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Before we talk about Why Jesus, we should understand who Jesus was or said He was. While there are many
places in the New Testament of the Bible where He tells us, let's look at Matthew chapter 16, where Jesus asks the question
of His Disciples.
Matthew 16:13-17
- "Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He
began asking His disciples, saying, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"
14 And they said, "Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the
prophets." 15 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
16 And Simon Peter answered and said, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." 17
And Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did
not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven."
Now, let us ask the question....
Why Jesus is the Only Way to God?
This is a question many people ask. Why only Jesus? They want to believe there are many ways to God.
Like going the long way around the block to get back home, but still getting there. They may be well meaning folks, who believe
they are doing right. They think because they love mother nature and any old life style choice, they will find God or happiness.
They just can't seem to get it through their well meaning minds, that there is Right and there is Wrong.
They want to believe that if they just accept everything, because they don't want to hurt anyone's feelings,
that they will be fine. But by doing so, they are opening the door, not to Christ, but to the evil one, the devil. Who is
always looking for a way to steal someone away from God.
Some of these well meaning people search and search the world over, trying to find meaning in life, trying to find a
road to God. When it's been right in front of them all a long.
Many are too caught up in the world of man, and can't see what really matters, the Spiritual world of
God. They worship things, money, toys of man, cars, power over others, expensive homes, boats, computers, the latest clothes
and styles, sex for sex sake, TV and movie stars, music and all the rest of the things of the earth, but nothing of the things
of Heaven.
Christianity is to narrow for them. They can't accept Christ as the one and only way to God. They can't
see that being a Christian is freeing, and opens the door to Love God and all His people. They can't see that the Christian
God and his Son Jesus, Loves them and wants a relationship with them. That He came and died for them and for all of
us.
They search for truth in the words and works of man, not of God. And many are surprised when they don't find it, that
they are still empty inside. But because of their belief that everything is good, they can't believe that there is bad. So
they follow teaching that says what they want to hear, that nature is god or science or some guru somewhere who tells them
to bow down to a statue or and animal.
They just can't accept a belief that says there is only one way to God and that some will be left out of
His Kingdom. That some people will not be saved. So, they prefer to believe that, because God is everywhere, all
roads lead to Him. Or they don't believe in anything.
Read Acts 17:24-31
- "The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord
of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; 25 neither is He served by human hands, as
though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all life and breath and all things; 26 and He made from
one, every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times, and the boundaries
of their habitation, 27 that they should seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though
He is not far from each one of us; 28 for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets
have said,' For we also are His offspring.' 29 "Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that
the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man. 30 "Therefore
having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent, 31
because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished
proof to all men by raising Him from the dead."
I'm sorry for those people, because Christ tells us plainly in John, Chapter 14:6
- "Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and
the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me."
In verses 8-11 He goes on:
- "Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough
for us." 9 Jesus said to him, "Have I been so long with you, and yet you have
not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, `Show us the Father'?
10 "Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The
words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works.
11 "Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe
because of the works themselves. "
To those who say, many roads lead to God, I have to say, read those words again...
I didn't say them, Jesus did... and, "The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own
initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works."
God keeps it very simple for us, we don't have to face east and pray so many times a day, we don't have
to worship our navels or search the world over. We just have to accept Jesus as our personal Savor and Love the Lord.
To those who don't believe Jesus is the One Way to God the Father, or who don't believe in anything, I pray they
began to see the light by reading what I have written here. It's only a start, but each journey begins with a single step.
Now, in order to believe Jesus was who He said He was, let me give you some things to think about.
Let's start with the Old Testament of the Bible...
Did you know that there are over 300 Prophesies in the Old Testament about the coming Messiah. All written
Hundreds of years before Christ was born, and Jesus fulfilled all of them?
I could spend hours listing them, and you could spend hours reading them, but this page is going to be long enough, so
I'll just give you a couple examples here. For the rest, you can do your own search. God wants you to learn about Him, to
read His words and use your own mind to find the truth in them. So, find the Bible I'm sure you have laying around the house
and read it...
