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Jesus is the Word of God? Oct 11, 2008 2:12 pm
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questions dot o

Question: "What do John 1:1,14 mean when they declare that Jesus is the Word of God?"

Answer: The answer to this question is found by first understanding the reason why John wrote his gospel. We find his purpose clearly stated in John 20:30-31. “Many other signs therefore Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.” Once we understand that John’s purpose was to introduce the readers of his gospel to Jesus Christ, establishing Who Jesus is (God in the flesh) and what He did, all with the sole aim of leading them to embrace the saving work of Christ in faith, we will be better able to understand why John introduces Jesus as “The Word” in John 1:1.

By starting out his gospel stating, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God,” John is introducing Jesus with a word or a term that both his Jewish and Gentile readers would have been familiar with. The Greek word translated “Word” in this passage is Logos, and it was common in both Greek philosophy and Jewish thought of that day. For example, in the Old Testament the “word” of God is often personified as an instrument for the execution of God’s will (Psalm 33:6; 107:20; 119:89; 147:15-1. So, for his Jewish readers, by introducing Jesus as the “Word,” John is in a sense pointing them back to the Old Testament where the Logos or “Word” of God is associated with the personification of God’s revelation. And in Greek philosophy, the term Logos was used to describe the intermediate agency by which God created material things and communicated with them. In the Greek worldview, the Logos was thought of as a bridge between the transcendent God and the material universe. Therefore, for his Greek readers the use of the term Logos would have likely brought forth the idea of a mediating principle between God and the world.

So, essentially, what John is doing by introducing Jesus as the Logos is drawing upon a familiar word and concept that both Jews and Gentiles of his day would have been familiar with and using that as the starting point from which He introduces them to Jesus Christ. But John goes beyond the familiar concept of Logos that his Jewish and Gentile readers would have had and presents Jesus Christ not as a mere mediating principle like the Greeks perceived, but as a personal being, fully divine, yet fully human. Also, Christ was not simply a personification of God’s revelation as the Jews thought, but was indeed God’s perfect revelation of Himself in the flesh, so much so that John would record Jesus’ own words to Philip: "Jesus said unto Him, 'Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how do you say, "Show us the Father"?'" (John 14:9). By using the term Logos or “Word” in John 1:1, John is amplifying and applying a concept that was familiar with his audience and using that to introduce his readers to the true Logos of God in Jesus Christ, the Living Word of God, fully God and yet fully man, who came to reveal God to man and redeem all who believe in Him from their sin.
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What does it mean that Jesus is the Lamb of God? Oct 11, 2008 2:09 pm
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Question: "What does it mean that Jesus is the Lamb of God?"

Answer: When Jesus is called the Lamb of God in John 1:29 and John 1:36, it is in reference to His being the perfect and ultimate sacrifice for sin. In order to understand who Christ was and what He did, we must begin with the Old Testament, which contains prophecies concerning the coming of Christ as an “offering for sin” (Isaiah 53:10). In fact, the whole sacrificial system established by God in the Old Testament set the stage for the coming of Jesus Christ, who is the perfect sacrifice that God would provide as atonement for the sins of His people (Romans 8:3; Hebrews 10).

The sacrifice of lambs played a very important role in the Jewish religious life and their sacrificial system. When John the Baptist referred to Jesus as the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29), the Jews who heard him might have immediately thought of any one of several important sacrifices. With the time of the Passover Feast being very near, the first thought might be the sacrifice of the Passover Lamb. The Passover Feast was one of the main Jewish holidays and a celebration in remembrance of when God delivered the Israelites from bondage in Egypt. In fact, the slaying of the Passover Lamb and the applying of the blood to door posts of the houses in order for the death angel to pass over those people who are “covered by the blood” (Exodus 12:11-13) is a beautiful picture of Christ’s atoning work on the cross.

