Isaiah 53

I want to write some things about this chapter in the Bible. I had been thinking about one of the verses (verse 10), but then I read the entire chapter, and so I wanted to write about most of the chapter. This is from the book of Isaiah. Isaiah was one of Gods prophets, and basicly that means that God spoke through him to the people. But what may surprise you is this book was written approximately 700 years before Christ. But these words prophesized about what would happen in the future when the Christ (Jesus) was there. So now we not only have those words, but we live in a time when Christ has already came and gone, and we now see that this prophesy came true. This is one of the many prophecies in the Old Testament which spoke about the coming ¨Messiah¨, which when translated means ¨God with us¨. And Jesus Christ is the Messiah. Anyways, I wish to speak about these verses in Isaiah. My words are in blue. The verses are from the New International Version Bible.


1 Who would have believed what we heard?
Who saw the Lord's power in this?

2 He grew up like a small plant before the Lord,
like a root growing in a dry land.
He had no special beauty or form to make us notice him;
there was nothing in his appearance to make us desire him.

It says that he had no special beautiful, and nothing in his appearance to make us desire him. When people saw Jesus (his body) they did not see anything different, or anything that made him stand out from others. But I know from reading in the New Testament (the part of the Bible written after Jesus was here) that when Jesus spoke, people saw something different. When Jesus spoke, even those who were against him saw that there was something special in him. They would say, ¨he speaks with such authority!¨. He never spoke with any doubt, or twisted his words so that he would be more liked by the people. He spoke what His Father in Heaven told him to speak.

3 He was hated and rejected by people.
He had much pain and suffering.
People would not even look at him.
He was hated, and we didn't even notice him.

Jesus knows how it is to be hated. Many people hated him because of the healings and miracles that he performed, and because of the message that He spoke. When He spoke, He put himself on the same level with God. And that angered many people, especially the Pharisee´s who were proud persons who liked to look religious in peoples eyes, but their hearts were rotten. These ¨religious¨people wanted to kill Jesus for a long time, and finally Jesus was arrested, and crucified. But it was our sins that put him on the cross. I would like to say, it was those evil people who told lies about Jesus, and spoke to the leaders in the government, and got him tortured and executed. But Jesus knew all along that he was going to be killed, and he told that to his followers. Jesus went to the cross willingly because it was Gods will for him, and to die for our sins.

4 But he took our suffering on him
and felt our pain for us.
We saw his suffering
and thought God was punishing him.

He took our suffering on him. Our suffering is what we all deserve, because we have all sinned. But he took our suffering, and felt our pain. He felt the pain for us. He felt the pain that we deserved. Jesus did not die because he did something wrong. Jesus died because we did something wrong. And that continues in the next verse where it says that he was wounded for the wrong we did, and crushed for the evil we did.

5 But he was wounded for the wrong we did;
he was crushed for the evil we did.
The punishment, which made us well, was given to him,
and we are healed because of his wounds.

The punishment that made us well was given to him, and we are healed because of his wounds. The only reason that anyone is saved is because of what Christ did. His death was our gain. Because he died for our sins, we now have a way of having our sins forgiven. We are healed because he took our punishment and received the pain that otherwise would have been given to us.

6 We all have wandered away like sheep;
each of us has gone his own way.
But the Lord has put on him the punishment
for all the evil we have done.

Everyone has done evil and wandered away, God put the punishment on His Son, Jesus Christ.
All of us, like sheep, have wandered away. God is our shepherd, but we have wandered away from Him. And because we have done evil and wandered away, God put the punishment on His Son, Jesus Christ.

7 He was beaten down and punished,
but he didn't say a word.
He was like a lamb being led to be killed.
He was quiet, as a sheep is quiet while its wool is being cut;
he never opened his mouth.

After Jesus was arrested, he stood before different leaders, both government leaders and religious leaders. And He never asked to be released because He knew His death would allow people to be forgiven.

8 Men took him away roughly and unfairly.
He died without children to continue his family.
He was put to death;
he was punished for the sins of my people.

9 He was buried with wicked men,
and he died with the rich.
He had done nothing wrong,
and he had never lied.

10 But it was the Lord who decided
to crush him and make him suffer.
The Lord made his life a penalty offering,
but he will still see his descendants and live a long life.
He will complete the things the Lord wants him to do.