But here's a couple to start you off:
Isaiah 53, was written 700 years before Jesus was born, but read and think:
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1 Who has believed our message? And to whom has
the arm of the LORD been revealed? 2 For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of
parched ground; He has no {stately} form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted
to Him. 3 He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from
whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
4 Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows
He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But He was pierced through
for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being {fell} upon Him, And by His scourging
we are healed. 6 All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD
has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him. 7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not
open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open
His mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment He was taken away; And as for His generation, who considered That
He was cut off out of the land of the living For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke {was due?} 9
His grave was assigned with wicked men, Yet He was with a rich man in His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was
there any deceit in His mouth.
10 But the LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting
{Him} to grief; If He would render Himself {as} a guilt offering, He will see {His} offspring, He will prolong {His}
days, And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand. 11 As a result of the anguish of His soul,
He will see {it and} be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear
their iniquities. 12 Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, And He will divide the booty
with the strong; Because He poured out Himself to death, And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the
sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors.
Isaiah also talks about the coming of John the Baptist in chapter 40.
But let's go back even further to the book of Psalms 22, written a full 1,000 years before Jesus was born and
Hundreds of years before crucifixion was invented as a way to put someone to death...
Read Psalm 22 and think:
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1 My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Far
from my deliverance are the words of my groaning. 2 O my God, I cry by day, but You do not answer; And by
night, but I have no rest. 3 Yet You are holy, O You who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel. 4
In You our fathers trusted; They trusted and You delivered them. 5 To You they cried out and were delivered;
In You they trusted and were not disappointed. 6 But I am a worm and not a man, A reproach of
men and despised by the people. 7 All who see me sneer at me; They separate with the lip, they wag the head,
{saying,} 8 "Commit {yourself} to the LORD; let Him deliver him; Let Him rescue him, because He delights
in him." 9 Yet You are He who brought me forth from the womb; You made me trust {when} upon my mother's breasts.
10 Upon You I was cast from birth; You have been my God from my mother's womb.
11 Be not far from me, for trouble is near; For
there is none to help. 12 Many bulls have surrounded me; Strong {bulls} of Bashan have encircled me. 13
They open wide their mouth at me, As a ravening and a roaring lion. 14 I am poured out like water, And all
my bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It is melted within me. 15 My strength is dried up like
a potsherd, And my tongue cleaves to my jaws; And You lay me in the dust of death. 16 For dogs have surrounded
me; A band of evildoers has encompassed me; They pierced my hands and my feet. 17 I can count all my bones.
They look, they stare at me; 18 They divide my garments among them, And for my clothing they cast lots. 19
But You, O LORD, be not far off; O You my help, hasten to my assistance. 20 Deliver my soul from the sword,
My only {life} from the power of the dog. 21 Save me from the lion's mouth; From the horns of the wild
oxen You answer me.
22 I will tell of Your name to my brethren; In
the midst of the assembly I will praise You. 23 You who fear the LORD, praise Him; All you descendants of
Jacob, glorify Him, And stand in awe of Him, all you descendants of Israel. 24 For He has not despised
nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; Nor has He hidden His face from him; But when he cried to Him for help, He heard.
25 From You {comes} my praise in the great assembly; I shall pay my vows before those who fear Him. 26
The afflicted will eat and be satisfied; Those who seek Him will praise the LORD. Let your heart live forever! 27
All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD, And all the families of the nations will worship before You.
28 For the kingdom is the LORD'S And He rules over the nations. 29 All the prosperous of
the earth will eat and worship, All those who go down to the dust will bow before Him, Even he who cannot keep his soul alive.
30 Posterity will serve Him; It will be told of the Lord to the {coming} generation. 31
They will come and will declare His righteousness To a people who will be born, that He has performed {it.}
Now, I suggest that you read the accounts of Jesus' crucifixion in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John of the New Testament.
I'd give you chapter and verse, but I want you to find them yourself. You need to open that Bible and read....
