DR. CRITTENDEN'S FIRST BLOG SINCE BEING OUT OF THE HOSPITAL:
The Spirit made Peter a strong new man;
Gone was the foot-in-mouth bumpkin from birth.
He was able to lead men in God's plan:
"As in heaven, His will be done on earth!"
The commotion had caused a crowd to come;
Though speaking in language of Galilee,
Peter's words were heard in ev'ry tongue,
Preaching the good news that makes all men free!
"Jesus was sent to reign on David's throne;
Thus for humans' sins He did full atone,
And for eternal life opened the way!"
Three thousand souls believed at Pentecost;
Christ's church was born, a haven for the lost!
Please read the full Scripture passage Acts 2:14-40. Here is a part. Peter is speaking to the crowd:
"Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did among you, through Him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put Him to death by nailing Him to the cross. But God raised Him from the dead, freeing Him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep hold on Him.'" (Acts 2:22-24)
"Therefore, let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." (Acts 2:36)
When Peter had finished, there was a great anguish in many of his listeners. They were struck to the heart at what they had done and pleaded how they might be relieved of their guilt. He told them to repent and believe and 3000 of them did so. This was the beginning of the first Christian church. The new converts added to the original 120 disciples. Note they were practically all Jewish. Peter's sermon can be justly termed 'the most rewarding sermon ever preached' in significance.
In 70 A. D., just 38 years later, Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans, though the Christians there were warned by an angel and saved by fleeing to Pella. Over one million Jews were slain; 300,000 were sold into slavery in other nations (See Zech. 11:1-4 for one prophecy of this.)
Israel was driven from the Promised Land for 1788 years, until 1948 when the United Nations granted them a thin sliver of the original land for their own, and modern Israel was established.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Receiving The Holy Spirit
The gift came to His believers waiting
On Pentecost Day; there was first a sound,
As of a violent rushing wind wailing;
It filled the house and the city around!
Then a broad lightning flash from Heaven came,
Breaking into many tongues at the room;
Each disciple's head seemed to be aflame;
Like Moses' bush, this fire did not consume!
A crowd gathered on the windows' side;
In diverse tongues they asked, What all this meant?
Knowing and speaking each tongue, they replied:
God, the Holy Spirit, had just been sent!
Now were Christ's disciples filled with power,
To preach the gospel in city and bower!
"If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever---the Spirit of Truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him now knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you." (John 14:15-18)
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8)
The Apostles and most of the believers in Jesus were of the poor and lower classes, as had been prophesied in Zechariah 11. They were mostly uneducated and were typical of those who we would call the working class. They were not accustomed to speaking in public, especially to rulers and courts. Jesus knew they needed a lot of help to spread the word of His kingdom around the world. Therefore, He sent the Holy Spirit, who is also God; however, He is invisible. Though He dwells within every believer and gives advice, power, and knowledge, He is not aggressive. In fact, most Christians have a hard time hearing His gentle nudging guidance. He speaks to the Christian in a still small voice that they usually confuse for the voice of their conscience.
The Holy Spirit is not your conscience. A person's conscience cannot be trusted to give sound advice. If you confuse your conscience as the advice of the Spirit, He will withdraw from speaking to you, getting quieter and quieter. This is called "quenching" the Holy Spirit; most Christians have quenched Him by not recognizing Him.
Pentecost was about 10 days after Jesus arose to Heaven. On that day, God the Holy Spirit came to the 120 disciples waiting in the upper room. Christianity was hanging by a thread. But His coming instilled strong confidence and will power into them. They were changed into fierce advocates for Christ. Through their efforts, aided by the Spirit, they "turned the world upside down." The Roman Empire persecuted them horribly at first, but in 325 A.D., the Empire installed Christianity as its official religion.
On Pentecost Day; there was first a sound,
As of a violent rushing wind wailing;
It filled the house and the city around!
Then a broad lightning flash from Heaven came,
Breaking into many tongues at the room;
Each disciple's head seemed to be aflame;
Like Moses' bush, this fire did not consume!
A crowd gathered on the windows' side;
In diverse tongues they asked, What all this meant?
Knowing and speaking each tongue, they replied:
God, the Holy Spirit, had just been sent!
Now were Christ's disciples filled with power,
To preach the gospel in city and bower!
"If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever---the Spirit of Truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him now knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you." (John 14:15-18)
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8)
The Apostles and most of the believers in Jesus were of the poor and lower classes, as had been prophesied in Zechariah 11. They were mostly uneducated and were typical of those who we would call the working class. They were not accustomed to speaking in public, especially to rulers and courts. Jesus knew they needed a lot of help to spread the word of His kingdom around the world. Therefore, He sent the Holy Spirit, who is also God; however, He is invisible. Though He dwells within every believer and gives advice, power, and knowledge, He is not aggressive. In fact, most Christians have a hard time hearing His gentle nudging guidance. He speaks to the Christian in a still small voice that they usually confuse for the voice of their conscience.
