bojackson54

[bojackson54]

Criminals in The Kingdom? The Testimony From a Condemned Man

Jesus of Nazareth was crucified between two criminals. They were two different men with different attitudes, and two different outcomes. Their story, however, leads me to one conclusion. Someday, there will be Criminals in the Kingdom of God. Men Suffering From the Same Condition “One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him. He said, “Are You not the Christ? Save…

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The Sentence That Wasn't a Sentence: What Exactly Did Pilate MEAN?

One of the most unusual testimonies about who Jesus was is expressed in a short sentence that wasn’t a legal sentence: “I find no fault in this man.” Consider the reactions of Pontius Pilate and his wife: “While he [Pilate] was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him a message, saying, “Have nothing to do with that righteous Man; for last night I suffered greatly in a dream because of…

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Seeing Might Be Believing, But Sometimes NOT Seeing Can ALSO Be Believing!

In today’s marketing and consumer-driven world, people who sell products run focus groups and test markets to make sure they have all the proof their product will succeed before they go to market. Metrics and analysis drive every business decision, so they can feel confident investing resources on production and marketing. A great idea is one thing, but an idea with the right metrics is BETTER.…

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The Eyewitness With No Eyes: We Didn't See THAT Coming!

Over the last few days, we have been looking at various eyewitness accounts about Jesus recorded in the Bible. If you want something more current, there is a great website called “I Am Second” that offers hundreds of personal eyewitness testimonies from people TODAY about what it’s like to encounter Jesus and to put him first in your life. It’s filled with people from every walk of life,…

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Sight Doesn't Necessarily Guarantee That You Can SEE

As we consider testimonies about Jesus, consider the account of the time he restored the sight of a man born blind, recorded in John 9. Because he was healed on the Sabbath, the religious law-keepers were offended about his healing. The Pharisees cross-examined him aggressively, trying to find out who committed this egregious Sabbath violation. They even tried to get him to join them in…

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The Samaritan Woman Whose Day Didn't Turn Out Like She Planned

There was once a somewhat bold and saucy Samaritan woman who lived on the outer edges of social convention. As a result, perhaps, she chose to stay away from the normal women’s gathering as they filled large water jars, avoided the heat of the day and caught up on village gossip. Instead, she went to the well at midday to draw water. There, she ran into a strange man, resulting in one of the most…

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Is it True That John Said His Best Friend Was "Full of Grace and Truth"?

This is a true story about lies… If your life depended upon knowing the truth, would you be happy with a lie? We generally don’t want to lead lives based on a lie, and normally we don’t feel that it’s healthy to engage in falsehood. (Probably since people who live lives based on falsehood used to be called delusional and locked away. Today they just go into Congress, or perhaps…

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They Say "Seeing Is Believing". What About NOT Seeing?

They say “seeing is believing”. Is it also possible that “NOT seeing is also believing”? Consider this account of the healing of the Capernaum official’s son… A Long-Distance Sign “And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to…

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His Own People Didn't See Who Jesus Was. Could They Have Been TOO CLose?

It is a remarkable point of fact that the Hebrew leaders in first Century Jerusalem and even many of his contemporaries did not see clearly who Jesus was. He performed miracles, but not in front of everybody; he was foretold by the Hebrew Scriptures, but he wasn’t raised as a Pharisee or a Levite. So why didn’t the religious rock stars in Jerusalem see Jesus as the Son of God? Could they have…

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Come And See: Don't Just Take MY Word For It!

Come and See: Observing something yourself can be the most powerful testimony there is. After all, when you are an eyewitness, you can draw your own conclusions. As we discussed yesterday, it was the advice Jesus gave to John’s disciples, who were checking Jesus out based on John’s recommendation. It’s easy to be skeptical of sales pitches and belief systems, but we are more readily swayed by…

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Come And See: A Surprising Invitation From a Surprising Newcomer

When Jesus arrived on the scene, his cousin John was preaching to large crowds who gathered to hear him outside of Jerusalem. “The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” They said,…

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Are Eyewitness Accounts Good Enough Evidence to Convict YOU?

The Christmas season always has so much meaning to me that I hate to see it end. But the tree and the Christmas lights are now officially down. Before we get TOO far into 2025, let’s pause to reflect one last time about the Christmas story. I love it because it’s a story filled with humility and surprise, full of unexpected details that validate the arrival of a long-awaited king. I love it…

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It's Light That Helps You See, But it's EVIDENCE That Helps You Decide

Over the past week or so, we’ve discussed the seven “I Am” statements of Christ, in which he proclaimed himself Light of the World. We’ve also investigated the Word, or the Logos from the Book of John. In his prologue, John refers to the Word as “the true light that gives light to every man”. (John 1:9, NIV) Light is defined as “the natural agent that stimulates sight and makes things visible.”…

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Is Eternal Life A QUANTITY of Life, or a QUALITY of Life? You Decide

In John 14:6 Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the LIFE”: This life Jesus mentions is eternal, and that’s what we usually focus on, isn’t it? John 3:16 says that whosoever believes on him has everlasting life. It captures our interest because it is immortal and incorruptible. It will be everlasting. For many people, Christianity is an eternal insurance policy because it offers the…

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John Wrote, "In Him Was Life". But, Was It REALLY? It's an Eternal Question

I said a couple of days ago that the three I AM statements in John 14:6 built upon one another, and today we come to the final one: “I am the life”. Let’s start by remembering John’s testimony about Jesus. Of the baby born in Bethlehem, John said, “In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” (John 1:4-5, NIV) Men…

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The Truth Is Assaulted Every Single Day. So What?

Yesterday we focused on “I am the WAY” in John 14:6; today we will look at “I am the TRUTH”, which is a little more complicated these days than it was when this was written… Truth today is deemed to be almost totally subjective, and there are fewer commonly accepted universal truths than ever before in my lifetime. Veracity today is treated much too casually, and we are lied to all too often.…

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Jesus Said, "I Am the Way." Was He Being Too Exclusive?

As we reflect on the seven “I AM” statements of Jesus, we come to John 14:6, where he offers us three of them, each one building upon the other. The first part of his statement, “I am the Way” is perhaps the most volatile thing Jesus ever claimed.Jesus said, “I am the WAY, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6)Read the first four words of this sentence four…