Apr 21, 2014 |
Comments Off on Day after Easter Devo Post 5 of 5 (Final Chapter from Retweeting Jesus)
Comments Off on Day after Easter Devo Post 5 of 5 (Final Chapter from Retweeting Jesus)
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Apr 2, 2014 |
Comments Off on World Re-Vision Controversy. Post 2 of 3
Comments Off on World Re-Vision Controversy. Post 2 of 3 World Re-Vision Controversy. Post 2 of 3
I wrote in post 1 of this series, “It has hit the Christendom fan!” This post is part 2 of a series and I’m not positive how many posts will be in this series. So…let’s continue.
World Vision, a self declared Christian Ministry, after publicly coming out with a position saying that as a Christian Organization they have decided to leave the “theology” up to the Church and they are going to hire people who are openly living outside the guidelines of the Bible…2 days later reversed their decision back to its original stance! I am grateful for their reversal, and yet concerned for what is happening in our country that tempted World Vision to make such a decision in the first place.
I tweeted the other day, “Christians in this PC society are facing intense pressure to love the sinner more than the Savior.” #DefilingGrace.
I want to be clear about something. For the record… I love all people no matter who they are or what they are doing…but… NEVER-EVER more than I love Jesus of Nazareth, the Lord, Savior, and King of Kings.
In John 15:14, Jesus says, “If you love me, obey my commandments.”
One simply cannot love a sinner the same as the Savior. According to Jesus, obedience to what someone says, is what demonstrates loyalty and love. There must be a priority structure in who you love. There must be a priority structure in who you are loyal to. There must be a priority structure in who you obey.
So, this post is not about Christians spending time with unbelievers living in sin. This post is about Christians accepting other people who call themselves Christian while openly living in the sins the Bible speaks of. I am leaving my opinion out of this one. I appeal to the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians Chapter 5 for evidence on this subject. (I have included the last part of this short chapter below. If you would like to read the whole chapter before moving on…click here…)
9 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— 10 not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. 11 But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a (Christian) brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolateror slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people. 12 What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? 13 God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked person from among you.”
This passage is clearly saying that as Christians we are to judge other Christians…hold each other accountable. The bible talks about correcting, rebuking and pushing each other to finish the race to the finish line/Jesus/Heaven. But…we should never judge the unbeliever. As Christians…we are to judge each other. Who told you that we shouldn’t judge?
Q: So after reading that Bible Passage…Do you think that Christians are supposed to Judge other people? A: We are not to judge unbelievers, but we ARE to judge each other as Christians.
The whole… “Christians should not judge is just not accurate.” Here’s the deal. If I just quote one Bible verse by itself, then it seems that Jesus says it’s totally wrong to judge someone. Here is the verse…Matthew 7:1 and following…
7 :1“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. (There it is…Do not judge! Right?) But hold on…there is more…
2 For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged. 3 “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? 4 How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.
If you read that right…then it actually doesn’t say that it is wrong to judge. It simply says you will be judged according to how you judge others. It says, first get rid of the log/sin in your own life before you point out a fellow Christians.
It is clear that this passage is telling us how to judge correctly. It is not saying it is wrong to judge! Please understand this. I know you don’t hear it in our Christian world today. But we must get back to biblical accuracy on this issue. There is a lot of teaching in our Christian Society that has been swayed by great and smooth arguments, but it is contrary to what the Bible teaches. We are warned of this very “tweaking” in the Bible….Paul writes in Romans 16:17-18…
17 “And now I make one more appeal, my dear brothers and sisters. Watch out for people who cause divisions and upset people’s faith by teaching things contrary to what you have been taught. Stay away from them. 18 Such people are not serving Christ our Lord; they are serving their own personal interests. By smooth talk and glowing words they deceive innocent people.”
I do not think teachers are purposeful in their ‘contrary’ teachings…I’m just really convinced that people have quit reading their Bibles and have substituted Bible reading with the popular opinion of man and other books. And, by the way, when I say reading your Bibles…I mean reading them from the perspective of a Child reading it. You and I should be able to read the Bible, away from our commentaries and other people’s opinions and make sense of it. Jesus said, “If you don’t have faith like a child, you’re not fit for the Kingdom of Heaven.” Read your Bible straight up…no bias….as if you were a child reading it for the very first time! While reading it be asking 2 questions. 1. God what are you saying to me? 2. God, what should I do about what I’m reading?
