Can you imagine how this proud Pharisee, Saul of Tarsus! felt, when He realised that this Jesus, whom he thought was dead, whom he hated so, and abused His disciplesseeking their distraction, was actually alive, what an experience that must have been? As to the band that was ‘en route’ with him to help him apprehend as many as they could, suddenly: ‘Stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes, he could see nothing. So, they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind, and did not eat nor drink anything!’ (Acts 9: 7-9) I have a feeling that whilst his... read more

I find that I must mention these events to describe the spirit and the reason that led tothe civil unrest which started with the crucifixion of Christ and what inspired the first persecution of Christ’s disciples! It was a time when Jerusalem was filled with the Good News of Jesus’ resurrection. The disciples who hid for fear of the Jews, filled with the Holy Spirit they became very bold and never ceased to preach the resurrection of Christ openly! This displeased the authorities and the citizens of Jerusalem, especially that the Church experienced a very rapid growth! People were joining Christ’s disciples by the thousands; this could have led... read more

After his conversion ‘Saul’ was called ‘Paul’, which is the Greek version of it. Paul never forgot what the grace of God really means, for the had tasted it by his personal experience, the deep and strong love of God. His conversion was absolutely miraculous and unexpected! Who could have ever thought, that this violent young Pharisee that left Jerusalem with a devilish mission, hungry to make a name for himself by destroying the disciples of the Lord, was actually days away from a transforming conversion? But it happened as I mentioned, the light of Jesus’s glory blinded him and brought him down to the ground, but unbeknown to Saul, Jesus was already preparing one of his disciples to go and h... read more

It was in Arabia, that Jesus Christ appeared to Paul on several occasions, it is then that he was taught the Gospel from the very lips of the Lord Jesus Christ, for he says to the Galatians: ‘I want you to know, brothers, that the Gospel I preach is not something that man made up. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.’ (Galatians 1: 11-12) The Church would not be what it is meant to be without all that Paul contributed to its existence, and we would be in a sorry state if we did not have all that is written about him and what is written by Him, concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, that he loved and pr... read more

Concerning Saul of Tarsus, the Lord said to Ananias: ‘This man is a chosen instrument to carry my name before the gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel!’ Thus, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, Saul of Tarsus, whom I mentioned previously, was added to the other apostles, and that before he took the Gospel to Philippi, in Macedonia, he was called the apostle to the Gentiles, and by His obedience to the call, the Gospel reached the European Continent. The first person that became a Christian on the Continent of Europe was a Gentile lady, called Lydia. It is written concerning her that as Paul preached to the women that gathered by the river side: ‘One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thya... read more

This is the extent of what Christ had to suffer in His body on the Cross, for God to break the hold that Satan and death have over all men, therefore preaching the Gospel is a necessity and it is, with the unction of the Holy Spirit, that preachers are filled with the power of God, and given the right to proclaim Jesus Christ as Saviour, and by the preaching of the Gospel the Holy Spirit convicts a man of sin and creates in his heart the faith that saves him and makes of Him a new creature. By the new birth the believer becomes a child of God and joins the family of the redeemed! The Gospel, because it is the Word of God, has a creative power and those who ear it, are created anew to a new life by faith in Jesus Christ, as it is written: ‘For the wages of sin is... read more

We must appreciate that it was Jesus who was sent from heaven by God His father, to bring the Gospel. He came to seek and to save that which was lost. So, he lived among men and was the first to preach the Gospel and having done so, He came also, to give His life in sacrifice, and paid the price of his redemption and atoned for the sins of the world. To be saved means that the Lord Jesus delivers from the curse and corruption of sin every man that believes that He died for his sins. It is because of sin that the curse rests on all mankind and keeps all men in slavery to the devil! Jesus died on the cross, on the third day He rose from the dead triumphantly, to give eternal life to everyone that will believe in Him! King David knew personally the power of grace b... read more

The acceptance by faith of all that Jesus is, where He comes from, and belief in the words He received from His father, the glorious oneness that exist between him and His Father which He expresses so well, flows to all His disciples whom they now call their Father! So, they alone and those who through their words will believe, will also become His sons. By the powerful operation of the Holy Spirit, they have been born again through faith in Jesus Christ. This amazing unity is a miracle and it becomes possible through acceptance of the words Jesus preached to them; this truth is the Gospel and its power is creative, because every word of it, is born in the very heart of God the Father. It alone, when preached in the power of the Holy Spirit, can turn a sinner in... read more

