Observation: A 7th century Arabian man grappling with doubts surrounding the physical resurrection of Jesus, influenced by earlier Syriac attempts to harmonize the 4 gospels, eventually gave rise to Islam.

And so we cherish the four gospel accounts.

Tags: Diatesseron, synthesize, Mark 16, synoptics, Tatian & Mohammed, Theodoret, bishop of Cyrus

You want to follow Jesus. You want to live like He did. You want to learn to be a fisher of souls like He was, like He is.

You are familiar with the Great Commission. You even know what it is and that it is the clear instruction of Jesus to preach the good news message of salvation to every creature and to make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

You actually love Jesus and really want to tell people this good news. You truly want to win souls and have even told many people Jesus loves them. Still, you know there are so many more people who have never truly heard, many more who have never understood and countless who have never been discipled. You know there is so much more to do, to preach, to tell, to show, to live.

This is just one tiny reminder and one humble idea, one simple and easy way to take one practical step toward becoming more active in following Jesus. This is a realistic application and a natural way to engage people everywhere in conversations designed to share the good news message of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus.

This is Book Table Evangelism.

All you need is some books to give away, a table or any place to display some books. Instantly, by offering passers by a free book, you have created a simple, natural and easy way to engage in conversation with people who may have never heard the clear message of sin and salvation by grace through faith in Jesus.

And this is only the beginning. Book Table Evangelism naturally offers follow up opportunities to make new contacts and engage more to follow Jesus.

This is Book Table Discipleship.

There is more to come.

A message from DR

It is critical for brothers overcoming addictions to CONNECT DAILY WITH MEN OF GOD WHO WILL SPEAK TRUTH INTO THEIR LIFE.

Men who will disciple them, love them right where they are, and build the Word of God into their mind and soul.

These Accountability Brothers may have to divide amongst themselves the different days of the week to connect with these.

They need to make the sacrifice!

A recovering brother’s future, his success at staying free from the spirit of addiction, depends on these brothers aggressively grounding him in the Word of God.

They must make this happen because if they don’t this brother might wind up worse than he was before he confessed his addiction, destroyed his tools of addiction, threw out his drugs, cut off his sources of bondage.

When some people are set free from the spirit of addiction they don’t do anything to fill the space the enemy occupied.

The space is clean and swept, ready for an inhabitant to come in.

Our Heavenly Father always intended for this empty space to be filled with Jesus, with the Word of God.

Luke 11:24-26 becomes a reality in this individual’s life.

They were freed from bondage and now they are eight times worse off than they were before being set free.

An accountability group is good; however, most accountability groups wait for the individual to reach out.

This needs to change!

As an accountability partner it is the responsibility of the accountability partner to consistently reach out the individual wanting freedom.

When someone is set free from bondage the believers around the individual need to be proactive and continuously reach out and speak into the individual’s life.

They must be there to answer questions; to encourage the individual; to pray for and with the individual; and if necessary speak loving correction to the individual.

They must let the individual know they are there for the individual.

That when the individual is struggling they can reach out to them at any time of day.

If you study testimonies of individuals who have been set free from the bondage of addiction you will see the critical thread which runs through each testimony which is they had someone they could reach out to when they were struggling. When they were feeling tempted to return their former way of life.

The individuals who actively participated in AA or NA were successfully set free and stayed free because they found a sponsor, a fellow addict who had walked the road they are now walking.

These Accountability Brothers must keep doing this daily until they can see the individual has become grounded in the truth of God’s Word.

They can see the individual is spiritually strong enough to fight off a future attack of the spirit of addiction.

Please communicate this information to the men in the Accountability Groups.

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Brothers, agree with me the Body of Christ, the true Believers in the Lordship of Jesus, will die to themselves and their plans and schedules.

Yes, it is an inconvenience to have to give up something so that others may be won and be grounded in the truths of God’s Word.

Yes, this is why the Word calls it a “sacrifice” (Rom 12:1).

We are not our own. We were bought with the pure, precious sacrifice of our Lord and Saviour Jesus.

He sacrificed everything for us; however, the only sacrifice many believers will make is a couple of hours on Sunday.

Jesus is returning for a pure, spotless bride who is obeying the Word of God and giving their lives for their fellow man.

The vast majority of those who call themselves believers are completely focused on their lives, their needs, their wants.

I need fellow Brothers in Christ to join with me in dying to ourselves and be the Sons of God the Father calls us to be.

In the past, discipling others was an expected responsibility of all believers.

The individual who led an another person to Christ was also responsible for discipling the new child of God.

For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
2 Peter 1:16

The writers of scripture made clear distinction between truth and lie.

Nothing in all the scriptures would call something true which was not in fact true.

The first century writers of all the new testament scriptures wrote of things they saw and were told by Jesus and those who saw and walked with Him.

