Life, Joy, and Security are the three advantages of A Beautiful Woman in Christ. The light he shines which brings life to our situation is so powerful. The overflowing joy he brings is everlasting, which makes our hearts secure in him. Beauty starts within, Would you like to be a Beautiful Woman In Christ?

I have been through many obstacles, and God seen me through all of them. I was in a car accident and flipped over 5 times. God spared my life through that tragic time period. I learned to grow more in faith in God and developed a better relationship as well. I know there’s a reason I’m still here today, and there’s a reason you’re here too.

So find your purpose. Sometimes you have to encourage yourself. That’s what I had to learn to do. Sometimes it takes being lonely. Learning how to be alone. Find things that makes you happy. Explore and go get it. Having faith in all things you do will keep you from worrying. You’re a true women of God, which definitely makes you a virtuous women. Be blessed, beautiful woman in Christ.

Open up your eyes to a new vision, a new you. Start by getting rid of all those bad habits and replace them with new ones. Positivity is key. Put yourself in a position to learn the importance of enhancing your life through Christ. Remember to smile. You may very well rub off the goodness of the Lord on others.

Beauty is a joy forever. I define beauty as more than just an outer appearance but knowledge as well. Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised. {Proverbs 31:30} Strength and honour should define her clothing. In order to make ourselves beautiful, we have to first cleanse ourselves of all unwanted impurities. Our cleansing agent works through our confessions and God’s forgiveness.

We have to constantly work towards improving our beauty in Christ. We have to set ourselves some goals, change our attitudes, be humble and stay positive. We have to challenge ourselves to be the best in all that we do. Remaining confident in our walk with God will keep us on point. As long as we’re following God’s footsteps, we can only go in the right direction. There is a certain type of glow God gives that everyone will notice. It’s a type of attention you’ll get on the spotlight. God is love. God bless.

In the beginning when God created Adam and Eve. He told them not to eat that one fruit of the tree. He said if you do you will die. That was spiritual and physical death. They both had to run and hide after that. Before that they were walking and talking with God. That disobedience cost them the fellowship with God. That is spiritual death. Physical death slowly came but they died physically as well.

That spiritual death can only be recovered through another Adam like person who is born without sin and lives without sin. An innocent and sinless person alone can atone for the sins of others. Jesus had to be born through a virgin in order to be human. Yet he needed to be sinless so the conception was caused by the Holy Spirit and not a man in Mary.

When Jesus was born he was sinless and free of inherited corruption of human race just like Adam. Adam and Eve were created pure and without sin.

Now Christ also had to live without any sin. Adam and Eve walked without sin for a while and then sinned and lost the position and fellowship with God.

God had initially commanded them to have dominion over the rest of creation on the earth. They were to be fruitful, multiply, have dominion and rule over them all. When they sinned they lost that position of control and dominion and guess who took over? Satan did. Now God had to send himself to rescue us from that predicament. so Jesus came to earth in human flesh.

He cannot die as God for our sins. But as human he can fit perfectly the requirements of God to justify and atone for our sins. Now he could have sinned but he did not. People accuse him saying that he was God that is why he did not sin. This is a wrong assumption. The bible very clearly tells us that he was human and was tempted in all areas just like us but did not sin. He was human 100% while on the earth and proved to be the ideal candidate to die for the sins of the human race.

Now what happens after he died and gave up his life voluntarily and willingly? He did not stay dead in paradise but God raised him on the third day to prove God had to power to resurrect the dead. HE was the first fruit. One day all who have died will come to life when face the judge of all. Believers or unbelievers in Jesus Christ will all rise from the dead on that appointed day.

Those who accepted the gift of salvation by the death of Christ will attain eternal life and those who rejected will experience eternal hell and lake of fire for ever. It is eternal from that point on and no one can do anything about it. It is irrevocable from that point on.

So the only chance to make that final destination sure is while on earth. Those accept the message of the cross and salvation offered in Christ can seal their eternal destiny. They also spend the rest of their days living in fellowship with God here on earth.