It follows, after what I wrote in the last paragraph of the previous ‘link’, that such preachers, by their wilful ignorance of the Gospel, close to untold numbers of people the possibility of salvation! Concerning this divine Gospel, the apostle Paul says: ‘I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes (it): first for the Jews, then for the Gentile. For in the Gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’ (Romans 1: 16-17) You cannot earn it however pious you may be! For no other message can convict a sinner of his sins and lead him to conversion for the saving of his soul, for the Holy Spirit... read more

Obviously, none of these great blessings are obtainable unless one accepts that the Bible is the only Book that that by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is God given! During approximately one thousand five hundred years, about forty writers, inspired by the Holy Spirit, have written what He told them to, and yet, even if you accept that it so, you still have to believe that God exists and that it is He that says, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you too will be saved’! from death, corruption and hell! The preaching of the Cross is a message anointed by the Holy Spirit, it is a spiritual language, you may read it in your own language but it can only be understood by those to whom He opens the heart to grasp it, and causes the mind to understand it, thus th... read more

Now talking about the cross, we do not mean the wood, nor a crucifix, which to most Catholics has become a fetish, an object of worship, or protection from evil spirits, which is idolatry. No real Christian must indulge into that kind of error! The wood on which Christ died is perished long ago, but what happened on it is important even now, for on it our Saviour died for our sins. The message of the Gospel is ever powerful, and without beginning at the Cross, spiritually, and an inward change brought about by the power of the shed blood of Jesus Christ, there is no forgiveness of sins, and no hope of salvation! Following such a conversion, redemption is secure to the repenting sinner and Christ becomes his Lord and Master forever! Therefore, as says a hymn writ... read more

Twenty centuries after the fall of Adam God called a man, an idol worshipping Chaldeans, called Abraham, a Hebrew, and during centuries following his call, from this one man he built up a nation, known today as Israel! God set up Israel as a special nation, yet whatever spiritual life was left in it from the day they left Egypt, ended at the cross, when they crucified their Messiah; from then on, all men, Jews and Gentiles, are in the same spiritual condition, they are dead, rejected by God and under the curse, as I explained previously! By His death on the cross Jesus above all defeated Satan, death, and sin! It is written: ‘Since the children (Of God) have flesh and blood (meaning that they are human) He (Jesus-Christ) too shared in their humanity so that... read more

Because it is a question of eternal life or eternal death, I cannot stress enough the necessity that to be saved from the curse that sin has imposed on humanity, men have to know the truth and they could not know the truth about Jesus Christ, unless a preacher is sent to them to tell them about the Lord’s liberating power, and show to them the way from condemnation to eternal life; this comes out strongly in the following statement, which continues the sequence of questions found in Romans chapter ten.  So, we must deal with the question which follows the one quoted in Link 43! To remind you of the sequence quoted from that chapter, let me quote the following verses: ‘The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your h... read more

It is a historical fact, that men only became Christians, when and where the disciples of Christ went to preach the Gospel after that they were filled with the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, then a hundred and twenty disciples of the Lord were filled with the Holy Spirit! Then, in obedience to the Lord’s command: ‘They went everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed His Word (the Gospel) by the signs that accompanied it. (Mark 16:20) This is happening to this very day, by various preachers which Jesus fills with the Holy Spirit, prepares them for the task and sends where He want them to! 

The Pentec... read more

Having preached in synagogues throughout Galilee, Jesus returned to Nazareth, His home town. We must remember that Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit, so He returned not to show off and tell the people look at me now, your little unimported carpenter! No, Jesus went back to Nazareth with a specific mission and as always, ‘He went in the Synagogue, as Was His custom’. And He stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him.

