.K.! NEW CHRISTIAN....WHAT NOW? by Elmer G. Magnussen
If you are a new Christian, there are some very
important things you need to
know. First, you need to know exactly what has happened to you. Second,
you need to know God's provisions for your future growth and service to Him.
Daily devotions
is a 365 day devotions covering the entire Bible.
The entire world today is seeking wisdom! Education is prevalent in every
city. Literally thousands of young and old alike are attending universities.
But how many of them really know the meaning of wisdom? Wisdom is seeing
things from God's point of view.
...
The following testimony is that of a man by the name of Andre.
I WAS IN PRISON, AND YOU CAME TO ME (Matthew 25:36c)
"My testimony to my Christian Brothers and believers in Jesus Christ our
Savior. I want to thank the Lord for saving me from the life I was once
leading. First of all, I was living in darkness and I thought that I truly
loved the way I was.
...
1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the
LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall
not eat of every tree of the garden? 2 And the woman said unto the serpent,
We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3 But of the fruit of
the tree which [is] in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not
eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 4 And the serpent said
unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5 For God doth know that in the day
ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods,
knowing good and evil.
Believerscafe
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daily devotions, dictionaries and
other useful materials with over 40,000 pages. Believerscafe is a sister project
of WikiChristian, an encyclopedia and discussion
forum for all Christians to share their faith.
Inspirational Articles
Inspiration and instruction is great collection of 379 articles of Inspiration for your spiritual
growth and edification.
Christian Classics is a large
collection of great Christian Classics with over 30,000 pages.
ECF, Ante-Nicene Fathers, the Writings of the Fathers Down to
A.D. 325.
WWSB, World Wide Study Bible.
Today's Bible Study
In chapter 19 we see Christ on the cross
In chapter 19 we see Christ on the cross.
He was mocked (verses 1-22); He was crucified
(verses 23-30); and He was buried (verses 31-42). It is
interesting to contrast Christ's birth and death--He was
born in poverty, and buried with the rich; He came into
the world wrapped in swaddling clothes, and left wrapped
in burial cloths; and at His birth people came to
worship Him, and at His burial they forsook Him and even
ridiculed Him.
In the Gospel of John there are three crisis
events. One is when the multitude leaves Jesus, after
wanting to make Him King. This event is found in chapter
6. The second crisis is found in chapter 12, when the
people refuse to believe in Him. The third crisis is
found in chapter 19, when they crucify Him. In the first
crisis the people wanted to make Him King--yet they left
Him. In the second crisis they hailed Him as King--yet
they rejected Him. And in the third crisis they cried
out, "We have no king but Caesar,"--and they crucified
Him. The entire Gospel of John is the conflict between
faith and unbelief. As recorded in the third chapter, it
is unbelief that causes man to be condemned; but through
belief, condemnation is taken away.
Chapter 20 records three post-resurrection
appearances of Christ. Each appearance brought about a
different result in the lives of those who were
involved. When Mary recognized the risen Saviour, she
said to Him, "Rabboni: which is to say, Master." The
disciples saw Christ as He came through the locked doors
in His glorified body. He gave them peace--peace with
God, based on His sacrifice on the cross (verse 19), and
peace of God that comes from His presence with us (verse
21). This is the peace that passes all understanding,
and can only come to those who abide in Christ.
Next, we note the reaction of Thomas (called
Didymus) when he saw Christ. He had not been present
when Christ first appeared to the disciples, and he
doubted the fact that Christ had risen. The name Didymus
means twin. Today, Thomas has many twins. There are
those who doubt Christ's resurrection. His testimony
thrills us as he said, "My Lord and my God." The view of
Christ's wounds won his heart.
As we review these three appearances of Christ,
we can see the different results. With Mary the issue
was her love for Christ. She missed Him and wanted to
take care of His body. With the disciples it was hope.
All their hope was gone. They were locked in their room,
gathered together in fear. With Thomas the issue was
faith. He would not believe unless he saw proof.
In the final chapter of this great book, we see
Christ as the Master of our service and also as a Friend
of sinners. We note exactly what happened between Peter
and the Lord, and how Christ dealt with the disobedience
of Peter. Notice that three times Jesus required Peter
to confirm his love. Peter denied Christ three times,
and we see him confirming the fact that he loves Jesus
three times also. Had Peter not met Christ here in
chapter 21, and confessed his sins, we might not have
met Peter again as we do in Acts 1. This should be a
great encouragement to those who have stumbled and
fallen while striving to serve God. Peter denied he even
knew Christ. Yet, when he came with a broken heart and
confessed his sins, Christ forgave him and blessed him
in a greater way than ever before. We will see as we
study the Book of Acts how greatly Peter's life was
magnified for the glory of God.
Madam Guyon