But it was the Lord who decided to crush him and make him suffer. Well first of all, why would crushing his only Son be in Gods plan? Well I want to answer that question, but to start somewhere before Christs execution. It is when Jesus is in a place with his disciples (not all his disciples, because one was betraying him at that very moment, and leading those that hated Jesus to that place to arrest him). Jesus is praying. He is asking God, ¨Please take this cup from me, but only if it is Your will¨. (Matthew chapter 26) But here is the question, what is in the cup? I don´t think Christ was actually holding a cup, so what was he talking about? And here is what I think was in the cup. It was the wrath of God, and it was Gods will that His Son drank it all. Thats a pretty hard statement, but I believe it to be completely true. Jesus Christ prayed that if God would do it and if it was His will, that he would not have to drink that cup. But Christ said ¨but take it away only it you will¨. I think that Jesus Christ experienced something on the cross more than being tortured by men, or the pain of nails in his hands and feet, and more than the pain of humiliation and being cursed. To be honest I do not think that Jesus was afraid of all that. The same time he was asking God to take the cup away from him if He willed, Jesus also told some of his disciples that his soul was overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. I think he was so sad (even to the point of death) because he was thinking about the cup that he must drink. Christ would soon carry the sin of the world, and die for it. God would take his wrath out on Jesus, His Son! Christ, the one who was without sin, would be punished for the sins of others. When Jesus Christ was on the cross, He said ¨Father, why do you forsake me?¨. I believe that caused Jesus more hurt than the physical pain of a thousand crucificixions. His Father, whom he had always been in communion with, whom he had always been connected to. That communion and connection was cut off. Jesus Christ did not just feel that he was being forsaken or abandoned by God, but that actually happened when He was on the cross. Jesus Christ was carrying our sin! My sin! Your sin! And when I say ¨your sin¨ I hope you stop and think about that. But God is a holy God, and wants nothing to do with sin. And when God sees that Jesus is carrying our sin, He must turn his back to His Son. He forsakes him. Wow. You know, I do not think we will ever understand the pain and suffering that Christ went through for us. Not in this world, or for all eternity. I do not think we will ever comprehend it.

11 "After his soul suffers many things,
he will see life and be satisfied.
My good servant will make many people right with God;
he will carry away their sins.

After Christ suffered and died, he rose again after 3 days, and soon returned to His Father in Heaven. This good servant (Christ is also called the suffering servant) will make many people right with God, and that is exactly what Jesus does. He makes people right with God. People do not make themselves right with God by living a good life, or having less sin than others. People are made right with God by what Jesus did on the cross. There is a path that leads to God, and in that path there is a gate, and that gate is Jesus Christ. He stands in the way of the Father, and you must go through him. Why? Because it is under no other name that a person is saved. Because there is only one that carries away sins, and that is Jesus Christ.

12 For this reason I will make him a great man among people,
and he will share in all things with those who are strong.
He willingly gave his life
and was treated like a criminal.
But he carried away the sins of many people
and asked forgiveness for those who sinned."

Christ died willingly. He was not forced to do it. He was treated like a criminal. Jesus Christ was crucified with two criminals. He asked forgiveness for those who sinned. While on the cross, Jesus Christ asked His Father to forgive these people, because they do not know what they do. And what were they doing? They were killing Gods Holy Son, although they did not actually believe that He was the Son of God. They thought of Him as a criminal, and that he was a lier.

I did not speak about every verse because I would be repeating myself, or for some of the verses, I do not completely understand them, and so I do not want to speak about what I don´t understand. The words of the Bible are revealed to a Christian over a lifetime, and God will be teaching me more about things in the future.

But I want to say a few more things. A person that is not forgiven by God, there punishment is for all eternity. Whether you go to hell or heaven, you will always exist. And if you do not receive Gods forgiveness, than that place is hell. You know, I think about that, and all the people in Hell who are suffering, and that suffering will continue forever and ever. In the Bible, Hell is described is the placed of ¨weeping and gnashing of teeth¨. I know a person is separated from God there, and for all eternity.