Unrolling it, He found the place where it was written: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because He has anointed me to preach the Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom to the prisoners and recovering of sight to the blind, to release the op... read more

Jesus did not call just anybody to follow Him; He took it very seriously; for it is written: ‘One of those days Jesus went out to the mountainside to pray, and spent all night praying God. When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he designated apostles; Simon (whom He named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James, son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the zealot, Judas, son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.’ (Luke 6: 12: 16) Some people say that He prayed all night because He did not want Judas Iscariot to be one of the apostles! But that is just a human addition, people like to speculate, to add their thoughts for no specific reason, if it is not written it is... read more

Much of Paul’s character remained even after his conversion, but his ministry and the authority of it was shaped by all his experiences, including his encounters with the Lord, and the very important call of God! Christ died for Paul’s sins just as He did for all His other disciples; the grace of God was poured out on him abundantly, as he says. To the Galatians Christians he writes: ‘When God, who set me apart from birth and called me by His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles. I did not consult any man…but I went immediately into Arabia.’ (Galatians 1: 15-17) Paul spent ten years in his home town, before Barnabas w... read more

The conclusion to this unique calling is that the servants of Christ, whoever they may be, receive a unique gift from their Master, Jesus Christ. Remember, that I mentioned how serious it was for the Lord to choose His twelve apostles; He spent all night in prayer, and in the morning chosen twelve from amongst them. I mention this because the Lord did not call them from the University in Jerusalem! They were fishermen, tax collectors, men from the working class. As far as the clergy in Jerusalem and the elders, rulers of the nation, they despised them, like they despised Jesus. In Acts chapter 3 and 4, is recorded how Peter and John, in the name of Jesus, healed a crippled man from birth. He sat daily at a gate of the Temple called: ... read more

Jesus makes the following statements: ‘I have revealed your name to those that you have given me out of the world! ... I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you and they believed that you sent me. (John 17: 6-8) Had Jesus taught His disciples another Gospel then the one He received from God they would not have known Him as their Father! God’s purpose in sending Jesus into the world is to gather together His family, anything else is not the most important purpose of preaching it; it still is that important to this very day, what God is bringing together, His family! JESUS is in heaven preparing a home for them! This is what He said to them, while they were gathered in the upper room for the Passover fe... read more

Thus, to be this spotless lamb of God, Jesus had to submit completely to the will of His Father. It is written that every disobedience to God is sin, so, to that end, He had to conduct His ministry as a man, and although as I said: He had nothing to repent from, yet He went to the Jordan to be baptised by John whose calling was to bring the people to repent and be baptised, hence it is written: ‘Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptised by John. But John tried to deter Him, saying: I need to be baptised by you, and do you come to me? Jesus replied: Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfil all the righteousness. Then John consented.’ (Luke 3: 13-14)

So, it had to be do... read more

A few years after the Lord’s ascension, Peter lived through an amazing experience. He was in Joppa, a town on the west coast of Palestine by the Mediterranean Sea, staying in the house of one called Simon, a tanner. Unbeknown to him, he was to be deeply challenged, for God was preparing him for an amazing experience that will shake him out of his Jewish prejudices and open his eyes to understand a bit more of God’s unlimited grace and plan in Christ Jesus! In Caesarea, a town situated about forty-five kilometres up the coast, God was at work preparing a Roman Centurion for an amazing encounter with Peter. It is written: ‘At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. He... read more

There was no way that he would ever get the zest of what was the actual meaning of the vision, but While Peter was wondering about the meaning of it, the three men sent by Cornelius ‘found the house in Joppa where was the apostle Peter, they stopped at the gate, and called out, asking if Simon, who was known as Peter, was staying there.’ While Peter was still thinking about the vision the Spirit said to him: ‘Simon three men are looking for you. So, get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.’ (Acts 10: 20). He could not say NO to that! I love the way Jesus was priming Peter for the task ahead, I would value to have this privilege of actually hearing His co... read more

So, having written what I thought was needful, I can now come to extract out of Peter’s message the verse that takes us back to when John the Baptist saw the Holy Spirit come down from heaven as a dove on Jesus and remain on Him. This is what Peter said to those folk. ‘You know the message God send to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. You know what happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee, after the baptism that John preached – how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how He went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, for God was with Him!’ (Acts 10:36-38) Why should Jesus, the Son of God, be anointed?

