voice out of the cloud, saying,listen and obey Jesus

Jesus said: Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but [only] he who does the will of My Father Who is in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name? And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ Mat 7:21-23. Obviously they called him Lord, and they had enough faith that he was the son of God to perform wonderful miracles in his name; but that was not enough - they practiced lawlessness, thinking there was no need to obey him! Jesus is saying that they have not made them their Lord in practice, who controls their lives in their actions and words; he doesn't know them to be his subjects as their ruling Lord. They say Jesus is Lord with their lips, but keep him far removed from their hearts to really be their Lord and King.

Jesus said: Not everyone who calls me Lord will enter heaven, but only those who do the will of my Father.
And how do you do the will of the Father? Then there came a voice out of the cloud, saying,
"This is My Son, My Chosen One or My Beloved; listen to and yield to and obey Him!” Luk 9:35
You must go to him, listen to him, hear him, and obey him - repeatedly.
Doing this will result in him cleansing you, making you fit to be in his presence, making him your ruling Lord in words and actions.
He [Jesus] became the Author and Source of eternal salvation to all those who give heed and obey Him. Heb 5:9

To make him Lord, he has to first cleanse us of our sinful nature that makes us unruly, incapable of being subject to a Lord or King. Until he cleanses us, we are a slave to sin, incapable of being subject to a Lord or King. Jesus himself said, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. John 8:34. So we have to seek him to purify us by destroying our selfish, unruly, sinful nature; we have to sit quietly so that he, the Light and the Word, can teach us about himself and search our heart to show us our conditions; lead us to repent, and then cleanse us to be governable so he can truly rule us as our King and Lord. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; all who are of the truth hear my voice. John 10:27, 18:37.

living in union with Jesus and God

Christ said to, "pray that you will have the strength to stand before the Son of Man." It refers to conviction. While sitting quietly waiting on the Lord, (meditation), which is necessary to attain purity, the Light shows us the evil that is in our heart. Our tendency is to deny it and to run from the light which shows us our condition. Christ is our excuse for the unholy thing we are, and our lifeline to stay or "stand," (not flee). We can't do it without him; it is too humiliating to accept without knowing that he died to be our savior and helper; he says PEACE, don't worry. He is our pass for being the way we are as we seek peace and enlightenment. Without the knowledge of a friend and savior, our meditations only go so far, because we draw back in fear of ourselves compared to God.

So, if when meditating, and you are shown something ugly about yourself by the Light, don't draw back; recognize it is the Light showing you your condition, and it is doing this to help us be rid of it and become a better person; and that Christ has died for us, so that we need not panic and draw away, but remain to focus on the Light that shows us our condition; we can claim his help by just believing in his name. And then, just when you don't expect it, strength will come; and whatever we have been shown as a defect in our heart, we will have strength to be different from then on. By loving the Light and feeling regret for what it is showing you while standing and not fleeing, you are receiving Christ, the Light. This doesn't commit you to 'churchianity' or attending one of the deficit sects' services; to the contrary, he would keep you out of them.

His good news that he was sent to the world to announce was: Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is near; repentance being change in the light to purity; after purity, to enter paradise, the Kingdom of Heaven within and among us, our consciousness and sight translated to the spiritual dimension, living in union with Christ and God, but walking on earth by the light of God, as children of the light. For God is not far from each one of us and hopes that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him; for in him we live and move and have our being. Acts 17:27-28. These writings show the way out of darkness to light. (Click for more.)

He created you. You are on the earth in the midst of evil. You were born in it. You are part of it. He doesn't blame you. He forgives you. His beloved first born Son has paid the price of all your sin. He wants you back with him. He wants to be with you. He wants to love you, and he wants you to love him. He wants to give you riches beyond your imagination, but a different kind of riches than what you know on earth. Trust him. He is the rewarder of those who diligently seek him. He asks you to please listen to his Son in the Light and keep his commands. So he can give you his peace. Follow his commands; be free from worry, doubt, fear, agitation, uncontrolled emotion, habits - all of which disturb your peace. There is peace between God and you. Accept this peace and seek Him through the Light, Jesus. Who had the joy of creating you, and now has the joy of reuniting you with the Father. The Light awaits you. See Meditation for more.

If you've arrived at this site, still curious why Jesus is necessary, I have a challenge for you. Pick up a Bible (or click) and read the sermon on the Mount; it won't take long. If you've been seeking, it will ring beyond true. If you like it, read the book of John next. John identifies the beauty of the promises to us, particularly John 14 and John 17. A grouping of of Jesus' commands to everyone and his criticisms of religious leaders are on the side bar. I believe you will find Christ's teachings so superior to anything you have read, that you will want to learn more; this happened to me. Jesus said, If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. John 7:17

The 'christians' of today are not examples of his teachings. The different deficit sects fight over the interpretation of the recorded words of the saints, (the interpretations of the Bible), without seeking the same Spirit that spoke the words; as He told me,"they fight over the husks, without ever discovering the corn."

Instead look through the rest of this site, including Coming out of the World, Meditation, and Christian Freedom; and read the main attraction on this site, the Letters and Journal of George Fox, the original Quaker, who in the 17th century England led tens of thousands to holiness and oneness with God; this people exhibited their moral ethnicity while they testified against all the "deficit sects" of christiandom as Godless. And they were reviled and persecuted for it; just as Jesus predicted would happen to his true followers! They also showed a remarkable love and their ministry exhibited power. Christ came so we could be one, with Him and the Father, on the earth in this life; so we could enjoy the Kingdom of Heaven here and now, after we go to him for his purification.

Jesus said, no one who believes in me should stay in darkness

Jesus was not a man of war like Mohammed and Krishna; nor was Jesus just a man like Buddha, who became enlightened, though never acknowledging God. Christ walked the earth as a man, but before and after his earthly life, he reigned in the heavens, King of the Angels, creator of all things, including the heavens and earth and all in it. Although he ruled the heavens, he stripped himself of his glory and godhood to humble and abase himself, becoming human form to dwell in a tabernacle of flesh and die on the cross; so that he could reconcile man back to the Father through love; the ultimate gift, his life, for all the errant children of his creation. But in this life on earth he seeks to reconcile as first fruits, only those followers who wish to become like him, in union with him - because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

John says: "In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The true light that gives light to every man coming into the world." John 1:1-9. So the Light of all men is Christ, the Light that many meditation-based religions seek.

So, since he created us, it stands to reason that he is the one to reconcile us back to himself and to the Father. But the Father is logical. He doesn't just make a rule unless it is necessary. I can accept the rule, but I always wondered why good people from other faiths were not able to find union with God in this life. Somehow it just didn't seem fair when some of the other faiths stressed peace, love, holiness, purity, enlightenment, and less materialism than 'christians,' who used Jesus as an excuse to live in sin without repentance to purity. My question was answered with the following understandings:

First, those who live in sin without the fruit of repentance to purity, calling themselves 'Christians,' do not find unity with God or true salvation. So, he doesn't discriminate on the basis of a technicality.

Second, remember Christ is the light that enlightens all men. Remember the Spirit of God has been poured out on all mankind. Anyone who totally obeys the Light of their conscience can attain union with God. However many forms of meditation teach you to ignore all thoughts and all voices; but unless you obey the convictions and complete moral commands heard and understood, there is no spiritual progress. So, people from some other faiths can get very spiritual in meditation; like all men, they have the spirit within them chained down waiting for liberation from prison. They can become more enlightened and more spiritual than 'christians' of the various 'christian' deficit sects. Some of the other religions strive for the death of the ego, rejection of materialism, attaining inner peace, reaching enlightenment, and call for more holiness from their believers; all as necessary to please God. They find today's 'Christianity' unacceptable, because the 'christian' sects use the death of Jesus as an excuse to live in sin without guilt; the opposite of holiness and instead, an embrace of hypocrisy. As reported, when Gandhi was asked why he couldn't accept Jesus, he said, "I too will become a Christian, when I meet a Christian like Jesus."

