Archive for James

Resurrection: The Atheist Always Demanding Proof

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Gospel, Prophecy, Resurrection, Spring Feasts with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 16, 2022 by paulthepoke

The atheist, always wanting proof. The arguments are all the same. The Bible does not count as evidence so they say. Jesus is imaginary. The Bible is a fairy tale and just a book of stories. Religion is for the weak minded. Insert next cliché here…

You all spend a lot of time on “imaginary things” as you see it.

The atheist claims to have read the Bible. They usually studied the Bible at a liberal university and read it cover to cover of course. They took a class under a liberal, tenured professor. And they were brainwashed and told what to think.

Here is my challenge to the atheist. Sit down by yourself. Read. Comprehend… and think. Stop regurgitating what somebody told you. Be an independent thinker. Stop acting like the collective Borg.

As an introductory to Jesus, I recommend the book of 1 John. This will not take more than 10 minutes.

So you want proof…

Eye Witness Accounts

1 Corinthians 15:6-8 After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also.

In the passage above, there are 512 plus eyewitnesses to the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

John 20:11 But Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping; and so, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb;

Luke 24:10 Now they were Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James; also the other women with them were telling these things to the apostles.

Salome is included with this group in Mark 16:1 for a total of at least 4 women.

Luke 24:13-15 And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem. And they were talking with each other about all these things which had taken place. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself approached and began traveling with them.

Cleopas and friend are two other witnesses.

Matthew 27:54 Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

And to close out the list, a Roman atheist and his fellow guards. Seeing was believing for these boys.

But Jesus was not the only person resurrected. He was the first but there were others.

Matthew 27:52-53 The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many.

The events took place during Passover. Jews were required per Mosaic Law to come to Jerusalem for the holiday. Tens of thousands of people would have been in the city visiting in addition to the population.

~

The evidence provided in Scripture would stand in a court of law. Harvard Law Professor Simon Greenleaf wrote A Treatise on the Law of Evidence. The document is viewed as “the greatest single authority in the entire literature of legal procedure.” The United States judicial system functions on the rules of evidence established by Greenleaf.

Professor Greenleaf, an atheist, took up the issue of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The facts changed his mind.

Professor Greenleaf’s legal standard of proof is not the issue. The case for the resurrection of Jesus is legally tight. Who cares if the facts stand in a man-made court of law??? The issue is this…

DO YOU BELIEVE THE RECORD?

Your eternal destination is in the balance.

https://www.amazon.com/Paul-Lehr/e/B09W8FB77N

Love More, Judge Less… Paul Beverly

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Paul Beverly with tags , , , , , on April 20, 2021 by paulthepoke
symbols of justice and law on table of judge
Photo by Sora Shimazaki on Pexels.com

Passing judgement on a person’s sin, makes you an equal sinner. God didn’t make a list of sins & say one was worse than the other. He did however say that the greatest thing we can do is love. Let’s all love more…

James 4:12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor?

James 2:10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.

Matthew 22:37-40 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” -Jesus

Have a loving week my friends!!!

Jude, A Slave

Posted in Jude with tags , , , , , , , , on October 1, 2018 by paulthepoke

JudeAnthonyVanDyckJude 1:1 Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James…

Who is Jude? Iουδασ/Judas… His name means “he shall be praised”. His name is Judah in the Hebrew means “praise Yahweh”.

Members of the synagogue in Nazareth identify Judas as Christ’s half-brother. They also proclaim James and Judas (Jude) are brothers. Mary is the mother of Jesus, James, and Jude. Joseph is the father of James and Jude. God is the Father of Jesus.

Matthew 13:55 Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?

Mark 6:3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon?

The Apostle Paul testifies James is Jesus’ brother.

Galatians 1:19 But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord’s brother.

And James and Judas are brothers, therefore, Judas and Jesus are half-brothers.

James and Jude grew up with Jesus. They lived with Christ in the same house under the same parents and siblings. His brothers had seen miracles. Water was turned into wine. Thousands were fed. Christ had walked on water. Yet…

John 7:5 For not even His own brothers believed in Him.

The unbelief in Jesus was before His death, burial, and resurrection. Hearts and attitudes would change after the fact of the ascension of Christ.

Acts 1:14 All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

…a servant of Jesus Christ…

As of the writing of the epistle, Jude considered himself a bond servant or δουλοσ/doulos in the Greek. The word is frequently translated as “servant” or “bond servant”. Notice, Jude does not associate himself as a half-brother to Jesus. He refers to himself as a servant.

