In communion the bread representing Jesus body is about God becoming flesh at Bethlehem as we celebrate the Christmas story! His flesh broken for us as we break the bread together! His blood represented by the cup as his blood shed for our sin for an atonement a gift given to us! His blood shed at Calvary which we celebrate at Easter! So both Holy Days are represented in our communion services! His body and his blood! These two great events are the only hope for mankind! Pastor David Jeremiah
Tag: body
Early Church on Homosexuality!
Consider how great is that sin, to have forced hell to appear even before its time…For that rain was unwonted, for the intercourse was contrary to nature, and it deluged the land, since lust had done so with their souls. Wherefore also the rain was opposite of the customary rain. Now only did it fail to stir up the womb of the earth to the production of fruit, but made it even useless for the reception of seed. For such was also the intercourse of the man, making a body of this sort more worthless than the very land of Sodom. And what is there more detestable than a man who hath proclaimed himself or what more execrable? Saint John Chrysostom (347-407 A.D.)
Holy Ground! Exodus 3:5
Take off your shoes Moses! No shoes allowed! Sometimes when you go into a business they post a sign on the front door that says, “Must wear shoes.” After the 9-11 Muslim terror attack on us you have to take your shoes off at the airport! Not in respect for Islam but to try to prevent them from blowing up your flight! Let us look at the word “ground” in the Hebrew. It is the word “Adamah” which is Strongs #127. Do you see a clue here? Do you see the word Adam here? God’s first created human being on planet earth. Adam was formed out of the ground! He was created out of the dust of the dust of the earth! The top soil produces the entire agriculture products for us to exist! In fact all the elements in the human body are found in the soil of the earth! The plants, tree’s and animals take the elements in the soil that we eat to replace the lost elements in our bodies! The name Adam means ruddy or a red brown color. It is the color of fermented wine. The curtains in the Jewish Temple were this color. Remember when you walk across the ground you were made of this stuff! Ashes to ashes! Dust to dust! Your physical body was joined together with God’s Spirit! You are created in the image of God! This is why the 6th Commandment says you shall not kill. Jesus is the second Adam sent to redeem us! God became flesh but this time to atone for the failure of the first Adam! The ground that Moses walked on produced man ! When we are buried at death back to the ground we go! The grave could not hold Jesus Christ! He defeated death and the grave! No mortal man could do this only God! The ground produced humans but not redemption! Only if the sin within us is defeated can death be defeated! The resurrected Christ promised to raise us from the dead! The angel or pre-incarnated Christ could live in the flames and not perish because he is the judge of all. Do you want to draw near to God? Then your sin must be covered in the blood of Jesus Christ! Then you can draw near to God and then he will draw near to you! In April of 1912 a ship sank below the waves of the Atlantic ocean! Those men that stayed with the Titanic sang their last hymn on earth with a full orchestra! The name of the song was, “Nearer My God to Thee!” The purpose and journey of our life while on this short life here on earth is to draw near to God! Your Holiness is not based on you but what God did for you! Would you like to accept Jesus Christ as your Savior? James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Wrath or Salvation? I Thessalonians 5:9-11
Thessalonica was the Crown Jewel of the Apostle Paul’s mission work! His preaching there achieved a numerous and socially prominent following! Paul and his companions in the summer of 50 A.D. had to leave the city! Paul’s sudden departure left the newly found church exposed to great persecution! Paul sent Timothy from Corinth to check on the congregation at Thessalonica. Timothy informed Paul at his return to him that the congregation was steadfast and had a zeal to spread the Gospel! However the church did have some internal problems with sexual relations and some theological issues. Some in the congregation thought that those believer’s that had preceded them in death would have a disadvantage over the living when the Lord returned! So the Letter to the Thessalonians was born out of the need for Paul to settle these issues with the Church there. Paul has made it clear in his letter that God has not appointed us to wrath! The word wrath used here means a punishment with revenge from men! Revenge is a punishment from men that satisfies them but also brings grief to the punisher! The wrath of men is the opposite to the Salvation of God! God took out his revenge on men