Christ consciousness is not particular to certain religions or people. Higher consciousness is for anybody who wants to rise up and awaken. This self-awakening makes one more human, as well as, more godly. A spiritual awakening is the dream of every individual and this dream is possible to achieve if it is sought. The first and most important step to Christ consciousness is a high-level of evolutionary development. This high-level of evolution is what forms the base to Christ consciousness.

Evolutionary development refers to the application of spiritual knowledge into everyday life. This is, of course, not easy, but is not that tough either. With effort almost anybody can reach their final goal – Christ consciousness. One must display certain human characteristics, including patience, honesty, humility and the ability to forgive. If one has these qualities, then they are evolving into a higher consciousness. Practicing these qualities might be difficult at first, but once some success is achieved, there is usually no holding one back.

Since higher consciousness occurs at higher brain frequencies, the trick is to fine tune ones mind to these high frequencies. Binaural beats can help with this, they can produce and entrain high frequency brainwaves within the brain. Simply hearing these beats puts the brain into a receptive state where it is easier for the individual to experience an awakening. Although progress can be slow, with practice, one is sure to reach higher consciousness. Once the mind gets tuned and adjusts to these high frequencies, it becomes easier to reach an awakened state and to move forward to the state of Christ consciousness.

If you go to Jerusalem, you will want to visit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. It has been said that Jesus Christ was crucified, buried and resurrected on the site. In the early part of the 4th century A.D., Helena, the mother of the first Christian Emperor Constantine, purportedly discovered the place where Jesus was crucified and buried. Since that time, the sites have been protected by a church built over them and crowned it, Christendom’s most sacred site.

From the 4th century on, the church that was built upon them has opened its doors to the Christian faithful. What might surprise you is that this holy Christian site is opened and closed by two men of two Muslim families for over 850 years. Every morning, at 4:30, Adeeb Joudeh walks from his apartment outside the walls of the Old City to bring a cast-iron key to the church, just as his forebears did before him. The key itself is fairly heavy and resembles a 12-inch long iron wedge. There is another key which is broken; it was entrusted to the Joudeh family over 850 years ago. The one in use now is 500 years old.

Once there, Joudeh hands the key to Wajeeh Nuseibeh, who climbs a wooden ladder inside the church to help him unlock the upper part and the lower part of the enormous door. Then he returns the precious key to Joudeh. This ritual is reversed every evening at 7:30, after hundreds of tourists and pilgrims have left the church.

So, why are two Muslims in charge of opening and closing Christianity’s most sacred place? Jerusalem’s history has been a tale of three religions. For centuries, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam have coexisted in relative peace. However, over the years, different sects of Christians couldn’t trust one another to share the church. 1,400 year ago, the Christian patriarch Sophronius entrusted the key to Joudeh’s family. Christians were then granted the freedom to worship. Since then, Christian leaders asked a family of trusted Muslims to protect the shrine.

So many sects of Christianity which include: Catholic, Greek, Armenian, Coptic, Syriac, and Ethiopian Orthodox monks have gotten into physically attacking one another over who deserved the rights and privileges of the site. That is why the two Muslim families have kept the key.

Thanks to hundreds of years of interfaith trust, Orthodox and Catholic Christians have shared the church to worship as they please. Two Muslim families guarding Christianity’s most sacred site for centuries proves that peace can coexist between religions in a city where tension fills the city.

If one didn't look at the title of Dr. Tyler's book, "Jesus Christ: Self-Denial or Self-Esteem," they might think they were reading a book about the life of Christ instead of a refutation of the self-esteem movement. Dr. Tyler takes a different approach that's characteristic of some of the other books on critiquing self-esteem. He doesn't exclusively argue that the self-esteem position is defective from a humanistic psychological approach as Paul Vitz does. Nor does he attempt to contrast each heretical thought and compare it to an exhaustive look at scripture references. Instead, he compares the notion of selfism to the life and practices of Jesus Christ. By so doing, he demonstrates that self-esteem flies directly in the face of what Christ was teaching others, especially His very own disciples.

