I Love You

The poem that follows was written by my wife when my oldest Grandson was living with us.  She used it to illustrate not only her love for him, but also God's love for us.  It comes with hand gestures which the little children love and appreciate.  Simple. Profound. Memorable. True.


Love you more than the mountains of the moon
and the stars in the sky
The earth and the planets
and a BIG APPLE PIE!

(C) 2003 Joan LaGrew



A big hug is appropriate and expected when finished.


Blessings all!

The HARD TRUTH

THE HARD TRUTH

John 14:6

Yeshua Jesus said, “I AM the Way — and the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through me.

and

Acts 4:12 There is salvation in no one else! For there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by whom we must be saved!

and

Galatians 1:6-10
6 I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; 7 which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! 9 As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!

10 For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ.



I was faced with a very real problem in the last couple of days.  A Face Book friend and I assume, friends of him, challenged my understanding of the well-known verse, John 14:6.  Their interpretation of that verse, and others like it, left me alarmed and saddened all at the same time.  Accordingly, their premise was that there was indeed other ways of salvation other than the orthodox belief that Jesus was the only way to Heaven, and to my great surprise, the very verse that I offered, John 14:6 as a proof that Jesus was the only way to the Father, they used as a springboard to their "interpretation" that there could be other faiths that receive salvation as well.  In fact, they very much disdained my notion that if there was any other way to the Father except by the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, that we would make a mockery of the cross.  I even pointed out the fact that John 14:6 was proof of that.

I was so taken aback by that stance...that it spurred me into further study of the language of John 14:6 and what Jesus actually said in that simple statement. I think rather than engaging in their obvious embellishment of their interpretation in trying to get at what Jesus really said by their own intellect and reading between the lines..it is safer to take the actual words that Jesus said and take them at their face value.  Remember never to add to or subtract from God's Word.


Jesus Said:  There are 2 things of note here that are apropos.  1) Jesus said this...no one else.  No one in the whole world said this.  Also the name of Jesus. In English it is Jesus. In Hebrew it is Yeshua (ישוע).  In Greek it is Yesous (Ἰησοῦς).  They all mean the same thing and they all refer to the same person. The name means Savior.  Jesus is the Christ.  He is the Savior of the World...the one and only.

I am the way: Jesus is not saying that He is "a" way.  He is saying HE IS THE WAY.  The ONLY WAY.  The ONE WAY.  There is NO OTHER WAY. Period.  The Greek and context is crystal clear.

And the Truth:  We know that ALL truth is from God himself.  When Jesus says that HE is the TRUTH...the ONE and ONLY truth, he is saying that HE IS GOD.  That TRUTH comes from HIM.  Jesus also said: John 17:17 Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. Thus demonstrating the fact that He and God the Father are one God. ONE TRUTH...No Other.

And the Life:  He came to bring LIFE, not death. He is LIFE. Not just ordinary life.  Jesus came to bring to us true life. Eternal Life.  A Good Life. This is the Life that ONLY JESUS can bring.  You need to trust Him that he is able, and believe me, HE IS able!  Observe what Jesus also said: John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

Will you trust a thief, or will you trust Jesus?  Your call. Don't be misled...study the Scriptures yourself. However, I will echo what God told the Israelites.  Choose Life!  I choose the WAY and the TRUTH and the LIFE.  JESUS!

Blessings on your day!