Back to point….
Again…for clarity… I think the Church (See Post 1 in this series for a clear understanding of what the Church is.) should be heavily involved with people who are living openly in sin…but holy-carefully. Jesus was heavily involved with people who were living in sin. In fact, Jesus hung out with so many people who were living in sin that He was accused by the religious people of being a drunkard and a glutton.
If you are a Christian and you refuse to spend time and love people who are unbelievers and homosexual, greedy, drunkards, thieves, etc…then admit it, you are just not like Jesus. He spent a lot of time with unbelievers who were living in sin.
But that is not the problem this blog post is trying to address.
THE BIG PROBLEM…
There is a serious problem with claiming to be a Christian, and openly/unrepentantly living in any sin that the Bible says is a sin. If you are a Christian who is openly saying you are greedy, drunkard, glutton, homosexual and other sexual sin, addictions, false idol worship, foul mouthed, and the many other sins referred to in the scriptures…then for God’s sake, stop calling yourself a Christian and for your own sake…especially if you are in Christian leadership, get out of ministry leadership until you get yourself living holy again! Please. Jesus deserves better. Please live like He commanded you to live. He gave up His life and His blood for you to be forgiven and Holy. If you are going to call yourself a follower of His and if you are going to say you love Him…then according to Him…you have to obey Him!
Read the following passage like a Child reading for the first time… Hebrews 10:26-27
26 “Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins. 27 There is only the terrible expectation of God’s judgment and the raging fire that will consume his enemies.”
Ouch! The only way out of that kind of sin…is full repentance and a desire to stop sinning. After reading that passage…how could you or anyone actually believe its okay for somebody living in unrepentant sin to work in a Christian organization.
A scarier question…Can you be a Christian and be living in unrepentant sin? The Bible is clear…no.
Your eternal security is wrapped up in REPENTANCE! Without Repentance…you will spend eternity in Hell. Stop trying to twist the scriptures to make you feel good about your unrepentant sin…it might make you feel better now…but your eternity is going to suck! Jesus says, take up your cross and carry it! Jesus says, “if you try to keep your life, you are going to lose it.”
Why would you want to keep your sin? Why would you want to keep living in sin and the earthly pleasure it gives? Come on! You are better than that! You deserve better than your sin!
This pressure to love the sinner more than the Savior is a serious problem. There is a serious pressure to just accept the sin in your life as it is and that you can’t change it. Have you been lulled into thinking, “If you can’t beat it, join it”? The comments I received from Christians on my Facebook post, from people posting about how it should be okay for an openly sinning person to be in Christian leadership, took my breath away. What has caused this alarming unbiblical opinion? I think it is pure biblical ignorance. I am fully convinced that most people rarely ever read the Bible anymore.
If you read the Bible regularly….You would never say that Christians should be in Christian leadership and remain unrepentant about their sin. I am convinced that too many Christians don’t even know that the Bible lists sins and warns us. We should openly welcome such lists and warnings. It’s a fair God that tells us to not sin and then gives us lists of the sins He is referring to. If you haven’t studied what The Bible labels as sins…then then click any of the passages below to read them from the Bible.
If you read the above passages…remember…there is a difference between feeling guilty and feeling convicted. If you are convicted by any of the sins mentioned in the Bible, then I ask you to trust this next Bible verse…
1 John 1:9 “But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.”
God is that Good! All the time!
There is no doubt in my mind that we live in what the Bible calls the “End Times.” Jesus may or may not return in my lifetime, but Jesus says we will be able to know by “reading” the signs of the times. If you want to see what Jesus said about this, then read Matthew 24…just click here. Here is another passage about Christianity in the end times.
2 Timothy 4:3 says, “For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will reject the truth and chase after myths.”
I say…if you are one who is openly saying that it is okay for people living in sin to be in Christian Leadership…the passage above is speaking of you. Please repent, get back in your Bible and read it and stand for the truth of the Word of God again.
Part of the problem is that you might be guilty of buying into the lie that you are judging others if you stand for the truth. Listen to what the verse just before the one you read above says about this… “Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching.” 2 Timothy 4:2.
People, who like living in their sin, believe that to rebuke or correct someone is to be judgmental. Not according to the Bible. Christians are commanded to patiently correct and rebuke and even judge…ONE ANOTHER. I can’t be more clear about the ONE ANOTHER…and not the unbeliever. By the way… we could rebuke and correct with more patience than we do.