In the introduction, Dr. Tyler makes the case that the new pop culture words, self-image, self-esteem and self-worth have one central focus: self. This being a recent phenomena (within the past 25 years), it has had a significant influence on the church and its teachings. He quotes Robert Schuller who says that a new reformation is needed and that being one centering on self-esteem. (It's ironic that Schuller uses the word reformation. "The Reformation," nearly 500 years ago, affirmed the utter ruin and insufficiency of man's condition and reinforced the complete sufficiency of scripture, grace, faith and Christ-a complete and utter opposition of what Schuller wants.) Tyler seeks to declare that the Bible's emphasis is on self-denial, a concept that is apparently anathema to modern day authors. And where are, Dr. Tyler asks, the words of Jesus when he supposedly tells his followers to "love themselves, esteem themselves, accept themselves, believe in themselves, develop a healthy self-image, or nurture feelings of significance and worth?" Dr. Tyler looks for them in the next three chapters of his book as he explores the words, works, and parables of Christ.

Dr. Tyler explores Christ's encounter with various people. Jesus was always other-oriented in that He was continually about His father's business. His baptism, the cleansing of the temple and the meeting with the Samaritan women are just a few examples that Dr. Tyler cites as proof. The most striking evidence appears in Christ's Sermon on the Mount where Jesus tells the crowd how to obtain blessedness (happiness). One would expect to find here Christ giving exhortation on seeking self-affirmation if the self-esteem zealots were true. However, Dr. Tyler cites five Beatitudes that Christ preached which further disappoints the selfism crowd. Christ proclaimed blessedness would occur to those who are poor in spirit, mourn, practice meekness, are hungry and thirsty for righteousness, and are merciful.

Leaving Christ's words, Dr. Tyler explores the miracles of Jesus Christ. Jesus used miracles as proof of His divine authority, to give substance to His words, and also to demonstrate his other-oriented attitude by offering love and sympathy for mankind. Dr. Tyler gives several examples, healing of the leper and the Roman centurion's servant, the calming for the Sea of ​​Galilee, the demon-possessed man, to name a few. This shows Christ was focused on meeting the needs of others. Dr. Tyler also leaves the self-love advocates with a question as to where was the person who cried "I hate myself, I feel inferior and inadequate; heal me Son of David;" (not in Galilee apparently).

Dr. Tyler uses the parables to further prove that Christ was other-oriented. He gives a brief explanation on the purpose of parables. He explains the dilemma that many find as to why Christ spoke in parables, ie, Christ intentionally hid from the disobedient and rebellious His mysteries. Dr. Tyler's quotation from G. Campbell Morgan seems out of step however as Campbell's quote muddies the water. It appears inconsistent with Matthew 13: 15b. "lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them."

Dr. Tyler closes his book by acknowledging that undeniably self-esteemism is found in the scriptures. It's origin is in Genesis 3: 6, "And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. " This was the beginning of mankind becoming self-oriented. It's clear to the reader that support for current selfism philosophy cannot be gleaned from the teachings or the life of Christ. Christ was certainly focused on doing His Father's business as well as relieving the suffering of others.

The second book of Corinth chapter 8 vs 9, the bible let us know that Jesus Christ came, rich as he was, and made himself poor for our sakes in order to make us rich by means of his poverty. The question I ask now is what the bible means by Jesus being rich and poor and us being rich through his poverty.

First of all, it is clear that Jesus Christ was born a poor man (in the context of the world) and the bible did not tell us that he lived a life of a rich man nor a poor man (characteristics). But wore the same cloth throughout his ministration, he was not after worldly food or things rather spiritual things. I recall when his disciples brought food for him as he was with the Samaritan woman and he told them that his food is to do the things of his Father and complete his work. If Christ did not exhibit the characteristics of a rich man or poor man as we know and see in the world today, what then is the poverty of Christ and the richness of Christ?