The Bible says that great is the path that leads to destruction but narrow is the path that leads to eternal life. That means that the path is big that leads to hell and many follow that path, and narrow is the path that leads to God in Heaven, and it is traveled by few. Christ has died for our sins, but I know that not everyone will be forgiven. But I am not going to now tell you to repeat a prayer, and then say that if you repeat that prayer, you will be saved. Because God knows your heart, and that is what matters. God knows if your words are not from the heart. Here is what I hope you are feeling right now. I hope that you feel convicted of your sin. And if you are feeling convicted, then that is from God. And I hope you are tired of the life you are living, and you want a change. I hope you are wanting to turn away from sin, and have a new life with God. But here is what I would like for you to do. I urge you to go to a place where you are a lone, and speak to God there, because He is listening. But remember that salvation can only come from God because His Son Jesus Christ died for you. It takes a humbled heart to know that we can´t save ourselves. Please go speak to God about this, about your sin, and about HIS salvation.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Carnet

After 2 months of paperwork and documents, my husband finally received his Peru identification. We are indeed very happy for that. Tim said that everything that we had to do and the different things that we had to make was a test of our patience, and it really bettered our patience and trust in God.

Good, I wish to share with you a song called ¨Hosanna in the Highest¨ by Hillsong. I am posting both the video and lyrics.

**********Letter**********

I see the king of glory
Coming on the clouds with fire
The whole earth shakes
The whole earth shakes

Yeeeah

I see his love and mercy
Washing over all our sin
The people sing
The people sing

[Chorus]
Hosanna
Hosanna
Hosanna in the highest x2

I see a generation
Rising up to take their place
With selfless faith
With selfless faith

I see a near revival
Stirring as we pray and seek
We're on our knees
We're on our knees

[Chorus]

Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like you have loved me

Break my heart from what breaks yours
Everything I am for your kingdoms cause
As I walk from nothing to Eternity

[Chorus] x2

Hosanna in the highest

A testimony from Paul Washer

I was wanting to listen to a sermon on youtube.com so I wrote the word ¨sermon¨ and did a search and the first one that came up was one from Paul Washer. I sounds like a lot of poeple don´t like his sermons, and I think one message in particular upset a lot of people. But I listened to a few of his sermons, and I really liked them. I think he is a man that knows God, and will speak Gods word, even if it costs him everything. Here is a testimony from him, and he is speaking about his own life. He is very thankful for what Jesus did for him.

A fun day

Today we and a bunch of the younger people in the family went to a recreation place. It was nice to get away, because I miss the open country that I am used to in the United States. Here in Lima about everything is concrete, and that is all I see. But this recreation place had lots of grass, and open space, and it was really nice. First thing we did was go swimming. I should have put sunscreen on before I did that, because I got burned. After that we all found a shaded spot in the grass, and had a picnic (we had brought food). After that a lot of us split up, and Eliana and I went with David (he was the youngest). Before long we came across a dirt track, and there was small ATV´s for kids. So I was glad to see that, and I wanted David to get on one, and he was very happy to do it. And that is what is in the photo, David on his ATV. A lot of people went slow, but he went fast. I saw him going pretty fast, and he took one of his hands off the handlebars, and was reaching for something in his pocket or something, and he swerved, and about hit the fence. And then when his ride was over, he came in a little fast, and almost went head on into the fence, but luckily someone was there to get him stopped in time. And I think it was just a little wood fence without any tires in that spot, so it wouldn´t take much to go through it. After that, we went to see some animals, because they had a small zoo. Then we went to a playground for a little bit, and then played some volleyball. And then we were ready to leave, because we were all hot. But it was a good day, and I think Eliana and I will be resting for the rest of the day.

An anniversary celebration in the church

In a past post, Eliana wrote that they were practicing a song for the celebration tonight at the church, and here is the video of them singing. Eliana is about in the middle, and behind everyone.

P.S., the photo above is of them after the lights were turned off, and they were blowing out the candles on the cake.

Un Día

Today was a difficult day. In the morning, my husband and I went to see about some documents that are getting approved in Peru. Tim has his resident visa, but now we are going through the process of getting him his Peru identification. We have not completed everything, and I do not know when it will end. In the morning, we were in that place and a person in charge told me we had to make another payment and then complete other documents for the file, and after that we had to wait a few days and then we needed to return to that place.