Third, the Light in all men, which is the only teacher anyone needs, will eventually reveal its identity as Christ to the sincere individuals of other religions in their meditations. They then have the choice whether to accept him or not. Unfortunately they often decline, because of their loyalty to the teachings of their inherited faith and because of the poor record of most 'christians' around them and throughout history. They may live a very peaceful life, but their progress stops. They cannot get to total union with God to live in the Kingdom of Heaven, unless they accept Christ - the only way to enter the spiritual dimension in this life. Rejecting Christ, they have thrown the proverbial baby out with the dirty bath water. They have rejected Christ, because of 'churchianity.'

We know people who have gone into the Light by a variety of meditation methods; one person using TM had the Light tell her that He would heal her. It was suggested to her that the Light was Christ, but that person rejected the Light to be Christ, because she had rebelled from a condemning fundamental christian sect. Rejecting the Light to be Jesus, she missed the opportunity to be healed of her sickness and the opportunity to attain union with God in his Kingdom.

So if he reveals himself to you in your meditations, this is not the Jesus of the deficit sects, who claim him as an excuse for an unholy lifestyle while condemning others living similarly, but this is Christ, the life which is the light of men. He said, I am the light of the world: he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness. Believe in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light.

Not everyone who says Jesus is lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven

Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness,
and sin is lawlessness. 1 John 3:4

Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven,
but [only] he who does the will of My Father Who is in heaven.
Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord,
have we not prophesied in Your name,
cast out demons in Your name,
and done many wonders in Your name?
And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you;
depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ Mat 7:21-23

The Son of Man will send out His angels,
and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend,
and those who practice lawlessness,
and will cast them into the furnace of fire.
There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Mat 13:41-42

Jesus said, I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin

God is light. God is a consuming fire. God is a spirit. In the beginning, the light, fire, and spirit called God, created the first-born (Jesus) of all the creation, so that all God's fullness could dwell in him, (Jesus) and then by him (Jesus) were all things created, that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together - so that in everything he might have the supremacy. He is essentially one with God and in the form of God.

Yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live, 1 Cor 8:6. Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD.

And through him [Jesus] to reconcile to himself (God the Father) all things, whether things on earth or in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. Col.1:5-20.

(See Is There Hope for All Men and Women for more on his reconciliation of all things back to God the Father).

There are many, many prophecies of scriptures regarding the details of Jesus' life, made hundreds of years before his birth, and fulfilled in his lifetime. Click Here to See Them. These fulfilled prophecies not only show Christ's Divinity and Him being the promised Messiah, but also demonstrate the validity of the Bible, (despite the gross misinterpretations so prevalent in Christendom today).

Almost everyone has heard that Jesus said, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except by me.' And no one can come to him in this life, unless the Father draws them; but they must come to the Father through the example, teachings, and help of Christ, including the mystical missing cross. But make no mistake, he is not a license for immorality; whatever label people claim, they must be holy to have any part of him. The sects of christendom claim in error that he came to set them free them from guilt of sin, rather than to set them free from sin by destruction of the sinful nature. You tender hearted souls, who thought he was, but still wish him to be your Lord, will find encouragement below on how he can destroy the sinful nature; for Jesus said, I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. John 8:34. If you still sin, then sin is your master; and Jesus can't be your Lord, because you cannot serve two masters. Luke 16:13.

Philip said to Jesus , Lord, show us the Father; then we shall be satisfied.

Scriptures regarding the divinity of Christ, and showing that before he came to earth in the flesh, Christ created the universe, in his heavenly, glorious form:

* In the beginning was the Word, and the Word [Jesus] was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. John 1:1-14

* He [Jesus] is the sole expression of the glory of God , and He is the perfect imprint and very image of nature, upholding and maintaining and guiding and propelling the universe by His mighty word of power. Hebrews 1:3

* Who [Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature, Colossians 1:15

* For by him [Jesus] all things were created; things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together - so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself (God the Father) all things, whether things on earth or in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. Col.1:16-20

* Who, [Christ] although being essentially one with God and in the form of God, did not think this equality with God was a thing to be eagerly grasped or retained, but stripped Himself, so as to assume the guise of a servant (slave), in that He became like men and was born a human being. And after He had appeared in human form, He abased and humbled Himself [still further] and carried His obedience to the extreme of death, even the death of the cross. Philippians 2:6-8

* Philip said to Him, Lord, show us the Father; then we shall be satisfied. Jesus replied, Have I been with all of you for so long a time, and do you not recognize and know Me yet, Philip? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say then, Show us the Father? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in Me? What I am telling you I do not say on My own authority and of My own accord; but the Father Who lives continually in Me does the (His) works (His own miracles, deeds of power). John 14:8-10

* In the last of these days He has spoken to us in Son, Whom He appointed Heir and lawful Owner of all things, also by and through Whom He created the worlds and the reaches of space and the ages of time. Heb 1:2

* As the Father raises up the dead, and quickens them, even so the Son quickens whom he will; for the Father judges no man; but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He that does not honor the Son, does not honor the Father which has sent him. John 5:21-23.

* Speaking at the last supper, just before his crucifixion, Jesus said: And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was. John 17:5

Happy Birthday Jesus

Dear Jesus,
I love you! I hope you have a great time. Your special to me too. Thank you for giving me food, giving me a wonderful sister, and letting me have a great time with her. Praise the Lord!
~Claire Perkins, Age 4~

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Jesus---Happy Cake to You!
~Logan~

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Dear Jesus,
Happy Birthday! Thank you for being our savior, and forgiving our sins. I love you!
~Mason~

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Jesus,
Happy Birthday! When we go to heaven, I'm going to hand a cake to you. I love You!
~Payden~

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Dear Jesus,
I love you and God. Happy Birthday Jesus!
Love, Natalee

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Happy Birthday Jesus,
Thank you for giving me life, family and me being healthy. I give you thanks just for you being who you are; for sitting up high and looking low. You are the reason for the season. I love you and will serve you.
Love Dylan (three months old)

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Happy Birthday Jesus. Thank you so much form coming to save my life and give me eternal life. Who would think that such a small baby held the hope of all the world. Thank you for loving me then and now. ~Kathy E

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One is for the manger
Where Baby Jesus lay.
Two is for Mary and Joseph
On that Christmas Day.
Three is for the wise men
Who brought three gifts of love.
Four is for the shepherds
And angel songs above.
Five is for the animals
Who stood guard in the shed
Over Baby Jesus
In His manger bed.

Why Jesus is the Way to Union with God

Why Jesus is the Way to Union with God
because we trust in the living God,
who is the Saviour of all men,
specially of those that believe.
1 Timothy 4:9-10

Christ's teachings are the ultimate in the way to become holy and become one with God; classic challenges to those who would be his followers are:

So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple. Luke 14:33
And whosoever does not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:27
He that finds his life shall lose it, and he that loses his life for my sake shall find it. Matthew 10:39
For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: If we suffer, we shall also reign with him. 2 Tim 2:11-12

Of all the guides and teachers in history, Christ stands far above in holiness and perfection. His death on the cross is the physical example that we must follow with the inward cross of self-denial to find God, to have God dwell in us, to be with God, to have union with Christ and the Father, while on earth, and to live with Him now and forever.

He has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them
you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. 2 Peter 1:4

Happy Birthday, Baby Jesus

WHY JESUS IS BETTER THAN SANTA CLAUS

Santa lives at the North Pole ...
JESUS is everywhere.

Santa rides in a sleigh ...
JESUS rides on the wind and walks on the water.

Santa comes but once a year.
JESUS is an ever present help.

Santa fills your stockings with goodies ...
JESUS supplies all your needs.

Santa comes down your chimney uninvited ...
JESUS stands at your door and knocks, and enters your heart.

You have to wait in line to see Santa ...
JESUS is as close as the mention of His name.

Santa lets you sit on his lap ...
JESUS lets you rest in His Arms.

Santa doesn't know your name, all he can say is
"Hi little boy or girl, what's your name?" ...
JESUS knew our name before we did.
Not only does He know our name,
He knows our history and future, and
He even knows our hearts & how many hairs are on our heads.

Santa has a belly like a bowl full of jelly ...
JESUS has a heart full of love, grace, mercy & forgiveness.