Christ was rich already in heaven before coming down on earth to become poor. Hence the richness of Christ is that heavenly treasure or characteristics or traits that befits (or is enjoyed by) a heavenly being. The bible tells us the beautiful things in heaven and the characteristics of a heavenly being such that if we meet that characteristics we will be qualified to be a heavenly being. That is why Christ came and showed us what we must do for us to inherit heaven and become a heavenly being and promised us that if we do that he will come again and take us to heaven to become a heavenly being. Ultimately anyone that makes heaven has become rich and will enjoy all the benefits of heaven and will NEVER lack in any aspect.

The poverty of Christ on the other hand means the conditions we must subject our body in other for us to become rich (inherit heaven). That is why he came down in human form and passed through all the good and bad aspects` of life that man could possibly pass and did not sin such that if we can follow in his footstep we will qualify to be rich. No wonder he summed it up by telling us that we must be perfect as our father in heaven is perfect. Jesus Christ passed through different trials, persecutions and temptations yet he did not sin, he was perfect till he ascended showing us that no matter what we pass through we can be perfect provided we follow his footsteps (poverty) so that we will become rich.

Apostle Paul summarized by saying that we shall be saved through the life (poverty) of Jesus Christ so whenever we find ourselves in any situation we should ask what Christ did in when he was faced with that situation or what he would want us to do. Jesus Christ left us an example for us to following his steps. He committed no sin, and no one ever heard a lie from his lips. When he was insulted, he did not answer back with an insult: when he suffered, he did not threaten, but placed his hopes in God, the righteous judge. He gave us a commandment of LOVE. How many people follow his examples today? How many are living the life of Christ and not their life today?

Finally, if we want to be rich through the poverty of Christ, we have to live the life of Christ and not the life we choose for ourselves, look after (protect) the interest of Christ and not our own interest. For in doing that we are partaking in the poverty of Christ.

Anyone who studies the Bible knows that Jesus Christ was a champion for the underdog. He hung out with the lowly which in biblical times included tax collectors, sinners, and women. However, historians and most Christians typically overlook the fact that Jesus was also was a champion for animals. By examining scripture we can see that although the ministry of Christ was targeted at humanity, he interacted compassionately with animals though out his lifetime and he may have been somewhat of a vegetarian.

Beginning in Genesis, human beings are commanded by God to be stewards of the animals. Many people look at Chapter one in the book of Genesis and think this means we are entitled to own and use animals, but in the true meaning of the word, stewardship requires us to be guardians for animals. Prior to the birth of Christ, animal use and abuse was rampant and horrific. Many chapters of the Old Testament depict the large number of animals sacrificed (killed) as “sin offerings”. Beginning with the birth of Christ we see a new relationship with the animal kingdom. “He was born in a stable of lowly birth.” There are many places such as a tavern, a field or a roadside that would have portrayed a lowly birth. Instead Jesus enters the world in physical form amongst the animal kingdom.

Throughout the New Testament, the only animal Jesus seems to eat is fish. We know he attended celebrations and Passover gatherings and most likely there were traditional foods such as lamb, but nothing is recorded of the food he ate at these events. Even when Jesus ate fish or bread, he showed his respect for all life by thanking God and treating food as sacred. According to the Gospel of Mark chapter one, John the Baptist who prepared the way for the birth of Christ and later baptized Jesus, ate only honey and wild locust (insects). This hints at the idea that in some people should refrain from eating meat or that maintaining a vegetarian lifestyle or semi-vegetarian lifestyle is good for us.

In the gospel of Mark, chapter eleven Jesus becomes enraged when he sees caged animals for sale at the temple. “He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves….My house shall be called a house of prayers …but you have made it a den of thieves”. Jesus is furious because the temple is being used as a market place. I understand the focus of this chapter is about keeping the temple as a holy place of prayer, but I often wonder if his rage came from seeing the misuse of the animals as well. His use of the word “thief” is something to ponder. From a humanist perspective, these were business people selling commodities in an inappropriate place, but they were not thieves. However, from an animal rights perspective the traders in the temple were thieves. The people engaged in the buying and selling of animals in the temple were stealing the life of the animals by selling them to be used as sacrifice for “sin offerings”.