As I have said, there are over 300 prophecies in the Old Testament concerning the birth, life and death of Jesus
Christ. I'm not going to take up this page with all of them, so I'll just give you some places in the Bible to look
for them, and in that way, I'll get you to open a Bible and read God's words.
- Isaiah 42:1-9
- Numbers 24:17, then read Luke 3:34
- Isaiah 7:14. then read Matthew 1:18
- Micah 9: 6-7, then read Matthew 2:1
- Jeremiah 31:15, then read Matthew 2:16
- Zechariah 9:9, then read John 12:13-14
- Zechariah 12:10, then read John 19:34
And that is only a small sample of Prophecies in the Old Testament about Christ, His Birth, Life, Death and Resurrection.
Much of the Old Testament is preparing the way for the coming of the Christ, who is
Jesus.
But you say, couldn't the writers of the Gospels, knowing these writings, have written about Jesus in
such a way as to make it appear He was the Messiah?
Ask yourself this question.
Who were the men chosen by Jesus to be his disciples and the writers of the Gospels? They were fishermen, tradesmen,
even a tax collector, common men. They weren't writers, they we're high up in the church at that time. They were just
normal guys, who followed Christ and recorded the things they saw and heard.
And if they had managed to "Make Up" the story of Christ's life and death, don't you find it impossible
to believe that not one of them denied the truth when they were being tortured and put to death for those beliefs? If
they had made it all up, don't you think one of them would have said something before they died horribly? And almost all of
them were killed for their beliefs.
The Gospels were all written within 30-35 after Christ's death. Modern scholars have some 5,000
copies of these Gospels in the original Greek, with hardly any difference between them. And they have some 15,000
copies in other languages with only small errors, such as spelling, between them. These all date from the first few centuries after
the death of Jesus. There are NO other ancient writings that are as well preserved. And for those who think
the Gospels were changed... Don't you think if someone changed them, with so many copies out there, some of the faithful
would have noticed the difference and said something?
Other things to think about
The Miracles of Jesus
Through out the 4 Gospels we read of the many Miracles performed by Jesus, healing the sick, opening
the eyes of the blind and even raising the dead. Did anyone at the time deny that Christ did these things?
No, they didn't. They may not have believed He was who He said He was, but they didn't deny He did what
He did. They came up with excuses, saying He performed tricks or was using power from the devil instead of God. But
no one writing at the time or shortly after, said He didn't perform those Miracles.
And what of His Resurrection?
The tomb was empty the morning of the third day, and Christ appeared to many people after His death on the cross.
Do you really think the disciples would have gone to their deaths as martyrs, and not admit it didn't happen, if
they had made it up or faked it?
And don't forget Paul, who never meet Jesus, and who had a vision of Christ after He'd died and that
vision changed his life 180% around. Paul went on to write most of the New Testament and preach the Word of Christ
the rest of his life and died a martyrs death.
And who would have rolled a stone away from the tomb, a stone that probably weighed one and half to two
tons? Certainly not the solders sent to guard it, they would have been killed. The disciples? They knew He was dead
and never believed He would rise. They were frighten for their own lives.
But there can be no doubt that the risen Christ changed the lives of these questioning men of the early Gospels.
Men who went on to spread the word of a Risen Lord, Jesus Christ. And they died proclaiming that belief.
Many roads to God?
If, as some want to believe, that there are many paths to God, why did God bother to send Jesus at all?
There would be no reason to do it, no reason for Christ to go through all that He went through. If you can just be a
good person, in whatever religion, and still reach God, then there would have been no need for Christ to have ever come into
the world.
Look kids... Read the Bible and think about the nature of the God written there.
He is not some distance ruler, He is involved personally with the lives of the people He created here on earth. Many times
He comes to the men and women of the Bible and speaks to them, guides them and shows them what He wants them to do.
This is a personal God, a God who Loves us all... Deeply.
