-------------------------<BrethrenVoice>------------------------- [which seeks to be guided solely by the NT Biblical pattern, facilitates free flow of Christian info. To God be the glory!] [eMail Moderator: ben@...] [<GLEANINGS-FOR-THE-DAY> archives/read online: http://associate.com/groups/brethrenvoice/ezmlm.cgi] <GLEANINGS-FOR-THE-DAY> <15 January 2003> Contents: ------------ 1) <Devotional> "Perceiving the unique" - Part 2 - Jill Carattini 2) <Bible-Study> "Divine revelation" (Pt-2/2) - Varghese John 3) <Poem> "The Cross" - John Newton 1) <DEVOTIONAL> <SLICE-OF-INFINITY> "PERCEIVING THE UNIQUE - PART 2" Jill Carattini How often in times of crisis we cry out instinctively for a power beyond our situation. On September 11th we cried out as a nation. In the midst of tragedy we correctly observe that the thought of a sovereign God is comforting. I recently read an essay in which the author, a Zen Buddhist, recounted the fateful day his plane came just moments from crashing. As the plane literally dropped from the sky, he recalls being shocked by his response. He writes, "When all seemed lost, it wasn't Mu I had cried out, or even Buddha, but of all things, Jesus-in spite of everything else I had ever believed or done." (Footnote 1: Clark Strand, Essay: At the Root of It All. www.beliefnet.org/story/44/story_4406.html) The Gospel of John records a similar situation. (Footnote 2: John 4:43-54) A royal official whose son was near death also found himself crying out to Jesus when tragedy drew near. Like many today, he believed Jesus was a unique person. But he had not fully considered the uniqueness of Christ until the peril of this moment, until Jesus himself tested his cry. His son teetering between life and death, the man chose to make his way to Jesus pleading that he come to his house and heal his son. The cry for help was persistent. But Jesus did not offer what the troubled father asked for. Jesus only offered words: "You may go. Your son lives." This moment becomes absolutely pivotal when you realize the man was given only a word of assurance from a man who spoke many words people that were unsure about! He faced a defining decision about the uniqueness of Jesus that day. Jesus tested the man's cry for life with an inquiry. "Will you believe in my words or do you only ask for a miracle?" The man, we are told, took Jesus at his word and departed. He chose to trust that the uniqueness of Jesus held the promise of that for which he cried; he chose to believe there was Life in the words of Christ. On his way home, his servants met him with news that his boy was living. Dear friends, the sovereign Lord is indeed our refuge in times of trouble; the Name above all names to cry out when all seems lost. Jesus is also so much more than that. Even as he draws near, His words test our cry: "Who do you say that I am? I tell you the truth, I am the resurrection and the life, whoever believes in me will never die." That is the unique promise we cry out for. --- Copyright(c) 2003 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). Reprinted with permission. A Slice of Infinity is a ministry of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries _______________________________________________________________________ 2) <BIBLE-STUDY> "DIVINE REVELATION" - PART-2/2) Varghese John .... SPECIAL REVELATION Special revelation is God's particular communication and manifestation of Himself to particular persons at particular times, which are available only in sacred Scriptures. The focus of special revelation is limited to Jesus Christ and the Scriptures. Since all that is known of Christ is through the Scriptures, it can be said that special revelation is limited to the Scriptures. In the Scriptures revelation is given as statements of fact. Moreover the source of these statements is supernatural. Bible asserts its special nature of revelation in many verses both in the Old and New Testaments: "And God spoke all these words, saying," (Ex. 20: 1); "These are the words of the covenant" (Deut. 29:1). "Moses had completed writing the words of this law in a book, when they were finished"(Deut. 31:24); "the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ" (Gal. 1:11,12). Special revelation has been necessitated because of man's sinful state through the fall in Eden. In order to restore fallen humanity to fellowship with Him it was essential that God reveal the way of salvation and reconciliation. Hence special revelation centers on the person of Jesus Christ. He is displayed in the Scripture as the One who has explained the Father (John 1:18). Jesus declared that both his words (John 6:63) and His works (John 5:36) demonstrated that He revealed the Father. That is why His words and works are accurately recorded in the Bible. Hebrews 1:3 says Christ is the " brightness of His glory and the express image of His person." The first phrase indicates that Christ radiates the Shekinah glory of God while the latter one reveals that Christ is the precise reproduction of His Father. Jesus Christ has fully revealed the Father to a sinful humanity and through his death on the cross, prepared the way for the mankind to be reconciled with God. Since the Bible is God-breathed (2 Tim. 3:16) and written by men carried along by the Holy Spirit (2Pet. 1:21), the Bible is entirely reliable and accurate in its portrayal of Jesus Christ. There is, in fact, a correlation between the two aspects of special revelation: the Scripture may be termed the 'written Word' (Heb. 4:12), while Jesus Christ may be designated the 'incarnate Word' (John 1:1,14). In the case of Christ there was human parentage but the Holy Spirit overshadowed the event (Luke 1:35), ensuring a sinless Christ; in the case of the Scripture there was human authorship but the Holy Spirit superintended the writers (2Pet. 1:21), ensuring an inerrant Word. The Bible accurately presents the special revelation of God in Christ. Therefore let us give the Bible the honour that it deserves. [Concluded] --- [Reproduced by permission] _______________________________________________________________________ 3) <HYMN> "THE CROSS" John Newton In evil long I took delight, Unawed by shame or fear, Till a new object struck my sight, And stopped my wild career. I saw One hanging on a tree, In agonies and blood; He fixed His languid eyes on me, As near His cross I stood. Sure never till my latest breath, Shall I forget that look! It seemed to charge me with His death, Though not a word He spoke. A second look He gave, which said, "I freely all forgive; This blood is for thy ransom paid; I die that thou mayest live." Thus while His death my sin displays In all its blackest hue, Such is the mystery of grace, It seals my pardon too! ---------------------------<BrethrenVoice>--------------------------- Subscribe, eMail:<brethrenvoice-subscribe@...> Unsubscribe, eMail:<brethrenvoice-unsubscribe@...> FAQs/Faith Statement, eMail: <brethrenvoice-faq@...> <BrethrenVoice> Home: www.brethrenvoice.net <eFellowship> Home: http://groups.msn.com/BrethrenChristiansForum/ "Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith." 2 Cor 13:5 "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Jn 8:32