The gospel of Luke is extremely significant when examining Christ’s treatment of humans and animals. In chapter four Jesus casts demons out of a man and the man is cured. However, later in chapter eight Jesus casts “legions of demons” out of a man. The demons beg to enter the nearby heard of pigs (swine). We know Jesus could have just removed the demons as he had done previously. Instead Jesus agrees and the pigs become “processed”. They immediately run down a cliff and drowned themselves in the sea below. Initially, this seems to be a cruel act as far as animal rights goes. Why would Jesus allow innocent animals to experience demonic possession? However, on a larger scale Jesus is using this experience to illuminate critical facts about the animal kingdom–fact that were overlooked then and are still overlooked by most Christians today. First, if the pigs had no soul, they could not be possessed.

So, the first lesson is that animals have souls. Secondly, the nature of the pigs in this act portrays the deep gift and sacrifice the animal kingdom makes on behalf of humanity. Animals are true companions and burden bearers for humans. Then we realize that throughout the New Testament Jesus frees humans from demonic possession, but this is the only instant where an animal experiences demonic possession and the animal’s immediate response is to commit suicide. This chapter depicts the incredible connection and wisdom that the pigs had with the divine. The entire herd of pigs realizes it is better to be “dead” and with their creator then suffering demonic possession here on earth. Do the pigs understand that as they end their life their spirits will join with God? If so, then this example from the Gospel of Luke indicates the pigs are smarter and more spiritually enlightened than the man who was formerly possessed.

Anyone who studies the life of Christ realizes his ministry was to humanity and our first priority as a Christian is to take care of each other-human to human. We also know that Jesus freed us from strict rules when it comes to diet. However, it’s clear that animals are sacred to the Creator. The Holy Spirit is portrayed as a dove, and Jesus is called the Lion of Judea. To follow in Christ’s footsteps means that we must form a right relationship with the animal kingdom. We must be guardians and adopt beliefs similar to Native American’s–all life is sacred. We live in a time where horrific atrocities are being inflicted on animals; factory farming, senseless animal experimentation, and rising abuse and neglect of domestic animals. But there is hope. If the life of Christ can radically change the way we treat ourselves and each other, it can also change the way we interact with the animal kingdom.

Underwater find

A bowl newly discovered in Alexandria, Egypt, and dated to the period from the late second century BCE to the early first century CE bears an engraving that may be the world’s earliest known reference to Jesus Christ. The engraving reads dia chrstou ogoistais, translated by the excavation team as “through Christ the magician.” According to French marine archaeologist Franck Goddio, co-founder of the Oxford Center of Maritime Archaeology, and Egyptologist David Fabre, the phrase could very well be a reference to Jesus Christ, since he was one known as a primary exponent of white magic.

The team found the bowl during their underwater excavation of the ancient harbor of Alexandria. They speculate that a first-century magus may have used the bowl to tell fortunes. They note that the bowl is very similar to one depicted on two early Egyptian statuettes that are thought to show a soothsaying ritual. Ancient soothsaying manuals describe a technique in which the fortune teller poured oil into water and then entered an ecstatic state while studying the whirling mix. In the hallucinatory state, the fortune-teller hoped to meet mystical beings that could field questions about the future. The inscription, the archaeologists theorize, may have served to legitimize the soothsaying by invoking the name of Christ, acknowledged to be a wonder-worker.

How weighty is the evidence?

o Is it “Christ” or “Good”? – The archaeologists may have mistaken one Greek word for another in their interpretation. A glance at the photograph of the cup reveals a letter between the rho (“P”) and the sigma (“C”). The letter, though poorly formed, seems unmistakably the letter eta (“H”). If this identification is correct, then the lexical form of the Greek word inscribed is not christos, but chrestos, meaning “kind, loving, good, merciful.”