All Santa can offer is HO HO HO ...
JESUS says "Cast your cares on me for I care for you."

Santa's little helpers make toys ...
JESUS makes a new life, mends wounded hearts,
repairs broken homes and builds mansions.

Santa may make you chuckle but ...
JESUS gives you joy that is your strength.

While Santa puts gifts under your tree ...
JESUS became our gift and died on the tree,
For you & for me.

It's obvious there is really no comparison.
We need to remember WHO Christmas is all about.
We need to put CHRIST back in Christmas,
Jesus is still the reason for the season.

Yes, JESUS is better,
He is even better than Santa Claus.


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Happy birthday, Jesus. You make this day so bright and shine. You gave Christmas a very beautiful day. thank you, I love you.

Kristy

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Dear Jesus,

We are having a birthday party for you. Will you come?

Love, Max and Lucy

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Dear Jesus,
We hope you have a great birthday! We love you SO much! Thank you for dying for our sins and saving us.

From, The KIDS Church at Clintondale Friends Christian Church Clintondale, NY

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i love you
love
gavin

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Dear Jesus
I love you , We celabrate your birthday every Chistmas by making a cake andsinging happy birthday to you
Love Tori

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Jesus I hope you have a good time , I love you and I hope you have a good dinner
Love Hope

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Dear Jesus,
Happy Birthday, Jesus. I hope you have a nice birthday. You have given me so many gifts like my family. Thank you for loving me so much that you left heaven to come here to die on the cross for me so that I can be with you forever in heaven one day.
Love, Haleigh

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Thank you Jesus for all that you have given us. Our home,food,family,friends,dogs,freedom to worship God,church family,and life. We love You and all that You are,and we thank you for saving us.
The Wotton Children
Max-11,Emily-10,Shannon-7,Duncan-5

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I wont to wish jesus a wounderful b-day. we celabrate your birthday with a cake and we sing songs to you.i all so wont to thank you for all you do for me and my family and all the others in the world.jesus i wont to thank you for coming in my life for all the things you have give me. i love you my father.

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Have a Happy Birthday!!! Love, Ashley age 3

Merry Christmas!!! Love, Ariana age 4

I love you! Merry Christmas! Love, Raakia age 6

Merry Christmas Jesus, I love you!!! Love, Briana age 8

Happy Birthday Jesus!!! Thank you for the gift of life you've given to me, my family, and anyone else who chooses to accept it! May the world come to know Your love as we celebrate this day set aside for You! Thank God we have the spirit of Christmas everyday, because we choose to serve You! Love, Angela (Ashley, Ariana, Raakia and Briana's mom) age 34

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jesus i wont to wish you a wounderful birthday and a happy new year to. i love you with all my heart.i am glad you saved me from all of my sins.thanks for every thing you have did for me and my family.to all who reads this pray for all the homeless and the ones in a nurseing home to have a wounderful christmas. and all the lost ones out there. i know you are with them all and i just wont to say thanks my father for all you do for us all.
love ashley j age 11

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I love you Jesus and you are my Lord. I wish Christmas came earlier so I can praise you more at Christmas time because you were born on Christmas day. - Sierra age 6

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I love you Jesus! I wish that we could have Christmas all the time so we could celebrate your birthday all the time. You love us and we love you too! - Alaina age 4

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Dear Jesus. I Just Wanted To Say I Love You. And I Know That We Celebrated Your Birthday. And I Know That You Died On That Cross To Save Us All. Well That's all I Got To Say. Bye. MERRY CHRISTMAS. Sincerly Tara

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Dear Jesus, I love you so much. I am thankful for what you gave me, you died in my heart. I will love you forever. Avery ` age 5 Justin ` age 1


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Dear Jesus,
We hope you have a very Happy Birthday! We love you! Thank you for all of the gifts that you give to us every day!
From: Everyone at Little Loves Day Care

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happy b-day Jesus. thank you for all the things you have done for us and all the good things that you put in this world
love
Hat age 10


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Dear Jesus, I love You! And I love God! Happy Birthday! Love, Tyler

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Dear Jesus, Happy Birthday! You are the best! I love you so much! Love, Taylor 6 yrs old

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Jesus: Happy Birthday, Baby Jesus! It's almost Christmas Eve and your birthday is almost here. I know Christmas is not about me getting presents, but its about you being born to die on the cross for me. You are my Saviour and you saved us from our sins. Happy Birthday! Love, Stephen and Barbara

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Dear Jesus, I hope you have a very, very, very, very good Christmas, Birthday and Holiday and I hope your family has a very, very, very good holiday. Happy Birthday too you, Happy Birthday to you, God Bless Jesus. I love Jesus!
Love,
Kyle, 6
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Happy birthday Jesus, I love you very much. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas,and I love you very much.Oh and I have four more words,... Jesus,one- I love very much, a lot. two- I do love you very, very ,very much. and three, I do love you. and four,and I hope you have a wonderful Christmas.
Jeremy age 5
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I love you Jesus, I want to wish you a Happy Birthday, we light a candle and sing Happy Birthday to you on Christmas. It is fun getting toys from Santa, but I always remember, its your birthday and thats the most important part of Christmas. Thank you for all you do for me and my family and mostly how much you love us. Love Sara age 7
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happy birthday jesus !!! im glad u were born on Christmas.
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To Jesus happy birthday I love you love from Jess
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I just want to say Happy Birthday Jesus. Thank you for all that I am and most importantly thank you for my beautiful son. I love you. Happy Birthday Jesus.

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Thank you Lord Jesus for everything we have! And for everything you give us...even though we don't deserve it.
Love, William (Age 7)

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I just want to say Happy Birthday Jesus. Thank you for all that I am and most importantly thank you for my beautiful son. I love you. Happy Birthday Jesus.

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Dear Jesus, Hope you have a Happy Birthday, please come and join us. Love Lachy (age 7)

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DEAR BABY JESUS, I WISH YOU A HAPPY BIRTHDAY. LOVE EMILY

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Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Jesus, Happy Birthday to you! Love Always, Denisia

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Dear Jesus, Happy Birthday Jesus! Thank you for reminding me about the true meaning of Christmas. I will show love by sharing again to send a present to a boy or girl hope they like my present. Merry Christmas Jesus!!
Jaylen

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Happy Birthday, Baby Jesus! I love you and my sister does, too. Love, Jacob

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Little Lord Jesus, We are all keeping you with us in our hearts during this wonderful season! Each day, beginning after Thanksgiving, we remind ourselves that Jesus is the Reason for the Christmas Season during prayer time. Thank you for giving us this wonderful season to fill our hearts with happiness, love, and laughter! Your Loving Children from Mrs. Baker's Kindergarten Class St. William School

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Dear baby jesus, six pounds eight ounces baby jesus. You are the light of my life! You are savor
~Kristin~

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Dear Baby Jesus,
Thank you for every thing that you have done for me and my family :)
I try to pray to you every night! Sometimes i forget :( sorry
You are much better than Santa Any day

Love Always,
Sara <3 :D

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Baby Jesus I need you, to breath, to feel and to know I am alive.
~Sam~

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS. YOU ARE THE REASON FOR CHRISTMAS. I LOVE YOU WITH ALL MY HEART AND YOU REMAIN IN MY HEART FOR EVER AND EVER. YOU ARE WATCHING US FROM THE HIGHEST HEAVENS AND REIGN OVER EVERYTHING. HAPPY BIRTHDAY AND MAY YOU FILL THE HEARTS OF THOSE WHO READ THIS MESSAGE. :)
~Jasmine~

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Happy birthday Jesus!!!!!! I love you big!!!.
~Emily and Megan~

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I Love You, Baby Jesus!
~Love, Misha, Age 4~

angel told Mary to give his son name Jesus

In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, Greetings, you who are highly favoured! The Lord is with you. Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favour with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; his kingdom will never end. How will this be, Mary asked the angel, since I am a virgin? The angel answered, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God. I am the Lord's servant, Mary answered. May it be to me as you have said. Then the angel left her

Jesus and the Holy Spirit

The Trinity is the doctrine that in the unity of the One God, there are three divine persons: the Father, Son, and Spirit, distinct from one another yet of one substance. The three persons are co-eternal and uncreated: "the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, and yet there are not three Gods but one God."[33] Jesus is understood by Trinitarian Christians to be the person of the Son, eternally begotten by the Father, who came upon earth to deliver to the world.

