New day greetings, dear family of faith!!! As I reflect upon Father’s heart to me today, I am reminded by the Holy Spirit of our Father’s Word about His covenant of peace that is ours through our faith in Christ Jesus:
“Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed.” says the LORD, who has compassion on you.”
Isaiah 54:10
This is a promise of the Old Testament that was the forerunner to the covenant of peace or grace that was fulfilled in Christ Jesus going to the cross so that all who believe in Him can have reconciliation with our holy God who has no part of sin. However, through Christ as a substitute sacrifice in the place of all humankind, our wages for sin that is death was paid in full by Jesus who took our penalty for sin brought on to us by the devil in the Garden of Eden as talked about in the book of Genesis. At that point in time, our Father promised a Savior to us with these strong words to the devil/serpent who tempted Adam and Eve to sin and question the truth and faithfulness of God to us as His people:
“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head and you will strike his heel.”
Genesis 3:15
There are 300 Biblical prophecies in the Old Testament written over thousands of years that pointed the way to the coming of the Savior as God promised in the Garden of Eden and history shows that Jesus Christ fulfilled every single one of them as God became a man and went to the cross in our place out of His compassion for us and His desire for us to have peace with Him and be His kingdom family forever!!! His Word says:
“For God so loved the world that He gave His One and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.”
John 3:16
Our Father’s Word tells us that the test of a true prophet is that what they prophecy comes true and one of the Old Testament prophets that spoke of the Jesus being born as God is here:
“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 9:6
Many who watched for the coming of the Savior recognized Jesus by what was happening in the reality of life before them that was prophesied about the promised Messiah or Savior. One such man was Simeon who is described in Luke 2 as a “righteous and devout man looking for the consolation of Israel and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to carry out for Him the custom of the Law, then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said, “Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace, “According to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation, Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, “A LIGHT OF REVELATION TO THE GENTILES, And the glory of Your people Israel.”
John the Baptist, a cousin in the family of line to Jesus who was said to be a forerunner telling the world of the coming of the Messiah recognized Jesus as the Messiah when he baptized Him and he said of Jesus:
“Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, “A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.” I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel. Then John gave this testimony: “I see the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, “The man on whom you see the Sprit come down and remain is the one who will baptist with the Holy Spirit.” I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”
John 1:29-34
Many saw Jesus go to the cross, be buried and walking among them in resurrected life along with many other infallible proofs of His resurrection. His body has never been found dead as He said would happen and was prophesized in Isaiah 53. Jesus told the religious leaders wanting to destroy Him that if they destroyed His temple (His body) that He would raise it up again in three days and that He did!!! Many have since then been moved and anointed by the Holy Spirit to share His teachings, one of which was His disciple John who wrote the last book of the Bible called Revelation. In the last chapter of the book, there is great warning that nobody should ever write what is contrary to the Book of Revelation that speaks of Jesus as our Savior from sin and death and that through Him, we have reconciliation and peace with God and forever life in His kingdom as His people of faith. Through faith we are the children of God as this song says here!!! Therefore, whenever people since that time write or tell of God, perhaps claiming to be modern-day prophets, it is important that they meet the tests of a true prophet:
- What they prophecy comes true. (Deuteronomy 18;20-21)
- You will know them by their fruit. (Matthew 7:16-20) What they share is not contrary to our Father’s covenant of peace in Christ Jesus. If someone says Jesus was not sufficient as a sacrifice for our sins and that we must work our way into heaven and God’s acceptance, turn around and run the other way for there are false prophets in the world and much of Jesus’ ministry on earth was in warning about them when He walked the earth:
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.”
(Matthew 7:15)
For example: since Jesus’ time, here are a couple of men who have called themselves prophets and a link to some questions about their teachings compared to the teachings of Christ and God’s covenant of peace that He said would never be removed:
Mohammad’s teachings compared to Christ’s:
http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/pages/articles/jesus-muhammad.aspx
Joseph Smith’s teachings compared to Christ’s:
https://www.namb.net/apologetics/comparison-chart-mormonism-and-christianity
These things are important to ponder now as opposed to waiting until too late for they could be the difference between life and death, and the difference between what is of this world and of heaven, the kingdom of God. Everyone has their own choice, but as for me, I’m a gal convinced of Jesus as He has said of Himself in what is recorded of His teachings:
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
God promised a covenant of peace and freedom from the Old Testament Law. He is our Savior – our salvation in Christ Jesus to all who believe in Him:
“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
John 8:36
As King David wrote in the Psalms thousands of years ago:
“Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.”
Psalm 68:19
When considering all the prophets…considering their teaching and the consistency with the Bible that was written over thousands of years, by many different authors on several different continents, but all is consistent in telling one story – the redemption of humankind from the wages of their sin into a peaceful reconciled forever love relationship with our holy righteous God by God Himself as our Father and Savior. Through faith in Him, we are the children of God. Oh that all just makes me smile and celebrating being set free forever by Jesus’ unfailing, unconditional love!!! His promise to us is “never will I leave you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)
“Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation–if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven and of which, I, Paul, (Apostle Paul) have become a servant.”
Colossians 1:21-23
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.”
Romans 8:1
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