The prepositional phrase, then, probably indicates that the bowl was a gift, given “through kindness” from some benefactor. It seems obvious that chrestou is much more likely than christou for the engraved word. Rather than referring to the power of Christ, the word chrestou might be a reference to the person who gave the cup as a gift-as we might write on a gift “from Donald with best wishes.” This explanation seems as plausible as its alternative is unlikely.

o References to christos too vague to reach certainty – Yet even if christou is the correct word, we are still far from reaching certainty that it is a reference to Jesus Christ. We must remember that the word christos was not a personal name of Jesus but a title, the Greek translation of the Hebrew word mashiach (“Messiah, anointed one”). Like its Hebrew counterpart, this Greek term could apply to any number of people. It occurs in the Hebrew Scriptures more than 60 times, designating priests, prophets, and kings, as well as the anticipated Messiah. It even describes the pagan ruler Cyrus of Persia (Isa. 45:1, LXX). Calling someone christos does not necessarily identify that person with Jesus. Even the Greek Scriptures warn that many would claim that title (Mark 13:21-22).

o The meaning of goistais – In Theological Dictionary of New Testament, Gerhard Delling defines go-es, the lexical form behind goistais, as “imposter, charlatan, one who performs magic through formulae.” Its only New Testament occurrence is in 2 Timothy 3:13: “…evil men and imposters will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” Delling says that among ancient people, those who believed in demon possession tended to hold the gos in high respect, while the educated people tended to look down on such a person. (See also the entry for go-es in the Liddell-Scott-Jones lexicon, which defines it as “sorcerer, wizard” and secondarily as “juggler, cheat.”)

If this term goistais, therefore, were a reference to Jesus Christ, it would be most inappropriate. Jesus did not perform miracles through such formulae as abracadabra, alacazam, or presto. When He did speak, he gave simple commands, such as “Be healed!” or “Rise and walk!” Even the words ephphatha and talitha koum of Mark 5:41 and 7:34, respectively, are merely “Be opened!” and “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”, spoken in Aramaic, Jesus’ native tongue. Rather than using formulae, Jesus constantly varied the means by which he healed people-sometimes touching (e.g., Mark 1:31), or saying a few words (e.g., Mark 2:11), or healing without touch (e.g., Matthew 12:13) or even without being present (e.g., Mark 8:13). Some scholars believe it likely that He varied His healing procedures for the very purpose of avoiding magical associations.

The archaeologists have apparently forced their translation, as if goistais is genitive singular, like chrestou, and functions in the phrase as an appositive. The word goistais, however, is dative plural, making their suggested translation impossible. The phrase dia chrestou goistais probably means “[Given] through kindness for the magicians.”

o The dating is probably too early – At the time of Jesus, tens of centuries before the printing press, and two millennia before the digital age with its instant communication, events in one part of the empire often had little impact beyond the immediate vicinity. For the ripple effect of the ministry of Jesus to reach Alexandria would take some years, and at first would be felt only in Christian and then Jewish circles. For it to sweep across to pagans like the owner of the soothsayer’s bowl would take even longer. And not only would the magician have to know of the miraculous power, but enough time would have to elapse for to be convince him or her that customers would also be aware of Jesus.

Yet the latest date assigned for the bowl is the early first century. Given that the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ happened no earlier than 30 CE, that only allows 20 years before we reach mid-century. One hundred years or even more might be needed for the ripple to flood the pagan consciousness of Alexandria.

What can we conclude?

If the engraving did refer to Jesus Christ, it would constitute an extrabiblical confirmation that Jesus was a miracle-worker. This is similar to the impact of what is now known as the Paris Magical Papyrus, dated to about 300 CE. It describes an elaborate exorcism ritual, which begins, “I adjure you by the god of the Hebrews,” and then lists a number of mystical names, of which Jesu is the first. The adjuration continues with numerous references to biblical events and persons, some of which are garbled. The point for New Testament studies is the confirmation that in Egypt about 150 years after the resurrection, Jesus was known as a successful exorcist and called “the god of the Hebrews.” This latest discovery would make a similar argument from evidence much, much earlier.