Strong’s Concordance defines δουλοσ/doulos as: a slave, bondman, man of servile condition; metaphorically, one who gives himself up to another’s will; those whose service is used by Christ in extending and advancing his cause among men; devoted to another to the disregard of one’s own interests.

As believers in Jesus, we were purchased by His shed blood. He loves us. He owns us. We are redeemed.

Ephesians 1:7 In Him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace…

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

Our Daily Bread…Featuring Paul Beverly

Posted in Paul Beverly with tags , , , , , , , on May 11, 2017 by paulthepoke

pb bread

Passing judgement on a person’s sin, makes you an equal sinner. God didn’t make a list of sins & say one was worse than the other. He did however say that the greatest thing we can do is love. Let’s all love more…

James 4:12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor?

James 2:10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.

Matthew 22:37-40 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” -Jesus

Have a loving weekend my friends!!!

Trend Update: Cloning Jesus, 2017

Posted in Gospel, Resurrection, Trend Update with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 5, 2017 by paulthepoke

An Oxford geneticist and a theologian are teaming up to find the DNA of Jesus Christ. The Oxford University geneticist is George Busby. The theologian is Pastor Joe Basile. The History Channel has completed a special on the topic called “The Jesus Strand”.

The team has looked at the Shroud of Turin, the Sudarium of Oviedo, and potentially the bones of John the Baptist. A goal is to obtain DNA from each of these samples to determine the DNA of Christ. The ultimate goal of scientists would be to clone Jesus Christ. And they are trying.

Separately from this project, other scientists are working on extracting DNA from the James Ossuary and the bones found.

https://worldtruth.tv/scientists-want-to-clone-jesus-the-search-for-the-messiahs-dna-has-begun/

http://www.history.com/specials/the-jesus-strand-a-search-for-dna

With all of these projects, there is a series of tremendous assumptions. One, the Shroud of Turin and the Sudarium of Oviedo belong to the actual person who is the Jesus Christ. On the surface, it appears the Shroud and Sudarium are likely to belong to the same person. Blood stains correspond with both pieces of linen. Wounds are consistent with flogging and crucifixion. A specific pollen is found on both items which is indigenous to ancient Israel.

sudarium oviedo

A rare blood type AB from a male is noted on both artifacts. As a side note, a person with blood type AB is a universal recipient. He can take any blood type into his body.

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/434153/shroud-turin-jesus-christ-blood-relic-sudarium-oviedo

Other significant assumptions include the accurate identification of John the Baptist and James. Do the bones actually belong to the historical persons in the Bible?

So why Jesus, John the Baptist, and James? Specifically, scientists are looking at the family tree of the Virgin Mary. She is one half of the equation of Jesus.

John the Baptist is the cousin of Jesus. The mother of John the Baptist is Elizabeth. She is related to Mary. Luke 1:36 “And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month.” –Angel

See Luke 1 for complete details of Mary, Elizabeth, John the Baptist, and Jesus.

James is the half-brother of Jesus. Galatians 1:19 But I did not see any other of the apostles except James, the Lord’s brother.

 

As for the other half of Jesus’ genetic code, good luck with that. Matthew 1:20 But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.”

This is the fulfillment of the prophecy written at least 700 years before Mary from Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.

shroud turin

There is only one Earthly example of DNA from the Father’s lineage, Jesus Himself. And He is not around. He is alive at the right of the Father in Heaven. There are no buried bones here on Earth, only His shed blood.

Hebrews 12:2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Resurrection: The Atheist Demands Proof

Posted in Resurrection, Spring Feasts with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 15, 2017 by paulthepoke

The atheist, always wanting proof. The arguments are all the same. The Bible does not count as evidence so they say. Jesus is imaginary. The Bible is a fairy tale and just a book of stories. Religion is for the weak minded. Insert next cliché here…

The atheist claims to have read the Bible. They usually studied the Bible at a liberal university and read it cover to cover of course. They took a class under a liberal, tenured professor. And they were brainwashed and told what to think.

Here is my challenge to the atheist. Sit down by yourself. Read. Comprehend…and think. Stop regurgitating what somebody told you. As an introductory to Jesus, I recommend the book of 1 John.

shroud turin

So you want proof…

Eye Witness Accounts

1 Corinthians 15:6-8 After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also.

In the passage above, there are 512 plus eyewitnesses to the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

John 20:11 But Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping; and so, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb;

Luke 24:10 Now they were Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James; also the other women with them were telling these things to the apostles.