Such language appears in Matthew 28:19, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." This was incorporated into baptismal formulae, which also invoked a renunciation of Satan, contrasting the initiate's belief in the One God with the idolatry of polytheistic paganism.[34] This language also appears in early doxologies (Galatians 5:25; Romans 8:9; Hebrews 13:15).[35] The doctrine found full articulation with the Council of Nicaea.

The only Son of God

According to the predominant Christian interpretation, the title "Son of God" is understood as an expression of Jesus' divinity, specifically his unique divine sonship as the Second Person of the Trinity.

The title is applied often in the Gospels, notably at the Baptism and the Transfiguration (Matthew 3:17, Matthew 17:5). Also significant is the confession of Peter: "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God" (Matthew 16:16). Jesus applies the title "the only Son of God" to himself in John 3:16 and John 10:36. John's gospel uses the title as a short formula for expressing his divinity: "We have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14).

Jesus Christ

The central tenet of Christianity is the belief in Jesus as the Son of God and the Messiah (Christ). The title "Messiah" comes from the Hebrew word מָשִׁיחַ (māšiáħ) meaning anointed one. The Greek translation Χριστός (Christos) is the source of the English word "Christ".[7]

Christians believe that Jesus, as the Messiah, was anointed by God as savior of humanity, and hold that Jesus' coming was the fulfillment of messianic prophecies of the Old Testament. The Christian concept of the Messiah differs significantly from the contemporary Jewish concept. The core Christian belief is that through belief in and acceptance of the death and resurrection of Jesus, sinful humans can be reconciled to God and thereby are offered salvation and the promise of eternal life.[33]

While there have been many theological disputes over the nature of Jesus over the first centuries of Christian history, Christians generally believe that Jesus is God incarnate and "true God and true man" (or both fully divine and fully human). Jesus, having become fully human, suffered the pains and temptations of a mortal man, but did not sin. As fully God, he rose to life again. According to the Bible, "God raised him from the dead,"[34] he ascended to heaven, is "seated at the right hand of the Father"[35] and will ultimately return[Acts 1:9-11] to fulfill the rest of Messianic prophecy such as the Resurrection of the dead, the Last Judgment and final establishment of the Kingdom of God.

Why You Should Join a jesus Fellowship

For many people, unless you live in a highly Christian community, it can be very difficult to find friends that you can share your ideals with. People are often turned off by how much we value our religion and how important it is that we raise our children with the same Christian values that our parents bestowed upon us. When your children reach an age where they want to start playing with friends and going over to their houses, it can be a very scary time.

I have gone through this phase already with my oldest and my younger son will be right around that age in the blink of an eye. How can I, as a devoted Christian mother, allow my children to go to the houses of strangers? There is no telling what kind of sick behavior these people are into when they are not raised with Christian values there for them as a morality barometer? This is why joining a Christian fellowship is so important, especially if you have young ones at home. Here are just a few of the reasons why joining a Christian fellowship is a must.

1. Meeting others – Being a Christian in a town where not everybody shares your love for God is not easy. Joining a Christian fellowship will introduce you to the people in your area that are also Christian. It is considered to be rude if you simply walk around asking people if they are Christian or not (for some reason), but at a Christian fellowship meeting, you can be sure that everybody there has God in their heart.

2. For the kids – You do not want to lock your children up in your house. I don’t know about you, but even I need a break from them sometimes! The people that you will meet at a Christian fellowship meeting are likely to have kids as well, and they are just as anxious as you are to find friends for their little ones that have responsible parents. From my personal experience, there is not much to worry about when you are dealing with Christian morality.

3. Learn more – A common activity that is practiced in a Christian fellowship is Bible study. You and your friends can read aloud and discuss the passages of the Bible, and everyone will be learning more in the process. Also, in a Christian fellowship people tend to share their own stories. They explain the hardships and tough times that they went through and how God held their hand every step of the way. Hearing this type of story from a Christian is definitely a learning experience.

Just thinking about my own Christian fellowship is filling me with joy right now and it is making me think, “Wow, being a Christian certainly does have its perks”. If you are a Christian and you are trying to meet other people and find lifelong friends, then join a Christian fellowship as soon as you can.

Why do people reject Jesus?

Why do most people – even those who call themselves Christians and think they are guaranteed to be saved – reject Christ? Well, what exactly are they rejecting, what exactly is Christ?

Christ is first and foremost the principle of change, a demonstration of the need for change. Yet what is it that needs to change? It is our state of consciousness.

Most people on this planet have sunk into a state of consciousness that is far below our true potential. Jesus – and the Living Christ in other manifestations – comes into embodiment in order to demonstrate that ALL human beings have a higher potential, namely that we can "let that mind be in us that was also in Christ Jesus." We have the potential to put on the mind of Christ (the new man) and put off our old state of consciousness that is actually a state that Jesus called "death," meaning spiritual death.

The state of spiritual death has a tendency to become a self-reinforcing downward spiral that it can be very difficult to break out of. The reason is simple. If you have grown up around people who are all in this lower state of consciousness, how can you know there is anything beyond it? That is precisely why the Living Christ comes to earth—to demonstrate that there is something beyond the "normal" human state of consciousness.

The state of spiritual death also has a tendency to become comfortable, because it makes you see yourself as a victim who does not have the power to take responsibility for life. And you certainly don't have the power to change society for the better, so just follow the blind leaders of the power elite.

Most people are so comfortable in their state of spiritual death that they do not want to be disturbed. When Jesus was put on trial, the mob was asked whether they wanted to free the Living Christ or a confessed murderer. They chose Barabass because he was in the same state of consciousness as themselves and Jesus was in such a higher state of consciousness that it was a threat to their sense of confortability and equilibrium.

You may never have heard the teachings on this website, and thus you have not had the choice between the true teachings of Christ and the false teaching crafted by the power elite and presented as the true teachings of Christ. Yet this website does contain the true teachings of Christ for this age, and thereby you have been given a choice.

You must either accept Christ or reject Christ. Yet consider why you have found this website at this particular point in your life. Could it be because at inner levels of your consciousness – not necessarily in the outer mind – you are ready to reject the false teachings and accept the real teachings of Christ. You are ready to accept the Living Christ.

If you are willing to consider this, then this section contains profound teachings on the psychological mechanism – the human ego – that predisposes people to reject Christ. You can also learn how to outsmart this enemy within and begin to unlock you own Christ potential by making LIFE decisions.

go to Israel to visit the places where Jesus had been, part 6

Jesus' dictation
Afterwards we walk down to the Church of Dominus Flevit, and I was hoping to find a spot to take the dictation. Unfortunately, there was no spot and the church itself was disappointing, made of concrete and shaped like a teardrop. We had heard that at the bottom of the hill was a private garden in which Mother Mary was supposedly buried and the guards would let us in if we paid them a few Shekel. So we start back down and on the way we are passed by Bambi in a taxi. We briefly chatted with her again at the bottom of the hill.

We did get into Mother Mary’s garden, but the structure in which she was supposedly buried was closed. The garden itself was nice, but crowded and small, so it was hard to get away from people. After resting a while, we walked further down, where there was an open space we had seen earlier. It turned about that it was now closed off, but a man inside the gate let us in. We found a half-round stone seat that was right below the Golden Gate in the city wall, and given that it was late afternoon, it was also in the shade.


The Church of Dominus Flevit, where Jesus wept for Jerusalem.

Four young boys came up and offered me a bottle of water they had just filled at a faucet sticking out of the ground. I wasn’t sure how good the water was but didn’t want to be impolite, so I accepted it. The boys hung around, and it wasn’t until afterwards I realized they were hoping to get paid as everyone else on the streets of Jerusalem. The boys were making a bit of noise and moving around and there was a lot of street noise, especially cars honking—which seems to be a popular form of self-expression. Yet I knew Jesus wanted to dictate before sunset, so I focused and the dictation started.