Such evidence opposes against claims skeptics have made for generations that Jesus’ miracles all have rationalistic explanations. The eyewitnesses found sufficient proof in Jesus’ works to discern the all-powerful hand of God. In the words of the Apostle Peter, Jesus “went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with Him” (Acts 10:38). Even if legitimate, this evidence would not constitute proof that Jesus was a magician, despite the claims of such books as Jesus the Magician: Charlatan or Son of God? by Morton Smith, published in 1978. (See Barry Crawford’s largely negative review, published in the Journal of the American Academy of Religion [10/26/1978].)

The problem, however, is that the evidence is too early and that it is too ambiguous to be credible. It seems to be another example of archaeologists attempting to grab headlines be placing their latest discovery in the same sentence with the words “Jesus Christ.” Such unwarranted coupling often contributes to unjustified conclusions about Jesus among the ignorant and the credulous.

Want to Go Deeper?

Recommended for purchase

Howard Clark Kee. What can we know about Jesus? Cambridge, 1990. – Kee explores both the biblical accounts of Jesus’ life and works and the extrabiblical material touching on this. Extrabiblical references to Christ include the writings of non-orthodox Christians, pagan authors, and Jews. Kee analyzes all the relevant material to determine what precisely can be deduced about Jesus from these diverse accounts, written by both friend and foe.

Craig L. Blomberg. The Historical Reliability of the Gospels. 2nd ed. Inter-Varsity, 2008. – Blomberg reveals the faulty analysis and presuppositions that have led to mistaken conclusions about the Gospels, providing scholarly criteria for judging these books and biblical answers to our hard questions. Readers will find that over the past twenty years, the case for the historical trustworthiness of the Gospels has grown vastly stronger.

C. K. Barrett. The New Testament Background. HarperOne, 1989. Contains a discussion of the Paris Magical Papyrus along with its text in English translation (pp. 34ff). Also contains a wealth of other material relevant to New Testament studies.

Recommended for online reading

Details about the Paris Magical Papyrus in G. A. Deissmann, Light from the Ancient East. Hodder & Stoughton, 1910. pp. 254ff.

Gary R. Habermas, “The Late Twentieth-Century Resurgence of

Naturalistic Responses to Jesus’ Resurrection.” Trinity Journal, 22 NS (2001):179-196.

Larry W. Hurtado, Lord Jesus Christ. Eerdmans, 2005, pp. 358-364. – A short but helpful discussion of the title “Christ” (“Messiah”).

You may want to study the earliest charge that Jesus was a magician, leveled by the anti-Christian debater Celsus in the third century. The church father Origen ably defended the orthodox view by pointing out that in contrast to magicians, Jesus’ miracles all had a moral purpose. See Origen, Against Celsus, book 1, chapter 68. See also Justin Martyr’s second-century anticipation of this argument in his First Apology, chapter 30.

If you are curious about Morton’s Smith’s book, take a look at the exchange Professor Smith had with Frank Kermode over the latter’s review of Smith’s book in the New York Review of Books. This exchange includes a summary of Smith’s main points and the essentials of Kermode’s critique. Be sure to read all four essays, the first two published on Dec. 21, 1978, and the second on Feb. 8, 1979. Unfortunately, Kermode’s original review, “The Quest for the Magical Jesus,” is unavailable without a subscription to the Review. Also available online is a brief review of Smith’s book by Terrance Callan from the Library Journal (June 15, 1978).

Once, while I was still working at the factory, we had to manufacture windows for an imposing development close to Cape Town. The development consisted of 450 residential units. It was a difficult job, because the units came in ten different designs, each requiring different windows. What made it even more difficult, was the fact that some units were only on the ground floor, others on the first and second floor, another design on the second and third floor, while some appeared either on the second or the third floor.

