Thoughts on Hebrews

Chapter 1

"In the beginning,O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands." Hebrews 1:10

I have been going through the book of Hebrews and I am finding that it is a very masterful and powerful book. The author displays greatly the power and majesty of the gospel.

The superiority of God through His son is demonstrated by seven descriptive statements:
1)"appointed heirs of all things," ( cr. Romans 8:17) Christ,having performed the work of redemption, was righteously and gloriously exalted to the posistion of firstborn heir of God(the inheritence of God's estate)

2)"through whom he made the universe." (cr. John 1:3) All things were made through Christ. Nothing was made without Him or apart from Him.

3)"The Son is the radience of God's glory." (cr. John 1:14) The brilliance of the sun is inseparable from the sun itself. The Son's brilliance is inseparable to or from diety. He himself is God!

4)"exact representation of his being." (cr. Romans 9:5) Jesus Christ is not just an image or reflection of God, the Son Himself is God. An authentic representation of God's being.

5)"sustaining all things by his powerful word." (cr. Col 1:17) The Son dynamically and righteously, as only He can do, holds everything together that has been created through Him.

6)"provided purification for sins." (cr. Titus 2:14) Through His redeeming death on the cross.

7)"Sat down at the right hand of the majesty in heaven." Christ is actively ruling with God as Lord over all!!!!

Jesus Christ was superior to all angels.Therefore,however great,awesome, and powerful they themselves are portrayed in the eyes of man. No angel could lay claim to his inhertited name.

The author then usues examples in the OT showing 3 things:
1) That He is God's Son (Ps. 2:7, 2 Sam 7:14)

2) He is worshiped by angels (Ps 104:4, Ps. 45:6-7)

3) Though Christ is God, He is distinguished from thr Father ( Ps. 110:1)

What is absolutely amazing and mind blowing is we see how much God loved His Son Jesus, and how great God is for giving us His son. As well as how amazing Christ is for his atoning death. As Paul says in Gal 3:29, if we are Christ follower's, then we are heirs with Christ! This has nothing to do with anything we are or do, but everything to do with God and His righteousness imputed to us by faith (Romans 4:13)

Be encouraged Brothers and Sisters in Christ

"Praise be to the most righeous Father and Creator"

Joel Osteen and the Glory Story: A Case Study

Michael S. Horton, Ph.D.

"Name it, claim it"; the "health-and-wealth" or "prosperity gospel" : these are nicknames for a heresy that in many respects is only an extreme version of perhaps the most typical focus of American Christianity today more generally. Basically, God is there for you and your happiness. He has some rules and principles for getting what you want out of life and if you follow them, you can have what you want. Just “declare it” and prosperity will come to you. God as Personal Shopper.

Although explicit proponents of the so-called “prosperity gospel” may be fewer than their influence suggests, its big names and best-selling authors (T. D. Jakes, Benny Hinn, Joel Osteen, and Joyce Meyer) are purveyors of a pagan worldview with a peculiarly American flavor. It’s basically what the sixteenth century German monk turned church reformer Martin Luther called the “theology of glory”: How can I climb the ladder and attain the glory here and now that God has actually promised for us after a life of suffering? The contrast is the “theology of the cross”: the story of God’s merciful descent to us, at great personal cost, a message that the Apostle Paul acknowledged was offensive and “foolish to Greeks.”

For the rest of this essay:

http://www.wscal.edu/faculty/wscwritings/horton.osteen/glorystory.php

A civil rights group is criticizing Florida Gov. Charlie Crist for hanging a Jewish symbol outside his capitol office, saying it could turn the state building into a shrine for other religious icons according to a report in the Palm Beach Post on Friday.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida said the hanging of a mezuzah, which contains Hebrew blessings, is the equivalent to the government's endorsement of a religious symbol, the Post reports.

"The problem is that if he says yes to this religious symbol, he's not going to be able to say no to any other religious symbol," said Howard Simon, executive director of the Florida ACLU, told the Post. "While it may look like a lovely gesture, it's very short-sighted."
Crist, a Methodist, received the mezuzah as a gift from Jewish state Rep. Adam Hasner. The governor told the Post he understands the separation of church and state but doesn't think he did anything wrong.

"But you have a freedom of religion, not a freedom from religion. All I'm doing is attempting to be respectful and grateful," said Crist, who said he has no intention of removing the mezuzah from his office.

But Simons says Crist's good-will gesture has legal implications.
"The problem is we have a governor who wants to try to please everybody... He just spontaneously accepted this gift and decided to hang the mezuzah on the doorjamb before he realized that there are constitutional issues that govern when government can decide which religious symbols it is going to embrace," Simons told the Post.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,303657,00.html