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Whilst the anointing with oil started in the Old Testament, directly by the filling with the Holy Spirit it is now continued in the New Testament, it was then as it is now a massive favour that the Lord bestows on a man, for to be chosen to serve God must be the highest honour on earth, especially that it happens of His own choosing! Nevertheless, his anointing puts on the anointed man a right, an authority and a limit to his activities! The anointing of a man to be King does not mean that this anointing makes him also priest or a prophet. If a man was anointed to be a priest unto God that was what he was, he was not a king or a prophet as well! To go beyond the limits imposed by the anointing was disobedience and every disobedience is sin. No-one could be pries... read more

I have often quoted passages of Holy Scriptures more than once, I did it because I used them for various instances and different applications in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ or on other occasions. All the points I covered in the previous Links was to declare all that God the Father had to do, to make the salvation of a sinner possible, and after thirty years of living on earth, the Son of God had to leave Nazareth, to be baptised in water by John the Baptist, and be anointed as explained previously, and after all that, no man can be saved but by His will! Nobody can save himself from damnation by what he does, however praise worthy, even if he or she is beatified, nor can anyone be saved by what someone else does to or for him, even if it be the Pope! who a... read more

When we have read these verses, we could come to the conclusion that when the disciples heard this command, they packed their luggage, said their good byes and went. But that is not the case! It is a resume of what eventually happened, but Jesus did tell them other things which happened before they actually went. Luke, in his gospel, says something a bit different to what wrote Matthew and Marc, the difference which is very important, complements what they wrote and is part of the same command, so Luke has written: ‘This is what I told you while I was still with you. Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms. Then He opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them: This is... read more

Now we know who came down from on high on our Lord Jesus when he had been baptised in water by John the Baptist! To remind you: ‘As soon as Jesus was baptised, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he (John the Baptist) saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lightning on Him.’ This filling (baptism) with the Holy Spirit that came on Him as a dove, and this coming down of the Holy Spirit, according to what Peter said to Cornelius, the Roman centurion, was the Lord’s anointing. This is why the Holy Spirit impressed Luke to write to his friend Theophilus and say that the disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ were going to be filled with the Holy Spirit just as was Jesus our Lord. Luke clearly states, under divine anointing that:... read more

After appearing to His disciples during forty days, and sharing with them things about the kingdom of God, Jesus found it very important to remind them this last promise before he left them on earth. Although He told them previously, not to leave Jerusalem but wait for the gift my Father promised, His last words on earth were: ‘But you will receive power when the Holy-Spirit comes on you.’! I believe that Christians today must take note of this words that Jesus found so important to leave not only for His disciples, but to all Christians in all generations, so that we realise the importance of being filled with divine power, to live our lives filled with the Holy Spirit, without which we are too weak in a world that badly needs to be shaken. ‘After He said this,... read more

The apostle John says, that on the first day of the week: ‘When the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus stood among them and said ‘Peace be with you.’ After he said this, He showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw Him!’ (John 20: 19-20) The wounds were fresh, but they were not bleeding. The glorified body of Christ had no blood, and never will have again! The wounds proved that it was really Him, and they will forever be the marks of what men have done to Him, a reminder that He died to redeem every Christians, those that His Father gave to Him; He gave His life for their redemption and shed His blood to cleanse them from their sins. I wonder if seeing Him alive they thought that He was ba... read more

Before I deal with the day of Pentecost, I must make a statement concerning an important thing that Jesus did when he was with them on one of His appearances; not many preachers mention it, at least I have not heard it, but yet it is written. Following the verses from John’s gospel quoted above it is written: ‘Again, Jesus said: Peace be with you! As the father has sent me, I am sending you.’ And with that he breathed on them and said: ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’ (John 20: 21-22) The only time God did a similar thing was in Genesis where it is written: ‘The Lord God formed the man (Adam) from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul!’ (Genesis 2: 9) It led me to wonder about what Jesus really did, for... read more

It proves that all that Jesus said and all the miracles he did, did not make much difference spiritually, of course they were disciples which Jesus called to follow Him: ‘Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.’ They were in a process of growth but without true understanding of all that Jesus taught, and even though Jesus told them that this would happen to Him and that he would rise again on the third day, it did not register. There is so much that I could say about what is quoted above, but I must proceed to show that these men were so, until Jesus, after He rose from the dead opened their understanding, Luke quotes what Jesus said and did in one of His appearances to the disciples. ‘He said to them, This is what I told you while I was still with you: Ev... read more

On that day of Pentecost, there were people from fifteen different parts of the world, each group, heard them speak in their native tongues. Among them, were proselytes – gentiles converted to Judaism! -- They heard one hundred and twenty people speak in other tongues, many of them spoke their languages, but even more were spoken, what a mighty miracle! It takes sense and intellect to speak a language, some languages are harder to learn than others. I came to England as a student not knowing English. I had to sit in the classroom and with many other did not understand a word spoken by the prof. here month after I had my first exam. I tried hard to learn ten words a day, and revised them under my blanket with a torch. First thing in the morning I revised them! It... read more