The dictation was short and very business-like. The purpose was not to give teachings but to simply close the cycle, which I knew was Jesus’ main reason for wanting us to go to Jerusalem at this time. It felt to me like a very powerful and definite ending of this cycle, and I have no doubt it will have an effect on the world as these lifestreams are prevented from continuing to misuse their power. The misuse of power was so evident around us, as it obviously is all around the world. It was quite frankly a great relief for me to have this dictation done, as I had felt a lot of opposition to it and a lot of weight on me for days, even weeks, before then. There are certain jobs that it is nice to get done.


The Golden Gate, where the Messiah is supposed to enter. Apparently someone didn't want him to come, so they closed the opening.


The Old City
After the dictation, it quickly got dark and we walked into the labyrinth of narrow streets that make up the Old City. Every street is lined with little shops that sell anything from meat over clothes to souvenir items of every imaginable kind. The shopkeepers are very eager to sell you something and try various tricks to get your attention or drag you into the store. We were too tired to do any shopping, but did find part of the Via Dolorosa and followed it. It was easy to tell when we crossed the line from the Arab Quarter to the Christian quarter, as there were now Christian items – every variety of crucifixes and rosaries – in the shops.

At the end of the Via Dolorosa is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which is supposedly built over the place where Jesus was crucified and buried. The spot was chosen by Constantine’s mother, who did a pilgrimage to Jerusalem 300 years after the crucifixion but nevertheless found the exact spot, and even found three wooden crosses (apparently they didn’t recycle back then). She got Constantine to authorize the building of the church, which still stands today. It is, quite frankly, a very ugly church, especially at night, as it is very dark inside. It was also extremely crowded with long lines to go into the sepulchre where Jesus was supposedly laid by Joseph of Aramithea.


Outside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.


Outside is a small plaza where we sat and rested for a while and watched loads of pilgrims come in. There must have been people from many different nations, as you heard numerous languages spoken. Yet the mood was not a happy one, which is understandable since most of the pilgrims apparently see this as a very somber location and thus put on the proper expressions.

By this time we were very hungry and walked on through the narrow streets, following our tourist guide which mentioned a small Italian-French restaurant near the Jaffa gate. We finally found it and it had beautiful music, nice atmosphere, friendly waiters and excellent food—even reasonable prices. It was the perfect rest after a very hot and eventful day, and we took time to enjoy it—yet there was still one more experience in store.

After the restaurant, we took a taxi to the hotel, which was a half hour drive. Our taxi driver was a Palestinian man, who was very nice and talkative. We ended up having a long discussion about the plight of the Palestinians. He had lived in Jerusalem his entire life, and I felt moved by the Spirit to ask him about the political situation. He first told us how the Jews were trying to move all Palestinians and Muslims out of the Old City by buying up their houses. An American business man had created a fund with many millions of dollars to buy the houses at far above market prices.


Inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Not a happy place.


He himself owned a small house and had been offered 4 million dollars for it and even a visa for the United States. I asked him why he didn’t accept, and part of it was the principle and part of it was a fear of reprisals from his own people. By selling his house to the Jews, he would be ostracized from his family. Some people had even been hung as a way to discourage others from selling.

I then felt moved by the Spirit to start discussing with him how the Palestinians had to win world opinion, and the main obstacle to that was their use of violence. He got quite upset and asked me if you weren’t allowed to defend yourself when the Jews arrested people on no charges or demolished Palestinian houses with no legal reason. I really felt the Spirit moving, and I explained how Gandhi had managed to get the British to leave India through non-violence. At first he seemed closed, but after some time, he suddenly became still and I knew he had seen the truth of what I was saying. If the Palestinians could refrain from violence, then the Israelis would be seen as the aggressors and that would change world opinion.

I know this was only one person, but I felt like I was reasoning with the mass consciousness, and I truly feel it had an effect through the I AM Presences of all four of us. After this shift, our taxi driver was very friendly and after we came to the hotel, he kept talking for a few minutes, calling us all his friends and hoping to see us again. We all felt he was very genuine and that he truly did see us as friends, despite the cultural differences.

After that, we went straight to bed, and in writing about it, I almost can’t believe how much had happened in one day. We decided to sleep a little later the next morning and not meet for breakfast until 8:30.

go to Israel to visit the places where Jesus had been, part 5

The mount of olives
We had planned to visit the Dome of the Rock, which is a mosque built on the place where the Jewish temple used to stand. However, to our surprise we found out that this Muslim place of worship was closed on the Jewish Shabbat. I never found out why, as I don’t think mosques elsewhere are closed on Saturday. But maybe it is part of the fragile balance that allows Jews and Muslims to co-exist in Jerusalem.

Instead, we decided to walk to the Mount of Olives, which is East of the Temple Mount. I didn’t realize that Jerusalem is built on such hilly terrain, but there is a rather deep valley East of the Temple Mount, which gives a very nice feeling of open space. The first thing we saw as we walked around the walls was a huge Jewish cemetery on the South slopes of the Mount of Olives. There are supposedly over 150,000 Jews buried there, as they believe this is the first place where the Messiah will appear—that is when the real thing finally decides to show up instead of that impostor, Jesus. Thus, the Jews believe that those buried there will be guaranteed to enter the kingdom—again a clear attachment to a particular physical location.


The Garden of Gethsemane with 2,000 year old olive trees.


It was a rather long walk down to the bottom of the valley and over to the other side, where we had to climb again. There was no shade and the temperature was around 25˚ Celsius. As we started walking up the other side, we first came to the Church of All Nations, a church built through a collaboration of a number of Christian nations. It has a huge mosaic on the front, but otherwise the building has a non-distinct architecture. It was extremely crowded and we ended up not wanting to fight our way inside.

We did go into the Garden of Gethsemane that has a number of olive trees that have been tested to be over 2,000 years old, so it is assumed they were around when Jesus was there. In order to get in, Helen again had to cover her shoulders. When she asked why, she was told that there might be some holy fathers inside. I couldn’t help but remark that if they could be distracted that easily, maybe they weren’t as holy as they thought, but anyway.

I know, this is supposed to be a kind of holy ground because Jesus might very well have walked here. And you do see tons of Christian pilgrims who walk around with reverent faces, which I am not in any way trying to put down. However, I personally have long ago given up the belief that any piece of land is inherently holy. I see Jesus as being beyond time and space, meaning that I can tune in to his Presence anywhere, anytime. It is no easier for me to do so in a particular spot in Jerusalem than anywhere else on this planet. I got the distinct impression that Jesus is deliberately NOT placing his Presence here because he does not want to encourage this form of idol worship.


Apparently this is what God looks like.


We next followed a narrow road that led up the rather steep mountain. From across the valley we had seen the golden onion-shaped domes of the Church of Mary Magdalene, a Russian Orthodox church commemorating Mary Magdalene. We found the entrance and fortunately it was open. There was a stepped walk up through a beautiful garden, which led to a small monastery and then the church. The outside of the church was beautiful and there was a nice view of Jerusalem, the temple wall and the Dome of the Rock across the valley. There were also several shady benches, which we really appreciated, as it was getting close to noon. The inside of the church was unremarkable and very dark.

Our next goal was the Church of Dominus Flevit, which is supposedly built on the spot where Jesus wept for Jerusalem. All along I had been looking for a place to take a dictation that I knew Jesus wanted to give in this general area, but so far every place had been too crowded or directly in the burning sun. As we come around a bend in the road, I see a woman sitting in a wheelchair that is wedged up against the wall. It turns out her companion had walked ahead to see how long and steep the road was. So I decide to push her up, which was actually quite a task, given how steep and slippery the road was.



The Church of Mary Magdalene.


After a while, there is a little turnout and I push the wheelchair in there for a rest. It turned out to be the entrance to the Jewish cemetery with row after row of graves. Some of them were falling apart, and I expected bones to be falling out, but either humans or dogs must have cleaned up. We took a rest and had a nice chat with the lady in the wheelchair. She was from Sweden and her name was Bambi. She had been given too much anesthetic during a routine operation and was paralyzed from the waist down and declared a paraplegic. However, by sheer willpower she had retrained herself to have movement of her upper body and normal talk. She even sang and had given a performance in a Swedish church not long before.