After being in that place, I felt annoyed and disappointed, but my husband told me that all this was a test of patience and I think it was and I know I did not score well on the test. But I know that through that I will learn to be more patient with those people, but I need a lot of help from God to have a good experience there, and not to leave disappointed every time I am there.

After we were there, we went to a place to have lunch and it was good to be away from that place, and in a restaurant, although the food was not very good, but we managed to rest a little and then we were ready to move forward on the things we had to do. We then went to a place to buy some pens that some people in the church were wanting for the anniversary of the department of youth and adolescents in the church. The church sent us with some money to buy the pens, and then to have some words printed onto the pens. We bought 100 pens and they will have written IEPP – Valle Alto – EE.CC. These are abbreviations for the name of the church and the department of youth and adolescents. Thank God our time there was calm.

Then we returned home and rested a little. Then my husband went to teach an english class in the church. He and Virginia are teachers. And while my husband is in the english class, I am going to cook dinner... spaghetti with red sauce.

Today

Hello, I hope that your day was good and calm.
Today, thank God, my husband and I had a good day, but during the morning it was difficult when I was thinking about all the things I needed to do. That made my mood begin to change because I thought my day would be difficult. But then something happened and that was in response to the help that I asked of God. I knew that the only thing I could do is to pray to God and ask for help for a few minutes. Then everything started to change. My husband was having difficulty with his back this morning, but then he started to feel better. I had joy to cook a meal called "LOMO SALTADO" I did not think that it would be very good, but my husband told me that it was very delicious:). We then went to clean the church and that is a big job, but thank God our time there was good and we finished cleaning the church and then returned home to get ready to return to the church again, because there was a youth meeting.

My father spoke in the church and preached about what God did for us, and that He freed us from our sins with the precious blood of Christ and that made us kings and priests to serve God the Father, and that is in 1 Peter 1:18-19 and Revelation 1:6

Good, after the youth meeting we stayed for more than 1 hour to rehearse a song for the day Saturday, February 16, because that´s the anniversary of the youth department in the church and we were rehearsing a song called "Open Your Eyes and Look, the Harvest is Ready."

That song is very beautiful and the lyrics have a special meaning. My husband learned some of the words and was singing a bit with the youth. That was only the first rehearsal of the song and everything went very beautifully and tomorrow night after the service, we will do a second rehearsal of the song and then everything will be ready for Saturday. I asked my husband if he would be able to take some pictures and record a video of them singing the song, because I want to put it on our blog.

A photo of us at the border of Chile.

Hello, My husband and I wanted to post a photo of us. I hope that you like it. It was taken between Tacna, Peru, and Arica, Chile.

Our trip to Chile

My husband and I left Lima on Monday, January 28 at 2:00 p.m., and we knew that the bus ride to Tacna, Peru would last 18 hours, and we would arrive on the 29th at 9:00 p.m., but I did not imagine that the trip would be so hard and tiring. But when we were on the bus, we played a bingo game. The winner of the game got a prize or a free ticket to return to Lima. A woman who works on the bus gave us all bingo cards, and we started to play the game, and really I did not know how to play the game because I had never played it before, but I quickly caught on. During the game, Tims card was soon missing only a few numbers, and then his card had all the numbers, and that was a great surprise, because Tims card was the winner, and we got a prize.... a free return ticket to Lima. It was very surprising and we were both very happy about what happened.

Well, I was nervous arriving at Tacna because I had never been there, and we had no idea what would happen when we got off the bus. When we got off the bus, I heard a man saying ¨Arica, Chile¨, and so I asked him if he was going there, and he said yes, and helped us to get our luggage. He was a taxi driver. When we arrived at the border between Peru and Chile, we did not have any problems, and were able to enter Chile.
Arica is a very quiet and beautiful city. The ocean is near, and so we wanted to go to the beach for a little bit, but we did not have time after going through the procedures to collect Tims resident visa. When we finished, we had to go back to a place in Arica to get a taxi to take us to Tacna. And then we saw the same man that helped us earlier that day, and so he took us back to Tacna. We were glad to have everything done, and be ready to return to Lima, and so we went and had to buy just one ticket to return to Lima.

Although the return trip was much more exhausting, thanks to God that we were able to return to Lima well, and also thank you for your prayers.

Whats been happening

Tonight I want to write a few things, and I wish to thank a person that we love for their words that helped me want to write in our blog.
I also want to thank them for always visiting our blog to read our posts.