Everything that I have written from the beginning of this study describes well the destructive power of sin and everything that God planned to do, and did, to destroy it and eradicate it completely from the earth and its galaxy! As I went step by step with the subject in hand, with the help of the Lord, I learned a lot and realised more than ever, that to become a Christian is humanly impossible. I can see more clearly that only the wisdom and the power of the Gospel which is the Gospel, anointed by the Holy Spirit, can make from a child of the devil a son of God. To keep up with it I have to go back and read again the previous links to see what the Lord has taught me and state that God is on a mission to bring into being a family, and wrap up the old order fore... read more

Man’s mental and spiritual corruption is described in the following passage of the Bible, it is written that: ‘The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the ungodliness and wickedness of men that suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known of God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – His eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.’ (Romans 1: 18-19) These are facts, this is how God sees every sinner, thus we are told the reason why man is what he is. His present situation is what it was from the drama that took place in the Garden of Eden, where time began.... read more

Let us see what this unbelief means, it means that immorality and all kind of sins are present because God has abandoned man to his own devises, and that because He does not speak to him, man will eventually de destroyed and eventually the planet he lives on. Look at the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, it became so bad that there was not a scrap of decency left, immoral sexuality of every type just took over everything, they all lived in debauchery and God could only stop them by burning it all up, man and beast All that is left is the Dead sea, and remains as a testimony of God’s righteousness! Therefore, the Holy Scripture, the Bible, is alive and every word is very important even at the present time, it is ‘God breathed’ inspired by the Holy Spirit, and it calls... read more

World governments, to accommodate the spirit of the age, have changed the moral law that man knew through his conscience, which God wrote it; later he gave them to Israel through Moses. So, those acts of parliament, encourage immoral relationships, and have legalised what the ALMIGHTY has forbidden; nevertheless, they do not change God’s law at all, it remains written and by disobedience condemns men to hell! According to what I quoted from the book of Romans in the previous ‘Link’ men receive in their being down here, the penalty for their perversion, one of the terrible things that sin does is that it silences the conscience, which is the voice of God in men; it is written in the Bible, that the conscience of such people is seared as with a rod of iron, t... read more

In a previous ‘Link’, I have typed extracts from the epistle that the apostle Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome, I do so for I always think of people, that may read these ‘Links’ and have not got a Bible. I have written what I have because people read various books about subjects in the Bible, as they proceed they find in them many references to the Bible on a subject found in it, but do not bother to find and read them, because they either do not know how to, have not got a Bible or just skip it instead of finding it to read it, I have done it often myself, I know how tedious it can be, and yet, to have the full meaning on the subject treated in the book, that they might be reading, they should follow, and find those references, thus to know really what God... read more

Thus, God sent the flood and all perished, men and beats, except Noah and his family so, only eight were saved. One can read the account of it in Genesis chapters 6 to 9. We also have the story of Sodom and Gomorrah! It is written that things got so bad that, as he did in the days of the flood: ‘Then the Lord said. ‘The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not then I will know! This is followed by an amazing intercession of Abraham pleading for the life of Lot His nephew who lived in Sodom…Two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city…by the time Lot reached Zoar (Could have been a vill... read more

Hence, every man that lives on this globe is condemned already. The idea that prevails man’s thinking that by doing our best we should be safe on judgement day, is a trick of the devil, for that way does not work, it leads nowhere and eternity is forever, it is not something that we can take a chance on. Man is a slave of the devil and he cannot free himself from his grasp, so what is the conclusion? ‘We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are under sin. As it is written: There is no-one righteous, not even one; there is no-one that understands, no-one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no-one who does good, not even one. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit. The poison... read more

Although men may think that this is a new way, it is not, for men in Old Testament have already known forgiveness of sins by God’s grace, which is the outflow of His love! This is what King David expresses very clearly in Psalm 103 where it is written: ‘Praise the Lord, O my soul, all my inmost being, praise His Holy name’. Why did King find that he should encourage himself to do this? Because it is good for us also, to talk to our soul, by doing so David gave himself a chance to look at his soul, and do something to bless it! Praise the Lord, (or bless the Lord) O my soul, and forget not all His benefits! David gives his soul a good reason to encourage himself to praise the Lord and told himself not forget to do so for good reasons. To bless is to ‘Give honour... read more