The Christian God of the Bible, is not sitting high on a Mountain, impossible to reach. He's right here
with us, every day. Through allowing His Son Jesus to become a man, suffer and die for us, He understands us like no
one else could. The God of the Bible doesn't require us to reach UP to Him, He has reached DOWN to us, through His
Son Jesus.
If you really study the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, you will see that there is a plan at work from the beginning.
From Genesis through Revelation... You see Gods plan for us, His people. Christ's coming, Death and Resurrection
was planned from the beginning of time.
If you read and study the Book of Revelations, you will see what is to come at the end times. And it's
not pretty for those who have not accepted Christ.
If God wanted puppets, following His every command, He could have made us that way, but no, He wants
us to believe in Him and Love Him based on accepting Him as our Lord, because we want to, not because he forces us to. Therefore
He gives us free will. He lets us make up our own minds about Him, and accept Him and His Son Jesus, or reject them.
It's up to you, but I want you to think about something.
This earth, this age, this life is coming to an end. And eternity is waiting... That means forever and
ever. This age, this time of man is a testing for God to find those who really want what He's offering us. Life with Him forever
and ever, no more death, no more pain, no more doubts, no more suffering and wondering. God wants all of us to come to Him
willingly, He sent His Son Jesus to show us the way. He has laid out the road map through His teachings, and it's up to us
to follow His lead or to try and go it alone.
Right now, you have two choices, either accept Christ and God's gift of eternal life with Him, or not,
and suffer an eternity of unending pain. Sorry, I had to mention that, for there is a price to be paid for not accepting Christ,
and it's not pretty. And nothing you can say or do, short of accepting Christ, can change that fact.
And since I have brought up the choices, let me leave you with these words...
1 Corinthians 2:9
- 9 but just as it is written, "THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN,
ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM."
And John 14:1-3
- 1 "Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in
Me. 2 "In My Father's house are many dwelling
places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. 3 "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am,
there you may be also."
And In Revelations 3:20-22 Christ says:
- "'Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will
come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. 21 `He who overcomes, I will grant to him
to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. 22
`He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.' "
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On a personal note: Looking back over my life, I can plainly
see that God has shaped it, brought me to where I am today. Through good and bad, He's been there guiding me, all
my life. I know He brought my late wife and I together and He help us stay together through it all. And I know He has brought
me to an understanding of Him and of the work He wants me to do.
That work is to Love Him and to tell people, like you, what I know and what I believe, so that you might believe.
To open your eyes that you might see His light and your ears that you might hear His Word.
I have felt the presence of Jesus next to me many times, comforting me, guiding me and giving me His peace.
He has calmed me when I was scared, frightened almost out of my mind, but by His presence, a peace came over me that shouldn't
have been there. He tells me everyday, "Trust in Me."
I feel His hand on my shoulder, helping me, even as I write this.
With some of the things I have been through, it was not logical for me to have that peace, to be that calm. That tells
me He is on my side, working in my life.
On the other hand, there have been times over the years when I have felt the devil too. Wanting me to
do things I knew were wrong, sometimes terrible things. Sometimes just bringing fear, or depression. Wanting me to turn from
God. His thoughts are cold and ugly. His presence sometimes makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up, and I feel a cold
chill down my spine. But other times, I don't even know he's there, until I realize what I'm doing or thinking. Then it's
clear where those thoughts and acts are coming from. They come from one who is evil, foul and vile.
While the thoughts I know are from Christ, are warm, caring and loving. Coming from someone who Loves me and
wants the best for me.
With Christ in my life, the devil doesn't stand a chance. I feel Jesus next to me, and know He is my
Friend, my Best Friend. I talk to Him everyday, both in prayer and as a Friend talks to a Friend. I ask for help when I need
it and thank Him when things go well. And He's always there, listening, guiding and pleased I've made Him a part of my life.
And I know He'll be there for you, if You ask Him.
God doesn't play favorites, we are all His children and He only wants us to know Him and to Love Him, as any Father does.
And He wants us to know His Son Jesus and to let Him into our hearts and make Him a part of our lives.
Just listen... He's knocking at Your door right now, will You open it and let Him in?
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