I want to write about the things that have happened these past days, and one of them is that my birthday was January 23 and I can say that it was a very special birthday, and I give thanks to God for that.

My husband was the first one to tell me happy birthday, and also to sing happy birthday to me. It was really special, but that was not all. He had other surprises for me. He made a delicious banana birthday cake. It was topped with whipped cream and strawberries. Also he gave me a tshirt with one of our wedding pictures on it. It really was nice.

Today some friends from work came here with a cake :), My birthday was 3 days ago, but it´s good that they even continue to celebrate my birthday. Really that has never happened, and I give thanks to God for all his help each day.

I also have more good news to give. My husband has been in Peru for more than 4 months, and we have been going through the procedure so that he could be a resident in Peru. At the start things were difficult and the paperwork was frustrating, but I can only say that God helped us to be patient on every document that we had to submit and when all the documents were ready, then they said that every 10 days we needed to go to a place and ask if the visa is ready. They also said to get a resident visa would take 30 to 45 days. But when we went to ask about the visa, they said it was approved. That was really a surprise because they said it would take more time. We know that God is in the middle of everything and he did that. It has been incredible how God has helped us with everything.

Now we are preparing to go to Arica, Chile. They do not give us the visa in Peru, but we must leave the country, and we will go to the Peru embassy in Arica, Chile, and if it is Gods will, we can immediately pick up the visa, and return to Peru. With Gods help, we will leave Monday. We wish to ask for your prayers.

Change

Ephesians 5:3 says:
¨But there must be no sexual sin among you, or any kind of evil or greed. Those things are not right for God´s holy people.¨ (NCV)

This verse explains God´s standard for a Christian. Gods standard is not ¨only a little bit of sin, as long as you can keep it under control¨. That is not His standard. His standard is ¨not even a hint¨.

But why would God hold us to such a standard? I can think of a few reasons, and I am sure there is much more that God has. One reason is that we can not stay content with just a little sin. A person that partakes in sin, a little bit is not enough. Sin can never satisfy a persons thirst. They always want more. I have experienced this in my own life, and seen it in others. A little sin does not satisfy us, and so we try more, and since that does not satisy us, we continue. I will take an example that is common to men, although also happens to many women. That is lust and pornography. It doesn´t matter if it is lustfully looking at the people in the underwear section of a magazine, or it is looking at pornography in a magazine or the internet, or a women who is walking down the street. Those images enter persons hearts, and the consequences are devastating. But this usually starts with a little bit, but the thirst is not quenched, and we seek more. And the truth is that we cannot find happiness in sin. It only brings heartache, and destruction. And if a person never turns to Jesus Christ for forgiveness, the result is eternity apart from God.

The other reason that God does not want ¨just a little sin¨ in our lives is because it keeps us from the blessings that God intended for us. I think it is important that we do not focus only on the sin, but remember that the sin is keeping us from something very special. Can a man who lusts for other women be content and happy with his own wife? Does he know the happiness that comes from being faithful to his wife, and loving her like Jesus loves all of us? I believe the answer is no. Can a woman who has become addicted to stealing at the same time experience the joy that comes from giving? No, because sin is committed with a selfish attitude, and giving is done with an unselfish attitude. The two are contradicting. Does a judging person or a person who is quick to speak with condemning words, can that person at the same time experience the joy that comes from forgiving and helping another person by using loving words? The first is sin, the second is what God wants for our lives.
I think it is great to want sin out of our lives, but what is the motivation? Are you doing it for salvation? I think if you are working toward your salvation, even if your work is trying to obey God, you are only spinning your wheels, and the truth is, your going backwards, and not forward. Because salvation was achieved at the cross, and not by us. Jesus Christ died for our sin, and by faith in Him we are forgiven. Salvation is gained the moment we accept Christ. It is a free gift from God, but all gifts must be accepted. By knowing that we can not achieve our own salvation, but knowing that Jesus Christ paid the price for our sin, that is how we are saved. And so to any person reading this that has not accepted Christ into their lives, I hope that you do. I wish that you are aware of the sin in your life, and can say ¨Jesus, I am a sinner, forgive me¨.