The Holy Spirit is not your conscience. A person's conscience cannot be trusted to give sound advice. If you confuse your conscience as the advice of the Spirit, He will withdraw from speaking to you, getting quieter and quieter. This is called "quenching" the Holy Spirit; most Christians have quenched Him by not recognizing Him.
Pentecost was about 10 days after Jesus arose to Heaven. On that day, God the Holy Spirit came to the 120 disciples waiting in the upper room. Christianity was hanging by a thread. But His coming instilled strong confidence and will power into them. They were changed into fierce advocates for Christ. Through their efforts, aided by the Spirit, they "turned the world upside down." The Roman Empire persecuted them horribly at first, but in 325 A.D., the Empire installed Christianity as its official religion.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Redeemed By Grace
Did you know that you were condemned at birth?
Though hard for us to accept, Adam's sin
Makes guilty all humans that live on earth,
But Jesus died to pay debts for all men!
Don't blame Adam; we've all sinned on our own;
None has ever lived without sin but one;
That one was Jesus! Either God's unknown
Or known; if He's unknown, so is His Son.
Trusting Jesus is the only sure way
Of escaping hell, also, of keeping
The First Commandment! Nothing you can say
Will suffice to stop Satan from reaping!
Praise be to God, for redeeming our race,
By His love for us do we receive grace!
A lot of people live and die knowing nothing of God. Do you kow God? He created the universe and all of us. The first man God made in His image; his name was Adam. God loved to walk about the Garden of Eve with Adam. It was His desire nnd hope that He could dwell with men. But Adam disobeyed God's one commandment to him. God is a very just God; He condemned Adam and all His offspring to hell, for that was the penalty He had told Adam would result from sin; sin means disobedience to God, and the wages of sin is condemnation. He cast Adam out of the Garden and quit walking with him.
But God still loved men and women very much, though He hates sin and will not abide it. So He provided a plan whereby any person can escape condemnation; He came to earth as a man named Jesus, lived over 33 years, and did not sin once. Therefore, when He was unjustly crucified by His own chosen people, He became the sacrifice for all sins that men would commit. He extended grace to us; even though we can't earn it and don't deserve it, we can erase our condemnation freely by believing in Jesus as God. Even though Jesus died and was buried, He was resurrected back to life on the third day after death and lives today. Each of us can live again, too, by accepting His free gift. That is what grace is, the unmerited gift that saves us from condemnation.
No matter how good a person you are, if you don't know God and accept Jesus as Savior, you have sinned, so you can't blame Adam. The First Commandment God made to every person is that we must love Him with all our heart, soul, and mind. That means, we must put God above everything in life, even our own family.
"For God so loved the world rhat he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life," (John 3:16)
"Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'" (John 14:6)
"Jesus replied, 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.'" (Matthew 22:37-38)
Though hard for us to accept, Adam's sin
Makes guilty all humans that live on earth,
But Jesus died to pay debts for all men!
Don't blame Adam; we've all sinned on our own;
None has ever lived without sin but one;
That one was Jesus! Either God's unknown
Or known; if He's unknown, so is His Son.
Trusting Jesus is the only sure way
Of escaping hell, also, of keeping
The First Commandment! Nothing you can say
Will suffice to stop Satan from reaping!
Praise be to God, for redeeming our race,
By His love for us do we receive grace!
A lot of people live and die knowing nothing of God. Do you kow God? He created the universe and all of us. The first man God made in His image; his name was Adam. God loved to walk about the Garden of Eve with Adam. It was His desire nnd hope that He could dwell with men. But Adam disobeyed God's one commandment to him. God is a very just God; He condemned Adam and all His offspring to hell, for that was the penalty He had told Adam would result from sin; sin means disobedience to God, and the wages of sin is condemnation. He cast Adam out of the Garden and quit walking with him.
But God still loved men and women very much, though He hates sin and will not abide it. So He provided a plan whereby any person can escape condemnation; He came to earth as a man named Jesus, lived over 33 years, and did not sin once. Therefore, when He was unjustly crucified by His own chosen people, He became the sacrifice for all sins that men would commit. He extended grace to us; even though we can't earn it and don't deserve it, we can erase our condemnation freely by believing in Jesus as God. Even though Jesus died and was buried, He was resurrected back to life on the third day after death and lives today. Each of us can live again, too, by accepting His free gift. That is what grace is, the unmerited gift that saves us from condemnation.