My Goodness….if you are judging the unbeliever…and you are a Christian…STOP IT…you are living against God’s way.
Also…if you are going to judge your fellow brother or sister in Christ…as 1 Cor. 5 says we should….then you better be living your life holy…make sure you aren’t pointing out your sister’s splinter in her eye, while you have a log sticking out of your own eye.
Please…if you are a Christian…please resist the temptation to love the sinner more than the Savior. Please don’t twist the Scriptures to make them fit the popular worldview. If you are speaking on behalf of the Bible…please know your Bible or at least exactly what the Bible says about that topic.
It hurts us all us when we witness Christians butchering the Scriptures with unstudied opinions and points because they have been swayed by the world and how it thinks. Please study your Bible. Please read your Bible frequently. Please stay silent about a Bible passage, if you have to guess what it might say, until you do the study and can speak with biblical accuracy. If you are in doubt about what the Bible says, then please resist the temptation to shout out your opinion on Facebook or in public until you’ve taken the time to study and actually know what the Bible says. The Apostle Peter dealt with this 2000 years ago…
“15 And remember, our Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved. This is what our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom God gave him— 16 speaking of these things in all of his letters. Some of his comments are hard to understand, and those who are IGNORANT and unstable have TWISTED his letters to mean something quite different, just as they do with other parts of Scripture. AND THIS WILL RESULT IN THEIR DESTRUCTION. I am warning you ahead of time, dear friends. Be on guard so that you will not be carried away by the errors of these wicked people and lose your own secure footing. 18 Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 3:17
That passage is all about people misrepresenting the Word of God. It says it leads to your destruction if you do it. Please have enough reverence for the Holy Scriptures, that if you can’t be sure of what you are saying is accurate….then just remain silent and go study the Bible.
But…to the main point.
The Bible is clear. Holiness and Sin CANNOT mix! Listen…One CANNOT be living in sin and twisting the scriptures to make their sin seem biblically okay…and be a Christian…especially Christian Leadership. Again… One cannot be a Christian…let alone a leader of Christians…while living in unrepentant sin(any sin)…they must repent and admit their life is not as God designed it and start living like God designed us to live.
So…this brings up another serious hot topic…
One of the biggest twists that Christians have put on the Scriptures is this “Bible verse”…
“No sin is greater than any other sin.” NotaBibleVerse 3:16
THE above “verse” IS NOT IN THE BIBLE!
In fact the Bible says that there are sins that ARE greater than other sins. The Bible says that some sins lead to eternal death/destruction/hell and some do not. So…the Bible says that not all sins are the same. What!? Really!? Yep…
That is in the next post!
The Biblical Truth is that you can’t be living in open unrepentant sin and go to Heaven.
Otherwise…Jesus’s word about The Narrow Road…would be bogus…a joke.
Here’s a teaser of the next post…post 3 of ? …
Jesus and verses in the Bible tell us, “Go and sin no more.” (I’ll post the passages in the next blog.) So…what do you mean “sin no more?” Let me ask you this…
When you woke up this morning…What Sin…did you just HAVE to commit today? Go ahead and list the sin right now…before my next blog post….What sins do you HAVE to commit today. I mean….they just force themselves upon you.
“We are ALL sinners…saved by Grace!” …right?
That phrase is not in the Bible.
So…are you really a sinner? I challenge you before you read my next blog to look up where in the Bible it calls you a sinner after you have given your life to Jesus through His crucified and sacrificial blood!
Or… are you a conqueror…who can do ALL things through Christ who gives you strength?
Hmmmm.
Mar 25, 2014 |
Comments Off on (Part 1of 3) “World Vision Controversy”
Comments Off on (Part 1of 3) “World Vision Controversy” (Part 1of 3) “World Vision Controversy”
INTRO:
It has hit the Christendom fan. World Vision, a self declared Christian Ministry, publicly came out with a position saying that as a Christian Organization they have decided to leave the “theology” up to the Church and they are going to hire people who are openly living outside the guidelines of the Bible. They have specifically created a policy saying that it is okay for their Christian Organization to hire people in a Same Sex marriage to be on their leadership team of their Christian organization. Let’s dialogue about all this…
I first want to say… I hope that these posts will be studied and accepted by all people living in any situation or circumstance as posts of love, directness, and based from a Bible perspective. I personally have friends from most walks of life and life-styles and I believe they know me to be a person who is not judgmental, but as very direct and truthful.
