Abraham was the father of God’s (temporary) physical nation. (Gal 3:23‑25)
Fleshly Israel was replaced by (or the faithful among them were absorbed into) spiritual Israel. (Mat 23:37‑39)

Christians are a “New Creation” and are the (spiritual) Israel of God. (Gal 6:12‑16)

By learning from and following Christ, Christians are made new (reborn – John 3:3‑7) in the force actuating their mind. (Eph 4:17‑25)

• Christians drink the water Christ brought:

Truth becomes internal spring of waters of life; meaning Jesus would explain openly what his Father wants us to know: John 4:10‑11; 14-15; 25-26
End of ignorant worship. Through knowledge from Christ, we must worship in spirit and truth. John 4:7-26

In spirit because we must first be drawn to Christ by יהוה‘s spirit. John 6:44
And in truth because we must know the truth Jesus taught. John 18:37

(See also: Christians eat the flesh and drink the blood of Christ.)
Waters of Christ (knowledge of his teachings) form a river bringing joy and life to the nations. (Ps 46:4)

• Christians eat the flesh and drink the blood of Christ:

Jesus said his true followers must eat his flesh and drink his blood. (John 6:53-58)
Jesus is the bread from heaven providing eternal life. (John 6:48-51)
(See also: Christians drink the water Christ bought.)

• Christians rule as Kings in life (rule over fear of death)!

Those with faith in Christ rule as kings in life. (Romans 5:17 & 21 of 12‑21)

Be careful how you listen:

Take special note of the warning by Jesus in Luke chapter 8 verse 18, from among verses 15‑18. He there warned we must "pay attention to" or "be careful of" how we listen. In context, we know he often warned about false prophets who would come in his name, thus providing a keen awareness we must be vigilant never to be fooled by the teachings of men. (Mat 7:15; Mat 24:4-5) Jesus here (in Luke 8:18) warns such "followers of men" may assert and even believe they have real knowledge, but even the foolishness they have accepted will be taken away from them. Those actually listening to and learning the truth from Christ, however, will be given more and more. In verse 17, Jesus explains all religious lies will be revealed. All we need do is actually listen to Christ to be set free of all religious lies. (John 8:31-32) We must be cautious we are listening to the actual words of Christ, to avoid being led astray in some religious doctrine contrived by men (Acts 17:29-31) in sheep’s covering. (Mat 7:15)
Must listen only to Chris. (John 8:31‑32; 1 Cor 4:6; 2 John 1:9‑11)

False Prophets:

In sheep’s covering: (Mat 7:15)
Many arise from among Jesus’s own followers: (Acts 20:29-30)
Don’t be deceived to follow them: (Mat 23:1‑15)

All false prophets assert they are followers of Christ: (Mat 24:23‑28)

Identified by their bad fruit: (Mat 7:16‑20)

Bad fruitage is directing people toward human doctrine, instead of telling them to hear God’s command (Mat 17:5) and simply listen to Christ. (1 Tim 6:3‑6) Christ’s teachings are gathered in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

False religion teaches only judgment and hate and will be destroyed: (Hos 10:4 of 4‑8)

God’s self-given Name in the original Hebrew Bible language: יהוה

You should know the name of both Jesus and his Father. (Pro 30:4)
Self-declared name. (Isa 42:8 of 1‑8)
Most high over earth. (Psa 83:18)
Know God’s name and use it in praise. (Psa 150)
There is no indication there is any inspired (God approved) translation of the Divine Name into any other language than its original Hebrew: God’s name is יהוה.

יהוה sounds like “Yea•Vah” to English speakers. (That’s Yea as in “Yea go team,” followed by Vah, like the first two letters of “vault.” You should probably not presume to write Yea•Vah to represent the Divine Name. [Ex 20:7] Yea•Vah is a made up word we use only to illustrate what The Name sounds like to those who speak English.)

Greater Works by Jesus’s Followers…?

John 14:12 CEV I tell you for certain that if you have faith in me, you will do the same things that I am doing. You will do even greater things, now that I am going back to the Father.
Jesus raised the dead and healed the sick, What greater works could his followers do?

The people Jesus resurrected died again, along with their contemporaries.
Jesus’s hope was to death, while ours can be to life eternal, without ever dying!