Another important sacrifice involving lambs was the daily sacrifices at the Temple in Jerusalem. Every morning and evening, a lamb was sacrificed in the Temple for the sins of the people (Exodus 29:38-42). These daily sacrifices, like all others, were simply to point people towards the perfect sacrifice of Christ on the cross. In fact, the time of Jesus’ death on the cross corresponds to the time the evening sacrifice would have been being made in the Temple. The Jews at that time would have also been familiar with the Old Testament prophets Jeremiah and Isaiah, whose prophecies foretold the coming of one who would be brought “like a lamb to the slaughter" (Jeremiah 11:19; Isaiah 53) and whose sufferings and sacrifice would provide redemption for Israel. Of course, that person who was foretold by the Old Testament prophets was none other than Jesus Christ, “the Lamb of God.”

While the idea of a sacrificial system might seem strange to us today, the concept of payment or restitution is still one we can easily understand. We know that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23) and that our sin separates us from God. We also know that the Bible teaches that we are all sinners and that none of us is righteous before God (Romans 3:23). Because of our sin, we are separated from God, and we stand guilty before Him; therefore, the only hope we can have is if He will provide a way for us to be reconciled to Himself and that is what He did in sending His Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross. Christ died to make atonement for sin and to pay the penalty of the sins of all who believe in Him.

It is through His death on the cross as God’s perfect sacrifice for sin and His resurrection three days later that we can now have eternal life if we believe in Him. The fact that God Himself has provided the offering that atones or pays for our sin is part of the glorious good news of the gospel that is so clearly declared in 1 Peter 1:18-21 - “knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.”

questions dot o
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are you doomed? Oct 11, 2008 5:14 am
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Many people seem to think they are doomed to be alone forever. Do you feel that way?
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Top 10: Most Expensive Divorce Settlements Oct 11, 2008 4:59 am
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Editors' Note: This article was published before Harrison Ford's ex-wife, Melissa Mathison, was awarded $118 million in January 2004. Otherwise, that divorce settlement would have surely been way up there.

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, 43% of first marriages will end in divorce or separation within 15 years in the United States. In 2000, there were 957,200 divorces, and reconciliation occured only for about 10% of them. In 1994, Massachusetts had the lowest divorce rate in the country with 2.4 divorces for every 1,000 people, while Nevada had the highest rates with 9.0.

Most of the time, divorces are settled between the spouses. But sometimes lawyers intervene and the court judges what each person is entitled to. For everyday people, this process is often nothing to write home about. But when a couple is worth billions of dollars, the stakes are not about nickels and dimes anymore and it's soon obvious that prenuptial agreements can be man's second best friend. Oftentimes, it's the ex-husband who ends up compensating the woman. On that note, let's explore the craziest payouts by checking out history's most expensive divorce settlements.

The criteria to compile this list are simple; we're looking for lump sum payments, without adding monthly expenses and alimony, which occurred within the last few decades. Sorry Mr. and Mrs. Trump, you don't qualify for the list!
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Cambodian couple saw house in half in divorce Oct 11, 2008 4:56 am
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PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - A couple in rural Cambodia has terminated their 18-year marriage with a divorce settlement that entailed sawing in two the wooden house they once shared, villagers said Friday. The husband, 42-year-old Moeun Sarim, has taken away with him all the bits and pieces of his half a house, said his 35-year-old wife, Vat Navy.


"Very strange, but this is what my husband wanted," she said by phone from a village about 62 miles east of Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh. She said they ended their marriage last month.

"He brought his relatives and used saws to cut the house in half," she said, adding that she now owns the other half that is still standing. The house is made from wood with a tile roof and propped up on wooden pillars, a typical style for a Cambodian country home.

She said her estranged husband and his relatives, after ripping apart half of the house, carried all the debris to his parents' house nearby.

She said the divorce was prompted by her husband's jealousy about her alleged relationship with a policeman in the village. She denied having an extramarital affair.

"He wanted a divorce, and I said, `Let's divorce,'" she said.

The husband could not be reached for comment.

Bou Bout, a village chief, said local officials and police were present as witnesses the day the couple split their 20-by-24 1/2 foot house into half.

"Local officials tried three times to get them to mend their differences, but the husband would not budge," Bou Bout said by phone.
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should Christians participate Oct 11, 2008 4:53 am
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In the Mardi Gra's? It started in Florida and later was made into a bigger deal in New Orleans. Is there anything good to come of it that a Christian should get involved.
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