Little Things, Part 2   Introduction We’re all familiar with the crucifixion scene; Jesus was crucified between two thieves. We also know that from Luke 23:42-43, one of the thieves said, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” In general, this passage gets a lot of criticism because people use it to state that baptism isn’t essential. But we’re not looking at that subject in this article. Instead, I want to point out the little thing that gets unnoticed in this particular scene.   The Two Thieves The crucifixion scene is shown in three of the four gospels: Mt. 27:44; Mk. 15:32; Lk. 23:39-43. We’ve already looked a little at Luke’s account, let’s now turn to the other two. In Matthew 27:44, it says, Even the robbers who were crucified with Him reviled Him with the same thing. And in Mark 15:32 it says, "Let the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from ...

  Little Things, Part 1   Introduction In Hebrews 4:12, the writer says, For the word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart.   (ASV) One of the things I’ve noticed in studying scriptures is that sometimes certain phrases might be hidden from you as you go through it. Then one day, it suddenly stands out from the text and you say, “Oh, I didn’t notice that before.” I’ve had this happen to me a few times and it’s usually not until someone else will point out a verse, or a statement, that you never noticed before. Not that you’ve never read it before, mind you, but it’s something that never caught your attention until now. For whatever reason; which is why I believe in the “living and active” part of Heb. 4:12. It makes you want to go back to the bible and read it again and more often. These are ...

Poem written by Christopher Mentzer    Christ was born in a stable; That Day, in history, is lost. But for true education; To speak of your salvation, From the man who died upon the cross.   A child in a manger; Is innocent as you can see. He’s the King of Kings, With a shout, ‘Hosanna’, rings. A remission of sins in the man it will be.   Wise men came from afar, Bearing gifts to the young juvenile. But the gift He made, Is the life He gave, Upon the cross for every man, woman, and child.   Born of the House of David; The tribe of Judah is his lineage. The last of his ancestry, He completed his ministry, On the cross he said, “It is finished.”   To celebrate His birth is to no avail, It is counted naught but dross. But your edification, And eternal salvation, Comes from the man who died upon the cross.

Introduction This article is a bonus question concerning Jesus that I came up with after I had finished the series. It goes along with the subject of Christ’ death and is basically a pet peeve of mine. Often, I hear someone lead a prayer to God; thanking him for sending his son, Jesus, to die on the cross. Though he was sent for that reason, it wasn’t the only reason. I think that if that was the only reason his death would have been pointless. Why Was Jesus Sent? 1.    To Fulfill prophecy —If you go through the Old Testament, there are many prophecies given concerning Jesus coming to Earth. The first example took place in the Garden of Eden. In Gen. 3:15 God said to the serpent, “And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel." This was fulfilled when many people followed Jesus; knowing that he was the Son of God. Their put their lives...

  Introduction         Imagine if you will, the account of Jesus; after the resurrection in Jn. 20:19-20, when he appeared to his disciples. Instead of telling them that he is the resurrected Christ, he would say, “April Fools!” How different would their lives be if Jesus had, in fact, faked his own death? There are many skeptics out there, even today, who believe that Jesus never really died on the cross. We will look at a few of them. The Swoon Theory         The idea here is that Jesus didn’t die but merely passed out on the cross. And that later, when he was placed in the tomb, he managed to escape. He would then clean himself up and then appear to his disciples on the first day of the week.         To understand everything that Jesus went through, including the burial, we consult the scriptures: 1.    Scourging—Matt. 27: 26 2. ...

Written by Christopher Mentzer (from 2003)               I had the opportunity a while back to play a computer called “The Sims”.  It’s an interactive game in which you control the everyday lives of these people.  Everything they do from giving them a job, to providing housing, entertainment and making friends you have to decide for them.  After playing for a while, I noticed that I also had to tell them when to use the bathroom, shower, eat a meal and clean up after themselves.  Now this may sound like these people are stupid, but as I mentioned at the start you control these people’s lives.             Sometimes we take for granted the little things in life; eating, cleaning up and showering.  That’s because we are taught when we are young to do these things so we don’t have to spend a lot o...