Well, the above-mentioned sentence hardly makes sense to me, but that was exactly what that building site was like. You struggled to see where which unit was and which windows had to be used in what unit. And that was only the windows! What about the plumbers, builders, cabinet makers and all the other contractors that had to do something in each unit.

And the people on the site! What a crowd! You wouldn’t believe what the building site looked like. But in a way, as the units were finished one-by-one, the picture became clearer. It was really lovely, the different units one on top of the other. The architect had had a beautiful picture in his mind when he started drawing up the plans for the development. Now people enjoy living there and in the evenings they can watch the sun going down over Table Mountain.

The crucial point in the development was the building plans. Without the building plans they wouldn’t have been able to put in the foundations. For every contractor plans are the beginning and the end. You simply had to do what you had to do according to the plans. Some guys didn’t keep to the plans. Some didn’t understand the plans and did their own thing. And then, grumbling and complaining, the main contractor made them demolish or take out everything that was wrong and start from the beginning.

Everything had to be done according to the plans to make it fit and work right.

Each of us has a building plan for our lives. Do you know what the plan for your life looks like? What does the picture of the house that you are building with your life look like? What do your bricks look like? Are your building bricks money and fame? Or love? Are you building your life with bricks that care for other people? Building bricks that help others up from the gutters of life? What does your house look like? Does it match the plans that the great Architect drew up for you?

Hear what God wants to say to you: 16Let the Word of Christ-the Message-have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense.

May I ask again: Do you know what Jesus’ plan for your life is? How does your half-finished house compare to these plans? Do you have to demolish one part and start rebuilding a wall or two?

Jesus’ plan for each of us is not so difficult. What makes it hard, however, is that we don’t fully know what God’s plan is for us. We go to church and read the Bible now and then, but God’s plan? No, I don’t truly know.

Maybe you should sit down and listen.

Maybe you will hear and see God’s plan for your life.

Maybe a wall or two will have to be moved.

Scripture

Colossians 3:12-17

https://bible.com/97/col.3:12-17.msg

Reflection

Do you know Jesus’ plan for your life?

To what extent does your half-finished house match the plans?

Do you need to demolish and rebuild a wall?

Prayer

Jesus, I want to build my life according to the plan for my life that You have drawn up. Please help me to listen to You and to obey You, so that I don’t have to demolish my house eventually because I didn’t listen to You. Amen.

The Gospel of Christ is probably the most misunderstood of all terms in the Christian religion. What does it really mean?

Gospel is defined as meaning unquestionable truth. It is generally brought forward as good news. Our greatest hope to truly understand the Gospel of Christ is to study the words of Jesus. But first, we must understand Christ.

According to Levi in ​​the Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ, Christ is the Divine Love of God. Christ was and is not a man, but Christ is God Himself, ie Unconditional Love. This is apparently why so many have confused the man Jesus with God the Father, and this has caused many to break the first commandment by worshiping Jesus the man.

God wanted humans to understand Him – understand Unconditional Love. So He decided to place His Divine Love, Christ, into a human heart. He needed a pure human heart for His Spirit to reside in so He sent Jesus. Therefore, Christ within Jesus was God's Spirit, but Jesus was a man.

Jesus was a perfect host for Christ. He kept Unconditional Love, ie Christ, in his heart right to the end as he suffered on the cross. He prayed that God would forgive his tormentors. In this way Jesus redeemed the human race. However, this did not provide eternal life for everyone, it just allows us to go before the Judge and state our case. Actually, it is the Unconditional Love in our hearts that will state our case to the Judge for us. In this way, we will be our own judges.

So the Gospel of Christ is the good news of Unconditional Love. Jesus taught us this truth in Luke 10: 25-28 when he affirmed that if we love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and our neighbor as ourself, then we will have eternal life. This is the good news of life, the Gospel of Christ.