Salome is included with this group in Mark 16:1 for a total of at least 4 women.

Luke 24:13-15 And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem. And they were talking with each other about all these things which had taken place. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself approached and began traveling with them.

Cleopas and friend are two other witnesses.

Matthew 27:54 Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

And to close out the list, a Roman atheist and his fellow guards. Seeing was believing for these boys.

 

But Jesus was not the only person resurrected. He was the first but there were others.

Matthew 27:52-53 The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many.

The events took place during Passover. Jews were required per Mosaic Law to come to Jerusalem for the holiday. Tens of thousands of people would have been in the city visiting in addition to the population.

The evidence provided in Scripture would stand in a court of law. Harvard Law Professor Simon Greenleaf wrote A Treatise on the Law of Evidence. The document is viewed as “the greatest single authority in the entire literature of legal procedure.” The United States judicial system functions on the rules of evidence established by Greenleaf.

Professor Greenleaf, an atheist, took up the issue of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The facts changed his mind.

Professor Greenleaf’s legal standard of proof is not the issue. The case for the resurrection of Jesus is legally tight. Who cares if the facts stand in a man-made court of law??? The issue is this…

DO YOU BELIEVE THE RECORD?

Trend Update: Gay Marriage, June 26, 2015

Posted in Culture, Gospel, Trend Update with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 28, 2015 by paulthepoke

On Friday, June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States legalized gay marriage in all 50 states. All states are mandated to perform same sex marriages. All states must recognize same sex marriages that occur in other states.

Gay rights activists raise a huge rainbow flag during a Gay Pride parade in Athens, June 13, 2015. REUTERS/Kostas Tsironis

The point of this post is not to lecture the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) population. Here, this topic is being approached with humility, respect, and grace. Condemning and hateful attitudes solve nothing. Harsh, ill feelings are barriers and obstacles to the good news of mercy and forgiveness that is Jesus Christ.

Here in the United States, we live in a culture and society that has elevated its civil law above God’s law. In regards to the gay lifestyle, our civil laws are different than how God views the topic. Our courts have spoken on the matter.

Next are God’s words. It is acknowledged, His words are offensive to segments of society. Eventually, His words are offensive to all of us if we are honest with ourselves. Please take your complaints and comments directly to Him. He will listen. He is a big boy. He can handle it.

Here is what God says.

God says in Leviticus 20:13 ‘If there is a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act; they shall surely be put to death. Their bloodguiltiness is upon them.

The Hebrew word for “lies” is shakab. It means to have sexual intercourse. Men having sex with men and women having sex with women is “detestable” or tow`ebah. God views this act as a disgusting thing or an abomination (Strong’s Concordance).

God is consistent in thought in the Old Testament and the New Testament. The above Leviticus verse is not a one off. See also: Leviticus 18:22, 1 Corinthians 6:9, Romans 1:26-28.

Deuteronomy 22:5 A woman shall not wear man’s clothing, nor shall a man put on a woman’s clothing; for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD your God.

Likewise, God sees crossdressing as tow`ebah or detestable or disgusting.

God states that marriage should be between a man and woman from the beginning in Genesis. See also 1 Corinthians 7:2 But because of immoralities, each man is to have his own wife, and each woman is to have her own husband.

As a friend of mine stated, gay marriage is a legal, civil right granted by the Supreme Court of the United States. Gay marriage is not a covenant relationship ordained or sanctioned by God. See Ephesians 5.

We are called to love one another. Galatians 5:14 For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” The Greek word for “love” is agape. Per Strong’s Concordance agape means: to welcome, to entertain, to be fond of, to love dearly. This love is the nature of God.

It does not matter if one steals, lies, commits murder, covets, or whatever. There are no “shades of grey” when it comes to sin. There is not a sliding scale for sin. One sin is not more condemning than another. If you break one, you break them all. James 2:10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.

As individuals, it is not our place to judge others regardless of their actions. Every person on the planet has a lifestyle issue that can be taken to task. Judgment belongs to God. James 4:12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor?

We are all in need of sin remission. Every single one of us is a sinner. We all have sin in our lives. Ecclesiastes 7:20 Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins.

And this is where the grace of Jesus enters the scene. Christ loves us ALL in spite of our actions whatever they may be. He paid the penalty for sin. For those who believe, He has paid the fine for sin.

1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit…

Romans 6:10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.

Hebrews 9:28a so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many…