No matter how good a person you are, if you don't know God and accept Jesus as Savior, you have sinned, so you can't blame Adam. The First Commandment God made to every person is that we must love Him with all our heart, soul, and mind. That means, we must put God above everything in life, even our own family.
"For God so loved the world rhat he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life," (John 3:16)
"Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'" (John 14:6)
"Jesus replied, 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.'" (Matthew 22:37-38)
Monday, March 1, 2010
Awaiting The Holy Spirit
The disciples waited as commanded,
In the upper room, where so much took place,
Each recalling the events since they banded;
How things had unfolded at so swift a pace!
What was this "Holy Spirit" anywaY?
And How would it affect them when it came?
Through the windows they heard men say,
"Who was this Jesus?" "Was he really slain?"
It was Pentecost, and the city teemed
With pilgrims that had come from far and near;
Ev'ry man spoke his native tongue, it seemed;
The favored topic was Jesus this year!
Most were calloused to claims of Messiahship,
Yet this one from the tomb managed to slip!
"After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: 'Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'" (Acts 1L3-5)
After His resurrection, Jesus spent forty days with His disciples on earth. He was in His spiritual body, which was exactly like His old body, but it was a perfect body. The nail and spear scars were apparent but healed. His disciples, including the apostles, numbered about 120; they were all believers in Him. Some had been with Him for the entire 3 years of His ministry.
He commanded them to wait for the Holy Spirit because their mission of preaching the gospel to all the world would be impossible without power and wisdom from Him. The Holy Spirit is God as Jesus is God; the Spirit enters the body of a believer and indwells there for the rest of his life. As it was then, so it is today; He (the Holy Spieit) is willing, even eager, to help the new believer to rid himself of the sinful nature with which he was born and to guide him in developing the traits of love, peace, joy, patience, kindness, gentleness, and self-control. He will guide the believer in giving him the words to say in telling non-believers about Jesus. He aids the believer in understanding scripture. Wirh His help, the small band of brothers and sisters in the upper room were able to "turn the world upside down" for Jesus. By 325 A. S. the Roman Empire dropped paganism and made Christianity the official religion of the nation. Today there are approximately 2.5 billion Christians in the world.
A word of caution about the Holy Spirit is necessary, however. The believer must co-operate with the Spirit by accepting His advice and consciously asking His help. He does not shout; He speaks in a quiet voice, one which is easily overcome by the bold incursions of the world. If the believer ignores His advice, He grows quieter and retreats, and will eventually fall silent. He can be "quenched" by inattention; that is the reason a great many Christians don't seem to live a life distinguishable from non-Christians.
In the upper room, where so much took place,
Each recalling the events since they banded;
How things had unfolded at so swift a pace!
What was this "Holy Spirit" anywaY?
And How would it affect them when it came?
Through the windows they heard men say,
"Who was this Jesus?" "Was he really slain?"
It was Pentecost, and the city teemed
With pilgrims that had come from far and near;
Ev'ry man spoke his native tongue, it seemed;
The favored topic was Jesus this year!
Most were calloused to claims of Messiahship,
Yet this one from the tomb managed to slip!
"After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: 'Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'" (Acts 1L3-5)
After His resurrection, Jesus spent forty days with His disciples on earth. He was in His spiritual body, which was exactly like His old body, but it was a perfect body. The nail and spear scars were apparent but healed. His disciples, including the apostles, numbered about 120; they were all believers in Him. Some had been with Him for the entire 3 years of His ministry.
He commanded them to wait for the Holy Spirit because their mission of preaching the gospel to all the world would be impossible without power and wisdom from Him. The Holy Spirit is God as Jesus is God; the Spirit enters the body of a believer and indwells there for the rest of his life. As it was then, so it is today; He (the Holy Spieit) is willing, even eager, to help the new believer to rid himself of the sinful nature with which he was born and to guide him in developing the traits of love, peace, joy, patience, kindness, gentleness, and self-control. He will guide the believer in giving him the words to say in telling non-believers about Jesus. He aids the believer in understanding scripture. Wirh His help, the small band of brothers and sisters in the upper room were able to "turn the world upside down" for Jesus. By 325 A. S. the Roman Empire dropped paganism and made Christianity the official religion of the nation. Today there are approximately 2.5 billion Christians in the world.
A word of caution about the Holy Spirit is necessary, however. The believer must co-operate with the Spirit by accepting His advice and consciously asking His help. He does not shout; He speaks in a quiet voice, one which is easily overcome by the bold incursions of the world. If the believer ignores His advice, He grows quieter and retreats, and will eventually fall silent. He can be "quenched" by inattention; that is the reason a great many Christians don't seem to live a life distinguishable from non-Christians.
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