We have to have this discussion without someone throwing the stupid “judgmental christian” card…these issues are of utmost importance that have eternal consequences. Let’s be direct with each other, but loving and seeking truth. We have to have these discussions. We have to seek the Truth.
I want to address the issues that World Vision’s decision has uncovered and stirred up. There are many. This blog will be split up into many separate blogs. I know this material will be long…but I am confident that it will be content that is worth your time. I also want to say that I am doing everything I can to type this in an attitude of love, directness, and minus my personal opinion as much as possible. I want the Bible to be my foundation for this whole series of blog posts.
LET’S GET STARTED…
The arguments that have been stirred by World Vision should not be just about homosexuality and/or same sex marriage. Some want to make World Vision’s decision to be about that…but I want to be clear…
This post is about sin of any kind and it’s mixing with Spiritual Leadership of any kind.
FIRST…World Vision said that they want to leave Theology up to the local Church. Here in lies the problem with World Vision…they have been led to believe that the local Church is a Top Down power structure that has a piece of property and a building, usually with a steeple, that people gather in, typically on Sundays, and that is called…The Church.
This idea is a worldly-developed idea from the Corporate world that has crept into the Church. This mentality has caused even Pastors and others to believe and teach that there are Para Church Organizations and Missions Organizations and then there is the Church….They teach, “The Church” is the one that you drive to on Sundays to sing, take an offering, listen to a message, go home and do it again next Sunday.
Q: Where in the Bible do we have this kind of teaching and segregation? A: It’s not in the Bible.
There are no “Para Church” Organizations in the Bible. Shame on us for separating/creating them. There are no 501 c 3 organizations in the Bible. There are no missions organizations in the Bible. Not for Profits…etc.
The Bible says, that those who are followers of Jesus Christ as Lord, are the Body of our God. Period. The Body of Jesus IS THE CHURCH and again…He is the head! (READ 1 Corinthians Chapter 12 for details on this)
Jesus is the head and everyone of us make up the other “body” parts of the Church. We all have different gifts and changing gifts and strengths. It is shameful that we as the Church have divided our Church body into Church / Para Church / Missions Orgs / Not for Profits / etc. It has gotten so out of hand that different parts of Jesus’ Body get different accountability standards. ie…this wrong system has created double standards where Church boards hold mission organizations to standards that they don’t even follow themselves. They created organizations that measure how these”mission orgs” spend their money. Charity Navigator is one example that has been created. This system sticks it to the “missions orgs” and what is commonly called “The Church” get’s a free pass. The Corporate Church board says that “missions orgs” really shouldn’t be spending more than 5% of their budget on Administrative/management costs while they themselves spend upwards to 50% to 60% or more on their administrative costs in what they call their local churches. (I have been a Sr. Pastor in what is commonly called the Church, and I am now as they call it, a missions leader…I know first hand what the standards are from both perspectives.) WE as the Church today, have taken on a Corporate structure and called it church, and we believe that the para-church organization…doesn’t even have to live according to Jesus’s standards, because it’s Para Church…or Missions…or Not for profit. Thus…Richard Stearns says, “We are going to leave the theology up to the Church.” Is he thinking he has a free pass on honoring the Bible, because somewhere along the way, he believes he and World Vision are not the Church?
We are ALL…THE Church! The Biblical Standards are the same all across the board. The Church is anybody CONNECTED to the Head…Jesus The Christ…The King. The Church is anybody declaring Jesus as Lord of their life and live as the King has commanded.
Richard Stearns’s declaration that World Vision is leaving the theology stuff up to the Church…is crazy wrong. Since when did “The Church” get to say or designate what the standards of Jesus are? SINCE NEVER! Jesus sets the standards and had them recorded in the Bible. The Bible says what the standards of Jesus are and the Church is either in sin or not in sin as they obey/disobey the standards of Jesus recorded in God’s Word…The Holy Bible! The Church, the public, popular vote, governments, individuals can’t change Jesus’s standards…ever.
So…THERE IS ONLY BIBLICAL CHRISTIANITY…aka..The Church!
There should not be any segregation of the Church into para church, missions orgs, Not for Profit orgs, Religious Orgs, Denominations, etc…NO…WE ARE ALL THE CHURCH, ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE. Please do not let the world’s corporate structure, that has been forced on Christianity, deceive you into thinking they are all different. It’s all the Church. It is all Christianity.