How can Jesus's followers possibly do greater works than he did? Jesus is given the highest honor ever given by his Father, he is appointed Lord of all other creation, (1 Cor 15:24-27 of 12-28) Still, Jesus clearly said above we would do greater works! John 14:12 has been a burr in the combing out of my faith (something that didn't fit) since I first read it 60 or more years ago. Still, there is no denying, Jesus did say in John 14:12 that we would do works greater than he did. It has finally become clear; there is a way our works are greater... It is our faith and our hope! "Jesus's faith was to death," because that was his assignment: Jesus came to become the ransom sacrifice buying back the hope of life for all repentant mankind. (Rom 5:12; 1 Cor 15:12-28) He gave his life to return hope and life to me and to you. (John 10:17-18) He knew every day that death was where his life was leading. (Mark 8:31 of 31-33) Because of his sacrifice, can't you see, "our faith and hope can be one to life" without ever having to die. (John 11:25-26; Job 33:13-30) God's gift of greater works to us, it seems then, lies in the fact our hope is greater in that one sense than even Jesus's was... (Mat 26:39) Jesus's faith and hope was leading to his sacrificial death but ours, becasue of his sacrifice, is to life eternal. What a wondrous gift from our Father: To be set aside from our inherited condemnation to death! (John 8:51) It is, or course, a time sensitive hope, and based on the time we are favored to be alive. Life without ever tasting death is available only to survivors of the great tribulation. Have faith in the promises of God. (Job 33:13-30)

New Covenant:

The New Covenant has been established. (Heb 8:6-12; Jer 31:31-34)

All who are actually listening to and obeying Christ are part of it! (Mark 9:7; Luke 6:46-49)

Being in the New Covenant can preserve you alive.

You must sprinkle the blood of God's Lamb over your doorpost.
(Ex 12:5-7 & 22-23)
Link: To stay alive, Gaze upon Christ!

No exemption from our spiritual war:

God's name is being sanctified [Mat 6:9] and we are every one involved!

(Ecc 8:8)

Christ came to bring war (in the short term) because the wicked hate truth.

(Mat 10:32‑40; Eph 6:10‑13)

Link: You are marked.

Peace is very important:

Jesus told his followers to pray peace on everyone who would listen:

(Luke 10:5-6)

Paul prayed for peace on Jesus's followers:

(Rom 1:7)

Rule as Kings in life (over sin and death):

Those with faith in Christ rule as kings in life. [Romans 5:17 & 21 of 12‑21]

Salvation: God’s one same simple method to help us all:

God first looks for all who are righteous, and then, He directs each one to his son.

(Collage of scriptures: 2 Chron 16:9; Mat 17:5; John 6:44; John 3:16-21; John 1:12-13)

Some people can't hear Christ: They can hear (read) his words, of course, but they can't understand his meaning.

Jesus said some couldn't hear because they followed Satan:

(John 8:43)

The insincere are blinded by God:

(John 12:39-40)

Just knowing Jesus's name isn't enough:

(Matthew 7:22-23)

Must first be drawn to Jesus by God’s spirit:

(John 6:44a)

(See also - Salvation: God’s same simple method to help us all.)

Waters of life within:

Christians have the desire to help and are granted ability through knowledge of Christ.

(1 John 5:20-21; Pro 1:1-4)

They can draw waters of life to help others out of their own heart.

(John 4:10 & 14 & 25; John 17:20)

They are reborn by feeding on (hearing and living by) the words of Christ.

(John 6:52-59; Eph 4:23-24; 2 Pet 3:11-13; John 3:3)

Wicked will die in place of the righteous:

If you are loved by God; wicked men will be given in place of your soul (life):

(Isa 43:4)

Wicked ransom for righteous, die in his place:

(Prov 21:18)

Wicked destroyed, righteous preserved (being a liar is a very bad thing):

(Psa 58; Hos 10:4‑8)

Writers of the Bible’s Gospels:

Matthew:

The apostle Matthew was also known as Levi (he was a tax collector) before being chosen by Christ as one of his 12 Apostles. (Mark 2:14) Matthew completed his account of Christ’s activities less than 10 years after Jesus was killed and resurrected; in about 41 CE.

Mark:

John Mark was an associate and friend of the Apostle Peter. He finished his Gospel about 60-65 CE. Many historians believe the Apostle Peter was the source of much of Mark’s material, or even that Peter instructed him to write it.

Luke:

Luke was a physician (and possibly a Gentile) who became a Christian and the faithful companion of the Apostle Paul. Writing in about 56-58 CE, he laid no claim to being eyewitness to the events he recounted. Luke said he had “traced all things from the start with accuracy.” (Luke 1:3) His companion, the Apostle Paul, thus likely provided much of what Luke wrote.

John:

The Apostle John wrote his eyewitness account of Jesus’s activity and teachings about 98 CE. He thus had had many years to reflect on and organize what he had seen and been part of during the three and a half years he spent with Christ. He had the wisdom and experience of age to organize his writing.

You can’t slave for two masters:

Jesus said in Mat 6:24: “No one can slave for two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will stick to (hold to) one and despise the other”…

Jesus was here talking about serving God and seeking wealth, but what he said applies to anything that could become your master (the love of your heart). Note he said “love one” (God) and hate the other, or, “stick to one” (any master besides God) and despise the other (God). If you substitute anything for God, you won’t and can’t really love it, but it can make you despise God. We can only even know love if we first appreciate God’s love for us. [1 John 4:19] We might choose to let other things be more important to us than God, but we can never love them, we will simply stick to our desire for them as they cause us to despise God and the true followers of Christ: Any false God will kill us!