She was a very inspiring testament to the human spirit, and she was also quite open to spiritual ideas. A few years ago she had gone back to her native Catholicism, but had retained a lot of New Age ideas. We all felt a great heart connection to her and enjoyed her company. Shortly afterwards her friend joined us and when we had rested, we took turns pushing the wheelchair the rest of the way to the Church of Dominus Flevit. There were tall walls on both sides of the road and I breathed a sigh of relief when I got to the entrance to the church—only to find the gate locked.


The Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives.


Outside the gate was a bit of shade, and a group of ladies from India were sitting there, waiting for the church to open. A couple of them were very talkative and we had a nice chat with them. They were Catholics from Goa, which up until recently had been a Portuguese colony on the West coast of India. So we learned something about India, among other things that the financial crises has barely touched the Indian economy.

At one point a Franciscan monk walks up and wants to get in, so a couple of the ladies had to move. They try to talk him into letting them in, but he says his boss is very strict and would punish him for disobeying the rules. I blurt out that my Boss is a God of unconditional love and he wouldn’t mind us being let in. The monk literally says that maybe his boss should talk to my Boss, and I answer that all he needs to do is tune in to Him in his heart. Needless to say, he still didn’t let us in.


The beautiful garden around the Church of Mary Magdalene.


Given that the church won’t be open for a while and that we are getting hungry and thirsty, we decide to walk up to the Seven Arches Hotel on the top of the hill and see if we can get some lunch. This is a modern hotel that created some controversy because it was built on ground that was a cemetery many years ago. Again, a testament to people’s attachment to land.

On the way to the top, we passed the Grave of the Prophets, but it was – of course – closed on the Shabbat (one presumes even the dead rest on the Shabbat). The hotel had a gorgeous view (but was very expensive, which is why we didn’t stay there) and after some running around, we found the dining room where we were the only customers. It took a while, but we finally had a nice lunch and some cold water and milk shake. The dining room had one wall with all glass and a fabulous view of the Old City. Couldn’t ask for a better view for lunch—or better company for that matter.

go to Israel to visit the places where Jesus had been, part 4

Going to the wailing wall without tears
Saturday we got up early to go to the Old City. Our hotel was far from the city center because it was half the price of the closer hotels. It was right by a bus station, but, of course, the busses were not running on the Shabbat. So we took a taxi with an Arab driver. He was a very nice and friendly guy and we simply chatted about Jerusalem, and it was obvious he loved the city as much as any Jew could. Our first sight of the Old City was the large defensive walls on the West side as we drove through the Jaffa Gate. The walls are built of huge, cut stones and are impressive, but not more so than what I have seen elsewhere.

Once inside the gate, we realized that the Old City is not built for cars, as most of the streets are so narrow a car cannot pass. We only has a mile or so to drive, but we had to wait 5 minutes behind a truck taking out some garbage from a restaurant. Our driver took us as close to our destination as he could and we walked the rest of the way to the Wailing Wall and the Dome of the Rock.


The Western wall or Wailing wall. Note the division in the middle. Men have a large area on the left, women a much smaller area on the right. Don't walk into the wrong area or you'll get looks.


In order to get in to the Wailing Wall area, we had to go through a security check. Helen was wearing a blouse that revealed too much of her shoulders and had to put on a light jacket to cover them. Once inside, there were lots of people, and the four of us were strolling along, taking in the sights and chatting. Suddenly, a female guard rushes up to us, looks disapprovingly at me, gestures eagerly and rambles off something in a language I assume was Hebrew.

At first I am a bit dumbfounded, but we finally realize that the area in front of the Wailing Wall is divided into two sections by a portable wall. The smaller section is for women and the larger section for men. Since we had no idea, I had unwittingly walked into the women-only enclosure, which by the looks of the guard was not something that had happened since the time of King David. The funny thing was that in order to get in, we had to walk right by two other guards who had said nothing.

Anyway, I high-tail it out of there and instead head for the men-only enclosure. However, as I walk in, two male guards tell me – in a rather unfriendly tone of voice, as if I should have known this – to put on a cardboard skull cap. I was a bit taken aback and refused to go in, instead walking to a point where I could overlook the area. As I reflected on this, I found it a bit strange. I understand this is a religious area, but it is also obviously open to tourists. I have been to many different types of religious places, but this is the first time I have been required to wear a religious piece of clothing in order to enter.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I fully respect people’s right to worship as they wish and to set rules in a place of worship. In a Catholic Church, I have no problem with being allowed to witness the mass but not being allowed to take communion. Similarly, I have no problem with people saying that non-members cannot enter. Yet here I was allowed to enter the site, but ONLY if I would agree to wear a piece of clothing from a religion to which I do not belong. THAT I found quite strange, even a bit hypocritical. Wearing a skull cap of cardboard is not going to make me a Jew, but apparently if I appear as a Jew, they have no problem with me entering.


The Church of Mary Magdalene on the Mount of Olives.


Anyway, after reflecting on this for a while, I donned the cap and walked in, feeling a bit silly with a piece of cardboard on my head. The Wailing Wall is simply a tall stone wall built of rather large stones at the bottom layers and smaller stones up higher. It is part of the Western Wall of the old Jewish temple complex, the second temple built by Herod and destroyed by the Romans. The Jews believe that because the wall is the closest to the old Holy of Holiest, it is a portal to the Divine and guarantees that heir prayers are heard. In other words, the Jews believe that the efficiency of prayers is linked to a physical location. No wonder they weren’t open to Jesus’ statement that the kingdom of God is within you.

According to Jewish tradition, one is supposed rend one’s garments in sorrow over the loss of the temple—especially if one has not seen the temple wall for more than 30 days. I didn’t see anyone doing that, but I later learned that that was because it was on the Shabbat, where tearing one’s garments is apparently considered work. So supposedly, those who do not want to destroy their clothing choose to approach the wall only on the Shabbat. (No, I am not making this up, read Wikipedia)

There were a lot of men in the enclosure with long hair and curls. Some were wearing the black suits of the orthodox Jews and some a kind of shawl over their shoulders. One guy walking outside was wearing a black suit with silver ornaments that almost looked like the costume of Doc Holiday in the movie about the OK Corral. I can’t say I felt at home there, and I did realize that for me the entire concept of a holy place seems quite strange. I never could identify a physical thing as containing God. To me this is clearly a graven image or an idol.


The Church of All Nations at the foot of the Mount of Olives.


I had plenty of time to reflect, as the three women took a long time to come out from the women-only enclosure. It turns out they had started to say some prayers of their own, and when people around them heard they said non-Jewish prayers, they harassed them and eventually called security. So they were firmly asked to leave and although they tried to ask why, there was not much openness for discussion. It became clear to us that the Jews have a very clear sense of ownership of this place.

go to Israel to visit the places where Jesus had been, part 3

Keeping the sabbath holy
We arrived early Friday morning, slept a few hours at a hotel in Tel Aviv and then met the group from Holland for lunch. We went to a shopping mall near the hotel but to our surprise we were told that the restaurants and stores would probably start closing around 2 PM. Why? Because the employees had to be able to get home before the start of the sabbath, which is actually called the “Shabbat.”

Perhaps I am woefully ignorant of Jewish culture. I obviously knew that the Jews have the sabbath every Saturday, but I thought there were enough secular Jews and that Israel was a secular enough country that the whole darn country wouldn’t shut down. I was obviously wrong. The Shabbat starts at sundown on Friday, which for us in November meant around 5 PM. And since no one is allowed to do any work after sunset, everybody packs up and goes home a couple of hours before.

Okay, I thought, does that mean we can’t check in at the hotel if we are late? Well, apparently there is enough practical realism to realize that you can’t have a billion-dollar tourism industry if there are no services one day a week. So we could check in at our hotel and we could eat dinner there, because the entire staff were – at least for that day – Arabs.
We decided to eat dinner at the hotel because we were tired and the hotel was some distance from the center of Jerusalem—and most restaurants were closed. Most of the other guests were obviously Jews, and given that they dug into the buffet with zeal, it was obvious that Jews can eat on the Shabbat. However, apparently they can’t prepare food—it has to be prepared ahead of time or be prepared by others.