A lot of people say, ¨if a Christian is forgiven not only for their past sins, but all their sins, including those in the present, and future, then what is keeping that Christian from sinning in the future?¨. If a person has really accepted Christ into their lives, then they have the Holy Spirit in their hearts. I truly believe that a Christian can then not love sin like they did before. They then begin to hate sin. I think that is why in Romans 7:19 the apostle Paul says ¨I do not do the good things that I want to do, but I do the bad things I do not want to do.¨ NIV. I think the apostle Paul is speaking about sin in the lives of Christians. A Christian has a spiritual battle going on inside of them. They have a sinful nature which they have always had, but they also have the Holy Spirit, and those two are in conflict. I think a Christian can not truly love sin because they have the Holy Spirit (God Himself) inside of them. And also assurance of salvation in Jesus Christ produces a thankful heart, and that person then wishes to obey God because of their thankfulness and love for Him. But a Christian can also commit sin because they continue to have their sinful nature. A non-believer (person who has not turned to Jesus Christ for their salvation) does not have the Holy Spirit in them, but all they have is the sinful nature. They are slaves to sin. But that does not mean that God is not working in the lives of un-believers. God works in peoples lives in countless different ways. I think the main reason that God gives the Holy Spirit to his servants is because God wants to change us, and use our lives to help others.

If we believe that salvation is gained by our own works, even our work for God, then what Christ did at the cross would mean nothing. If we believe that salvation is gained by Christ, and then we keep our salvation by obedience, and works, then salvation is not a free gift, and we have reason to boast. But if salvation was completed at the cross, and has nothing to do with us, then salvation is a free gift from God. God does not save us because of what we have done, but because of what Jesus did. It has nothing to do with us.

All Christians will be judged, the same as all unbelievers. And the judge is Jesus Christ himself. Jesus Christ died for our sin, but he was dead for only 3 days, and is now in Heaven to the side of His Father. But Jesus Christ is both Savior and Judge. Whether you see Him as a Savior or Judge, that depends on if you look to Him for your salvation. On judgement day, a non-believer will see him as a Judge, a Christian as a Savior. Most will tell the Judge how they lived a good life, or that they did something to gain salvation, but that will mean nothing. Those people had never met the judge, or know him. And the Judge will say the same to them, ¨I do not know you¨. The reason is because the person never accepted the Judge (Jesus Christ) into their lives. But those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior, I believe we will stand before Him without fear. It may be judgement day, but there will be no judgement for us. There will be no penality, no punishment for us, ever. We know Him, and He knows us. I think our words will be ¨Jesus, my Lord, My God, My Friend, thank you for taking my punishment for me!¨

I want to say salvation is gained through Jesus Christ a lone. And change is from the Holy Spirit a lone. When it comes to changing, and turning away from sin, and staying away from it, we can do all sorts of things and work really hard to try to achieve this. And it is great that we want to have lives without sin. But I think that when we try to change, our eyes can be on the wrong thing. And the wrong thing is ourselves. When we think it is by our own strength, and our own work that we can change, the results will not be good. I think we will fail time and again. And the person that achieves to change a behavior with their own strength, that will only lead to pride, because they will think ¨I have victory over my temptation, and I achieved it¨. But a change in behavior is different than true change. True change is change that happens in the heart. And that is from the Holy Spirit. Don´t get me wrong, I think that we need to submit to the work that the Holy Spirit is trying to do inside of us. But when we say ¨Ok, I want to have victory over this temptation, and so I will write a set of rules for myself that will help me to have victory¨. I think that is good, but your eyes can not be on those rules. Because those rules will not change a persons heart. We can say, ¨Ok, now I have a Christian friend who can help me¨, but our eyes can not be on that friend, because that friend can not change our heart. Only God can change a persons heart. That is the work of the Holy Spirit.

And I want to say something I think is so important. I know how it feels to fight and fight against temptation, and then sin against God time and time again. And each time I sin, I say ¨now I will try harder, and have victory¨. But that is a lie! Because our strength is nothing. But when we are weak, God is strong!. When we can despair in ourselves, and our ability to change, that is when we can truly look to God for that change. When we can say to God ¨God, I have tried time and again, but I can´t do it, I need you to take this from me. I need you to change me¨. I believe that is what God has been waiting for. And then God can begin the true change that happens from the inside out.