for their sin by punishing his only Son Jesus Christ on the Cross! Wrath and judgment came upon Jesus Christ for our sin! This is why rejecting Jesus Christ is so serious an offense to God! In fact it is the only unpardonable sin! Judgment or Salvation? Heaven or Hell? The choice you make about Jesus Christ will cast your eternity forever! Jesus is not an option unless you want the consequences being separated from God forever! Jesus is Judge of the living and the dead! He will be your Judge or Savior! The choice is yours to make! Keep in mind in Hell there are no more choices! In Heaven as the Angel’s who are created beings like us still have a choice! Lucifer made his choice to reject God but do you want to follow him to Hell? Jesus took our place on the Cross and took our Judgment upon himself! If Jesus does not take your Judgment you will take your own Judgment! Paul went on to clarify that whether we wake or sleep we live together with him! The word live from the Greek means that God through his Son Jesus Christ causes us to live righteous and Holy physically, spiritually and eternally in him! Paul goes on to say we need to comfort one another! We as the Church need to come to one another’s aid! To comfort one another together as the Body of Christ! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Tattoo’s Taboo? Leviticus 19:28
“You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks on you: I am the Lord.” Comment: The English word “dead” used here is probably not the best choice because the Hebrew root word (Strongs #5315), means a living creature or breath! So do not cut your flesh for any living creature! Why? Because only God could do this through his Son Jesus Christ on the Cross for our sin! Jesus was marked for the living and the dead! Taboo is an old word that today we would call political correctness! Taboo means a social or religious discussion that is prohibited from speaking about! It is the practice of not allowing any conversations about certain topics! Hear no evil see no evil. So what are some of these topics? Gay marriage, drugs, homosexuality, lesbianism, divorce, tattoo’s and the list goes on! Even though our Bible is loaded with warnings about these topics most Pastor’s across America are muted? They will not bring up these important moral issues and some will even support these sins? These issues are killing our young people and families yet nothing said? Why would our Lord prohibit tattoo’s? In addition to what I previously said let us see what science says about tattoo’s! Remember true science will always support scriptures! The Book of Leviticus was written around 1400 B.C. So it was written about 3400 years ago! The political left mocks our Bible saying the times change and no longer has application! They say the same thing about our Constitution? Here is what science and our military says about tattoo’s! The U.S Military is no longer taking recruits that have tattoo’s on their bodies! Testing has shown their bodies will overheat in extreme conditions such as jungle and desert warfare! Here is a quote from Mayo Clinic: “Tattoo’s break the skin which means skin infections and other complications are possible including allergic reactions! Tattoo dyes especially red, green, yellow and blue cause itching rashes even years later! An area of inflammation called granuloma can form around tattoo ink. Tattoo’s can also lead to Keloids–raised area’s caused by overgrowth of scar tissue. They can also cause blood borne diseases! If the equipment is contaminated with infected blood you can get Methicillin–Resistance Staphyloccus Aureus (MRSA), hepatitis B and hepatitis C. Tattoo’s can also interfere with MRI imaging.” Also Tattoo’s block sweat glands of your body! Sweat is a natural way for your body to cool itself off and dissipate heat produced from work and exercise. It is like the radiator of your car which takes away engine heat produced by combustion. If your radiator is plugged up your engine will overheat and destroy itself! Heat injuries in the human body cause muscle death, kidney injury, brain injury and many other problems. Source: Healthline Studies have shown that benzo (a), pyrene, a chemical used in black dye ink, can induce skin cancer as shown on test animals! Need we say more? Science supports scripture! The whole verdict is still out as young people age with tattoo’s other things will show up! Hear no evil see no evil? If clergy will just preach the whole Bible and not cherry pick cultural popular verses our young people can be saved from destruction! Our young people should not be sacrificed in the name of political correctness! Science will have the last word unless we give our American youth the Word of God displayed in your Bible! Proclaim God’s Word to our Nation in it’s completeness holding back nothing! If they hear about evil they can avoid evil! James and Hamsa Sasse GodWhoisGod.com
Treasure in Heaven? Upon the Earth?