Jerusalem seen from the Mount of Olives.


After dinner comes the next surprise. We were on the fifth floor so we obviously took the elevator. There were three elevators and when Helen and I came out of the dining room, the middle one had the doors open. We obviously walk in, and before the door closes, two Jewish ladies walk in with three children. They first look at us with disapproving looks while holding the door open, and then finally start talking to us. I could barely understand what they said, but the meaning was clear: This was a special Shabbat elevator and it was for Jews only—and we obviously didn’t fit the bill. They clearly wanted us to get out, but I finally had to ask them to let us out so we didn’t have to step on their children.

So the explanation here is that Jews cannot perform any work on the Shabbat. I had always thought they couldn’t do any work for which they got paid, but it is much more complicated than that. Apparently, eating is not work but preparing food is. Walking is not work, and neither is taking the elevator. However, pushing the button in the elevator IS indeed work. So they have a special Shabbat control that allows the elevator to run automatically and stop at each floor, so people can get to their rooms without pushing any buttons. Apparently unlocking your door and turning the handle is NOT work.

Do I sound like I am making fun of the Jews? Well, this is where my logical mind simply cannot help but ask logical questions. For example, I was told that Jews cannot turn on or off the light on the Shabbat. If they want the light on, it has to be turned on before the start of the Shabbat and left on for 24 hours. Okay, I say, sounds logical, but then what about flushing the toilet? If pushing the light switch is work, is it work to flush? If so, it could be a smelly affair at the end of the Shabbat. Quite frankly, I don’t know the answer to that one, as I couldn’t get myself to ask.


The sun goes down behind the city wall.


The bottom line is that I have a hard time taking this seriously. I mean, we have adult human beings who seriously believe that it will damage their prospect of salvation if they flip a light switch. Yet they can open doors and do certain other things that are okay according to their tradition. I was reminded of Jesus’ words to the scribes and Pharisees, “Ye have made the word of God of no effect by your tradition.” Clearly, tradition is more important than logic.

Now, obviously, I have no problem with people having their own customs in their private homes, but this affects an entire nation, which clearly wants people from all over the world to come in and spend their money—only it has to be on certain terms defined by them. You may say, “Well, what’s wrong with the Jews defining terms in their own country?” And I am not saying there is anything wrong with it, I am merely saying it is peculiar compared to any other country I have been in—and it definitely is funny. As to the concept of the Jews and their own country, let me return to that one later.

go to Israel to visit the places where Jesus had been, part 2

Entering Israel
So now on to the trip itself. The first peculiarity we noticed was that we could not find a flight to Israel that did not arrive at 3 or 4 in the morning, which means you are exhausted when you get there and still have to pay for a hotel without getting a full nights sleep. When I asked in the airport, I was told this was for security reasons, but no one seemed to know what the reasons were. I speculate it may be that if someone hijacked a plane, they would not be able to see a particular building to fly into, but I don’t know. I was also told there were some arrivals late afternoon, but perhaps they are only from certain countries? Anyway, it is rather inconvenient.


The city wall and the golden dome of the mosque, called the Dome of the Rock.

We arrived at Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv, which is a huuuge airport and obviously built to impress. It has a large central hall that has a ceiling like a UFO about to land and huge ramps that you have to walk on to get in and out. There were lots of other arrivals, so long lines for passport control, which took about an hour. Then on to the car rental, which quite frankly asked us more questions and wanted to see more ID than passport control. But the real surprise (and my reason for going into this detail) is the issue of the map.

Okay, so we are at Hertz, which is a world-wide car rental company, which I expected to have the same policies everywhere. Yet in Israel, things are a bit different. First of all, you have to pay more for insurance, you have a $650 deductible which they take off your credit card and the insurance doesn’t cover the tires or anything else on the underside of the car. I knew ahead of time that there are diverging maps of Israel. Some show both the original Israel and all the territory that Israel has occupied since the 1967 war as one area, while others clearly mark the occupied territories that the Palestinians claim as theirs. I had also read ahead of time that the car rental companies would not allow us to drive into the Palestinian territories except on a few major roads.

So the rental agent hands me a map showing no markings of Palestinian areas, and I naturally ask him whether that means I can go anywhere on this map of whether I have to stay out of Palestinian areas. He answers that I cannot go into Palestinian areas, and I naturally ask, “So how will I know where NOT to go when you don’t mark it on the map you are giving me?” His answer came with a very angry voice: “Well, it’s OUR land, so we are not going to mark it!”
I was a bit shocked, but managed to answer back calmly, “Hey, I don’t care about the politics; I just want to know where I can drive in the car you are renting me.” His answer was, “Well, when the soldiers stop you, you will know you can’t go there.” Thanks, that made it a lot easier to plan my trip!

Obviously, this was very early in the morning, so I didn’t really think about it. But the next day I realized it was a rather bizarre episode. First of all, this is an international car rental agency, and I think I have a right to expect professional treatment, which I didn’t get. However, I also started to realize that in Israel there apparently is no way to separate political issues from every other part of life—not even business. This was something I had not expected but which was clearly reinforced later in the trip.

go to Israel to visit the places where Jesus had been, part one

Part of the old city wall, looking East towards the Mount of Olives and the Jewish cemetery.


What I am saying is that I grew up with a very positive attitude toward Jews and Israel. I thought the Jews deserved a homeland, especially because of the Holocaust. I also thought Jews did not consider themselves any different from other people and that the Jews I had seen considered themselves Danes first and Jews second. In other words, I thought being a Jew was primarily a religious thing and that Jews in Denmark were pretty much like the few Catholics in Denmark—a religious group. I really did not even see being a Jew as a matter of race, as Denmark is such a homogenous country that I did not grow up with a sense of racial division. Race simply wasn’t an issue for me and I couldn’t understand how it could be a source of conflict.

I was also very positive toward the state of Israel, and as a teenager I tended to believe that any criticism of Israeli policies was probably anti-semitism, which was a big no-no. Yet when I was 20 I met a man who had been stationed as a UN soldier in Israel. He told me that he had several times been on post at a checkpoint. A truck had driven up from Israeli territory, had stopped a distance from the checkpoint and the driver had run away. When inspected, they found the bed of the truck filled with dead bodies that were deliberately mutilated to make identification difficult (this was before DNA testing). The dead people were Palestinians, killed by the Israelis. He basically made a pretty good case that Jews were no better than other people and that the policies of the state of Israel were by no means infallible. Especially over the past several years, this has caused me to look at Israeli policy with a bit more discerning eyes, and I have begun to see certain patterns. More on this later.

My main point is that I grew up with no sense of discrimination against Jews, and I still don’t have any. Yet I have also come to realize that Jews deserve to be evaluated based on their actions and that they should be held to the same standard as all other human beings. Consequently, the state of Israel should be evaluated by the same standard as any other nation.

If Jesus had teachings for today

Consider that there is a reason why your higher self directed you to this website at this particular stage of your personal path.

The reason is that there is something on the site that your higher self wants you to find.

Consider that your outer mind may not be ready or flexible enough to grasp and accept the knowledge you need. That is why only those with open and flexible minds make progress on the true path.

Consider that when Jesus walked the earth, he was rejected by many because their minds were not open to the teachings he brought forth back then. If Jesus had teachings for today's people, would your outer mind be open to them?

This is a huge website, and some of the ideas will go far beyond what you were told in Sunday school or kindergarten. Yet the beginning of all progress is to think beyond one's current mental box.

This website offers you a unique opportunity to go beyond your mental box. Will you go beyond or will you stay where you are comfortable?

When Jesus walked the earth, he talked about those who have ears to hear. Are you among them? Or will you find one of millions of excuses to reject this website before you find the knowledge that will empower you to take a quantum leap forward on your personal path?

Now that you've prayed and committed your life to God through Jesus Christ, what has happened to you?

Let's look at what the Bible has to say:at the Bible has to say:

1.YOU ARE DELIVERED FROM JUDGMENT AFTER DEATH!