Topics of Conversation:

· Truth brings an awakening against judgment and promotes peace:

The most recent booklets on JustBibleTruth.com amount to the expression of my current Bible studies and state of faith. The work is for myself and those who agree the Bible is the only standard for truth. The current state of my faith, at any selected time, often leads me to think I have finished writing my last booklet; that I will just keep rereading the ones I have already done, so as to keep those scriptural thoughts fresh in mind. Then, as has happened so many times by now, someone helps me understand something new; and, I find I have more to say. My friend Roger from our high school days contacted me today (in Jan of 2022) to say hello and to express all he had learned from the horrors of the last couple of years of our existence (with the pandemic and now the threat of Russian nuclear war and …). His letter (email) was heartwarming because I found we shared the same feelings of spiritual growth from it all. Not in exactly the same way, or even in full agreement of the details, but in that we both gained a better understanding of our desire, and even of our need, to be helpful and useful. He wants to help other people in the same way he received help in his life. That seems like a very good thing to me. I want to help people in the way I received help for my life as well, which also seems good. For me, that means helping everyone hear God’s only latter day command to listen to his son. (Mat 17:5) Roger and I had a mutually heartwarming interchange of faith based in our both wanting to do what is good, based on our shared faith in God and good. That in turn helped me realized something important and wonderful about my faith: I don’t have to judge anybody because of their faith, in order to justify and maintain my own. To illustrate what I mean, I’m going to talk about two ideas that are a bit extreme and very polarizing. One is the idea that some people were created by God while others evolved from lower animals. The other probably equally divisive idea is that God marked some race or group of people for destruction. While I must admit I don’t have faith in either of those ideas, one nice thing about my faith is that I know and understand what I actually have is faith. The Bible defines faith as the evident demonstration of (and then faith in) realities that are demonstrated but not beheld. (Heb 11:1) If a smart and well educated man is convinced some of humanity evolved from apes, maybe he did (or maybe some others of us did). If another says some people are marked by God for destruction, maybe he (or someone else) actually is marked by God. (Gen 4:8‑15) Even though I haven’t chosen to build faith in either of those ideas; what I can say is God is our judge and none of us. (Rom 14:10‑13; Zeph 3:8) I also do believe in God’s account of creation in the first part of Genesis. The Bible doesn’t tell us what didn’t happen, and doesn’t say much about what did happen if it isn’t important. What it does tell us everything we need to know, about what actually did happen, for us to have knowledge necessary to build faith for life. My faith is, we are living in the period of time in human evolution when people are in the process of staying alive or dying; based on what their own faith actually is. (By human evolution, I mean humanity’s spiritual progression to our current knowledge of our history, and of God’s Word; as a basis for faith in Jesus Christ.) That’s the important thing everyone alive needs to be told. (Mat 24:14) Doing my best to share that knowledge gives me purpose in life, the same as Roger said trying to help other people gives him purpose. Roger also believes in God and Christ Jesus. Just knowing him for all these years is encouraging and brings joy, and my faith in Christ doesn’t require I judge his faith. He said he loves Christ, what more is there for me to be concerned with. As to different beliefs: If there is a group among us who evolved from lower animals, and so Jesus didn’t come to help their group, no one of us can know that, and certainly not judge who they are. If there is a group or race of people judged for destruction, such that Jesus didn’t come to help them either, no one can know that. For sure and certain, no human can know or judge who they are. Be careful what judgments you render against other people; or go along with. If you judge someone wicked and are wrong, you may cause them to stumble in faith, making you bloodguilty before our Creator. (Pro 4:14‑19) As for me, I can just honestly say I don’t know. At the root of such divisive beliefs would seem to be in deciding just what a Gentile is. There are people without end who will assert they do know for certain what the Bible means by Gentile, but it is doubtful. The reason it is important is because God said he would bring both Jews and Gentiles into a relationship with him, through their faith in Christ. (Eph 2:13‑18) Some people say a Gentile is anyone who isn’t a Jew. Others say Gentiles are the descendants of Abraham who didn’t come through Israel (Jacob – Abraham’s grandson). In other words, they believe the nations who lived alongside Abrahams family at the time God blessed him, are not Gentiles. So, if Gentiles are only made up of the non-Israelite children of Abraham, some assert, then Christ doesn’t help those nations who are not Abraham’s physical seed. For me, the argument is rendered moot by simply considering what God actually said to Abraham: (Genesis 22:18) . . .And by means of your seed all nations of the earth will certainly bless themselves due to the fact that you have listened to my voice.’” It is important to me God said “all nations” of the earth would be blessed by Abraham’s seed. Does that mean I am ready to judge the faith of others, that they are wrong? No! They will just say (and likely believe) Gen 22:18 contradicts their faith in Eph 2:15 & 16. Who am I to judge? For sure and certain, though, no human can render such judgments. I do my best not to judge, and I encourage you be very careful what judgments you render against other people, or even go along with. Judgment, and the vengeance comes with righteous judgment, belongs to God alone. (Rom 12:17‑19)

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