Praise God for being so good to us, and for His mercy, and forgiveness. God accepts us even while we are sinners, but does not wish to leave us that way. His will is to change us to have a heart like that of Jesus Christ. And only God can change a heart full of hate and sin, to a heart that is full of love.

P.S., this message was not written because of my own wisdom or work, but I truly believe it is only because God has used Christians with more wisdom than what I have to recently teach me some things, and also this morning I prayed for Gods help to write this message.

Jesus: The Name That Saves

Let´s go back to my sailing invitation. I know you said you probably wouldn´t go, but let´s pretend that you aren´t as smart as you look, and you accept and board the boat.
You begin to worry when you notice that I lift the sail only a few inches on the mast. You think it even stranger that I position myself behind the partially raised sail and begin to blow.
¨Why don´t you raise the sail?¨ you ask.
¨Because I can´t blow on the whole thing.¨ I pant.
¨Let the wind blow it,¨ you urge.
¨Oh, I can´t do that. I´m sailing this boat by myself.¨
Those are the words of a legalist, huffing and puffing to push his vessel to heaven. (Ever wonder why so many religious folk seem out of breath?)
With time we drift out to sea, and a powerful storm hits. Rain splatters on the deck, and the little vessel bounces on the waves. ¨I´m going to set the anchor!¨ I yell. You´re relieved that I at least know where the anchor is, but then you are stunned at where I put it.
First, I take the anchor and set it up near the bow. ¨That should steady the boat!¨ I shout. But, of course, it doesn´t. Next I carry the anchor to the stern. ¨Now we are secure!¨ But the bouncing continues. I hang the anchor on the mast, but it doesn´t help. Finally, in fear and frustration, you take the anchor and throw it out to the deep and scream, ¨Don´t you know you have to anchor to something other than yourself!¨
A legalist doesn´t know that. He anchors only to himself. His security comes from what he does; his lineage, his law, and his tattoo. When the storm blows the legalist casts his anchor on his own works. He will save himself. After all, isn´t he in the right group? Doesn´t he have the right law? And hasn´t he passed through the right invitation? (Even wonder why so many religious people have such stormy lives?)
Here is the point: Salvation is God´s business.
...God is the One who saves his children. There is only one name under heaven that has the power to save, and that name is not yours.

(From In the Grip of Grace by Max Lucado)

God has a set of laws, and when a law is broken, that is sin. The list of laws is long, and we are not able to completely obey them. Not only that, but God says that when we break just one law, then we break them all. Ever had lust in your heart for someone other than your spouse or said a hateful word to someone? I have, and I imagine you have also. And so we have not only broken those laws, but every single law. And that is the same for every person in the world, because God says that all have sinned. But a legalist is someone who tries to obey all those laws in order to have salvation, and go to Heaven. But the problem is that he or she has already broken them and sinned. If we want to go to Heaven by living a good life, then our life needs to be perfect, and we must obey every law that God has, and do that every day of our life. But we haven´t, and we can´t! We all have sin, and we can´t erase it from our past. But there is someone who can, but we have to rely on Him for our salvation, and not ourselves. It is the One who came here, and died for our sin. Its true, someone loves us so much that He came down from heaven, and although He was sinless, he took our sin, and our punishment for us. And so he suffered and died for us, and was dead for 3 days, and then rose again, and is now in Heaven again. But who was it that did that for us? It was God Himself, and who we know by the name of Jesus Christ. The One who created the universe, and the heavens, and the earth, and who created us, that is who came and died for us. Gods justice does not allow sin to go unpunished, but his love caused Him to punish Himself for our sins. Don´t you want to know Him? Don´t you want to know the One that loves you so much that He died for you, in order to save you? Trust in Jesus Christ for your salvation. Know that you have sin in your life, and ask for forgiveness, and God promises to forgive you. But whatever you do, do not trust in your own life and works for salvation, because it will not happen. There is only one way to eternal life and that is through Jesus Christ.
I would like to talk about what happens after receiving Christ in your life, and what is Gods plan for us as Christians. Once we are saved, God wants us to give us a heart like that of Jesus´s. And so He sends the Holy Spirit to those who believe in Jesus Christ, and it is the Holy Spirit to guides us, and changes our hearts. And when God has more and more control of our hearts, then he can truly use us for good in this world. The problem is that many Christians, many times including myself, think that it is by our own strength and knowledge that we serve God. And so we have our eyes on serving God, and not on God Himself. But the only good that we can accomplish is because God is in us, and we allow God to use us to accomplish his plan for our lives. And God wants to use our lives to spread the good news about Jesus Christ, and so more can be saved, the same as we were. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at timstine_00@yahoo.com