Matthew 6:19-21 Comment: So what is the difference between earth and heaven? What did Jesus mean here? You might think you know the difference but let us look at the Greek root words used for these two English words! The word earth means the dust part of the earth! It does not include the above ground earth! However we are made from the dust of the earth! We will return to the dust of the earth! All the elements in the human body are found in the dust of the earth! Science confirms the scriptures of your Bible! The word heaven used here is also interesting because this word used here by Jesus means in a physical sense! It means the all embracing heaven beneath which is the earth. What does the word heart mean? It means every thought, reasoning, understanding, will, judgment, designs, affections, love, hatred, fear, joy, sorrow and anger of a human being! We cannot hide our heart from God! This is reason alone to repent of our sin! Misplaced values of the heart will lead to wrong choices! So what did Jesus mean when we put all these three words together? Jesus was saying do not invest your life in dust! Your earthly treasures will perish with your body! Jesus is saying the eternal part of us will never perish! It is your soul, mind and eternal body! Jesus will one day raise us from the dead! To invest treasures in heaven means to invest in souls here in the earth! Use your resources to reach people for Christ! This is why our Pastor Cope Sunday had an emphasis on Vacation Bible School for our children! This is why he had a Gideon’s International speaker at the pulpit to fund Bible distribution world wide! If you go after money and not soul’s you will become spiritually bankrupt! Separated from God! Will your treasure perish with you or grow the Kingdom of God here on earth? Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Do Not Touch Me! John 20:17
Sounds like my old girl friend! This statement Jesus made is different in the Greek rendition than we have in the English! Here are some notes from the Greek notation in my Bible. The verb “hipton”, the present imperative of hipto(681), should be translated, “do not continue to touch me.” It is “do not touch me” in the commonly translated and should have been translated if this verb had been in the aorist imperative, hapsou. So does it matter? It means Mary has already touched Him! I think anyone would have to want to touch Jesus after his Resurrection with the human curiosity of is this the real deal? Remember Thomas later in this chapter would not believe until he touched Jesus and felt the scars of His Crucifixion! In regards to the four pillars of redemption which includes Jesus birth, death, resurrection and ascension Jesus even though human fingerprints were all over the first three pillars did not want human influence on Him after the resurrection before His ascension! The Greek word touch means to intentionally touch to modify with influence on! God wants to modify our behavior but God wants no human influence on Him! We are not going to take this flesh we are living in to Heaven! The only thing that influenced my behavior away from God is my flesh! We leave it the grave for a reason! After Jesus resurrection He walked through a closed door to see His disciples! No physical limitations of the flesh! Jesus has transformed my life but death will finish the job! We cannot enter Heaven in this flesh so we have to be transformed from the worm to the butterfly! We do not die without a purpose! We live with purpose in Christ and we die with purpose in Christ! Without Christ you live without purpose and you die without purpose! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Your Best Friend Should Not Be You!
John 12:25 Greek Translation “He that has his best friend as his physical body shall be killed and destroyed eternally: and he that hateth his physical body in this world shall preserve it from danger unto life of the spirit and the soul apart from the physical body inheriting God’s life with eternal value and time.” Comment: Did you notice most of the advertising industry is based around your physical body? It is all about weight loss, hair loss, teeth loss, skin loss, ect. The cosmetic industry is a multi-billion dollar industry! Yet we will all physically die! Does that mean we do not care for our physical body? It means as Jesus said before the Cross do not let you physical body be your best friend! It will forsake you! It will be a corpse sooner or later with no value! We are the Temple of the Holy Spirit! God does not want us to pollute our bodies with sin and corruption! Love God and not your physical body! Jesus was saying death is the incubator for life! The eternal part of us is the spirit and the soul. We need to nourish this as the most valuable! Develop your soul as on a treadmill. Exercise your spirit and your soul! Practice Holiness! Use the time you have as a gift from God to lead other’s to Christ! Read and study your Bible daily! Pray daily! Spent time and money to reach the lost! Use your God given resources to support your local church! For those that make it to Heaven you will not be alone! Neither will those in Hell. Would you like to meet other’s in Heaven you had a part in reaching here on earth? Billy Graham is doing that right now and forever! There was a poem written in 1855 and later became a song titled, “What A Friend We Have In Jesus!” Who is your best friend? James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Faith & Facts! Genesis 2:7