Later fables were vehemently rejected by those who desired only truth but were accepted by others who desired power and control by any and all means including by deceptive ways.

These include things such as the following legend and methods as referenced here.

The clay bird account did not happen.

This was written LONG after the eyewitness evanjeel of the first century.

The clay bird account was written about 100 years after the rest of the new testament was written.

It was used by gnostic heretics through at least the 6th century and then shows up in another text with which many are well familiar.

There is similar evidence about

أَصْحَابُ الكَهْف

These later accounts which did not stick to the earlier eyewitness facts had no claim whatsoever to being true and were simply based in other stories which were made up and completely unreliable.

So, regarding eyewitness accounts and fables, let it be very clear:

We accept by faith what is shown by strong evidence to be from eyewitnesses.

We are utterly intentional about NOT taking by faith things which are known to be from legends. These are two diametrically opposed positions.

One is faith in strong evidence of history.

The other is faith in strong evidence of legend.

Now let’s look at an ancient writing and even consider it two different ways.

Let’s look at this as scripture shown by evidence and if we want, let us look at it critically examining the evidence also.

But as we look at it let us note in our responses here whether we are using the critical historical approach or the scriptural approach grounded in evidence.

We should find these two approaches amounting to the same result but only because these scriptures have already undergone intense scrutiny using historical and textual criticism and stood the test as first century scripture.

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For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount. We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. 2 Peter 1:16‭-‬21

This first century passage written by one of Jesus closest three disciples is actually packed with evidence which tie it and other new testament references both to the other strong evidence in the old testament scriptures as well as to other historical evidence from the first century and also to other New Testament evidence from and about Jesus and his other eyewitness hearers and followers.

Gospel Conversation 1

To followup on one of your questions in one of our conversations, the expression my God and your God is also a way to make sure the hearer knows that the speaker is saying he is referring to one and the same God.

In other words, I also do this in various ways to make my hearers know exactly without mistake to what and to Whom I am referring in specific situations. For example, some of my friends in our discussions will say, your god or they will say their god, showing a distinction. And I do this also when I am talking with people who are referring to a god by any name but with attributes that are not properly referring to the One True God, such as the attribute of deception for example.

So, when we are referring to the One True God, I will often say

Our Creator

Because all who believe in the one Almighty God know and agree together that we have the same Creator

This is one other clear understanding conveyed by Jesus when He said my God and your God. By saying this, it is clear that our heavenly Father He taught us about is our God and that He was doing everything also as a perfect example for us.

I understand what you mean when you say it is unbecoming and improper for the Almighty to become flesh and blood and to dwell among us, to live and die like a mortal man but this is what He did while maintaining His Almighty nature, and again He did this precisely

To show us the perfect example and open for us the perfect way to be restored back into relationship with our Creator

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More Gospel Conversations…

1 Corinthians 11:10

“For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels.”

Interlinear Greek
“Because of this ought the woman (gynē) authority (exousian) to have on the head on account of the angels (angelous).”

Some claim that this passage is cultural. The reference to authority and especially to angels should give us pause. That is not to say that this could not also still be relevant to that region. However, such a reading would seem to require a belief that this is not a reference to some universal relevance about angels.

So, here is a question

Does the same situation regarding authority and angels still apply in Corinth or even elsewhere today, or were these matters of authority and angels only present and relevant in first century Corinth?

Problem & Question

The main problem with the doctrine that Jesus did not die is that He did die, and rise again.

Let us consider this closer rather than going into common reflex responses.

Let’s restate it like this:

The main problem with the doctrine that Jesus did not die is if He in fact did die, and rise again.

Now, here is the question…
And there are likely other even more significant questions from this same honest starting point, and we should consider those also but here is the first major question that comes to mind. Many have asked how God would allow people from the time of Jesus and for 600 years after to think that Jesus died.

An equally major question is

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Why would all the prophets before Jesus from Adam on have received the message that the Messiah would die?

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Note closely that 1) the teaching of Messiah dying and 2) the teaching of the sonship of Messiah should or at least can be treated separately as two distinct teachings.

In other words, one response to the question may be that God cannot die. This would be instantly assuming that these two teachings must be dependent, and perhaps they must ultimately.

However, would the humanity of Messiah more likely suggest that He die or did not die?

In other words, those who hold the teaching that Jesus was only a prophet should be able to accept his natural death without this necessarily having any impact on their acceptance of Messiah’s teachings about who he is.

