch until you find a path to jesus and like London has roads coming to it from all directions , Scripture has paths leading to jesus from every part!!
I need Jesus , I need a new bible as I have given my last one away, I need him so bad !!!
Dom


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Dominic Shiells

 2006/10/26 19:45Profile





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