Did God really make man out of the dust of the earth? I did a little research! Ninety nine percent of the human body consist of six elements. Oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium and phosphorus. There are 18 other elements in the remaining one percent sometimes known as trace elements. Guess what? All the elements in the human body are found in the dust of the earth! They are in different proportions but are all present! Here is another interesting find! All the elements in the human body and in the dust of the earth are present in the dust of the moon! Again in different proportions but all present! This is another fact that supports the Genesis 1:1 narrative! Not only is our solar system the same age but consists of the same elements! When the plants and tree’s draw these elements out of the soil into produce and fruits we consume them and they replenish our bodies! This is not rocket science but science that confirms our Bible as accurate! The vitamin companies believe the Genesis narrative of creation but how about you? James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Transubstantiation! Matthew 26:29
Perhaps you will say, I see something else, how is it that you assert that I receive the Body of Christ?…Let us prove that this is not what nature made, but what the blessing consecrated, and the power of blessing is greater than that of nature, because by blessing nature itself is changed… For that sacrament which you receive is made what it is by the Word of Christ. But if the Word of Elijah had such power as to bring down fire from Heaven, shall not the Word of Christ have power to change the nature of the elements?… Why do you seek the order of nature is the Body of Christ, seeing that the Lord Jesus Himself was born of a virgin, not according to nature? It is the true Flesh of Christ which was crucified and buried, this is seen truly the Sacrament of His Body. Before the blessing of the heavenly words another nature is spoken of, after the consecration the Body is signified. He Himself speaks of His Blood. Before the consecration it has another name, after it is called Blood. And you say Amen, that is, it is true. Let the heart within confess what the mouth utters, let the soul feel what the voice speaks. Saint Abrose of Milan (340-397 A.D.) Comment: This doctrine has been a Catholic doctrine for hundreds of years! We have to look at two words used in verse 29. The word kingdom in the Greek can include both Heaven and earth! That is it can mean God’s rule over the earth and His rule over the Spiritual eternal Kingdom in Heaven! Remember part of the Lord’s prayer is on earth as it is in Heaven! The other word used in this verse is the word new! The word means qualitatively new! That is the old man has become a new man! The Old Testament has a new quality! It has become the New Testament! The old Heaven has a new quality! It has become the new Heaven! The old earth has a new quality! It has become a new earth! Everything changed at the Cross! A change took place in me when I came to the Cross! The changes are still taking place in me some 45 years later! It is a continual work! A daily reformation! Are we going to take Communion in Heaven? How about at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb? Some say well we will not because we will be with Jesus! Is Jesus not with you right now? Jesus said this do in remembrance of me! Do we need to remember what He has done for us in Heaven? When I take Communion here on earth what do I remember? I remember how bad I am and how good God is! I remember the price He paid for my sin! I remember I deserved death and He gave me life! I remember how hopeless and lost I was and He rescued me! Will I forget these things in Heaven? No way my friend! You see His love for me changed everything! His love for me caused me to love others! If I am that valuable then others must to valuable too! My same motivation to worship Him on earth will be the same motivation in Heaven! Ever Communion Service renews my relationship to Him! It is like being born again again! Paul warned us not to crucify Him again! We are to examine ourselves before Communion! Paul meant we are not to continue sinning after Communion! Whether the elements of the Communion are the actual Blood and Body of Jesus is not the issue with me! We can reject Christ even while taking Communion! Our heart can be somewhere else! Away from Him! So how can we test any Theology? Does the Theology move us closer to Christ or farther away from Him? If Communion causes me to feel free to sin because my slate will be clean at the next Communion Service then we have a license to sin! Does your love for Christ want you to please God and forsake your sin? Why did Lucifer rebel against God? Lucifer a created being like us that was the Praise Leader of Heaven and forsook his position and was cast out of Heaven with 1/3 of the Angels who became Satan? Lucifer looked at his job as a position only not in relationship to God! It was just a job and love was absent from his relationship to God! So self moved on the throne of his heart and rebellion followed! We attended a large church in Colorado Springs for 3 years. Pastor Brady Boyd had the congregation take Communion every week! This was a lot of work for there were about 5 thousand members! So what did this do for me? It brought to my remembrance more often what Christ had done for me and what He is doing for me today! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com