The Point?
WE ARE ALL THE CHURCH! When we all…individually…stand before Jesus someday for Judgment…Mr. Richard Stearns of World Vision…you will not be able to say to Jesus…“Um, Jesus…I left the theology up to the Church…Um, Jesus…some in the “Church” said that it is okay to ignore that commandment of Yours. Um, Jesus, that Church group over there didn’t follow that command of yours, so I assumed it was okay for me too…”
Do you get my point? One on One with Jesus is where you and I will be someday. You and I cannot blame anyone for our decisions. It will be You and Jesus at that point…and like it or not…if you say you are a follower of Jesus…YOU ARE THE CHURCH! The above paragraph is not just written to Richard Stearns…it is the same truth for me and you. You will be held accountable for the Truths and the Standards that are written in God’s Word…The Bible. It doesn’t matter what anyone else does or tells you to do…only you will be accountable for the truth and standards that Jesus gave us in The Holy Bible.
Before this first part of this blog post finishes…I do want to add this. There are LEVELS OF JUDGEMENT coming when Jesus returns.
There will be those who are not teachers and leaders of Christianity who get one level of Judgment from Jesus. And then…
There will be those who are judged with even more strictness….these are the Teachers and Leaders of Christianity.
James 3:1 in The Holy Bible says, “Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.”
It’s a very dangerous thing to lead, teach, or be on staff in Christianity…whether that Church be called World Vision, The Salvation Army, The YMCA, ReturnHope International, or your local congregation on the street corner with a steeple. We will all be held accountable for our spiritual leadership in Christianity…THE CHURCH….Individually.
World Vision is pretty much saying anybody can lead and teach in Christianity and leadership within a Christian organization…no matter their life choices…but have they considered the warnings of James 3:1?
Thus…part 2 post…coming soon…
Jan 15, 2014 |
Comments Off on Will you serve? I’m headed to Uganda in a few days…it has begun!
Comments Off on Will you serve? I’m headed to Uganda in a few days…it has begun! Will you serve? I’m headed to Uganda in a few days…it has begun!
ReturnHope International’s website is up and functioning! If you are reading this…then you probably have thought about the Renner Family and possibly prayed for us and for that I am grateful.
I am so thankful and humbled to be the President/CEO of ReturnHope. I am working hard to raise financial support for 2014 for my family to live on as we do this work.
I can’t thank you enough for your prayers and encouragement to me, Kelli and our four children, Madison, Riley, Garrett and Mia. I am excited about what lies ahead as I lead ReturnHope International into places all around the world.
I am praying for you in hopes that you will go with me, sooner or later, to these places in the name of Jesus. The trips we will be taking are life changing for all involved.
I am actually getting ready to board a plane in a few days for the trek to Uganda Africa to meet our partners and determine some of the most urgent and important needs that God might be directing us to impact. 
I am excited to get back home with the pictures (Like the one on the left from the last trip I took to Uganda!), videos, and reports on what we must do for the Kingdom of Heaven. I also spoke with a gentleman this morning about doing some local ministry for the least of these right here in AZ!
As our website is up and running…it still has some work that needs to be done on it…but you will be able to check it out and see our focus, I am hoping and praying that you will continue with having a global impact through the Lord Jesus Christ. Your investment in this ministry this year is what will lay the foundation for decades of doing what Jesus commands of us all!
I am asking you to prayerfully consider investing financial support in the Kingdom of Heaven through ReturnHope. If this is something that you want to do, there are now several ways that you can accomplish it. Please see the details below. If I can personally answer any questions you have, please feel free to ask me. My contact information is at the end of this email. My cell phone is below too. Just call me or email me.
- ONLINE GIVING is possible through our website. You can give through your credit card one time or as a recurring gift. Just follow the simple instructions once you hit the red donate button on the website.
- DIRECT DEPOSITS from your bank account to ReturnHope’s. Email me for the bank account information.
- SEND A CHECK VIA THE MAIL. The ReturnHope Mailing address is:
ReturnHope International
20118 N 67th Ave #450
Glendale, AZ 85308
All of your ministry investments are tax deductible. Thank you for who you are and your commitment to live for God!