Jesus said, "I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved." (John 10:9) And again, "Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (Romans 10:13) And again, "there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus." (Romans 8:1)1)

2.YOU ARE A CHILD OF GOD!

THE BIBLE SAYS: "But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God." (John 1:12)12)

3.YOU WILL LIVE FOREVER WITH GOD!

THE BIBLE SAYS: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)

Now that you believe in Jesus Christ, you can say with confidence that you are completely accepted by God and you can now begin to live a life that truly pleases Him.
TRUST WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS

You can be sure that you are saved by trusting what the Bible says and not by trusting your feelings or emotions. Your feelings will change from time to time but God's "undeserved favor" towards you never changes!

THE BIBLE SAYS:

Sheep."My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand" (John 10:27-29).

When Jesus says that "no one is able to snatch you out of God's hand" He really means no one! Not even you can cause God's love toward you to end.

THE FIRST PASSOVER OF JESUS' MINISTRY

During Jesus' first Passover the Jews asked for a sign, and He responded, "`Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.' The Jews therefore said, `It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?' But He was speaking of the temple of His body." (John 2:19-21) These passages are the only scriptural clue to independently establishing the year of Jesus' first Passover.

What did Jesus mean by "temple," how did the Jews interpret His meaning, and what did the Jews mean by "temple?" Understanding each perspective will help to decide the probable starting point of the forty-six years. Then, there is the problem of interpreting the claim of uninspired bystanders that it took forty-six years to build the Temple. Their words are truly reported, but are they speaking truly?

Jesus referred to His own body as naos, a temple or shrine. He was standing in the Court of the Gentiles, near the front of the main Temple. The Jews thought He was referring to that structure, not His body. They thought Jesus was saying that if that Temple were destroyed, He would build it again in three days. They responded to Jesus with His same word, naos, which they claimed had taken forty-six years to build. They confronted Jesus with the impossibility of rebuilding in three days what had taken forty-six years to build. The Jews knew when the Temple had been begun, and they took spiritual and psychological refuge in that knowledge.

Jesus had just driven from the Temple the merchants of sheep and oxen and the moneychangers. He then confronted those selling the doves, and He was then asked by the "Jews" to show a sign. This was probably asked by a Temple scribe and echoed by the crowd that must have gathered. The claim of forty-six years to rebuild the Temple also must have been validated by the crowd. They contrasted the building process of three days against forty-six years and are not likely to have minimized their argument by exaggerating. Under these circumstances the forty-six years should represent a reliable number of years "to build this temple."

THE BIRTH OF JESUS

It appears probable that the conception of Jesus occurred on about March 25, BCE, which coincided with the first appearance of a nova interpreted as the first Star of the Magi. This would place Jesus' birth on about December 25, 5 BCE, the traditional day for Christmas. These dates will be used in the following discussions.

After Jesus' presentation at the Temple on the forty-first day, the holy family returned to Nazareth. Later they returned to Jerusalem for the following Passover. Shortly after this the "Star of Bethlehem," the second supernova of April 24, 4 BCE, led the Magi to Jesus in Bethlehem. Then followed the flight into Egypt and Herod's massacre of the children of Bethlehem. After Herod's death on November 27, 4 BCE the holy family bypassed Jerusalem on their return to Nazareth. A summary of the probable course and dating of these of these and following events will now be considered.

I. Presentation at the Temple

After the birth of Jesus, "when the days of their purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord." (Luke 2:22) According to the law of Moses after the birth of a male child a woman is unclean for seven days. On the eighth day the child is circumcised and the mother continues her purification for thirty-three additional days, or forty days total (Lev. 12:2-4). After that, from the forty-first day the child was to be presented at the Temple with a sin offering (Lev. 12:6-8). The forty-first day was February 2, 4 BCE, when Joseph and Mary presented Jesus at the Temple. At that time Simeon and Anna recognized Jesus as the promised Messiah. "And when they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city of Nazareth." (Luke 2:39) This would have been their first departure from the Bethlehem/Jerusalem area since Jesus was born.

II. The Visit of the Magi

What brought the Holy Family to be again in Bethlehem for the later visit of the Magi? "His parents used to go to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover." (Luke 2:41) This means that they returned several months later for that feast. In 4 BCE, the Passover and following Feast of Unleavened Bread was observed April 11 to April 18. It would appear that after the Feast they went to Bethlehem. This may have been to visit relatives or friends made earlier at the time of Jesus' birth. It may have also been with the intent of possibly relocating their home to the town of Joseph's ancestry. They were in Bethlehem shortly after the Passover.

Then "magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, `where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east, and we have come to worship Him." (Matt. 2:1-2) Herod "secretly called the magi, and ascertained from them the time the star appeared." (Matt. 2:7) He sent them to look for the Messiah in Bethlehem and to report back to him. The following morning as the Magi left Jerusalem they again saw "the star, which they had seen in the east." (Matt. 2:9) This supernova appeared high in the sky over Bethlehem, the Star of Bethlehem. It was just before sunrise in the early morning of April 24, 4 BCE. On that day the Magi presented their gifts to Jesus. The prior night they were "warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod." (Matt. 2:12) The afternoon of April 24 they left by another route.

It is probable that Herod sent spies to Bethlehem that day. The local people probably gave them little information, but the spies would have reported to Herod the disappearance of the Magi.

During the evening of April 24 "an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, `Arise and take the child and His mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the child to destroy Him." (Matt. 2:13) That night they left for Egypt. When Joseph and his family crossed the Wadi El Arish, about a three-day journey from Bethlehem or Jerusalem, they entered Egyptian territory. They were beyond Herod's jurisdiction. They would have gone to the town of Rhinokalura, modern El Arish. They may have remained in that area or made the additional journey of about a week to the Egyptian delta.

In the early morning hours of April 25 Herod's assassins entered Bethlehem and the surrounding area. They killed all the male children who were two years or younger. The two years were based on the Magi's report of the first Star to Herod, "according to the time which he had ascertained from the magi." (Matt. 2:16) The earlier nova had appeared a little over a year earlier, and the two years were Herod's safety margin. Based on population estimates, the number killed was probably no more than twenty to twenty-five children.1 The Messiah was gone, secretly on the way to Egypt.

Possible historical support for the killing of the children is found in a passage by Macrobius (Saturnalia II 4:2), written about 400 CE: "when he heard that among the boys up to two years old whom Herod king of the Jews ordered to be killed in Syria Herod's own son was also killed."2 The report is a bit mixed and may only be based on a knowledge of Christian teachings. However, the killing of the children of Bethlehem would have preceded by six months Herod's killing of his son, Antipater, five days before his own death, as in the sequence of Macrobius.

III. The Death of Herod the Great

Herod's kingdom was in a state of discontent. Shortly before the Passover there had been the sedition of Matthias. He and his followers were burned alive on the night of the eclipse, March 13, 4 BCE. Herod was in terrible health, and with that incident and the following Massacre of the Innocents in Bethlehem, he then left Jerusalem. He was never to return.

On November 27, 4 BCE Herod the Great died. God told Joseph in a dream that Herod was dead, and the Holy Family returned to Galilee (Matt. 2:19-23). Joseph knew of Herod's death before the news travelled to Egypt. Presumably they would have left quickly. Soon after this the Holy Family returned from Egypt, bypassed Jerusalem, and returned to Nazareth by December.

IV. Jesus' Twelfth Year

The Holy Family always went to Jerusalem for the Passover, "and when He became twelve, they went up there according to the custom of the Feast." (Luke 2:42) Based on prior conclusions, this would have been the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread from March 30 to April 6 of 9 CE. The last day of the Feast was a Saturday, and the caravan for Galilee would not have left until the following morning. At the end of the first day Joseph and Mary could not find Jesus. They returned to Jerusalem, and "after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them, and asking them questions." (Luke 2:46) That day was likely Tuesday, April 9, 9 CE, the third inclusive day from when Jesus was found missing.3

V. Conclusion

Based on the conception of Jesus having occurred on March 25, 5 BCE, coupled with the Magi's first star, or nova, it is possible to lay out a likely chronology for the early years of Jesus that satisfies Scriptural, historical and astronomical considerations.