We could all say Adam is our father
But Adam is not our father
We each have an earthly father
Some people have a father but no one they call dad
Others even have deep love in their hearts and know their dads as daddy
Some have deep hurt so they would mock such love

Jesus was born of a virgin
And He said, “Call no man father.”
We can talk back to Him
But that is not wise
Still, there are many fools
Who continue to walk this earth
Such are we
Until we soften our hearts and humble ourselves before God

God is God
He created everything
And He taught us divine love
By showing us Himself how to live
He sent His promised Son
Into the world
That the world through Him
Would know the Way to salvation

The scripture is clear that we have a body (Gr. sōma), and that carnal man is identified using the term flesh (Gr. sarx). We also come to understand through the scriptures the truth about sin (Gr. hamartánō) and our human nature.

Having had our human spirit separated from the Spirit of God because of sin, our human spirit being dead to God because of sin, all mankind is born in sin with physical life even while spiritually dead.

JESUS later brought spiritual understanding that when an evil spirit is cast out of one person, it can later come back to plague a human soul again if that person has not had their wanting inner being indwelt by the Spirit of God for Whom all hearts were designed.

The spirit of man was intended for, indeed the very being and soul of man was in fact brought to life by the inbreathing of the Spirit of God. It is exceedingly clear from this that the spirit of man is always left wanting in the absence of the Spirit of God. It is in fact this defect, this void, this absence, this separation from the Spirit of God which constitutes the fallen state of all of mankind since the entry of sin into the world through the disobedience of the first man. Since that time, the spirit of man has been dead to God, indeed spiritually dead and separated from the Spirit of God.

In this defective state of incompleteness, lacking the spiritual presence of the One and Only Who alone can complete man, the spirit of man has been left susceptible. Indeed, man separated from God is continually in danger of deception and enslavement to other spirits, evil and fallen spirits aware of easy prey in the desperately wicked hearts of sinful, fallen man. Since the time of Adam’s fall, these have continually sought to entrap the heart of fallen man, to enter into counterfeit engagement with the spirit of man, aiming to entrap him in the law of sin and death and to lead him astray into spiritual slavery to sin and bondage through enticements and doctrines of demons.

This is the danger of the sinful flesh of man.

The new birth is a real work of the Spirit of God. It is no mere theological concept, or less, a simple metaphorical idea. It is an actual work of God in the spiritual realm, more, in the spirit of a person. JESUS said, “No one can enter the Kingdom of God unless he is born again.”

The understanding of the new birth is itself borne out quite plainly in the scriptures in this like.

God formed man from the dust of the earth, breathed in his nostrils and he became a living soul. This man was very good. He was at that time exactly as God created him to be without the taint of sin. He was, again, very good. He did not as yet have any flaw or defect, any marring of his being as soon resulted from his disobedience and the consequence of his sin.

God commanded the man not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He said, “In the day you eat of it, you shall surely die.”

Man was created as a living being with a physical body and spirit from the breath of God which made him a living soul. Scripture expressly declares that man in the totality of his being is spirit, soul and body. And so, the man as created very good was spirit, soul and body without any defect from the effects of sin. He was walking and talking with his Creator in the garden in the cool of the day.

Then, he sinned. The warning was clear, and God cannot lie. “In the day you eat of it, you shall surely die.” And scripture demonstrates clearly that death is a separation. Physical death is the separation of the spirit from the body, and spiritual death is the separation of the spirit of man from the Spirit of God. And so it was that in the day that man disobeyed God, eating the forbidden fruit, engaging in willful disobedience and sin, that sin entered the world. In the same moment, the man also experienced spiritual death, the separation of the spirit of man from the Spirit of God. For God’s Spirit cannot dwell with sin. God is holy.

And so it was that, while the man did not die physically in that moment, not even in that day or even in many hundreds of years, yet God’s WORD stands firm that man did experience death in that same day. That is to say that man experienced spiritual death; his spirit experienced separation from the Spirit of God.

Years later, when the Spirit of God departed from the temple, the term ichabod was used to describe this departure. This word means “the glory has departed.” This term is quite useful in understanding what previously happened in the day of the man’s first sin and spiritual death. Many more years after that, after the earthly life of Messiah, the Spirit of God revealed that the new birth of which Messiah taught was succinctly described in the phrase, “He who is joined with the LORD is one spirit.”

By these later progressive revelations, we can more clearly understand the nature of spiritual death which came through the first man Adam, and then the new birth which came through the One Whom the scriptures declare to be the second Adam.

When God created the first man and breathed His Spirit into him, he came to life with a living body, soul and spirit. When man sinned, he remained alive with life still in his earthly body, but his human spirit was separated from the Spirit of the LORD. That is to say, that a person who has been born of the flesh, but not of the spirit is alive in the flesh, but not in the spirit. Then, when a person is born again, their spirit is brought back to life by grace through faith. Their spirit is revived, resurrected and raised to life. And so it is that when a person is joined with the LORD, he is again one spirit.

This, then is the New Birth.