Trent Renner
email: [email protected]
Mobile: 623-628-1400
Sep 23, 2013 |
Comments Off on 20/20 Hind-sight about Jesus…
Comments Off on 20/20 Hind-sight about Jesus… 20/20 Hind-sight about Jesus…
Isaiah 28:16 says,
“Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“Look! I am placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem,
a firm and tested stone.
It is a precious cornerstone that is safe to build on.
Whoever believes need never be shaken.” (NLT)
The USA was created nearly 250 years ago.
The Book of Isaiah was written around 700 years before the birth of Jesus…totaling 2700 years ago.
Can you imagine if you were someone reading the book of Isaiah..let’s say…600 years before Jesus was born? You wouldn’t have known how much time would pass before the coming Messiah would actually arrive. Every day you would wonder if today was the day for the Messiah to be born. Some, maybe didn’t even know what this “Cornerstone” would actually be. I imagine there was great awe and wonder, maybe even fear being talked about, as the people prior to Jesus’s birth, studied and contemplated who or what this cornerstone was all about.
I’ll bet it was very frustrating for the people of that day. Wouldn’t you strive, with all your effort, to determine who or what this cornerstone was, so that if you believed in it, you would never be shaken, as the verse in Isaiah says? It would be all consuming. I would want that cornerstone more than anything. Not knowing what it was would have sent me on a wild game of hide and seek as I tried to discover what this “Cornerstone” was, so I could believe in it, so I would never be shaken!
Today…we are very fortunate…
We don’t have to be frustrated like the people who lived BC. We can look back with 20/20 hindsight and know WHO the cornerstone is. The Apostle Paul, who in the early part of his life hated Jesus and His followers, wrote the following Bible verse, “Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself.”
I wonder if Paul shook his head in awe and wonder as he wrote that sentence? One day He hated Jesus…the next He was admitting Jesus is the Cornerstone and Lord of all!
Paul met Jesus personally. Paul used to imprison and oversee the killing of people who dared say that Jesus was the cornerstone referred to in Isaiah. Now, Paul is the writer of more than 1/2 of the New Testament that professes that Jesus IS the cornerstone. It’s crazy what happens when someone meets Jesus personally!
You and I do not have to be frustrated wondering where hope is found. We do not have to be nervous wondering what we must do to have salvation. We do not have to argue about who is the Cornerstone that everything else is built on or stumbles on. We do not have to fight to prove that Jesus is the cornerstone. He IS the Cornerstone. He rose from the dead to prove how immovable that cornerstone…He…really is.
If you are reading this, you and I have such an advantage over the faithful followers of God that lived BC. We can look with 20/20 hindsight to know who Jesus is and what He has done. We have the new set of Scriptures called the New Testament to witness to who that Cornerstone is. We have the 39 books of the Old Testament to compare to the 27 books of the New Testament to do a full study of who the Messiah is and what we must do to make Him our Lord and Savior and King. You and I can have complete confidence in the fact that Jesus is The Way, The Truth and The Life! He said so Himself.
That’s a good thing! That’s a good book! That’s Good News! That’s the Holy Scriptures, pointing us to a holy God and asking us to live Holy Lives. The Apostles and many others are so convinced that Jesus is the Cornerstone, that they were willing to have horrible things happen to them instead of denouncing Jesus. If you want to read about some of these people, read Hebrews chapter 11.
Jesus is the Messiah. Jesus is the Cornerstone. A sentence was written by the great Prophet Isaiah 2700 years ago, telling us that we can live unshaken lives if we build on the foundational cornerstone of Jesus Christ Himself! He is a firm and tested stone. He is immovable, steadfast, and undefeated! He is the THE Champion of the Faith. He is the Great Physician. He is the Comforter. He is the full payment for your sins. He is the Rock! He cannot be shaken! Anything that comes against Him will not succeed! 
Knowing this….check out the following passage…written by King David approximately 2900 years before Jesus came. Talk about faith. Read the hope and strength that King David had in God nearly 3000 years before the birth of the Cornerstone. If David can have this kind of faith and strength prior to the birth of Jesus…not knowing with 20/20 hindsight where His confidence should be…not knowing who the Messiah would be, then how much more faith and strength can we have knowing…with 20/20 hindsight… that Jesus IS the cornerstone?
1 I wait quietly before God,
for my victory comes from him.
2 He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress where I will never be shaken. Psalms 62:1-2 (NLT)
Jesus is the Rock…
You are Solid as long as you stand on The Rock.
Rock on!
Trent