Power

The pole of power is greasy.
The Roman emperor Charlemagne knew that. An interesting story surrounds the burial of this famous king. Legend has it that he asked to be emtombed sitting upright in his throne. He asked that his crown be placed on his head and his sceptor in his hand. He requested that the royal cape be draped around his shoulders and an open book be placed in his lap.
That was A.D. 814. Nearly two hundred years later, Emperor Othello determined to see if the burial request had been carried out. He allegedly sent a team of men to open the tomb and make a report. They found the body just as Charlemagne had requested. Only now, nearly two centuries later, the scene was gruesome. The crown was tilted, the mantle moth-eaten, the body disfigured. But open on the skeletal thighs was the book Charlemagne had requested- the Bible. One bony finger pointed to Matthew 16:26, ¨What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?¨
You can answer that one.

A sidenote from The Devotional Bible: Experiencing the Heart of Jesus (New Century Version). This is not actual words from the Bible, except the verse from Matthew 16:26.

Many people seek happiness from money, possessions, power, relationships, or many other things. But the truth is that none of those can truly bring us what our hearts desire. God designed us so that we could not be made content with these things, but only God himself could fill the true desire of our heart. Let me be the first to say that I have looked for happiness in all these things, but have not found it there. I am new to the marriage thing, but I know one thing, and that is when we look to our spouse to fill the void in our heart, and to bring us true happiness, it is not going to happen. A person is not able to give another person the type of happiness that is everlasting. I think that the only thing that will quench our hearts thirst is knowing God more and more, and knowing Gods love for us. I want that to happen more and more in all our lives, including my own.

Eliana and I are doing well. We have been married for almost 2 months, and I feel very blessed to have Eliana as my wife. She truly is a very wonderful and special woman. It truly has been remarkable how God has helped us. Helped us in our relationship, and in many other ways. We are waiting on my resident visa. We have finished the paperwork, and are now waiting. We wish to soon have my visa, but I will first need to go to Chile to pick it up. I am not sure why, but that is how they do it here. A person has to leave the country to pick up their resident visa, and can then return. Going in a bus is not very expensive, and also is only about a days drive to Chile. Please pray for that, and that everything goes according to Gods plan. Thank you!

Passion of the Christ video.

I wanted to post a video with clips of the passion of the Christ. Possibly you have not seen the movie, so let me tell you about it. It is a reinactment the focuses mainly on the last days of Jesus Christs life. The movie is graphic, but I believe it is very realistic of the suffering, torture, and crucificion that Christ went through for all of us. I think that what He went through for us we can not imagine.

In Isaiah 52:14 says: ¨Many people were shocked when they saw him. His appearance was so changed he did not look like a man; his form was changed so much that they could barely tell he was human.¨

Those words describe what Jesus Christ would go through, and how bad he would be beaten and tortured. The video is a graphic reinactment, but I think that what actually happened was even worst.

Jesus Christ suffered and died for a reason. He did it because He loves us all, and died for our sins. None of us are without sin, but all have sinned, and that is why he died for us. God cannot ignore sin, but sin must be punished. But because God loves us, He himself came and died for us, and took the punishment. And all those who put their faith in Jesus Christ for their salvation will be saved. Acknowledge that you have done wrong, and have sin in your life, and accept Jesus Christ free gift of salvation. Do not think that you can be saved by living a good life, because all have sinned, and need a Savior. Jesus Christ was without sin, but took our sin, and died for us. But He rose again after 3 days, and is now wanting you to accept his gift of salvation. The price has already been paid, and punishment has been taken for you. Salvation is a free gift, and I hope that you will accept it.

P.S. The song in the video is by Barlowgirl. Basicly the song is about that often we feel alone and abandoned, but we are not along, because God is always with us. Although we can not see Him with our eyes, He is there, and knows everything about us, and everything we need. God loves us very much.